Category — Athletics

Here’s another one I should have blogged about last week but didn’t because of a tight schedule: Panama’s Irving Saladino who lived up to the hype by outjumping the competition in the men’s long jump. Congratulations, Irving.

Update: Here’s a video of Irving’s golden jump.

And here’s a picture, courtesy of estrelladepanama, of the Olympic hero’s homecoming.

Interestingly, the Panama Guide reports that Irving was “re-awarded” his medal during his homecoming. Why go through the process of awarding the medal to him again? Panama Guide has the juicy details:

As part of the festivities yesterday, Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran “re-presented” the Olympic Gold medal to Irving Saladino in front of thousands of cheering fans at the steps to the ACP administration building in Balboa yesterday morning.

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Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen who won the gold medal in the javelin throw is probably the best medal biter I’ve seen in the Beijing Games. Seriously, have you seen a better practitioner of the art of Olympic medal biting than Andreas?
Congratulations to you Andreas. May you have another gold medal to bite in London 2012.

Photo source: beijing2008

Forget the overhyped Michael Phelps, the real strongman in the Beijing Olympics is American decathlon gold medalist Bryan Clay. A short visit to his website made me an instant fan. I particularly like the fact that he takes time to answer questions from his fans:

Q: Bryan, best of luck, all the Hapa Kepanis peeps worldwide are pulling for you. My query is how much of an Asian influence did your mom bring to your family, e.g. did you eat a lot of Japanese food and/or get exposed to Japanese culture?

A: Japanese culture and food were a huge part of my life growing up. My mother made sure I knew who I was and where I came from.

Q: Bryan, why did you choose Azusa Pacific an NAIA school over a NCAA Division I School? Azusa Pacific has an excellent reputation in the decathlon. Most people don’t realize some of our countries greatest decathletes have come out of the NAIA. GO FOR GOLD!

A: I chose APU because I felt it was the best combiation of academics, athletics, and atmosphere. All that stuff together has allowed me to be successful.

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It does look like he is injured right from the start, so I feel more sympathetic to him now than I was in my earlier post.

Here’s another one in case the Youtube video above gets deleted.

Related:
Liu Xiang Quits
Hurdles: Dayron Robles vs. Liu Xiang II
Hurdles: Dayron Robles vs. Liu Xiang
Photo of the Day: Liu Xiang
Photo of the Day: Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang: Large Shoes, Big ….

Argh! Liu Xiang, my favorite Olympian pulled out of the 110 meter hurdles reportedly because of a “tendon injury to the right foot“. As a fan who’s been blogging about Liu and who hoped that he will get his second Olympic gold medal, his decision to quit is very disappointing.

It would have been great to see him run despite whatever injury he sustained. After all, isn’t that what the Olympics is about — overcoming all odds and that kind of stuff? But, then again, maybe its unfair to expect him to risk his health and future well-being if only because his fans want to see him running. I’m sure his other fans also have mixed feelings about this.

What would be interesting to see in the future would be the impact, if any, of Liu’s decision to quit. Will Nike, for instance, still produce its Air Liu? Or will they find someone who will be a better fit for their expensive shoes? [It's expensive not because it is expensive to produce but because of the ridiculous fees they give to the stars who wear them.]

Update: The video of Liu Xiang in the 110 meter hurdles is here.

Update II: Nike continues to feature Liu Xiang in its ad campaign, details here.

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