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Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page from Australia won the 2004, 2005 and 2007 World Championships in the 470 sailing class, but until Monday had never won Olympic gold.The Australian pair yesterday enjoyed a 22-point margin entering the must-sail medal race. Only a disqualification could keep them from the gold. They stayed clean and retired from 470 sailing with the only trophy that had eluded them.   Most Olympic medals Of all Olympic sports, sailing has yielded over the years some of the most extraordinary achievements. Austria’s Hubert Raudaschl was the first athlete to compete in nine Olympic Games, while Denmark's Paul Elvstrøm is one of only three Olympians to win the same individual event four times in a row (1948-1960). Elvstrøm was idolised by Torben Grael, a Brazilian of Danish descent introduced to sailing by his grandfather on a six-metre boat used by the Danish team in 1912. With two gold, one silver and two bronze, Grael became the sailor with the highest number of Olympic medals.    Paul ELVSTROM (Denmark)  Torben GRAEL (Brazil)     Scott of the Antarctic
The 1936 bronze medallist, Peter Scott of Great Britain, was the son of explorer Robert Scott, who died near the South Pole when Peter was an infant. Peter Scott went on to found the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), while 1972 bronze medallist Paul Coté of Canada was one of the co-founders of Greenpeace. The 1952 gold medallist, Britton Chance of the US, was a professor of biophysics most noted for his research into how oxygen is used by the body to provide energy – it sounds like he had an unfair advantage!   First woman skipper The first woman to skipper an Olympic boat was Virginie Hériot of France, who won gold in 1928. Barbara Kendall’s windsurfing gold in 1992 was the first for a female New Zealand athlete for 40 years - her brother Anthony Bruce was Olympic windsurfing champion in 1988. Another windsurfer, Gal Fridman, won Israel’s first Olympic gold medal in 2004, and Peter Homberg won the first medal of any kind for the Virgin Islands in 1988. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Valentyn Mankin is the only sailor to win in three different classes.    Valentyn MANKIN (Russian Federation)   Russell Coutts wins in 1984 Crown Princes Olav of Norway (1928) and Constantin of Greece (1960) have both won Olympic sailing gold, as has America’s Cup winning skipper Russell Coutts, who won in 1984. The flagship of those Games was the Angelita, used by the winning American team at the 1932 Games, also held in Los Angeles. The Angelita had been discovered in a Californian boatyard in 1981, and Owen Churchill, winning skipper in 1932, was back at its helm in 1984 at the age of 88.      Discover the Multimedia Gallery

Huge success for Olympex: the exhibition on Olympic stamps, coins, memorabilia and art has been attended over the last 10 days by more than 100,000 visitors. “We could have sold many more tickets, but for security reasons we had to limit the entrance to 10,000 people per day”, explains Manfred Bergman, the coordinator of the exhibition.   Most prestigious philatelic exhibition  The philatelic exhibition showcases the most prestigious stamps with a link to Olympism, including stamps from more than 125 countries that have been specially issued for the Beijing Olympic Games. One of the highlights of the assorted exhibits is the prestigious collection of Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC's Honorary President. “It’s not only about stamps, but also about their historic importance and the huge value they represent,” explains Bergman. For this veteran in Olympic philately, it is one of the most important exhibitions ever staged by the Olympic Movement. “And our Chinese visitors, real fans in this field, just love them”, he concludes.   All torches of all Games The other highlight of the exhibition is the display of Olympic torches. As an exclusive exhibition and for the first time outside the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, all Olympic torches – form both summer and winter Games - are on display. Visitors can also admire a wide range of Olympic medals, from both the current and previous Games. Costumes used at opening ceremonies add a very colourful touch to this part of the exhibition. These memorabilia and many artworks from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne have been selected and monitored by its Director, Francis Gabet, and his team.   Pin trade show Pins are an integral part of Olympic memorabilia collections. Coca-Cola has presented its first pin ever and is staging its traditional pin trade show. Other sponsors have also made a huge effort in research and are displaying historical documents and items they have specifically prepared for the current and previous Games editions.   Other highlights In addition, the finalist entries of the Olympic Art Contest are on show. A spectacular 100kg gold coin announcing the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games has been unveiled during Olympex. The visitors also particularly appreciated the possibility of striking their own medallions.   Learn more on www.2008expo.org and join in Olympexpo!

Win a trip to Copenhagen and attend the 13th Olympic Congress in October 2009: this is the prize for 20 participants of the current virtual Congress. Each member of the general public who submits a written electronic contribution to the virtual Congress is automatically eligible to participate in the prize draw. The 20 invitations include economy airfare and local accommodation and meals. Submissions will be accepted until 31 December 2008.   The quality counts The contributions to the virtual Congress will be numerous. Today more than 1,000 people have already registered or contributed. It will be up to the IOC, through its Olympic Congress Editorial Committee, to select 20 contributions and award their authors one prize each. When making its decision, the Committee will in particular take into account the quality of the contribution. The competition rules can be accessed on the virtual Congress page.

  What do I have to do? Making a contribution to the virtual Olympic Congress is easy! Access www.2009congress.olympic.org register and contribute online to a maximum of two of the five Congress themes. 
The themes are as follows:
Theme 1: The athletes - Relationship between the athletes, the clubs, federations and the NOCs - Health protection in training and competition - The social and professional life of athletes during and after elite competition

Theme 2: The Olympic Games - How to keep the Games as a premier event - The Olympic values - Universality and developing countries
Theme 3: The structure of the Olympic Movement - The autonomy of the Olympic Movement - Good governance and ethics - The relationships between the Olympic Movement and its stakeholders
Theme 4: Olympism and Youth - Moving towards an active society - Is competitive sport still appealing? - Youth sports events

Theme 5: The digital revolution - A new management of sports rights - How to increase the size of the sports audience - Communication with stakeholders in the digital age   Basis of discussion The virtual Olympic Congress is an important component of the preparatory process leading up to the 13th Olympic Congress in Copenhagen. The information gathered through the virtual Congress will form the basis of discussions at the 13th Olympic Congress held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2009.   More information on the Congress Regulations, the Call for Contributions and the competition rules can be found at www.2009congress.olympic.org   Podcasts  Interview with IOC President Jacques Rogge (.mp4)  Interview with IOC President Jacques Rogge (.mp3)    More details on the Congress

In the age of the iPod, the digital phone and the satellite beam, how could a two-hour interview with President Rogge fit with 17 days of sports-filled television? From this reflection the “A Quote a Day” project was born, an educational programme run on www.olympic.org and made available also to all TV rights-holding broadcasters for the duration of the Beijing Olympic Games.   Twenty educational vignettes  Twenty educational vignettes lasting around 45 seconds have been produced, each dealing with a specific topic. So far www.olympic.org has aired the ones of President Rogge “on Rogge”, on Olympic history, the Olympic flag and the role of the IOC President. All the clips are truly educational, and should help the younger audience to better understand the Olympic Games and the values linked to them.   Analecta  The “A quote a day” project has been produced for the IOC by the Australia-based Carnegie Enterprises, which is preparing an overall educational programme entitled “The Heart and How of the Olympic Movement”. This is the sporting component of the Analecta, their encompassing body of material about the “how” of achievement - from global leaders from diverse sectors, namely presidents and prime ministers, CEOs, creators and artists, architects and engineers and, of course, inspiring sports men and women     “Passionate about oceans”  President Rogge is used to interviews with questions linked to day-to-day topics. His interview with Georgina Carnegie was different, however, as the focus was put on the educational aspects of the Olympic Movement. “President Rogge is passionate about the ocean and our environment. He is deeply appalled by the increasing amounts of rubbish that are invading the clear blue seas he sailed on as a boy.  My other great moment was listening to the President describe the best and worst moments of his Olympic life – of the sailor unused to spectators in his sport entering the Olympic Stadium to the roar of a Mexican crowd, and his profound sadness when he received the news of the attack during the Munich Games”, Georgina Carnegie comments on the interview.      Discover more videos  

The 2008 Olympic rowing competition has reached its climax over the past two days with a total of 14 gold medals awarded - eight to the men and six to the women.   Most decorated rower Looking back to the Olympic history of rowing, seven was the magic number as far as Romania’s Elisabeta Lipa was concerned. The most decorated of all Olympic rowers, Lipa won seven medals in total at five different Olympic Games, with at least one medal at each Games. In 2000 in Sydney, Lipa, who made her living working for the Romanian equivalent of the CIA, became the oldest oarswoman to win a gold medal in the eight with coxswain event at the Games.    Elisabeta LIPA
Rowing (Romania)   Single sculls masters
Having won the double sculls in 1984, Lipa shares the record for most years between gold medals (16) with Britain’s Steve Redgrave, the only rower to earn gold medals at five consecutive Games. Redgrave’s victories came in fours and pairs between 1984 and 2000. Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union (1956-1964) and Pertti Karppinen (1976-1984), a two-metre tall fireman from Finland, share the distinction of being the only men to win the single sculls on three separate occasions.    Steven REDGRAVE
Rowing (Great Britain)   Inauspicious start Rowing made an inauspicious start to its Olympic career – included in the programme for the first Games in 1896, it was cancelled owing to bad weather. Four years later a boy was plucked from the streets of Paris to act as cox for the Dutch team in the paired-oar event and, after steering them to the gold medal, joining in the victory ceremony and having his photograph taken, he disappeared back into obscurity, his name unknown to this day. He was quite possibly the youngest champion in Olympic history.   Closest final in history Certainly the youngest since then was 11-year-old Carlos Front, coxswain for the Spanish eight in 1992, the final of which was the closest rowing final in Olympic history, Canada beating Romania by less than 30 centimetres. Finally, back in Paris but this time in 1924, a member of the Yale University crew that won the coxed eights for the USA was Ben Spock, who 20 years later wrote The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care which went on to sell more than 35 million copies.    Learn more about rowing      Discover the Multimedia Gallery

The Disciplinary Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reached a decision in the case of an anti-doping rule violation committed by Ms Fani Chalkia.   Samples provided by Ms Chalkia on the 10th August in Fukui, Japan during a pre-competition doping control test, proved positive for the banned substance Methyltrienolone; a steroid with potentially serious effects on health.   The IOC’s Medical Director, Dr Patrick Schamasch, was informed of the positive result on 16th August. At the athlete’s request the ‘B’ sample was tested on 17th August. Later that day this sample also proved positive for the same banned substance. The Greek NOC consequently suspended Ms Chalkia and she left the Olympic Village.   The IOC Disciplinary Commission praised the Greek NOC for its decisive action and cooperation. Meeting today, the Commission; Thomas Bach (Chairman), Gunilla Lindberg and Denis Oswald, reached the following decision:   I. The athlete Fani Chalkia, Greece, Athletics:   (i) is excluded from the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008;   (ii) shall have her Olympic identity and accreditation card immediately cancelled.   II.          The Athlete’s file shall be transmitted to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which is requested to consider any further action within its own competence.   III.         The NOC of Greece and BOCOG shall ensure full implementation of this decision.   IV.        The IOC Disciplinary Commission will report the matter to the competent Greek authorities, with a request to investigate possible violations of Greek law, in particular by the coach, George Panagiotopoulos.   V.         The IOC reserves its right to take sanctions or measures in relation to the Athlete’s coach, George Panagiotopoulos.   VI.        This decision shall enter into force immediately. A feature of the decision is that the Commission took the step of deciding to notify the Greek authorities of its concerns regarding possible violations of Greek law by Ms Chalkia’s coach, Mr George Panagiotopoulos.   This decision shows the determination of the IOC to broaden the fight against doping to those behind athletes.   The full text of the decision is available here: IOC Disciplinary Commission decision regarding Ms Fani Chalkia   # # #   IOC contacts in Beijing:   IOC media relations office: +8610 666 27 298    Mobile numbers: Emmanuelle Moreau - Media Relations Manager -   +86 158 1155 1830 Sandrine Tonge - Media Relations Coordinator -      +86 135 5217 5720  

The e-journal “Olympic Express” the IOC is running on www.olympic.org in collaboration with the French number one sports newspaper “L’Équipe”, and its special outlet “L’Équipe junior” for a younger audience, is reaching out to a large world-wide audience that obviously appreciates this special initiative for the Beijing Games. Here are some quotes from the very generous feedback “Olympic Express” receives.   From Brazil:   “Olympic Express shows everything that is important in a sport! I think Olympic Express should be published on more sports websites or something like this!”   “Olympic Express deserves the gold medal in Olympic communication.”   From China:  “This is very good; it provides all the information indeed to be able to follow the planet’s biggest sporting event.”   “We want to know more about the news of the Olympics. How do people prepare? I think e-books are very interesting and convenient.”     Belgium:  « Bonjour, quelle bonne idée cette brochure. Je suis instituteur primaire et je me base sur celle-ci pour mes leçons.” (“Hello. This brochure is a great idea. I am a junior school teacher and use it for my lessons.”)   USA:  “I just love this website because it gives you all the latest info on the Olympics and facts on each sport, and I am very thankful that I found this website because I have a report in school on the Olympics and I’m doing ice-skating. So everyone out there who’s interested in the Olympics should go there.”   “I love all your articles! They are very informative and fun to read!”   England:  “I really like Olympic Express and so do all of my friends.”   Australia:  “Hi, my children and I love reading your magazine. I am also a teacher and my class is also enjoying the magazine. Thank you very much!”     England: “I really like The Olympic Games and this great magazine ‘Olympic Express’. I can't wait for 2012 as my host country will host the Games in London. I hope to be a spectator, watching the opening/closing ceremony and the athletics and aquatics events. My first Olympic memories are from Sydney 2000, seeing Sir Steve Redgrave winning his fifth gold medal. Of course in Athens 2004, I can remember Kelly Holmes winning two gold medals. She is an Olympic legend. I will try my best to share the Olympic spirit with everyone around the world and seek for peace.”    Discover the Olympic Express 

With more than 42 per cent female athletes, Beijing sets a new record for women's participation in Olympic Games. Out of 11,196 total athletes, there are 4,746 women currently giving their best across various Olympic sports. Women’s participation in the Olympic Games has grown increasingly, particularly within the last two decades.   Women in the spotlight The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games kicked off with 63 female flag bearers leading their delegations into the Olympic stadium during the Opening Ceremony on 8 August. On 9 August, Katerina Emmons from the Czech Republic became the first woman to win a gold medal in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games by winning the women's 10m air rifle event in shooting. Among the female competitors in Beijing, the female athletes from Europe have won most of the medals so far, followed by their Asian counterparts.   From Rome to Beijing Whilst the 611 women who participated in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome represented just 11.5 per cent of the athletes, women’s participation had leaped to represent close to 22 per cent by the Olympic Games in 1980 in Moscow. At the Sydney Games in 2000, the number of female athletes reached more than 38 per cent, with 4,069 women of a total of 10,651 athletes. Athens, four years later, saw 4,306 female athletes competing out of a total of 10,568. In 2004, women were in the spotlight in no less than 135 events and in 26 of the 28 Olympic sports. In Beijing, women will compete in the same number of sports but in 137 events.      Discover the Multimedia Gallery

Badminton crowned its women’s singles champion, Zhang Ning of China as well as its men’s doubles champions, Kido Markis and Setiawan Hendra of Indonesia, as Asia continued its domination of this relatively young Olympic sport.   Hoyer-Larsen out on his own Ever since it was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1992, only one gold medal has ended up outside Asia, with Denmark’s Paul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen winning the men’s singles in Atlanta in 1996. The remaining 19 gold medals prior to these Games were shared between just three countries: China, South Korea and Indonesia, whose five Olympic gold medals have all come in badminton.   Gigantic shuttlecock The first of these was Susi Susanti’s victory in Barcelona in 1992, and just two hours later her fiancé, Allan Budi Kusuma, won the men's title. When Susanti and Kusuma returned to Indonesia the celebration in their honour included a two-hour parade through the streets of Jakarta that was led by a car carrying a gigantic shuttlecock. Susanti returned to win a bronze medal four years later in Atlanta, and in 1997 Susanti and Kusuma were married.   Model of dedication At the last two Olympic Games, in Sydney and Athens, China has been utterly dominant in women’s singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles. The story of 2004 champion Zhang Ning is a model of dedication: she left her home in Liaonong Province at the age of 12 to train full-time, and when she and her fiancé received their marriage licence in 2001, they delayed their ceremony for three years until after the 2004 Games, during which time they never spent more than two months together at a stretch.   Childhood team-mates Ge Fei and Gu Jun from Jiangsu Province began playing badminton together when they were nine years old. Twelve years later, they ran through the field at the 1996 Olympic Games to win the women’s doubles gold medal, and four years later in Sydney they did the same, only once conceding more than seven points in a game. Ge, whose specialty was playing close to the net, also won a world championship in mixed doubles in 1997 while pairing with Liu Yong.  Learn more about badminton      Discover the Multimedia Gallery

Do you know where past Olympic Games were held? Do you know where future Olympic Games will be held?   In a quiz on the official website of the International Olympic Committee www.olympic.org you can test your knowledge!   What do you have to do?  How can you win? All you need to do is score over 4,000 points in the host city challenge or the national pride game. Once you have achieved this goal you will be given access to the form where you register and become eligible for the draw. This draw to determine the winners will be held after the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Games.    Click here and win!   Check out the video

Technology: we all use it and need it, but most of us can barely understand it. The technology that is needed to produce the Summer Games is no different, and is more complicated than most of us could ever comprehend. Luckily Beijing has Atos Origin.   200,000 accreditation badges
The international information technology services company has been working with the Olympic Games since 1992, and this year is no different. Currently Atos Origin is leading a team of over 4,000 IT professionals in order to provide the technical infrastructure for all 75 venues (including the 32 competition venues). Some of the things they are in charge of are providing security against hackers; managing the IT system behind the production of accreditation badges that will be used by 200,000 athletes, volunteers, coaches, officials, staff and media; and supplying the link between partner products. Sounds easy enough? Now consider the fact that there are events taking place in seven different cities across China. Can you imagine the equipment needed to keep everyone in close contact with one another? For this reason, more than 1,000 servers, 10,000 PCs and 4,000 printers are needed for them to do their job.   On schedule, within budget
And just because you can never be too sure, Atos Origin coordinated testing programmes four years prior to the Opening Ceremony in order to ensure the reliability of the system come 8 August 2008.  According to Yang Yichun, Director of BOCOG Technology, the hard work has paid off. “As the IT Partner of the Games, Atos Origin has consistently met our expectations and has delivered the IT system and infrastructure on schedule, within budget, and with high quality. The effective transfer of knowledge gained by Atos Origin in previous Games is also very conducive to building, deploying, testing and managing the IT systems for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.”    Find out more about Atos Origin

Without the fans, Olympic athletes would just be performing for rows of stadium seats. So needless to say, the spectators are a big part of the Summer Games. Fans come from around the world to watch their home team go for the gold. And when they’re not cheering in the crowd, you can find them walking around the Olympic Green. We met Flavia Fonseca and her friend Mardonildo Olimpio Fo from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and asked her a few questions about herself.   What event did you see today? Artistic gymnastics for the women’s team final. We saw Brazil play: very bad, but it was important because it was the first time Brazil’s team was in the final for artistic gymnastics.  Afterwards we lunched in McDonald’s, took some photos in front of the Water Cube and Bird’s Nest, and then went down to the Kodak Zone and Coca-Cola and all the partners before stopping in the official shop of the Olympics.   What brought you to Beijing?
The major reason was the Olympics. If it were not for the Games we would never have had a reason to come here. But we are very impressed about the people’s behaviour in Beijing. They are totally friendly and open to help. Every time we asked for some information in the street it was a pleasurable experience; and not just the volunteers, but also the citizens.   Why do you think the Olympics are so important?
I think the Olympics are such a big deal because of the unity of the countries. I think sport means everything that’s good. When you win, you learn something and when you lose, you also learn a lot of things. The power of sport is something you cannot measure.   How much longer are you in Beijing for?
Tomorrow we leave for Japan for a week. We’re just finishing one week here, where we had five days of sporting events and two days of sightseeing. It was perfect.    See more photos and videos of fans  

 nullLiu Chunhong, China, set five world records on her way to the gold medal in the women’s 69kg weighlifting event yesterday in Beijing. Liu lifted a snatch world record of 128kg on her third attempt. She then set a world record with a total of 286kg with a world record clean and jerk of 158kg.   First woman Women lifters started competing at the Olympic Games only in Sydney in 2000, when Papua New Guinea’s 16-year-old Dika Toua, a competitor in Beijing, had the honour of making the first lift. Unnerved by the excitement of the moment she dropped her first snatch attempt at 45kg, but returned to lift the bar with ease.   Britain’s first Olympic gold Men have been weightlifting at the modern Olympic Games ever since they began in 1896 in Athens when Launceston Elliot became Great Britain’s first Olympic champion by winning the one-handed super-heavyweight lift. At the same Games, Germany’s Carl Schuhmann managed to win medals in gymnastics and wrestling, as well as finishing third at weightlifting and fifth in the triple jump.   Short back and sides In 1956 the American bantamweight Charles Vinci found himself seven ounces, or 200 grammes, over the weight limit just 15 minutes before the weigh-in, and that after an hour of running and sweating. Fortunately a severe last-minute haircut did the trick and Vinci went on to win the gold medal and set a world record!   Naim Süleymanoðlu Undoubtedly one of the greatest names in modern weightlifting is Naim Süleymanoðlu. Born to Turkish parents living in Bulgaria and only 1.47m tall, he set set his first adult world record when he was 15 years old. In 1996, representing Turkey, he became the first weightlifter to win a third Olympic gold medal and, considering he was world champion in 1984, it probably would have been his fourth but he was competing for Bulgaria in those days and they did not take part in Los Angeles. In 2001 he received the Olympic Order.    Naim SULEYMANOGLU
Weightlifting (Turkey)   Eclipsed by Dimas But even Süleymanoðlu cannot claim to be the most successful Olympic weightlifter. That honour now goes to Pyrros Dimas, an Albanian-born Greek who in 1992 won Greece’s first weightlifting gold medal since 1904 in the 82.5kg weight class. He followed it up with gold at the next two Olympic Games and returned in 2004 in Athens to win a bronze. He signalled his retirement by leaving his shoes on the platform while the appreciative Greek crowd gave him a standing ovation.    Pyrros DIMAS
Weightlifting (Greece)    Learn more about Beijing 2008    Discover the Multimedia Gallery  

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee, meeting today in Beijing, has reached a decision, based upon the recommendations of the IOC Disciplinary Commission, in the case of Mr Ara Abrahamian.   Mr Abrahamian is a Swedish athlete who stepped down from the podium and laid his medal on the floor during the awards ceremony for the men’s Greco-Roman wrestling 84kg event. He had received one of two bronze medals awarded.   The IOC Disciplinary Commission consisted of three persons: Dr Thomas Bach (Chairman), Denis Oswald and Sergey Bubka. All three are Olympians with extensive experience of elite sport etiquette.   The IOC Executive Board decided that Mr Abrahamian, Sweden: 1. Is disqualified from the event of men’s Greco-Roman wrestling, 84kg.
2. Is excluded from the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008.
3. Shall have his Olympic identity and accreditation card immediately cancelled and withdrawn.   The full text of the decision is available here:  IOC EB Decision regarding Mr Ara Abrahamian   ###   IOC contacts in Beijing: IOC Media Relations office:                +8610 666 27 298         
Emmanuelle Moreau - Media Relations Manager +86 158 1155 1830
Sandrine Tonge - Media Relations Coordinator                +86 135 5217 5720        

 

 

 

 

Some of the world’s top athletes and stars of the IOC’s “Heroes” campaign met the IOC President Jacques Rogge today.   Hosting a breakfast in the Athletes’ restaurant in the Olympic Village, the President had the opportunity to thank some of the Olympic legends including Haile Gebrselelassie, Vanessa Ferrari and Carolina Kluft face to face.   The IOC President said: “We are indebted to you all for giving your time so generously and for your willingness to participate in this project, despite your busy training and competition schedules. As a result of your efforts, we have created the IOC’s most popular and talked-about spot to date.”    Discover the video   Carolina Kluft, the renowned Swedish heptathelete, said “It was an honour to be asked by the IOC to participate in this advert. I think the film is really powerful, full of energy and I was happy to be a part of it.”   Frank Fredericks, who will become the Athletes’ Commission Chairman after the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, said “This film will mean a lot to the youth of the world because there are so many sporting icons involved. It will be a great motivational tool and help get across the Olympic Values”.   “Heroes” leverages the determination and performance of Olympic athletes to communicate the key Olympic values. The campaign also stars Roger Federer, Yao Ming, Laure Manaudou, Liu Xiang, Kenenisa Bekele, and Yelena Isinbayeva  who, along with those mentioned above, star as superheroes seeking to achieve the seemingly impossible.    The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s latest TV public service announcement “Heroes” is also being shown to thousands of Olympic fans during the Olympic Games on the giant Panasonic ASTROVISION screens in the Olympic stadiums and venues.      The Best of Us   Heroes forms part of IOC’s promotional campaign entitled “The Best of Us” - a simple, powerful idea that transcends cultures and borders, motivating young people around the world to participate in sport by proving that sport can bring out the best in them. The campaign was launched in 2007 and will continue to run beyond the Beijing Games.   All of the elements of the campaign are now available to view at:    www.olympic.org/thebestofus     The “Best of Us” campaign has been developed by the Voluntarily United Group of Creative Agencies (United), part of the WPP Group. This phase of creative development was led by Sra Rushmore / United, Madrid.      Discover the Multimedia Gallery      

Right now, 372 pairs of eyes are eager not to miss any details of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. They look for the latest technology innovations used at the venues, they observe protocol finesses during the medal ceremonies, they check on energy saving solutions in the Olympic Village, and the functioning of the public transport system. The attentive eyes belong to 372 observers from future Organising Committees who are in Beijing to learn from success stories, but also to understand the challenges which naturally occur for such a huge and complex operation.   44 visits in 21 days Over 21 days, the observers from the three Organising Committees of the future Olympic Games in Vancouver 2010, London 2012 and Sochi 2014, the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010, and from the four Bid Cities for the Games of 2016 will go on 44 visits to 15 competition venues and about 20 non-competition sites. The largest delegation comes from the host of the next Olympic Summer Games in London, with approximately 200 observers. The choice of the observation period between 5 and 26 August allows the participants to see the arrivals and departures period, as well as Games-time activities. The observers look into a wide range of functional areas which really determine the success of a Games. However, as each host and bidding city is different, it is essential to apply the insights and experiences to the local context.   Knowledge transfer a great opportunity The Beijing 2008 Observer’s Programme is a key knowledge-transfer process which offers participants the opportunity to live, learn and experience real Olympic Games operations. "What a great programme – what an opportunity" is thus the echo heard from many of the participants.   The IOC initiated the Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) programme as a learning platform after the Sydney Games. In Beijing, the IOC organises the Observer’s Programme in partnership with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Organising Committee (BOCOG), with key BOCOG personnel acting as the main presenters for each tour.      Discover the Multimedia Gallery

Sailor John Dane is 58. He will be the oldest member of the US Olympic Team in Beijing. After trying to qualify seven times since 1968, he finally made it this year. An AFPTV-voiced report.       Discover the Multimedia Gallery

Germany’s three-day eventing team made it look easy here last Tuesday when they won the first gold medal of the Olympic equestrian events convincingly from runners-up Australia. Germany finished on 166.10 penalty points, ahead of Australia’s 171.20, and Britain’s 185.70. Germany's Hinrich Romeike, on his gelding Marius, clinched the gold for his team as the last of 57 riders to take on the 13 fences. Later he also won the individual competition.   Heroic achievements Over the years, equestrianism has produced more than its fair share of heroic achievements, none more so than Denmark’s Lis Hartel. Hartel became one of the first four women to take part in Olympic dressage, but in 1944, when she was 23 and expecting her first child, she was paralysed by polio.   Emotional moment Gradually she reactivated most of her muscles, remaining paralysed below the knees, and after three years of rehabilitation took part in the Scandinavian championships. In 1952 she was chosen to represent Denmark in the Helsinki Olympic Games, and responded by earning the silver medal. When gold medallist Henri Saint Cyr helped her up on to the podium it was one of the most emotional moments in Olympic history. Four years later in Stockholm, Hartel won another silver medal.   Unusual biography Equestrianism has attracted nobility and the well-connected in equal measure. In 1976, the Queen of England’s daughter, Princess Anne, was a member of the British team; while the aunt of 1952 gold medallist Hans von Blixen-Finecke Jr went by the name of Isak Dinesen and wrote Out of Africa and Babette’s Feast, both of which became successful films. New Zealander Mark Todd, a dairy farmer who sold much of his herd to finance his Olympic ambitions, also became a writer – he wrote a 112-page biography of his horse Charisma, with which he twice won the Olympic three-day event.   Most gold medals The most decorated rider of all was Germany’s Reiner Klimke, who won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage events between 1964 and 1976, while the horse with the most gold medals was Halla which, together with Hans Günter Winkler of Germany, won team jumping golds in 1956 and 1960 as well as the individual prize in 1956.   First lady of the Olympic Games? There are of course a number of discontinued Olympic equestrian events, such as the high jump, the long jump and, in 1920 in Antwerp, figure riding, which included jumping on and off a horse, standing on a horse and jumping over a horse. In the Hack and Hunter Combined (Chevaux de Selle) in Paris in 1900, one of the participants was Elvira Guerra of France who, according to some records, was the first woman ever to compete at the Olympic Games.    Discover the Multimedia Gallery

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) convened this morning following the anti-doping violations committed by two athletes at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing.  
The IOC today announced that shooter Mr Jong Su Kim from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has committed an Anti-Doping Rules violation.  
Mr Jong Su Kim, 31, tested positive on 9 and 12 August for Propranolol.   After having heard the report of the Disciplinary Commission, the IOC Executive Board this morning decided:
The athlete Jong Su Kim, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, shooting   - is disqualified from the Men’s 10m Air Pistol, where he had placed third; - is disqualified from the Men’s 50m Pistol, where he placed second; - is excluded from the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008; - shall have his medals and diplomas in the above-noted events withdrawn; - shall have his Olympic identity and accreditation card immediately withdrawn and cancelled. - The International Shooting Sport Federation is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned events accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence. - The NOC of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is ordered to return to the IOC, as soon as possible, the medals and diplomas awarded to the Athlete in relation to the above-noted events. - The NOC of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and BOCOG shall ensure full implementation of this decision. - This decision shall enter into force immediately.    Decision on Mr Jong Su Kim   
The Executive Board also took note of the IOC Disciplinary Commission’s decision in the case of artistic gymnast Ms Thi Ngan Thuong Do from Vietnam, who has committed an Anti-Doping Rules violation at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing. Ms Thi Ngan Thuong Do, 19, tested positive on 10 August for Furosemide.   The IOC Disciplinary Commission decided:   The athlete Thi Ngan Thuong Do, Vietnam, Artistic Gymnastics - is disqualified from the Women’s All-Around qualification for Artistic Gymnastics, where she had placed 59th; - is excluded from the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008; - shall have her Olympic identity and accreditation card immediately cancelled and withdrawn. - The International Gymnastics Federation is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly. The Athlete’s file shall be transmitted to such International Federation, which is requested to consider any further action within its own competence. - The NOC of Vietnam and BOCOG shall ensure full implementation of this decision. - This decision shall enter into force immediately.  

 Decision on Ms Thi Ngan Thuong Do   Under the IOC Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, testing takes place under the IOC's auspices from 27 July to 24 August. Within that period, the IOC systematically performs tests before and after events. After each event, the IOC systematically carries out tests on the top five athletes plus two at random.   For the duration of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the IOC will carry out 4,500 tests, of which around 700 to 800 will apply to urine EPO detection and 900 will be blood tests.   For further information, please contact in Beijing: IOC media relations office:                +8610 666 27 298           Mobile numbers: Emmanuelle Moreau - Media Relations Manager -   +86 158 1155 1830 Sandrine Tonge - Media Relations Coordinator -                     +86 135 5217 5720             

Two more road cycling events were decided today; when the men’s and women’s individual time trials were won by Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland and Kristin Armstrong of the United States of America respectively. Cancellara was the fifth rider to win a medal in both the Individual Time Trial and the Individual Road Race at the same Olympic Games. Kristin’s Armstrong’s gold medal marked the record 900th gold medal for USA in the history of the Olympic Games.   All-American The history of the Olympic Games has been illuminated by cycling’s characters and their exploits for more than a hundred years. Frenchman Paul Masson, who won three of the six events at the inaugural Olympic Games in 1896, turned professional thereafter and changed his name to Paul Nossam – Masson spelled backwards – while Marcus Hurley, who won four of the seven events in 1904, later became an all-American basketball player for Colombia University.   National anthem In 1956, the 23-year-old Italian Ercole Baldini won the road race by a full mile, but for some reason his national anthem was not played at the medal ceremony. He was just about to leave the podium when a lone voice in the Melbourne crowd began to sing L’Inno di Mameli and he was soon joined by all the Italians around him. The identity of the singer remained unknown until 1997 when Gualberto Gennai, an Australian-born Italian, was introduced to Baldini by a Sydney radio station.   Four brothers The incredible sight of four brothers teaming up was one of the highlights of the 1968 Olympic Games. Erik, Gösta, Sture and Tomas Pettersson won silver for Sweden in the team time trial in Mexico City – three of them subsequently changed their last names to that of their home village, Fåglum.   Church medal Meanwhile, 1992 time trial champion José Manuel Moreno prayed at his local church in Chiclana de la Frontera after breaking his collarbone the previous year. His Olympic gold medal and the jersey he wore are still on display in that church to this day.   Queen of Olympic cycling There is no doubting the queen of Olympic cycling. Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel of the Netherlands had dominated women’s cycling in the 1990s but had to overcome anorexia and bulimia before landing her first Olympic gold medals, one on the track and two on the road in Sydney in 2000. Four years later in Athens at the age of 34, she crashed in the road race but came back three days later to win the time trial by 24.09 seconds, earning her fourth career gold medal, to add to a silver and a bronze.    Learn more about cycling    Discover the Multimedia Gallery