Sports news and information

BEIJING, May 19 — The West Lake has been an inspiration of calm and relaxation for a dozen centuries. Marco Polo, who introduced it to the West, said the “minds and thoughts” of pleasure-seekers there were “intent upon nothing but bodily pleasures and the delights of the society”.

The other side of the lake was displayed Sunday when hundreds of thousands of people gathered on its bank to show their support for the Olympics and sympathy with earthquake victims. (more…)

(QINGDAO, May 16) — In anticipation of National Helping-the-Disabled Day on Sunday, BOCOG Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG) Liu Yandong heard about the progress of preparations for the Paralympics and urged the Qingdao Sailing Committee to prepare for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games with careful organization and planning.

Liu, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, State Councilor, and BOCOG Vice-President, also spoke about the earthquake in Sichuan, saying that disaster relief should be the most significant and urgent task of the government. She said that the earthquake has caused great loss of life and property in Wenchuan of Sichuan Province. Under the leadership of the CPC central committee and the state council, disaster relief has been carried out in an orderly and effective fashion, she said. (more…)

(BEIJING, May 14) – The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) has confirmed liaison staff for 205 delegations to the Beijing Olympic Games and 159 delegations to the Paralympic Games, it was leaned here on Wednesday.

At a mobilization meeting on Wednesday, BOCOG President Liu Qi urged liaison staff to fulfill their tasks in earnest as the national (regional) Olympic and Paralympic committees are the most important participants of the Olympics (August 8-24) and Paralympics (September 6-17).

All aspects of BOCOG’s work focus on athletes, he said, urging close cooperation with the delegations with an aim of meeting their needs in the areas of competition, training and daily life. (more…)

LONGYAN, China, May 13 (Xinhua) — The Beijing Olympic flame concluded its tour in China’s southeastern Fujian Province on Tuesday, with donations for earthquake-hit southwest China highlighting the relay.

The 7.8 magnitude quake has claimed more than 10 thousand people in eight affected areas in southwest China since it hit Monday afternoon.Upon hearing the news about the deadly earthquake, the 208 torchbearers running for Longyan’s leg called for donations to the earthquake-hit area.

At the closing ceremony Tuesday evening, all 208 torchbearers, including athletes, local officials, workers, businessmen, teachers, and students, donated to the earthquake-hit areas.Li Xinyan, the fifth torchbearer in Longyan’s relay, is also an entrepreneur, running an engineering machinery enterprise in Fujian. He contributed 5 million yuan to help with those affected by the quake. (more…)

(BEIJING, May 12) — The ninth session of an activity hosted by BOCOG opened on Monday at the Beijing Modern Plaza, which focused on the service sector’s ability to serve shoppers as the Olympics approach.

Nearly 100 domestic and international reporters were at the scene of the activity, speaking to service personnel and customers and experiencing first hand the barrier-free capabilities of the shopping area. Neither language nor physical obstacles stood in the way of their interviews. (more…)

SHANTOU, South China, May 10 (Xinhua) — The Olympic torch relay in China’s Guangdong province concluded as Shantou leg went off in spells of rain on Saturday.

Shantou’s relay started at 8:05 a.m. local time, marking the last stopover in Guangdong province. Shantou was one of the original Special Economic Zones of China in the 1980s. The launching ceremony overcame the rainstorm in the morning, with a former weightlifting world champion Cai Yanshu taking over the first torch from a local official in the Dragon Bay District Square. Cai Yanshu, 44, is a world champion himself before training Zhang Guozheng to the Olympic champion at the 2004 Athens Games.

Cao won gold in men’s 75kg category at the 1986 Asian Games. He snatched a weight of160kg, grabbing the title of 75kg category at the 1989 World Championships,.”I have never win an Olympic medal. The experience of being an Olympic torchbearer just makes up for the regret,” said Cao.”I trained Zhang Guozheng to the top of Olympic podium at the Athens Olympics and I am now honored to pass the Olympic torch. That’s a consummation for me,” added Cao. (more…)

TOKYO, May 9 (Xinhua) — Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao met Friday with leading members of Japanese lawmakers’ league supporting the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which is headed by Yohei Kono, speaker of Japan’s lower house.

Expressing his thanks to the members, President Hu said the Beijing Olympics has got sincere regard and vigorous support from all circles of Japan.At the suggestion of Kono, more than 300 Japanese lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties formed the nonpartisan league to support the Beijing Olympics.Hu said the move fully displays the Japanese people’s friendly feelings toward the Chinese people as well as their efforts in upholding the Olympic spirit. (more…)

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping congratulated Chinese climbers for successfully carrying the Olympic torch to the peak of Mount Qomolangma on Thursday morning.

“This is one of the greatest events in the history of Olympic Games and a precious gift given by the Chinese to the Olympics and people worldwide,” Xi said in a telegraph to climbers.

On behalf of the central government and the Central Committee of Communist Party of China, he congratulated and greeted all the people working for the torch relay on Mount Qomolangma and the International Olympic Committee and all foreign friends who supported the torch relay.

The Olympic flame reached the peak of the world’s highest mountain, with an altitude of 8844.43 meters, at 9:17 a.m. Thursday. (more…)

(BEIJING, May 3) – The 33-day “Journey of Harmony,” the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay outside the mainland of China, came to an end on May 3 when the chartered plane carrying the flame arrived in Sanya, Hainan, at 10:25 p.m. in advance of the start of the domestic torch relay.

Since April 1, the Beijing Olympic flame has traveled 100,000 kilometers as a messenger of peace and friendship, visiting 21 cities in 20 countries en route.

The Olympic flame warmed hearts and lit up faces wherever it traveled, in spite of attempts to cause disturbance to the relay by a small number of people in Istanbul, London, Paris, Canberra, Nagano and Seoul. In Paris, Chinese wheelchair athlete Jin Jing proved to be a “Smiling Angel in a Wheelchair” when she protected the torch from a “pro-Tibet independence” activist who attempted to grab the torch from her. (more…)

Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace — and good wishes from China — to children all over the world.
Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China’s most popular animals — the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow — and the Olympic Flame.
Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name — a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.
When you put their names together — Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni — they say “Welcome to Beijing,” offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.
Fuwa also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China. In their origins and their headpieces, you can see the five elements of nature — the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky — all stylistically rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation.
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