Clear and sunny this morning after a rain-drenched Day 13. Most of the medal-winning action occurs in the afternoon hours, but let's take a quick look at the latest developments in Virtual Olympicland.
TABLE TENNIS: Two key figures in the Opening Ceremony squared off against each other this morning in the women's singles semifinals. Zhang Yining of China is the defending gold medalist in this event and took the competitor's oath on behalf of all athletes (above). Li Jiawei is the defending tin medalist in women's singles, and gained notoriety when she dragged the flag of Singapore on the ground during the Parade of Nations.
With a berth in the gold medal match on the line, Li toughed out an 11-9 victory in the first game of the best-of-seven series. But Zhang, Thunderstix-banging home fans swelling behind her, soared to a match tying 11-8 win and survived a gritty 12-10 battle in the third.
Chinese diehards have never forgiven Li for defecting to Singapore at 14 years old in 1995, and the crowd became increasingly bloodthirsty and rowdy as her resolve fell away. Zhang won the fourth game 11-8, and sent Li to her second consecutive bronze match with an 11-5 blowout. With an all-Chinese semifinal on the other side of the bracket, the atmosphere will be virtually identical in the evening session.
Ceremonies are certainly on the brain this morning. Now that we're within 60 hours of the Closing, the speculation is heating up on what IOC president Jacques Rogge will say during his closing remarks. Retired king-czar Juan Antonio Samaranch, who began the tradition of weighted words during his rule, has already called Beijing 2008 "the most successful ever" in a TV interview. Here's what he said during some of the Closing Ceremonies when he was in charge.
Barcelona 1992: "The best Olympic Games ever"
Lillehammer 1994: "The best ever"
Atlanta 1996: "Indeed most exceptional"
Nagano 1998: "The best organization in the history of the Olympic Winter Games"
Sydney 2000: "The best Olympic Games ever"
Rogge, whom this blog overwhelmingly prefers for his unwillingness to kowtow to corporate interests, has been more varied. Since the Belgian former sailor took up the mantle after Sydney, he's been more creative in his benediction, showing off his poet's soul.
Salt Lake City 2002: "Superb Games"
Athens 2004: "Unforgettable dream Games"
Torino 2006: "Truly magnificent Games"
Rogge knows how important the words are, and promises he won't come up with them himself.
"You know I never said that these were the best Games and this is something I would never say. I will have a qualification for these Games which I believe will reflect the idea of the Olympic Family. By the end of the Games I ask them (the athletes) 'What's your impression of the Games, did you like it?' And I do the same with the leaders of the International (Sports) Federations, I do the same with my colleagues of the IOC, I speak to the sponsors and the broadcasters and then I discuss this together with my executive board and then we come to an agreement."
Actions from the past several hours have shown that the full legacy of the current Olympics will not be decided, once again, until long after the cauldron is extinguished. The IOC has requested that the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) launch an official investigation into the ages of Chinese female gymnastics champion He Kexin.
Rumors have been prevalent that He, Jiang Yuyuan and Jang Yilin presented false passports to gain entry into the Olympic gymnastics events, fueled by widely varying reports in the Chinese press as to their real ages. Yesterday, an American computer security expert claimed to uncover previously removed online documents from a Chinese government website that show He's age as 14.
Each sporting federation writes its own rules, and the FIG has had a minimum age of 16 since 1997.
"If there is a question mark and we have a concern, which we do, we ask the governing body of any sport to look into it," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said Friday.
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