2008 Beijing Olympics

[Mike80]

Fire up the tanks

 

[OCBuckWife]

SPEEDO LZR RACER - the world's fastest swimsuit

February 14, 2008 Following three years of research that included input from NASA, tests on more than 100 different fabrics and suit designs and body scans of more than 400 elite swimmers, Speedo has launched its most hydro-dynamically advanced - and fastest - swimsuit to date. The SPEEDO? LZR RACER? is made from a unique lightweight, water repellent and fast-drying fabric that has been developed to reduce drag and help hold the swimmer?s body in a more streamlined shape. Speedo says the suit has been independently tested as the "world's fastest", a claim that translates to up to 5% more efficiency for swimmers and hopefully, at least for Michael Phelps and other elite athletes donning the suit in Beijing later in the year, more gold medals.
The new suit has 10% less passive drag (meaning the drag present when the swimmer is gliding through the water after a dive or turn) than Speedo?s 2004 FASTSKIN FSII and 5% less passive drag than the FASTSKIN FS-PRO? - which has seen 21 swimmers break World Records since its release in March 2007.
The specially engineered, highly flexible fabric called LZR PULSE?is ultrasonically welded so as to appear seamless. It incorporates low drag "LZR" panels designed to create a corset-like effect that supports the swimmer in the optimum body position in the water and helps them hold it for longer.
The LZR RACER?s unique design also provides swimmers with up to 5% more efficiency** in terms of their oxygen intake, enabling them to swim stronger for longer. ?It makes it easier to swim faster,? said Rick Sharp, Exercise Physiologist, Iowa State University.
Coming a decade after the introduction of the full-body racing swim suit and coinciding with Speedo's 80th anniversary, the LZR RACER was developed by Speedo?s Aqualab research team, drawing on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software from ANSYS, Inc. and the expertise of research institutes such as the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Otago University in New Zealand, as well as the NASA Langley Research Center. International fashion label Comme des Gar?ons' founder Rei Kawakubo also contributed to the design.

Entire article: SPEEDO LZR RACER - the world's fastest swimsuit

FINA disagrees with critics that new suit gives swimmers edge

MANCHESTER, England -- If the current trend continues, world records could become the norm after the International Swimming Federation ruled Speedo's new high-tech LZR Racer suit is legal.
The LZR has been worn for 18 of the 19 world records set since it was introduced in February. Critics have claimed the swimsuit makes competitors more buoyant, but FINA disagreed.
"There is no scientific proof that it helps somehow, to the best of FINA's knowledge," FINA told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
FINA is set to meet with swimsuit manufacturers at the short-course world championships this weekend in Manchester. Other companies are due to come out soon with suits to compete with the LZR.

Entire article: ESPN - FINA disagrees with critics that new suit gives swimmers edge - Swimming

Speaking of innovations driven by the Olympics, I ran across this really interesting article on MSN about a bunch of different sports designs and inventions.

Take Adidas, for example: With just two years until the opening ceremonies in China, the German giant was struggling to conjure a new track spike for its star Texan runner, the 400-meter gold medalist Jeremy Wariner. After watching hours of super-slow-motion footage of Wariner's quirky gait, the company decided to replace his Pookie spike, which helped Wariner win in Athens (and nearly every 400-meter race he has entered since). Called Lone Star and sporting a crown insignia to signify Wariner's leadership in the sport, the new shoe has the following unorthodox feature: It lists to port.
"Most middle-distance races are won in the turns," explains Mic Lussier, the French-Canadian leader of the Adidas Innovation Team, or aIT, which developed the shoe. And track runners never, ever turn to the right. So Lussier's 50 biomechanical engineers, industrial designers and electromechanical experts set about making asymmetrical spikes for Wariner. The skewed shoes would be founded on ultralight carbon plates made of microscopic nanotubes 20 times stronger than steel. And they would "redirect the line of force that loads on the outside of his right foot," Lussier says, "and send it inward, toward his big toe." In other words, Wariner's new right shoe would accelerate to the left.
"The idea is based on the same asymmetrical suspension you see in a Nascar stock car," Lussier says. "It's really quite amazing."

There is a super light javelin, the speedo mentioned above, and others. Quite an interesting read!

 

[bkochmc]

There is a super light javelin, the speedo mentioned above, and others. Quite an interesting read!

Just a little correction on the javelin...

Men's javelins must weigh at least 800 grams and women's at least 600 grams. The shaft is usually made of pure-carbon but the innovator in this article used a combination of an aluminum shaft with a carbon sheet wrapped around it. The pure-carbon javelin usually vibrates for at least a couple of seconds after it is thrown but the aluminum-carbon javelin does not flutter near as much because the alminum stabilizes the apparatus much more efficiently without exerting extra pressure on the thrower. Pretty interesting stuff indeed.

 

[bkochmc]

Beijing traffic plan tests commuters - CNN.com

Beijing traffic plan tests commuters

• Story Highlights
• Cleanup plan includes cutbacks on construction and factory closures
• Dust-spewing construction in Beijing was to stop entirely
• China's greatest challenge is to keep air clean for August 8-24 Games
• World's greatest distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie, will not run marathon event

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Morning haze hung over Beijing on Monday, the first workday for restrictions on car use under a bold plan to clear the Olympic city of its notorious smog-choked skies.

Under a two-month plan that started Sunday, half of the capital's 3.3 million cars will be removed from city streets on alternate days, depending on whether the license plate ends in an odd or even numbers.

It could be several days before the impact of the clean-up plan -- which includes cutbacks on construction and factory closures -- can been seen, whether that means less traffic on the roads or cleaner skies over the city.

And big news from the track & field side of the Olympics:

The world's greatest distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, has decided not to run the marathon event because the city's pollution irritates his breathing.

Gebrselassie has broken 25 world records in numerous distance races. It's a shame the greatest distance runner of our time (and most likely of all time) won't run in one of his featured events... he holds the world record with a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, 26 seconds.

 

[bkochmc]

BBC SPORT | Olympics | Iraq banned from Beijing Olympics

Iraq banned from Beijing Olympics

Athletes from Iraq have been banned from taking part at this summer's Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee has announced.

The team was already the subject of an interim ban after the Iraqi government replaced the country's Olympic committee with its own appointees.

Under the IOC charter, all committees must be free of political influence.

As a result the team of two rowers, two sprinters, one archer, one weightlifter and one judo competitor cannot attend.

"We sent a letter to the Iraqi government today saying that as the situation stands today it is unlikely to have Iraqi athletes at the Beijing Games," said IOC spokesperson Emmanuelle Moreau.

Continued...

 

[Steve19]

One of my doctoral students returned from China this week.

I asked her about the plant shutdowns and other attempts to make the environment look clean and the nation look more comparable to high income countries. She said that it is evident everywhere and the Chinese call it "surface harmony".

Surface harmony? :tongue2:

 

[OCBuckWife]

One of my doctoral students returned from China this week.

I asked her about the plant shutdowns and other attempts to make the environment look clean and the nation look more comparable to high income countries. She said that it is evident everywhere and the Chinese call it "surface harmony".

Surface harmony? :tongue2:

Don't laugh, we have a similar concept here. Very popular in the Midwest for example, where my family lives. "Don't air dirty laundry in public."

 

[bkochmc]

A follow-up to post #20:

As Olympics near, Beijing still can't beat pollution - Los Angeles Times

As Olympics near, Beijing still can't beat pollution

By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 29, 2008

BEIJING -- Despite removing 1.5 million cars from the roads, shutting down hundreds of factories and construction sites and bringing much of the city's economic life to a standstill, Beijing remains stubbornly shrouded in a persistent, gray haze on the eve of the Summer Olympics.

The poor air quality just 11 days before the opening ceremonies has left Chinese government officials scrambling for explanations that include statistical anomalies and the 90-plus-degree heat.

The state-run China Daily reported Monday that the Chinese government may be forced to implement an "emergency plan" if air quality hasn't improved 48 hours before the Games begin Aug. 8. One possible measure would expand the recently implemented system that allows cars on the road only on odd or even days, depending on license plate numbers, to a ban of up to 90% of private traffic.

"Beijing's air quality is not up to what the world is expecting from an Olympic host city; the sports teams have reason to be concerned," said Lo Sze Ping, Greenpeace's campaign director in Beijing, during a news conference Monday. He blamed the bad air on what he characterized as a "develop first, clean up later" approach by the Chinese government.

Continued...

 

[bkochmc]

Way to stand your ground IOC

UPDATE 1-Olympics-IOC admits to deal with China on censorship | Reuters

IOC admits to deal with China on censorship

Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:00am EDT
By Nick Mulvenney

BEIJING, July 30 (Reuters) - International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials have cut a deal with China to allow the blocking of sensitive websites from media during the Beijing Games, press chief Kevan Gosper said on Wednesday.

Gosper, chairman of the IOC's press commission, had previously said that internet access for the 21,500 media accredited for the Aug. 8-24 Games would be "open".

"I ... now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related," the Australian told Reuters on Wednesday.

Continued...

 

[bkochmc]

And more IOC wavering on decisions they had previously made (though I think this one is correct to reverse):

ESPN - IOC reverses Olympic ban after meeting with Iraqi officials - Olympics

IOC reverses Olympic ban after meeting with Iraqi officials

Associated Press
Updated: July 29, 2008, 5:22 PM ET

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The International Olympic Committee ruled Tuesday that Iraq could participate in the Beijing Games, reversing itself after Baghdad pledged to ensure the independence of its national Olympics panel.

The decision followed last-minute talks between Iraqi officials and the IOC ahead of Wednesday's deadline to submit competitors' names for track and field events. The Olympics begin Aug. 8.

Iraq's National Olympic Committee was dissolved by the Baghdad government in May, prompting the IOC to suspend the Mideast country from the Olympics for political interference.

The IOC had insisted the old committee be reinstated even though four members were kidnapped two years ago. Their fates remain unknown.

Continued...

 

[shetuck]

Maybe I'm out of touch with the nitty gritty of it, but I'm disappointed that we're about a week away from the opening ceremony and it seems that the dirty sport of of Sino-Western politics is still the dominant storyline here...

Let's hope the spirit of the Games comes [back] to life next week.

 

[bkochmc]

Maybe I'm out of touch with the nitty gritty of it, but I'm disappointed that we're about a week away from the opening ceremony and it seems that the dirty sport of of Sino-Western politics is still the dominant storyline here...

Let's hope the spirit of the Games comes [back] to life next week.

I see these as filler stories until the Games begin... no one wants to hear about Liu Xiang's training. You do bring up a good point as it does seem that there are a higher number of negative articles for this Olympics than any I can recall.

 

[Folanator]

Huge drug bust out of Russia

Russia's "finest" women athletes: Suspended from the Olympics for doping-related offences!


It has emerged that SEVEN of Russia's leading women athletes have been banned from competition with immediate effect following what the IAAF are describing as tampering with the urine samples provided for testing. The rule in question is 32.2, and bans the women for "a fraudulent substitution of urine which is both a prohibited method and also a form of tampering with the doping control process". It would seem that the IAAF, perhaps suspicious of the Russian women for reasons we'll get to in a moment, did DNA analysis on various samples provided by the Russians, and found that the DNA did not match. Therefore, different samples, substitution, call it what you wish, it is grounds to exclude seven women from Beijing.

 

[Muck]

The more things change the more they stay the same.

You stay classy Russia!

 

[bkochmc]

Olympic trivia for the day:

Since the first modern Olympics in 1896 United States sprinters and hurdlers (100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay, 100/110 hurdles, 400 hurdles) have won a total of 161 gold medals. That total is 24 more than every other country combined.

2008 United States Olympic Sprinters at Runner's World.com