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Thread: 2016 Rio Olympics

  1. #46
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    More on Van Tichelt

    Rio 2016: Judo bronze medallist Dirk Van Tichelt arrested after 'losing fight with hotel receptionist'
    The 32-year-old won bronze in the men’s 73kg competition on Monday

    Mark Critchley @mjcritchley Friday 12 August 2016


    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 isn't looking so good this year.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #47
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    Rio Olympic McDs

    The Chinese Basketball Team Eats At McDonalds Everyday in Rio Because It’s Free
    FOOD NEWS 1 DAY AGO


    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.



    talkingbaws @talkingbaws
    McDonald’s In The Olympic Village Is Already Packed… With Athletes! http://talkingbaws.com/2016/08/mcdon...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.



    Daily Mail Online ✔@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.”


    Nico Hines ✔@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.


    Brian Curtis ✔@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?
    Gene Ching
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  3. #48
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    Chinese cyclist helmets

    What’s the story behind China’s creepy track cycling helmets?
    Henry Robertshaw August 15, 2016

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



    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.


    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.


    Grayson Perry @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 ✔@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.
    Gene Ching
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  4. #49
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    Last edited by PalmStriker; 08-17-2016 at 10:50 AM.

  5. #50
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    I remember that film

    That's the one with the cross dressing kid who gets discovered when virgin boy pee 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

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


    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.


    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."



    Patrick Yuen @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.


    Meggie Palmer ✔@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.
    Gene Ching
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  6. #51
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    We've been talking about these changes

    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


    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.
    Gene Ching
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  7. #52
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    How tragic

    TV host contracts malaria, now in a coma in Rio hospital
    By Katie Dowd Updated 12:49 pm, Thursday, August 18, 2016


    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 ✔ @CharlieCW
    A message about Charlie:



    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.

    This is by far, the darkest Olympics in my lifetime. And I remember the '72 Olympics.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #53
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    And then there's this...

    ...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
    By SIMON ROMEROAUG. 18, 2016


    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.
    Gene Ching
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  9. #54
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    Matthew Porter is my personal friend

    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
    By Kurtis Alexander Updated 8:27 pm, Thursday, August 18, 2016


    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.
    Gene Ching
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  10. #55
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    The final day

    Aniya Necol Louissaint didn't make it past the Round of 16. Oh well. I wanted to get some sort of Olympic article up and that one fell in my lap.

    Man, Olympic TKD has gotten so surreal. I could barely follow it.

    Meanwhile, here's some closing thoughts:
    ‘Training isn’t 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.


    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



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    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.


    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.


    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.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #56
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    Turn out the lights on Rio

    A few random final news, and then on to Tokyo.

    Mongolia wrestling coaches protest disqualification by ripping off their clothes
    Now THAT is a protest
    By Katie Dowd Updated 11:25 am, Sunday, August 21, 2016


    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 ✔ @Deadspin
    Coaches strip in protest as wrestler loses medal on last-second penalty for celebrating http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/wr...ngo-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...
    Gene Ching
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  12. #57
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    PRC mopes

    America did great this year. Almost too great.

    Was Rio China's worst-ever Olympics?
    By Steven Jiang, CNN
    Updated 8:51 AM ET, Mon August 22, 2016


    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.


    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.


    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.
    Gene Ching
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  13. #58
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    Which was a bigger story?

    Michael Phelps cupping or Ryan Lochte exaggerating?

    Gene Ching
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  14. #59
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    Gisele

    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
    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.



    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.”



    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.




    Words: Sarah James/Feats Press

    Images: Instagram

    Main image: Getty
    Gisele is one of our favorites on our Celebrities-studying-martial-arts thread.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  15. #60
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    Schools must train girls in martial arts

    Schools must train girls in martial arts, says Governor Droupadi Murmu
    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.


    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, judo, taekwondo - bring it. Great post Olympic idea.
    Gene Ching
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