It only feels as if these Beijing Briefing posts are being submitted every six hours; time is speeding up considerably as we approach the Opening Ceremony on 08/08/08. With just 15 days remaining, here's what's going on in China and around the world as preparations heat up.
The International Olympic Committee has been closely monitoring Iraq, provisionally suspending the nation's Olympic committee in June for government meddling. Iraq's leaders had replaced elected NOC members with political operatives, which is strictly against the IOC's rules. Iraq claimed it would launch a full appeal, but never sent a scheduled envoy to Lausanne.
Today, Iraq missed an IOC-imposed deadline to submit a team for next month's Games, and therefore will not attend. It's a long way from the feel-good football success of 2004 (highlighted in U.S. president George W. Bush's winning re-election campaign that year) and last year's transcendent Asian Cup win to chaotic disgrace.
WEIGHTLIFTING: Despite previous reports that claimed otherwise, the "Iranian Hercules," Hossein Rezazadeh (above, winning gold in 2000 at Sydney), will not be in Beijing. His doctors warned him against "heavy and stressful activity," and the Olympics are certainly a heaping helping of both. A car accident last year put a damper on a glorious career that includes two super-heavyweight gold medals in 2000 and 2004, and three annual IWF mentions as the "World's Best Weightlifter."
ATHLETICS: Merlene Ottey, formerly of Jamaica and now of Slovenia, failed in her attempt to make a record eighth Olympic team. She missed the world "A" qualifying time in the 100 meter dash by just .28 of a second. Ottey did pick up a medal lately, however -- she moved up from tin to bronze in the Sydney 2000 100m when American Marion Jones was erased from the Olympic record book for drug violations.
SWIMMING: Speaking of drugs, American sprint swimmer Jessica Hardy was banished from the country's training facility when both A and B samples of a recent dope test came back positive. Hardy finished second behind 41-year-old Dana Torres in the 50 meter freestyle with a 24.82 second time, but will now forfeit her Olympic spots in that event, as well as the 100m breaststroke and 4x100 freestyle relay. This opens the door more for Leisel Jones of Australia to more closely pursue a breaststroke double.
BOXING: The AIBA released a list of all 286 boxers (PDF) who will compete in Beijing. Russia is the only nation that qualified a fighter in each of the 11 weight classes. Morocco, Cuba, China and Kazhakstan will send 10 pugilists each. Canada, on the other gloved hand, will send only one -- welterweight Adam Trupish, who will have to give it a go with just one coach.
BASEBALL: The final roster of what will likely be the final Olympic baseball tournament was announced yesterday, as always-secretive champions Cuba released its 24-man squad list. Top pitcher Pedro Lazo will play in his fourth Olympics. He went 2-0 with two saves and a 0.54 ERA during the 2005 World Baseball Classic.
Here at Swifter Higher HQ yesterday, this blog received the shipment of 200 Taiyo Yuden DVD's that will hold as much of next month's Olympics as possible. But if you're wondering where to put 3,600 hours of footage, NBC has hired out a half-million gigabytes of storage from a hard drive manufacturer.
And in China...
ARD television in Germany broadcast an undercover investigation of a Chinese lab that showed the ready availability of gene doping materials. A reporter posing as a swimming coach asks the doctor for stem-cell treatments for his athletes.
"Yes. We have no experience with athletes here, but the treatment is safe and we can help you," the doctor replies. "It strengthens lung function and stem cells go into the bloodstream and reach the organs. It takes two weeks. I recommend four intravenous injections ... 40 million stem cells or double that, the more the better. We also use human growth hormones, but you have to be careful because they are on the doping list."
In stunningly happier news, the fireworks display at the Opening Ceremony will include expertly-timed displays of yellow dragons, red flowers and giant smiley faces.
And those pea-soup air problems seem to be getting better, at least according to IOC executive director Gilbert Felli. "You don't feel bad when you breathe so it looks good, I'm confident," he told reporters yesterday.
But Beijing's residents must stay vigilant as the Games approach, and the Chinese government has distributed an anti-terrorism manual. The BBC's China bureau translates some passages:
How to detect terrorist suspects
Terrorist suspects won't put a sticker on their faces to say they are terrorists. However they will have some abnormal behaviour that can make us alert, such as:
• Those who look panicked and strange in their words and behaviour
• Those who dress in clothes that don't fit their identity or the weather
• Those who pretend to be close friends, and flatter
• Those who refuse to do security checks, and sound arrogant
• Those who frequently appear at big event venues
• Those who frequently appear around security areas
• Those who look like wanted suspects
(Photo © Jean Levac/Icon SMI)
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