Indentification please
While insisting there is no evidence that any underage gymnasts are participating in the Olympics, Bruno Grandi, president of FIG, the international governing body of gymnastics, said Saturday that a new licensing system will be instituted within the next year.
He said that the size of teams will decrease from six to five beginning next year and that he was uncomfortable with the emphasis on difficult tricks as opposed to artistry, Grandi dismissed reporting that seems to indicate as many as three Chinese female gymnasts don’t meet the requirement of turning 16 during the Olympic year.
“FIG has no basis to doubt the information on the passport of the athletes,” Grandi said.
Documents received by several news organizations including the Los Angeles Times showed Ke Hexin, Yang Yilin and Jiang Yuyuan with registered birthdays in 1993 or 1994 that were changed on passports submitted to the federation within the last year.
Another Chinese gymnast, Yang Yun, said on a documentary that is available on YouTube that she was 14 during the 2000 Sydney Olympics when she won a bronze medal.
When asked about Yang’s quote, Grandi said, “We make our controls on the passport. The internet is not an official document.”
Though saying that he is confident there are no underage athletes competing here, Grandi said that beginning next year FIG will issue licenses to all junior and senior gymnasts. The license will be based on passport information. What makes it different than the present system is that gymnasts entered in any FIG-sanctioned junior competition will need the license. Under the present system, ages aren’t verified in junior competitions.
We’re watching
The colorful Olympics opening night ceremony from Beijing on NBC averaged 34.2 million viewers, making it the biggest television event since the Super Bowl.
It was the biggest audience ever for an Olympic opening ceremony not held in the U.S., and even eclipsed this year’s Academy Awards and finale of “American Idol,” Nielsen Media Research said.
The numbers were all the more impressive since it was a Friday night in August, when many people have better things to do than watch TV. The most recent summer Olympics, in Athens four years ago, averaged 25.4 million viewers for its first night, Nielsen said. Sydney in 2000 had 27.3 million viewers.
“It was a magical and memorable spectacle and a great way to start the Beijing Olympics,” said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics.
It was good news for NBC and its advertisers, particularly since there was concern about computer users finding ways to access non-NBC video feeds and watch portions of the ceremony before it appeared on the network. Due to the time difference, NBC aired the ceremony in the eastern U.S. 12 hours after it happened in China.
Faster, George, faster
President Bush went mountain biking on the Olympic course, got sandy at beach volleyball, got a chalk handprint left on his back after a photo with the softball team and watched the women’s basketball team win easily.
What’s that smell
A diesel generator used to create the underwater bubbles that formed the finish line at the rowing-canoeing park overheated, belching out black smoke during women’s pair heats, but races were not delayed.
Fashion politics
Brazil will not wear its regular official Nike uniform in the remainder of the Beijing Games because of concerns it could affect Rio de Janeiro’s bid for the 2016 Olympics.
Booted out
Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou has been barred from the Beijing Olympics for her role in a drug-testing scandal at the Athens Games four years ago.
The International Olympic Committee announced the ban after it investigated Thanou’s selection for the 100 meters for the Greek team. Thanou and fellow Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris missed doping tests on the eve of the 2004 opening ceremony, claiming they were injured in a motorcycle accident. The pair withdrew from the games and returned their Olympic accreditations. The IOC did not sanction them but they were later suspended for two years by track and field’s ruling body.
Oh, my aching back
Tatiana Golovin of France withdrew from singles and doubles this morning, shortly before the scheduled start of the Olympic tennis tournament. Golovin has been hampered by a back injury and has played just nine matches this year. She was to play doubles with Pauline Parmentier.
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