IAAF.org - News

Beijing distance races analysed at 100m intervals

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:00:00 GMT

18 February 2009 - The Beijing Olympics threw up a huge amount of statistics, too much in fact to take in at the time of the Games. Now we have had a chance to disseminate a unique set of readings taken during virtually all of the distance races.

Jamaica celebrates Beijing triumphs with street parades, galas... national awards bestowed

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:00:00 GMT

6 October 2008 – Kingston, Jamaica – The Caribbean island of Jamaica has kicked off nearly a week-long series of events to officially recognise the achievements of their athletes in the Beijing Olympic Games.

Euphoric welcome, as Lightning Bolt strikes Kingston in the wake of Hurricane Ike

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:00:00 GMT

9 September 2008 - Kingston, Jamaica - Jamaica’s newest “sports superhero” Usain Bolt was given a grand welcome home on Monday afternoon (8) as thousands of flag waving fans braved heavy rains to line the road from the Norman Manley International airport to an upscale Kingston hotel, a distance of approximately eight kilometres to get a view of the triple Olympic Gold medallist.

Over 1.2 Million spectators attend Athletics in Beijing

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:00:00 GMT

4 September 2008 - Monte-Carlo - BOCOG, the Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008 have released the spectator / ticket data for the Athletics events (15 – 24 Aug) held in the National Stadium – Bird’s Nest – for the Olympic Games (9 – 24 Aug).

Röthlin finds his balance in Beijing

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:09:00 GMT

24 August 2008 - Beijing, China - At the age of 10 Viktor Röthlin dreamt of becoming a train driver one day. But then he watched the Olympic Games of Los Angeles 1984 on TV and changed his mind: Now he wanted to become a runner. That was because he had seen his fellow-countryman Markus Ryffel winning a silver medal in the 5000m. Ryffel became his idol from then on.

Overcoming tumultuous year, Wanjiru takes first Kenyan Olympic marathon victory

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:11:00 GMT

24 August 2008 - Beijing, China - For Kenyan athletics it was an historic moment. But for Kenya itself it’s a symbol of peace just months after it was torn apart by bloody political violence that divided country along tribal lines.

Patience, perseverence lands Bungei elusive gold

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:29:00 GMT

24 August 2008 - Beijing - As Wilfred Bungei entered the home straight at the end of the men’s 800m final on Saturday he looked up at the screen through his dark shades and realised he was in a rare position. Ahead of him was a prize, a big one. The biggest one, he says.

After distance double, Bekele's legend grows

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:20:00 GMT

24 August 24 2008 - Beijing, China - Similar height, similar weight, same country. And now, 28 years later, Kenenisa Bekele celebrates the 5000/10,000m double that crowned the glorious career of Miruts Yifter. No Ethiopian – not even Haile Gebrselassie – managed it in between.

Hellebaut ready when it matters most

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:59:00 GMT

24 August 2008 - Beijing, China - There can be few better insults in Olympic history than Steve Ovett, describing the decathlon as, “nine Mickey Mouse events, followed by a slow 1500 metres”. Ovett, winner of the 800 metres gold in Moscow 1980 (and also a great 1500m runner) was taking the rise out of his British contemporary, Daley Thompson, who got the last laugh, by winning the 10-discipline decathlon gold in both Moscow and Los Angeles 1984.

Men's Marathon

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:05:00 GMT

Samuel Wanjiru (for some unexplained reason spelt Wansiru here in Beijing!) sizzled his way to the Olympic record in high temperatures today in Beijing.

EVENT REPORTS - Day Nine, Sat 23 Aug - begin here...

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Event Reports from the Athletics events of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad are written and published in Beijing by Laura Arcoleo, Steven Landells, Parker Morse, Bob Ramsak, Chris Turner.

IAAF

With second javelin title, Thorkildsen joins elite company

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:54:00 GMT

23 August 2008 – Beijing, China – “Some days are his, some days are mine,” said Andreas Thorkildsen, when asked about his rivalry with Finn Tero Pitkämäki. But their Olympic days so far belong to the Norwegian Javelin Thrower.

Women's High Jump - FINAL

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:00 GMT

Now for a surprise that was a very big one. Who would have thought that Tia Hellebaut was going to become the last track gold medallist of the Beijing Olympic Games (the only other medal in Athletics still to be awarded is that in the men’s marathon)? Who would have thought that Tia Hellebaut was going to become the first ever Belgian woman to win an Olympic title in Athletics and the first Belgian of either sex to win gold at the Olympics since 1964!

Men's 4x400m Relay - FINAL

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:00 GMT

After podium sweeps of the flat 400 and 400m Hurdles, Team USA was the overwhelming favorite to add yet another 4x400m title to their vast collection. They hardly disappointed, clocking 2:55.39, the second fastest time in history.

Beijing 2008 - Day Nine Summary - 23 Aug

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:57:00 GMT

It's not quite Usain Bolt, but Kenenisa Bekele completed an iconic distance double in the Bird's Nest Saturday evening which had escaped the reach of even his hero, Haile Gebrselassie, and lowered one of the oldest Olympic Records in the process.

Clay hopes example will help others turn their backs on ‘all that kind of stuff’

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:37:00 GMT

23 August 2008 – Beijing, China – Somewhere back in the United States, perhaps in California, perhaps even in Glendora, where Bryan Clay lives, a young boy on the wrong side of the tracks was watching. And perhaps the world’s greatest all-round athlete has made him think.

“The lone wolf” Lagat surprises

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:33:00 GMT

23 August 2008 – Beijing, China - World, you’d better watch out, Kenyan women are on the march. First Pamela Jelimo and Janeth Jepkosgei took apart the 800m field here in the Bird’s Nest stadium on Monday (18) and then Nancy Jebet Lagat (previously better known as 'Langat'), who turned 27 yesterday (22), dismantled a classy 1500m field to capture Olympic gold.

Men's 800m - FINAL

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Since emerging as one of the finest 800m runners in the world nearly a decade ago, major titles eluded Wilfred Bungei. But tonight, propelled by the vast experience he’s compiled, the Kenyan flag-bearer captured the Olympic 800m title.

Women's 1500m - FINAL

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:27:00 GMT

Prior to Beijing, no Kenyan woman had struck Olympic gold. As the Games conclude, they’ll be taking home two. The first, by 800m sensation Pamela Jelimo wasn’t a big surprise. Bu their second, Nancy Jebet Langat in the 1500m, certainly was.

Bekele completes distance double, so joining illustrious names of Olympic history

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:07:00 GMT

23 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Alongside Hannes Kolehmainen, Emil Zatopek, Vladimir Kuts, Lasse Viren and Miruts Yifter we can now add the name Kenenisa Bekele as the only men to win the 5000m and 10,000m double at the Olympic Games.

Thorkildsen breaks Zelezny's Olympic record to retain title

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

23 August 2008 - Beijing, China - In a year of inconsistency in the men’s Javelin Throw, Andreas Thorkildsen not only retained his Olympic title but brought respectability to the event which has been without a 90m throw all season.

Women's 4x400m Relay - FINAL

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:47:00 GMT

There was a repeat of all three medals from the Athens Olympic Games in the women’s 4x400m here in Beijing as the USA defended their Olympic title in 3:18.54, the fastest time in the world since 1993, ahead of Russia and Jamaica.

Men's 5000m - FINAL

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Alongside Hannes Kolehmainen, Emil Zatopek, Vladimir Kuts, Lasse Viren and Miruts Yifter we can now add the name Kenenisa Bekele as the only men to win the 5000m and 10,000m double at the Olympic Games.

Event by Event reports - Beijing 2008

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

24 August 2008 - Beijing, China - 'LIVE' Event by Event reports covering the Athletics events of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008, will be available at the conclusion of each round of each event from Friday 15 to Sunday 24 August 2008.

Men's Javelin Throw - FINAL

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:23:00 GMT

In a year of inconsistency in the men’s Javelin Throw, Andreas Thorkildsen not only retained his Olympic title but brought respectability to the event which has been without a 90m throw all season.

Tirunesh Dibaba plays ‘follow the leader’ again

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 05:40:00 GMT

23 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Her electrifying pace over the final lap has brought Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba the first women’s track distance double in Olympic history. But after the second fastest 10,000 metres of all time, 29:54.66 last Friday, one week later she featured in the slowest major 5000 metres in history. But she won that too, in 15:41.40.

Hooker visualises his way to “what every kid dreams of”

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:41:00 GMT

23 August 2008 - It was sometime after 10 o’clock in Beijing’s National Stadium on Friday night (21) when Australian Steve Hooker took a moment to steady himself – perhaps the most important moment of his entire life.

Men's Decathlon 1500m - FINAL

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:12:00 GMT

Bryan Clay (USA) added the Olympic title to his resume in addition to the World Championships win which he captured in Helsinki 2005. Clay, who was the clear world leader before the competition and only favourite for the gold, had an extremely strong start to the decathlon, and was even going for the World record after three events.

Maurren Maggi takes gold knowing, she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:10:00 GMT

22 August 2008 – Beijing, China – Even John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with their greatest ballads for The Beatles, probably never tugged at Maurren Maggi’s heartstrings as much as her three-year-old daughter tugged at hers as she was leaving for the Olympics.

NEWS FLASH - World 4x100m record, 37.10 sec – BOLT and JAMAICA again!

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:00:00 GMT

22 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Usain Bolt took his third gold medal and World record of these Olympic Games when running the final bend of the 4x100m relay for the Jamaican squad.

EVENT REPORTS - Day Eight, Fri 22 Aug - begin here...

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Event Reports from the Athletics events of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad are written and published in Beijing by Laura Arcoleo, Steven Landells, Parker Morse, Bob Ramsak, Chris Turner.

IAAF

Beijing 2008 - Day 9 PREVIEW

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:55:00 GMT

22 August 2008 - Beijing - On this final day of athletics competition – except for Sunday morning’s men’s Marathon – there are seven events – and every event is a final.

Men's Pole Vault - FINAL

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:50:00 GMT

An Olympic record topped-out a golden day for Australia who already had three medals in Beijing, silver in the women’s sprint hurdles, and two, a bronze and silver in the men’s Race Walks.

Beijing 2008 - Day Eight Summary - 22 Aug

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:43:00 GMT

Three finals, three golds, three World records. That's an Olympic record not even Carl Lewis could claim, and at the end of the eighth day of athletics competition in Beijing's National Stadium, the easiest way to get a roar from the capacity crowd in the Bird's Nest was to say the words "Usain Bolt" over the public address system.

Men's 4x100m Relay - FINAL

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:07:00 GMT

After bagging two gold medals and two world records Usain Bolt did not disappoint in his third and final event of this sensational Olympic Games which he has done so much to ignite.

Women's Long Jump - FINAL

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:50:00 GMT

A few years ago Eminem used to sing ‘one shot, one opportunity’. Tonight, this motto belonged to South American record holder Maurren Higa Maggi who only needed ‘one shot’ to become Brazil’s first ever female Olympic champion and the country’s first gold medallist since Joaquim Cruz’s 800m Olympic title 24 years ago!

Women's 5000m - FINAL

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:07:00 GMT

The eagerly-anticipated battle of the dueling D’s – defending champion Meseret Defar and 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba – in the 5000m came down, as expected, to the final lap. It just took the Ethiopian duo an excruciatingly long time to get there.

Women's 4x100m Relay - FINAL

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:07:00 GMT

It is probably best not to make too many predictions, certainly not when it come to the 4x100m relay.

Women's 4x400m Relay - Round 1

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:43:00 GMT

Three days after finishing a disappointing third in the individual 400m final, Sanya Richards stepped back on the track to anchor the US 4x400m to a comfortable 3:22.45 win in the 4x400m relay heats.

Men's 4x400m Relay - Round 1

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:43:00 GMT

Since its inception as an Olympic event in 1912, The United States has just about owned the men’s 4x400m relay. There’s little indication that that will change in Beijing.

Men's Decathlon - Javelin Throw

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:41:00 GMT

Bryan Clay (USA) made sure there was no mistake in the javelin this time by throwing a season’s best 70.97m result for a total 8269 points before the last event, 1500m. 2004 Athens Olympics silver medallist leads the competition by a huge margin of 479 points before Andrei Krauchanka (BLR) who is in second place.

Schwazer - The ‘younger brother’ of Korzeniowski takes over

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:27:00 GMT

22 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Apart from the Olympic gold medal which he won in the 50km Race Walk there could hardly have been a more valueable honour than this one for Italy’s Alex Schwazer.

Already a great champion, Campbell-Brown comes of age as a personality

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

22 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Four years ago, a shy Jamaican sprinter made her slow, diffident way past the scrums of journalists deep in the bowels of the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

Robles dreams of the future

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:00:00 GMT

22 August 2008 – Beijing, China - Two gold medallists, same question, opposite answers.

Evora - Step by step towards 18 metres

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:00:00 GMT

22 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Once Nelson Evora had won the gold medal in the Triple Jump final in Beijing he pulled out a Portugese flag from his bag and started celebrating.

Merritt changes his game plan after learning from Bolt

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:00:00 GMT

22 August 2008 – Beijing, China - It may have been an anti-climax for those who had been building up the men’s 400 metres for over a year, as a face-off between the established star and the young pretender. But in the end, it was an apotheosis for LaShawn Merritt, who won easily over defending champion, Jeremy Wariner.

Men's 50km Race Walk

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:40:00 GMT

It was Schwazer at the start and Schwazer at the end as Italy's Alex Schwazer claimed gold in Olympic Record time after a grueling 50km Race Walk in Beijing's Olympic Park.

Men's Decathlon - Pole Vault

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:30:00 GMT

Like usual in decathlon, the eighth event, pole vault, proved to be decisive and even pushed some of the top athletes completely out of the picture.

Men's Decathlon - Discus Throw

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:10:00 GMT

Bryan Clay (USA) continued his quest for the Olympic gold medal with an excellent first round throw of 53.79m in the discus, 7th event of the decathlon. Clay, with the second best discus result in decathlon during career, is now leading the competition with 6455 points and he gets a result in the remaining three events he will win the competition too.

Men's Decathlon - 110 Metres Hurdles

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:00:00 GMT

2008 world leading athlete with 8832p at the Olympic Trials, Bryan Clay (USA), completed the first event of second day, 110m hurdles in 13.93s to gain some more points against the other medal contenders.

Beijing 2008 - Day 8 PREVIEW

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:56:00 GMT

21 August 2008 - Beijing - The day’s seven finals will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the men’s 50 kilometre Race Walk.

EVENT REPORTS - Day Seven, Thu 21 Aug - begin here...

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:50:00 GMT

Event Reports from the Athletics events of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad are written and published in Beijing by Laura Arcoleo, Steven Landells, Parker Morse, Bob Ramsak, Chris Turner.

IAAF

Men's Triple Jump - FINAL

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:40:00 GMT

In an event where the World record hasn’t been in jeopardy since the owner of that same mark took a bow from athletics, the men’s Triple Jump final at the Beijing Olympic Games was arguably one of the best the event has ever witnessed.

Kaniskina builds on Osaka success and walks to Olympic record

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:32:00 GMT

21 August 2008 - The head of the Mordovian government Nikolay Merkushkin may wish he had never thought of the idea of rewarding Olga Kaniskina after her IAAF World Championships win in Osaka. On that occasion she was given the keys to a two-room apartment in her home town of Saransk, capital of Mordovia, so what can she expect this time round?

With dramatic last round effort, Spotakova sets European record to spear Olympic gold

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:28:00 GMT

21 August 2008 - Beijing - Czech World champion Barbora Spotakova, with a massive last round throw of 71.42m swept away a briefly set European record by Russia’s 2005 European Junior champion Maria Abakumova (fourth round, 70.78), to claim the Olympic title.

Czech Javelin Tradition continues with Spotakova

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:18:00 GMT

21 August 2008 - Beijing – Think Javelin, think the Czech Republic, think Jan Zelezny. You’re thinking in the past.

Men's 400m - FINAL

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:49:00 GMT

It was the most anticipated head-to-head clash of these Games and in the end it wasn’t even close.

Men's 800m - Semi-Finals

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:47:00 GMT

The merciless 800m semis – the top-two from each of the three heats moved on automatically to Saturday (23) evening’s final - claimed two pre-Olympic medal favourites, one with perhaps the most international racing experience, and the other with the least.

Beijing 2008 - Day Seven Summary - 21 Aug

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:19:00 GMT

22 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Two Olympic records, two closely-matched field events which came down to the final rounds, and athletes overcoming the elements as well as their competition characterized the seventh day of competition at Beijing's National Stadium.

Men's 110m Hurdles - FINAL

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:06:00 GMT

After all the drama and all the upsets that were witnessed in the magnificent arena of the Beijing Olympic stadium, latest of which were the two US sprint relays being disqualified for dropping the stick in the first round heats, it is possible that many would have refrained from putting their money on World record holder Dayron Robles winning the 110m Hurdles Olympic title.

Men's Decathlon - 400m

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:36:00 GMT

Bryan Clay (USA), led the Olympic Decathlon competition after the first event and is still in the lead following the five events of day one. The American has however lost a lot of potential points in the last two events. His 400m was not smooth and 0.51s slower than the 48.41s clocking in his personal best series this season. Clay ran 48.92 and now has 4521 points after day one and should have a shot at Roman Sebrle’s (CZE) Olympic record 8893 on day two.

Olympic legends star at AIPS function in Beijing

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:24:00 GMT

21 August 2008 – Beijing, China – Track and field legends Don Quarrie, Cathy Freeman, Michael Johnson, Edwin Moses, Nawal El Moutawakel, Daley Thompson, were guests of honour at a special reception organised by AIPS, the international journalists’ association, and supported by Laureus, to celebrate the XXIXth Summer Olympics currently taking place in Beijing.

Women's 4x100m Relay - Round 1

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:32:00 GMT

You couldn't make it up. Just 30 minutes after the USA's men's 4x100m relay hopes imploded their women's hopes nosedived in exactly the same fashion.

Women' Javelin Throw - FINAL

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:27:00 GMT

Czech World champion Barbora Spotakova, with a massive last round throw of 71.42m swept away a briefly set European record by Russia’s 2005 European Junior champion Maria Abakumova (fourth round, 70.78), to claim the Olympic title.

Men's 4x100m Relay - Round 1

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:08:00 GMT

Total carnage. The heats were supposed to provide a nice, easy straight forward qualification but instead served up the kind of baton changing that would have been a disgrace at a school sport's day as the 15-time former winners USA and defending champions Great Britain were both disqualified

Women's 200m - FINAL

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:35:00 GMT

Veronica Campbell-Brown became only the second woman is history to successfully defend the Olympic 200m title as Jamaica once again served a knock out blow to US sprint hopes.

Women's 1500m - Semi-Finals

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:55:00 GMT

Running in relatively cool – by Beijing standards, anyway – and misty conditions, Maryam Jamal and Iryna Lischynska, the Osaka World championships gold and bronze medalists, breezed through the semi-finals to set up a classic rematch in Saturday (23) evening’s final.

Men's Decathlon - High Jump

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:27:24 GMT

Bryan Clay (USA) is leading the men’s Decathlon competition with 3656 total points after a difficult High Jump which was jumped in rainy conditions. Clay, who had leapt 2.08m in his personal best series earlier this summer, was left with only a 1.99m clearance in the rain. The American is still in a clear lead of 146p and has no-one challenging him for the gold right now. The World record is now not reachable – Clay would have to gain more than 100pts in the remaining events to get there.

Men's Decathlon - Shot Put

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:38:00 GMT

Bryan Clay (USA) is not a newcomer in major championships, but this decathlon is the first time the 28-year-old is totally in his own class. The American got off to a slow start in major championships unable to finish in Edmonton 2001 and Paris 2003. He then succeeded in Budapest 2004 and won the silver medal in the Heptathlon there at the World Indoor Championships. 2004 continued well with another silver in Athens at the Olympic Games, and Clay won the World title in Helsinki 2005 for his first top finish.

Walker: Learning to love the hurdles

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:28:00 GMT

21 August 2008 - Beijing - The subtitle of Melaine Walker’s life story should be, ‘How I Stopped Worrying, And Learned To Love The 400 Metres Hurdles’. Because, on the frank admission of the new quarter hurdles Olympic champion, “I hated the event, I absolutely hated it. I never wanted to do it, but I was good at it.”

Bolt - 100, 200 . . . 400m?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:07:00 GMT

21 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Note the date now – 2014: men’s 400m, Usain Bolt, 42.5.

Beijing 2008: Thu 21 Aug – Competition programme delays due to torrential rain

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:39:00 GMT

21 August 2008 – Torrential rain in Beijing this morning which is pounding so heavily on the roof of the Bird’s Nest that it is difficult to hear the stadium presentation music has caused the following delays to the competition programme on the Seventh Day of the Athletics competitions of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

Men's Decathlon - Long Jump

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:20:00 GMT

World leading decathlete Bryan Clay (USA) is, not surprisingly, at the top of the Olympic Decathlon competition after the first two events. The 28-year-old, who was the silver medallist at the 2004 Olympics, jumped 7.78m, a season’s best and his best wind legal mark since Athens where he set his PB 7.96m.

Women's High Jump - Qualification

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:10:00 GMT

The 32 women entered in the qualification of the women’s high jump must have wondered why the skies decided to turn against them (and all the others competing this morning) as for the first time since the opening of the Athletics competition at the Beijing Olympic Games a downpour descended on the Chinese capital.

Men's Decathlon - 100m

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:05:00 GMT

The men’s Decathlon started in torrential rain at the National Stadium in Beijing. Just moments before the start of the event water poured down extremely hard, but it seemed to slow down just a bit and the results were affected surprisingly little.

Men's Javelin Throw - Qualification

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:02:00 GMT

The reigning World and Olympic champions made it through to the final in frightful weather conditions in this morning’s qualification round of the men’s Javelin Throw.

Women's 20Km Race Walk - FINAL

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Russia's Olga Kaniskina defied torrential rain to record an emphatic gun to tape victory and shatter the Olympic record by more than two and a half minutes.

Bolt Again! 19.30sec World 200m Record in Beijing!

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:59:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing - All he said was he wanted to win. Who was he kidding?

Miankova finally gets smart

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:54:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing, China - In a triumph for resilience, Aksana Miankova won the Olympic women’s Hammer Throw gold medal for Belarus here tonight, overcoming a history of failure at major championships, a stubborn back injury, and the protests of her mother, who had other ideas for her teenage daughter some years ago.

Next on Kanter’s list: a World record and a family

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:40:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing, China - A year ago Gerd Kanter produced a huge upset by taking the gold medal at the World Championships in Osaka, when Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) had been widely regarded as the big favourite. Now the Estonian won again on an even bigger stage.

Beijing 2008 - Day 7 PREVIEW

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing - The day starts at 9:00 a.m. with the women’s 20-kilometer walk. Russian women dominate the year’s performances, led by Olga Kaniskina, the 2007 World champion and the only woman to break 1 hour 26 minutes this year. In fact, her 1:25:11 makes her more than a minute faster than anyone else in the field.

Beijing 2008 - Day Six Summary - 20 Aug

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:40:00 GMT

Wednesday was always going to be a slow day at the Bird's Nest. With no morning session, only three finals in the evening, and Liu Xiang not running in the men's 110m hurdle semifinals, it was bound to a let-down after the three World Records witnessed by capacity crowds earlier in the week.

We're joking, of course.

EVENT REPORTS - Day Six, Wed 20 Aug - begin here...

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:50:00 GMT

Event Reports from the Athletics events of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad are written and published in Beijing by Laura Arcoleo, Steven Landells, Parker Morse, Bob Ramsak, Chris Turner.

IAAF

Men's Pole Vault - Qualification

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:45:00 GMT

It is rare that any discipline except a Combined Event finds itself being contested across two days. Well that’s what happened with the men’s Pole Vault qualification.

Women's 400m Hurdles - FINAL

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:32:00 GMT

In a night stamped by Usain Bolt’s unbelievable 19.30 200m World record, there would be more Jamaican celebration as 25-year-old Melaine Walker sped to an Olympic record 52.64 to win the country’s second Olympic title in the women’s 400m Hurdles.

Men's 200m - FINAL

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:06:00 GMT

All he said was he wanted to win. Who was he kidding?

Women's 200m - Semi-Finals

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:15:00 GMT

This was always expected to be a two way battle between the defending champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica and World champion Allyson Felix of the USA and the semi-finals have confirmed this belief.

Men's 800m - Round 1

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:58:00 GMT

With just the first two in each heat automatically moving on to tomorrow’s semi-finals, the first round of the men’s 800m featured eight scrappy contests. And looking the best, for the moment, was defending champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy.

Women's Hammer Throw - FINAL

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:04:00 GMT

This was a story of three throwers, the Olympic new comer Aksana Miankova of Belarus, who had previously failed to pass beyond the qualification round at either world or continental championship level in her career, and two ‘old’ Olympic stagers from this young event, 2000 fourth placer and 2004 silver medallist Yipsi Moreno of Cuba, and home girl Wenxiu Zhang who was 7th in Athens.

Men's 5000m - Round 1

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:52:00 GMT

Two-time World Cup 3000m champion Craig Mottram of Australia was the major casualty of the heats, although Kenenisa Bekele remains on track to land the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m double and World champion Bernard Lagat began the first stage of his redemption after being surprisingly dumped out of the semi-finals of the 1500m.

Mason - First Olympic High Jump silver for Britain since London 1908

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:22:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing, China - His sporting motto is: “Whatever you do – do it well.“ Germaine Mason could hardly have done better on Tuesday night (19) in the High Jump final. While it had already been a unique sight to watch three Britons compete in this Olympic final the 25-year-old turned out to be one of the most unexpected medal winners of the Games in Athletics.

Men's 110m Hurdles - Semi-Finals

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:14:00 GMT

At just 21 years of age, Dayron Robles has achieved more than any other man in the history of the 110m Hurdles, in terms of performance that is.

NEWS FLASH – Bolt does the double with 19.30sec WORLD RECORD!

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Usain Bolt broke Michael Johnson’s 200m World record when taking the Olympic sprint double in the Bird’s Nest stadium tonight.

Johnson on Bolt – IAAF Press Conference, Beijing 2008

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:47:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing, China - This afternoon in the Bird’s Nest stadium in the Chinese capital, the official IAAF Press Conference of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad was hosted by IAAF President Lamine Diack, who was joined by IAAF Ambassadors Michael Johnson (USA), Wilson Kipketer (DEN) and Mike Powell (USA), who while long retired remain the World record holders for the 200/400m, 800m and Long Jump.

Ramzi takes 1500m gold and now thinks beyond

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:45:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing – Rashid Ramzi, the newly crowned Olympic men’s 1500m champion, had a decision to sleep on last night – if he could get to sleep. As Ramzi left the National Stadium, his body clock was worrying him more than the dilemma of whether to double and run in the 5000m.

Ohuruogu “doesn’t ‘die’ in the last 50 metres”

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:41:00 GMT

20 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Christine Ohuruogu had done the impossible - twice! And even she was finding it hard to believe. “I just feel very numb,” said the recently minted Olympic 400 metres champion, as she made her way slowly through the ‘Mixed Zone,’ where the athletes meet the media after their events.

Harper’s focus finds rich rewards

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:25:00 GMT

20 August 2008 – Beijing, China - Prediction is a dangerous game in this business. Few who watched Lolo Jones skimming above the ten high hurdles in her first two races in Beijing this week would have bet against the American taking the gold on Tuesday night (19).

EVENT REPORTS - Day Five, Tue 19 Aug - begin here...

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:15:00 GMT

Event Reports from the Athletics events of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad are written and published in Beijing by Laura Arcoleo, Steven Landells, Parker Morse, Bob Ramsak, Chris Turner.

IAAF

Beijing 2008 - Day 6 PREVIEW

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:11:00 GMT

19 August 2008 - Beijing - The men’s 200-metres final – which has been building since Jamaica’s Usain Bolt set his 9.69 seconds World record while winning the 100 metres last Saturday – is finally here. It should be the high point of a day which has two other finals, two key semifinals, and qualifications in three events.

Kanter bolts to Discus victory in Beijing

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:11:00 GMT

19 August 2008 - Beijing, China - Tomasz Majewski’s victory in the Shot Put on the opening night of the Athletics competitions last Friday was something of a surprise, and when his Polish compatriot Piotr Malachowski, throwing in seventh position of the twelve Discus Throw finalists, opened with 66.45m, and improved in the next round to 67.82 to establish himself in the lead, we started to wonder was another surprise waiting in the Bird's Nest's wings?