Guo second in USSA Female Athlete of the Year vote
Wednesday, 31st December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Known as the "Diving Queen" in Chinese media, Guo was second to no one, man or woman, in a favorite athlete poll of Hong Kong school children, conducted by the Boys and Girls Club of Hong Kong. The question on her fans' minds now is, what will Guo do with her fame, talent and good looks? At 27 years old, she's just young enough to consider one last Olympic appearance. There were rumors in the fall that she'd suit up for Hong Kong in the 2012 Olympics, and there's always speculation about her pursuing a career in modeling or acting.
Rounding out the top five in the schoolkids' vote were, in order Liu Xiang (track and field), Lin Dan (badminton), Yao Ming (basketball) and Yang Wei (gymnastics).
Guo Jingjing image: 163.com
Tags: diving, Guo Jingjing, Lin Dan, Liu Xiang, Yang Wei, Yao Ming
Rogge expects more doping cases, Liu needs surgery
Monday, 10th November 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
A short glance at some of China's biggest current sports stories:Liu Xiang
Doctors that hurdler Liu Xiang visited in the United States agreed with his Chinese doctors in advising surgery for the Achilles tendon injury that kept him out of the Beijing Olympics.
Doping
The International Olympic Committee is still conducting doping tests from the August Olympics, and IOC president Jacques Rogge said he expects at least 15 cases from this year's Olympiad.
Diving
Former Chinese national team diving coach Yu Fen has threatened legal action against diving's administrative body, to secure several million yuan she believes she is owed in bonuses from her tenure with the team, which ended in 1997. Yu coached greats Guo Jingjing and Wu Mingxia.
Soccer/Football
Tickets are on sale for the Chinese women's national soccer team's match against gold medalists the United States at Detroit's Ford Field December 17.
Aquatics
Hong Kong is among the cities bidding to host the 2013 FINA World Championships. The world governing body for aquatic sports including swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming holds a world championship every year. The 2011 championships will take place in Shanghai.
Tags: diving, doping, FINA, football, Guo Jingjing, Liu Xiang, soccer, swimming, track and field, Wu Mingxia, Yu Fen
Guo Jingjing denies Hong Kong 2012 rumors
Monday, 1st September 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
If Guo Jingjing (郭晶晶) isn't in the pool, she must be in the tabloids. Post-Olympic rumors have the diver taking her gold medals and moving to Hong Kong, where the buzz is that she may marry her boyfriend Kenneth Fok and compete for Hong Kong in the 2012 Olympics.According to this AFP story she has denied the rumors, saying at a press conference in Hong Kong: "I have no plan to move to Hong Kong. I am still a member of China's national diving team and there will be many new plans and new goals to follow."
Will she or won't she? Guo on a post-Olympic HK media tour
But because the next best thing to actual news about China's top-earning female athlete is speculation about possible news, the papers are not letting this one rest.
Some Hong Kong media are reporting that Guo's wedding plans have "entered the final sprint, with a wedding next September [2009]," according to a report on mainland sports portal Titan24. Moreover, the reports assert that Guo will not retire as the reigning "queen of diving" but will become a Hong Kong resident and represent Hong Kong in the 2012 Olympics in London.
"As soon as the Chinese Olympic champion representative group touched down at Hong Kong's airport, Guo Jingjing became Hong Kong media's number one target," the report said, "This has become the hottest topic of conversation among Hong Kong's sport and media circles."
According to that story, Guo has not been clear on whether she intends to marry or whether she'll compete in London at all.
The story also cited inside sources saying that should Guo want to represent HK in London, she'll need to talk with the China Olympic Committee and China Swimming Association. Conventional wisdom in China's sports circles seems to be suggesting that should she want to represent HK, neither organization will give her much trouble.
This is likely because she'll be 31 years old in 2012, and is unlikely to be perceived as a major gold medal threat.
Guo Jingjing image: Singtaonet
Tags: diving, Guo Jingjing, Kenneth Fok, Olympics, 郭晶晶
Aussie denies China diving sweep
Sunday, 24th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Matthew Mitcham of Australia
Image: BOCOG
Tags: Beijing Olympics, diving, Huo Liang, Matthew Mitcham, Olympics, Zhou Luxin
Day Three: China takes more gold, leading in medal count
Monday, 11th August 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
On the third day of the Beijing Olympics, China has proven itself to be a serious contender to win the most medals at this year's games. As of 7:30 pm Beijing time on Monday, China had taken eight of a total of 32 gold medals issued, accounting for a quarter of the Olympic gold given out so far.In terms of total medals won, China's 13 total medals were one more than the United States' 12. South Korea was in third place with seven total medals and four gold medals. South Korea's four golds were second only to China's eight and one ahead of the three won by the US.
Yue/Liang take gold 10m synchronized platform
Monday at the Watercube, Divers Lin Yue (林跃) and Huo Liang (火亮) won China's second gold medal in diving so far, winning the men's 10 meter synchronized platform. The pair has been dominating international competitions heading into the Beijing games and appear to be having no trouble assuming the role of heirs to Chinese diving legends and Athens gold medalists Tian Liang and Yang Jinghui.
Lin and Huo's combined score of 468.18 beat out Sascha Klein and Patrick Hausding of Germany (450.42) and Gleb Galperin and Dmitry Dobroskok of Russia (445.26).
Chen gives China third weightlifting gold medal
Chen Yanqing (陈艳青) won weightlifting gold for the second Olympics in a row, taking the top spot in the women's 58 kilogram class and giving China its third weightlifting gold in three days.
Chen is the first woman to win Olympic weightlifting gold twice.
The 29-year-old Chen, who had been coaxed out of retirement for the Beijing games, snatched 106 kilograms and lifted 138 for the clean and jerk, for a winning total of 244 kilograms. Chen beat out Marina Shainova of Russia and O Jong Ae from North Korea, who took silver and bronze, respectively.
Tian and Wang win again in beach volleyball
China inched closer to its first beach volleyball gold on Monday as Tian Jia (田佳) and Wang Jie (王洁) defeated Liesbeth Mouha and Liesbet Van Breedam of Belgium in a hard-fought 2:1 victory (18-21, 21-19, 15-13).
With wins against fellow Group A members Switzerland and Belgium, Tian and Wang look likely to advance to a berth in the tournament's top 16. The pair will play the undefeated duo of Susanne Glesnes and Kathrine Maaseide of Norway at 11 am Beijing time on Wednesday.
Lin Yue/Huo Liang image: sports.mop.com
Chen Yanqing image: Xinhua
Tags: Chen Yanqing, Diving, Huo Liang, Lin Yue, Olympics, Tian Jia, Wang Jie
Diving gold medal brings China's total to four
Sunday, 10th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China's "diving queen" Guo Jingjing ( 郭晶晶) and her partner Wu Minxia (吴敏霞) won gold in the women's 3-meter synchronized springboard event. It was the fourth gold for China in these games, and the fourth career gold for Guo, who is China's third highest earning athlete.Guo and Wu dominated the competition, taking a nearly insurmountable 17-point lead into the fifth and final round of dives. The pair finished with a score of 343.5. Runners up Russia totaled 323.61, and Germany landed bronze with a strong finish and an overall score of 318.9.
Here's a recap of their 2004 gold medal run (from Beijing TV, commentary in Chinese):
Guo and Wu are expected to go head-to-head in the springboard individual final next Sunday, August 17 at 8:30 p.m.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, diving, gold medal, Guo Jingjing, Olympics, synchronized, Wu Minxia
Meet China's Olympic athletes
Tuesday, 29th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (2)
You know basketball's Yao Ming (姚明), athletics' Liu Xiang (刘翔) and the Chinese diving team. But did you know that China has a gold medal contender in light flyweight boxer Zou Shiming (邹市明)? And have you met Feng Kun (冯坤) and Zhao Ruirui's (赵蕊蕊) supporting cast on the Chinese women's volleyball team?To help you get to know Team China, China Sports Today has just added a database of Olympians and other top athletes from the Middle Kingdom. From golf to table tennis (ping pong) to gymnastics, you'll find basic information on key competitors, along with video when possible. To get started, follow this link or click on "Sports" on the bar above. For some sports, the list of athletes comes at the bottom of the sport's page, following some background information about China's history in that sport.
If you don't see who you're looking for, go to our Contact Us page and we'll do our best to add your athlete ASAP.
Tags: athletes, boxing, diving, Feng Kun, Liu Xiang, Olympics, volleyball, Yao Ming, Zhao Ruirui, Zou Shiming
Diver Hu Out With Injuries
Thursday, 5th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (2)
Hu (left) with fellow Olympic champion Tian Liang (田亮）
Hu Jia (胡佳), gold medalist in the men's 10-meter platform at the Athens 2004 Olympics, has reportedly withdrawn from competition for the 2008 games due to injuries.
"I kept hoping to the bitter end and finally had to see that it was hopeless," Hu Jia was quoted as saying by Sina.com. The 25-year-old has had more than his share of health issues—he underwent eye surgery in 2005 for detached retinas, and has suffered from leg and shoulder problems.
While Hu's absence at the Beijing games would certainly be noticed, it's just a chink in the armor of the Chinese diving machine. Team China just swept all eight gold medals at the Nanjing stop of the FINA Diving World Series. China won Hu's event, the 10-meter platform, at the last three World Series competitions. Zhou Luxin won at Nanjing and Tijuana, and Huo Liang won at Sheffield.
The withdrawal of Hu would, however, make a little more room among the top divers for Great Britain's Tom Daley, a diminutive 14-year-old who is sure to be one of the darlings of the 2008 games if he can pull off an upset in August.
Image: Tupianz.com
Tags: diving, Hu Jia, Olympics
Next
1 2