2016 Rio Olympics

[GeneChing]

Here's a good excuse to kick off next year's thread. Seems like ages since London (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?63163-2012-London-Olympics).


Anderson Silva pushes to compete for Brazil at 2016 Olympics (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/anderson-silva-pushes-to-compete-for-brazil-in-taekwondo-at-the-2016-olympics-220633361-mma.html)
By Ryan McKinnell
April 13, 2015 6:06 PM
Cagewriter

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/lSvIkpPICNZozL9TNlcSGQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7aWw9cGxhbmU7cT03NTt3PTYwMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/AP_General/201502010043026188161-p5.jpg
Anderson Silva celebrates after the referee stop the fight in the second round during his UFC 148 middleweight championship fight against Chael Sonnen at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday, July 7, 2012 in Las Vegas. Silva won with a TKO
.

View photo
Anderson Silva celebrates after the referee stop the fight in the second round during his UFC 148 middleweight championship fight against Chael Sonnen at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday, July 7, 2012 in Las Vegas. Silva won with a TKO. (AP Photo/David Becker)

When the Olympic Summer games head to Rio de Janeiro next summer, Brazil could have former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva helping its medal count.

[DraftKings: UFC contests are live today – draft your team now!]

That is, if "Spider" has anything to say about.

Silva, who is 5th-degree black belt in taekwondo, penned a letter to the president of the Brazilian Taekwondo Federation (CBTKD), Carlos Fernandes, expressing his desire to compete for the national team in the 2016 Summer Games.

"Everybody knows that for a high-performance athlete, the Olympic games is the dream of every athlete, and it wouldn't be different with me," Silva wrote on the CBTKD webpage. "It will be a great pleasure to be part of this golden team, which has a serious institution, commanded by president Carlos Fernandes, who honors us very much, along with his team. Therefore, I wish to represent taekwondo and Brazil in the Olympic games in 2016. With all my esteem, strength and honor."

Whether or not Silva actually represents Brazil is anyone's guess at this point; however, Silva is, in fact, meeting with President Fernandes soon to discuss, as Fernandes has stated, this "magnificent possibility."

Silva began his taekwondo training at just 14 years old. Since that time, he used it to become one of the most heralded strikers the sport of mixed martial arts has ever seen. Silva, 39, is currently suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing drug tests before and after his fight with Nick Diaz in January at UFC 183.

Silva has expressed interest in a potential Olympic run in previous years, but the talk was quickly shut down as Silva focused on his MMA career.

Testing for the Olympics is conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and is much more stringent than the tests he faced during his MMA career. If Silva is looking to put his PED debacle in MMA to rest, a clean and authoritative run in Rio may just help in restoring his championship legacy with fight fans.


Beach Volleyball, a sport that gets way overexposed here in the U.S. IMO, is going to rock at Rio.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Can't believe it is this summer already.
Felt like London was just 4 year ago, ;P

Looking forward to judo, wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, track and field, swimming, diving, in short, everything !

LOL

[David Jamieson]

Can't believe it is this summer already.
Felt like London was just 4 year ago, ;P

Looking forward to judo, wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, track and field, swimming, diving, in short, everything !

LOL

Not to mention women's gymnastics, diving, hurdles, pole vaulting and especially that spinney ribbon dance thing and contact juggling. :p

[sanjuro_ronin]

Not to mention women's gymnastics, diving, hurdles, pole vaulting and especially that spinney ribbon dance thing and contact juggling. :p

Have you seen the bodies, er, I mean the skill level of the women in those sports?

[David Jamieson]

Have you seen the bodies, er, I mean the skill level of the women in those sports?

dem skills...yes...

[GeneChing]

Researchers Weigh Risks of Zika Spreading at Rio Olympics (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/world/americas/brazil-zika-rio-olympics.html?_r=0)
By SIMON ROMERO and REBECCA R. RUIZJAN. 28, 2016

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/01/29/world/29ZIKA-2/29ZIKA-2-master315.jpg
Kleisse Marcelina and her 2-month-old son, Pietro, who has microcephaly, in Salvador, Brazil, on Thursday. Credit Christophe Simon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

RIO DE JANEIRO — With about 500,000 people expected to visit Brazil for the Olympics here this year, researchers are scrambling to figure how much of a risk the Games might pose in spreading the Zika virus around the world.

Infectious disease specialists are particularly focused on the potential for Zika to spread to the United States. As many as 200,000 Americans are expected to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics in August. When they return to the Northern Hemisphere and its summer heat, far more mosquitoes will be around to potentially transmit the virus in the United States.

Brazilian researchers say they believe that Zika, which has been linked to severe birth defects, came to their country during another major sports event — the 2014 World Cup — when hundreds of thousands of visitors flowed into Brazil. Virus trackers here say that the strain raging in Brazil probably came from Polynesia, where an outbreak was rattling small islands around the Pacific.

As many as 1.5 million people are believed to have contracted the virus in Brazil since then, and the authorities are now investigating thousands of reported cases of babies being born recently with brain damage and abnormally small heads. Zika has spread to more than 20 nations and territories in the Western Hemisphere, according to the World Health Organization, illustrating how quickly the epidemic can expand even without a big international gathering.

By itself, the virus is not normally life-threatening, and most people who become infected have no symptoms at all.

The big question is whether Zika is responsible for the huge increase in birth defects reported by doctors, hospitals and other medical officials in Brazil over the last few months. That connection has still not been proved.

“There is more and more concern that there may be a causal relationship, but a lot of the work so far is to rule out other possible causes,” Dr. Bruce Aylward, an assistant director general at the World Health Organization, said on Thursday, adding that it might take six to nine months to know for sure.

Asked whether the W.H.O. would advise people not to travel to Brazil for the Olympics, he replied: “I would think that would be very, very unlikely.”

American officials in the United States said Thursday that there was little likelihood of a Zika outbreak in the United States, adding that the country’s long history of mosquito-control efforts had curbed other mosquito-borne diseases, like dengue or chikungunya, in the past.

But because the virus can be carried in a person’s blood to a new country, then passed to others by mosquito bites, researchers are trying to determine whether a big global event like the Olympics could add to the global transmission of the disease.

“Infected travelers departing from Brazil are expected to return to regions that have the potential to sustain transmission,” said Moritz Kraemer, a scholar at Oxford University who researches the global spread of viruses, emphasizing that many travelers would return to their home countries during the summer. “So the international spread of the virus might increase substantially due to higher activity of mosquitoes.”

Using worldwide temperature profiles and air travel routes, Mr. Kraemer and other researchers found that more than 60 percent of the population of the United States lives in areas where Zika can be transmitted during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer, when the Games will be held. A much smaller number, about 23 million people, live in parts of the United States where Zika can be transmitted year-round, like Florida and Texas, the researchers found.


In the Southern Hemisphere, by contrast, it is summer right now, and mosquitoes are rapidly spreading the disease in Brazil and other warm parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

That may pose a particular risk for big events like Brazil’s Carnival, which goes into full swing next month, but Olympics officials emphasize that it will be winter in Rio when the Games are held, which could limit the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.

Even so, Brazilian virologists contend that mosquitoes can still easily transmit viruses in Rio and other tropical cities year-round, pointing out that Zika may have begun spreading in Brazil during its winter in 2014.

Brazil has been one of the hardest hit countries and the authorities are under intense pressure domestically to contain the Zika epidemic right away, regardless of the Olympics.

Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio Olympics organizing committee, said that there had been no discussions about canceling the Games or moving them to another city because of Zika.

He added that teams were reviewing Olympic venues daily to eliminate problems like stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed. He said officials were also seeking to work on the “psychological aspect” of athletes being fearful about getting Zika by guaranteeing a supply of mosquito repellent and by keeping teams from every nation informed about the virus.

“The risk is no joke, so we will maintain this inspection program until the end of the Paralympics,” Mr. Andrada said, referring to the multisport event that will be held in September, after the Olympics.

Some Brazilian virus specialists contend that the measures adopted by Olympic officials are meager given the scope of the Zika epidemic in Brazil. Beyond the risk to infants, hundreds of people around the country have been stricken by Guillain-Barré, a syndrome that Brazilian officials warn may be connected to Zika and can leave patients paralyzed for weeks.

“It’s a step in the right direction to inspect facilities, but this is something that should have been done on a broader basis five years ago, not just in the months before the Games,” said Carlos Granato, an infectious diseases specialist at the Federal University of São Paulo. “Mosquitoes persist in a multitude of areas around Rio and other Brazilian cities, so simply keeping Olympic venues free of them is not enough.”

The fears over Zika are merely the latest challenge to the Rio Olympics. Sailors have complained angrily about competing in the city’s sewage-infested bay. Prosecutors have asserted that builders paid bribes to win contracts for Olympic venues. Clashes have broken out over evictions to make way for Olympic projects. Deep spending cuts have come as Brazil reels from its worst economic slump in decades.

“Plagued by so many problems, Rio is clearly in a league of its own among host cities of the Olympics in recent memory,” Andrew Zimbalist, a scholar who specializes in sports economics at Smith College, said. continued next post

[GeneChing]

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/01/29/world/29BRAZIL/29BRAZIL-articleLarge.jpg
A doctor in Recife, Brazil, showing the brain scans of a baby born with microcephaly. Researchers are studying the connection between Zika and microcephaly. Credit Felipe Dana/Associated Press

While ticket sales had already been disappointing organizers, concerns are growing that travelers from the United States and other countries could cancel plans to visit because of Zika.

“People have called to ask, ‘If this explodes, how would I cancel my trip?’” said Anbritt Stengele, president of Sports Traveler, a company in Chicago that specializes in travel packages for major sporting events. She said that about 15 percent of her clients who had booked trips for the Olympics had called in recent days to ask about the Zika virus and the possibility of modifying their trips.

“It’s a tricky situation for us, because everything is paid for in advance — airfare, hotels, ground transportation,” Ms. Stengele said. She said most of the vacation groups traveling to the Olympics included women and families with children.

“This is a completely different demographic,” she said, compared with the largely male tourists who attended the 2014 World Cup. “The Olympics is about families.”

Virologists are trying to piece together how the virus began spreading in Brazil, and where it might go from here.

Dr. Felipe Scassi, a researcher at the University of São Paulo’s Tropical Medicine Institute, said that an Asian strain of Zika appeared to have made its way here from Easter Island, a part of Polynesia controlled by Chile, during the World Cup. After spreading in northeast Brazil, Zika was found in neighboring Suriname and is now being transmitted up and down Latin America and the Caribbean.

Despite the rapid spread of the virus, Dr. Scassi said that the epidemic could look different in Brazil a few months from now.

“The colder temperatures should diminish populations in various cities, including Rio,” he said. “The risk in relation to Zika during the Olympics will still exist, but it will be a lower risk than now.”

Now athletes and fans alike are trying to determine whether it makes sense to travel to Rio. Alysia Montaño, an American runner who competed at the United States Track and Field Championships while eight months pregnant, said the Zika virus could affect her decision to bring her young daughter, who will turn 2 in August, to the Games.

“The greatest thing is that I will not be a pregnant woman at the Olympics,” said Ms. Montaño, who is hoping to compete in Rio. “Having my daughter there is really, really important to me, but I’ll need to consider if she’ll be a spectator at home or at the Games themselves.”

Simon Romero reported from Rio de Janeiro, and Rebecca R. Ruiz from New York.
I hadn't considered this factor until I read this story.

[Jimbo]

It was actually the first thing I thought about when I heard about the Zika scare and Brazil. "This might not bode well for the Olympics down there."

[David Jamieson]

So wear repellent and avoid sexums with the locals.

[GeneChing]

Lopez continues his reign over the game. :cool:


Steven Lopez, Paige McPherson And Stephen Lambdin Win Taekwondo's Olympic Trials (http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/February/02/Steven-Lopez-Paige-McPherson-And-Stephen-Lambdin-Win-Taekwondos-Olympic-Trials)
BY STEVE YINGLING | FEB. 02, 2016, 9:24 P.M. (ET)

http://www.teamusa.org/~/media/TeamUSA/Taekwondo/2016olympictrialswinners_800x375.jpg?la=en
(L-R) Stephen Lambdin, Paige McPherson and Steven Lopez won their weight classes at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Taekwondo on Feb. 2, 2016 in Reno, Nev.

RENO, Nev. -- The United States’ most decorated taekwondo fighter and a 2012 Olympic medalist are among the three competitors who emerged victorious at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Tuesday afternoon in the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez of Sugar Land, Texas, scored an overtime win over 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Terrence Jennings in the men’s welterweight (-80 kg.) class to remain in contention for his fifth berth to the Olympic Games this summer in Rio de Janeiro.

“It’s what I love to do,” said the 37-year-old Lopez, who won Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004, then bronze in 2008. “Like an artist, they paint until they can’t paint any longer. It’s a little different being an Olympic athlete, because physically you are only going to be at your best for a certain amount of time.

“That’s why I have taken this opportunity that God has given me to leave it all on the mat, because when that day comes when I am done, I don’t have to look back and wish what I could have, should have done.”

Meanwhile, welterweight Paige McPherson of Sturgis, South Dakota, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, and heavyweight Stephen Lambdin of Colleyville, Texas, also advanced to the Pan American Qualification Tournament, the final barrier to Rio, on March 10-11 in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Lopez was in solid position to oust Jennings in regulation time before Jennings rallied late with a hit to the face for a 4-2 edge. But it wasn’t enough as Lopez scored two points in the final two seconds to force overtime.

“It’s very exciting,” Lopez said. “You can be up four or even six points, and nothing is ever done. It’s very easy to accumulate points in this game.”

The match quickly ended in overtime when judges ruled that Jennings pushed Lopez off his feet and punched him in the face. Both are half-point deductions, resulting in the one point Lopez needed to win the match.

“Any way to win is the smart way to win,” Lopez said. “I got deduction points as well for punching him in the face, so it’s part of the match.”

Given the chance to compete in his first U.S. Olympic Team Trials this year, Lambdin seized the opportunity, even if that meant going through veteran Mark Lopez, the younger brother of Steven Lopez and a 2008 Olympic silver medalist, to get there in the heavyweight (+80 kg.) division.

“He’s been around forever, and almost everybody in this team trials has been around for almost two decades, so it’s just one of those things,” Lambdin said.

Lambdin controlled his match. Mark Lopez reduced his deficit to a single point with 50 seconds remaining, but Lambdin prevented any additional scoring to clinch his coveted trials win.

“We knew it was going to be tough coming in,” Lambdin said. “We trained for months for him, and we accomplished the goals that we set out to do, which were to control the ring, make him do all of the work of moving and make him miss the big spins.”

McPherson showed why she is the world’s No. 7 welterweight (-67 kg.) and a 2015 world bronze medalist with her triumph of Cheyenne Lewis. She got a three-point head shot with 20 seconds remaining, then withstood a late rally by Lewis to move on to the continental qualification tournament.

“Although there is a different format this time around, any way or path toward an Olympic Games will be very challenging,” McPherson said. “The Road to Rio has definitely proven to be difficult. Since WTF ranking is an important factor in the qualification process for the 2016 Rio Games, the journey has become more demanding physically and mentally.”

The most competitive matchup of the day transpired between welterweights Jennings and Jaysen Ishida, who were competing for the right to face Steven Lopez. Jennings won the first match on the strength of a head kick inside the final five seconds, but Ishida bounced back to take the next bout in overtime.

However, a wide-angle kick on top by Jennings in the second period determined the deciding match.

“He’s a really good fighter, obviously being a former Olympian,” Ishida, competing in his second Olympic Trials, said. “I felt really confident coming into this tournament, but I couldn’t make the plays for myself.”

At age 24, Ishida isn’t ready to give up on his Olympic dream.

“You just never know. You have to approach every tournament like it’s your last chance,” Ishida said. “Overall, this is a learning experience and I am young. I believe I have another chance in 2020.”

Steven Lopez, McPherson and Lambdin hope to join Jackie Galloway in Rio. Galloway became the first U.S. taekwondo athlete to qualify for the Games by virtue of her top-six ranking from the WTF Olympic rankings following the Grand Prix Final in December.

[GeneChing]

I have yet to see one of these TKD (http://www.martialartsmart.com/tae-kwon-do-styles.html) sensors. I've seen a prototype, but not the actual thing.


22/02/2016
‘Tech-wondo’ shows off its innovations at Rio 2016 Olympic Games test event (http://mobile.rio2016.com/en/news/tech-wondo-shows-off-its-innovations-at-rio-2016-olympic-games-test-event)
The ancient martial art of taekwondo has embraced the future, with a fairer scoring system and more spectator engagement the outcome

http://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/300x175_rounded_corners_mobile/sensores-taekwondo.jpg
That that: sensors in the headguards are activated by magnetic socks to record successful hits
Text: Patricia da Matta

Taekwondo may be a sport of ancient origins, but it has adapted to modern times. Electronic point scoring, video replays, DJs blasting out high-octane music… technology is already integrated, sharing responsibility with referees to guarantee fair contests and helping engage the audience. This past Sunday (21 February) the Rio 2016 taekwondo test event ended at Carioca Arena 1, showcasing the latest version of the Korean martial art, including a new competition area and more technology in the point scoring system: now, even head protectors come equipped with electronic sensors.

“WE DECIDED TO INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY TO HELP REFEREES. WE WANT THE BEST FIGHTER TO WIN”
Phillippe Bouedo, WTF technical delegate

Before the London 2012 Games, the point scoring system depended exclusively on assessment from the referees. This often resulted in complaints from athletes and technical officials, who believed the sport erred in transparency and impartiality. At Beijing 2008, Sarah Stevenson of Great Britain was eliminated from the competition after a decisive blow in the final seconds of the contest was not scored by referees. The result was reversed after television replays were viewed and the Briton finished the Olympic tournament with bronze.

The incident caught the attention of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and to avoid the risk of the sport being withdrawn from the Olympic programme, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) began a series of innovations that gave new life to the sport.

http://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/users/Patricia%20Alves/eventotestetaekwendo20022016_fotospaulomumia_18-02-2016_0004.jpg
The electronic scoring system is operated by wi-fi (Photo:Rio 2016/Paulo Mumia)

“TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE THE FIGHT FAIRER. THIS WAS THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED”
Myriam Baverel, Olympian and French coach

The objective of taekwondo athletes remains the same: to strike the torso and head of the opponent with kicks and blows. The difference is that now they wear magnetised socks and have impact sensors in body and head protectors – the latter a first for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The idea is to minimise the chances of refereeing errors, since blows to the head are worth three times more than blows to the torso and often decide contests. “New technology has given transparency to the sport. In London, we inserted sensors into the vests, but not the headwear. In Rio, for the first time in the history of the Games, we will have both,” said Bouedo.

http://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/users/Patricia%20Alves/eventotestetaekwendo_fotospaulomumia.21022016_0048 .jpg
The body and head protectors now play an even more crucial role in point-scoring (Photo: Rio 2016/Paulo Mumia)

Rio 2016 operates in partnership with Omega, the IOC’s technology partner, in the management of results. “There are several systems that work in an integrated way and at an impressive speed. As such, the athlete attempts a kick, the sensors transmit a signal automatically on a wireless frequency, which takes around 0.1 or 0.2 tenths of a second to be computed in all our systems,” said Rodrigo Silveira, Rio 2016’s results coordinator.

As such, technology has placed precision over strength in the rules of the game, which has affected the strategy of athletes and coaches. “It’s easier to train, as the athletes just need to concern themselves with being efficient and not having to show beauty in movement to score the point,” said Baverel.

Another initiative included is the possibility of requesting a video replay during the contest, a resource that allows analysis of the blow whenever there is a doubt on the mat.

http://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/users/Patricia%20Alves/eventotestetaekwendo20022016_fotospaulomumia_18-02-2016_0005.jpg
Rio 2016 and Omega work together to ensure a correct results procedure (Photo: Rio 2016/Paulo Mumia)

“The inclusion of these resources forces the athlete to always adapt, which is very good. I started in the sport at a time when technology wasn’t present, so there was a lot of doubt in the results. This has now disappeared, because human error has been eliminated. This is absolutely the path to follow,” said Portugal’s Rui Bragança, who won silver in the -58kg at the test event.

Rio 2016 promises more action, music and drama

After responding to criticisms from athletes and coaches to make the sport fairer, the WTF then turned its attention to the spectator experience. At Rio 2016, personally selected walk-in music for the athletes, acrobatic performances and sport demonstrations will be used to engage the public.

The competition area has a new format: changing from a square to an octagon, which prevents athletes going on the defensive in the corners of the mat. Another move to make competitors more active was to change the rules to include penalties each time an athlete went a certain time without attacking.

http://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/users/Patricia%20Alves/eventotestetaekwendo20022016_fotospaulomumia_18-02-2016_0008.jpg
Rio 2016 will be the first Olympic Games with the octogonal combat area (Photo: Rio 2016/Paulo Mumia)

“WE WANT TO SEE THE ATHLETES FIGHTING MORE AND MORE”
Phillippe Bouedo

Organised by Rio 2016 in partnership with the Brazilian Taekwondo Confederation (CBTKD), the test event featured 64 athletes from 15 countries in four of the eight Games categories (women’s -49kg and -57kg; and men’s -58kg and +80kg).

In the women’s -49kg category, Iris Sing, the only Brazilian to have qualified for the Games, fell in the qualifiers, leaving for compatriot Talisca Reis the task of climbing atop the podium at Carioca Arena 1, which she did after a close contest against Huai-Hsuan Huang of China. Thailand’s Napaporn Charanawat and Yasmina Aziez of France completed the podium, sharing bronze.

http://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/users/Patricia%20Alves/eventotestetaekwendo20022016_fotospaulomumia_18-02-2016_0021.jpg
Talisca Reis on her way to gold at the test event (Photo: Rio 2016/Paulo Mumia)

“I THINK THAT BRAZIL IS STARTING TO SHOW THAT IT HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN IN THIS SPORT”
Talisca Reis, gold medallist at the test event

Among the women in the -57kg category, world champion Mayu Hamada of Japan confirmed her position as favourite by winning the final against Yu Chuang Chen of Chinese Taipei. Fenfen Shao of China and Canada’s Evelyn Gonda took bronze.

“THIS EVENT WAS WORTHY AS A PREVIEW OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES. IT WAS GOOD TO FIGHT HERE AND UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS WORK IN RIO”
Mayu Hamada

In the men’s competition, Iranian Armin Hadipour got the better of Bragança to win the -58kg category. Ren-Wei Dong of Chinese Taipei and Luisito Pie of the Dominican Republic ended the competition with bronze.

Among the heavyweights (+80kg), two-time world champion and current world no.2 Dmitry Shokin proved that he can continue to make history for Uzbekistan by taking gold. The podium was completed with silver for Jonathan Healy of the USA and bronze medallists Yassine Trabelsi of Tunisia and M’bar N’diaye of France.

“I WANT THE GOLD MEDAL AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES NOW. I HOPE TO BE THE FIRST FROM MY COUNTRY TO DO THIS”
Dmitry Shokin

http://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/users/Patricia%20Alves/premiacaoeventotestetaekwendo_fotospaulomumia.2102 2016_0001.jpg
Dmitry Shokin confirmed himself amongst the favourites for Olympic gold (Photo: Rio 2016/Paulo Mumia)

[Taste of Death]

So...avoid sexums with the locals.

If any of your five senses are working this will be impossible.

9711

Rio 2016!!!

[David Jamieson]

If any of your five senses are working this will be impossible.

9711

Rio 2016!!!

I'm 51 and 20 years married.

Avoiding sex with young maidens is entirely possible for me.

:D

PS thanks for the pic! lovely!

[bawang]

no pankration no watch olympic

[GeneChing]

Alas...forced relocations (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?2248-Shaolins-destruction-!!!!!!!!!!!!!&p=1290878#post1290878) aren't limited to China.



Homes bulldozed, thousands displaced leading to Rio Olympics (http://latincorrespondent.com/2016/02/homes-bulldozed-thousands-displaced-leading-to-rio-olympics/)
by Anna-Cat Brigida | 24th February 2016 | @AnnaCat_Brigida

http://cdn.latincorrespondent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/AP877960171371-940x580.jpg
A message that reads in Portuguese; "evictions with ethics," right, covers a wall on the remains of a home in the Vila Autodromo slum, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo

The Olympic games often conjure an image of fierce, competitive spirit that culminates with an athlete’s ultimate moment of glory on the podium as their country’s national anthem resounds through the stadium. But for some residents in Rio de Janeiro, the Olympics means demolished homes and forced displacement.

“Every day I leave my house without knowing if it will be standing when I get back,” Pedro Berto told BBC News. He lives in the Vila Autodromo favela, a neighborhood almost completely destroyed to make room for Olympics construction. Most of Berto’s neighbors left their homes, which have now been demolished, but Berto does not want to leave.

Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes originally said he would not force residents to relocate, but then signed a decree to push the last residents out of their homes. Berto has documents proving he owns his house, which now has a gaping hole from when his neighbor’s house was torn down.

In June, The Guardian reported that more than 500 Vila Autodromo residents willingly moved in exchange for financial compensation. Berto is part of the small percentage of residents who decided to stay, about 10 percent. The relationship between officials and remaining residents has been tense. When two homes were targeted for demolition in June, residents and police clashed leaving six wounded.

“I’m basically a prisoner.”

Homes like Berto’s now stand in the middle of a construction site, like lone islands cut off from the rest of the world. Some days Berto does not have running water or electricity, he told BBC News. He fears authorities would not be able to reach him in the case of an emergency.

“I’m basically a prisoner. I’m not part of Vila Autodromo anymore,” he said.

Berto must now present a special badge to pass construction site security to enter his neighborhood. The guards often don’t even realize that there are still residents living inside Vila Autodromo.

This is just one of the neighborhoods in Rio where Olympics development projects clash with and locals’ resistance to the change being forced upon them. More than 22,000 Rio residents have been relocated since 2009, according to a government report, although not all of these cases can be directly linked to Olympics construction.

“We were told many times that those who wished to stay would be able to do so, but we all know that’s not real. Those who continue to resist might succeed in staying,” Berto said. “What’s clear is that those who have the most money have the most rights. Those who don’t have money can fight for their rights, but they may not succeed.”

[GeneChing]

Beyond the sheer athleticism on display, this is what fascinates me about the Olympics. It's a reflection of the world at the time, a global snapshot for the history books.


Olympic chiefs give go ahead for 'refugee team' to take part at Rio 2016 (http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/03/olympic-chiefs-give-go-ahead-for-refugee-team-to-take-part-in-rio-games?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1)

More than 40 high-performance athletes, who are also refugees with no home country, have been identified as possible team members in Brazil

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3e99d7577bbf52e4486958506fe00c18b959e47e/0_0_1701_1020/master/1701.jpg
A refugee team may appear for the first time at the summer Olympics in Rio Photograph: Publicity image
Agence France-Presse

Wednesday 2 March 2016 22.40 EST Last modified on Thursday 3 March 2016 04.49 EST

A team of up to 10 refugees could take part in the Rio Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave the plan the green light on Wednesday.

So far, 43 high-performance athletes, who are also refugees, have been identified as possibly being eligible for the Games which get underway in the Brazilian city on 5 August.

“The final number of athletes that would make up this team depends of qualification criteria,” said IOC president Thomas Bach after a meeting of the body’s executive committee on Wednesday.

He added that the team would compete under the flag of the IOC.

“I can just give you my feeling, but I believe that this team could feature between five and 10 athletes,” said Bach.

“We have all been touched by the magnitude of this refugee crisis. By welcoming this team, we want to send a message of hope to all the refugees in the world.”

The IOC had already identified in December three athletes who had fled their home countries and whose skills could be of a high enough standard to feature in the 2016 Olympics.

They were a Syrian swimmer based in Germany, a judoka from the Democratic Republic of Congo who was living in Brazil and an Iranian taekwondo fighter training in Belgium.

[GeneChing]

I wonder what colours they will allow. Tiger Claw sells a lot of TKD v-necks & Poom Do Boks (https://www.tigerclaw.com/tae-kwon-do-v-neck-martial-arts-c-304.html).


Taekwondo athletes to be allowed coloured trousers for first time at Rio 2016 (http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1035192/taekwondo-athletes-to-be-allowed-coloured-trousers-for-first-time-at-rio-2016)
By Michael Pavitt Wednesday, 9 March 2016

http://www.insidethegames.biz/media/image/25059/o/kHstq7fCiAQh8zXR
Taekwondo players will be permitted to wear different coloured trousers at the Rio 2016 Games ©Getty Images

Taekwondo players will be permitted to wear different coloured trousers at the Rio 2016 Games for the first time, the sport's world governing body has announced.

The trousers will be representative of the athletes’ national team colour, with National Associations allowed to pick one colour, including white, for all their competitors to wear.

Their choice must be decided be submitted to the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) by April 30.

The idea was developed by the WTF Technical Committee, a body tasked with trying to find innovative ways for the sport to evolve and modernise.

It is hoped the move will help to deliver a more spectator friendly experience at Rio 2016, where taekwondo will be featured on the sport programme for the fifth consecutive Olympic Games.

The WTF also claim the move would help fans in both the venue and watching on televisions at home to easily identify athletes.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/media/image/25060/o/The%20decision%20has%20been%20designed%20to%20make %20athletes%20more%20identifiable%20for%20spectato rs.jpg
The decision has been designed to make athletes more identifiable for spectators ©Getty Images

“With less than five months until the opening of the Olympic Games, excitement is really building ahead of what we hope will be taekwondo’s most exciting Games yet,” said Chungwon Choue, WTF President on announcing the change.

“The introduction of coloured pants for athletes will transform the look of competition, adding to the vibrant, carnival atmosphere in Rio, and will give athletes an even greater sense of national pride as they compete for their countries.

“This is one of many innovations the WTF has introduced to bring more excitement, action and drama to the taekwondo competitions at Rio 2016.

“London 2012 was a landmark moment for our sport, but we want to build on that momentum and deliver an unforgettable experience for athletes and fans in Rio.

“This means delivering the optimum conditions for our elite athletes to be able to compete at their best, providing fair and transparent competitions and ensuring that fans are entertained before, during and after competitions.”

In February, United World Wrestling (UWW) made a similar move by no longer insisting that athletes would have to wear traditional red and blue uniforms.

The move was designed to help modernise the sport and help fans better identify who is who, with National Federations allowed to use their home colours with light and dark versions of competition gear.

The WTF Technical Committee has already helped to implement instant replay system and the introduction of impact sensors in the body and head protectors, with the latter due to be a first at Rio 2016.

While they have moved to implement coloured trousers, the WTF have also stated they are continuing to work alongside Rio 2016 to develop engagement with fans inside and outside the Carioca Arena 3 venue.

They have revealed they are looking to conduct taekwondo and Para-taekwondo demonstrations between sessions, as well as looking at ways of using Brazil’s culture to keep fans engaged during breaks in play.

[GeneChing]

Blame it on Rio...;)


Tue Apr 19, 2016 4:07pm EDT Related: SPORTS, BRAZIL
Exclusive: More Olympic projects under investigation for corruption - prosecutor (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-corruption-exclusive-idUSKCN0XG2GR?utm_source=applenews)
CURITIBA, BRAZIL | BY CAROLINE STAUFFER

http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160419&t=2&i=1133584759&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC3I1NM
Men work at a light rail system with buildings in the background at Rio's Porto Maravilha (Marvelous Port) project in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 19, 2016.
REUTERS/RICARDO MORAES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A sweeping investigation into corruption in Brazil is targeting more infrastructure projects for this year's Olympic Games than previously made public, a federal prosecutor told Reuters, citing testimony from construction companies and executives.

Carlos Lima said the probe into corruption on projects for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August was not limited to Porto Maravilha, or the "Marvelous Port", a regeneration of the city's waterfront that includes five high-rises bearing the name of U.S. property mogul and presidential candidate Donald Trump.

"There are more," Lima said in an interview in his office in the southern city of Curitiba on Monday. "There are leniency agreements underway that talk about this, but until they are finalized we will not know how many (projects) for sure."

Lima is a lead prosecutor on a task force that discovered a cartel of engineering firms siphoning kickbacks from state oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA) to political parties, a scandal fuelling a crisis that could force President Dilma Rousseff from power.

His comments were the clearest indication yet that the Olympics has become a focus of the two-year-old investigation.

The corruption allegations are not expected to hinder work on infrastructure for the Games, which is nearly finished, but they do further cloud an event set to start in the middle of Brazil's worst political and economic crises in decades.

The lower house of Brazil's Congress, many of whose members are themselves under investigation for corruption, voted on Sunday to impeach Rousseff on charges she manipulated budget accounts.

If the Senate agrees to put her on trial, as seems likely, Rousseff will be suspended for up to six months and would be unlikely to return to power.

Five engineering firms are building most of the 39 billion reais ($11 billion) worth of venues and infrastructure needed for the Olympics, the first to be held in South America. All five are under investigation for price fixing at Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known.

Latin America's largest engineering conglomerate, Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL], which is at the center of the Petrobras scandal, is involved in over half of all Olympic projects by value, according to contracts reviewed by Reuters.

Court files made public last month showed police uncovered documents from Odebrecht executives referencing 1 million reais in suspected bribes connected to the Porto Maravilha project and other kickbacks allegedly linked to a Rio metro line.

More than 20 corporate developments are planned to revitalize Rio in the downtown Porto Maravilha area - the main legacy project of the Games - including hotels and the five Trump towers.

They were announced in 2012 as the largest corporate development in any major emerging nation. Trump only sold naming rights and offered consulting on the high-rise project.

Lima said the investigation of Porto Maravilha, like other Olympic projects, was now under the jurisdiction of prosecutors in Brasilia.

That is because they involve potential kickbacks to sitting politicians, who under Brazilian law can only be judged by the Brasilia-based Supreme Court rather than Federal Judge Sergio Moro in Curitiba.

The change in jurisdiction will likely slow the investigation.

The Supreme Court has a backlog of some 50 politicians to investigate on charges that they received bribes, though Rousseff is not among them.

"We collaborate, we work together, but the pace of the 13th district is one thing, the Supreme Court is another," said Lima.

The prosecutor's office in Brasilia declined to comment.

POLITICIANS, WORLD CUP, OLYMPICS

Moro and the Curitiba-based prosecutors and police are famous across Brazil for swiftly and aggressively handling its largest-ever corruption probe. Their investigation has ensnared dozens of top businessmen and was cited by many lawmakers who voted in favor of Rousseff being impeached.

Plea bargains and leniency deals, relatively new legal tools in Brazil, have been key to cracking the case and helping investigators find hard evidence. However, defense lawyers and some independent analysts have criticized the use of lengthy pre-trial detentions of dozens of suspects.

Corruption allegations are now spreading to stadiums built for the 2014 World Cup and the Olympics, two events that were meant to showcase Brazil's rise as a modern global economic power.

On March 22, the same day prosecutors publicly accused Odebrecht of graft involving World Cup stadiums and Porto Maravilha, the company said it would seek to collaborate with the investigation and aim for a leniency agreement and plea deals for its executives.

The other four companies involved in much of the rest of the Olympic work are OAS SA [OAS.UL], Andrade Gutierrez SA, Queiroz Galvao SA, and Carioca Christiani Nielsen Engenharia SA.

Odebrecht, Andrade Gutierrez and Queiroz Galvao declined to comment. The other companies did not respond to requests for comment. Lima did not specify which company or companies had mentioned Olympic projects in testimony.

The city of Rio de Janeiro is overseeing the bulk of the Olympic construction projects, though a few are financed by the federal or state government and Rio 2016, the local organizing committee, handles some non-permanent structures like seating.

Rio's city government said the contracts were mostly funded with private resources and that all bids were overseen by regulators. Rio 2016 referred Reuters to City Hall.

The International Olympic Committee did not respond to request for comment.

(Additional reporting by Brad Brooks; Editing by Daniel Flynn)

[GeneChing]

April 22, 2016 BN Staff
Olympic Games Countdown: The Dragon stirs (http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/olympic-games-countdown-the-dragon-stirs/)
Chris Kempson on the growing might of China in the Olympic Games

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/-Zhilei.jpg
Action Images

GIVEN that China, or to give its proper title The Peoples Republic of China (PRC for short), is the most populous country in the world with around 1.4 billion inhabitants, one could muse that it might, perhaps should, have a better record of medal achievement in amateur boxing at the Olympics.

That said, boxing is not at the real forefront of PRC, a country which plays and supports many kinds of sport, with basketball remaining the country’s main attraction for its sporting spectators.

A curious background to sport existed when Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution got underway when competitive sports were banned and it was not until the 1980s that amateur boxing began to emerge as a valued and prestigious sport which could help advance the country’s communist philosophy challenging the free market practices in the West. Success including sporting success is a fine tool to advance communist philosophy and it mirrors much of what happened in the former Soviet Union and their east European satellite states, first in the days of the Cold War and it lasted until the yoke of communism was removed from the old Soviet Union and its puppet satellite domains a good few years later.

PRC entered two boxers in the 1988 Games, Weiping Wang at flyweight and Dong Liu at featherweight, although neither of them cut the mustard in Seoul, in South Korea and no medals were achieved. However PRC were at last on the Olympic boxing map and things could only get better; and they eventually did!

Four boxers went to Barcelona, three to Atlanta in 1996 and another three to Sydney in 2000, without any medal reward.

The first medal, a bronze, was obtained in Athens in 2004 by Zou Shiming at light-flyweight and what an outstanding boxer he eventually proved to be. The other five boxers returned home empty handed.

As is often the case with host countries they rise to the occasion and the PRC certainly did in Beijing in 2008, landing two golds, a silver and a bronze – from their ten participants- their largest medal haul to date at any Games and they topped the overall boxing medal table on this occasion Their heroes were: the phenomenal Zou Shiming who won the host country’s first ever gold medal at light-flyweight; Zhang Xiaoping won their second, up at light-heavyweight defeating Ireland’s Kenneth Egan in the final. Super-heavyweight Zhang Zhilei claimed silver, while Hanati Silamu achieved bronze at welterweight. Zhilei was, of course, outpointed in London 2012 by our own gold medallist, Anthony Joshua, the former returning home without a medal on this occasion 10 boxers at the Beijing Games was the highest total to date of Chinese entrants.

London 2012 proved to be a somewhat quiet Games for the PRC, one gold and one silver and a bronze being the medal tally for the most populous country in the world; the heady days of Beijing, decidedly not being repeated.

The incredibly talented Zou Shiming retained his Olympic light-flyweight title, thus joining a select band of dual gold medallists, not forgetting his “warm up” bronze in 2004. To win back to back golds in any era is an outstanding achievement and without doubt, so far, Zou is the PRC’s greatest ever amateur boxer. Women accounted for the other two medallists. At flyweight Ren Cancan took silver losing in the final to our own Nicola Adams who became the first ever women’s Olympic gold medallist. At middleweight, Li Jinzi weighed in with a bronze to complete the PRC’s medal tally.

So, what will Rio 2016 bring, further success perhaps or medal stalemate? We shall see. The Chinese journey is still very much ongoing, one expects it will continue to flourish for some time to come. The Dragon has finally woken from its slumbers.

We had a lead on Zou Shiming for a story, but it fell through.

[GeneChing]

Chinese fencers robbed at Rio
(http://www.socialnews.xyz/2016/04/chinese-fencers-robbed-at-rio/)POSTED BY: GOPI APRIL 24, 2016

Rio de Janeiro, April 24 (IANS) Chinese women taking part in the Rio Fencing Grand Prix and the Team World Championship finals have been robbed here.

The fencers and their coaches were robbed as they made their way from a seaside supermarket to their hotel with a trolley after buying bottles of water, reports Xinhua.

Three to four Brazilian teenagers came up to them. One tried to snatch the necklace of Xu Anqi, the world No.1 woman epee fencer. As Xu held on to her necklace and her teammates came around, the robbers fled.

"I'm familiar with Rio but this time I feel a bit afraid after being robbed," said Xu after clinching the silver medal in Saturday's women's epee individual event.

Meanwhile, two shooters from the Chinese team also on Saturday saw their credit cards charged by unauthorized payments.

With less than four months towards the Rio Olympics, security concerns are again drawing attention, Xinhua said.

An estimated 500,000 tourists and athletes are expected to descend on Rio during the Olympics. Brazilian security officials are under pressure to tighten security for the most complex sporting event ever.

The country will employ roughly 85,000 security agents during the Olympics this August, more than twice the number at the London Olympic Games.

If only they had their swords (http://www.martialartsmart.com/45-52.html)...:rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

So much trepidation. I always hope the best for the Olympics.


With Brazil in Turmoil, Rio Counts Down to Olympics (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/sports/olympics/rio-olympics-brazil-in-turmoil-countdown.html?_r=0)
By REBECCA R. RUIZAPRIL 27, 2016

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/04/28/sports/28olympics-1/28olympics-1-master768.jpg
With less than 100 days to go before the Rio de Janeiro Games, the race to be ready is intensifying amid Brazil’s economic and political problems. Credit Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s president is facing impeachment. The country’s economy is in sharp decline. Bodies of water that will be used for Olympic competitions are polluted, and global public health officials are trying to tamp down the Zika virus epidemic.

With less than 100 days before the Olympic Games come to South America for the first time, Rio de Janeiro faces more than the usual challenges that bedevil host cities, like delayed stadium construction and transportation concerns. (Rio has those, too.)

The mood here, however, is hardly one of panic. Officials in charge of executing the Summer Games say they feel insulated from Brazil’s turmoil at this late stage. The Olympics, after all, tend to exist in their own bubble, elaborately coordinated to ensure that the multibillion-dollar operation goes off smoothly.

“The machine is in place, and it’s relatively stable,” Ricardo Leyser, Brazil’s sports minister, said in an interview this week. “My biggest concern isn’t any individual issue. It’s the small demands that all come at once.”

Local organizers are beginning to lay colorful comforters — patterned with the silhouettes of cartoon cyclists, fencers and swimmers — on the twin beds in the athletes’ village. They are monitoring the growth of 14-month-old grass that will be transplanted to Maracanã, the storied soccer stadium that will also be used for the opening and closing ceremonies. They are pulling trash from Guanabara Bay, where the Games’ sailing events will be held; mopping up standing water to minimize mosquito breeding; and ramping up a round-the-clock security operation — all while publicly expressing little worry about the unrest encircling them.

On Wednesday, with the handoff of the Olympic flame in Greece and the start of a journey that in little more than a week will bring it to Brazil, the official countdown to the Aug. 5 opening ceremony began.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/04/28/sports/28olympics-2/28olympics-2-master675.jpg
The permanent venues for competitions in Rio are mostly complete. In early April, workers cleaned the Future Arena, a temporary venue for Olympic handball. Credit Felipe Dana/Associated Press

In Rio, the race to be ready is intensifying, with construction workers here still laboring on mass transit projects that were key promises seven years ago in the city’s bid to host the Games. Costing several billion dollars, those projects include a new subway line and express bus lanes that connect the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca to the rest of the city, which is expected to swell with more than half a million visitors.

As the value of the Brazilian real has drastically declined over the last year, some have expressed doubt that the transit projects will materialize beyond the sleek, modernist weather shelters that have been built at various stations. At a news conference Wednesday, the city’s secretary of transportation said the new routes would be ready in time but did not specify when.

To the vast majority of people watching the Games on television, however, such infrastructure may not matter.

The permanent venues for competitions here are mostly complete — all but those for tennis and track cycling — and athletes from around the world have competed in dozens of test events in Rio in recent months. “It’s about the filling of the cake,” Mr. Leyser said. “It’s not about the stadiums; it’s about the scoreboards.”

As of the latest counts, 62 percent of the 5.7 million tickets on the market had been sold — roughly half of the total tickets for the Olympics — and 24 percent of tickets available for the Paralympics had been sold. But compared with past Olympics, the buyers of those tickets may be disproportionately international, said Andrew Parsons, the president of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee.

For some Brazilians, the country’s political and economic crises have cast a shadow on the celebration. President Dilma Rousseff’s ouster looks increasingly likely amid a sweeping graft scandal, and those in line to succeed her have their own controversies hanging over them.

Questions of corruption have extended to Olympics planning, particularly after a businessman who worked on many Olympic projects in Rio was convicted of corruption and money laundering related to separate contracts. Mr. Leyser said that the questions centered on irregularities at the Deodoro event site and that no public official had been accused of wrongdoing.

“It’s more an administrative issue than a corruption scheme,” he said. “It’s basically a question of the numbers.”

Mr. Leyser called the devaluation of Brazil’s currency an opportunity because it increases the buying power of foreign money coming into Brazil for the Games.

But not everyone sees the event as a boon to the country. Shirlei Alves, who lives in the Santa Marta favela of Rio, criticized the government for spending on the Olympics in the face of Brazil’s problems.

“The world is just getting worse here,” Ms. Alves said, noting that she was without medication and electricity. “The government is making a mistake. I’d like if they’d take a better look at the poor people and not help people who are already rich.”

Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio, said Wednesday that the city had a “comfortable financial situation” and had spent on stadium construction 1 percent of what it spent on health education.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/04/28/sports/28OLYMPICS2/28OLYMPICS2-master675.jpg
Health workers in Rio spraying insecticide to combat the mosquito that transmits the Zika virus. Credit Leo Correa/Associated Press

“I know people are skeptical,” Mr. Paes said, citing the “huge deliverables” for the Olympics. “Of course the situation here has been difficult. But there is a commitment of the Brazilian state to deliver the Olympics.”

Perhaps the most vexing issue for local organizers — the one that may stir anxiety among athletes and spectators — is the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects and temporary paralysis. Zika is of greater concern outside Rio, in the far north part of Brazil, but the World Health Organization has declared the virus a global public health emergency and has advised pregnant women not to travel anywhere in Brazil.

“The Olympics is a pretty effective way of taking whatever disease is local and making it global,” said Ashish K. Jha, director of the Global Health Institute at Harvard.

Some scientists have suggested that by the time the Olympics start in August — wintertime in Brazil, when mosquitoes are less numerous — the virus might be more prevalent in the southern United States.

“Zika’s been spreading effectively on its own, but there’s very good reason to think the Olympics will accelerate the spread,” Dr. Jha said.

But the virus poses a unique problem because it is so far beyond the control of local organizing officials, and so many questions about it remain unanswered. Few athletes have publicly expressed concern, but it is unclear how many might withdraw as the Games draw closer.

“At this point you just keep going,” David Wallechinsky, an Olympics historian, said. “You have to continue as if everything’s going to be fine. These are real concerns — Zika, the water quality. But even if Dilma is forced out of office, it’s not going to stop the Olympics.”

A version of this article appears in print on April 28, 2016, on page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: The Calm Beneath the Storm

[GeneChing]

...but maybe not this year. :(


With impeachment trial set, what we know about Rio Olympics (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/05/12/impeachment-trial-set-rio-olympics/84275984/)
Rachel Axon, USA TODAY Sports 10:53 a.m. EDT May 12, 2016

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/308e3d47a2252316a4d1a06717823b75ee829437/c=277-0-4622-3267&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2016/04/26/USATODAY/USATODAY/635972735357427440-AFP-550866660-81155436.JPG
(Photo: YASUYOSHI CHIBA, AFP/Getty Images)

With less than three months to go until the start of the Summer Olympics, Rio finds itself mired in myriad issues. Here’s a look at the problems facing the country, host organizers and ultimately the athletes and personnel who will travel to the Games:

Presidential problems: The president of the Olympic host country typically opens the Games, but it’s unlikely Dilma Rousseff will be doing so when they begin Aug. 5 in Maracana Stadium. The Brazilian Senate voted Thursday morning to begin an impeachment trial against Rousseff, a process that could take six months, for breaking spending accounting rules. Vice President Michel Temer, who himself has been forced to pay a fine for violating campaign finance limits, will serve as the country's leader in the interim.

Following news of Rousseff’s impeachment, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told the Associated Press that the IOC will work with the new government.

Zika virus: The mosquito-borne illness that has spread to 58 countries and territories globally, mostly within Central and South America, continues to cause concern for the upcoming Games. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised women who are pregnant to avoid traveling to affected areas because the virus has been shown to cause microcephaly, a birth defect that can cause babies to be born with small heads and developmental delays.

U.S. water polo captain Tony Azevedo told US Weekly that his pregnant wife, Sara, is not likely to travel to the Olympics. Goalkeeper Hope Solo told CNBC this week that she plans to remain in her hotel room outside of practices and competition.

While organizers, the IOC and the World Health Organization – which has declared the virus’ spread an international health pandemic – have continued to maintain that the Games will be safe because they’ll occur during Rio’s winter when there are fewer mosquitoes, at least one professor has argued the Games should be postponed because of the threat of Zika.

Writing in the Harvard Public Health Review, University of Ottawa’s Amir Attan, a professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said the Olympics should be moved or postponed because of the threat they pose to the spread of the virus.

Venue update: One more competition venue is ready to go after the completion of the boxing arena on Thursday. The arena, which will also host volleyball competition, was originally scheduled to be a temporary structure but was made a permanent one that will serve as a theater after the Games.

The velodrome, which will host track cycling, has not been completed and a test event had to be canceled, but organizers have issued assurances that it would be done before opening ceremonies on Aug. 5.

Anti-doping issue: The biggest anti-doping question yet to be answered is whether Russia’s track and field team will be allowed to compete in Rio. It has been suspended since November, when a World Anti-Doping Agency independent commission found state-sponsored doping in the sport. The IAAF is set to decide on the team’s suspension on June 17.

Since the release of the report, athletes from around the world have asked WADA to continue looking into whether Russian state-sponsored doping exists in other sports, as was suggested by the report. In a report from 60 Minutes this week, Vitaly Stepanov, the former Russian anti-doping official turned whistleblower, disclosed that the state-sponsored program extended to the 2014 Winter Olympics, which Russia hosted in Sochi. In secretly recorded Skype conversations with Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow lab, Stepanov said he was told of a Sochi list of athletes who competed while doping, including four who won gold medals. Rodchenkov said Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) officers served as doping control officers during the Games. In response, WADA has said it will investigate the latest claims.

Meldonium cases: The Latvian drug has caused waves through the anti-doping community since it was banned in January, with at least 288 athletes from mostly Russia and Eastern European countries testing positive. Prompted by complaints from athletes that they stopped taking the drug before it was banned but still tested positive for it, WADA has offered guidance for international federations on how to handle those cases in ways that could offer a loophole and allow athletes to continue competing.

The U.S. team gained another place in the freestyle wrestling lineup after United World Wrestling announced Wednesday that it stripped spots from countries whose athletes tested positive in previous tournaments.

[SteveLau]

Can't believe it is this summer already.
Felt like London was just 4 year ago, ;P

Looking forward to judo, wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, track and field, swimming, diving, in short, everything !

LOL


Yep. So time flies by, and this is Olympic year again. Even without the Zika outbreak, Brazil is still a very questionable candidate to host the Game. Of course, I hope for the best. Let's the Game runs smoothly and be successful.

I will watch the events as much as possible: track and field, swimming, TKD, table tennis, diving.


Regards,

KC
Hong Kong

[GeneChing]

Meanwhile, our cover story from our MAY+JUNE 2016 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1289) issue is now available for free online, and it's relevant to this here thread: The Olympic Martial Arts of Asia (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1293) By Gene Ching and Gigi Oh

:cool:

[GeneChing]

China unveils 'tomato and eggs' 2016 Olympic uniform (http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/01/sport/china-olympic-uniform/index.html)
By Robert Sawatzky, for CNN
Updated 10:49 AM ET, Wed June 1, 2016

Zika-proof uniforms for Olympic athletes 01:02

Story highlights
Chinese male athletes will wear red coats, female competitors will wear yellow
Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs are a common Chinese dish
Hong Kong (CNN)The idea was to wrap Chinese athletes in the flag.

Instead, the team being sent to the Rio Olympics this year will be wearing what some have likened to "stir-fried tomatoes and eggs."
It's not a unique criticism.
For years, China's national colors of red and yellow have attracted unflattering comment when used as inspiration for team uniforms.
"It's 'fried eggs with tomato' again," tweeted state media People's Daily.


Follow
People's Daily,China (https://twitter.com/PDChina/status/737898896853225472/photo/1) ✔ ‎@PDChina
Uniform for Chinese delegation to Rio Olympics unveiled: it's 'fried eggs with tomato' again http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0601/c98649-9066521.html …
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cj2LIp5WgAAS5CI.jpg
11:49 PM - 31 May 2016
32 32 Retweets 52 52 likes


"Stir fried tomatoes and eggs never change. Can't you use a different color? It's so ugly," said Weibo user @zhuzhuzhuzhurou.
Another, @woshiyamiedie, slammed the outfits as too Western. "Don't we have our own style? As for colors, even though it's national flag colors, there must be a smarter way to use them."
The uniform features a red coat, white shirt and patterned tie for male competitors. Female athletes will wear a yellow coat, white shirt and skirt.
A number of countries have unveiled their team uniforms ahead of the 2016 Games, even as doctors urge the World Health Organization to postpone or move them due to fears the Zika virus will spread.
South Korea has infused its new Olympic wear with insect repellant to reduce the threat of infection.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160429101815-south-korea-olympics-exlarge-169.jpg
South Korean Olympians and models pose during the uniform launch, April 27, Seoul.

Australian designers also opted for blazers, with the added twist of a lining that features the names of past gold medalists.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160601172326-australia-olympic-2016-uniform-exlarge-169.jpg
The Australian team uniform was unveiled in Sydney in March.

Germany opted for a casual look.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160429112857-german-team-casual-exlarge-169.jpg
The German team kit for Rio 2016.

For Team GB, designers took inspiration from the British Coat of Arms to create "cutting-edge designs mixing tradition with 21st Century attitude."
Meanwhile, Team USA was careful to make this year's Polo Ralph Lauren uniforms in the United States, to avoid the backlash faced in 2012 when they were made in China.
While China has stuck closely to the colors of its flag, another country dealing with red and yellow has taken a different tack. Spain has opted for a more subdued combination of red and blue.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160601175922-spain-olympic-team-kit-uniform-exlarge-169.jpeg
Spain has opted to abandoned heavy yellow accents for red and blue.

The designer of China's kit Ye Chaoying told Chinese state news agency Xinhua that "we hope our athletes will feel like wearing our national flag" as they enter the stadium when the Games open in August in Rio.
Chaoying's family business, the Hengyuanxiang Group has been Chinese athletes' clothing sponsor since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He has reportedly embraced the reaction to his bold designs by dubbing himself "The father of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs".

I'm rather fond of tomato and eggs, but for breakfast, not as a uniform.

[GeneChing]

There's a vid too. Couldn't cut&paste the infographic.


Olympic Games: Is Rio ready? (http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/09/sport/olympics-is-rio-ready/index.html)
By Nick Paton Walsh and Vasco Cotovio, CNN
Updated 12:15 AM ET, Thu June 9, 2016

Rio de Janeiro (CNN)There's a pretty big question in Rio that doesn't have an answer just yet. How do the countless Olympic guests expected to stay in the luxury hotels lining the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema get from there to the Olympic Park without being stuck in hours of Rio's least popular asset: its traffic?

The city thought it had a ready answer: an extension to its subway system, the Metro, known as Line 4, that would go from the beach areas, under all the car-clogged roads, almost all the way to the Olympic Park.
But with Brazil reeling from unprecedented political and economic turmoil, the plan hit a snag; it was meant to be ready in July, but organizers announced recently the timing would be a little tighter than expected.
It is now due to open on August 1 -- just four days before the Games begin.
Today, the subway station nearest the Olympic Park is a hive of activity, packed with workers doing what organizers say are tests on the equipment, but clearly also some construction too.
Rodrigo Vieira, secretary of transportation for the state of Rio, is on hand to check on progress. Over the noise of construction work, he told us: "We are completely sure that everything will be done by August 1.
"Of course the schedule is tight, but we have 8,000 people working during the days and nights. Everything is on schedule."

Final preparations
Across the city, the sound of jackhammers is at times overwhelming, as the city moves as fast as it can to fix the last bolts and apply the final coats of polish, ahead of the Opening Ceremony on August 5.
The highways all the way to the Olympic Park are lined with last-minute construction; it's a dash to the finish line you often see ahead of huge sporting events, but one that has left some a little more disconcerted than usual, given the upheaval Brazil is going through at the moment.
Cabinet resignations, a bid to impeach former President Dilma Rousseff, an outbreak of Zika virus, a financial crisis -- most countries could be forgiven for giving up even halfway through a list like that, but Brazil is fighting on.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160608181939-rio-de-janeiro-vila-autodromo-olympic-park-exlarge-169.jpg

When we visited the edge of the Olympic Park with just 66 days to go to the Games, another struggle was in evidence.
It was being led by Maria da Penha and Sandra Daniel. They are residents of a collection of homes called Vila Autodromo and for months they have steadfastly refused to get out of the way of the Olympic juggernaut.
When we visited the community in February, it was a few houses stronger. Now it is mostly rubble. The community of hold-outs has shrunk -- some enticed away by new homes elsewhere.
Maria da Penha amid the rubble of Rio de Janeiro's Vila Autodromo neighborhood near the city's Olympic Park.
Maria da Penha amid the rubble of Rio de Janeiro's Vila Autodromo neighborhood near the city's Olympic Park.
But Sandra and Maria are staying put, waiting for new homes that the state is rushing to build, just a few meters away from their original houses.
Is Maria concerned the government might try to move her on before the Games? "I'm not afraid, as I don't think they can," she says. "Especially because it is very close to the Olympics. And if that happens we will start a protest right in the middle of the Olympics."

[GeneChing]

This is just getting gross.


Sat Jun 11, 2016 10:57am
Exclusive: Studies find 'super bacteria' in Rio's Olympic venues, top beaches (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-superbacteria-exclusive-idUSKCN0YW2E8?utm_source=applenews)
RIO DE JANEIRO | BY BRAD BROOKS

http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160610&t=2&i=1140850766&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC591LZ
A man runs next to sewage system flowing on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 9, 2016.
REUTERS/SERGIO MORAES

Scientists have found dangerous drug-resistant "super bacteria" off beaches in Rio de Janeiro that will host Olympic swimming events and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete when the Games start on Aug. 5.

The findings from two unpublished academic studies seen by Reuters concern Rio's most popular spots for tourists and greatly increase the areas known to be infected by the microbes normally found only in hospitals.

They also heighten concerns that Rio's sewage-infested waterways are unsafe.

A study published in late 2014 had shown the presence of the super bacteria - classified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an urgent public health threat - off one of the beaches in Guanabara Bay, where sailing and wind-surfing events will be held during the Games.

The first of the two new studies, reviewed in September by scientists at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Diego, showed the presence of the microbes at five of Rio's showcase beaches, including the ocean-front Copacabana, where open-water and triathlon swimming will take place.

The other four were Ipanema, Leblon, Botafogo and Flamengo.

The super bacteria can cause hard-to-treat urinary, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and bloodstream infections, along with meningitis. The CDC says studies show that these bacteria contribute to death in up to half of patients infected.

The second new study, by the Brazilian federal government's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation lab, which will be published next month by the American Society for Microbiology, found the genes of super bacteria in the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon in the heart of Rio and in a river that empties into Guanabara Bay.

Waste from countless hospitals, in addition to hundreds of thousands of households, pours into storm drains, rivers and streams crisscrossing Rio, allowing the super bacteria to spread outside the city's hospitals in recent years.

Renata Picao, a professor at Rio's federal university and lead researcher of the first study, said the contamination of Rio's famous beaches was the result of a lack of basic sanitation in the metropolitan area of 12 million people.

"These bacteria should not be present in these waters. They should not be present in the sea," said Picao from her lab in northern Rio, itself enveloped by stench from Guanabara Bay.

Cleaning the city's waterways was meant to be one of the Games' greatest legacies and a high-profile promise in the official 2009 bid document Rio used to win the right to host South America's first Olympics.

That goal has instead transformed into an embarrassing failure, with athletes lamenting the stench of sewage and complaining about debris that bangs into and clings to boats in Guanabara Bay, potential hazards for a fair competition.

SITUATION GETTING WORSE

Picao's study, which has undergone internal reviews at Rio's federal university, analyzed water samples taken between September 2013 and September 2014. Using 10 samples taken at five beach locations, the study found super bacteria were most present at Botafogo beach, where all samples were positive.

Flamengo beach, where spectators will gather to watch Olympic sailors vie for medals, had the super bacteria in 90 percent of samples. Ten percent of Copacabana's samples had the microbes.

Ipanema and Leblon beaches, the most popular with tourists, had samples that tested positive for super bacteria 50 and 60 percent of the time, respectively.

The Oswaldo Cruz study of the Olympic lagoon, which was peer reviewed, is based on water samples taken in 2013. It found that the lake is a potential breeding ground for super bacteria and their spread through the city.

While the studies both use water samples that are from 2013 and 2014, Picao and other experts said they had seen no advances in sewerage infrastructure in Rio to improve the situation.

Valerie Harwood, an expert in recreational water contamination and antibiotic-resistant bacteria at the University of South Florida who was not involved in the studies, said that if anything, things were getting worse, as the super bacteria naturally spread by infecting other microbes.

The contamination has prompted federal police and prosecutors to investigate whether Rio's water utility Cedae is committing environmental crimes by lying about how much sewage it treats. Investigators are also looking into where billions of dollars in funds went since the early 1990s, money earmarked to improve sewage services and clean Guanabara Bay.

Cedae has denied any wrongdoing. It said in an emailed statement that any super bacteria found at the beaches or the Olympic lagoon must be the result of illegal dumping into storm drains. Cedae said it carries out sewage treatment and collection in the entire "south zone" of Rio, where the bodies of water are located and where the water samples were taken.

'LIKE CANDY'

Five scientists consulted by Reuters said the immediate risk to people's health when faced with super bacteria infection depends on the state of their immune systems.

These bacteria are opportunistic microbes that can enter the body, lie dormant, then attack at a later date when a healthy person may fall ill for another reason.

Super bacteria infect not only humans but also otherwise-harmless bacteria present in the waters, turning them into antibiotic-resistant germs.

Harwood said the super bacteria genes discovered in the Olympic lagoon were probably not harmful if swallowed by themselves: they need to be cocooned inside of a bacterium.

"Those genes are like candy. They are organic molecules and they'll be eaten up by other bacteria, other organisms," Harwood said. "That's where the danger is - if a person then ingests that infected organism - because it will make it through their gastrointestinal tract and potentially make someone ill."

The presence of the super bacteria genes in the lagoon indicates the bacteria themselves had recently died or simply were not detected by testing, Harwood said.

Health experts say Rio's poor wastewater management has already created endemic illnesses associated with sewage that disproportionately impact the city's poor, including gastrointestinal and respiratory problems, Hepatitis A and severe heart and brain conditions.

Rio's Olympic organizing committee referred questions on water quality to state authorities.

Rio state's Inea environmental agency said in an emailed statement it follows the World Health Organization's recommendations for testing recreational water safety, and that searching for super bacteria is not included in that. It also said there was a lack of studies about the bacteria in water and health outcomes.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks; Editing by Will Dunham)

[GeneChing]

This just keeps going from bad to worse.


Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:29am EDT
Amazon jaguar shot dead after Olympic torch ceremony (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-jaguar-idUSKCN0Z72P4?utm_source=applenews)
RIO DE JANEIRO | BY STEPHEN EISENHAMMER

A jaguar featured at an Olympic torch ceremony was shot dead by a soldier shortly after the event in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus as the animal escaped from its handlers, an army statement said.

The jaguar was killed on Monday at a zoo attached to a military training center where the Olympic torch ceremony was held. A soldier fired a single pistol shot when the escaped animal, despite being tranquilized, approached the soldier, the army said.

"We made a mistake in permitting the Olympic torch, a symbol of peace and unity, to be exhibited alongside a chained wild animal. This image goes against our beliefs and our values," the local organizing committee Rio 2016 said in a statement.

"We guarantee that there will be no more such incidents at Rio 2016," the committee added.

A cartoon smiling yellow jaguar known as Ginga is the mascot of the Brazilian Olympic team.

The jaguar is a near-threatened species that is already extinct in Uruguay and El Salvador, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The shooting caused uproar among animal rights groups, which pointed to the recent killing of a gorilla at a Cincinnati zoo and alligators at Walt Disney World in Orlando as evidence of flawed policy towards wild animals. Many questioned why the animal was involved in the Olympic event.

"When will we learn? Wild animals held captive and forced to do things that are frightening, sometimes painful, and always unnatural are ticking time bombs — our actions put them and humans at risk," Brittany Peet, director of captive animal law enforcement at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said in a statement.

In Brazil, the Rio de Janeiro-based animal rights group Animal Freedom Union asked the same question.

"When will people (and institutions) stop with this sick need to show power and control by confining, taming and showcasing wild animals?" it said on its Facebook page.

"This needs to stop," tweeted Animal Justice, a Canadian animal law organization.

The use of Juma, as the jaguar was known, at the event was also illegal, according to Ipaam, the Amazonas state government environmental authority that oversees the use of wild animals.

"No request was made to authorize the participation of the jaguar "Juma" in the event of the Olympic torch," Ipaam said in a statement. Ipaam said it is investigating the incident.

(Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Dan Grebler and Sandra Maler)


http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160621&t=2&i=1142283276&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC5K1M9
Brazilian physiotherapist Igor Simoes Andrade poses for picture next to jaguar Juma as he takes part in the Olympic Flame torch relay in Manaus, Brazil, June 20, 2016. Picture taken June 20, 2016.
REUTERS/MARCIO MELO

[Jimbo]

It's freaky how quickly time flies by. The 2012 London Olympics does NOT seem like 4 years ago. Even Beijing doesn't seem that long ago.

Wishing the best for this Olympics. All the problems leading up to it almost seems like a message to "abort mission". My biggest concern is people (athletes, but especially international audience members) contracting Zika and unknowingly taking it back and spreading it to other countries. I've heard of several Olympians who have decided to forego Rio because of that risk.

[GeneChing]

And then there's the Russian doping scandal...:rolleyes:


Rio Drug-Testing Lab Is Suspended by Antidoping Regulator (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/sports/olympics/rio-drug-testing-lab-is-suspended-by-wada.html?_r=0)
By REBECCA R. RUIZJUNE 24, 2016

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/06/25/sports/25olympics-web/25olympics-web-master768.jpg
The World Anti-Doping Agency scrambled the fight against doping only weeks before the Rio Games are to begin in Brazil. Credit Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Six weeks before the Summer Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro, the laboratory that was set to handle drug testing at the Games has been suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency in a new escalation of the doping crisis in international sports.

WADA — the global regulator of doping in sports that oversees three dozen testing labs around the world — confirmed the suspension Friday, citing the Rio lab’s “nonconformity” with international standards.

The lab has a prior disciplinary record and is one of a handful of labs that have had their certification to conduct drug testing revoked in WADA’s 17-year history. Among those is Moscow’s antidoping lab, which was disciplined last fall following accusations of a government-run doping program in Russia.

Those allegations have prompted global sports officials to bar Russian track and field competitors from the Rio Games. At the urging of Olympic officials, 27 other Summer Olympics sports organizations are scrutinizing athletes from Russia and Kenya, another country facing accusations of widespread doping, ahead of the Games.

The Rio suspension not only presents new logistical hurdles to testing at the Games but also highlights growing concern over an antidoping system in disarray that extends to how WADA itself operates.

WADA has come under scrutiny for taking years to act on whistle-blower tips about doping in Russia and for approving Russia’s antidoping lab to lead testing at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 even amid questions about that lab’s integrity.

On Friday, WADA did not specify the issues with the Rio facility that had prompted the suspension. A person familiar with the lab’s operations, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the investigation centered on a specific case.

The Rio lab was previously suspended in 2013 — the year before Brazil hosted soccer’s World Cup — and was reinstated by WADA last year.

To win back its certification, the lab had spent roughly 200 million Brazilian reais ($60 million) to train more than 90 technicians and retrofit three floors of facilities at a federal university in Rio. That project necessitated a substantial commitment of government money in the face of a serious recession.

In an interview last spring, Francisco Radler de Aquino Neto, a chemical scientist and the director of the Rio facility, credited firm support from the federal government for improvements.

Dilma Rousseff, who was removed as Brazil’s president this year amid a sweeping graft scandal, signed a measure in March to ensure that the lab’s policies were changed to conform with global standards so that its certification to run Olympic testing was not revoked.

The new suspension took effect on Wednesday, according to WADA. The lab has the option of filing an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland within 21 days.

While under suspension, the lab is barred from conducting any antidoping analysis on urine and blood samples. It was unclear Friday if the issue would be resolved — and the suspension lifted — in time for the Olympics, though officials expressed skepticism that such a reversal could happen so quickly.

In the meantime, WADA said that it would transfer any samples at the lab to a facility outside Brazil for testing.

“WADA will work closely with the Rio laboratory to resolve the identified issue,” Olivier Niggli, WADA’s incoming director general, said in the organization’s statement. “Athletes can have confidence that the suspension will only be lifted by WADA when the laboratory is operating optimally.”

The lab’s previous suspension coincided with the 2014 World Cup, forcing organizers to send athletes’ doping samples to Switzerland for testing. FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, bore the cost.

If the Rio lab is not recertified in time for the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee would be responsible for arranging to have doping samples taken to another WADA-approved lab.

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Earlier this month, WADA’s president, Craig Reedie, stressed the necessity of a local testing lab at the Olympics. Compared to the World Cup, he said, the pace of Olympic testing and competition is far more intense.

“You’re in the first round of the 100 meters at 10 o’clock in the morning and the second round at 2 o’clock in the afternoon,” Mr. Reedie said. “We need a laboratory on site at the Olympic Games.”

Just two years ago, facing enormous pressure to have an on-site laboratory at Sochi, Mr. Reedie permitted the Russian lab to conduct testing for the Games despite suspicious test results that had prompted a WADA investigation.

The longtime director of Russia’s lab, Grigory Rodchenkov, told The New York Times that after he was cleared to run the Sochi lab, he had tampered with roughly 100 of the 1,917 urine samples the facility tested. He said he had substituted out the steroid-laced urine of dozens of Russian athletes, at least 15 of whom won medals at Sochi — where Russia placed first in the overall medal count.

Mr. Reedie, who signed a certificate in January 2014 that allowed Dr. Rodchenkov to direct testing at Sochi, has defended that decision.

“The suspension was suspended provided they met certain tests over a short period, which they did,” Mr. Reedie said in an interview in Switzerland this month. “Hindsight is an exact science.”

In 2014, WADA’s independent observation team called the Sochi lab “a milestone in the evolution of the Olympic Games antidoping program.” But in recent months — as attention has focused on the global regulator, and after new rules took effect in 2015 — WADA has announced an unusual flurry of new disciplinary actions.

About a quarter of the lab suspensions published on WADA’s website have taken place in 2016. In the last three months alone, WADA announced more suspensions than it had in the preceding three years combined. Those suspensions — of antidoping labs in Beijing; Lisbon; Madrid; Bloemfontein, South Africa; and now Rio — affect more than 10 percent of WADA’s testing facilities.

The agency, which oversees individual countries’ antidoping programs as well, has also disciplined national antidoping agencies at significantly higher rates since last fall.

“We’re seeing a whole lot more scrutiny now,” said Joseph de Pencier, the founding chief executive of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations, a trade group that has been funded by WADA. “WADA is realizing it should function like a financial regulator.”

At a November meeting in Colorado — days after WADA had published an explosive report on Russia — WADA’s board resolved to be stricter, and Mr. Reedie said in a statement that the organization would have a “greater focus” on ensuring countries played by the rules.

Since then, the antidoping agencies of countries including Kenya and Russia have been sanctioned, either because the countries’ policies were out of line with global standards or because the agencies made technical mistakes such as sending doping samples to an unapproved lab.

For a national antidoping agency to be disciplined by WADA means little in itself, but depriving a country of WADA’s endorsement is a powerful signal.

Still, in an interview in Los Angeles last month, Dr. Rodchenkov minimized the rigor of WADA’s scientific vetting process during the 10 years he headed Russia’s lab.

“WADA is a kindergarten,” Dr. Rodchenkov said. But he called WADA’s seal of approval crucial to delivering on the cheating scheme he said he had carried out on orders from the Russian government. “You cannot do state-sponsored doping without access to top-level accredited laboratory,” he said.

Though WADA revoked the accreditation of Russia’s lab in the wake of the accusations, the agency cleared the facility last month to resume testing on blood samples.

Mr. de Pencier, the head of the consortium of antidoping agencies, said the antidoping authorities had begun to appreciate the need for more robust regulation.

“The antidoping community as a whole is still a work in progress,” he said. “We’re still developing.”

[GeneChing]

The corrected version. ;)


Correction: TAE-Taekwondo Preview story
AP 8:52 a.m. EDT June 25, 2016
LONDON (AP) — In a story June 24 about the Olympic taekwondo competition, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the spelling of the name of the president of the World Taekwondo federation was Chongwon Choue. The president's name is spelled Chungwon Choue.

A corrected version of the story is below:

At Rio, taekwondo departs from origins as Korean martial art (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/06/24/at-rio-taekwondo-departs-from-origins-as-korean-martial-art/86335274/)

At the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Olympics, taekwondo may be moving further away from its roots as a Korean martial art, but organizers hope that new changes to the combat sport will produce more dynamic fights

By MARIA CHENG
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — At the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Olympics, taekwondo may be moving further away from its roots as a Korean martial art, but organizers hope the new changes to the combat sport will produce more dynamic fights featuring even more of the acrobatic kicks it has become known for.

Not only has the size of the competition ring shrunk, giving competitors less space to retreat from the usual onslaught of kicking, but the sport's governing body is again encouraging athletes to use more spinning techniques — competitors will now get an extra point for any kick where they turn their backs.

Head kicks already score the most in taekwondo, earning three or four points. Shots to the body, including punches, score only one. Punches to the head are not allowed.

After the scoring debacle of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, when the results of one match were overturned, taekwondo officials introduced a new electronic scoring system that automatically registers points when fighters, wearing electronic sensors, kick their opponents with sufficient force.

Although the new method has eliminated the subjectivity of human judges, some athletes complain that it can be a bit temperamental and that the kicks that score best are often not traditional taekwondo techniques, but unorthodox adaptations that sacrifice form for expediency.

Instead of the powerful turning kicks integral to taekwondo, many of the sport's top fighters rely on quick-scoring jabs off the front leg that some have unkindly referred to as "chicken fighting." Chungwon Choue, president of the World Taekwondo Federation, said officials "are committed to finding a balance between honoring our traditional techniques and evolving the sport to make it more exciting for new audiences."

He said the sport's evolution also means more medal chances for everyone, including countries without an established Olympic track record. Choue noted that while taekwondo once used to be dominated by Asian countries with a strong martial arts history, eight different countries won gold medals at the London games, including Argentina, Italy and Serbia.

RETURNING STAR: American fighter Steven Lopez is the most decorated athlete in taekwondo history, winning a record five world championship titles and three Olympic medals, two golds and one bronze. At 37, he's also likely to be the oldest in the Rio taekwondo competition, in a sport where most athletes are in their early 20s. After a disappointing showing at the London games — Lopez was knocked out in the first round after suffering an injury shortly before — he will be even more motivated to prove he is still one of the sport's biggest stars.

DON'T MISS: British-born athlete Aaron Cook was the sport's top-ranked fighter in the 80-kilogram division during the run-up to the London Olympics but didn't make it to the games; the U.K. refused to pick him for their team after Cook abandoned their training academy, selecting instead eventual bronze medal winner Lutalo Muhammad. This time around, Cook isn't taking any chances and recently switched allegiances to fight for Moldova after having his citizenship paid for by the country's taekwondo president. Cook fought at the Beijing Olympics, where he narrowly lost out on a bronze.

REFUGEE'S CHANCE: Raheleh Asemani, an Iranian refugee now training in Belgium, won an Olympic spot in the women's 57-kilogram category after being granted the opportunity to fight under the World Taekwondo Federation's flag as a refugee during the European qualifiers. Now working in a post office in Belgium after moving there three years ago, the former member of Iran's national taekwondo team has been training with the Belgian squad and will likely represent her newly adopted country in Brazil.

[GeneChing]

Olympics: Body parts wash up on volleyball beach (http://www.ktvz.com/news/rio-olympics-body-parts-wash-up-on-volleyball-beach/40290080?platform=hootsuite)

Bad news from Rio keeps on coming

By Tiffany Ap CNN
POSTED: 9:57 PM PDT June 29, 2016
UPDATED: 1:37 AM PDT June 30, 2016

http://www.ktvz.com/image/view/-/40290766/medRes/2/-/maxh/360/maxw/640/-/imro58z/-/Body-part-on-Copacabana-Beach-jpg.jpg
Mario Tama/Getty Images
(CNN) -
With just 36 days to go before the Rio Olympics kick off, the situation in the host city just went from bad to worse.

MORE FROM KTVZ.COM

A beach goer Wednesday discovered mutilated human body parts that had washed up on the shore, right in front of the Olympic Beach Volleyball Arena on Rio's famed Copacabana beach.

A dismembered foot and another body part still unidentified was found, according to Andre Luiz, an officer of the Military Police. Police believe the victim was a woman or young adult.

Although the circumstances surrounding the person's death are unknown, it is another embarrassing blow to the host country -- already reeling from financial problems, a mishap-prone Olympic torch and an outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Rio de Janeiro is broke

Two days before the gruesome body parts discovery, the acting governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro warned that the Games could be a "big failure" because the state is out of money.

"I am optimistic about the games, but I have to show the reality. We can make a great Olympics, but if some steps are not taken, it can be a big failure," Francisco Dornelles told Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

Some of the Olympic Games costs are funded by the city of Rio de Janeiro, but the burden also falls on the Rio de Janeiro state government, and it is in bad shape.

The state declared an official emergency and requested a federal bailout earlier this month but it hasn't received the money. Dornelles warned of a breakdown in essential public services and said without the emergency funds, the police force could only cover its costs to the end of the week.

'Welcome to hell'

The frustration over unpaid wages for members of law enforcement boiled over in several protests. That same day, several people held up a banner at the airport that said: "Welcome to hell. Police and firefighters don't get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe."

Similar messages have popped up over the city, such as one graffiti on a flyover that warned about the lack of functioning hospitals.

If that refrain sounds familiar, that's because one of Brazil's most successful soccer players Rivaldo Ferreira also warned people earlier to stay away.

Water thrown at Olympics torch

The day prior, a man tried to snuff out the Olympic torch by throwing a bucket of water at it.

Marcelino Mateus Silva Proença, 27, missed the torch altogether hitting only the torch bearer and the security guards around it.

He was arrested, and released, and since then, has been posting about the incident on Facebook which he said was a dare from his friends.

"I have the torch, but don't have education, health, security, quality of life..." he said on Monday.

Jaguar killed

An even bigger fuss was created over another Olympic torch incident, when a jaguar called Juma that was being exhibited with the torch relay escaped from her handlers and was shot by a soldier.

Rio 2016's organizing committee quickly proffered up an apology, saying they had "made a mistake" putting a wild animal near the torch and guaranteed no more situations like this will occur during the Games.

Can they pull it off?

That's all in a week's work for Rio's Olympics organizers.

There are other issues of concern of course, like the untreated sewage in the waters which athletes complained have made them break out in disease. The U.S. Olympic rowing team is taking extra precautions and will be wearing seamless antimicrobial unisuits to compete, while the German sailing team has been practicing trying to sail in trash-coated waters.

On a country-wide level, Brazil is grappling with the Zika virus outbreak causing one Olympian to freeze his sperm, a doping scandal in which Brazil's only testing lab was suspended, a crime wave, and political upheaval involving the country's highest figures.

At the Copa Copacabana
The hottest spot north of Havana

[GeneChing]

https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/chinese-tourists-brazil-01.jpg

Get Ready Rio, Massive Numbers of Chinese Are On Their Way for the Olympics (https://thenanfang.com/chinese-tourists-attend-rio-olympics-vast-numbers/)
Despite the city's bad rap

Charles Liu, July 11, 2016 4:44am

Despite bad press and bureaucratic stumbles, huge numbers of Chinese tourists are expected to attend the upcoming 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

According to Caissa Touristic, the exclusive travel provider for the Rio Olympics in China, thousands of travel packages have been purchased in China already. As well, travel by Chinese to neighboring countries like Argentina and Chile have increased around the Olympic Games.

During the 2014 World Cup, some 5,000 Chinese tourists traveled to Brazil. That year, Brazil received 100,000 visitors from China.

Despite their growing numbers, Chinese do not currently have visa-free entry to Brazil. Unlike the citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia, and Japan, citizens from China are urged to apply for visas early in advance. On top of that, Brazil is a difficult destination for Chinese travelers due to long flights that tend to be on the expensive side. Air travel between China and Brazil may take up to 30 hours and travel packages may cost between RMB 400,000 ($63,000) and 500,000.

Recent news about the Rio Olympics have focused upon threats and dangers to visitors. Problems have included health risks like the Zika virus, rampant crime, and unpaid police and doctors as part of a broken welfare system. Things are so bad that even Brazillian soccer great Rivaldo warned tourists to stay away from his country out of concern for their own safety. “Things are getting uglier here every day,” Rivaldo wrote. “I advise everyone with plans to visit Brazil for the Olympics in Rio — to stay home. You’ll be putting your life at risk here.”

However, Chinese tourist simply will not be deterred from reaching their destinations. Liu Xing, 28, last visited Brazil for the 2014 World Cup and thinks the country has gotten a bad rap from the news. “I think some of the reports are totally rumors,” he told the Global Times. “The major cities are very clean, and the sanitation services are good, only tourists going to the Amazon area should get inoculated against yellow fever.”

From his previous experience, Liu said there will be a considerable police presence that will keep tourists like him safe. “I have a hunch that this trip will be the most memorable one in my whole life,” he said.

Source: ECNS, China Daily, Global Times, Fox News
Photos: China Daily,

There's a great Kung Fu movie plot in here somewhere. A Chinese athlete gets kidnapped and must be rescued by a Chinese cop and a Rio (Capoeira) cop - a buddy flick!

[GeneChing]

I’m A 23-Year-Old Olympic Fencer And That Isn’t Everything (http://thewell.jopwell.com/posts/how-fencing-illuminated-my-sense-of-inequality-and-inspired-me-olympian-nzingha-prescod/)
Nzingha Prescod
July 18, 2016
Estimated reading time – 5 min

http://images.contentful.com/e5mq1t8pfsum/1SksmilIcM0iqqeYCY6Qig/8baf860a6f3cb862f0d86e02a37a2b7f/nzingha-4.jpg

“Sniper in Dallas.”

I received that text from my mom two Fridays ago, when my U.S. Fencing teammates and I were headed back to our hotel after a Rangers baseball game. We had spent the past few days at an Olympic training camp and were focused on finding a good place to stop for some barbecue.

Suddenly, we were 20 minutes from the most deadly event for police since 9/11. We turned on the car radio and started scrolling through live news updates on our phones to try to make sense of what was happening. Our hotel, located steps away from the still-active shooting, was on lockdown. There was a bomb scare, and our coach and a teammate were in the lobby as shots went off outside.

To me, it made sense that this shooting was connected to Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the two Black men murdered in Louisiana and Minnesota. My success as an athlete didn’t shield me from the realities of being a Black woman in America. I was exposed to both the surreal experience of being near a shooter and the magnitude of the injustice underlying the week’s fatal events. Fear, the same fear that the Black people in my family and my neighborhood too often feel, coated me.

I grew up in Flatlands, Brooklyn – a bus ride plus 23 train stops away from the Fencers Club in Manhattan, where many of the world’s most elite fencers train. But the trek didn’t deter my mother, an immigrant from the tiny Caribbean island of St. Vincent, from signing me and my sister up for fencing lessons through the Peter Westbrook Foundation (PWF) when I was nine years old.

When my mom first read about PWF – a nonprofit that teaches fencing to kids from underserved New York City communities and funds scholarships to the Fencers Club – she was intrigued. The sport seemed interesting, but what really enticed her was PWF’s track record when it came to grooming Black Olympic fencers (Peter Westbrook himself was the first Black fencer in history to win an Olympic medal). It also didn't hurt that the Saturday morning program only cost $25 for lessons and equipment.

In typical nine-year-old fashion, I remember feeling annoyed to learn I’d been signed up for yet another activity. Now I’m conscious of – and grateful for – the opportunity that my mom’s decision created for me. I’ve fenced in college, in the 2012 Olympics, and in more than 30 countries. The sport has completely changed my life in ways that run deeper than meeting the President, attending the ESPYs, or appearing in the pages of mainstream magazines. It has helped me develop a strong sense of discipline, character, and ambition. PWF turned out to be a godsend.

http://images.contentful.com/e5mq1t8pfsum/4usOssMI6QEGeyIGu6QSmU/19989ecce0407460b848f741d7a697c1/nzingha-2.jpg

When my sister, my best friend, and I first started taking fencing lessons at PWF, we had no idea that fencing was a historically White sport. Virtually all of my PWF peers and mentors were Black, and nothing about that seemed abnormal. I admired the older fencers I was learning from each Saturday. Their talent blew me away, as did the fact that they were among the best in the world at something.

As an athletic kid with a strong desire to please my coaches, the training suited me. After a few months of classes, PWF sponsored my sister and me to join the Fencers Club’s after-school program. That’s when I first started noticing that there were very few fencers who looked like I did, or who lived in Flatlands, Brooklyn for that matter. But through PWF, I continued to interact with and learn from Black people who really knew the sport, including role models like 2008 Olympic silver medalist Erinn Smart. That was really motivating.

My sister and best friend eventually both decided to focus on other activities, while fencing began consuming the majority of my time. I started winning competitions when I was 10, and I quickly got used to being among very few Black fencers at tournaments. I remember competing at the Youth 10 Nationals and getting so excited when I saw a Black girl from Atlanta. I still get pumped when I cross paths with another Black fencer who I don’t already know from PWF (though I’m happy to report that the sport is noticeably more racially diverse today than when I started). When I encounter younger Black fencers, whether it’s at a tournament or the Saturday PWF classes I now teach, I make sure to welcome them and encourage them to make the most of the opportunity.

My fencing teammates exposed me to a world of privilege and to what it meant to “have.” Many went to prestigious private schools that are funnels to Ivy League universities. I’d hear about Latin classes, violin teachers, and SAT prep in the locker room from the time we were 12. Foils, epees, and sabres were the only sort of “weapons” people were referencing. To many, there was nothing unusual about inviting teammates to their houses in the Hamptons or vacationing across the world. To me, it all seemed pretty extraordinary.

My exposure to this life was generally balanced with a taste of my Brooklyn. My mom is a strong and well-educated woman – a lawyer for the city government. She always emphasized the importance of my sister and me finding productive ways to spend our time and helped us seek out opportunities to do so. Unfortunately, not all of our peers were blessed with the privilege of having an available parent who could steer them towards enriching activities and help unlock their passions. Nor were resources readily handy for everyone to take advantage of. While I grew up feeling safe and supported, I have witnessed shootings, and I know a number of people who have been killed or involved in crimes. On the train home from practice in Manhattan, I would always notice the mass exodus of White commuters halfway through the one-hour ride (I’d stand in front of them so I could take their seats when they got off).

I treasured both worlds for different reasons. I remember getting a pair of UGG boots before they became mainstream because they were so popular among my teammates. At the time, I may have been the only person in my middle school who had even heard of UGGs, which made me feel as though I was in on some exclusive secret. We bonded over competitions and tough practices. Back home, my neighborhood friends and I debated the best jerk chicken spots and rode in dollar vans on Flatbush. We went to bashments (basement parties) and roamed around Kings Plaza. No one asked me how my hair had suddenly gotten so long. And these were immeasurable comforts and indicators of home.

Being in this in-between space, I’ve grown to spend much of my time with other Black fencers I met through PWF. Beyond introducing me to a core group of lifelong friends and allowing me to compete at a high level, fencing has opened so many doors. It has raised the expectations I have for myself, along with my standards of satisfaction and happiness. I’ve learned to aim incredibly high.

I also try to recognize the privilege I have. A lot is possible, especially when you are equipped with the resources, opportunities, and encouragement to be successful. We’re so influenced by what is (or isn’t) around us. Being in Dallas, so close to the brutality and deadly tension between Black Americans and the police, was a vivid reminder of how much needs to change. We can’t live in a world where a high-aptitude Black child has to be the beneficiary of an amazing (but all too rare) nonprofit program to become successful. Being treated fairly – and having the opportunity to become great at something – shouldn’t be the exception.

When I head to Rio to compete for Team USA next month, my goal is to fence well. I want to come back to the States with a medal (Who wouldn’t?), though I don’t know exactly what I want to do after the Olympics. Here’s what I do know: I won’t be a competitive fencer forever, but no matter where my career takes me, I want to focus on extending opportunity to others in the way that PWF did for me. I want to create spaces where everyone can, at the very least, feel like they can belong and have a chance. We all deserve that.

You can follow Prescod and her #RoadToRio on Instagram at @nzinghap.
Images by Yemi Adewumni

Well said, Nzingha

[GeneChing]

JULY 21 2016 8:43 PM
Cartoonish Olympic Terror Plot Involving Martial Arts Thwarted in Brazil (http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/07/21/cartoonish_olympic_terror_plot_involving_martial_a rts_thwarted_in_brazil.html)
By Elliot Hannon

http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/the_slatest/2016/07/21/cartoonish_olympic_terror_plot_involving_martial_a rts_thwarted_in_brazil/545145950-troops-fall-in-at-the-olympic-village-in-rio-de-janeiro.jpg.CROP.promovar-mediumlarge.jpg
Troops at the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro on July 5.
Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images

Brazilian officials arrested 10 members of an Islamist organization on Thursday who were plotting a terrorist attack on the Olympic Games being held in Rio de Janeiro next month. The suspects, who are all Brazilian citizens, are part of a group called Defenders of Sharia. The Brazilian justice minister described the group as “absolutely amateur” and poorly organized in its support of ISIS.

The preparations for the Games have been fraught with controversy, and while terrorism is now a common and ever-present worry at global events like the Olympics, the biggest safety concern has been crime. The arrests have refocused attention on the possibility of terrorism in Brazil, which has struggled to put the finishing infrastructural touches on the Olympic Games.

Despite the terror warning shot, in this case the arrested men seem to be almost comically inept. None of the men knew one another other and each assumed Arabic code names, despite scant connection to the Arab world. The group’s general plan, according to the justice minister, was: "Let's start training in martial arts, let's start learning how to shoot.” They were reportedly trying to buy guns from Paraguay, but it's unclear how far along in the process the group was. “It’s hard to call them terrorists,” the federal judge overseeing the case said. “But even though they don’t have a very solid organization, the arrests are warranted from a legal point of view.”



Oh man. Srsly? :rolleyes: :o

[GeneChing]

Not quite sure what to make of this one


Kiwi sportsman Jason Lee: 'I got kidnapped in Brazil' (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11680761)
8:48 AM Monday Jul 25, 2016

A Kiwi sportsman in Brazil says he was kidnapped by men in police uniform and forced to withdraw money from ATMs.

Jason Lee, Jiu-Jitsu athlete and boyfriend of New Zealand journalist Laura McQuillian, tweeted "What did you guys get up to yesterday? I got kidnapped. Go Olympics! #Rio2016."


Jason Lee @jasonleejitsu
What did you guys get up to yesterday?
I got kidnapped. Go Olympics!#Rio2016
11:53 AM - 24 Jul 2016 · Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brazil
349 349 Retweets 191 191 likes

On Facebook, Lee wrote "yesterday I got kidnapped in Brazil."

Lee said he was kidnapped by people in police uniforms, "not by some random people with guns."

He added "I was threatened with arrest if I did not get in their private car and accompany them to two ATMs to withdraw a large sum of money for a bribe.

"I'm not sure what's more depressing, the fact this stuff is happening to foreigners so close to the Olympic Games or the fact that Brazilians have to live in a society that enables this absolute bull**** on a daily basis. This place is well and truly f***ked in every sense of the word imaginable."


Laura McQuillan @mcquillanatorz
Boyfriend was accosted by Policia Militar cops who drove him to two ATMs and forced him to withdraw cash #roadtorio https://twitter.com/jasonleejitsu/status/757287544463749121 …
1:11 PM - 24 Jul 2016
103 103 Retweets 42 42 likes

In February Lee spoke about his life in Rio - where he had been living for 10 months.

"I decided to pack up my life and move here to pursue my dream of being a professional athlete and training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu full time at one of the best gyms in the world," he said in a Fairfax column about Kiwis living overseas.

"I would have to say the greatest advantage (of living in Rio) would be the weather, which is amazing almost all of the time - even during the winter it's hot enough to go swimming at the beach. Also the cost of living is much lower than New Zealand," he said.

"There are obvious disadvantages, such as crime and personal safety but I would urge this isn't a big enough problem to discourage people from visiting. The language barrier can be tough at times as very few people speak English, so learning Portuguese is a must for day-to-day life."

This came after two members of the Australian Paralympic sailing squad were robbed at gunpoint last month.

Paralympic sailor Liesl Tesch and team official Sarah Ross were confronted by two men while riding their bicycles in at Rio park, Dailymail reported

One of the men was carrying a pistol and the women were robbed of their bicycles.

A spokesman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it did not have information on the incident but pointed to its advice section.

"Reports of express kidnappings in Brazil are common in major cities. This is when criminals abduct a victim for a short amount of time and force them to withdraw funds from their bank account. To reduce the risk of this occurring we recommend you use ATMs that are located in public places during daylight hours or ATMs located within bank branches."

Security issues ahead of Rio Olympics

Security of fans and athletes has became a major concern on the eve of next month's Olympics.

Murders rose sharply in the first half of 2016, just as officials wanted to use the Aug. 5-21 Olympic Games to showcase the city as a tourist destination. Shootouts erupt daily, even in Rio slums where community policing programs created to pacify them had successfully rewritten the narrative in recent years, AP reports.

The number of people killed by police, who many residents accuse of shooting first and asking questions later, has spiked in the past two years after dropping significantly the previous six. Police, in turn, are increasingly under attack: 61 have been killed in Rio since January, the majority while off duty.

"2016 has been a very bad year. We have seen a dramatic increase in homicides, robberies and other crimes," said Ignacio Cano, a sociologist at the Violence Studies Lab of Rio de Janeiro State University. "We lost a big opportunity to transform police and develop a new public safety model."

Law enforcement experts say Brazil's worst recession since the 1930s is at the heart of the surge in violence in Rio. A financial crunch in the oil-producing state has put thousands of government workers' salaries and pensions on hold, police budgets have been slashed and daily announcements of layoffs have added to the angst.

Rights groups additionally blame a culture of combat still at the core of much of Rio's law enforcement, instincts more likely to emerge when officers feel under attack.

Cano says tourists coming for the Olympics will likely be spared the violence lived daily in the slums, though it periodically does spill into the city's tourist-friendly and affluent south. The 85,000 soldiers and police assigned to patrol the streets is a force double that of the 2012 Games in London.

On a recent afternoon, two Associated Press journalists watched as half a dozen officers sheltered behind a cable car station shot it out with suspected drug traffickers in Complexo do Alemao, a sprawling cluster of slums in north Rio. Minutes after the gunfire stopped, several schoolchildren walked by the building as gun-toting police stopped and frisked drivers and bikers.

Amnesty International counted 265 such shootings last week, the first since launching a crowdsourced app to help alert people living in violence-plagued areas.

- NZ Herald

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riDyjnJmfAY

[GeneChing]

We've mentioned the colored uniforms here before. Do other sports even bother with such trappings?

The Octogon part is silly.


Martial art mixes it up at Rio (http://kfgo.com/news/articles/2016/jul/29/martial-art-mixes-it-up-at-rio/)
Friday, July 29, 2016 12:21 a.m. CDT
By Ian Ransom

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Taekwondo's battle for relevance at the Olympics continues at the Rio de Janeiro Games, with tournament organizers introducing colored pants and a mixed martial arts flavor in a bid to spice up the competition.

The fringe sport, which made its Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Games, is assured of its place until Tokyo in 2020 but is feeling the heat to modernize as the International Olympic Committee looks to appeal to a younger demographic.

Taekwondo is far from a blood sport, but appears to have taken a cue from mixed martial arts by changing its square fighting mat to an octagon, the shape of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's cage.

Competitors will also be allowed to wear colored pants with their national flags at the Aug. 17-20 tournament at the Carioca Arena 3, which may upset purists accustomed to the starched-white trousers of Olympics past.

"The introduction of colored pants for athletes will transform the look of competition, adding to the vibrant, carnival atmosphere in Rio, and will give athletes an even greater sense of national pride as they compete for their countries," World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) president Chungwon Choue said.

The WTF has had its critics in the past for being aloof and reactive but earned praise at London for introducing a new scoring system and instant video reviews which banished much of the refereeing controversy that blighted previous tournaments.

In Rio, fighters will now be fitted with electric sensors in their protective head gear to help referees detect scoring shots, adding to the torso sensors introduced at London.

Competitors will also enter the arena to theme music of their choice, adding a bit of theater to a discipline which has its origins in ancient Korean martial arts.

The improved scoring system at London saw all eight titles go to different nations and the field is expected to be wide open again.

Chinese double Olympic champion Wu Jingyu will bid for a hat-trick of golds in the women's 49kg flyweight division, while South Korea's Oh Hye-ri is under pressure to continue the country's reign over the 67kg category which was won by Hwang Kyung-seon at London and Beijing.

The men's heavyweight 80kg category also offers plenty of intrigue.

England-born former world number one Aaron Cook, who was controversially omitted from Team GB at his home London Games, will compete under the Moldovan flag at Rio, with top-ranked Iranian challenger Mahdi Khodabakhshi, nicknamed 'The Terminator', another strong medal chance.

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

[GeneChing]

There's a vid, but not of the incident of course. It's just a news vid.


Rio Olympics 2016: Chinese hurdler robbed as part of elaborate hoax (http://www.sportingnews.com/athletics/news/rio-olympics-2016-athlete-robbed-china-shi-dongpeng/1c68o88eck19g1p4tc39bv0xmd)
July 30, 2016 10:28am EDTJuly 30, 2016 10:25am EDTShi Dongpeng, who competed in the 2012 London Olympics and specializes in the 110-meter meter hurdles, was a victim of a "professional job."
ATHLETICS
By Jordan Greer @jordangreer42
Published on Jul. 30, 2016

How are things going in Rio de Janeiro less than a week away from the 2016 Olympics? More than half of the Olympic Village buildings haven't passed safety tests, athletes might have to literally "row through s—" to win a medal and now a member of the Chinese track and field team has become a victim of some crazy vomit-based trickery.

Shi Dongpeng, who competed in the 2012 London Olympics and specializes in the 110-meter hurdles, was robbed as part of an elaborate hoax, according to Inside The Games (H/T to ESPN's Rachel Nichols). Shi reportedly checked into his hotel alongside a cameraman when a stranger who appeared drunk approached them. The man vomited on Shi, and the cameraman chased the man out of the hotel.

It turns out the drunk man was the first step of a clear plan. With Shi off cleaning himself up and the cameraman gone, someone stole both men's baggage as well as the cameraman's equipment. Inside The Games says surveillance footage shows Shi and the cameraman were victims of a "professional job."

To make matters worse, when both men went to report the incident at a police station, they had to wait two hours behind a line of mugging victims.

The incident with Shi comes only days after Jason Lee, a jiu-jitsu champion from New Zealand, says he was kidnapped by Rio police and forced to pay an unreasonable fine. In a Facebook post that has since been taken down, Lee said of Rio, "This place is well and truly f— in every sense of the word imaginable."

Shi might share a similar sentiment after that experience.

[GeneChing]

sort of a classic scam, this one.


Australian Olympic team robbed during fire evacuation at Olympic Village (http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Australia-evacuates-Rio-Olympic-lodging-after-8662179.php)
Stephen Wade, Ap Sports Writer Updated 9:36 am, Sunday, July 31, 2016

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/50/57/27/10679783/3/920x920.jpg
Workers install barricades in preparation for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games inside Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, July 29, 2016. Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP / Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu
Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
IMAGE 1 OF 44 Workers install barricades in preparation for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games inside Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, July 29, 2016.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Australian Olympic team members were forced to evacuate their lodgings on Friday at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after a small fire in a basement parking area caused smoke to fill the stairwells.
Australian team spokesman Mike Tancred said about 100 athletes and officials were evacuated from their building in the sprawling athletes' village. The compound contains 31 buildings and will accommodate 18,000 athletes and officials at the peak of the games, which open in a week.
"The stairwells filled with smoke, but the fire was confined to the carpark and no one was injured," Tancred said in a statement.
Upon their return, Australian 9 News reports that they discovered three laptops and other personal belongings had been taken. The Australian Olympic Committee has reportedly added security guards to their building.
The fire will once again draw attention to Rio's spotty preparations, which have been marred by the Zika virus, severe water pollution, crime, and slow ticket sales.
Tancred said team members returned to their rooms after 30 minutes.
This comes after a tension-filled week in which Australia refused to occupy its building, citing gas and plumbing leaks, electrical shorts, and general filth. At least a dozen other teams also complained of problems that affected about 400 of the 3,600 rooms in the sprawling compound.
Rio officials on Thursday declared the compound "fully ready" after deploying hundreds of plumbers and electricians, who worked around the clock to ready the buildings.
Australia finally moved staff and athletes into the village on Wednesday, three days after the official opening on Sunday.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes on Wednesday met Australian delegation head Kitty Chiller and apologized to dozens of athletes for the slipshod preparations.
___
Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade

[GeneChing]

These are the stories that make the Olympics great.


60-year-old Chinese farmer cycles to Rio to mark 3rd attendance of Olympics (http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0801/c90882-9093528.html)
(Xinhua) 09:59, August 01, 2016

http://www.people.com.cn/mediafile/pic/GQ/20160801/81/5158811700173414389.jpg
Chen Guanming shows his food in his tricycle in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 31,2016. Chinese 60-year-old farmer Chen Guanming cycled to Rio de Janeiro to mark his 3rd attendance of the Olympic Games. (Xinhua/Wang Haofei)

http://www.people.com.cn/mediafile/pic/GQ/20160801/62/6538488019582203266.jpg
Chen Guanming poses for a photo outside the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 31,2016. Chinese 60-year-old farmer Chen Guanming cycled to Rio de Janeiro to mark his 3rd attendance of the Olympic Games. (Xinhua/Wang Haofei)

http://www.people.com.cn/mediafile/pic/GQ/20160801/91/5580101917915829807.jpg
Chen Guanming poses for a photo with a local resident in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 31,2016. Chinese 60-year-old farmer Chen Guanming cycled to Rio de Janeiro to mark his 3rd attendance of the Olympic Games. (Xinhua/Wang Haofei)

http://www.people.com.cn/mediafile/pic/GQ/20160801/25/14900130127318111073.jpg
Chen Guanming rides his tricycle outside the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 31,2016. Chinese 60-year-old farmer Chen Guanming cycled to Rio de Janeiro to mark his 3rd attendance of the Olympic Games. (Xinhua/Wang Haofei)

[Jimbo]

The past several Olympics, including this one, have been using this theme music at various points, often right before going into commercial breaks. I'd always remembered it from the short-lived '90s TV series Brisco County, Jr., and find it interesting that the theme music has outlived the show itself by a long shot. It is pretty epic, though. :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tELZ7QweQKc&sns=em

[herb ox]

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/08/489168033/athletes-go-for-gold-with-red-spots-blazing



9961

Athletes Go For Gold With Red Spots Blazing

August 8, 20164:31 PM ET

Swimmer Michael Phelps won Olympic gold again Sunday while covered in red — red spots, roughly medal-size, all over his shoulders and back.

The marks were the result of an ancient Eastern medicinal therapy known as cupping that is achieving new popularity among some athletes in the United States, including numerous Olympians.

Cupping typically involves treating muscle pain and other ailments with cups that apply suction to skin. Cupping is often combined with other forms of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and massage.

"The practice itself is very old," says Karyn Farrar, a physical therapist at Rehab 2 Perform in Frederick, Md. "In the past five to 10 years it's becoming prominent in terms of physical therapists, athletic trainers and massage therapists [in the United States] using it more and more." Farrar's office treats five to 10 athletes — mostly high school and college students — with cupping each day.

Farrar says cupping is like a reverse form of massage. Instead of applying pressure downward onto muscles, she says, "you're using negative pressure to pull soft tissues apart" from the suction of the cup. "As you're pulling, you're also getting increased blood flow to the tissues."

She claims the practice decreases swelling in acute injuries and speeds up healing. The large red spots are caused by the bursting of small blood vessels near the skin.

Farrar says she expects more athletes to ask about the treatment after seeing the very visible signs of its aftermath on some of this year's Olympians.

According to Ted Kaptchuk, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who is trained in Asian medicine, the cupping trend isn't exactly new in the U.S. Cupping has a long history in Western medicine and was commonly practiced by American physicians in the 18th and 19th centuries.

But Kaptchuk says cupping fell from favor in the U.S. in the 1920s when practitioners of Western medicine began to see the practice as "old-fashioned," in part because of a lack of scientific evidence that it had a true healing effect.

Today, while some studies have explored the effects of cupping, there is still scant scientific evidence supporting its healing potential.

"We need rigorous research to understand whether there is a physiological effect associated with cupping and currently that is unknown," says David Shurtleff, deputy director of the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

NCCIH currently doesn't fund research on cupping, partly because the studies are challenging to design. It is difficult to know whether a patient feels better after cupping because the treatment worked on a physical level or because the patient expected to feel better and so does — in other words, the placebo effect.

But Shurtleff and Kaptchuk agree that a placebo effect from cupping could work to reduce pain with or without an underlying physical benefit.

While there is still limited scientific evidence supporting cupping, Kaptchuk says that "what we do have, is that people feel better after it's done."

For Olympians, that feeling may be just enough to help them on a trip to the medal podium.

[GeneChing]

Here's one of many that amused me.


Judo medalist beaten up while celebrating on Copacabana Beach (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/judo-medalist-beat-up-while-celebrating-on-copacabana-beach-234727753.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb)
Henry Bushnell Aug 9, 2016, 4:47 PM

http://l3.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/RkXWpNzdj8wtsC5fpZeO9g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NzQ0O2g9NDgxO2lsPX BsYW5l/https://66.media.tumblr.com/19fa5750bf864fe2d6259a7b0717dda5/tumblr_inline_obobsbHbf51uo0wk6_1280.jpg
Dirk van Tichelt won his first Olympic judo medal Monday. (Getty)

Dirk Van Tichelt probably didn’t envision one of the greatest days of his life ending in the hospital. But that’s exactly where the Belgian judoka found himself Monday night hours after winning his first-ever Olympic medal.

Van Tichelt won bronze in the 73-kg judo competition on Monday. Naturally, he went off to Copacabana Beach that night to celebrate the achievement. And that’s where things went awry.

Van Tichelt was reportedly assaulted by a thief on the famous beach, and was struck in the face. He was taken to the hospital after the incident.

The thief, who was reportedly Brazilian, came away with a cellphone, but, crucially, not with a bronze medal. That allowed Van Tichelt to take this epic picture the following day:


sporza (https://twitter.com/sporza/status/763127844922859520/photo/1) ✔@sporza
Dief in Rio steelt gsm en slaat Dirk Van Tichelt. Gevolg: blauw oog voor onze bronzen plak: http://sporza.be/permalink/1.2735240 …

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpcsnxhXYAEC2tI.jpg
2:40 PM - 9 Aug 2016
58 58 Retweets 55 55 likes


The Belgian Olympic Committee released a statement confirming the details, and saying that Van Tichelt didn’t require treatment at the hospital. He appeared at a media event the next day with a black eye, and, undoubtedly, a smile on his face.

Van Tichelt now has more than just a medal to commemorate his Olympic success.



Waiting for the "Olympic Judo doesn't work on the street" comment. :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

Olympic Taekwondo starts Wednesday August 17 in Rio. Read A Martial Arts Olympic Dream Comes True (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1308) by Melissa Leon-Guerrero Do.

[GeneChing]

Rio 2016: Judo bronze medallist Dirk Van Tichelt arrested after 'losing fight with hotel receptionist' (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/rio-2016-judo-lose-fight-receptionist-dirk-van-tichelt-a7186426.html)
The 32-year-old won bronze in the men’s 73kg competition on Monday

Mark Critchley @mjcritchley Friday 12 August 2016

http://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/story_large/public/thumbnails/image/2016/08/12/09/dirk-van-trichelt.jpg
Van Trichelt's phone was stolen while he was celebrating his podium finish Getty

A Belgian Olympic judoka has reportedly been arrested after losing a fight with a jujitsu trained hotel receptionist.

Dirk van Tichelt broke into the Best Western Hotel in Rio de Janeiro believing that a woman who had allegedly stolen his phone was hiding there.

The 32-year-old, who won bronze in the men’s 73kg competition on Monday, had seen the phone snatched while he was celebrating on Copacabana Beach just hours after his win.

Van Tichelt proceeded to chase after the suspect, which led him to the hotel.

An anonymous member of the hotel’s staff, in quotes picked up by the Daily Mail, said: “The woman tried to get into the hotel but the doors were locked. The athlete didn't catch the woman but wrongly thought that she had entered our hotel.

“But our doors were already locked so she couldn't have come in. Even so, he broke the lock on the door and burst in making a lot of noise and making a lot of accusations.

“He thought that the woman was staying in the hotel and demanded the receptionist should give him her room number so she could return the phone,” the hotel worked added.

“This was all totally untrue. Unfortunately, the Belgian athlete smelled of alcohol and looked very drunk.

“My colleague tried to get the man out of the hotel and this turned into a fight. They exchanged quite a few punches. As it happens the receptionist also practises jiu-jitsu so they were equally matched.”

Van Tichelt, who attended a press conference sporting a black eye the day after the incident, was reportedly arrested and taken to hospital to check up on his injuries.

“The athlete attempted to throw a punch at the employee and the employee retaliated,” police authorities confirmed.

When the incident initially came to light, Luc Rampaer, Belgium’s Olympic communications director, claimed that Van Tichelt had simply been hit by 'another person'

“The mobile phone of Dirk's training partner had just been stolen and he ran to try to catch the thief and ended up being hit in the face by another person,” he said.

After Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby's handshake snub to Israeli Or Sasson, Judo (http://www.martialartsmart.com/judo-jujitsu-styles.html) isn't looking so good this year. :o

[GeneChing]

The Chinese Basketball Team Eats At McDonalds Everyday in Rio Because It’s Free (http://www.foodbeast.com/news/mcd-chinese-olympic-team/)
FOOD NEWS 1 DAY AGO

http://cdn.foodbeast.com/content/uploads/2016/08/mcd-china-olympics.jpg
At this year’s Rio Olympics, athletes from all over the world share at least one love — free Big Macs and fries at McDonald’s.

At the Olympic village, athlete’s have only a couple of choices for food — either eat at the cafeteria, which doesn’t offer the best food is usually packed beyond belief, or hit up the McDonald’s, where the line can build up to 100 meters long but where athletes and coaches can eat as much as they want for free.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpGp0MGWIAAZ_x4.jpg

talkingbaws (https://twitter.com/talkingbaws/status/761576655643181056/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) @talkingbaws
McDonald’s In The Olympic Village Is Already Packed… With Athletes! http://talkingbaws.com/2016/08/mcdonalds-in-the-olympic-village-is-already-packed-with-athletes/ …
7:56 AM - 5 Aug 2016
Retweets 1 1 like

McDonald’s, while conventionally known to be unhealthy, has been an Olympic sponsor for 40 years. The company employs 200 workers for their stores near the Rio games.

But perhaps one country’s athletes have made a notorious name for themselves by taking advantage of all the free food — China’s basketball team.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cpl8wY1XgAA2sU-.jpg

Daily Mail Online (https://twitter.com/MailOnline/status/763778794763223040/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔@MailOnline
Athletes line up for McDonald's at #Rio2016 http://dailym.ai/2aOppMJ
9:47 AM - 11 Aug 2016
38 38 Retweets 36 36 likes

One McDonald’s employee who wasn’t allowed to share his name revealed:

“The Chinese basketball team, they come all day, every day. The Chinese eat Big Macs at 9 a.m. It’s crazy.”


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CphgprfWIAM0qc-.jpg
Nico Hines (https://twitter.com/NicoHines/status/763466418323161089/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔@NicoHines
Little bit of rain won't put these athletes off the huge snaking McDonald's line. True Olympians
1:05 PM - 10 Aug 2016
28 28 Retweets 73 73 likes

But all athletes, not just the Chinese, are taking advantage of the food situation — the restaurant chain has been bombarded by so many athletes coming by after their events to pig out that they’ve had to put up a 20 item limit this week on the amount of orders each person is allowed to make. Athlete’s can, of course, ask for more, but that lowers the priority of their order and increases the wait.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpRX_oAWgAQJYhX.jpg
Brian Curtis (https://twitter.com/BrianCurtisNBC5/status/762331026505011200/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔@BrianCurtisNBC5
One of the most popular places in Athletes Village. Line out the door at @McDonalds #Rio2016 @NBCDFW
9:54 AM - 7 Aug 2016
223 223 Retweets 470 470 likes

The overwhelming love for McDonald’s at the games isn;t new either — Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt reportedly ate 100 chicken nuggets a day during the Beijing Olympics, later admitting at the London Olympics to having just “a few nuggets” right before he won gold in the 100-meter sprint.

Written by Nextshark's editorial staff.

100 mcnuggets? Dang Bolt. How many chickens is that? :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

What’s the story behind China’s creepy track cycling helmets? (http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/product-news/whats-story-behind-chinas-amazing-track-cycling-helmets-274937?lazyload=0&utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=app&utm_campaign=flipboard_rss_feed&utm_content=cyclingweekly)
Henry Robertshaw August 15, 2016

Eye-catching design ridden to gold in the women's team sprint

https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/chinese-helmets-630x420.jpg

While Great Britain’s track cyclists have dominated proceedings in the velodrome at the Rio Olympics, it is one of just two events that the Brits haven’t won that has been causing the most flutter across the internet.

Team GB didn’t even qualify a team into the women’s team sprint, and so it was the Chinese duo of Jinjie Gong and Tianshi Zhong who beat the Russian pair of Daria Shmeleva and Anastasiia Voinova to take the gold medal. However despite their fine ride, it was their helmets that got the most attention.

https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/WATSON_00004706-028-1.jpg
China win the women’s team sprint at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

The faces on the helmets are depictions of the masks worn by performers in traditional Peking Opera, with the women’s team sprint riders wearing the masks of the legendary female warriors Mu Guiying and Hua Mulan (yes, the same Mulan from the Disney movie).

China’s rider in the men’s team sprint, Xu Chan, was also wearing a similar helmet with the mask of the male warrior Zhang Fei. Unfortunately this didn’t work out quite as well for Xu as he was knocked out in the quarter finals by the eventual silver medallist Callum Skinner.

The designs on the Kask helmets, which are the work of Guangzhao graphic designer and bike designer Zhang Dongliang, received the approval of Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry on Twitter.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cpr7gERWYAEpjua.jpg
Grayson Perry (https://twitter.com/Alan_Measles/status/764199650614280193/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) @Alan_Measles
I am loving the Chinese women's world record sprinters helmet
1:39 PM - 12 Aug 2016
170 170 Retweets 569 569 likes

Others were quick to suggest alternative designs that British Cycling’s “Secret Squirrel Club” could start working on for the Tokyo Olympics in four years time.


Henry Elliss (https://twitter.com/henweb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔@henweb
If the Chinese cyclist is allowed that spooky dolls face on the top of her helmet to psych people out, TeamGB should get Katie Hopkins pics
1:29 PM - 14 Aug 2016 · Reading, England, United Kingdom
6 6 Retweets 8 8 likes

We’ll get a few more chances to see the helmets over the next couple of days with Tianshi Zhong riding in the 1/8 finals of the women’s sprint this afternoon, while Xiaoling Luo goes off in the women’s omnium against Laura Trott this evening.




I'm with Perry. Those helmets are cool.

[PalmStriker]

:) Definitely ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=478Wa17YZHM

[GeneChing]

That's the one with the cross dressing kid who gets discovered when virgin boy pee (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?53135-health-benefits-of-urine) is needed as a curative, right?

Meanwhile, this is a little dated, but relevant here.


Rio 2016 officials apologize to China for using wrong flag (http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/08/americas/rio-2016-china-wrong-flag-trnd/)

By Marilia Brocchetto, CNN
Updated 5:27 PM ET, Mon August 8, 2016

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160808163145-01-rio-2016-china-wrong-flag-exlarge-169.jpg
Incorrect Chinese flags are flanked by an American flag during a medal ceremony for the 10m air rifle competition.

Story highlights
An incorrect Chinese flag has been raised during medal ceremonies in Rio
Both flags look similar but their stars are aligned differently

Rio de Janeiro (CNN)Olympics officials in Rio have apologized after discovering they were raising an incorrect Chinese national flag during medal ceremonies.

Both Chinese flags are red and feature a large yellow star flanked by four smaller stars. But there are subtle differences in how the smaller stars are aligned.
"We do understand that there is a problem with the flag," said Mario Andrada, Rio 2016 Olympic Games executive communications director, on Monday. "It's very small. You have to be very familiar with the Chinese flag to understand that. However, we need to correct it."
Viewers in China spotted the mistake and took to Sina Weibo -- a Chinese social media site -- to complain, according to China News Service (CNS), the state-run news agency.
Although minor, the mistake bothered people in China. State-run newspaper People's Daily said, "the botched flag has been a source of public disappointment among Chinese netizens and viewers."
On the correct Chinese flag the four smaller stars should be rotated so that they point toward the center of the larger star. Instead, the flags used in Rio were positioned parallel to each other -- like the stars on the American flag, for example.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160808163147-02-rio-2016-china-wrong-flag-exlarge-169.jpg
The correct Chinese national flag, displayed by fans at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Andrada said the flags made for Rio "had been approved by the Chinese prior to production."


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpTt4qVVYAAWePu.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpTt6JzUIAAz1VH.jpg
Patrick Yuen (https://twitter.com/PatrickYuen_36/status/762496363267436544/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)@PatrickYuen_36
#Rio2016 used an incorrect #CHN flag during medal ceremonies. What's worst, the flag was made in #China. @XHNews
8:51 PM - 7 Aug 2016 · Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brazil
58 58 Retweets 45 45 likes

"This problem was discovered during the weekend. Yesterday we managed to contact the company producing these flags and they are producing a bunch of flags correctly now, so the first flags should be delivered here shortly," Andrada said on Monday.
At least Rio officials aren't alone in their China flag flub. On Saturday, Australia's Channel 7 network used the Chilean national flag instead of the Chinese flag.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpLInr3VIAAMcAn.jpg
Meggie Palmer (https://twitter.com/MeggiePalmer/status/761891890350333953/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔@MeggiePalmer
Pretty sure that's not the #china flag @Channel7 ... #Olympics2016 #RioOlympics2016
4:49 AM - 6 Aug 2016
13 13 Retweets 14 14 likes

And it's not the first time a mistaken flag was displayed at an Olympics. In London in 2012, members of North Korea's women's soccer team walked off the field when the flag of South Korea was mistakenly flashed on the big screen before their match against Colombia.
Organizers of the London Games issued a hasty apology, and eventually the North Korean team returned to beat the Colombian team 2-0.
Anthems also sometimes get jumbled up. In this year's Copa America, Uruguay's players were left confused before their match with Mexico when the national anthem of Chile was played.

CNN's Madison Park contributed to this report.

[GeneChing]

I'm eager to see how it plays out.


AUTHOR: KYLE VANHEMERT. KYLE VANHEMERT GEAR DATE OF PUBLICATION: 08.16.16.
TIME OF PUBLICATION: 11:00 AM.
IT’S NOT JUST YOU: TAEKWONDO LOOKS TOTALLY DIFFERENT AT RIO (http://www.wired.com/2016/08/not-just-taekwondo-looks-totally-different-rio/)

https://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/TaekwondoTA-515022908-582x437.jpg
Leyner Congo of Ecuador (right) fights against Oscar Mu–noz of Colombia (left) as part of the Taekwondo PANAM Qualification Tournament for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on March 11, 2016 in Aguascalientes, Mexico. HECTOR VIVAS/GETTY IMAGES

TAEKWONDO MAY BE the only Olympic sport with an upgrade cycle as fast as the iPhone’s.

The sport draws heavily on ancient Japanese and Chinese martial arts, but tradition is yielding to modernity as taekwondo adopts sophisticated gear and new rules to secure its Olympic future. In taking these steps, the World Taekwondo Federation has brought more excitement to matches and greater transparency to scoring. And it has changed the sport as competitors embrace new tactics along with new technology.

When competition begins Wednesday in Rio, competitors will for the first time don headgear that electronically scores kicks to the head, just as the vests first seen four years ago in London record blows to the chest. Fighters will step onto an octogonal mat instead of a square. And spinning kicks, which are harder to execute, will earn more points. “It’s been a bit of a learning curve,” said Steven Lopez, a five-time olympian on Team USA and the most decorated athlete in the sport’s history.

The changes followed controversial decisions during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, where taekwondo used a decidedly analog scoring system: Referees watching bouts with their eyeballs. They missed a clear point in the final seconds of the quarterfinal match between Sarah Stevenson of Great Britain and Chen Zong of China, then took the unprecedented step of reversing their ruling after spending an hour scrutinizing video and arguing vigorously.

More bruising to the sport’s reputation was the men’s heavyweight bronze medal bout between Angel Valodia Matos of Cuba and Arman Chilmanov of Kazakhstan. Matos was leading when he injured his foot, prompting the ref to call the match after a lengthy medical time-out. Matos, feeling the man ended things too quickly, expressed his displeasure by kicking him in the face. Officials banned Matos for life and the International Olympic Committee put the sport on notice.

“Taekwondo had a bad stigma after 2008,” says Stephen Lambdin, a member of the US squad here in Rio. “We came up for renewal in the 2020 Olympics. And basically the word on the wire was that the IOC said, ‘If you don’t do something in 2016, that’ll be your last Olympics.’”

The IOC stresses transparency and objectivity above all in scoring, and has steered sports like fencing in that direction with electronic scoring equipment. Subjective scoring isn’t as obvious a scourge as doping, but it too threatens the ideals of fair play. No less troubling, a confusing scoring system renders the sport inaccessible.

“The IOC wants people to turn on the TV and immediately know what’s going on,” Lambdin says. Under the scoring system used until 2008, the score didn’t always align with the action. A clearly lopsided match might end with a 3-2 tally, “and the Average Joe is looking at it going, ‘I don’t understand, this guy was beating the crap out of the other guy.'”

After Beijing, the World Taekwondo Federation introduced electronic scoring equipment and a revamped point system for London. A kick to the head earn three points instead of one, and technical moves like spinning kicks garner an extra point. Now competitors can overcome a huge deficit with a few brilliant strikes. New penalties discourage stepping out of bounds or flopping to the mat, and the octagonal mat eliminates corners, encouraging a more fluid fight.

The changes are designed to engender faster, more aggressive fighting—which, not uncoincidentally, makes for better television. Some traditionalists see these changes creating “foot fencing,” where competitors conservatively protect the chest while holding a foot aloft for the occasional quick strike. But Lambdin considers the gadgetry a natural extension of traditional rules. “You have to hit the opponent with a certain amount of force in the scoring area,” he says “Now there’s just a way to enforce it.”

The scoring system appearing in Rio, made by martial arts equipment manufacturer Daedo, relies upon three primary pieces of hardware. The chest guards and helmets feature proximity and impact sensors. Footpads, lined with magnets, activate the sensors just before a kick lands, assessing the force and awarding a point. This data is transmitted wirelessly to the judges.

Like cellphones and laptops, the gear steadily improves. Athletes use terms like “iteration” and “second-gen system” to describe their equipment, and occasionally discover bugs in updates. “Certain areas on the chest guard score easier by default,” says Jackie Galloway of Team USA. That’s led to “phantom points,” a problem Daedo says it has addressed for Rio. Frequent upgrades can be annoying, Galloway says, but “It’s nice to have a little objectivity.”

Referees aren’t out of a job just yet. They watch intently, using handheld electronic devices to score infractions and to award additional points for technique. No matter how sophisticated the electronic scoring becomes, it never will be perfect. That’s led to the latest innovation: the challenge card, for those times when competitors disagree with the machines scoring them.

[GeneChing]

TV host contracts malaria, now in a coma in Rio hospital (http://www.sfgate.com/olympics/article/TV-host-contracts-malaria-now-in-a-coma-in-Rio-9170635.php)
By Katie Dowd Updated 12:49 pm, Thursday, August 18, 2016

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/34/25/66/7429507/3/920x920.jpg
Charlie Webster, a British sportscaster, in a portrait session in Houston, where she ran a marathon in 2015. Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff / © 2014 Houston Chronicle
Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff

UPDATE: Family of Charlie Webster say that the TV presenter has been brought out of a medically induced coma and is able to speak.
Webster's kidneys are not responding to treatment so she remains on dialysis. She is also on a respirator.
Doctors say she is responding well to cognitive tests, however.

ORIGINAL STORY: An English TV host is on life support after falling ill in Rio.
Charlie Webster, 33, arrived in Rio on Aug. 6 after participating in the 'Ride to Rio' charity challenge, a 1,600-mile bike ride down the coast of Brazil. She was admitted to the hospital shortly after the Olympic opening ceremony, initially on the suspicion she was suffering from dehydration.
Her condition deteriorated rapidly, however, and doctors discovered she was suffering from a "severe complication" of a rare strain of malaria. Webster, who is a sports presenter for ITV and the BBC among others, is now in a coma.


Charlie Webster (https://twitter.com/CharlieCW/status/763785218553774080/photo/1) ✔ @CharlieCW
A message about Charlie:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpmCmm8WIAYMaMy.jpg

10:12 AM - 11 Aug 2016
137 Retweets 510 likes

"The doctors have now identified the very rare malaria strain she has contracted so she is receiving the right treatment in Rio, with advice being provided by the London School of Tropical Medicine," a friend of Webster's told The Sun.
Malaria transmission is not common along coastal regions according to the CDC, and its risk to travelers is considered low unless going deeper into the Amazon.
MORE OLYMPICS: Report says Ryan Lochte, U.S. swimmers got in fight at gas station
Webster was reportedly feeling well when she arrived in Brazil but started showing signs of illness shortly after arriving in Rio.

As a reporter who occassionally, I'm always worried about this sort of thing. It reminds me of my 2003 trip to Shaolin (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=468).

This is by far, the darkest Olympics in my lifetime. And I remember the '72 Olympics.

[GeneChing]

...wonder what it's like to be one of the world's top athletes, yet in the shadow of a true outlier like Michael Phelps.


Police Say Security Guard, Not Robber, Pointed Gun at Ryan Lochte (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/sports/olympics/police-say-ryan-lochte-lied-about-gunpoint-assault.html?_r=0)
By SIMON ROMEROAUG. 18, 2016

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/19/sports/19SWIMMERSweb/19SWIMMERSweb-master768.jpg
Ryan Lochte claimed that men posing as police officers had pulled over his taxi. He later altered his account. Credit Martin Bureau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

RIO DE JANEIRO — The American swimmers who claimed that they were assaulted at gunpoint over the weekend by assailants posing as police officers fabricated their account of the episode, Brazilian law enforcement officials said Thursday, illuminating many aspects of an incident that has spiraled into a t***** legal case testing the relations between Brazil and the United States.

The police said that they believed that the American swimmer Ryan Lochte had “stained” Rio by lying about what happened, but they acknowledged that a security guard had brandished a gun after one or more of the swimmers vandalized a gas station bathroom.

Fernando Veloso, the Civil Police chief, said at a news conference that “there was no robbery in the way it was reported by the athletes,” and “they were not the victim of the criminal act they described.”

Mr. Lochte originally claimed that men posing as police officers had pulled over their taxi and that an assailant had put a ****ed gun to his forehead before taking his money. He later altered his account, saying the taxi stopped at a gas station so they could use the bathroom.

“We saw our city stained by a fantastical version,” Mr. Veloso said.

After watching video and hearing testimony from witnesses, the Brazilian police said they determined the incident involved damage to a bathroom at a gas station where the swimmers stopped in the early hours Sunday on the way back to the athletes’ village from a party.

The police said the taxi carrying the swimmers stopped at a Shell gas station about 6 a.m., shortly after the men exited a party at Club France, an Olympic hospitality house established here in the upscale Lagoa district.

At the gas station, which is in Barra da Tijuca, on the route to the athletes’ village, the swimmers went to the bathroom. In the process, according to the account by investigators, damage was done to the bathroom door, and a discussion ensued with the manager and a security guard.

Someone at the gas station called the police, but by the time a police car arrived at the scene, the swimmers were gone. Witnesses, including a person who offered to translate for the swimmers, said that they paid money to the manager before leaving.

Judges ordered the swimmers to stay in the country and surrender their passports over doubts about their testimony, but Lochte had left Brazil and the United States Olympic Committee would not give up the swimmers’ locations. Then the police pulled two of the swimmers off their plane Wednesday night and said that they needed to remain in the country as the investigation unfolded.

“The truth is that this crime in Brazil is not that serious,” said Judge Marcello Rubioli, the head of the special court handling the case involving four American swimmers, referring to making a false claim. “It results in very little punishment. If they are found guilty, they would just have to make a payment to an NGO that does humanitarian work. It’s not a serious crime. It’s not a crime that is going to send them to prison. It’s not a crime that’s going to prevent them from returning home.”

The episode has also touched on sensitive issues of sovereignty and nationalism around the Rio Olympics, while focusing enormous scrutiny on the perceptions of danger in a society where many Brazilians themselves often lament their exposure to alarming levels of violent crime and police corruption.

“This incident has caused so much damage to Rio’s brand abroad that I think Brazilians deserve a clear, consistent account of what happened,” Brian Winter, vice president for policy at Americas Society and Council of the Americas, said.

The entire episode, Winter said, “has tapped into one of Brazilians’ biggest pet peeves — gringos who treat their country like a third-rate spring break destination where you can lie to the cops and get away with it.”

Meanwhile, the new turns in the case were raising tensions around Brazil, with some commentators questioning the role of the U.S.O.C. in providing confusing initial accounts of what happened and then shielding the swimmers from scrutiny.

“The swimmers involved owe apologies to Rio and Brazil,” said Diego Escosteguy, the editor in chief of Época, an influential news magazine. “The United States Olympic Committee, as well.”

Still, Olympics officials in Rio seemed to be trying Thursday to play down the episode.

“No apologies from him or from the other athletes are needed,” Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio Olympics organizing committee, said. “We need to understand that these kids were trying to have fun. They came here, they represented their country to the best of their abilities.”

He added: “But let’s give these kids a break. Sometimes you take actions that you later regret.”

Still, some here in Rio lamented the entire episode, emphasizing that they wished the police were always so efficient in clearing up reports of violent crime in a city that endured an alarming crime wave in the months ahead of the Olympics. Authorities sought to ease fears by deploying a security force comprising 85,000 police officer and soldiers.

“The real dilemma is that people in this city live in fear of crime,” said Eduardo Rangel, 64, the owner of store selling office supplies. “The swimmers took advantage of the mess that exists around here to further denigrate the city. That doesn’t mean Rio is some paradise without crime.”

Others in Rio, however, said they felt deeply insulted by the behavior of the American swimmers.

“These guys from abroad think they’re superior to us, that they can come here, make a mess, lie about it and stain the image of Brazil,” said Airton Rocha, 28, a waiter at a cafe. “Well, the law is the law and it should apply to everyone in the same way.

Vinod Sreeharsha contributed reporting.

[GeneChing]

This is terrible. Matt was the shop manager at American Fencers/The Armoury when I worked there as a swordmaker in the late 80s/early 90s. He was a good manager - we got it done. I haven't seen him in years, but heard about him through old fencing ties and was following his facebook posts from Rio with great interest and pride.


Member of Olympic fencing team loses new home in Clayton Fire (http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Member-of-Olympic-fencing-team-loses-new-home-in-9171784.php#photo-10796265)
By Kurtis Alexander Updated 8:27 pm, Thursday, August 18, 2016

http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/51/13/63/10796265/12/920x920.jpg
Matthew Porter (center), the armorer of the U.S. Olympic Fencing Team, lost his home in Lake County’s Clayton Fire.

It was the last thing anyone at the Rio Olympics would expect to hear after an exuberant string of medal wins: that a catastrophic wildfire was racing toward his home.
But that’s the unfortunate news Matthew Porter, armorer for the U.S. Olympics fencing team, received over the weekend from his wife. The couple live in Northern California’s fire-ravaged hills, and their house in Lower Lake was in the path of Lake County’s devastating Clayton Fire.
Porter’s wife, Karen, was forced to flee with only the clothes she was wearing, their two long-haired Chihuahuas, Tucker and Fidget, and a stray cat. All else was likely lost, she told her husband in an email and follow-up phone call to Rio de Janeiro.
“What a way to finish there,” Porter, 59, said in an interview with The Chronicle on Thursday, having returned to California early. “Not really what I wanted, but my active job had been over at that point.”
Porter’s responsibility at the Games was to take care of the weaponry for the 17 American fencers who walked away with two silver medals and two bronze medals.
After landing at San Francisco International Airport late Tuesday, Porter greeted his wife and rushed to Lower Lake, about 100 miles north of the city. Although their neighborhood was off-limits because the fire was still burning, a law-enforcement officer confirmed what the Porters suspected: There was nothing left.
The two bought their property east of Lower Lake’s historic downtown only three months ago, shortly before Porter left with the fencing team for Brazil. The couple had just finished moving their personal belongings as well as their online fencing supply business from Pacifica.
“We loved it there,” Porter said. “We had gotten things fixed the way we wanted. It took every last penny to do it.”
Making matters worse, the Porters, who bought their house in cash, hadn’t yet obtained fire insurance, they said. But on Thursday, as the couple drove to pick up their pets from friends in the Bay Area, they said by phone they were just happy that neither they nor the animals were hurt.
“My No. 1 concern was Karen, and whether she’d be able to get out,” Porter said. “That is the most important thing.”
The two plan to stay with a friend near Lake Berryessa while they figure out their future.
“I’m still in shock,” Karen Porter said. “It’s still hard to believe that everything’s gone.”
The Clayton Fire is believed to be the work of a 40-year-old man, who has been charged with a string of felonies and has been accused of being a serial arsonist. The blaze has destroyed an estimated 268 structures since it began Saturday, the last day the U.S. fencing team was competing in the Rio Olympics.
Among the fencing medalists was Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American woman to wear a hijab at the Games. She was part of the women’s saber team that won bronze.
As grim as Porter’s situation may be now, he said it doesn’t detract from the thrill of being among the fencing team’s dozen or so coaches and support staff. This is Porter’s third time at the Olympics.
“Matthew made sure our weapons were in absolutely top shape and was critical in making sure that we did not miss a single point due to our equipment,” said Greg Massialas, head coach of the U.S. Olympic men’s foil team, in a prepared statement. “It is a shame that after he spent so much of his time making sure Team USA had the opportunities for success, he lost everything.”

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander

How to help
Friends of the Porters have launched a fundraising campaign for the couple at https://www.gofundme.com/2kg64t5p

This is my third friend that has lost their home to a California wildfire in the last year or so. :(

[GeneChing]

Aniya Necol Louissaint (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68588-2016-Rio-Olympics&p=1295403#post1295403) didn't make it past the Round of 16 (https://www.rio2016.com/en/taekwondo-standings-tk-women-67kg). Oh well. I wanted to get some sort of Olympic article up and that one fell in my lap.

Man, Olympic TKD (http://www.martialartsmart.com/tae-kwon-do-styles.html) has gotten so surreal. I could barely follow it. :o

Meanwhile, here's some closing thoughts:

‘Training isn’t enough’: China blames ‘fierce’ competition after Rio Olympics flop (https://www.hongkongfp.com/2016/08/21/training-isnt-enough-china-blames-fierce-competition-after-rio-olympics-flop/)
21 August 2016 11:37 AFP 2 min read

China blamed fierce competition for their Rio flop and promised to examine their “shortcomings” on Saturday after slumping to their worst Olympic performance in 20 years.

China sent 410 athletes, their biggest team at a foreign Olympics, but by the penultimate day they had won just 24 gold medals, their fewest since Atlanta 1996.

https://www.hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/kaaFdXA.jpg
Photo: Wikicommons.

Worse, China trailed not only the United States but also Britain on the medals table, a fact that has prompted splutterings of indignation in Chinese media.


Team ChinaVerified account
‏@XHSports
Forget medal tally. With this volleyball gold, Chinese couldn't be any happier

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CqWjW7AWgAAiDBP.jpg

RETWEETS 40
LIKES 133
8:20 PM - 20 Aug 2016
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

China topped the table in 2008 and were second in 2004 and 2012, but Chinese Olympic committee chief Liu Peng said rising standards had taken them by surprise.

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/ning-ding-of-china-cries-after-the-womens-singles-table-tennis-gold-picture-id149632809
Ning Ding of China cries after the Women's Singles Table Tennis Gold Medal match against Xiaoxia Li of China on Day 5 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 1, 2012 in London, England.
August 01, 2012
Embed from Getty Images

“There are a few problems we cannot overlook. In the Rio Games we didn’t win so many medals… we didn’t assess objectively the challenges we might face at these Games,” said Liu.

“In recent years more countries have attached importance to the Olympic Games, so the level of play internationally has come up and the competition has become fierce.

“We need to employ a new mentality and new understanding how to improve our performances and ability. We need more experiences and learning.”

Liu said inexperience particularly had cost China, whose team was young with three-quarters of them competing at their first Olympics.

“We have trained these athletes but the training isn’t enough,” he said.

“Because when these athletes are facing fierce competition and challenges they have to too much to think about and too many mental burdens and they didn’t play at their highest level.”

But he had warm words for swimmer Fu Yuanhui, whose bubbly personality and frank comments — rare for a Chinese athlete — won hearts at home and abroad.

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/chinas-fu-yuanhui-poses-with-her-bronze-medal-on-the-podium-of-the-picture-id587477996
China's Fu Yuanhui poses with her bronze medal on the podium of the Women's 100m Backstroke during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 8, 2016. / AFP / GABRIEL
August 08, 2016
Embed from Getty Images

“Her happiness, starting from the bottom of her heart, fully demonstrated her spirit to continue to challenge herself and achieve excellence,” said Liu.

“This is something that touched audiences on the very deepest level.

“Her ‘prehistoric strength’ as she put it fully demonstrated the modern Chinese athletes: they’re confident, they’re active and they’ve fully pushing forward.”

Liu also praised China’s athletes for competing in the right spirit and not appearing desperate to win at all costs.

“We have fully demonstrated our Chinese spirit. We’re not arrogant when we win, we don’t give up easily and we continue to strive forward,” he said.

[GeneChing]

A few random final news, and then on to Tokyo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64475-2020-Olympics).


Mongolia wrestling coaches protest disqualification by ripping off their clothes (http://www.sfgate.com/olympics/article/Mongolia-wrestling-coaches-protest-Rio-Olympics-9176002.php)
Now THAT is a protest
By Katie Dowd Updated 11:25 am, Sunday, August 21, 2016

http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/51/16/63/10808538/7/920x920.jpg
Mongolias coaches protest the judges decision after Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (red) of Mongolia is defeated by Ikhtiyor Navruzov (blue) of Uzbekistan in the Men's Freestyle 65kg Bronze match against on Day 16 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 2 on August 21, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) Photo: Laurence Griffiths, Getty Images

In an Olympic Games full of remarkable scenes, perhaps none was more bizarre than this one.
Protesting the disqualification of the Mongolian wrestler Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran in the bronze medal 65kg freestyle wrestling match, two of his coaches stripped down on the mat.


Deadspin (https://twitter.com/Deadspin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔ @Deadspin
Coaches strip in protest as wrestler loses medal on last-second penalty for celebrating http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/wrestling-bronze-medal-match-ends-in-controversy-mongo-1785562325 …
10:33 AM - 21 Aug 2016
784 784 Retweets 703 703 likes

Referees ruled that Uzbekistan's Ikhtiyor Navruzov was the winner after Mandakhnaran apparently celebrated his victory while there were still 10 seconds on the clock. Uzbekistan challenged the ruling, and the premature celebration penalty point awarded to Navruzov was enough to give him the win.
The infuriated Mongolian coaches rushed the mat and refused to leave, removing their clothes piece by piece as security attempted to stop them. They also slammed their shoes onto the ground.
By the time the Mongolian coaches were forcibly escorted from the arena, both were shirtless and one was down to his boxers. The crowd applauded and chanted "Mongolia! Mongolia!" as they were removed.

I can think of many other sports that I'd much rather see engage in this sort of protest...;)

[GeneChing]

America did great this year. Almost too great.


Was Rio China's worst-ever Olympics? (http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/21/asia/china-olympics-performance/index.html)
By Steven Jiang, CNN
Updated 8:51 AM ET, Mon August 22, 2016

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160821211101-31-rio-olympics-closing-ceremony-0821-exlarge-169.jpg
Photos: Rio Olympics: Closing ceremony
Athletes walk through the stadium.

Story highlights
Team China's performance in Rio was considered disappointing
Some point the finger at the country's sports system

Beijing (CNN) For a nation known for its obsession for gold, Team China seemed to have had a rough time in Rio de Janeiro.

The country came in third place in the gold medal count at the 2016 Summer Games, trailing the United States and Great Britain. Eight years ago in Beijing, China sat on top with a record 51 gold medals.
Now, analysts and spectators are debating if China has moved beyond its single-minded determination in winning gold.
Some see a diminishing role for sports as an outlet for nationalism, thanks to China's economic and military ascent on the global stage. Others consider funny swimmer Fu Yuanhui's instant popularity a sign of a demographic shift in Olympic viewing, as younger generations focus more on personalities than results.
But if one looks at the hardware, there is no denying that China came up short.
"We agree that winning gold is not the only benchmark, but we also recognize the Olympic motto is faster, higher and stronger after all," said Liu Peng, China's sports minister, in Rio on Saturday.

A slow start
China began its quest at the Games without winning gold on day one.
Soon came some unexpected flops in fields that China usually excels in: diving, gymnastics and swimming.
Female swimmer Chen Xinyi, a rising star, tested positive for a banned substance.
Then, 100-meter freestyle world champion Ning Zetao -- the swimming team's golden boy and a huge celebrity -- finished his Rio races empty-handed.
Finally, blaming an illness, Sun Yang -- the world-record holder in men's 1,500-meter freestyle -- failed to even qualify for the final.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160809104641-sun-yang-gold-medal-exlarge-169.jpg
Gold medalist Yang Sun of China poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for the men's 200m freestyle on August 8.

Fu was the one Chinese swimmer who bucked the gloomy trend and became an overnight sensation. The 20-year-old lit up -- and cracked up -- the whole nation with her exuberant and at times hilarious answers during post-competition interviews on state television. Her reactions formed a stark contrast to the usual somber responses from Chinese athletes.

A much-needed win
In the end, it was once again the Chinese women's volleyball team that lifted the national spirit and let the world's most populous country go out with a bang at the Rio Games.
When the women overcame their first-set loss in the final and beat Serbia 3-1 Saturday night to claim the 26th -- and final -- gold medal for China, the entire Chinese cyberspace seemed to explode with joy and pride, with countless posts from around the world on people bursting into tears.
As China emerged from Mao Zedong's tumultuous Cultural Revolution and re-entered the world of international sports in the early 1980s, it was the unlikely success of the national women's volleyball team that injected the scarred nation with a much-needed shot of purpose and optimism.
This time around, millions of fans were glued to their television sets or phones, holding their collective breath as state media offered play-by-play announcements on air and online.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160822092506-china-volleyball-win-exlarge-169.jpg
China's players celebrate after winning their women's gold medal volleyball match against Serbia on August 20, 2016, at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The volleyball team accomplished something even Beijing's propaganda czars and Internet censors had found elusive in the past few weeks: Replacing the disappointing and bitter tone on social media over China's Olympic performance in Rio with a united and enthusiastic voice.

The blame game
Disheartened state media outlets could hardly conceal their feeling during much of the Games, with the official Xinhua news agency memorably tweeting in English "You're kidding me" as Great Britain overtook China for the number two spot in the gold medal table.
The tweet has since been deleted.
Yet others pointed the finger at the country's government-run sports system, which pours millions of dollars of state funds in Olympic sports and puts young athletes through ruthless training in fields chosen by the authorities.
"The state should use taxpayer money to improve conditions of public sports facilities for ordinary people, instead of spending it to win a few medals that would make officials look good," wrote prominent sports commentator Huang Jianxiang on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.
Despite such criticisms, officials and the public still often link China's Olympic success to its national rise.
Economists at Goldman Sachs had predicted China would take home 89 medals, including 36 gold, to place second in the medal table in Rio.
When the Olympic flame was extinguished Sunday night, the final count of 70 in total with 26 gold made the widely reported forecast look way too sanguine.
Still, there were enough victories to celebrate, according to Liu, China's top sports official.
He pointed to the issue of succession in many sports but stressed that, while Rio was the first Olympics for more than 70% of Team China members, 13 first-timers struck gold. He also applauded Fu's viral remarks as a sign of increasingly relaxed and confident Chinese athletes.
"We underestimated the challenges and difficulties we would face at the Rio Olympics," Liu said. "We are behind in studying new ideas and trends in the fast-developing world of competitive sports along with their training and management."
"Our Rio mission was basically accomplished," he added.

[GeneChing]

Michael Phelps cupping or Ryan Lochte exaggerating?

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/8f/a8f3c8d5-bebd-5e6f-9d18-76fe45180381/57b74da41e605.image.jpg

[GeneChing]

This is exactly what I was thinking when I saw the opening ceremonies. Go Gisele!


Brazilian Beauty Special: How To Get Gisele’s Bikini Body (http://emirateswoman.com/brazilian-beauty-special-how-to-get-giseles-bikini-body/)
Want to take a shot at looking like some of Brazil’s hottest exports? The Latin nation may be hosting the Rio Olympics, but it’s just as well known for its talent away from the sporting world, too.

Brazil has produced some of the world’s sexiest women – from Camila Alves to Gisele Bundchen. So, if your goal involves looking great, there is plenty to learn from this sizzling starlet.

Here’s how to get Gisele Bundchen’s bikini body…
Kicking off: She has one of the most envied physiques on the planet, and it’s not hard to see why… 36-year-old Gisele practically oozes strength and health through her pores. The supermodel and mother-of-two is a self-confessed athlete who works really hard to stay in shape, enjoying yoga and kung fu as well as a healthy lifestyle.

http://emirateswoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-21.02.59.png

On the ball: “I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals. I was mindful about what I ate, and I gained only 30lbs,” she has said of her two pregnancies. She’s also living the good life for her family’s sake, raising chickens and even making fruit leather with her kids.

“I have a beautiful garden in LA where I raise chickens,” says Gisele. “We have very little waste because the chickens eat all of the vegetable scraps, and anything they won’t eat I put in my compost pile with the chicken poo.”

http://emirateswoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-21.03.26.png

And as well as eating healthily, Gisele does some form of yoga or Pilates plus cardio every day. Her favourite workout is Anusara yoga and she usually starts her days with an hour of practice. Teacher Amy Lombardo, who has been working with Gisele for more than ten years, says the routines they practise include lunges, tricep push-ups, and core work. But Gisele’s main love fitness-wise is martial arts – after moving to Boston with hubby Tom Brady, Gisele took up kung fu and tai chi, and she even did kung fu up to two weeks before her son was born.

Scores for: Her relaxed approach to life, parenting and beauty. She famously doesn’t brush her hair when she isn’t working, and Gisele loves tai chi’s calming influence, describing it as ‘moving meditation’ – she even meditated her way through birth.

http://emirateswoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-21.09.44.png

Words: Sarah James/Feats Press

Images: Instagram

Main image: Getty

Gisele is one of our favorites on our Celebrities-studying-martial-arts (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?41233-Celebrities-studying-martial-arts) thread.

[GeneChing]

Schools must train girls in martial arts, says Governor Droupadi Murmu (http://english.pradesh18.com/news/jharkhand/schools-must-train-girls-in-martial-arts-says-governor-droupadi-murmu-911466.html)
Posted on: Aug 22, 2016 08:44 AM IST | Updated on: Aug 22, 2016 08:44 AM IST

Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said that PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik's performances at the Rio Olympics are live examples of what girls can do.
Governor Murmu, while addressing the girl students at the Jamshedpur Women's College 2009-12 year convocation ceremony, said that girls are highly talented and have the potential to make a name for the themselves and the country in the field of their interest, provided they get an oppurtunity, says a report.

http://static.english.pradesh18.com//pix/2016/03/Droupadi-Murmu.jpg
Governor Droupadi Murmu (File photo)

She urged all schools and colleges to introduce karate, judo, taekwondo that shall help girls become self-confident, self-reliant, while referring to growing rising crimes against women. The sociey needs to shun their rigid mindset regarding capabilities of girls.
Murmu said to the degree holders that their acumen will be tested when they step out of college to compete to make a mark in the field of their interest.
Governor Murmu lauded the college for earning a place for the state by becoming an autonomous college with "A" certification from NAAC, Bangalore.
She said that introducing new courses, including professional and vocational programmes, in college is always a good thing, but the quality of education needs to be maintained at every level. "By shaping the careers of girls, this college is contributing in the nation building exercise," she said.

karate (http://www.martialartsmart.com/karate-styles.html), judo (http://www.martialartsmart.com/judo-jujitsu-styles.html), taekwondo (http://www.martialartsmart.com/tae-kwon-do-styles.html) - bring it. Great post Olympic idea. ;)

[GeneChing]

Robots are coming after my job. Where is Sarah Connor when you need her?


A Chinese news outlet used an incredibly efficient “robot reporter” to cover the Olympics (http://qz.com/764985/a-chinese-news-outlet-used-an-incredibly-efficient-robot-reporter-to-cover-the-olympics/)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/not-more-typing-2-e1472022894336.jpg?w=3200
Forty stories a day. (REUTERS/Kacper Pempel)

WRITTEN BY
Echo Huang Yinyin
OBSESSION

Machines with Brains
August 24, 2016

A Chinese robot reporter produced 450 Olympic news items over the 15-day sporting event, mostly about China’s dominant sports, like badminton and table tennis. While its prose was criticized for being somewhat rote, the coverage certainly was speedy, appearing minutes after events ended.
The “AI writing robot” Xiaomingbot (link in Chinese) produced 30 to 40 pieces most days of the Olympics, and on August 14 it published 58 (link in Chinese), according to co-inventor Toutiao news. Toutiao, or “headline news” is a search engine and news syndication service with a website, app, and public WeChat account that boasted 530 million total users in August.
Most of the robot news items were 100 words or so. The most-read was a piece on a Badminton Women’s Singles game won by London Olympics sliver medalist Wang Yihan. The piece came out two minutes after the match ended and had over 50,000 views (link in Chinese):


Briefing: China’s Wang Yihan won. The game last for 46 minutes, world ranking No.2 Wang played against world ranking Karin Schnaase. Wang finally won the Olympics badminton women’s singles with two matches. The game was held at Riocentro – Pavilion 4 on August 15, 2:30 am, Beijing local time.”

On online critic said,” ‘China’s Wang won’ is too robotic, it should be ‘Wang claimed the victory,’ okay? The wording is bad.” The piece was followed by two other badminton articles with over 22,000 and 17,000 views, respectively.
Xiaomingbot’s artificial intelligence relies on the Olympics database. It can also write longer pieces like a 821-word article on the Chinese Women’s football tournament (link in Chinese), but that was only viewed by 243 people.
It’s the first Chinese AI machine to report the Olympics, according to co-inventor Peking University (link in Chinese), and it will also follow the European Football Championship using a list (link in Chinese) of ongoing matches and reports.
It was not, however, the only AI reporter at the Olympics. The Washington Post’s Heliograf also generated short items on game schedules, results, and top medal tallies on Twitter.


Follow
Post Olympics @wpolympicsbot
Medals as of 12:00 a.m.
Medals leader board
1. #USA: 43 G, 37 S, 36 B
2. #CHN: 26 G, 18 S, 26 B
3. #GBR: 27 G, 22 S, 17 B
9:00 PM - 20 Aug 2016
Retweets likes

A post comparing the two writing machines, which was read over 20,000 times on WeChat, criticized (link in Chinese) Heliograf’s robotic style while praising Xiaomingbot for its speedy reports, rich content, readability and variable events coverage. “Chinese player Xiaomingbot inspires national pride and crushed competitor Heliograf across the Pacific Ocean,” it said.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Sign of the times my friend.

[GeneChing]

I couldn't follow the action at all. The electronic scoring system has ruined the sport.


Is that a kick? Taekwondo fighters devise new ways to score (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/08/20/is-that-a-kick-taekwondo-fighters-devise-new-ways-to-score/89042294/)
AP 10:12 a.m. EDT August 20, 2016

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/c6e78e229e42cd642e5b26624d9ec2b8073c434f/c=445-0-4421-2982&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2016/08/20/USATODAY/usatsports/b214a0f4d0ac4b2db062fca81d4b2c1b.jpg
(Photo: The Associated Press)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Taekwondo may be best known for its flashy and acrobatic kicks, but the electronic scoring system used at the Olympics apparently doesn't care whether or not fighters use the correct technique. That's resulting in a lot of bizarre kicks that no true practitioner of the Korean martial art would recognize, in a departure that some say cheapens the sport.

Sparring in taekwondo has traditionally relied on numerous kicks delivered with technical accuracy; depending on the kick, fighters usually strike with the blade of the foot, the heel or the front of the foot, with toes pointed back. To take advantage of the electronic scoring system — which merely detects force rather than a competitor's skill — some taekwondo fighters and their coaches have figured out that the best-scoring kicks sometimes sacrifice form for expediency.

"I've definitely seen some weird kicks that you would never teach at any taekwondo school," said Steven Lopez, the sport's most decorated athlete, who was competing in a record fifth Olympics. "They flick their legs up trying to do something to score, but it is not taekwondo."

Unfortunately for Lopez, his Tunisian opponent Oussama Oueslati, in his bronze medal match on Friday didn't have a problem with those unusual techniques — and used many of them to defeat him.

Oueslati repeatedly used a move referred to by some as a "scorpion kick," where he would swing his leg up towards Lopez's head and then snap it back like a scorpion tail. No such kick exists in the traditional taekwondo repertoire but because the technique results in the foot tapping the head guard, it frequently scores on the electronic system.

"Fighters won't care whether it looks like a banana kick or a twist kick or whatever it is, as long as it's working," said Australian taekwondo competitor Safwan Khalil. He recalled a fight he had during the Rio Games with an opponent whose strange kicks caught him off-guard. "When he started throwing those twist kicks, I was just like, 'OK, What are we doing here? This is taekwondo?' But you just have to roll with it."

Kim So-hui, this year's Olympic taekwondo champion in the women's 49-kilogram division, said she isn't thrilled about the evolution of the martial art either.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it," said the South Korean athlete after clinching the gold medal on Wednesday. "It's the taekwondo federation that decided that, not the athletes," she said, noting that she declines to use any of the hybrid techniques.

The sport's governing body acknowledged further scoring changes might be necessary.

"Athletes are at the very heart of the World Taekwondo Federation and so we are always ready to listen to feedback from them on how they think our sport can be improved," said Jung Kook-Hyun, the federation's chairman of the technical committee, in an email. "We are committed to constantly modernizing the sport but we always want to find a balance with honoring our traditions," he said, adding the federation would consider possible reforms after Rio.

Some coaches are divided about whether or not to recommend using the unorthodox kicks.

"I don't like teaching these techniques, but that's the sport," said Jean Lopez, who directs the U.S. taekwondo team, including his brother Steven. "I think it's compromised taekwondo so that it's become less about fighting — and taekwondo is a martial art, a fighting sport," he said.

Many athletes say that because the odd techniques often score, they cannot be ignored.

"Our job as athletes is to adapt as best we can and still give our best and produce good results," said South Korea's Oh Hye-Ri, gold medalist in the women's 67-kilogram division. Oh dominated most of her opponents by employing a steady stream of old-school head kicks that her competitors were unable to counter.

Still, she said that she wasn't opposed to the evolution of the sport, even though it means extra training.

"I also practice a lot of those kicks as well," she said, providing a quick demonstration of what some describe as a "donkey kick," where fighters jerk their leg up awkwardly to twist the back of their foot onto their opponent's body protector. "If it can win the fight, you have to try."

[GeneChing]

I'm going to post this here for now. If Helen really does go MMA, we'll copy it into a separate thread like with Randi Miller (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/search.php?searchid=1006575), Ben Askren (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52408), Satoshi Ishii (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=893306), and of course, Ronda Rousey (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?63565-Ronda-Rousey).


You got to click to TMZ to see the vid.

OLYMPIC WRESTLER HELEN MAROULIS
I'M OPEN TO MMA CAREER
... 'There's a Possibility' (http://www.tmz.com/2016/08/25/helen-maroulis-mma-olympic-wrestling-video/)
8/25/2016 2:49 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
EXCLUSIVE

IT'S POSSIBLE TMZSports.com
There could be a HUGE new star in the world of women's MMA -- because the U.S. Olympian who just won the gold medal in wrestling says she's open to the idea of getting in the cage.
We spoke with Helen Maroulis -- the 24-year-old phenom who dominated the world at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio -- and asked her straight up if MMA is in her future.
Maroulis made it clear wrestling is her main priority and first love ... but says a transition to MMA is definitely a possibility down the road.
The best part of the video ... Maroulis says she'll 100% return to the Olympics in 2020 to defend her title.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFaIJ92okmc

[GeneChing]

From watching Bruce Lee movies to winning wing chun gold: wushu brings Yvette Kong serenity in the swimming pool (http://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/2146337/watching-bruce-lee-movies-winning-wing-chun-gold-wushu-brings-yvette)
The Hong Kong record holder credits southern China martial art with helping to save her swimming career and Olympic dream
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 16 May, 2018, 12:20pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 16 May, 2018, 9:45pm
Chan Kin-wa
361SHARE

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/05/16/fed5fcc2-58ba-11e8-a7d9-186ba932a081_1280x720_152236.JPG?itok=x44PbqZq
Yvette Kong Man-yi has qualified for her first Olympics after six years of struggle and mental anguish. Photos: K.Y. Cheng
HONG KONG

What is the relationship between Chinese martial arts and swimming? Olympian Yvette Kong Man-yi may be best-placed to demonstrate.

The 25-year-old, who represented Hong Kong at the Rio Games two years ago after becoming one of the few local swimmers that made the “A” qualifying standard, recently won a gold medal in wing chun at the Hong Kong International Wushu Championships.

“I liked wushu since a very young age, I was always play-fighting with my brothers and cousins and watching Bruce Lee movies,” said Kong, who is preparing for the Asian Games in Indonesia this summer.

“When I was young, my mother once ordered me to learn ballet because of cultural stereotype but I quit after two lessons. I was simply too active and always had wushu on my mind.”

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Yvette Kong Man-yi says she liked wushu from a young age. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Kong then took up swimming, which she has been involved with for over two decades, and she is the Hong Kong record holder in four events – 50-metre, 100-metre and 200-metre breaststroke, and the women’s 4x100-metre medley relay when they won bronze at the 2009 East Asian Games in Kowloon Park.

But she has also practised wushu from the age of 12 under Bruce Lee Chun-pong, who coached her to her recent victory in wing chun.

The southern China martial art was popularised in Hong Kong by the 2008 box-office smash Ip Man, in which wing chun grandmaster Donnie Yen played the titular role.

“Practising wushu has helped me in different stages of my life,” said Kong. “When I was young, it was like a form of expression for any active teenager and as I grew up and started serious training in swimming, it helped my back muscles.

“When I was more mature, it helped not only on the physical side but also the mental side, as wing chun focuses on close range movement and every step must be well-controlled and performed with great power.

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Yvette Kong, pictured at the Asian Indoor Games, says wushu helps her handle the mental side of high-level swimming. Photo: Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee

‘It helps you become more patient and to stabilise your mind, so that you know exactly what you are doing in every movement.”

Kong said she reached a crossroads in her swimming career after failing to qualify for two successive Olympics, at Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

She then moved from the United States after finishing her studies at Berkeley in California to train with the Edinburgh University swimming team in Scotland.

“The years between 2009 and 2015 were probably the worst in my swimming career. I just couldn’t do well and I quit swimming for a short period,” she said.

“But then wushu came in and my mental character became stronger and the new environment in Edinburgh also worked well for me.

“Eventually I made it to the Rio Olympics and I would say my training in wushu did play a role.”

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Yvette Kong poses with her gold medal alongside one of her coach’s young students, who was also a winner at the Hong Kong International Wushu Championships. Photo: Handout

With her lifelong goal of competing at an Olympic Games achieved, Kong said she had the opportunity to realise some of her smaller ambitions, which included taking part in the Wushu Championships.

“Wushu is a big asset of Hong Kong with a long tradition. I appreciate it very much and always want to spread it,” said Kong. “But now of course my focus is back for the Asian Games which is just around the corner.”

Kong will be attempting only the 50-metre breaststroke in Jakarta and the women’s 4x100 metre medley relay if she gets selected for the team.

“I would be very happy to get the relay chance again and of course I also want a breakthrough in a shorter distance,” said Kong, whose bronze in Incheon four years ago was her first Asian Games medal.

“Powerhouses China and Japan are always strong in the relay and we must beat South Korea if we want to join the two heavyweights on the podium.”

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