Mordacious Rant

Wonder Woman: Where’s Your Live-Action Movie?

2012-10-21T12:40:00.001-07:00

Hollywood’s biggest cash whale, these days, are comic book superhero films. The proof is in the numbers. The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises both brought in billions of dollars during their box office ventures this year which should set up these franchise for the upcoming years. However Tinsel town is still missing the big picture when it comes to female lead comic book superhero films.

Times have changed dramatic for women in the superhero market due to good story telling and great character development, which can be seen in TV shows like Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Yet even with this example, Hollywood still does not feel comfortable producing more movies with women as lead heroes, which affects one heroine in particular, Wonder Woman.

True, the Wonder Woman Animated Movie received great reviews when it was released in 2009 but what about a live-action film for this female champion?

The bottom line in Hollywood is money. This fact rules the Hollywood movie machine but it doesn't stop this machine from producing low monetary male comic book superhero films while it claims the same type of films starring a woman will perform, dollar wise, unsuccessfully. If you look back at Tinsel town’s decisions in the superhero market, one questions why movie execs are afraid to make the Wonder Woman film, or any films about super heroines like Ms. Marvel or Manhunter, when motion picture slumps such as John Carter, The Spirit, The Rocketeer, Judge Dredd, The Punisher, Punisher: War Zone, The Phantom, and The Crow: City of Angels, got to see the silver screen projection light. Yet movie executives continue to deny Wonder Woman big screen time because they claim previous box office numbers of such films as Supergirl and Elektra will determine low turnout of any female superhero motion pictures, comic book or otherwise. True, these movies did perform poorly in the box office but so has some of their male counterparts and still Tinsel town continues to turn out meager male superhero pictures while turning its back on the female films.

Why movie studios would bet on films like Jonah Hex, when a motion picture about Wonder Woman could bring in millions of moviegoers makes many fans wonder. Hollywood must realize women have money to spend, and men would spend money, on a good motion picture with a great plot that has meaningful challenges for the superhero, even if that hero is a woman.

Maybe the real reason female comic book superhero films have delivered inadequately in the past has to do with flimsy story concepts, lack of character development, improper casting, overtly sexualization of the female lead, or just plain old bad script writing. Whatever the reason for Hollywood’s fears, they may need to look at television series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as a reference for good female roles, or maybe Hollywood should stop trying to stifle producers, directors, or writers, who want to develop female characters that are complex, grimy, and insightful to draw in moviegoers. This rant may not convince movie executives to change their minds about this issue, but maybe a good comparison will help.

Note: LT, used in the table, is an abbreviation for Lifetime.

Super Heroine Film Numbers		Super Hero Film Number
Supergirl (1984)	$14,296,438(LT Gross)*	The Rocketeer (1991)	$46,704,056 (LT Gross)*
Tank Girl (1995)	$4,064,495 (LT Gross)*	Judge Dredd (1995)	$34,693,481 (LT Gross)*
Barb Wire (1996)	$3,793,614 (LT Gross)*	The Phantom (1996)	$17,323,326 (LT Gross)*
Catwoman (2004)	$82,102,379 (worldwide)*	The Crow: City of Angels (1996)	$17,917,287 (LT Gross)*
Elektra (2005)	$56,681,566 (worldwide)*	Punisher (2004)	$54,700,105 (worldwide)*
		Punisher: War Zone (2008)	$10,100,036 (worldwide)*
		The Spirit (2008)	$39,031,337 (worldwide)*
		Jonah Hex (2010)	$10,903,312 (worldwide)*
		Dredd (2012)	*$23,319,169 (worldwide)¹**

As anyone can see, after reviewing the list above, the worst performed female films on the list were Tank Girl and Barb Wire, which kept movie studios from releasing another female based comic book film for nearly 10 years until Catwoman. Catwoman brought in big numbers, which gave way to Elektra. Elektra had good box office numbers but not Batman numbers good. So no other female comic book superhero movie has been released in movie theaters since 2005 and still the male films keep coming.

Judge Dredd brought in $34,693,481 which is clearly better than Tank Girl and Barb Wire combined, all movies released in 1995, but the motion picture didn't have Batman numbers either. Yet it didn't stop Hollywood from rebooting the comic book film in 2012. Unfortunately, the new version of Dredd is providing the same numbers that its predecessor posted in 1995. Seventeen years have passed between both Dredd movies and the same superhero pulls in the same numbers, but Wonder Woman can’t get a film.

Now, the Punisher has gone through two reboots, one in 2004 and one in 2008, with the first movie being released in 1989. The first movie went direct-to-video in the United States, while it had big screen releases overseas in the United Kingdom, Spain, and several other countries. The grand number made from the Punisher Movies from 1989 - 2008, based on sources from imdb.com and box office mojo, was $65,087,575. While Catwoman, a critically reviewed flop, earned $82,102,379 worldwide subsequently beating out the Punisher movie series. Three movies were released based on the Punisher comic and still earned less than one Catwoman film.

Hollywood is making a huge mistake by not giving more female superhero movies a chance, especially Wonder Woman. Whoever is sitting on the rights of Wonder Woman is missing out on an opportunity to make history, that’s if the producer, or producers, or studio holding the rights to this cash whale, can create a great story, good characters, beautiful cinematography, and intelligent writing to draw the moviegoers into the theaters. But that’s only if these producers can see the great potential in a good female protagonist as a superhero.

For comments or remarks, send these comments to mordaciousrant@gmail.com

*Figures came from Box Office Mojo.

¹ Figures are still being calculated because the movie in still in theatres.

Samurai Sword vs. Walking Cane

2012-10-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

Is it hard to decipher between a samurai sword and a walking stick?

In England, a police officer tasered a 61-year-old man after the Lancashire Police Force received calls about a man carrying a samurai sword in a Chorley neighborhood. An officer was sent to Chorley, where the suspect was alleged to have been seen, and the officer found Colin Farmer, a blind gentleman strolling along with his walking stick. The officer requested that Mr. Farmer refrain from walking and standstill, but when Mr. Farmer did not oblige the order, the officer tasered the man.

Safety is key during these times of insecurity and scarcity, so police officers cannot take any information about threats, even one about a man wielding a samurai sword, lightly however one should be able to tell the difference between a sword and a stick with some ease, if the person is within close distance of the object.

Here are two pictures, can you tell the difference between the sword and the stick?

It may not be easy to tell the difference between these two items from a distance but at close range, there should have been much more ease but for the police officer who tasered Mr. Farmer, that was not the case.

The truth about life is that no person is immune to fear. It can infect the best of us, even our protectors, but there has to be some reasoning in the human mind that stops to analyze a situation before action causes damage. Mr. Farmer is lucky the police officer only had a taser and not a gun, things could have been worse due to simple error in vision.

Who "Likes" Cristiano Ronaldo?

2012-10-18T21:31:00.003-07:00

Apparently a lot of folks. According to the Facebook "likes" numbers, the Portuguese Football (aka Soccer) star, Cristiano Ronaldo, has the most "likes" on Facebook. The European sports superstar broke a milestone on Facebook after he received more than 50 million “likes” on the social media site. The announcement made on Tuesday, October 16, showed, not only the popularity of the talented sportsman, but also the adoration for the sport which thrust this athlete into the spotlight. Right behind Ronaldo is the Argentinean Footballer, Lionel Messi, who came in second place with 38.5 million likes, and the English Footballer, David Beckham who received third place with 21 million likes. The fourth place spot went to an athlete who these days' plays more golf than the sport that gave him his fame, that person is Michael Jordan. Jordan has more than 20 million likes and rounding off the top five is Brazilian Footballer, Ricardo Kakà with more than 18 million likes.

Out of the top twenty athletes on the list, only one woman made the cut and that was Maria Sharapova. She collected more than 8 million likes on the social media site.

For the complete list of the top twenty, view below:

1) Cristiano Ronaldo (Football - Soccer) – 50,000,000+

2) Lionel Messi (Football - Soccer) – 38,500,000+

3) David Beckham (Football - Soccer) – 21,400,000+

4) Michael Jordan (Basketball) – 20,000,000 +

5) Ricardo Kakà (Football - Soccer) – 18,500,000+

6) Kobe Bryant (Basketball) – 14,000,000+

7) John Cena (WWE – Wrestler) – 13,500,000+

8) LeBron James (Basketball) – 12,500,000+

9) Roger Federer (Tennis) – 11,500,000+

10) Rafael Nadal (Tennis) – 11,000,000+

11) Andres Iniesta (Football - Soccer) – 10,900,000+

12) Usain Bolt (Track and Field/Athletics) – 9,400,000+

13) Maria Sharapova (Tennis) – 8,300,000+

14) Sachin Tendulkar (Cricketer) – 8,350,000+

15) Steven Gerrard (Football – Soccer) – 7,400,000+

16) Dwayne Johnson “The Rock” – (WWE – Wrestler) – 7,300,000+

17) David Villa Sánchez (Football – Soccer) – 7,200,000+

18) Mesut Özil (Football – Soccer) – 7,100,000+

19) Neymar (Football – Soccer) – 6,800,000+

20) Michael Phelps (Swimming) – 6,700,000+

Peanut Butter Recall: Wait! Can We Talk About This?

2012-10-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

In the past few weeks, news has hit the airwaves, and netwaves, about the Sunland peanut butter recall. Sunland, a company formed in 1988 by a dedicated group of Eastern New Mexico Peanut Farmers, released a statement that several of their products have been recalled due to salmonella contamination. “The original recall initiated by the Company [was released] on September 24, 2012, [which] included peanut butter and other nut butter products produced in a separate building from where raw and roasted peanuts are processed.” See Sunland Press Release for more information. Sunland has taken significant steps to rectify this situation which left many consumers discarding, or returning, their peanut butter products produced by the company; however is this enough to prevent such incidents, like this one, from occurring in the future?

Food processing in America is a sensitive subject, to say the least. After comments were made publicly by a well-known personality in the 1990s about the beef industry, an unfavorable report about apples by the TV News show 60 Minutes (check out Civil Liberties Defense Center, Veggie Libel Laws), and documentaries like Food, Inc. which provided disconcerting images and information about food handling in the United States, food industry giants, like beef and corn, have taken steps to curb these types of messages from reaching a wider audience. Their efforts have gained speed with the Veggie Libel Laws. Thirteen states, Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas, have passed food disparagement laws that “…criminalize any behavior which may endanger the profits of a food company (this includes defamation by written or printed words, pictures, or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.)” See Lexicon of Sustainability article at grist.org. With laws like these being passed, it becomes harder for the general public to know, and discuss, where their food comes from and how their food is processed in a large public forum. These restrictions may keep the economic health of food companies in good condition but what about the physical health of the people they feed?

It is understandable that businesses need a strong money flow to sustain employment, supplies, and facilities of their companies to keep their products available to the people. But does that mean the people must scan their local news sites for the latest story of food contamination before they purchase their next bunch of spinach? People pay large amounts of money for their food to be safe and these consumers want to believe food commerce takes the necessary precautions to ensure that safety and many food corporations do. However in order to maintain good food quality, the public and the food industry have to find a common ground on how to talk about these issues and how it affects the population without the fear of a witch hunt being invoked on regular citizens who simply want to talk about their food.

Again, this is no easy topic to tackle. What a person puts in their mouth has become a very sensitive issue but if we want to eliminate incidents like the Sunland Peanut Butter recall, shouldn't the public and the food companies start to make things better with a discussion first?

If you have comments or questions, please email mordaciousrant@gmail.com.

Can I Have Some Sugar With That Lawsuit, Please?

2012-10-16T07:17:00.002-07:00

It’s being dubbed in the news as the Sugar Wars, but this war over soda is definitely not a sweet matter. The American Beverage Association, the National Restaurant Association, and other collectives have filed a lawsuit against the New York City Board of Health to dispute the ban of large sugary drinks being sold at certain establishments, like movie theaters and restaurants, as “capricious in its design and application.” The ban implemented by the soon-to-be former Mayor Bloomberg, and the New York City Board of Health, on 16 ounces, and larger soda, drinks launched a war that may drag out for the next several months, possibly years, in order to sell drinks over 16 ounces in New York City. Many see this line of defense by the American Beverage Association (ABA) and their partners as a way to maintain their cash flow. However, can this ban really hurt the beverage sells of merchants? Isn't there a way for certain establishments to work around these restrictions applied by the city of New York by setting up incentives to the customer that can generate a profit for the business without selling 32 ounces of soda on a supersize menu?

Here is a few options for merchants’ to think about if the lawsuit doesn't work in their favor. If a consumer buys a meal with fries and a drink, the person gets a free refill and any additional refills can be purchased with a nominal fee. Another alternative, if a consumer purchases two items at a regular price, then the merchant can provide the customer with a free additional beverage as a thank you. These are just some ideas businesses can implement to maintain cash flow that could be reduced by this ban on large soda drinks. The ABA, and its allies, fail to see the perk in this prohibition. These establishments may not be able to sell 64 oz beverages for an additional dollar but if they can sell another hamburger or hot dog at its regular price and give away a free soda as a gift to the consumer, then how can the ban really affect these businesses’ bottom line?

The question, now, will the ABA actually succeed in taking down this ban imposed by the New York City Board of Health? The answer, maybe, maybe not, but if history has anything to say about the battle of food in the United States, this will be one hell of a dog fight. At least Oprah can attest to that fact.

London Olympic Games 2012 – August 12 – That’s Not All Folks!

2012-08-14T01:26:00.003-07:00

Medal Count

After two and half weeks of Olympic athleticism, valor and enthusiasm, these games offered the best in sports possibly. There were some disappointments and many satisfactions but overall, these Olympics have definitely left its mark in the history books.

As of August 13th, the United States won the medal race with 108 medals. China took second with 88 medals while Russian and Great Britain round the third and fourth place spots. Five countries achieved gold-only status by winning nothing but gold medals. Those countries are Algeria, Bahamas, Grenada, Uganda, and Venezuela. 85 countries out of 205 received medals in these games and though there are athletes who didn’t get medals in London, their ambitions to attend the 2016 Olympic Games has mostly likely heightened need to fulfill this goal.

Though these games have come to an end, the memories can be relived over and over again, thanks to the genius of the internet. Giving people more of the Olympics even after is it is over.

Although there may have been some hiccups in London, generally these games were full of nail biting excitement and I can’t wait to see what Brazil has in store for the world in 2016. I’m sure it will be great.

August 12^th – Final Summary

Athletics (Track and Field)

Men’s Marathon – Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda won the final Athletics (Track and Field) event of the 2012 Games, the Men’s Marathon, with a time of 2:08:01 for gold. Kenya’s Abel Kirui took second place with his time of 2:08:27 for the silver and Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich of Kenya grabbed the bronze with his time of 2:09:37.

Basketball

Men’s Basketball – In the Gold Medal Match, the United States beat Spain for the gold with a score of 107-100. Spain clinched the silver. Argentina played Russia in the Bronze Medal Match but lost to Russia by 4 points which gave Russia the bronze.

Boxing

Men’s Fly Weight (52 kg) – Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana defeated Mongolia’s Tugstsogt Nyambayar, 17-14, for gold. Nyambayar got silver and bronze went to Ireland’s Michael Conlan and Russia’s Misha Aloian.

Men’s Light Weight (60 kg) – Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko won his fight against Republic of Korea’s Soonchul Han, 19-9. Lomachenko got the gold while Han earned silver. Bronze went to Cuba’s Yasniel Toledo Lopez and Evaldas Petrauskas of Lithuania.

Men’s Welter Weight (69 kg) – Kazakhstan’s Serik Sapiyev took out Great Britain’s Freddie Evans, 17-9, in the Gold Medal Bout. Evans got the silver while third place went to Russia’s Andrey Zamkovoy and Ukraine’s Taras Shelestyuk.

Men’s Light Heavy Weight (81 kg) – Russia’s Egor Mekhontcev sent Adilbek Niyazymbetov of Kazakhstan home with a silver medal after he won the Gold Medal Bout. Brazil’s Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino and Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk secured the bronze.

Men’s Super Heavy Weight (+91 kg) – Anthony Joshua of Great Britain won the decision in the Gold Medal Bout against Italy’s Roberto Cammarelle for the gold medal which gave Cammarelle the silver. In this division, bronze went to Kazakhstan’s Ivan Dychko and Azerbaijan’s Magomedrasul Medzhidov.

Cycling – Mountain Bike

Men’s Cross Country – Czech Republic’s Jaroslav Kulhavy won this event with a time of 1:29:07 which handed Switerzerland’s Nino Schurter the silver with his time of 1:29:08. Italy’s Marco Aurelio Fontana clinched the bronze with his time of 1:29:32.

Gymnastics - Rhythmic

Group All-Around – Russia won gold with their score of 57.000 in this discipline of gymnastics. Belarus landed the silver with their score of 55.500 and bronze went to Italy who obtained a score of 55.450.

Handball

Men’s Handball – Sweden lost the Gold Medal Match to France, 21-22, which earned Sweden the silver. In the Bronze Medal Match between Hungary and Croatia, Croatia took the bronze away from Hungary with a score of 33-26.

Modern Pentathlon

Women’s Modern Pentathlon – Lithuania’s Laura Asadauskaite procured the gold medal with her points of 5408. Samantha Murray of Great Britain received the silver medal with her points of 5356 and Brazil’s Yane Marques got the bronze with 5340 points.

Volleyball

Men’s Volleyball – Russia defeated Brazil in 3 out of 5 sets to win the gold. Russia had a hard time in the beginning of this match when they lost sets 1 and 2 to Brazil. However in set 3, the Russian team turned it around and won 29-27. Then they took sets 4 and 5 to win the game.

In the Bronze Medal Match, Bulgaria lost to Italy after four sets. The scores for this match were 19-21, 25-23, 22-25, and 21-25. Italy earned the bronze.

Water Polo

Men’s Water Polo – Croatia conquered Italy in the Gold Medal Round by two points which left the Italians with the silver. In the Bronze Medal Match, Serbia took out Montenegro 12-11 for third place.

Wrestling

Men’s 66 kg Freestyle - Japan’s Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu won the gold in this event beating out India’s Sushil Kumar, who took silver. Kazakhstan’s Akzhurek Tanatarov and Cuba’s Livan Lopez Azcuy both secured the bronze.

Men’s 96 kg Freestyle – The United States’s Jacob Stephen Varner won the gold medal after he defeated the Ukraine’s Valerii Andriitsev. Andriitsev procured the silver. Azerbaijan’s Khetag Gazyumov and Georgia’s George Gogshelidze both got the bronze.

London Olympic Games 2012 – August 9 – 11 – Just When You Think…

2012-08-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

Medal Count

After triumphing over massive technically difficult, Mordacious Rant is back with a few overdue tidbits and late recaps in regards to the 2012 London Olympic Games. First things first, the United States finally overcame China in the medal race by August 9th. Great Britain maintained their position in third as The Russians, Koreans, France, and Germany continued to place in the top 10. Kazakhstan didn’t pull off the all gold medal achievement but has collected additional medals in its attempt. More countries had obtained medals to add to their trophy cases such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Republic of Moldova, Uganda, Grenada and Montenegro to name a few. The final count comes August 12th when we will see how it all comes to an end.

August 9 – 11 Summary

Here is a rundown on several events from August 9 - 11.

ATHLETICS (TRACK and FIELD)

August 9th

Men’s Decathlon – The United States took first and second place in this event with Ashton Eaton winning the gold medal with a score of 8869 and Trey Hardee winning the silver with 8671 points. Cuba’s Leonel Suarez won the bronze with 8523 points.

Men’s Triple Jump – Christian Taylor of the United States jumped 17.81 meters to win the gold medal. Will Claye (USA) won the silver with a 17.62 meter jump and Fabrizio Donato (ITA) took the bronze with a 17.48 meter jump.

Men’s 800m – Kenya’s David Lekuta Rudisha won the gold medal and set a new World Record in the 800 meter race with a time of 1:40.91. Botswana’s Nijel Amos won the silver with his national record time of 1:41.73 and Rudisha’s countryman, Timothy Kitum won the bronze with his time of 1:42.53.

Men’s 200m – In this race, Jamaica took the 1, 2 and 3 spots. Usain Bolt won the race with a time of 19.32 seconds, Yohan Blake took second place with his time of 19.44 seconds and Warren Weir won the bronze with his time 19.84 seconds.

Women’s Javelin Throw – Czech Republic’s Barbora Spotakova captured the gold with her throw of 69.55 meters. Christina Obergfoll of Germany won the silver medal with a throw of 65.16 meters and Linda Stahl of Germany collected the bronze with her throw of 64.91 meters.

August 10th

Men’s Pole Vault – Renaud Lavillenie (FRA) set an Olympic Record with is his vault of 5.97 meters, while Germany’s Bjorn Otto and Raphael Holzdeppe took the second and third place positions. Otto vaulted 5.91 meters for silver and Holzdeppe won the bronze with the same height of 5.91 meters.

Women’s Hammer Throw – Tatyana Lysenko (RUS) tossed the hammer 78.18 meters to set an Olympic Record and win gold. Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland threw the hammer 77.60 meters for the silver and Betty Heidler of Germany won the bronze with a toss of 77.12 meters.

Women’s 5000m – Meseret Defar of Ethiopia took the gold with her time of 15:04.25. Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (KEN) captured the silver with a time of 15:04.73 and Tirunesh Dibaba’s (ETH) time of 15:05.15 won the bronze medal.

Women’s 4x100 Relay – The United States set a new World Record in this event with a time of 40.82 seconds. Jamaica won the silver with their time of 41.41 seconds and Ukraine came in third place with a time of 42.04 seconds.

Women’s 1500m – The women of Turkey added their names to the Olympic Games history books by winning the gold and silver medals in the 1500 meter race. Asli Cakir Alptekin took first place with her time of 4:10.23, while Gamze Bulut won second with her time of 4:10.40. Bahrain’s Maryam Yusuf Jamal collected the bronze medal.

Men’s 4x400 Relay - Bahamas set a national record to win the gold with their time of 2:56.72. The United States grabbed the silver with a time of 2:57.05 and Trinidad and Tobago, edged out Great Britain with their time of 2:59.40 for the bronze.

August 11th

Men’s 50km Race Walk – Sergey Kirdyapkin (RUS) etched an Olympic Record with his time of 3:35:59 and won the gold medal. Second place went to Jared Tallent (AUS) with his time of 3:36:53 and China’s Tianfeng Si obtained the bronze with his time of 3:37:16.

Women’s 20km Race Walk – Elena Lashmanvoa (RUS) won the gold medal with her World Record time of 1 hour, 25 minutes and 2 seconds, while her fellow Russian, Olga Kaniskina took the silver medal with a time of 1:25:09. China’s Shenjie Qieyang gained the bronze with her time of 1:25:16.

Women’s High Jump – With a jump of 2.05 meters, Anna Chicherova (RUS) won the gold medal in the High Jump event. The United States’s Brigetta Barrett grabbed the silver after she jumped 2.03 meters and Svetlana Shkolina (RUS) secured the bronze with her jump of 2.03 meters.

Men’s Javelin Throw – Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago won the Javelin Throw with his throw of 84.58 meters. Ukraine’s Oleksandr Pyatnytsya brought his country the silver with his throw of 84.51 meters and Finland’s Antti Ruuskanen threw his javelin 84.12 meters to get the bronze.

Men’s 5000m – Great Britain’s Mohamed Farah won the gold medal with a time of 13:41.66 and Ethiopia’s Dejen Gebremeskel took the silver medal with a time of 13:41.98. Kenya’s Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa procured the bronze with a time of 13:42.36.

Women’s 800m – Mariya Savinova (RUS) has the gold medal with her time of 1:56.19. Caster Semenya of South Africa grabbed the silver. Semenya clocked in at 1:57.23 and Ekateria Poistogova of Russia received the bronze with a time of 1:57.53.

Women’s 4x400 Relay – The United States won the 4x400 with their time of 3:16.87, only on 1.7 seconds off the world record time, while the Russians took second place with a time of 3:20.23. Jamaica’s relay team won third place with their time of 3:20.95.

Men’s 4x100 Relay – Jamaica’s Men 4x100 Relay team not only set a new World Record but also an Olympic Record with their time of 36.84 seconds to win the gold for the silver. The United States set a new National Record with their time of 37.04 seconds and Trinidad and Tobago’s team got the bronze with their time of 38.12 seconds.

BASKETBALL

August 11th

Women’s Basketball – Australia knocked out Russia, 83-74, to win the bronze. While the United States took out France, 86-50, in the Gold Medal Match for the gold. France won silver.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

August 9th

Men’s Beach Volleyball – Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Janis pulled off the upset and defeated the Netherlands’ Reinder Nummerdor and Rich Schuil in two sets out of three for the bronze. The scores of this match were 19-21, 21-19, and 15-11.

In the Gold Medal Match, Germany’s Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann won the this contest against Brazil’s Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego in three sets. Cerutti/Rego lost the first set, 21-23, to Brink/Reckermann but came back in set 2 with a score of 21-16. However, Brink/Reckermann took the third set 16-14 to win the gold.

BOXING

August 9th

Women’s Fly Weight (51kg) – Nicola Adams of Great Britain won the gold against China’s Cancan Ren with a 16-7 decision. Ren took the silver. Indian’s Chungneijang Mery Hmangte and the United States’s Marlen Esparza both won the bronze medals.

Women’s Light Weight (60 kg) – Ireland’s Katie Taylor fought her way to the gold medal against Russia’s Sofya Ochigava in a 10-8 decision, leaving Ochigava with the silver. Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva and Brazil’s Adriana Araujo both won the bronze.

Women’s Middle Weight (75 kg) – Claressa Shields (USA) defeated Nadezda Torlopova (RUS), 19-12, to win the gold medal. Torlopova won the silver and Kazakhstan’s Marina Volnova and China’s Jinzi Li collected bronze.

August 11th

Men’s Light Fly (49kg) – China’s Shiming Zou took out Thailand’s Kaeo Pongprayoon in the Gold Medal Bout, 13-10, to win the gold. Pongprayoon won the silver. Ireland’s Paddy Barnes and Russia’s David Ayrapetyan both got the bronze.

Men’s Bantam Weight (56 kg) – Great Britain’s Luke Campbell won the gold against John Joe Nevin (IRL). Nevin gained the silver. Lazaro Alvarez Estrada (CUB) and Satoshi Shimizu of Japan both won the bronze.

Men’s Light Welter Weight (64 kg) – Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo (CUB) defeated Ukraine’s Denys Berincyk, 22-15, to capture the gold medal which left the silver for Berincyk. Bronze went to Italy’s Vincenzo Mangiacapre and Mongolia’s Munkh-Erdene Uranchime.

Men’s Heavy Weight (91 kg) – Oleksandr Usyk added a gold medal to the Ukraine’s trophy list, after Usyk beat Italy’s Clemente Russo. Russo got the silver. Bronze went to Bulgaria’s Tervel Pulev and Azerbaijan’s Teymur Mammadov.

Men’s Middle Weight (75 kg) – In the Gold Medal Bout, Japan’s Ryota Murata beat Esquiva Falcao Florentino (BRA) to gain the gold, Falcao Florentino took the silver. Uzbekistan’s Abbos Atoev and Great Britain’s Anthony Ogogo procured bronze.

CANOE SPRINT

August 9th

Men’s Canoe Double (C2) 1000m – Germany’s crew of Peter Kretschmer and Kurt Kuschela won the gold medal in a time of 3:33.804. Belarus’s brother brigade Andrei and Aliaksandr Bahdanovich cruised into second place with a time of 3:35.206 and Russia’s Alexey Korovashkov and Ilya Pervukhin got the bronze and clocked in at 3:36.414.

Men’s Kayak Four (K4) 1000m – Australia’s Four Men Crew got the gold with a time of 2:55.085, Hungary secured second place with 2:55.699 and Czech Republic landed the bronze with a time of 2:55.850.

Women’s Kayak Single (K1) 500m – Danuta Kozak (HUN) landed in first place with a time of 1:51.456. Inna Osypenko-Radomska (UKR) who clocked in at 1:52.685 for the silver and Bridgitte Hartley of South Africa took home the bronze with her time of 1:52.923.

Women’s Kayak Double (K2) 500m – Tina Dietze and Franziska Weber of Germany won gold with their time of 1:42.213, while the Hungarian crew, Katalin Kovacs and Natasa Douchev-Janics, grabbed silver after they clocked in at 1:43.278. Poland’s Karolina Naja and Beata Mikolajczyk collected the bronze with their time of 1:44.000.

August 11th

Men’s Kayak Single (K1) 200m – Great Britain’s Ed McKeever, with a time of 36.246 seconds, won the gold medal in the 200m Kayak Single. Following behind McKeever is Spain’s Saul Craviotto Rivero with a time of 36.540 seconds for silver and Canada’s Mark de Jonge held onto third with a time of 36.657 seconds.

Men’s Canoe Single (C1) 200m – Yuri Cheban (UKR) won the gold. Cheban’s winning time was 42.291 seconds. Jevgenij Shuklin of Lithuania secured his second place finished with a time of 42.792 seconds and Ivan Shtyl’l of Russia grabbed third with 42.853 seconds.

Women’s Kayak Single (K1) 200m – New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington captured the gold medal with her time of 44.638 seconds in the 200m Kayak Single, while Inna Osypenko-Radomska won the silver with a time of 45.053 seconds. Third place went to Natasa Douchev-Janics (HUN), 45.128 seconds.

Men’s Kayak Double (K2) 200m – Russia’s Yury Postrigay and Alexander Dyachenko scored the gold with their time of 33.507 seconds. Second place went to Raman Piatrushenka and Vadzim Makhneu of Belarus with their time of 34.266 seconds. The bronze procured by Great Britain’s Liam Heath and Jon Schofield. Their time was 34.421 seconds.

CYCLING – BMX

August 10th

Women’s BMX – Colombia’s Mariana Pajon won the BMX Track race with her time of 37.706 seconds. Coming in second was Sarah Walker of New Zealand with a time of 38.133 seconds. Third place went to Laura Smulders (NED) with her time of 38.231 seconds.

Men’s BMX – Maris Strombergs of Latvia won the gold in BMX Cycling with his time of 37.576 seconds. Sam Willoughby of Australia took home the silver with 37.929 seconds and Colombia’s Carlos Mario Oquendo Zabala won the bronze with his time of 38.251 seconds.

CYCLING – MOUNTAIN BIKE

August 11th

Women’s Cross-country – France’s Julie Bresset won the gold medal with her time of 1:30:52 in this event. Germany’s Sabine Spitz took second place with a time of 1:31:54 and Georgia Gould of the United State rode into third place for the bronze with a time of 1:32:00.

DIVING

August 9th

Women’s 10m Platform – China’s Ruolin Chen dove into first place with a total score of 422.30. The silver went to Brittany Broben of Australia after she scored 336.50 points. Malaysia’s Pandelela Rinong Pamg got the bronze with her score of 359.20 points.

August 11^th

Men’s 10m Platform – David Boudia of the United States won the gold medal with a total score of 568.65. Right behind him was China’s Bo Qiu who scored 566.85 points for the silver and Thomas Daley of Great Britain, with his points of 556.95 points, won the bronze.

EQUESTRIAN

August 9th

Individual Dressage – Charlotte Dujardin won the gold with her horse, Valegro. The Netherlands’ Adelinde Cornelissen took second place with her horse, Parzival. The bronze went to Laura Bechtolsheimer with a horse of Mistral Hojris.

FOOTBALL (SOCCER)

August 9th

Women’s Football – In the Bronze Medal Match, Canada won the bronze, 1-0, against France. During this 90-minute game, neither country scored in the first half of the game and most of the second half until Diana Matheson of Canada scored against France in the 92nd minute of the game. This goal would win the game for Canada.

The Gold Medal Match had the United States defeating Japan, 2-1. In the first eight minutes, Carli Lloyd scored the first goal for the United States, giving the States the lead until the end of the first half. Lloyd struck again, nine minutes into the second half, with her second goal. The United States led 2-0. Japan didn’t take it lying down. Yuki Ogimi scored for Japan in the 63rd minute of the game but it wasn’t enough to win the gold. The USA took home the gold while Japan had to settle for the silver.

August 10^th

Men’s Football – In the Bronze Medal Match, the Republic of Korea took down Japan in the 90-minute game, 2-0. Korea’s Chuyoung Park scored the first goal against Japan within 38 minutes in the game. Korea led Japan, 1-0, at the end of the first half. In the second half, Korea scored again. In the 57th minute, Jacheol Koo of Korea sealed the deal with his goal and put Korea at 2-0 to win the bronze.

August 11th

Men’s Football – Brazil lost to Mexico in the Gold Medal Match, 1-2, to win it first ever gold medal in Olympic Football. In the first minute of play, Oribe Peralta of Mexico scored a goal. This will be the only goal of the first half. The game would go on without any goal success until the 75th minute of play, when Peralta second his second goal. Brazil tried to recover with Givanildo Vieira De Sousa scoring a goal in the 91st minute but it wasn’t enough. Mexico would win and take home the gold. Brazil earned the silver.

GYMNASTICS – RHYTHMIC

August 11th

Individual All-Around – Russia’s Evgeniya Kanaeva earned the gold after receiving her final result of 116.900. Her fellow Russian, Daria Dmitrieva got the silver with her final results of 114.500 and Belarus’s Liubou Charkashyna procured the bronze with her final score of 111.700.

HANDBALL

August 11th

Women’s Handball – In the Gold Medal Match, Montenegro lost to Norway, 23-26, which left Montenegro, the former Yugoslavia, with the silver and gave Norway the gold. Spain won the Bronze Medal Match against Korea, 31-29.

HOCKEY

August 10th

Women’s Hockey – The Netherlands’s Women’s Team defeated Argentina, 2-0, to win the gold. Argentina secured the bronze. Great Britain won this match over New Zealand, 3-1, to gain the bronze.

August 11th

Men’s Hockey – The Netherlands Men’s Team didn’t fair was well as its Women’s Team in their Gold Medal Match, when the men lost the gold to Germany in this 70-minute game. The score for this match was 2-1. In the Bronze Medal Match, Australia defeated Great Britain, 3-1, clinching the win.

MODERN PENTATHLON

August 11th

Men’s Modern Pentathlon – Czech Republic’s David Svoboda won the Modern Pentathlon with a total score of 5928. Second place was China’s Zhongrong Cao with a score of 5904 and third went to Hungary’s Adama Marosi with a total score of 5836.

SAILING

August 10th

Men’s 470 – After receiving 22 net points, the Australian crew of Matthew Belcher and Malcolm Page, these two men won the gold for their country. Great Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell clinched the bronze with 30 net points and Argentina’s Lucas Calabrese and Juan de la Fuente won the bronze with 63 new points.

Women’s 470 – With 35 net points, New Zealand’s crew of Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie won gold. Great Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark grabbed the silver with 51 net points and the Netherlands’ Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout collected the bronze with net points of 64.

SWIMMING

August 9th

Women’s 10km Marathon – Eva Risztov of Hungary won the Marathon race with a time of 1:57:38.2 for the gold. Haley Anderson of the United States took the silver with a time of 1:57:38.6 and Martina Grimaldi (ITA) swam into bronze with a 1:57:41.8.

August 10th

Men’s 10km Marathon – Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli won the marathon with a time of 1:49:55.1 to get the gold. Thomas Lurz of Germany came in second to get the silver with a time of 1:49:58.5 and third place went to Canada’s Richard Weinberger with a time of 1:50:00.3 for the bronze.

SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING

August 10th

Women’s Teams – Gold for Russia. The Russian women’s team secured first place with a score of 197.030. China swam into second with a score of 194.010 and Spain won the bronze with a score of 193.120.

TAEKWONDO

August 9th

Women’s 58 kg – Jade Jones of Great Britain beat China’s Yuzhuo Hou for the gold. Hou won the silver. The bronze went to Li-Cheng Tseng of Taipei and France’s Marlene Harnois.

Men’s 68 kg – In the Gold Medal Bout, Turkey’s Servet Tazegul won this match against Mohammad Bagheri Motamed for the gold, Bagheri Motamed grabbed the silver. The bronze went to Rohullah Nikpah of Afghanistan and Terrance Jennings of the United States.

August 10th

Women’s 67kg – Kyung Seon Hwang (KOR) won the gold from Turkey’s Nur Tatar which left Tatar with the silver. Paige McPherson of the United States won the bronze after battling Slovenia’s Franka Anic and Helena Fromm of Germany grappled the bronze out of Australia’s Carmen Marton’s hands.

Men’s 80kg – Argentina’s Sebastian Eduardo Crismanich beat Spain’s Nicolas Garcia Hemme for the gold medal. Garcia Hemme won the silver. Bronze went to Italy’s Mauro Sarimento after fighting Afghanistan’s Nesar Ahmad Bahawi and Great Britain’s Lutalo Muhammad secured the bronze after battling Armenia’s Arman Yeremyan.

August 11th

Women’s +67 kg – Serbia’s Milica Mandic defeated France’s Anne-Caroline Graffe, 9-7, for the gold. Graffe bagged the silver. The bronze went to Maria del Rosario Espinoza after she took out Cuba’s Glenhis Hernandez and Anastasia Baryshnikova (RUS) won bronze after battling In Jong Lee of Korea.

Men’s +80 kg – Carlo Molfetta (ITA) won the gold medal after he fought Gabon’s Anthony Obame. Obame won the silver. Bronze went to Xiaobo Liu of China after he won against Turkey’s Bahri Tanrikulu and Cuba’s Robelis Despaigne got the bronze after tussling with Mali’s Daba Modibo Keita.

VOLLEYBALL

August 11th

Women’s Volleyball – Brazil’s Women Team won the gold medal against the United States in three sets out of four. It looked grim for the Brazilians after they lost the first set, 11-25, to the United States but this would be the last lost for the Brazilians in this match. In sets 2 (25-17), 3 (25-20), and 4 (25-17), the Brazilians overcame the United States to win the gold. The USA procured the silver.

In the Bronze Medal Match, Japan took out Korea in three sets, (25-22), (26-24) and (25-21) to win third.

WATER POLO

August 9th

Women’s Water Polo – The United States won the gold medal against Spain which left Spain with the silver with a score of 8-5. In the Bronze Medal Match, Australia defeated Hungary, 13-11, in extra time, to win the third place position.

WRESTLING

August 9th

Women’s 55kg Freestyle – Japan’s Saori Yoshida won the gold medal in her bout against Canada’s Tonya Lynn Verbeek. Verbeek clinched the silver. Colombia’s Jackeline Renteria Castillo won the bronze after fighting Tetyana Lazareva of Ukraine and Azerbaijan’s Yuliya Ratkevich took out Russia’s Valeriia Zholobova for the bronze.

Women’s 72kg Freestyle – Russia’s Natalia Vorobieva defeated Bulgaria’s Stanka Zlateva Hristova, 5VT-0, for the gold. Hristova clutched the silver. Spain’s Maider Unda and Kazakhstan’s Guzel Manyurova both won bronze in their matches.

August 10th

Men’s 55kg Freestyle – Dzhamal Otarsultanov of Russia defeated Georgia’s Vladimer Khinchegashvili, 3-1, to win the gold. Kinchegashvili won the silver. Japan’s Shinchi Yumoto took bronze against Bulgaria’s Radoslav Marinov Velikov and Kyong Yang acquired bronze after winning against Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov, 3-1.

Men’s 74kg Freestyle – Jordan Ernest Burroughs earned the gold medal after beating Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi of Iran, 3-0. Goudarzi won the silver. Denis Tsargush (RUS) took the bronze away from Canada’s Matthew Judah Gentry and Uzbekistan’s Soslan Tigiev won the bronze from Gabor Hatos (HUN), 3-0.

August 11th

Men’s 60 kg Freestyle – Gold went to Azerbaijan’s Toghrul Asgarov after he defeated Besik Kudukhov of Russia in the Gold Medal Match. Silver went to Kudukhov. India’s Yogeshwar Dutt and the United States Coleman Scott won bronze in this division.

Men’s 84 kg Freestyle – Sharif Sharifov of Azerbaijan conquered Puerto Rico’s Jaime Yusept Espinal for gold which gave Espinal silver. Georgia’s Dato Marsagishvili and Iran’s Ehsan Naser Lashgari received the bronze after their bouts were won.

Men’s 120 kg Freestyle - Uzbekistan’s Artur Taymazov has won the gold after he battled Georgia’s Davit Modzmanashvili. Modzmanashvili got the silver. The first of two bronze medals went to Russia’s Bilyal Makhov and the second bronze was procure by Komeil Ghasemi.

London Olympic Games 2012 – August 8 – Who’s Ready For The Bolt?

2012-08-09T09:19:00.003-07:00

Usain Bolt has made history by winning two consecutive Olympic Gold medals in the 100 meter dash. The only other man to do so is Carl Lewis. Now Bolt is looking to win the 200 meter dash so he can proclaim the title of being the fastest man on this planet for another four years. After the 100 meter run, one would say that he is well on track of making this goal official. He cruised into the semi-finals with a time of 20.39 seconds and then, in his semi-finals heat, he received a time of 20.18, all while looking to see if his opponents were close to him and checking the score board during his run. Usain has the height, form and confidence to win the 200 meter dash on August 10. Question is how fast will his celebrity status take off, once he crosses that 200 meter finish line in London? We’ll just have to wait and see how it all goes down on Twitter.

Here is a rundown on several events from August 8th.

Athletics (Track and Field)

Women’s 200m – Allyson Felix (USA) won the gold medal with a time of 21.88 seconds in the 200m dash. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, defending 100m dash Olympic champion, took second place with a time of 22.09 seconds and Carmelita Jeter won the bronze with her time of 22.14 seconds.

Men’s 110m Hurdles – Defending world champion, Jason Richardson from the United States lost the 110 Hurdles to teammate, Aries Merritt. Merritt timed in at 12.92 seconds to win the gold. Richardson clocked in at 13.04 seconds to collect the silver and Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment secured the bronze with his time, 13.12 seconds. This is a National Record for Parchment.

Women’s Long Jump – Brittany Reese (USA) won the gold medal with a jump of 7.12 meters. This is the first time a woman from the United States won this event since Jackie Joyner Kersee. Second place went to Elena Sokolova of Russia who jumped 7.07 meters for the silver medal and Janay Deloach from the United States clinched the bronze with a jump of 6.89 meters edging out Latvia’s Ineta Radevica who jumped 6.88 meters.

Women’s 400m Hurdles – Russia’s Natalya Antyukh won the gold medal with a time of 52.70 seconds. The former gold medal champion from the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Lashinda Demus won the silver with a time of 52.77 seconds and Czech Republic’s Zuzana Hejnova grabbed the bronze from 53.38 seconds.

Basketball

Men’s Basketball – In the Quarterfinals, Russia defeated Lithuania, 83-74, to move on to the semi-finals and will play Spain in that round. Spain conquered France, 66-59, to make it to the semis. United States beat Australia, 119-86, and on August 10 will go up against Argentina in the semis. Argentina conquered Brazil, 82-77, which gave the Argentineans their spot in the semi-finals.

Beach Volleyball

Women’s Beach Volleyball – Brazil’s Juliana Silva and Larissa won the Bronze Medal Match against China’s Chen Xue and Xi Zhang in three sets, 11-21, 21-19, and 15-12. In the Gold Medal Match, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings beat their fellow countrywomen, April Ross and Jennifer Kessy in two sets, 21-16, 21-16. This is May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings third consecutive win of Olympic gold. April Ross and Jennifer Kessy collected the silver and possibly a hug and picture with Prince Harry.

Boxing

Women’s Fly Weight (51kg) - Cancan Ren of China defeated Marlen Esparza (USA), 10-8, sending Ren to the Gold Medal Match (GMM) against Nicola Adams of Great Britain. Adams took out Chungneijang Mery Hmangte of India to move onto the GMM. Esparza and Hmangte will duke it out in the Bronze Medal Match, August 9th.

Women’s Light Weight (60kg) - Katie Taylor of Ireland beat Mavzuna Chorieva of Tajikistan (17-9) to move on to the GMM. Taylor will fight Sofya Ochigava of Russia. Ochigava won her semi-finals bout against Araujo (17-11) to move on to the next round. Adriana Araujo of Brazil will battle Chorieva for the bronze August 9th.

Women’s Middle Weight (75kg) - Claressa Shields of the United States took down Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan, (29-15). Nadezda Torlopova of Russia beat Jinzi Li (CHN) (12-10) to move on to the Middle Weight GMM. Torlopova will fight Claressa Shields of the United States for the title, August 9th.

Canoe Sprint

Men’s Kayak Single 1000m – The Norwegian, Eirik Veras Larsen, won this event when he clocked in a time of 3:26.462. Canada’s Adam van Koeverden procured the silver with a time of 3:27.170 and Max Hoff (GER) took the bronze with his time of 3:27.759.

Men’s Canoe Single 1000m – Sebastian Brendel (GER) secured first place with his time of 3:47.176, while David Cal Figueroa ( ) took second place with a time of 3:48.053. Canada’s Mark Oldershaw clinched the bronze with a time of 3:48.502.

Men’s Kayak Double 1000m – The Hungarian crew of Rudolf Dombi and Roland Kokeny won the gold medal with a time of 3:09.646. Dombi and Kokeny edged out Portugal’s Fernando Pimenta and Emanuel Silva which left the Portugal team with second place after they clocked in at 3:09.699. Germany’s Martin Hollstein and Andreas Ihle timed in at 3:10.117 for the bronze.

Women’s Kayak Four 500m – The Hungarian crew won the gold with their time of 1:30.827. Germany took the silver with a time of 1:31.298 and Belarus captured the bronze clocking in at 1:31.400.

Equestrian

The Individual Jumping Finals had Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat taking the gold medal with his horse Nino Des Buissonnets. Gerco Schroder (NED) took second with his horse London and third place went to Cian O’Connor with his horse Blue Loyd 12.

Hockey

Women’s Hockey – Netherlands will be heading to the Gold Medal Match (GMM) after they defeated New Zealand in a 3-1 shoot-out. The Netherlands will face Argentina who beat Great Britain to secure their spot in the GMM. New Zealand and Great Britain will go head-to-head in the Bronze Medal Match on August 10.

Sailing

Men’s 49er – After 15 races, there’ve been some highs and lows but the crew that stuck it out in the Men’s 49er and clinched the top spot on the awards’ podium is Australia’s Outteridge and Jensen. With a net score of 56, the Australian skipper and crew won gold. In second place are the New Zealand duo, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who landed silver medals with net points of 80 and Denmark’s Allan Norregaard and Peter Lang won bronze with their 114 net points.

Table Tennis

Men’s Team – Germany’s Timo Boll took down Hong Kong’s Tianyi Jiang in the four-set match. Jiang won the first set, 11-9, but Boll came back strong and trampled Jiang in set 2 (11-5), set 3 (11-9) and set 4 (11-9) to win the bronze.

In the Gold Medal Match, China’s Jike Zhang and Hao Wang won gold medals against Korea’s Sangeun Oh and Seungmin Ryu in three sets (11-4, 11-8, 11-6). Silver medals went to Oh and Ryu.

Volleyball

Men’s Volleyball – Bulgaria beat Germany three sets to move on to the semi-finals, while Russia defeated Poland in 3 sets as well. The United States lost to Italy, 3-0 and Brazil took down Argentina in three sets as well. Bulgaria will meet in Russia in the semi-finals August 10th and Italy will take on Brazil on the same day to determine which team will play in the Gold Medal Match.

For more information on the Olympics, go to london2012.com

And for any comments, concerns or questions for Mordacious Rant Writers, email us at mordaciousrant@gmail.com.

London Olympic Games 2012 - August 7 - The End Is Almost Near

2012-08-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

To say the 2012 London Olympics has been a spectacular moment in sports history would be a complete understatement. Numerous world, and Olympic, records have broken in London and the excitement of these triumphs, not only have the athletes thrilled, but also have their country and their fans elated. Here is a look at a few of the athletes who have seared their names in the history books of these 2012 London Olympics:

Olympic Records

Athletics – Sally Pearson (AUS) - Hurdles – 12.35 seconds

Cycling – Jason Kenny (GBR) – Track – 9.713 seconds

Swimming – Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) – 50 meters – 24.05 seconds

World Records (at the Olympics)

Shooting – Sergei Martynov - Men’s 50m Rifle Prone – 705.5 points

Swimming - USA Women’s Team – 4x100m Medley Relay – 3:52.05 time

Weightlifting – Ilya Ilyin (KAZ) – 94kg Weightlifting – 418 kg lifted

Shelly Pryce is the second woman, after Gale Devers, to have won the 100m dash title twice. Gabby Douglass, the first African American woman, who has won the All-Around Gymnastic title, Michael Phelps has 22 medals for his trophy case, the most of any Olympic athlete, and Rhode is the first American Olympian to medal in five consecutive Olympics.

With five days left in the Olympic Games, there will more chances for athletes like Usain Bolt to etch their signature on the walls of Olympic greatness and sort to a new kind of sports recognition and we as an audience have the pleasure of being witness to such prominence in its entirety.

Here is a look back on a few events from August 7^th.

Athletics (Track and Field)

Men’s High Jump – Five medals were handed out to the top jumpers in this competition. There was a three-way tie for bronze between high jumpers Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, Derek Drouin of Canada, and Robert Grabarz of Great Britain. All these men jumped 2.29 meters for the third place rank. The silver medal went to the United States’s Erik Kynard who jumped 2.33 meters for his second place finish, which left the coveted gold medal for Russia’s Ivan Ukhov. He jumped 2.38 meters to obtain the first place position.

Women’s 100m Hurdles – Sally Pearson (AUS) has won the gold medal and set a new Olympic Record with her time of 12.35 seconds in this event. Pearson is the first woman ever from Australia to have won the 100m Hurdles. Second place went to Dawn Harper, who had a personal best time of 12.37 seconds. Kellie Wells took the bronze with her time of 12.48 seconds.

Men’s Discus Throw – Celebrating his well deserved win by taking his shirt off, jumping the hurdles and they posing for a camera that didn’t belong to him, Robert Harting of Germany won the gold medal in the Men’s Discus Throw with his winning throw measured at 68.27 meters. Coming in second to Harting was Ehsan Hadadi of Iran. Hadadi threw his discus at 68.18 meters for the silver. Third place went to Estonia’s Gerd Kanter with his Olympic toss being measured at 68.03 meters. This throw was his personal best.

Men’s 1500m – In the 1500 meters race, Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi took home the gold with a time of 3 minutes and 34.08 seconds. Leonel Manzano of the United States won the silver with his time of 3:34.79 which was his personal best. Lastly, Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco captured the bronze with a time of 3:35.13.

Basketball

Women’s Basketball –The United States beat Canada, 91-48, and will move on to the semi-finals. Australia defeated China, 75-60, and they will face the United States in the semis August 9 to see who will go to the Gold Medal Match. Russia narrowly beat Turkey with a 66-63 win. Russia will play France in the semi-finals, after France won their spot in the semis by knocking out Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, 71-68.

Beach Volleyball

Men’s Beach Volleyball – The Brazilians are unstoppable. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego beat the Latvian team, Janis Smedins and Martins Plavins in the semi-finals, 21-15, 22-20. This win will send Cerutti and Rego to the Gold Medal Match while, Plavins and Smedins will play the Netherlands’ Nummerdor and Schuil in the Bronze Medal Match. Reinder Nummeror and Rich Schuil were defeated by Germany’s Julius Brink and Jonas Reckerman, 14-21, 16-21, in their semi-finals match. Brink and Reckermann will face Cerutti and Rego for the gold medal.

Women’s Beach Volleyball – The Gold Medal Match will have the United St,ates facing off against the United States. The May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings duo conquered the Chinese pair of Chen Xue and Xi Zhang in two games, 22-20 and 22-20. May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings will go up against their countrywomen April Ross and Jennifer Kessy. Ross and Kessy sent Brazil’s Juliana Silva and Larissa Franca to the Bronze Medal Match winning their match in three sets, 15-21, 21-19, 15-12.

Silva and Franca will battle against Xue and Zhang for the bronze.

Boxing

Men’s Fly Weight (52kg) – In the Quarterfinals of the Men’s Fly Weight division, Misah Aloian of Russia vanquished Puerto Rico’s Jeyvier Cintron Ocasio, (23-13), to move on to the semi-finals. Following in Aloian’s lead is Mongolia’s Tugstsogt Nyambayar who edged out Uzbekistan’s Jasurbek Latipov with a score of 15-10. Nyambayar will face Aloian in the semis.

Frenchman, Nordine Oubaali was defeated by Ireland’s Michael Conlan (18-22). Conlan will move onto the semi-finals where he will meet Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana. Ramirez Carrazana eliminated Andrew Selby from Great Britain to earn his spot in the finals.

Men’s Welter Weight (69kg) – In this division, Taras Shelestyuk of Ukraine went cuffs to cuffs with France’s Alexis Vastine. The score of this match was 18-18 and the decision went in favor of Shelestyuk to move him into the semi-finals. Shelestyuk will encounter Great Britain’s Freddie Evans who trampled over Canada’s Custio Clayton to gain his spot in the semis.

Errol Spence (USA) lost to Russia’s Andrey Zamkovoy (11-16) which moved Zamkovoy in to the semi-finals where he will go in the ring with Kazakhstan’s Serik Sapiyev. Sapiyev beat Gabriel Maestre Perez of Venzuela for his position in the Welter Weight semi-finals.

Cycling – Track

Men’s Keirin – Chris Hoy from Great Britain won the gold medal in cycling in the Men’s Keirin. Right behind him was Maximilian Levy who took the silver in this event and there was a third place tie for bronze between New Zealand’s Simon van Velthooven and Teun Mulder from the Netherlands.

Women’s Omnium – Great Britian’s Laura Trott won the Women’s Omnium with a score of 18 points adding another medal to her country’s trophy list. Second place went to Sarah Hammer from the United States with a score of 19 points and third was procured by Annette Edmondson of Australia with a score of 24 points.

Women’s Sprint – In the Gold Medal Race, Anna Meares of Australia and Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain went head-to-head in the Gold Medal Run and Meares came out victorious by winning Run 1 and Run 2 in the race which secured the gold medal for Meares. Pendleton (GBR) won the silver and China’s Shuang Guo won the bronze after beating Kristina Vogel of Germany in the Bronze Medal Run.

Equestrian

In the Team Dressage event, Grand Prix Special, Great Britain won a gold medal with the score of 79.979. This win pushed out the Germans who took home the silver medal with a score of 78.216. The Dutch took home the bronze with a score of 77.124

Football (Soccer)

Men’s Football – Mexico defeated the Japanese, 3-1, moving on to the Gold Medal Match against Brazil. The Brazilians took out Korea in a 3-0 match which sent Korea to the Bronze Medal Match where they will meet Japan August 10. The Gold Medal Match can be seen on August 11.

Gymnastics - Artistic

Men’s Parallel Bars – Zhe Feng of China won the gold medal in the Men’s Parallel Bars with a score of 15.966. Marcel Nguyen of Germany swung his way to a silver medal, his score 15.800 and the third place medal went to Hamilton Sabot from France and a score of 15.566.

Women’s Balance Beam – Linlin Deng (CHN) received a 15.600 which won her the gold medal in this apparatus. Her teammate, Lu Sui won the silver medal with a score of 15.500 and Alexandra Raisman of the United States collected the bronze with a 15.066.

Men’s Horizontal Bar – With an amazing horizontal bar routine with three releases back to back to back and a perfect landing, Epke Zonderland from the Netherlands deservingly won the gold medal in this event. Fabian Hambuchen of Germany took home the silver and China’s Kai Zou won the bronze.

Women’s Floor Exercise – Alexandra Raisman had a flawless routine on the floor that won her the gold medal in this event with a score of 15.600. Her competitor, Catalina Ponor (ROU) captured the silver after receiving a score of 15.200 and Aliya Mustafina won the bronze with a 14.900.

Sailing

Men’s RS-X – After completing 10 races in this event and tallying all the scores, the sailor who took home the gold in the Men’s RS-X was ( ) Dorian van Rijsselberge with net points of 15. Second place went to Great Britain’s Nick Dempsey who accumulated 41 net points. The bronze went to Poland’s Przemyslaw Miarczynki who received 60 net points.

Women’s RS-X – Spain’s Marina Alabau Neira won the gold medal in the Women’s RS-X event with net points of 26. Right behind her was Finland’s Tuuli Petaja with 46 net points and Zofia Noceti-Klepacka of Poland won the bronze with 47 net points.

Synchronized Swimming

Women’s Duets – The Russians took the gold medal home with a total score of 197.100. Second place went to Ona Carbonell Ballestero and Andrea Fuentes Fache of Spain with their score of 192.900. China took the third place spot with their score of 192.870.

Table Tennis

Women’s Team – Japan’s Sayaka Hirano and Kasumi Ishikawa lost to China’s Yue Guo and Xiaoxia Li in the Gold Medal Match 3 out of 4 games. The Chinese pair won sets 1 (11-6) and 2 (11-3) but Hirano and Ishikawa came back with a win in set 3 (11-9) but Guo and Li took the match in set 4 with a win of 11-5 which earned Guo and Li the gold medal. Japan took home the silver.

In the Bronze Medal Match, Singapore defeated Korea 3 sets out of 4. The Singapore duo, Yuegu Wang and Jiawei Li won sets 1 (11-9) and 2 (11-6) to gain the lead but Korea’s Yeseo Dang and Hajung Seok held on by winning set 3 (11-6). Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to stop Wang and Li because the Singapore duo won set 4 and grabbed the bronze.

Triathlon

Men’s Triathlon- Great Britain’s Brownlee Brothers secured the one and three spots in this event. Alistair Brownlee won the gold medal with a time of 1:46:25. Javier Gomez of Spain placed second with his time of 1:46:36, while Alistair’s brother Johnathan clinched the bronze with a time of 1:46:56.

Volleyball

Women’s Volleyball – Japan knocked out China in the quarterfinals three games out of five (28-26, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 18-16). Japan moves on to the next round and will meet Brazil in the semi-finals. Brazil defeated Russia 3 out of 5 games to gain their spot in the semis. The scores for this match were 24-26, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, and 21-19.

The United States crushed the Dominican Republic team three games to none. Even though the Dominicans did put a good fight it wasn’t enough to move them forward in the competition. The scores for this match were 25-14, 25-21, and 25-22. The United States will face Korea in the semi-finals. Korea earned their place in the semis by beating Team Italy in four sets, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20, and 25-18. The semi-finals will be held on August 9, 2012.

Weightlifting

Men’s +105kg – The Republic of Iran took the one-two spot in this competition with Behdad Salimikordasiabi winning the gold medal and Sajjadd Anoushiravani Hamlabad winning the silver. Salimikordasiabi lifted a total weight of 455 kg (1003 lbs*) which placed him in first, while his countryman, Anoushiravani Hamlabad placed second by hoisting 449 kg (990 lbs*). Third place went to the Ruslan Albegov of Russian who lifted 448 kg (988 lbs*).

*Kilogram conversion to pounds. Pounds are rounded up to the nearest pound.

London Olympic Games 2012 - August 6 - What more can one say?

2012-08-06T21:25:00.003-07:00

Well it’s the end of day, on August 6th, and more medals have been issued at the Olympics and more medals have yet to be received. Six more days for athletes to make this time, the best time of their lives or wait until 2016 to try again. Either way, what can one say, other than the best athletes are in London, they’ve come to compete, they’ve come to have fun, they’ve come to make this moment the best time of their lives and if it can't happen now, these athletes have 2016 to start all over again.

RECAP

Athletics (Track and Field)

Women’s Shot Put – Nadzeya Ostapchuk (BLR) won the gold medal with a throw of 21.36 meters. Valerie Adams of New Zealand threw the shot put 20.70 meters which attained her silver and Evgeniia Kolodki threw her shot put, 20.48 meters, which was her personal best.

Women’s Pole Vault – Jennifer Suhr from the United States vaulted herself into a gold medal by clearing the pole at 4.75 meters. Yarisley Silva of Cuba also cleared the pole at 4.75 meters which won Silva the silver and Elena Isinbaeva (RUS) vaulted over the pole at 4.70 meters which landed her the bronze.

Men’s 400m Hurdles – Dominican Republic’s Felix Sanchez ran his way into history when he won the gold medal in the 400m hurdles race with a time of 47.63 seconds, this was Sanchez’s personal best time. Michael Tinsley (USA) obtained the silver with his time of 47.91 seconds and Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson won the bronze with a time of 48.10 seconds.

Women’s 3000m Steeplechase – Yuliya Zaripova of Russia chased down the gold medal in this race with a time of 9:06.72 to beat out Habiba Ghribi of Tunisia and Ethiopia’s Sofia Assefa. Habiba Ghribi (TUN) took second place with a score of 9:08.37 which is a new National Record for Ghribi. Assefa won the bronze with her time of 9:09.84.

Men’s 400m – Kirani James of Grenada sprinted his way into first place with a time of 43.94 seconds which is a new National Record for James. Luguelin Santos (DOM) received the silver with his time of 44.46 seconds and Lalonde Gordon grabbed the third place medal with a time of 44.52. This time was Gordon’s personal best.

Beach Volleyball

Men’s Beach Volleyball – The Brazilians have done it. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego beat the Polish team, Mariusz Prudel and Grzegorz Fijalek, 21-17, 16-21, 17-15, and will have the chance to battle Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Janis Semdins in the semi-finals.

The German team of Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann defeated Brazil’s Ricardo Santos and Pedro Cunha in two straight games to move on to the semi-finals. In semis, Brink/Reckermann will face the Netherlands’ pair, Reinder Nummerdor and Rich Schuil. Nummerdor and Schuil overcame Italy’s Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo to gain their place in the next round.

Boxing

Women’s Fly Weight (51kg) – Who are the boxers going to the semi-finals?

Cancan Ren (CHN) will face Marien Esparza (USA). Ren defeated Russia’s Elena Savelyeva in the quarterfinals 12-7 and Esparza edged out Karlha Magliocco (VEN) in quarterfinals by 24 – 16 to make it to the semis.

Nicole Adams (GBR) will fight Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangte (IND). Adams took out Stoyka Petrova of Bulgaria, 16-7, while Hmangte sent home Tunisia’s Maroua Rahali with a score of 15-6.

Women’s Light Weight (60kg) – In this division, Katie Taylor (IRL) will battle Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva in the semi-finals. Adriana Araujo (BRA) won the opportunity to fight Sofya Ochigava (RUS) in the semis.

Women’s Middle Weight (75kg) – After defeating Great Britain’s Savannah Marshall, 16-12, Kazakhstan’s Marina Volnova will head to the semi-finals and face Claressa Shields of the United States. Shields made it to the semis after she beat Sweden’s Anna Laurell, 18 – 14. The second semi-finals will have Jinzi Li (CHN) battling against Nadezda Torlopova (RUS). Li defeated Canada’s Mary Spencer, 17-14, to move on to the semis and Torlopova vanquished Nigeria’s Edith Ogoke, 18-8.

Football (Soccer)

Women’s Football – Japan plowed France in the semi-finals round, 2-1, and is heading to the Gold Medal Match to face the United States. The United States defeated Canada, 4-3, in overtime. Canada and France will play each other in the Bronze Medal Match. Both the Gold Medal Match and the Bronze Medal Match will be held on August 8.

Gymnastics - Artistic

Men’s Rings – Brazil’s Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti captured the gold in this competition with a score of 15.900. Yibing Chen of China grabbed the silver with his score of 15.800 and Matteo Morandi (ITA) took home the bronze with a score of 15.733.

Women’s Uneven Bars – Aliya Mustafina of Russia won gold with a score with a score of 16.133, while China’s Kexin He secured the silver with a score of 15.933. Third place went to Great Britain’s Elizabeth Tweddle with her score of 15.916.

Men’s Vault – Hak Seon Yang (KOR) captured gold with his score of 16.533. Russia’s Denis Ablyazin won the silver with a score of 16.399 and Igor Radivilov of Ukraine procured the bronze with a 16.316.

Sailing

Women’s Laser Radial – With a total of 35 net points, China’s Lijia Xu won the gold medal of the Women’s Laser Radial. Second place went to Marit Bouwmeester (NED) with 37 net points and Belgium’s Evi Van Acker took the bronze with a total of 40 net points.

Men’s Laser – Tom Slingsby of Australia won the gold medal in the Men’s Laser competition with 43 net points. Cypress’s Pavlos Kontides grabbed the silver medal with his net points of 59 which left the bronze for Rasmus Myrgren who had 72 net points.

Shooting

Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions – Italy’s Niccolo Campriani won the gold medal in this competition and set a new Olympic Record in the qualification round with his score of 1180. Campriani’s total score was 1278.5 points. In second place, Jonghyun Kim (KOR) clinched the silver medal with his total score of 1272.5 and third place went to the United States’s Matthew Emmons with a score of 1271.3.

Men’s Trap – The gold medal went to Croatia’s Giovanni Cernogoraz who had an equalled final Olympic Record with second place winner, Italy’s Massimo Fabbrizi. Both men had a final total score of 146. In third place was Kuwait’s Fehaid Aldeehani who had a score of 145.

Table Tennis

Women’s Team – China’s Yue Guo and Xiaoxia Li took down Yeseo Dang and Hajung Seok (KOR) in three sets, 11-6, 11-5, and 11-8 giving China access to the Gold Medal Match. China will face Japan August 7th in this match. Korea and Singapore will meet each other in the Bronze Medal Match.

Weightlifting

Men’s 105kg – Oleksiy Torokhtiy (UKR) lifted his way to gold in the Men’s 105kg competition. Torokhtiy hoisted 412 kg (908 lbs*) to first place. Navab Nasirshelal (IRI) took second place with total weight lifted 411 kg (906 lbs*) and Poland’s Bartlomiej Wojciech Bonk gained the bronze medal with total weight 410 kg (902 lbs*).

For more information on the Olympics go to London2012.com

*Kilogram conversion to pounds. Pounds are rounded up to the nearest pound.

London Olympic Games 2012 – August 5 – It just keeps getting bigger and bigger and…

2012-08-06T07:07:00.001-07:00

At the end of August 5th, athletes from 61 countries have been awarded medals for their outstanding performance at the London Olympics. Yet the athletes from China and the United States continue to keep their countries at the top of the list. China now has 61 total medals and the USA is only behind by one medal at 60 and the Brits are working hard to hone in on this medal action. Great Britain has surged up the list to third place with 37 medals with Russia right on their tails with 35 medals. Japan is only behind Russia with 27 medals, while France has 25 and Germany has 22 medals. As for Kazakhstan, the country continues with its gold-only medal streak by adding a sixth medal to their trophy list. The athletes of this country have only won gold medals in these Olympics in the following events, Weightlifting (4), Road Cycling (1) and Athletics (1). Whether Kazakhstan will be able to continue this streak, only Olympic time will tell, but the globe will be watching, not just Kazakhstan, but the rest of the world’s best athletes, as they leave their mark here in the London.

Let’s recap some of the events of August 5th.

Athletics (Track and Field)

Women’s Marathon – Ethiopia’s Tiki Gelana won gold in the Marathon event in Olympic Record time of 2 hours, 23 minutes and 7 seconds. Prischa Jeptoo (KEN) ran her way into second place with her time of 2:23:12 and Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova (RUS) grabbed the bronze when she clocked in at 2:23:29.

Women’s Triple Jump – Kazakhstan’s Olga Rypakova gave her country their sixth gold medal with her win in the Triple Jump. Rypakova jumped 14.98 meters for first place. Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguen, who jumped 14.80 meters, won the silver medal and Olha Saladuha (UKR) took the bronze with her jump of 14.79 meters.

Men’s 100m – Usain Bolt retained his title of the World’s Fastest Man when he won the 100m Finals in London. Bolt (JAM) set an Olympic Record when he clocked in at 9.63 seconds, while his teammate, Yohan Blake (JAM) ran for a second place finish of 9.75 seconds. The United States’s Justin Gatlin received the bronze with his time of 9.79 seconds which is Gatlin’s new personal best.

Men’s Hammer Throw – Hungary’s Krisztian Pars won the gold medal for this hammer throw of 80.59 meters. Right behind him was Primoz Kozmus (SLO) who threw his hammer 79.36 meters. This was Kozmus’s seasonal best. As for the bronze, Japan’s Koji Murofushi won third place with his throw of 78.71 meters.

Women’s 400m – Sanya Richards-Ross (USA) won the 400m finals with her time of 49.55 seconds. Great Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu seized the silver medal with a time of 49.70 seconds, her seasonal best and DeeDee Trotter (USA) captured the bronze medal with a time of 49.72 seconds. This is Trotter’s seasonal best as well.

Men’s 3000 Steeplechase – The Kenyans dominated this race when they took the one – three spot in this competition. Ezekiel Kemboi ran a time of 8:18.56 which won him the gold medal. France’s Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad won the silver medal with a time of 8:19.08 and the teammate of Kemboi, Abel Kiprop Mutai, collected the bronze with his time of 8:19.73.

Badminton

Men’s Doubles – Jae Sung Chung and Yong Dae Lee (KOR) won the Bronze Medal Match against Malaysia’s Kien Keat Koo and Boon Heong Tan with a score of 23-21 and 21-10.

In the Gold Medal Match, China’s Yun Cai and Haifeng Fu defeated Denmark’s Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogenson 21-16 and 21-15 that won this Chinese pair the gold. The Danish took home the silver.

Men’s Singles – Hyun Il Lee (KOR) lost the bronze medal to China’s Long Chen. Chen won the first game against Lee by nine points to secure the lead but Lee came back in the second game and won it, 21-15. Both men were tied 1-1 after two games and Lee try to seal the deal in game 3 but Chen overpowered Lee and won 21-15.

China received another medal to add to their trophy case when Dan Lin (CHN) won the Gold Medal Match against Malaysia’s Chong Wei Lee. Malaysia’s Lee grabbed the first game, 21-15, to take the lead 1-0 but Lin came back and won game 2, 21-10, and game 3, 21-19, to clutch the gold.

Beach Volleyball

Women’s Beach Volleyball – The Round of 8, aka the Quarterfinals resulted in China’s Chen Xue/Xi Zhang knocking out the Austrian sisters, Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger, (21-18, 21-11) to move on to the semi-finals. At the semi-finals, the Chinese pair will meet the United States duo May-Treanor/Walsh Jennings. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings outplayed Italians, Marta Menegatti and Gerta Cicolari, (21-13, 21-12), and are heading to the semi-finals. Also going to the semi-finals are Brazil’s Larissa Franca and Juliana Silva and the United States’s April Ross and Jennifer Kessy. Franca/Silva defeated Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Sara Goller, (21-10, 21-19), for their spot in the semis, while Ross/Kessy edged out Czech Republic’s Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova, (25-23, 21-18), to advance to the semis.

Boxing

Women’s Fly Weight (51kg) – The women who will be moving on to the Quarterfinals in this division are:

· Elena Savelyeva (RUS)

· Karlha Magliocco (VEN)

· Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangte (IND)

· Stoyka Petrova (BUL)

Women’s Light Weight (60kg) – The following contenders who will fight in the Quarterfinals in this division are:

· Natasha Jonas (GBR)

· Cheng Dong (CHN)

· Adriana Araujo (BRA)

· Alexis Pritchard (NZL)

Women’s Middle Weight (75kg) – At the end of this Round of 16 contest, these boxers will take their next punch in the quarterfinals:

· Marina Volnova (KAZ)

· Anna Laurell (SWE)

· Jinzi Li (CHN)

· Edith Ogoke (NGR)

Men’s Bantam Weight (56kg) – The semi-finals stage has been set and these are the boxers that will be moving on.

Lazaro Alvarez Estrada (CUBA) will battle John Joe Nevin from Ireland in the semi-finals on August 10. Estrada defeated Vieira de Jesus (BRA), 16-11, to advance to the semis. Nevin beat Mexico’s Oscar Valdez Fierro, 19-13, to win his spot in the next round.

Bulgaria’s Detelin Dalakliev lost to Great Britain’s Luke Campbell, 15 – 16, in the quarterfinals which sent Campbell into the semis. Campbell will go fist-to-fist with Japan’s Satoshi Shimizu in the semi-finals, August 10. Shimizu won his quarterfinals bout against Mohamed Amine Ouadahi (ALG), 17 – 15, to advance.

Men’s Heavy Weight (91kg) – The quarterfinals have ended and the lineups for the next round are set. Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk defeated Russia’s Artur Beterbiev, 17-13, to advance to the semi-finals. Usyk (UKR) will meet Tervel Pulev (BUL) on August 10 for this round. Pulev won his quarterfinals match against Argentina’s Yamil Peralta Jara, 13 – 10, in order to gain a spot in the semis.

Clemente Russo from Italy won his quarterfinals match against Cuba’s Jose Larduet Gomez, 12 -10, which landed him in the semi-finals. Russo will go up against Teymur Mammadov from Azerbaijan.

Gymnastics - Artistic

Men’s Floor Exercise – Kai Zou of China beat out Japan’s Kohei Uchimura and Russia’s Denis Ablyazin for the gold medal in the Men’s Floor Exercise. Zou scored 15.933 on his floor edging out Uchimura for the gold. Uchimura took home the silver with a score of 15.800 and Ablyazin clinched the bronze with his score of 15.800.

Women’s Vault – Sandra Raluca Izbasa (ROU) won the gold medal in the women’s vault with a score of 15.191. The United States gymnast, Mc Kayla Maroney took second place with a score of 15.083 and Maria Paseka (RUS) received the bronze with her score of 15.050.

Men’s Pommel Horse – Krisztian Berki of Hungary won first place in the Men’s Pommel Horse with a score of 16.066. Louis Smith of Great Britain also received a score of 16.066 but took second place, while Smith’s teammate, Max Whitlock (GBR), got the bronze with a score of 15.600.

Sailing

Men’s Star – Sweden took first place in the Men’s Star finals with a net score of 32 points. Great Britain’s Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson won the silver medal with 34 net points and Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada of Brazil collected the bronze medal with their net points of 40.

Men’s Finn – Ben Ainslie (GBR) won the gold in the Men’s Finn with a net score of 46 points. Jonas Hogh-Christensen of Denmark, who also scored 46 net points, took home the silver medal, while Jonathan Lobert (FRA) procured the bronze with a net score of 49 points.

Shooting

Men’s 50m Pistol – In the finals of the Men’s 50m Pistol, Jongoh Jin (KOR) won the gold medal with a final score of 662.0. Jin’s teammate, Young Rae Choi took second place with a score of 661.5 and China’s Zhiwei Wang secured the bronze with a total score of 658.6.

Tennis

Men’s Singles – Andy Murray (GBR) pulled off one of the biggest upset in Tennis history. Murray who played number one ranked Roger Federer in the Gold Medal Match beat Federer, 6-2, 6-1, and 6-4 to win the gold in London.

In the Bronze Medal Match, Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) defeated Novak Djokovic (SRB) in two sets, 7-5 and 6-4, to win this game.

Women’s Doubles – Serena and Venus Williams (USA) clinched the gold medal after they thwarted Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka chances of gold. The Williams Sisters won in two sets, 6-4, 6-4, which left Hlavackova and Hradecka with the silver medal.

Mixed Doubles – Andy Murray (GBR) played again in the Mixed Doubles’ Gold Medal Match with Laura Robson (GBR) against Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus. Azarenka/Mirnyi won the match but it took three sets to do so. The Belarus team lost the first set to the British duo, 2-6, but won sets 2, 6-2, and 3, [10] – [8], which allowed Team Belarus to take home the gold. Murray and Robson won the silver.

Weightlifting

Women’s +75kg – China’s Lulu Zhou won the gold medal in the +75kg Weightlifting finals. Zhou who lifted a total of 333 kg (734 lbs*) set a new World Record with the combined weight lifted. Russia’s Tatiana Kashirina received the silver medal and set a new World Record as well in the Snatch round when she lifted 151 kg (333 lbs*). Kashirina total weight lifted was 332 kg (732 lbs*). The bronze went to Armenia’s Hripsime Khurshudyan who lifted 294 kg (648 lbs*).

For more information on the Olympics go to London2012.com

*Kilogram conversion to pounds. Pounds are rounded up to the nearest pound.

London Olympic Games 2012 – August 4 – What’s The Word On The Olympic Street?

2012-08-05T04:09:00.004-07:00

The word is courage. In these Olympics, we’ve seen world records, Olympic records, and even National records broken by this group of dynamic athletes in Swimming, Shooting, and Weightlifting. All these feats were accomplished not only by the athlete’s dedication and practice regime but also with the athlete’s courage to stay in the race, even after he or she wanted to quit, to stay in the race even when an injury questioned the future of the athlete’s career, to stay in the race because why give up now? Many firsts have taken place at the London Olympics. From the country Qatar sending its first women athletes to the Games to Gabby Douglas becoming the first African-American woman to win the Gymnastics All-Around event. These 2012 Olympics will show future Olympians that determination, skill, and persistence are not the only traits needed to succeed at the Olympics, or in any competition, that a little courage can send an athlete’s performance above and beyond the expectation of the athlete, and those who work with the athlete, to create the memorable moments that will have generations marveling at the talent of an athlete who had the courage to never give up.

How Many Medals Do We Have Now?

The medal count showed that the United States dominated the Chinese again with a total of 54 medals won as of August 4th. China is still close with 53 medals under their belt. However the biggest jump on the medal list is Great Britain. The host country has jumped from 22 medals to 29 medals as of August 4th and 14 of those medals are gold and other countries are racking up the medals just as fast as Great Britain. Russian has 28 medals, Japan has 24, France has 22, Germany has 21, and Australia has 20. What is also interesting on this medal list is that five countries have won only gold medals in these Games. Kahazkstan leads in this list with 5 gold medals so far while Georgia, Switzerland, Venezuela, and Lithuania all have 1 gold medal each. Still whenever there is an opportunity to medal at the Olympics, every athletes puts their best out there to secure gold, silver, or bronze for their country because that is what the best athletes in the world do what the medal country may be.

Let’s check out what happened at the Olympic Games on August 4th.

Athletics (Track and Field)

Women’s Heptathlon – Great Britain’s Jessica Ennis won the Women’s Heptathlon setting a new National Record with a score of 6955. Germany’s Lilli Schwarzkopf came in second with a score of 6649, a new personal best for the athlete and Tatyana Chernova of Russia won the bronze with a score of 6628.

Women’s 100m - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the 100m Dash with a time of 10.75 seconds. Carmelita Jeter of the United States sprinted to second place with her seasonal best of 10.78 seconds and Shelly-Ann’s teammate, Veronica Campbell-Brown won the bronze with a time of 10.81 seconds.

Men’s Long Jump – Great Britain’s Greg Rutherford won the gold in the Men’s Long Jump with a jump measured out to 8.31 meters. The silver in this event went to Australia’s Mitchell Watt who jumped 8.16 meters and the United States Will Claye procured the bronze with his jump of 8.12 meters.

Men’s 10,000m – Mohamed Farah of Great Britain brought his country its third gold medal of the day in the Men’s 10,000m run with a time of 27:30.42. American, Galen Rupp, took second place with a time of 27:30.90 and Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele obtained the bronze with a 27:31.43 run.

Women’s Discus Throw – The Croatian Sandra Perkovic set a new National Record after she threw the discus 69.11 meters to win gold at the Olympic Stadium. Her fellow competitor, Darya Pishchalnikova of Russia, won the silver with a throw measured out to 67.56 meters and Yanfeng Li (CHN) landed the bronze with a discus throw traveled up to 67.22 meters.

Men’s 20km Race Walk – China took the one – three spot in this field of competition. Ding Chen (CHN) won this race with a time of 1:18:46. His time set a new Olympic Record. Erick Barrondo of Guatemala ran 1:18:57 in the 20km Walk and won the silver medal. Chen’s teammate, Zhen Wang, secured third place with his time of 1:19:25.

Badminton

Men’s Doubles – China’s Cai/Fu of China trampled over Malaysia’s Koo/Tan (21-9, 21-19) to secure a spot in the Men’s Doubles finals. The Denmark pair of Boe/Mogensen defeated Korea’s Chung/Lee in the three-game match with scores of 17-21, 21-18, and 22-20. Boe/Mogensen will meet Cai/Fu in the Gold Medal Match August 5.

Women’s Doubles – Sorokina/Vislova (RUS) prevailed over Canada’s Bruce/Li pair in two games (21-9, 21-10) to win the bronze medal. In the Gold Medal Match, Tian/Zhao (CHN) competed against Japan’s Fujii/Kakiiwa and Tian/Zhan won the first two games. The scores for this match were 21-10 and 25-23.

Women’s Singles – In the Bronze Medal Match, India’s Saina Nehwal lost the first game to Xin Wang from China but Nehwal won the bronze after Wang retired from the match due to an injury. Another match between two of China’s best delivered great intensity between Yihan Wang and Xuerui Li, but the spoils of this match went to Li who won the gold medal after taking game 1, 21-15, and game 3, 21-17 in this contest. However there were no losers in this game since China took the one-two spot in this competition.

Beach Volleyball

Women’s Beach Volleyball – After another of eliminations in Beach Volleyball, China, Italy, USA, and Czech Republic have won their spots in the Round of 8. Let’s see who made it:

· Xue Chen/Xi Zhang (CHN)

· Marta Menegatti/Gerta Cicolari (ITA)

· Kristyna Kolocova/Marketa Slukova (CZE)

· Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)

Men’s Beach Volleyball – Four male teams conquered the sand, the sun and their opponents to move on to the next round. Here are the survivors:

· Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego (BRA)

· Reinder Nummerdor/Rich Schuil (NED)

· Julius Brink/Jonas Reckermann (GER)

· Jacob Gibb/Sean Rosenthal (USA)

Boxing

In the Men’s Light Weight division, (49kg), 16 competitors have been reduced to 8 contenders getting these boxers one step to the Gold Medal Match:

· Shiming Zou (CHN)

· Birzhan Zhakypov (KAZ)

· Paddy Barnes (IRL)

· Devendro Singh Laishram (IND)

· David Ayrapetyan (RUS)

· Ferhat Pehlivan (TUR)

· Kaeo Pongprayoon (THA)

· Aleksandar Aleksandrov (BUL)

The Men’s Light Welter Weight division, (64kg), has 8 contenders still standing after their Round of 16 bouts are:

· Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo (CUB)

· Uktamjon Rahmonov (UZB)

· Daniyar Yeleussinov (KAZ)

· Vincenzo Mangiacapre (ITA)

· Thomas Stalker (USA)

· Munkh-Erdene Uranchimeg (MGL)

· Jeffery Horn (AUS)

· Denys Berinchyk (UKR)

The Men’s Light Heavy Weight division, (81kg), set the stage for its Round of 8 competitions:

· Julio la Cruz Peraza (CUB)

· Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino (BRA)

· Elshod Rasulov (UZB)

· Egor Mekhontcev (RUS)

· Adilbek Niyazymbetov (KAZ)

· Ehsan Rouzbahani (IRI)

· Oleksandr Gvozdyk (UKR)

· Abdelhafid Benchabla (ALG)

Football (Soccer)

Men’s Quarterfinals – Japan defeated Egypt in a 3-0 victory. Japan’s Kensuke Nagai scored goal one in the first 14 minutes of play which gave Japan the lead in the first half. Egypt tried to hold off the Japanese but Maya Yoshida of Japan would score the team’s second goal and then six minutes later, Yoshida’s teammate, Yuki Otsu, delivered the team’s final goal that gave Japan the win over Egypt.

Mexico won their match against Senegal in a 4-2 victory which sent Team Mexico into the semi-finals. In the first half, Jorge Enriquez scored the only goal for Mexico which gave the team an advantage over Senegal. In the second half, Mexico’s Javier Aquino made another goal for his team which left Team Senegal behind 0 – 2 but the Senegal team did not give up. Ibrahima Balde and Moussa Konate scored one goal each which tied the game. Overtime was invoked and Team Mexico used this time to score an additional two points which won the game for the Central American team.

In the match against Honduras and Brazil, Honduras put up a good fight against the Brazilians but lost to the South American team, 2 - 3. The Hondurans started the game off right when Mario Martinez (HON) made a goal within 12 minutes of the first half, however right before half time Damiao Leandro (BRA) scored a goal for Team Brazil, which tied the game, 1-1. After half time was over, three minutes into the game, Roger Espinoza (HON) scored a goal and gave his team a 2 – 1 lead over the Brazilians. However, this result would change three minutes later, when Neymar (BRA) converted the penalty and tied the game, 2-2. Nine minutes later, Neymar’s teammate Damiao Leandro, scored for the second time in the game and secured the win for Brazil. Now Brazil will move on to the semi-finals August 7th.

Great Britain and Korea went toe-to-toe at Millennium Stadium for a chance to move on to the semis. Both teams put in a massive effort in this game but winning wouldn’t be easy for either of these teams. After 29 minutes of play, the Korean, Dongwon Ji, scored the first goal for his team, which put the score at 1-0 but seven minutes later, Aaron Ramsey (GBR) took a penalty shot and nailed it. This goal tied the Brits with Team Korea, 1-1. After 90 minutes of play could not break the tie between the two teams, an After Penalty Shoot-Out took place and the Koreans won the Shoot-Out 5 - 4. Now the Team Korea will face Brazil in the semi-finals and Mexico will go up against Japan in the semis.

Rowing

Women’s Single Sculls – Finishing with a time of 7:54.37, Miroslava Knapkova of Czech Republic captured the gold medal in this final, while Fie Udby Erichsen (DEN) was awarded the silver after crossing the finish line in second place with her time of 7:57.72. Third place went to Kim Crow of Australia who earned the bronze medal with a time of 7:58.04.

Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls – In the race for gold, Denmark and Great Britain ran neck and neck in the finals for the first place position but it was Denmark’s Rasmussen/Quist who won by 61 hundredths of a second to gain gold with a time of 6:37.17 Great Britain’s Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter took second with their time of 6:37.78 and New Zealand’s Storm Uru and Peter Taylor crossed the finish line at 6:40.86 which won this pair the bronze medal.

Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls – Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking (GBR) triumphed into first place with a time of 7:09.30. China’s Dongxiang Xu and Wenyi Huang secured the silver medal with their time of 7:11.93 and Greece’s Christina Giazitzidou and Alexandra Tsiavou finished third with a time of 7:12.09.

Men’s Four – After the Brits won the Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls, the British men prevailed in the Men’s Four in 6 minutes and 3.97 seconds for gold. The Australians placed second with a time of 6:05.19 and third went to the United States with a time of 6:07.20.

Shooting

Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions – The USA prevailed again in the Shooting competition with Jamie Lynn Gray. Gray won the 50m Rifle 3 positions match with a final score of 691.9, which set a new Olympic record. Serbia’s Ivana Maksimovic grabbed the silver medal with a score of 687.5 and Adela Sykorova (CZE) took the bronze with a score of 683.0.

Women’s Trap – Italy’s Jessica Rossi set a new World Record in the Women’s Trap competition with a score of 75 set in her qualification round. That score was added to Rossi’s final score giving her a total of 99 points to win the gold medal. Second place went to Zuzana Stefecekova of Slovakia with a total score of 93 and Delphine Reau of France, who also had 93 total points, took third place after Reau lost the Shoot-Off to Stefecekova 2 – 3.

Swimming

Women’s 50m Freestyle – Netherlands’ Ranomi Kromowidjojo does it again by winning her second gold medal in the 50m Freestyle finals. Kromowidjojo set a new Olympic record with a time of 24.05 seconds. Belarus’s Aliaksandra Herasimenia took second place with a time of 24.28 seconds and Kromowidjojo’s countrywoman, Marleen Veldhuis swam into third place with a time of 24.39 seconds.

Men’s 1500m Freestyle – China’s Yang Sun sets a new world record in the 1500m race with a time of 14:31.02 and won the gold medal. Canada’s Ryan Cochrane set an Americas record with a time of 14:39.63 which secured his position for silver and Oussama Mellouli (TUN) clinched the bronze medal with his time of 14:40.31.

Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay – This is one majestic pool in London’s Aquatics Centre because another record was shattered in this swimming pool. In the 4x100m Medley Relay, the United States Women’s Swim team set a new world record with a time of 3:52.02. The Australians received the silver with a 1.97 seconds time difference from the USA world record time and Japan held on to third place with a time of 3:55.73.

Men’s 4x100 Medley Relays – No new world records for the USA Men’s Swim Team but a few gold medals should compensate these gentlemen, nonetheless. Swimming in the last race of his Olympic career, Michael Phelps, along with Matt Gervers, Brendan Hansen, and Nathan Adrian won gold with a time of 3 minutes and 29.35 seconds. The Japanese came in second place with their swim time of 3:31.26 and the Australians took third place with a time of 3:31.58. Not a bad way for Michael Phelps to end a career.

Tennis

Women’s Singles – Victoria Azarenka from Belarus won the Bronze Medal Match against Maria Kirilenko (RUS) in two sets (6-3, 6-4), while Serena Williams (USA) reigned over Maria Sharapova (RUS) with a score of (6-0, 6-1) in the Gold Medal Match which left Sharapova with the silver.

Women’s Doubles – Serena and Venus Williams (USA) defeated Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova (RUS) in two sets (7-5, 6-4). They will move on to the Gold Medal Match. The Williams’ Sisters will face Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic for the gold. As for the Bronze Medal Match, the United States’ pair, Huber and Raymond will go racket-to-racket with Russia’s darlings, Kirilenko and Petrova.

Men’s Doubles – The Frenchmen Benneteau/Gasquet won the bronze medal defeating Spain’s Ferrer/Lopez in two sets (7-6, 6-2). In the Gold Medal Match, the Twin Brother Duo of Bryan and Bryan sent the other French Doubles team, Llodra and Tsonga back to France with silver medals while B&B took the gold. The score for this match (6-4, 7-6).

Mixed Doubles – The stage is set for the Gold Medal Match in Mixed Doubles and the competitors that will battle it out for gold on August 5th are Victoria Azarenka/Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Andy Murray/Laura Robson of Great Britain. The Bronze Medal Match will have Mike Bryan/Lisa Raymond (USA) up against Sabine Lisicki/Christopher Kas (GER).

Trampoline

Women – Canada’s Rosannagh Maclennan defeated China’s Shanshan Huang and Wenna He to take first place with a score of 57.305. Shanshan Huang’s score of 56.730 landed her the silver and Wenna He received the bronze with a score of 55.950.

Weightlifting

Men’s 94kg – The athletes from Kazakhstan have a knack for winning Weightlifting competitions. On August 3rd, in the Women’s 75kg Weightlifting match, Svetlana Podobedova from Kazakhstan won the gold medal. Podobedova even set an Olympic Record. Now her fellow countryman, Ilya Ilyin took the victory in the 94kg (207 lbs*) Weightlifting match and set a world record by lifting 233 kg (514 lbs*) in the Clean & Jerk round and hoisted a total of 418 kg (922 lbs*) to the win this event. Russia’s Alexandr Ivanov lifted 409 kg (902 lbs*) which allotted him the silver medal and Anatoli Ciricu (MDA) locked in the bronze medal by elevating 407 kg (897 lbs).

A week of sports have come to an end but another week of great athleticism, agility, and spontaneous power will shine as the world’s greatest athletes deliver their best in London.

For more information on the Olympics go to London2012.com

A demain…

*Kilogram conversion to pounds. Pounds are rounded up to the nearest pound.

**Weightlifting – When a tie occurs, the athlete with the lower bodyweight is declared the winner. If two athletes lift the same total weight and have the same bodyweight, the winner is the athlete who lifted the total weight first. (2012. London Olympic Games Website. www.london2012.com)

London Olympic Games 2012 – August 3 – That’s A Sport?

2012-08-04T04:15:00.000-07:00

As the Olympics continue on, the beginning of such events as, Athletics (Track and Field), BMX Cycling and Trampoline, add a versatile and electrifying dynamic to the Olympic Games and of the sports listed here, many maybe surprised to see Trampoline in the lineup. Some people may think of the trampoline as a backyard contraption a parent bought for their children to keep their kids from jumping on their beds, but this Olympic sport is a high-flying event of extreme dexterity and precision. Nothing you would see in your backyard, or maybe you would. The height these men and women must achieve to complete their gymnastic routines within the controlled confines of a trampoline dimension, is not only difficult, but nerve-wrecking as well. Just because the Trampoline doesn’t get as much coverage as Michael Phelps’ biceps and chest, it doesn’t mean the sport of Trampoline can’t give an Olympic audience the excitement many look for when watching these Games.

As the Olympics progress in these next few days, the athletes participating in the sport of Trampoline will prove to be as exciting and memorable as a Usain Bolt run and a Liam Phillip ride.

Any More Medals, Please?

At the end of August 3rd, the medal count is in favor of the United States. The country has beat out China with 43 total medals to China’s 42. The next country closest to these powerhouses is Russia with 23 medals. Then there is Great Britain with 22, Japan with 21, and the Germans with 20. As the Swimming competition coming to an end on August 4th, the event where the USA won 65% of their total medals and two-thirds of their gold medals, the world will see if the United States can hang on to their lead as the Olympic Games carries on.

Nevertheless, there are games still to be watched and memories to be made, so here is a recap of the events on August 3, 2012.

Archery

Men’s Individuals commenced in the morning with the remaining archers competing in the 1/8 eliminations round. After five hours of competition, eight men succeed to the next round. Takaharu Furukawa (JPN) won the chance to battle Malaysia’s Khairul Anuar Mohamad in the quarterfinals. Furukawa won the first two sets, 2-0, but Mohamad captured the third set only to lose the fourth set to Furukawa. Furukawa won the match 6-2. Cheng-Wei Kuo (TPE) won his way into the quarterfinals and faced Netherlands’ Rick van der Ven. Rick won this match against Kuo in a 6-0 defeat acquiring his spot in the semi-finals. Jin Hyek Oh (KOR) took on Viktor Ruban (UKR) in the quarters and won the contest 7-1. Oh will face Xiaoxiang Dai (CHN) in the semi-finals. Dai beat Bubmin Kim (KOR) in the quarterfinals, 6-5.

Jin Hyek Oh (KOR) met Xiaoxiang Dai (CHN) in the semi-finals and the two men went bow-to-bow for five sets. Each men won two sets and tied in the third. A Shoot-Off determined the winner of this match and that winner was Jin Hyek Oh, which sent him to the Gold Medal Match against Japan’s Takaharu Furukawa. Furukawa defeated Rick van der Ven (FRA), 6-5, to gain a spot in the finals.

In the Gold Medal Match, after four sets (2-0, 2-0, 1-1, 2-0), Jin Hyek Oh won the Men’s Individual Archery competition which left the silver for Takaharu Furukawa. In the Bronze Medal Match that pitted van der Ven (NED) against Xiaoxiang Dai (CHN), Dai defeated van der Ven in a shoot-off which gained Dai the bronze.

Badminton

Women’s Singles – China’s Yihan Wang defeated India’s Saina Nehwal in two games, 21-13, 21-13 during these semi-finals. While in the second semi-finals, Xuerui Li (CHN) defeated Xin Wang, 22-20, 21-18, earning Li a place in the Gold Medal Match against Yihan Wang.

Mixed Doubles – And the bronze goes to...Denmark’s Fischer/Pedersen. Fischer/Pedersen defeated Indonesia’s Ahmad/Natsir in the two-game match, 21-12, 21-12. The Gold Medal Match had China’s Best battling each other for gold. Zhang/Zhao and Xu/Ma played for 43 minutes to determine who would claim Olympic gold and the honor went to Zhang/Zhao. The duo won, 21-11, 21-17, against Xu/Ma however this was no lost for the pair because China landed the one-two spot in the Mixed Doubles competition.

Men’s Singles – Chong Wei Lee (MAS) defeated Long Chen (CHN) in two games, 21-13, 21-14, and will face Dan Lin of China in the Gold Medal Match. Dan Lin conquered Hyun Lee (KOR, 21-12, 21-10, to acquire his spot in Gold Medal Match. The Bronze Medal Match will have opponents, Long Chen (CHN) and Hyun Lee (KOR) facing each other in the Bronze Medal Match August 5.

Beach Volleyball

Women’s Beach Volleyball – The Round of 16 cuts have begun with the four following teams moving on to the Round of 8:

· Sara Goller/Laura Ludwig (GER)

· Juliana Silva/Larissa Franca (BRA)

· April Ross/Jennifer Kessy (USA)

· Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger (AUT)

Men’s Beach Volleyball – These male teams have found won their contests and are moving on the Round of 8 in the hopes of taking gold:

· Mariusz Prudel/Grzegorz Fijalek (POL)

· Martins Plavins/Janis Smedins (LAT)

· Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (ITA)

· Ricardo Santos/Pedro Cunha (BRA)

Boxing

The Men’s Fly Weight division, (52kg), has knocked down the Round of 16 to the following 8 contenders:

· Misha Aloian (RUS)

· Jeyvier Cintron Ocasio (PUR)

· Jasurbek Latipov (UZB)

· Tugstsogt Nyambayar (MGL)

· Nordine Oubaali (FRA)

· Michael Conlan (IRL)

· Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana (CUB)

· Andrew Selby (GBR)

In the Men’s Welter Weight division, (75kg) the 8 contenders standing after their bouts are:

· Taras Shelestyuk (UKR)

· Alexis Vastine (FRA)

· Custio Clayton (CAN)

· Freddie Evans (GBR)

· Errol Spence (USA)

· Andrey Zamkovoy (RUS)

· Gabriel Maestre Perez (VEN)

· Serik Sapiyev (KAZ)

Football (Soccer)

Women’s Quarterfinal – France won the bout against Sweden, 2-1, scoring the two goals in the first half of play. France moved on to the semi-finals. The United States defeated New Zealand in a 2-0 win with Abby Wambach scoring the first goal and Sydney Leroux sealing the deal with the second goal 87 minutes into the game. After this win, the United States will face Canada in the semi-finals match. Canada defeated Great Britain, 2-0, to move onto the semis. And Brazil fell to Japan, 0-2, which sent Japan to the semi-finals against France.

Rowing

Men’s Single Sculls - Mahe Drysdale (NZL) won gold with a time of 6:57.82 which left the silver for Ondrej Synek (CZE) who clocked in at 6:59.37 and Alan Campbell from Great Britain took the bronze with a time of 7:03.28.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls - Germany’s Karl Schulze and Phillipp Wende took first place with their time of 5:42.48. David Sain and Martin Sinkovi of Croatia won second place with a time of 5:44.78, and Australia’s Christopher Morgan and Karsten Forsterling brought their home country bronze with a time of 5:45.22.

Men’s Pair - New Zealand’s Eric Murray and Hamish Bond won first place with a time of 6:16.65 leaving the French team of Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette the silver medal with a time of 6:21.11. The bronze was taken by the Brits, George Nash and William Satch, who crossed the finish line at 6:21.77 for third.

Women’s Double Sculls – The British does it again. Anna Watkins and Katherine Grainger won the gold in the finals of the Women’s Double Sculls race. Silver was obtained by the Australian crew Kim Crow and Brooke Pratley with a time of 6:58.55, while Poland’s Magdalena Fularczyk and Julia Michalska attained the bronze with their time of 7:07.92.

Swimming

Women’s 200m Backstroke - The United States continue to dominate this field with Missy Franklin winning the Women’s 200m Backstroke with a new world record of 2:04.06. The silver went to Russia’s Anastasia Zueva with a time of 2:05.92 and Missy’s countrywoman, Elizabeth Beisel, took the bronze in this event. Beisel clocked in at 2:06.55.

Men’s 100m Butterfly – Michael Phelps won his 21^st Olympic medal in London for the 100m Butterfly. His winning time, 51.21 seconds. While Chad le Clos of South Africa and Evgeny Korotyshkin of Russia tied for second place with times of 51.44 seconds. Both men received silver medals.

Women’s 800m Freestyle – The United States athlete, Katie Ledecky, who is the youngest athlete in this sport, won the gold medal after setting a new Americas record with her time of 8 minutes and 14.63 seconds. Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain captured second with a time of 8:18.76 and Great Britain’s Rebecca Adlington took bronze with her time of 8:20.32.

Men’s 50m freestyle – The French brought home the gold. Florent Manaudou won the 50m race with a time of 21.34 seconds. Following closely behind him was Cullen Jones of the United States with his time of 21.54 seconds. The bronze was given to Cesar Cielo of Brazil who timed in at 21.59 seconds.

Tennis

Women’s Semi-Finals – Maria Sharapova (RUS) defeated her fellow countrywoman Maria Kirilenko in two sets (6-2, 6-3) to move on to the Gold Medal Match against Serena Williams (USA). Williams who competed against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the semi-finals won her match, (6-1, 6-2.)

Men’s Semi-Finals – In a grueling semi-finals match, where the third set of the game lasted nearly 3 hours, Roger Federer, not only proved why he was the number 1 rank player in Tennis but, also moved on to the Finals to face Andy Murray of Great Britain. The Bronze Medal Match will have Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) competing against Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Women’s Doubles – Russia’s Hlavackova/Hradecka duo defeated Huber/Raymond and secured a place in the Gold Medal Match.

Men’s Doubles - The Twin Duo of Bryan and Bryan (USA) defeated Frenchmen, Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet, in two sets, (6-4, 6-4), earn a spot in the finals against another pair of Frenchmen, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra. Tsonga/Llodra overcame Ferrer/Lopez (ESP) in the semis, (6-3, 4-6, 18-16), to make it to the Gold Medal Match.

Trampoline

Men’s Individual – Trampoline finals commenced and at the end of this thrilling and death-defying event, China’s Dong Dong won the gold medal with a total score of 112.895 to edge out the Russian, Dmitry Ushakov, who won the silver with a score of 112.605. The bronze went to Dong’s countryman, Chuniong Lu, who scored 112.299 in this event.

Weightlifting

Men’s 85kg – Adrian Edward Zielinski from Poland won the 85kg (187 lbs*) competition by lifting a total of 385 kg (845 lbs*) and won the gold medal. Second place went to Apti Aukhadov (RUS) who received silver** after lifting 385 kg (845 lbs*). Iran’s Kianoush Rostami took the bronze by hoisting 380 kg (838 lbs*) for the third place finish.

Women’s 75kg – Olympic records were set by the gold medal and silver medals winners of this event. Svetlana Podobedova of Kazakhstan broke an Olympic record with her Clean & Jerk (C&J) weight of 161 kg (355 lbs*). Podobedova lifted a total of 291 kg (642 lbs*) to win the gold. Her competitor Natalya Zabolotnaya (RUS) also set a new Olympic record with her Snatch weight of 131 kg (289 lbs*) bringing her total weight lifted 291 kg (642 lbs*) which earned her the silver**. Third place went to Iryna Kulesha (BLR). Kulesha lifted 269 kg (593 lbs*) to procure the bronze.

August 3^rd left many spectators marveling at the feats of these world athletes’ achievement at the Olympic Games but this audience will need to hold on to their seats because the best is coming and it will blow the world away.

For more information on the Olympics go to London2012.com

Until tomorrow…

*Kilogram conversion to pounds. Pounds are rounded up to the nearest pound.

London Olympic Games 2012 – August 2 Olympic History

2012-08-03T06:50:00.001-07:00

Another thrilling day of athleticism has come to an end at the London Olympics and history has been made greater for it. The United States gymnast, Gabrielle Douglas, became the first African-American woman to win the gold medal in the gymnastics All-Around event. Michael Phelps won his 20th Olympic medal and now his 16th gold medal. Not a bad way to retire from Olympic competition but he wasn’t the only swimmer from the United States to gain gold on this day, Tyler Clary won the Men’s 200 Backstroke in Olympic Record time of 1:53.41 beating out Ryosuke Irie of Japan and his fellow teammate, Ryan Lochte of USA. Rebecca Soni (USA) won the 200M Breaststroke in world record time of 2:19.59. Japan’s Satomi Suzuki’s won the silver in the 100M Breaststroke with a 2:20.72 and Russia’s Iuliia Efimova won the bronze with a time of 2:20.92.

The acquisition of these medals by the United States athletic team has given the USA a total of 37 medals. China holds 34 medals at the end of August 2 but when it comes to gold, the USA and China both have 18 gold medals each. In the gold medal count, China and the USA are surpassing all those behind them but not without a fight. Here’s the gold medal countdown as of August 2:

Country Gold Medals

United States/China 18

Republic of Korea 7

France 6

Great Britain 5

Germany/Italy/PRK 4

Russia/KAZ/South Africa 3

Japan/NED/HUN/UKR 2

AUS/ROU/BRA/NZL 1

SVK/LTU/VEN/GEO

Though the rest of the countries are trying to catch up to the USA and China, it may take awhile to do so but there are still great moments to recall from Day 6. Here’s a recap of August 2, 2012.

Archery

Bo Bae Ki (KOR) won the Gold Medal Match against Aida Roman from Mexico. Ki and Roman were neck and neck after five sets of shooting but it was in the Shoot-Off round where Ki took down Roman (1-0) to win the Gold Medal Match. In the Bronze Medal Match, Khatuna Lori (USA) went up against Mariana Avitia (MEX). Lorig was unsuccessful in overcoming Avitia in sets 1 and 2 but Lorig did gain the advantage in set 3 with a 2-0 score. However Avitia came from behind to beat Lorig in the fourth set, 2-0, and won the bronze.

Badminton

Mixed Doubles-There were two semi-finals in the Mixed Doubles competition that sent two teams from China to the finals. The first match was against Ahmad/Natsir of Indonesia and China’s Xu/Ma. Ahmad/Natsir won the first game, 23-21, but in games 2 and 3, Xu/Ma defeated Ahmad/Natsir 21-18 and 21/13 securing their spot in the finals. The other semi-finals had China’s Zhang/Zhao face Pedersen/Fischer (DEN). Zhang/Zhao lost the first game to the Denmark’s Fischer/Pedersen but came back to win game 2 (21-17) and game 3 (21-19) to move on to the finals.

In the Women’s Double semi-finals, the Russians Sorokina/Vislova pair took on China’s Zhao/Tian. After two games, Sorokina/Vislova lost game 1, 21-19, and game 2, 21-6, to the Chinese twosome, which sent the Russians to the Bronze Medal Match against Canada’s Bruce/Li. Bruce/Li lost their semi-finals match to Japan’s Fujii/Kakiiwa, 12-21, 21-19, and 13-21.

Zhao/Tian and Fujii/Kakiiwa will meet in the Gold Medal Match.

Boxing

The Men’s Light Weight division, (60kg), has knocked down the Round of 16 to the following 8 contenders:

· Vasyl Lomachenko (UKR)

· Felix Verdejo Sanchez (PUR)

· Gani Zhailauov (KAZ)

· Yasnier Toledo Lopez (CUB)

· Domenico Valentino (ITA)

· Evaldas Petrauskas (LTU)

· Fazilddin Gaibnazarov (UZB)

· Soonchul Han (KOR)

In the Men’s Middle Weight division, (75kg) the 8 contenders standing after their bouts are:

· Anthony Ogogo (GBR)

· Stefan Hartel (GER)

· Zoltan Harcsa (HUN)

· Esquiva Falcao Florentino (BRA)

· Abbos Atoev (UZB)

· Vijender (IND)

· Adem Kilicci (TUR)

· Ryoto Murata (JPN)

Canoe Slalom

The Brits won! The Brits won! Great Britain takes the one - two spot in the Men’s Canoe Double. Tim Baillie/Etienne Stott won gold with a score of 106.41, while their fellow countrymen, David Florence/Richard Hounslow took second place scoring 106.77. Third place went to Slovakia’s brother pair, Pavol and Peter Hochschorner with a score of 108.28.

Frenchwoman, Emilie Fer, captured the top spot in the Women’s Kayak final scoring 105.90 to beat out Australia’s Jessica Fox who scored 106.51 for second place. Third place went to Spain’s Maialen Chourraut who scored 106.87.

Rowing

In Men’s Lightweight Four, the South Africans gained gold by winning the race at a time of 6:02.84. Great Britain took second with a time of 6:03.09 and getting the bronze, Denmark. The Danish timed in at 6:03.16.

The United States Rowing team won the gold in the Women’s Eight with a time of 6:10.59 edging out the Canadians who clocked in at 6:12.06. The Dutch got the bronze with their time of 6:13.12.

Sailing

The British pair, Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes dominated Race 7 and Race 8 in the Men’s 49er. In Race 7, Morrison/Rhodes’ time of 29:47 put them in first place with the Finnish team of Lehtinen/Bask coming in second at a time of 29:56. The Spaniards took third. They timed in at 30:24. In Race 8, Morrison/Rhodes secured first again, 30:56, and the Finnish team came in second place twice with a time of 31:05. The Swedes took third with 31:26.

After 8 races, Aussie Duo, Jensen and Outteridge, hold first position with a net score of 24 points. Next in line are the Brits, Morrison and Rhodes with 35 net points and following behind them are New Zealand’s best Skipper and Crewman, Burling and Tuke with 41 net points.

Swimming

Netherlands’ Ranomi Kromowidjojo wins the 100M Freestyle and broke the Olympic Record with a time of 53 seconds even. Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus won the silver with a time of 53.38 and China’s Yi Tang got the bronze clocking in at 53.44 seconds.

Table Tennis

China’s Jike Zhang beat his countryman, Hao Wang (CHN), the Gold Medal Match winning four games out of five to get the gold. Wang won the silver. In the Bronze Medal Match, Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER) won over Chih-Yuan Chuang (TPE) four games out six which earned Ovtcharov the third place finish.

Tennis

The Semi-Finals stage for the Women’s Singles Tournament has been set. After defeating Angelique Kerber (GER) in the quarterfinals, Victoria Azarenka (BLR) will face Serena Williams (USA) in the semi-finals. Williams headed to the semi-finals after her win over Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), 6-0, 6-3.

Maria Sharapova (RUS) won her quarterfinals match against Kim Clijsters, 6-2, 7-5, to gain her spot in the semi-finals. Sharapova will meet fellow Russian, Maria Kirilenko, who won her quarterfinals contest against Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova, 7-6, 6-3.

The Women’s Singles Semi-Finals takes place August 3.

Men’s Singles – Roger Federer (SUI) holds true to his number 1 status by defeating John Isner (USA) in two sets 6-4, 7-6. Federer will face Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro. Del Potro won his quarterfinals game against Japan’s Nishikori in two sets, 6-4, 7-6. Andy Murray (GBR) will face Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the semis. Djokovic eliminated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in two sets, 6-1, 7-5, while Andy Murray defeated Nicolas Almagro (ESP), 6-4, 6-1, to secure the fourth spot in the semi-finals.

The Men’s Singles Semi-Finals will take place August 3.

On August 2nd, London watched another exciting time at the Olympics but don’t worry more exhilaration is to come with Track and Field (Athletics) beginning August 3. The world will be watching Usain Bolt to see if he will pull off another amazing Olympic run.

For more information on the Olympics go to London2012.com.

Until Day 7…

London Olympic Games 2012 – August 1st Over– What Happened Now?!

2012-08-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

Medal Count

Another day of Olympic Games came to an end on August 1 and athletes from 49 countries landed a spot on the awards podium at the London Olympic Games. China and United States are still running a tight race to achieve medal dominance with each country holding 30 medals. These powerhouse countries are persistent in their acquisition of medals but countries like the Republic of Korea, France, and Russian Federation are not to be forgotten, as their athletes have been making a statement of their own but the most impressive jump in the medal count has been Great Britain. The host country has vaulted up significantly on the list winning 4 golds in Cycling, Canoe Slalom, Rowing and Shooting.

Even though, Great Britain has done superb gaining medals and China, along with, the United States are holding the one – two spot on the list, it will be interesting to see which country will claim medal superiority at the end of London games. It may surprise all Olympic spectators who holds the number one spot come August 12, 2012.

Recap

The Olympic Games have had their audience on the edge of their couches, bar stools, and kitchen counter since July 26 and the intensity only continues on. Here’s a recap on some of the competitions that took place on August 1st.

Archery

This day in Archery was long for both Men and Women. The Men’s Individual competition shrunk from the 1/32 eliminations round to the 1/8 eliminations round in an nine-hour span. After beating Great Britain’s Alan Wills, in a close race to victory, 6-5, Taylor Worth (AUS) moved on to the 1/16 eliminations round and eliminated Brady Ellison (USA) with a win of 7 -1. Dan Olaru (MDA) did not have an easy time getting to the 1/8 eliminations round. Olaru faced Jake Kaminski (USA) in the 1/32 eliminations round and Kaminski had a great start winning the first two sets (2-0) but in a strong comeback, Olaru draws set 3 with a 1-1 but then won sets 4 and 5 (2-0) to win the match. Then Olaru faced Great Britain’s Terry Simon in the 1/16 eliminations round and took the game from Simon, 7 – 1.

Probably the most interesting Archery bout of the 1/16 eliminations round was the Gael Prevost (FRA) vs. Thomas Faucheron (FRA) match. The journey to reach this round was quite different for both of these men. Thomas Faucheron won his 1/32 eliminations bout with ease against Witthaya Thamwong (THA) in three sets which he received a final score of 6 - 0, however Gael Prevost, Faucheron’s countryman, had a harder time conquering his opponent. Prevost battled Rene Philippe Kouassi (CIV) and had to fight all the way to the end. Prevost lost the first set of the match, 0-2, but came back to win the second set, 2-0. In sets 3 and 4, both men tied with 1-1 scores but Prevost pulled out the win in the last set earning 2 set points to Kouassi 0 points. Prevost sealed the deal and moved on to the next round of the competition. Prevost battled Faucheron and won. Prevost took the match, 7 – 3, and moved on the 1/8 eliminations round.

The Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal Matches will take place August 3rd, this is when the Men’s Individual Champion will be crowned. The remaining archers who will compete for these medals are:

Khairul Anuar Mohamad (MAS)	Larry Godfrey (GBR)
Takaharu Furukawa (JPN)	Baard Nesteng (NOR)
Markiyan Ivashko (UKR)	Cheng-Wei Kuo (TPE)
Dong Hyun Im (KOR)	Rick van der Ven (NED)
Rafal Dobrowolski (POL)	Jin Hyek Oh (KOR)
Viktor Ruban (UKR)	Xiaoxiang Dai (CHN)
Bubmin Kim (KOR)

Boxing

The Round of 16 in the Men’s Bantam Weight Competition sent home some great contenders but left the hungriest competitors in the competition. Here is a look at the boxers who will be moving on:

· Lazaro Alvarez Estrada (CUB) beat Joseph Diaz Jr. (USA ) 21-15

· Robenilson Vieira de Jesus (BRA) defeated Sergey Vodopiyanov (RUS) 13 – 11

· John Joe Nevin (IRL) sent home Kanat Abutalipov (KAZ) 15 -10

· Oscar Valdez Fierro (MEX) beat Anvar Yunusov (TJK) 13 - 7

· Luke Campbell (GBR) defeated Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello (ITA) 11 - 9

· Detelin Dalakliev (BUL) eliminated Ibrahim Balla (AUS) 14 – 10

· Mohamed Amine Ouadahi (ALG) overcame William Encarnacion Alcantara (DOM) 16 – 10

· Satoshi Shimizu (JPN) beat Magomed Abdulhamidov (AZE) (RSC – Referee Stop Contest)

The field of 16, in the Men’s Heavy Weight division, has withered down sending these contenders to the next level to fight for gold:

· Artur Beterbiev (RUS)

· Yamil Peralta Jara (ARG)

· Teymur Mammadov (AZE)

· Jose Larduet Gomez (CUB) - decision DSQ of Ali Mazaheri (IRI)

· Clemente Russo (ITA) – decision WO (walkover).

· Siarhei Karneyeu (BLR)

For the Super Heavy Weight division, the field of boxers going to round of 8 are:

· Magomedrasul Medzhidov (AZE) – decision (RSC)

· Magomed Omarov (RUS)

· Mohammed Arjaoui (MAR)

· Roberto Cammarelle (ITA)

· Ivan Dychko (KAZ)

· Simon Kean (CAN)

· Zhilei Zhang (CHN) - decision - RSC

· Anthony Joshua (GBR)

Canoe Slalom

The Men’s Kayak Finals ended with the Italian Daniele Molmenti winning the gold medal with a score of 93.43. Coming in 2nd was Vavrinec Hradilek (CZE). His score was 94.78 which left the bronze medal for Germany’s Hannes Aigner. His final score was 94.92. The next finals will be the Men’s Canoe Doubles and the Women’s Kayak. The events will be held on August 2.

Fencing

In a long day of Fencing, the competitors in Men’s Individual Epee event worked for over 11 hours to determine which one of them would secure gold for their country. After 8 hours, the semi-finals stage was set and Seth Kelsey (USA) fought Ruben Limardo Gascon (VEN), while Bartosz Piasecki (NOR) battled Jinsun Jung (KOR). After three periods of fencing, Limardo Gascon and Kelsey were tied with a score of 2-2 in the first period, 0-0 in the second period, and 5-5 in the third. They went into overtime. In overtime, Limardo Gascon beat Kelsey, 1-0, to move on to the finals. As for the Piasecki and Jung match, both men were tied in the first and second periods, 5-5, but in the third period Piasecki overcame his opponent and won the contest, 15-13.

Piasecki then faced Limardo Gascon in the finals. Both men put up a great fight but Limardo Gascon won the gold medal after scoring 5 points more than Piasecki in the third period. In the Bronze Medal Match, Jinsun Jung defeated Seth Kelsey, 12-11, to win the medal.

The Women’s Individual Sabre competition had the same grueling hours as the Men’s Individual Epee event and just as much action. After a full day of battle, the women who made the Sabre semi-finals were Mariel Zagunis (USA), Jiyeon Kim (KOR), Olga Kharlan (UKR), and Sofya Velikaya (RUS). Zagunis fought Kim in the semi-finals and after two periods, Kim sent Zagunis to the Bronze Medal Match with a score of 15-13, while Kim headed for the Gold Medal Match to battle Sofya Velikaya, who defeated Olga Kharlan in the semi-finals.

During the Gold Medal Match, Velikaya put in her best effort to win the gold medal but Kim beat the Russian, 15 - 9, and received gold while Velikaya took home the silver. In the Bronze Medal Match, Olga Kharlan defeated Mariel Zagunis and won the bronze.

Sailing

Men’s 49er – The Australian Skipper/Crew duo of Outteridge and Jensen continue to maintain their high rank in the Men’s 49er. In Race 5, Outteridge and Jensen held on to second place with a time of 30:10 which was enough to beat the New Zealand duo, Burling and Tuke, who clocked in at 30:25 but fell short to Emmanuel Dyen (FRA) and Stephane Christidis (FRA) who won first place with a time of 30:07. However in Race 6, Outteridge and Jensen took first place with a time of 29:30 leavng second place to Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes of Great Britain, who clocked in at 29:37. Third place went Lukasz Przybytek and Pawel Kolodzinski of Poland with a time of 29:45.

After six races, the overall score of the top sailors in this race are Jensen and Outteridge, first place, with 18 points. Burling and Tuke in second place with 32 points and the Frenchmen, Dyen and Christidis, hold third place with 42 points.

Men’s Laser – Andrew Murdoch (AUS) won first place in Race 5 with a time of 58:22 and Pavlos Kontides (CYP) was right on his heels with a time of 58:38. Third place was secured by Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) timing in at 58:59. However in Race 6, Tonci Stipanovic landed in first position with a time of 56:57. Tom Slingsby (AUS) made a comeback and held on to second place with a time of 57:20 and Zsombor Berecz (HUN) took third place with 57:43.

In the Men’s Laser overall scoring, Pavlos Kontides (CYP) is in the lead with a total of 21 points. Tom Slingsby comes in 2nd with 22 points and Tonci Stipanovic holds on to third with 39 points.

Women’s Laser Radial - The women have been racing since July 30 in the Laser Radial event and on August 1st races 5 and 6 had some huge feats. In race 5, Evi Van Acker (BEL) took first with a time of 1:01:55 and right behind Van Acker was Alison Young (GBR) who finished second with a time of 1:01:58. Third went to Gintare Scheidt (LTU) with a time of 1:01:59. However much changed in race 6 when Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands took first with a time of 59:41. Second went to Czech Republic’s Veronika Fenclova for her time of 1:00:08 and third was held by Nufar Edelman (ISR) with a time of 1:00:24.

The leader in the overall scores after six races is Annalise Murphy (IRL) with a net score of 12 points. In second place is Evi Van Acker with 14 points and third goes to Bouwmeester with 19 points.

Table Tennis

A gold medalist was determined in the Women’s Singles Tournament between Ning Ding (CHN) and Xiaoxia Li (CHN). Xiaoxia Li won the match against Ding winning four games out of five. Ding received the silver medal. In the Bronze Medal Match, Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa lost the bronze to Tianwei Feng of Singapore who took the match in four games straight (11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5).

Weightlifting

In the Men’s 77kg (170lbs*) competition, a new champion was adorned with gold. China’s Xiaojun Lu set a World Record in the Snatch category by lifting 175 kg (386 lbs*) and hoisting a total weight of 379 kg (836 lbs*). China gained another medal, as Xiaojun Lu’s countryman, Haojie Lu, lifted a total weight of 360 kg (794 lbs*) to win silver and Cuba’s Ivan Cambar Rodriguez collected the bronze after lifting 349 kg (769 lbs*).

The Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea captured the gold medal in the Women’s 69 kg (152 lbs*) competition. Jong Sim Rim (PRK) won this competition by elevating 261 kg (575 lbs*). While Roxana Daniela Cocos (ROM) obtained the silver for lifting 256 kg (564 lbs*) and Maryna Shkermankova (BLR) received the bronze for also lifting 256 kg (564 lbs*).

Next events in Weightlifting will be the Men’s 85 kg and the Women’s 75 kg August 3.

The next few days of the Olympics will become more exciting as Track and Field begins August 3rd, Canoe Sprinting raves up August 6th and BMX Cycling starts August 8th. The history books will be cutting out several new chapters during this timeline and many cannot wait to see it happen.

For more information about events and athletes at the Olympics, go to London2012.com.

*The kilogram to pound conversion was rounded up to the nearest pound.

London Olympic Games 2012 – Day 4 - Legacies Created On This Day

2012-08-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Day Four at the Olympics has left behind tears, cheers, and renewed gears. The medal count shows China and the United States tied for first place with 23 medals each. However when it comes to the gold run, China is leading the United States by 4. France has 11 medals, Japan has 13 medals, and North Korea, South Korea, Italy, and Russian have 8 medals each.

The United States had a great display of teamwork on the fourth day of the Olympic Games in the Artistic Gymnastics and Swimming. The USA Women’s Gymnastics team brought home gold after a great display of agility and skill on the floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars, and vault by the Olympians Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross, Alexandra Raisman, and Jordyn Weiber. The USA team scored 183.596 for the gold medals. Russian came in 2^nd place with a score of 178.530 and Romania received bronze medals with a score of 176.414.

The USA Men’s Swimming showed the world again why they are the powerhouse in the 4x200M relay. Winning this event for the 3^rd consecutive time at the Olympics (2004, 2008, 2012), Team USA won gold in the 4x200M relay with a time of 6 minutes and 59.70 seconds. This win earned Ryan Lochte his second gold medal, while Conor Dwyer, Ricky Berens and Michael Phelps earned their first gold medals. France came in second with a time of 7:02.77, which brought them silver medals, and China took third place with a time of 7:06.30.

These are just a few of the great moments at the 2012 Olympics but not the only memorable events at these games. Let’s recap Day 4 (D4).

Badminton

On July 31, in Men’s Singles, Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat defeated Spain’s Pablo Abian in Group O division moving forward to the Round of 16. Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon took out Great Britain’s Rajiv Ouseph in three sets (21/17 – 21/19 – 12/21), while Singapore’s Derek Wong lost to Jan O Jorgensen (DEN) in the 2-set match (17/21 – 14/21). Both Cordon and Jorgensen will have matches in next round. Marc Zwiebler (GER) and Dmytro Zavadsky (UKR), from Group K, played against each other and Zwiebler defeated Zavadsky in the three-set match. This win helped secure a spot for Zwiebler in the Round of 16.

Russia’s Sorokina/Vislova defeated the Canadians, Bruce/Li, (21/8 – 21/10), in Women’s Doubles, giving the Russians the first place position in Group A. Denmark’s Juhl/Pedersen won the match against Tian/Zhao (CHN), (22/20 – 21/12), tying China’s Tian/Zhao and Japan’s Maeda/Suetsuna in their group division.

In Women’s Singles, Denmark’s Tine Baun beat Russia’s Anastasia Prokopenko (19/21 – 21/15 – 21/16). Japan’s Sayaka Sato defeated Susan Egelstaff of Great Britain to procure the lead spot in Group H. Chloe Magee of Ireland lost to Hongyan Pi of France, which placed Magee in second place in Group I behind Pi.

This has also been a disappointing time in the sport of Badminton. As the quarterfinals approaches, there were eight teams disqualified for unsportsmanlike behavior giving an advantage to the Canadian team Bruce/Li in Group A and South African team, Edwards/Viljoen in Group C.

Basketball

Spectators who watched Men’s Basketball saw Russia take down China in a 73-54 win. Australia took a hit from the Spaniards as Spain beat the Aussies by 12 points. Great Britain tried for the win over Brazil but the Brazilians overcame the Brits and won by 5 points. The United States, a favorite in these games, put a beat down on Tunisia with a 110-63 win. The USA’s success preserved their first place ranking in the Group A division, while Tunisia’s ranking remained in last place.

Beach Volleyball

In Women’s Beach Volleyball, Van Gestel/Meppelink (NED) defeated the Australian duo, Palmer/Bawden, (21/19 – 21/15) which gave the Dutch a 3^rd place ranking in Pool E. The Brits Dampney/Mullin lost their match to Italians Cicolari/Menegatti, (18/21 – 12/21), which left Great Britain ranked in third and set the Italians in first place of their group. The United States duo, Ross/Kessy secured the win over the Netherlands duo, Van Iersel/Keizer in three sets, (21/15 – 12/21 – 15/8). The USA Team has first place ranking in Pool D and left the Dutch in 3^rd.

Division matches were competitive and persistent throughout the day in Men’s Beach Volleyball. Switzerland’s Bellaguarda/Heuscher was defeated by Brazil’s Cerutti/Rego (17/21 – 12/21). The win helped land the Brazilians in first place and settled the Swiss in 4^th of Pool A. The United States’s Dalhausser/Rogers silenced the Spaniards, Gavira Collado/Herrera Allepuz, by winning their 3-set match (19/21 – 21/16 – 15/13). Thanks to this win, Dalhausser/Rogers currently hold the 1^st place position in Pool B, while Gavira Collado/Herrera Allepuz are positioned in 2^nd place. The Austrians, Doppler/Horst, handled their match well by beating Italy’s Nicolai/Lupo in two sets (21/18- 21/17), giving the Austrians a 2^nd place rank and the Italians follow them in third place.

Boxing

In the Men’s Light Fly Weight (49kg) competition, the Round of 32 has shrink significantly with Jantony Ortiz Marcano (PUR) beating Tetteh Sulemanu (GHA), 20-6, Yosbany Veitia Soto (CUB) eliminating Billy Ward (AUS) with a score of 26-4, and Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov narrowly defeating France’s Jeremy Beccu in a 18-17 decision. Zhakypov moves into Round of 16 along with Marcano and Veitia Soto.

In the Men’s Light Welter Weight (64kg), Jeffrey Horn (AUS) moves on to the Round of 16 after winning against Gilbert Choombe (ZAM), 19 – 5. Turkmenistan’s Sedar Hudayberdiyev lost his fight to India’s Kumar Manoj, 7 – 13, which sent Hudayberdiyev home but gets Manoj into the next round. Anthony Yigit (SWE), 13-9, defeated Francisco Vargas Ramirez (PUR). Yigit moves on to the Round of 16 in hopes of securing a spot in the quarterfinals.

Canoe Slalom

Tony Estanguet won the gold medal for France in the Men’s Canoe Single with a score of 97.06. Taking home the silver medal was Sideris Tasiadis (GER) with a score of 98.09, and the bronze went to Michal Martikan (SVK) who scored a 98.31 for third place. The next finals of the Canoe Slalom category will be the Men’s Kayak race, August 1^st.

Equestrian

In the Team Jumping Finals, Germany won gold with a score of 133.70. The Brits earned silver medals after receiving a total score of 138.20 in this competition and the riders of New Zealand secured bronze medals with a total score of 144.40. The next Equestrian events can be seen August 2 when Individual Dressage and Team Dressage competition begins.

Fencing

In the Men’s Individual Foil competition, Sheng Lei (CHN) took gold after beating Alaaeldin Abouelkassem (EGY), 15-13. Abouelkassem (EGY) won the silver medal and the bronze medal was awarded to Byungchul Choi (KOR) after Choi beat Italy’s Andrea Baldini in the bronze medal match. Next up will be Men’s Individual Epee and the Women’s Individual Sabre held at ExCeL on August 1.

Football (Soccer)

The Women’s Team in Groups E, F and G battled it out in their first round of play. In Group F, Japan gained a draw against South Africa, 0-0, just as Canada did with Sweden, 2-2. As for The United States, the Team conquered DPR Korea, 1-0, and France delivered the same fate to Colombia with a score of 1-0, which tied France and The United States for 1^st place in Group G. New Zealand trampled on Cameroon, 3-1, while Great Britain picked up a win against Brazil. The next round of play for all these groups will be August 3.

Sailing

Races 3 and 4 for the Men’s 49ers saw dynamic change among the competitors of the Sailing event. In Race 3, New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke took first place with a time of 30:53, while the Aussies, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, placed second, clocking in at 31:08. Great Britain’s Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes took third place with a time 31:20. However in Race 4, The United States’s Erik Storck and Trevor Moore took first place, timing in at 29:36, Ireland’s Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern followed with a time of 29:47, and Spain’s Martinez de Lizarduy and Fernandez Gaztanaga got a third place finish clocking in at 30:04. With four races under the Sailing belt, the Fleet Leaderboard shows the Aussies’ Jensen and Outteridge hold first place with 15 points. Next in line is the New Zealand duo, Burling and Tuke with 24 points and in third place are Denmark’s Lang and Norregaard with 26 points. The next events will take place August 1.

In the Men’s Laser races, first place went to Pavlos Kontides (CYP) in Race 3. Kontides came in at a time of 1:01:59. Second place went to Tom Slingsby (AUS) with a time of 1:02:04 and Karl-Martin Rammo (EST) took third place, timing in at 1:02:30. In Race 4, Kontides held on to 1^st place with a time of 1:02:23 but in this round, Paul Goodison (GBR) landed in 2^nd place, 1:03:10, and Germany’s Simon Groteluschen crossed the finish line at 1:03:39 to finagle 3^rd place out of the hands of Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) (1:30:50). With four races passed, the overall standings in the Men’s Laser shows that Tom Slingsby is in first with 11 points, Pavlos Kontides is second with 15 points, and Sweden’s Rasmus Myrgren keeps 3^rd place with a 25 points. Races 5 and 6 will take place at the Weymouth and Portland venue on August 1.

Table Tennis

The quarterfinals of the Women’s Singles yielded two semi-finals that pitted Ning Ding (CHN) against Tianwei Feng (SIN) and Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN) against Xiaoxia Li (CHN). In the game between Ding (CHN) and Feng (SIN), Ding beat Feng four games out of six and secured her spot in the Finals. The semi-final round involving Japan’s Ishikawa and China’s Xiaoxia Li saw Xiaoxia Li dominate the scoreboard in games 1, 2, 4 and 5 clinching the remaining finals’ spot. The finals can be watched August 1.

Tennis

The Second Round of Men’s Singles has several disappointments and successes. Andy Roddick (USA) succumbed to the skill of Novak Djokovic (SRB)** losing 2 - 6 / 1 – 6 to the Serbian. Djokovic moved on to the third round and faced Lleyton Hewitt from Australia, after Hewitt beat Marin Cilic in the second round, 6 – 4/7 – 5. Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Hewitt in three sets (4 – 6/7 – 5/ 6 – 1). Djokovic will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) in the quarterfinals. Tsonga beat Canada’s Milos Raonic and Feliciano Lopez in order to face Djokovic. Andy Murray (GBR) will also play in the quarterfinals against Nicolas Almagro (ESP), Roger Federer (SUI) against John Isner (USA) and Kei Nishikori will face Juan Martin del Potro August 2.

Serena Williams (USA) held on to her dominance in Tennis by advancing to the quarterfinals by beating Vera Zvonareva (RUS) (6 – 1/6 – 0) in the third round. Serena will go toe-to-toe against Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) who defeated Daniela Hantuchova (6 – 4/6 – 2) to earn her quarterfinal spot. Other players who will move forward to the quarterfinals are Victoria Azarenka (BLR), Angelique Kerber (GER), Kim Cljisters (BEL), Maria Sharapova (RUS), Petra Kvitova (CZE), and Maria Kirilenko (RUS). The action starts August 2.

Weightlifting

In the Men’s 69kg, Group A division; China captured the gold medal with Qingfeng Lin lifting a total of 344 kg (758 lbs*). Triyatno Triyatno from Singapore received the silver for lifting 333 kg (734 lbs*) and Razvan Constantin Martin from Romania collected the bronze medal for lifting 332 kg (732 lbs*).

Group A Division finals of the Women’s 63kg Weightlifter competition, Maiya Maneza (KAZ) got gold and set a new Olympic Record by lifting 245 kg (540 lbs*). Russia’s Svetlana Tsarukaeva won the silver with the feat of lifting 237 kg (522 lbs*) and Christine Girard of Canada received a bronze medal for lifting 236 kg (520 lbs*).

The excitement of the Olympic Games will continue on in London, check out the Londongame2012.com for more details on your favorite sport.

*The pound conversions are rounded up to the nearest pound.

** Correction on the country status.

London Olympic Games 2012 – Day Three Concludes

2012-07-31T01:51:00.001-07:00

At the end of day three, athletes from 37 countries have earned medals for their strengths in such disciplines as Archery, Gymnastics, Diving, Fencing, Judo and Fencing. The Chinese and the United Stages dominate with both countries holding 17 medals each. While France, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (PRK), Japan, and Italy are not too far behind in their medal acquisition goals.

Still, there was a strong showing from all athletes competing on this 3^rd day of Olympic goodness and here is a brief rundown of what took place in London.

Archery

In the Women’s Individual Archery event, the 19-year-old Miranda Leek (USA) gets pass the Round of 32 but was eliminated by Italy’s Pia Lionetti in the Round of 16 with a score of 6-4. While Aida Roman (MEX) defeats Bombayla Devi Laishram (IND) 6 -2 and Japan’s Miki Kanie takes out China’s Jing Xu with a score of 6 – 0. Lionetti, Roman, Kanie along with Denmark’s Carina Christiansen and Taipei’s Ya-Ting Tan will advance to the 1/8 eliminations on Wednesday, August 1^st.

For the Men’s Individual Archery event, Rick Van Der Ven (NED)* beats Kazakhstan’s Denis Gankin in the 1/16 elimination round with a score of 7-1. While Dong Hyun Im (KOR) defeats Taipei’s Cheng-Pang Wang, 6-4, to move on to the 1/8 elimination round. Also joining Van Der Van (NED) and Im (KOR) will be Great Britain’s Larry Godfrey, Taipei’s Cheng-Wei Kuo and Ukraine’s Markiyan Ivashko.

Boxing

In the Men’s Fly Weights Competition, Contender Duke Micah (GHA) beat Jason Lavigilante (MRI) with a score of 18 to 14, allowing Micah to advance to the Round of 16. France’s Nordine Oubaali leaves Afghanistan’s Ajmal Faisal behind in the Round of 32 beating Ajmal 22 to 9, thus increasing the Frenchman’s chances of gaining a medal in these games. Juliao Henriques Neto (BRA) sends Jong Choi Pak (DPK) packing with a win over Pak, 12 to 8. Katsuaki Susa (JPN) takes a hard lost to Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana (CUB) with a 7 to 19 score. Additionally, Hesham Abdelaal (EGY) defeats Benson Njangiru (KEN) to gain a spot in the Round of 16 for Wednesday, August 1^st.

The Light Heavy Weight Competition saw Damien Hooper (AUS) vanquish American Marcus Browne from the next round of fighting with a score of 13 – 11. Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino (BRA) overcame Sumit Sangwan (IND), 15-14, to also head on to the Round of 16, while Enrico Kolling of Germany takes down Christian Donfack Adjoufack from Cameroon with a score of 15 to 6. The other contenders that will join Falcao Florentino, Kolling, and Hooper in the Round of 16 elimination fights are Osmar Bravo Amador (NCA), Fanlong Meng (CHN), Ihab Almatbouli (JOR), and Carlos Gongora Mercado (ECU).

Canoe Slalom

The heat results of the Men’s Canoe Double (C2) have the French, Gauthier Klauss and Matthieu Peche, posting the best score of their heat, 96.98. Following behind them are Pavol and Peter Hochschorner from Slovakia with a score of 97.52 and China’s Minghai Hu and Junrong Shu scoring 99.05 getting a third place finish. The Brits aren’t to be forgetten, Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott came in fourth place with a close score of 100.44 hoping this number will get them into the semi-finals.

As for the Women’s Kayak heat, Spain’s Maialen Chourraut brings in a score of 98.75 to lock down first place in her heat. Behind Chourraut (ESP) is Great Britain’s Lizzie Neave. She clinches the 2^nd place spot with a score of 98.92 which helps increase her chances for gaining a semi-finals spot. Not far behind Neave (GBR) is Maria Clara Giai Pron (ITA). She scored 99.66 coming in third place and Jessica Fox of Australia secures fourth place with her score of 100.33.

Diving

In the Men’s Synchronized 10m Platform Diving Event, Yuan Cao/Yanquan Zhang (CHN) procure gold for China, while Mexico’s Garcia Navarro/Sanchez Sanchez take home silver and the United States’ Boudia/McCrory acquire the bronze. Next up for Diving is the Women’s Synchronized 10m Platform Diving Finals along with the Men’s Synchronized 3m Springboard finals on Tuesday, July 31.

Handball

In Women’s Handball, Russia denominates over Great Britain with a 37 to 16 win. This win ties the Russians with the Brazilians for first place in the Group A field. In Group B, Korea wins over Denmark with a score of 25-24 sealing first place in this division, while France and Spain gain a draw in their match, scoring 18-18. All teams in Group A and Group B will have four more matches to play before the semi-finals can be determined. The next matches will take place August 1^st.

Sailing

Day one of the Men’s 49er sailing saw some great highs by athletes in this competition. In Race 1, Frenchmen, Emmanuel Dyen and Stephane Christidis take first place with a time of 29:05 having the Danish, Allan Norregaard and Peter Lang come in second with a time of 29:06. Third place went to Canada’s Gordon Cook and Hunter Lowden with a time of 29:08. These crews have set a strong precedent for what is to come in this event. Wind speed during this race held at a steady 15 kts (knots), which is about the equivalent of 17.26 miles per hour, keeping the crews on their toes during this race.

In race 2, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen of Australia pull in a time of 28:08 winning this Skipper and Crewman first place points. Right on their heels of this race were Portugal’s Bernardo Freitas and Francisco Andrade with a time of 28:17. Third place went respectably to Sweden’s Jonas von Geijer and Niclas During receiving a time of 28:32, while Denmark’s Alan Norregaard and Peter Lang took fourth place with a time of 28:38. After both races, Denmark, Sweden, and Australia hold the top three spots on the Fleet Overall Scoreboard. Races 3 and 4 will take place on July 31 at the Weymouth and Portland with much enthusiasm ahead.

The Men’s Laser event saw Juan Ignacio Maegli Aguero (GUA) land first place in Race 1 getting a time of 57:10. Right behind him was Australia’s Tom Slingsby. Slingsby had a time of 57:37, which earned him second place points, and Jean Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) took third place points with his time of 57:50. In race 2, Tom Slingsby (AUS) comes back strong for a first place finish and a time of 56:25. Whereas, Bruno Fontes (BRA) gains second place, timing out at 56:44, and Alejandro Foglia Costa (URU) takes third place with a time of 57:05. After two races, Tom Slingsby is sitting pretty with a total score of three (3) on the Fleet Overall Scoreboard. The next races will be held July 31 at the Weymouth and Portland venue in Great Britain. Let’s see if the Aussie can hold on to his dominance.

Tennis

The first round of Tennis for the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles showed to be an exciting one.

In the Men’s Singles division, Andy Roddick (USA) defeated Martin Klizan (SVK) in two sets with scores of 7-5/6-4. Roddick (USA) will face the Serbian Novak Djokovic in round two on Tuesday, July 31; this matchup will definitely be one for the history books. Lleyton Hewitt of Australia beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine but not without some fight from the Ukrainian. The 114-minute game had spectators watching Hewitt win sets 1 and 3 by three points, while set 2 went to Stakhovsky by 2 points. Hewitt, nonetheless, won the match and will battle Croatian Marin Cilic for a place in the third round. The Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet have both advanced to the second round in hopes of following in the footsteps of their brethren, Gilles Simon who has earned a spot in round three. Simon (FRA) will compete against Juan Martin de Potro (ARG) for the chance to enter the quarterfinals. Roger Federer has secured his spot in the third round and will play against Denis Istomin from Uzbekistan. Other Tennis athletes hoping to move on to round three are Great Britain’s Andy Murray, Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Argentina’s Juan Monaco.

Women’s Singles competition saw the Williams Sisters dominant. Venus Williams collected a win over Italy’s Sara Errani in two sets scoring, 6-3/ 6-1. Venus will move on to the second round facing Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak. Venus’s sister, Serena, continues her winning streak, after her Wimbledon success, by defeating Serbian’s Jelena Jankovic and then securing a win over Urszula Radwanska. Serena will meet Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in the Third Round before the quarterfinals. Kim Clijsters of Belgium had much success on the court today. She won her first round match against Italy’s Roberta Vinci, 6-1/6-4, and then her second round match against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-3/6-3. In the third round, Clijsters will face Serbian Ana Ivanovic. Both women will work for the chance to play in the quarterfinals. Also looking to advance to the quarterfinals are Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Italy’s Flavia Pennetta.

Day Four has a lot to offering in regards to Sailing, Diving, and Tennis. So don’t miss out on any of it. Go to London2012.com for more information on the Olympic Games 2012.

*Correcton made on van der Ven’s country status.

London Olympic Games 2012 – Day Two Ends, Day Three Begins

2012-07-30T01:33:00.001-07:00

Another day of Olympic competition has come to pass for athletes participating in this prime event. What is left after two days of competition? History, success and disappointments. Here is a terse look at some of the events.

Medal Round-Up*

After two days of competition, the determination and dedication of athletes from 30 countries has paid off nicely. These athletes have secured positions on the awards’ podium in Great Britain for their countries however there are five countries that show no signs of slowing down when it comes to gaining the most medals in these 2012 Games.

CHINA

China secured a majority of their medals from the events of Shooting (4) and Swimming (4). The other medals were earned in the sports of Diving (1), Weightlighting (2), and Archery (1). They have a total of 12 medals but the USA is not far behind.

USA

With 11 medals, the United States is right on the heels of the Chinese as they try to earn additional medals in Swimming, Gymnastics, Basketball, and Volleyball. The USA medal breakdown looks like this: Archery (1), Diving (1), Shooting (1), and Swimming (8). The United States dominance in Swimming has proven to be the countries’ greatest advantage in terms of medal accumulation.

ITALY

The country’s athletes haven’t received the media exposure other athletes in this world contest have been allotted but that hasn’t stopped the Italians from receiving 7 medals for their performances in Archery (1), Fencing (4), Judo (1), and Shooting (1).

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

The Republic of Korea has enjoyed success by obtaining 5 medals in the discipline of Archery (2), Judo (1), Shooting (1), and Swimming (1). However, the country doesn’t intend to stop there, with athletes prepared to compete in Badminton, Table Tennis, and Sailing, the country continues to strive for the award’s podium in these upcoming events.

FRANCE

The French are known for many things, being a founding member of the Olympics and their skills in fencing, but now the country’s athletes are showing their abilities in other disciplines such as Swimming (2), Shooting (1), and Judo (1). Winning four medals so far, the French continue to pursue more medal opportunities in Table Tennis, Sailing and Canoe Slalom as the days go on during the Olympic Games.

WINNERS, LOSERS, and CONTENDERS*

Boxing

In the Lightweight Division, Josh Taylor (GBR) beats Robson Conceicao (BRA) in 13-9 decision to advance to the round of 16. In a 21-20 decision, Jose Ramirez (USA) defeats Rachid Azzedine (FRA) to get to the next round of this contest. In the Welterweight Division, Errol Spence (USA) moves on after overcoming Myke Ribeiro de Carvalho (BRA) with a score of 16-10 and Yasuhiro Suzuki (JPN) takes out Medhi Khalsi (MAR) with a 14-13 win.

Hockey

The United States Women’s Hockey Team loses their preliminary round game to the Germans, 2-1, but prepares to redeem themselves against Argentina on July 31. China beats Korea in a 4-0 win and Belgium succumbs to the Dutch, 0 to 3.

Shooting

In the event of Shooting, history was made when Kimberly Rhode, 5-time Olympian, became the first American to receive medals at 5 consecutive Olympic Games, from 1996 - 2012. Rhode was elated by this feat, and at the tender age of 33, has no plans of ending her incredible streak at the Olympics. Rhode has her sights ready for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Weightlifting

In the Men’s 56kg category of Weightlifting, Yun Choi Om from the DPR of Korea sets an Olympic Record by lifting a total of 293 kg (646 lbs**) which got him the gold. While China’s Jingbiao Wu procure silver after lifting 289 kg (637 lbs**). Valentin Hristov, from the country of Azerbijan, received the bronze medal for lifting 286 kg (631lbs**).

In the Women’s 53kg category of Weightlifting, Zulfiya Chinshanlo from Kazakhstan wins gold after lifting 226 kg (498 lbs**) setting a new Olympic Record. Taipei’s Hsu Shu-Ching secured silver by lifting 219 kg (483 lbs**) and Cristina Iovu, Republic of Moldova, lifted 219 kg (483 lbs**) as well, earning her the bronze.

WHAT’S NEXT?*

Day Three. There will be some great match-ups on the Olympic roster for July 30, 2012. Spectators can watch the United States Women’s Basketball team go up against Angola in their preliminary rounds. Beach Volleyball for both Men and Women will be underway as Great Britain’s Men’s Team Grotowski/Garcia-Thompson play against Brazil’s Santos/Cunha. On the Women’s side, Greece’s Tsiartsiani/Arvaniti takes on Russia’s Vasina/Vozakova duo to advance to the next round.

Sailing continues on with the Men’s 49er and Finn races and the Women’s Elliott 6m and Laser Radical races. In addition, the first round of the Women’s and Men’s Singles Tennis competition begins. Some of the match-ups available to be seen are Andy Roddick (USA) vs. Martin Klizan (SVK), Roger Federer (SUI) vs. Julien Benneteau (FRA), Serena Williams (USA) vs. Urszula Radwanska (POL), and Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) vs. Kim Clijsters (BEL). Monday will prove to be a great day for great sports. For more information on the Olympic Games, go to London2012.com.

* Information under heading located at the London Games 2012 website.

**All pound conversions were rounded up to the nearest pound.

London Olympic Games 2012 - Day Two

2012-07-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Day Two brings a multiple of sports to Olympic spectators around the world. Some of these sports may not have the popularity of a Charlie Sheen rant but still cultivate the thrill and excitement of a Harry Potter Movie Premiere. So what can the Olympic viewers expect on Day Two?

· Badminton

· Shooting – Air Pistol

· Cycling - road

· Table Tennis

· Rowing

· Swimming

· Fencing

· Weightlifting

· Water Polo

· Equestrian

· Hockey

· Sailing

· Canoe slalom

· Boxing

· Diving

· Tennis

· Hockey

· Football (Soccer – for the Americans)

· Beach Volleyball

· Basketball

· Archery

· Judo

· Handball

· Gymnastics – Artistic

· Volleyball

Sports, sports and more sports. That is the thrill of the Olympic Games and since there is so much to choose from, here are a few recommendations to those who want to see some good match-ups with great intensity amongst spirited teams.

If you enjoy Beach Volleyball, the Men’s Teams of Switzerland and Italy will battle it out in the Pool A division of this sport to earn a spot in the semi-finals. In Basketball, Group A opponents, Argentina and Lithuania, will go head-to-head to earn points towards the Knockout stage of this game. For all those USA supporters, the USA Hockey Women’s Team faces Germany in the first round of play towards the Path for Gold. In the Mixed Doubles Competition of Badminton, China’s Zhang/Zhao will attempt to beat the Russian Duo, Nikolaenko/Sorokina in tonight’s lineup. (2012. Guardian Website.)

Tonight's Boxing match-ups include Lightweight Competition between Robson Conceicao (BRA) vs. Josh Taylor (GBR) and Rachid Azzedine (FRA) vs. Jose Ramirez (USA). While Welterweight contests will see Custio Clayton (CAN) facing Oscar Molina Casillas (MEX), Yasuhiro Suzuki (JPN) against Mehdi Khalsi (MAR) and Myke Ribeiro de Carvalho (BRA) brawling with Errol Spence (USA). (2012. Guardian Website.)

As for Football (Soccer), match-ups against Spain vs. Honduras and Brazil vs. Belarus will prove to be intense for all those who will watch these games. With Team Spain losing their first match, July 26, to Japan, they will be looking to take Honduras down to ensure a spot in the quarterfinals but not without some bite back from Team Honduras. As for Team Brazil, this group of men has already won their first match against Team Egypt and is looking to secure another win against Team Belarus. With Belarus winning against New Zealand, last Thursday, this team won’t give Brazil an easy win as each team battles to get to the quarterfinals. (2012. Guardian Website.)

Then there is Swimming. Viewers can expect to see a stream of high-energy heats starting which consist of the Women’s 400m freestyle and the Men’s 4x100m freestyle relays races. In addition, there will be the Men’s 200m Freestyle heats that will garner massive attention due to Ryan Lochte win in the 400m Individual Medley race, yesterday. Many will be watching to see how he will fair in the 200m freestyle and if he can break any new records. (2012. Guardian Website.)

There is so much to enjoy when the Olympics come to town and if you there is any sporting event listed here, you want to know more about, click here, for more details about the games.

London Olympic Games 2012 - Day One

2012-07-29T03:03:00.001-07:00

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Mordacious Rant is back !

Our first subject for 2012 is coverage of the London Olympics 2012. London was awarded this great event in 2005 and after spending nine billion pounds ($14.1 billion US dollars) on construction, preparation, and security for this event, London, and the world, is ready for the biggest sporting event of the year.

The Opening Ceremony left many talking and wondering how the first day of events would end for such countries as the United States, China and of course the host country, Great Britain. 205 countries have sent their best and hungriest athletes to this illustrious event, not only, to bring home gold, but also to bring forth recognition to their country and the abilities of the countries’ athletes to the world.

Day 1 saw 19 countries earn medals in Swimming, Archery, and Air Rifle events. The Chinese were the first to win gold with Yi Siling winning the 10m Air Rifle event. Just in case, some of our readers aren’t familiar with this event, here are some details. According to Telegraph News, the shooting guidelines for Air Rifle goes as follows, “The rifle and pistol classes require shooters to fire bullets at 10-ring target within a given time…. The winner of the rifle and pistol events is the shooter with the highest score. During the qualification stages, the best eight shooters qualify and move to the final round where the 10 rings of the target are subdivided into ten “decimal” score zones (max 10.9). The final score is added to the qualification score to determine total scores and final rankings.” This is one event were officials make sure that all the athletes are happy. Nonetheless, the Chinese brought gold home on Day 1 of the Games and they aren’t stopping there.

According to the medal results page on the Guardian website, China leads with six medals, four gold medals and two bronze medals. Following China is Italy with 5 medals, two golds, two silvers, and one bronze. The United States is tied with Italy for five medals. Currently, the USA has one gold medal, two silver medals, and two bronze medals. At the end of Day One of the Olympic Games, 19 countries have scored medals in their respected events, in hopes that they will continue to add to these numbers as the Games pushes on.

Day Two continues to show more promise, not just for the United States, but other countries that have yet to fair a medal in the Games such as France, Canada, and South Africa.

Mordacious Rant will keep you up to date with the latest on the Olympic Games in London and other events around the world.

Naomi Campbell: A Victim of Racism

2011-06-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

This week, Naomi Campbell asked Cadbury Candy for an apology and an explanation for comparing her to their Dairy Milk Chocolate Bar. Ms. Campbell believes the comparison is racist.

Here's the gist of it. In attempt to promote their candy bar, Dairy Milk Bliss, the Kraft Company's subsidiary brand, Cadbury made a comparison to Naomi Campbell. The ad goes, "Move over Naomi, there's a new diva in town." The new diva being the candy bar.

I'm not sure I understand where the racism lies. Does she not want to be called chocolate? Is chocolate another way of calling a black person n***** in England? I'm confused. I don't mean to make light of Ms. Campbell's (alleged) insult but I don't know how being compared to candy is racist.

Now, IF the ad said, "Being as black as Naomi isn't as good as being as black as our candy bar." I would be on Naomi's side before my heart could take its next beat but the ad said "Move over Naomi, there's a new diva in town."

Is Diva a racist term? I'm just trying to understand.

Here is how Ms. Campbell sums up the situation, "I am shocked. It's upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me, but also for all black women and black people. I do not find any humor in this. It is insulting and hurtful."

Cadbury defended their campaign but then decided to stop sending the ad out to new outlets meaning there will be no future circulation of the ad.

I wish Naomi could elaborate more on her offense. I'm not saying she wasn't offended or the ad was appropriate but the claim seems a little flimsy. If anyone wants to set this writer straight, by all means drop your thoughts in the comment box. I ready to be schooled.

Gil Scott-Heron Passes Away May 27

2011-05-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

Photo by Benjamin Lozovsky

The man coined as "The Godfather of Rap" died Friday, May 27 in New York City.

Gil Scott-Heron was a poet, songwriter, musician and author who inspired many musicians, activists, and fans around the world. He was also known to help create the genre of music that makes billions of dollars around the world today, called rap. One of his greatest works, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, gave poetry, and spoken word, a new life.

Born in Chicago, in 1949, Gil Scott-Heron's contribution to the literary, music, and spoken word community was vast. Some of his works included Free Will, Bridges, Reflections, Spirits, It's Your World, The Vulture, The Nigger Factory, Now and Then: The Poems of Gil Scott-Heron along with many more works.

Musicians such as Chuck D, Usher, and Eminem are sending out their condolences via the internet about this lost to the arts community.

R.I.P. Gil. May your afterlife bring you heavenly enjoyment.

Can Regulation Help Increase Privacy On The Net?

2011-05-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

The president of France has an idea about the internet. He wants to regulate it to increase privacy and intellectual property rights without limiting economic growth and personal freedom. This is a good idea for a tool that brings information to millions, if not billions, of people but social network giants like Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, and Eric Schmidt, the executive director of Google, Inc. don't agree with the thoughts of Nicolas Sarkozy.

This week in Deauville, G8 leaders meet to discuss key issues about regulating the web.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, wants to channel the power of internet but influential people, like Zuckerberg, fear that regulation would stunt the economic growth of net. While other officials such as Maurice Lévy, a representative of Publicis advertising group, believe the focus of the conference should be on providing free high speed internet for everyone so there can be unlimited access to the internet.

Along with these sentiments, Eric Schmidt, the ED of Google, believes governments should neither charge telecommunications company high prices for bandwidth nor limit access of the internet to their citizens like Iran.

The internet is an anarchy playground. To control such a beast would be nearly impossible and something out of a George Orwell book. I don't know if there will be any agreement on how to manage the internet, or even to regulate it, but I guess talking about it is all the leaders can do for the time being.

Where Will You Be October 21st?

2011-05-24T20:05:00.000-07:00

The minister, Harold Camping, who predicted Doomsday would be May 21, 2011 has said that he miscalculated and the actual date for the end of the world is October 21, 2011.

Now is he really sure this date is correct? Because we all know what happened the last time. He was wrong and this isn't he first time he was wrong.

Apparently, in 1994, Mr. Camping prophesied the end of the world but it didn't come to fruition. Then last week, Mr. Camping did the same thing and thought the world would come to an end again. And again, the earth continued to rotate on its normal axis. Now can someone tell this man that he's not the messiah, God or even a very good psychic? And would his followers stop following him? They should either find a new leader or a new religion because this is ridiculous. He is not on point with this information.

The scary part about this whole thing ~~is,~~ will this man try to force an Apocalypse so he won't lose face? I'm not sure how he can do something like that but when a man is desperate to look good in front of his congregation, one has to be careful what he'll do next.

Either way, I'll be counting down to October 21 and ready to party on October 22.

It's 6pm...Do You Know Where Your Rapture Is At?

2011-05-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

Reports from all over the world say there is no rapture. From Australia, China, England and now New York. All seems intact.

Apparently, Harold Camping, the doomsday Christian pastor, was wrong. No earthquakes, no fires, no disastrous hail storms, no earth-pulling tornadoes, just calm. So what do Christians do? Do they keep on believing? Do they set another date for rapture? Do they do some research before making such predictions again? Who knows?

But now that the Christians prediction came up short, what religion is correct? Islam, Torah, Buddhists, Bahai, Mormons?

Again who knows? But one thing is for sure. Enjoy your life, wherever you are because whether it is predicted or not, a person shouldn't have to wait for doomsday to accomplish their life's desires.