Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-04-10 From: Xinhuanet

BEIJING, April 10 — Austrian swimmer Markus Rogan is poised to shed the label of eternal runner-up.

Having finished second seven times at Olympics and world championships, Rogan led a competitive field in the 100-meter backstroke heats yesterday at the opening session of the short-course world championships in Manchester.

“It’s about (time) to change that,” Rogan said of his two silver medals at the Athens Olympics and five at short- and long-course world championships.

Coming off a 100 and 200 backstroke sweep at the European long-course championships last month, Rogan timed 51.30 seconds over four lengths of the temporary pool inside the MEN Arena. He got off to a slow start but recovered time as the race wore on.

“I wanted to go out fast but it didn’t work,” said Rogan, who trains in Rome with the Italian team.

Stanislav Donets of Russia was second in 51.35 and Liam Tancock of Britain was third in 51.43.

Tancock became the first British swimmer in 18 years to hold a world record when he established a new mark in the 50 back (long course) at the British Olympic trials in nearby Sheffield last week.

Tancock said he was practicing swimming fast in the heats to prepare for the Olympics, when finals will be held in the morning.

“That is what we need to do in Beijing, so that is what I will continue to do in my buildup to the games,” he said.

Overall World Cup champion Randall Bal of the US, a short-course specialist, qualified fourth.

Ryan Lochte, the American who holds the world record of 49.99, did not qualify for the 100 back at the American short-course trials.

The 100 back semifinals were scheduled for later yesterday, with the final today.

Looking to add to his career tally of 16 medals in Olympics and world championships, Massimiliano Rosolino of Italy led the men’s 200 freestyle heats in 1:44.81.

David Carry of Britain was second fastest in 1:45.58, exciting the crowd filled mostly with screaming school children.

“I am the first Brit to compete here and I knew it was important to get the crowd up, which I think I did,” Carry said. “I think tonight will be a great final and I will be looking to improve my time.”

European short-course champion Filippo Magnini of Italy tied with Alexander Sukhorukov of Russia for third.

Magnini, the two-time long-course world champion in the 100 free, does not put this meet atop his priority list. “For me, it is not important to win a medal, but I want to perform well anyway,” Magnini said.

Australian favorites Kenrick Monk and Kirk Palmer struggled somewhat. Monk qualified in sixth and Palmer was eighth. Both were members of the team that set the world record in the 800 freestyle relay at the national short-course championships last year.

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, who won gold, silver and bronze at the Athens Olympics, led the women’s 100 back heats in 58.41. Natalie Coughlin, who has the world record, in 56.51, is absent.

Coventry got back in the pool a half hour later and qualified second in the 400 individual medley in 4:33.54. Hannah Miley led heats in 4:29.83, a week after breaking the European long-course record.

Updated: 2008-01-29

(BEIJING, January 29) — A total of 17 teams will experience tough competition for the only ticket to the Beijing Olympic Games when the African men’s volleyball qualifications kick off on February 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The qualifications will be slated for February 1-10. Participant countries include Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Liberia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunis, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

“Our athletes set only one goal. That is a place in Beijing,” the coach of the favorites Egypt said.

The team has made preparations for the qualifications since January 16. They have played four friendly games with a Portugal club and two with the Moroccan men’s team. A total of 17 players have been picked for the qualification preparations, but only 12 can appear in Johannesburg.

The year of 2007 belongs to Egypt. They were the champion of the African Nations Cup and the All-Africa Games. They won three matches during the World Cup in Japan, which was the best result for any African team. This year, they will compete in FIVB World League for the third year in a row.

Updated: 2007-07-20 From: Xinhuanet

ALGIERS, July 18 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwe is trying to build up a swimming squad for the Beiing 2008 Olympic Games, a coach of the Zimbabwean swimming team told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Coach Ferris Philipa, said Heather Brand has turned into the second swimmer of the Zimbabwean team who is qualified for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Besides Brand, Kirsty Conventry, 2004 Athens Olympic champion, stands a good chance to win medals in the quadrennial sports gathering.

Brand claimed a silver in the women’s 100m butterfly on Monday and won a bronze in 200m butterfly on Tuesday.

In addition, Zimbabwe has selected eight young swimmers to prepare for the Olympic Games. Conventry and Brand will act as leaders to motivate the young ones.

Philipa was confident Zimbabwe will achieve good results in the coming Olympics and Beijing will be a good host.

Updated: 2007-07-19 From: Xinhuanet

ALGIERS, July 18 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry won the 200m women’s backstroke in 2:10.66, taking her fifth gold medal in the on-going 9th All African Games in the Algerian capital.

Coventry has already won gold medals in the women’s 100m backstroke, 800m free-style, 400m individual medleys and 50m backstroke.

She has also succeeded in breaking records in these games in five categories.

The Zimbabwean swimmer, who trains regularly in the United States had won the women’s 200m backstroke gold medal during the Athens Olympic Games.

On the fifth day of this tournament, South Africans swimmers harvested four gold medals, respectively in the women’s 50m and 200m butterfly, women’s 1,500m freestyle and men’s 4×100m relay.

The swimming competition of the 9th All African Games is set to end on Wednesday.

Updated: 2007-07-16 From: CRI

Surprises have featured time and again in the swimming competitions of the ninth All-African Games which is held in Algiers, capital of the North African country Algeria.

Although Cameron Vander Burgh from South Africa got one gold in the men’s 50 breaststroke, he enjoyed the glory of medal-awarding ceremony twice on Saturday because of the mistake of the organizers.

The working staff just played the last two sections of South Africa’s national anthem, the version of the national anthem during the apartheid.

That aroused dissatisfaction from South African sport minister Makenkesi Stofile who came in person to greet winners from his country.

The protest lodged by Stofile forced the organizers to stage the medal-awarding ceremony anew.

Burgh’s time was 27.74 seconds. He has won a gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke in 1 minute and 2.05 seconds.

In addition, three swimmers made false start in Saturday’s competition and were informed of the mistake when the competition wrapped up.

The first two were Chanelle Van Wyk from South Africa in the women’s 100m backstroke and Shahd Mostafa from Egypt in the women’s 800m freestyle.

The Zimbabwean team lost a silver already in bag because of false start.

2004 Athens Olympic champion Kirsty Coventry rushed to the competition of women’s 4×100 m freestyle, no more than 10 minutes after women’s 800m freestyle in which she got a gold by a large margin.

Conventry saved the Zimbabwean team who was lagged far behind and fought to the second at last with a time of 3 minutes 56. 49 seconds, just 0.44 seconds behind the gold winner South African team.

But the result was announced void by coaches who said the third swimmer of Zimbabwean team made a false start. (Xinhua)

Updated: 2007-07-18 From: Xinhuanet

ALGIERS, July 16 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwean swimming sensation and Olympic champion Kistry Coventry claimed the fourth gold medal when she won the women’s 50m backstroke event at the 9th All Africa Games on Monday.

But she was denied the gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke losing to Suzaan Van Biljon of South Africa.

Coventry, who has his regular training in the United States, won the women’s 50m backstroke by setting a new African record of 28.89 seconds.

The Olympic gold medallist in women’s 200m backstroke in Athens also won the women’s 100m backstroke, 800m freestyle and 400m medley.

South African swimmers proved their overwhelming power in the continent, winning five out of seven golds on offer on Monday. Sofiane Daid from the host country won the men’s 200m breaststroke in two minutes 14.27 seconds.

World champion Johannes Zandberg led the South African swimming fleet to dominate the pool, winning the men’s 50m backstroke in anAll Africa Games record time of 25.68 seconds before his teammates collected the golds in women’s 100m butterfly, women’s 100m breaststroke, men’s 800m freestyle and men’s 4×100m freestyle relay.

“We take the All Africa Games as a training,” said South African swimming head coach Dirk Lange. “It is a part of our preparation for Beijing Olympic Games.”

The swimming competition of the All Africa Games will end on Wednesday.

Updated: 2008-06-25 From: Xinhuanet

HARARE, June 25 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwe will, for the first time in 16 years, be represented in the sporting discipline of rowing at the Olympic Games, which will be held in Beijing, China, in August.

This follows a special invitation that the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee recently received from the International Rowing Federation for them to enter an athlete for the women’s singles scull regatta at this year’s biggest sporting jamboree in Beijing, The Herald reported on Wednesday.

Zimbabwean rowers have been in the Olympic Games “wilderness” for the past 16 years after having not been considered for the last three Games held in Atlanta, United States, in 1996, Sydney, Australia, in 2000 and Athens, Greece, in 2004.

The last time that Zimbabwe were represented in rowing at the Games was during the 1992 Barcelona showcase in Spain where Susanne Standish-White and Margaret Gibson took part in the women’s coxless pairs event.

They, however, returned home empty-handed and since that time, no other Zimbabwean rower has been selected for the Zimbabwe team to the Games.

But that is soon set to change with the country’s participation in the women’s singles scull event in Beijing in August.

Robert Mutsauki, the ZOC chief executive, on Tuesday broke the good news to the local rowing family by revealing that Zimbabwe have been invited to send a rower at this year’s Beijing Games in August.

“We were recently advised by the International Rowing Federation that another unspecified African National Olympic Committee had decided not to enter their crew for Beijing 2008 after securing a slot during the 2007 African Olympic qualification regatta (All-Africa Games) in the women’s singles scull event,” he said.

“And since Zimbabwe was next in line or came second during the qualifying event, we were invited to consider entering a Zimbabwean rower in (this year’s) Olympic Games,” he added.

“We thought this was a good opportunity for our young and promising rowers and we duly consulted the Rowing Association of Zimbabwe who readily accepted the offer. We have, therefore, confirmed the participation of a (Zimbabwean) rower at the 2008 Beijing Games in August,” Mutsauki said.

The ZOC boss said the Rowing Association of Zimbabwe have, however, decided to conduct selection trials before nominating the specific rower who will represent Zimbabwe at the Beijing Olympics.

The inclusion of rowing brings to six the number of sporting disciplines that Zimbabwe will be competing in at this year’s Olympic Games.

It also increases the number of athletes that have so far qualified to represent the country at the Games to 13 and they will be carrying the country’s flag in athletics, swimming, cycling (mountain bike), tennis, triathlon and rowing.

Mutsauki said the inclusion of a rower in Team Zimbabwe 2008 was a welcome development as “rowing is a growing sport in the country with mainly young athletes involved”.

“So, from a developmental point of view, this exposure to the Olympic Games will be a major boost (to the sport) because it will act as an incentive which will inspire a number of young aspiring rowers in Zimbabwe particularly those in the schools system,” he said.

“It’s important to convince athletes through practical evidence (such as participation in the Olympic Games) that there is a bright future in their sport so that they can make the necessary sacrifices in the transition from being a young talented athlete to an accomplished world class performer,” Mutsauki said.

He also said that the door remains open for other additional athletes from Zimbabwe to qualify for the Beijing Games.

“In fact, our application for clay target shottist Mike Nicholson to receive a tripartite invitation for the Games is still under consideration by the International Shooting Sport Federation who advised us that he is still on the waiting list,” Mutsauki said.

Local swimming icon Kirsty Coventry heads the list of 12 athletes who have already qualified to represent Zimbabwe at the Beijing Olympics.

Also in the team are Coventry’s fellow United States-based swimmer Heather Brand, sprinters Brian Dzingai, Lewis Banda and Young Talkmore Nyongani, marathon runners Mike Fokorani and Tabitha Tsatsa, middle-distance runner Cutbert Nyasango, long jumper Ngonidzashe Makusha, mountain bike rider Antipas Kwari, triathlete Chris Felgate and female tennis star Cara Black.

The final Zimbabwe team for the Beijing Olympic Games will be named in mid-July.