Ban this guy. There’s no excuse for this kind of stupid and unsportsmanlike behavior.

From Newsweek:

Cuba’s Angel Matos deliberately kicked a referee square in the face after he was disqualified in a bronze-medal match, prompting the World Taekwondo Federation to recommend he be banned for life.

“We didn’t expect anything like what you have witnessed to occur,” said WTF secretary general Yang Jin-suk. “I am at a loss for words.”

Yang also recommended Matos’ coach be banned.

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Maris Strombergs of Latvia wins the first gold medal for his country and the second gold medal awarded for the newly introduced sport of BMX cycling. French Anne-Caroline Chausson has the distinction as the first Olympic gold medalist for the sport when she won the women’s BMX competition.
Photo credits: Adam Pretty and Phil Walter.

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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Shot put may not be popular in Poland [is it popular anywhere?] but this didn’t stop Tomasz Majewski from becoming a shot putter. It paid off big time when he won the gold medal in Beijing. Time for our Polish friends to perhaps pay more attention to the sport but Tomasz isn’t optimistic.

The silver and bronze medals for this event went to Christian Cantwell of the United States and Andrei Mikhnevich of Belarus.

Photo source: chinadaily