THE OFFICIAL OLYMPIC THREAD

[PhredE]

Beaverton woman nabs first gold for U.S.



USA's Mariel Zagunis, right, scores against her teammate Becca Ward in the semifinal round of the women's individual saber at the Fencing Hall of the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. Both women are from Beaverton, Ore.
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Story Published: Aug 9, 2008 at 12:45 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 9, 2008 at 12:56 PM PDT
By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (AP) - Beaverton's Mariel Zagunis stood proudly atop the podium, the first American to do so at these Olympics.

A former president was in the front row - and three red, white and blue flags were rising to the rafters.

"It was a dream come true," Zagunis said.

Zagunis won the first U.S. gold medal of the Beijing Games, leading an American sweep Saturday in women's saber fencing. Zagunis took the gold with a 15-8 victory over Sada Jacobson, who won the silver. Becca Ward, also of Beaverton, took the bronze. (She is pictured below at right, with Zagunis to her left.)

Before the fencing medals were awarded, the Americans had been shut out of Olympic medals, trailing the likes of Cuba, North Korea, Taiwan and Uzbekistan in the overall standings. Then the saber trio went to work, moving the U.S. to the top of the table with three medals.

And to make the night even more memorable, former President George H.W. Bush was in the front row for the medal ceremony, just to the side of where the three flags were lifted.

"It was amazing. It was emotional. It was such a dramatic moment," Bush said. "To win all three was simply magnificent."

Zagunis was also saber champion in 2004, when she became the first American in a century to win a fencing gold. Now, the U.S. is a legitimate powerhouse - in women's saber at least. These same three women are seeded No. 1 for the team competition on Thursday.

"We hope that any success we have goes to making our sport more popular," Jacobson said. "If we can get even one girl to take up fencing, then we've done well."

The sport endured some growing pains even after Zagunis' big win in 2004. The U.S. Olympic Committee took over USA Fencing's high performance program for this year's Olympics, citing financial problems for the sport's national governing body.

"We're just here trying to do our jobs," Jacobson said. "It hasn't been an issue that has impeded our performance at all."

Clearly not.

Zagunis and Ward, members of the same Oregon fencing club, met in the semifinals. Zagunis prevailed 15-11, and Ward left in tears.

Ward still looked red-faced and shaken when she came out for the bronze medal match, and she fell behind 6-1 to Russia's Sofiya Velikaya. But the 18-year-old from Portland, Ore., rallied for a dramatic 15-14 victory that ensured a U.S. sweep.

"I kind of got my head back in the bout that I was in, because I was really hung up on my last bout," Ward said. "It was a quick turnaround."

Once that victory was out of the way, Zagunis and Jacobson took center stage. Jacobson, of Dunwoody, Ga., won the bronze in 2004. She was the top seed in this year's competition but couldn't overcome Zagunis in the final.

Zagunis, of Beaverton, Ore., never trailed in the gold medal bout - her most lopsided win of the tournament. When it was over, Zagunis ripped off her mask and let out a yell, then shook hands with Jacobson and shared a hug with her teammate. Zagunis returned to the strip with an American flag, which she held in her hands while bowing in two directions.

She then dropped down and kissed the floor.

Jacobson missed out on a similar celebration - but the joy eventually hit her.

"I don't think I anticipated the emotion I would feel up there," Jacobson said of sharing the podium. "It was such a feeling of pride."

At least one famous American felt it too.

"Fencing may not be a big sport in America," Bush said. "But today at the Olympics, it certainly is."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://www.katu.com/news/26472584.html

[PhredE]

A Murder Clouds the Olympics

Saturday, Aug. 09, 2008
By SEAN GREGORY/BEIJING

For Team USA, Saturday should have marked a golden start to the Beijing Olympics. The sabre sisters, Mariel Zagunis, Sada Jacobson and Becca Ward, swept the board in fencing, the first team in 20 years to claim all three medals in that sport. And Michael Phelps raced off to a phenomenal start, breaking an Olympic record in one of his heats, while the U.S. women's basketball team trounced the Czech Republic by forty points.

But Olympian achievements were overshadowed by the murder of an American visitor. A knife-wielding Chinese man, identified as Tang Yongming, 47, stabbed Todd Bachman, of Lakeville, Minn., his wife Barbara and their female Chinese tour guide on Saturday at a popular tourist spot, the Drum Tower, a Dynasty-era building once used to tell time. The Bachmans are in-laws of U.S. volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon. Todd Bachman died, while his wife's injuries were described as "serious and life-threatening" by the United States Olympic Committee. Their daughter Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon, a former Olympic volleyball player, had been with her parents at the time of the attack, but escaped unharmed. "This really puts a damper on the Games," says Joe Smith, team leader for the U.S. boxing squad, while walking in the Olympic Village. The volleyball team was huddling in the village, coping before their Sunday afternoon game against Venezuela.

The murder did not appear to have been pre-meditated. "It seems like a senseless act of violence by a random individual with no motive," says Richard Buangan, spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Beijing. "They were not targeted because they were Americans." The USOC said the victims had not been wearing any USA apparel. Still, athletes and officials walking around the village were stunned, and even a little afraid. Violence against foreigners is rare in Beijing and across China, but coaches were sounding a warning. "We encourage our athletes to stick together," says Smith. "We'll be reminding of that when we have our team meeting tonight."

Breaux Greer, a U.S. javelin thrower, and shot putter Christian Cantwell heard the news at dinner. "When I first heard about, I just thought it was misinformation," says Cantwell. Greer interjected. "I thought it was just a bad joke. It's freakish news, and it's brutal. It makes me think twice about going downtown." That view was shared by Chloe Sutton, an open-water swimmer: "There's all this security around — how could that happen? It's definitely makes athletes more nervous. I wanted to go to the Silk Market, the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs. Now, I don't know if I'm going to do that."

The story hasn't exactly dominated the local media, whose coverage remains focused on China's Olympic achievements, although it has been reported in the Chinese press. In a city of 15 million people, a random act of violence is unlikely to dominate the headlines, and once the shock has abated, U.S. athletes will likely soon return to exploring Beijing in their downtime. Still, the murder cast an unmistakable damper on the opening day of the Games. "I usually have a smart-ass thing to say about everything," says Greer, one of the more colorful members of the U.S. team (his hair is pink). "Not here, not now. Nothing is funny."

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 74,00.html

[BearFlagRepublic]

Very sad news Thoughts and prayers to the victims and their family. I hope all of our athletes, their families, trainers, and all spectators are safe for the remainder of their stay in China.

[Jean]

Official languages? 'None' listed in U.S.

But, says Olympics preview, English dominates from Antigua to Zimbabwe

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: August 10, 2008
1:56 am Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily


WASHINGTON – The Olympics can be a time of learning about the countries of the world – especially some of the more obscure nations.

But, if you're tuned into coverage of the Summer Games in Beijing, you might be surprised by what you learn about less obscure countries as well – including the United States of America.

For instance, what’s the official language of the U.S.?

If your guess is English, you would be wrong.

English is the official language of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon (along with French), Canada, of course (along with French), the Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji (along with Fijian), Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Hong Kong (along with Chinese), India (along with several native tongues, Ireland, along with Gaelic, Kenya, along with a native tongue, Kiribati, along with I-Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, along with French and a local tongue, Malta, along with Maltese, Mauritius, Micronesia, Namibia, New Zealand, along with two native languages, Nigeria, Pakistan, along with Urdu, Philippines, along with Filipino, Puerto Rico, along with Spanish, Rwanda, along with French and a local language, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, along with Tamil, Malay and Mandarin, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, along with a local language, Tanzania, along with Swahili and another local language, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Zambia and even Zimbabwe.

But there is the United States with no official language.

Surprised?

Interestingly, Great Britain is one of the countries that doesn't list an official language – though England surely invented English.

But, interestingly, the U.S. is the only nation with the notation "none" under official languages.


http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php? ... geId=71995

[vmonkey56]

Why? The government is making money on the illegals!
Who is financing the illegals? http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-127735.html
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We are probably only being shown the pretty side of China; but that is ok. And they can keep the president for awhile if they like. We wont miss him until January 2009 and don't tell Chemey!

Furthermore American need to show the world just how much we LOVE OUR AMERICANS; we Americans have got to be wise, smart, and conquer so much here at home.

OUR STUPID GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA SHOULD HAVE BOYCOTTED THE GAMES EVER BEING IN CHINA; IT IS GREED AND MONEY OF THE ELITIST IN THE WORLD.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Informational videos:

NON-ENERGY CRISIS:
http://tinyurl.com/5flubk

New World Order by Eustace Mullins:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-125703-.html

ENDGAME- ALEX JONES -
Blueprint for Global Enslavement
http://tinyurl.com/2gmljp

CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION:
http://tinyurl.com/6k2253

IS THIS THE FINAL FUN WE AMERICAN WILL HAVE TO WATCH, IS MY CONCERN? THE ELITIST WANT ONLY OUR AMERICAN TAX DOLLARS. AND I HAVE PAID THE TV BILL THIS MONTH, MORE MONEY GONE.

[vmonkey56]

Curious George Bush Goes to China: Works up a sweat

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-744885.html#744885

How did he hurt his arm? I saw it on TV and just noticed it in these pictures?

[BearFlagRepublic]

US basketball team beat up on China pretty good yesterday

Angola tomorrow....

Volleyball team won their first match against Venezuela in 5 sets.

So far, I believe we are slightly ahead of China in the medal count

[PhredE]

A good online updated medal list for all participating countries:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/olympic ... edals/full

[BearFlagRepublic]

Thanx Phred...Looks like I was wrong

Geez, even South Korea is beating us.

Another significant gold was the men's swimming relay

[PhredE]

Current medal counts (as of 12 Aug local date/time):

Top 5 countries:

Rank* Country Gold Silver Brnz Total
1 China 9 3 3 15
2 United States 6 6 7 19
3 South Korea 5 5 0 10
4 Italy 3 3 2 8
5 Great Britain 2 0 1 3

*Rank - By total number of Gold medals
US leads in total medals count, China leads based upon Gold medals alone