Paralympics : Volunteers give, and get at Beijing Paralympics

The Paralympic Games are a multi-sport event for athletes with physical, mental, and sensorial disabilities. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputees, blindness, and those with cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, following the Olympic Games, and are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Paralympic Games are sometimes confused with the Special Olympics World Games, which are only for people with intellectual disabilities.

Although the name was originally coined as a portmanteau combining 'paraplegic' (due to its origins as games for people with spinal injuries) and 'Oly mpic',the inclusion of other disability groups meant that this was no longer considered appropriate. The present formal explanation for the name is therefore that it derives from the Greek "para-" ("beside" or "alongside") and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games.

Paralympics : Volunteers give, and get at Beijing Paralympics

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- For those she served, Zhou Lingli, a volunteer at the ongoing Beijing Paralympic Games, was just like their ears.

"The Judoka is German, and her twin sister won a medal yesterday...A Chinese athlete is coming out and he is very good too... Yes that was a quick roll and he won..."

It was during the Paralympic Judo competition that Zhou used sign language to help about 100 spectators with hearing difficulties to understand the matches, and provided assistance when needed.

"I answer questions. I help them locate their seats, buy food, go to the bathrooms and also interpret for them when they need to talk with others," said the 34-year-old teacher from east China's Anhui Province.

"The Paralympics is not an everyday event. These are precious moments for them, and I'm proud to be part of it," she said.

About 44,000 volunteers like Zhou work for the Paralympics. They run simple errands like handing out balloon toys and guarding venue entrances, provide emergency aid to athletes and spectators, and help people in ways that no others can.

Games organizers said the volunteers are from 27 countries and regions, and 90 percent of them worked for the Olympic Games last month. The number of volunteers was halved from the Olympics as the number of Paralympians only stood at less than half of the Olympians.

But efforts have been made to guarantee the quality of the services doesn't slip. The volunteers were put through rigorous trainings in assisting the disabled people.

Zhang Xiwen, a volunteer at the judo venue, went through several simulation situations with her co-workers. She had her eyes blindfolded and was led by others around the venue to see if there are any barriers in the way.

"I'm familiar with my job now, but there are all kinds of situations to handle. For example, the athletes can't see, so they may easily get hurt in the match. There is no way I can lax in my work," said the senior university student.

Although Zhang had to skip two courses on the curriculum in order to fulfill her duties, she sees her time well spent as both Games are "extremely valuable" experiences. She has picked up a few Judo terms which she said couldn't be acquired in her entire life otherwise, and met "great people," such as some lovable kids with disabilities from Thailand who came to watch the Games.

Luo Yanhan, a volunteer in the athletes' village, enjoyed every detail in her daily work. "Some visitors, like those with no arms, have difficulty filling out the forms, so I do that for them. At those moments, I really feel connected with the people you try to help," she said.

In a major difference from the situation during the Olympics, the Paralympic Games have inducted quite a few volunteers with disabilities, who are believed to know best what the disabled people really need and how to cater to such needs.

"I used to be a receiver of others' help, but this time I want to be a provider," said female Chinese wheelchair fencer Qi Kaili, who took up some voluntary responsibilities at the powerlifting venue.

Also in the league were a dozen amputee students from the quake zone of southwest China's Sichuan Province. Their Beijing trips were funded by the China Disabled People's Federation.

Liao Yaoyao, who lost both of her legs in the 8.0-magnitude tremor, works out of the Games venues to distribute Paralympic leaflets as a "city volunteer."

"I want to repay the kindness of the people who helped me, and getting out to talk with others helps me get over my fears too," she said.

Paralympics : Volunteers give, and get at Beijing Paralympics

Olympic Games : Usain Bolt is the fastest MAN on earth???

Usain Bolt (born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican sprinter.He holds both world and Olympic 100 metres and 200 metres records with times of 9.69 seconds and 19.30 seconds respectively. He is the first man in history to break both world records at one Olympics, and the first man to win both the 100 and 200 metres events at the same olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984. Bolt is also the world junior record holder in the 200 metres with 19.93 seconds. His name and achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt"

Olympic Games : Usain Bolt is the fastest MAN on earth???

Usain Bolt has added the 200m title to the 100m gold he won earlier this week, with a world record-breaking run of 19.30sec in the Bird's Nest stadium.

The Jamaican had been threatening Michael Johnson's 12-year-old world record with his times in the heats and tore away from the field to beat the American's mark by 0.02sec.

Bolt broke the 100m record in the final, easing down to the line, but ran hard into a headwind in today's race, dipping for the line despite being well clear of the field. His record-breaking intentions were clear - as he crossed the line Bolt, who celebrates his birthday tomorrow, immediately checked the trackside clock before setting off on a delirious lap of honour.

Trailing in his wake were Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles, who ran a 19.82 to claim the silver, and Wallace Spearmon, who came home third. The American, though, was disqualified for running outside his lane, and the bronze went to his countryman Shawn Crawford. Britain's Christian Malcolm finished sixth.

Carl Lewis was the last man to do the 100m and 200m double at an Olympic games, winning both titles in Los Angeles in 1984.

Olympic Games : Usain Bolt is the fastest MAN on earth???

China Olympics - Olympic athletes worry about heat, humidity??

China Olympics - Olympic athletes worry about heat, humidity??

After all the worries about Beijing’s pollution, in the end, withering heat and humidity took a greater toll on Olympic athletes.

Saturday marked the first outdoor endurance competition of the games—the grueling 152-mile men’s cycling road race that started at the historic Temple of Heaven and wound up at the Great Wall.

The capital’s thick haze from the last few days lifted a bit, allowing sunlight through as riders wound their way through the sweltering 61/2-hour race over the hilly course.

“It was a lot better than I expected, really,” U.S. cyclist Jason McCartney said. “The first couple days training here, it was just kind of like, whoa. But today, maybe the air was a little bit thinner. It wasn’t crazy bad for us.”

What was bad, however, was the heat, and the accompanying humidity resulted in a heat index of 90 degrees. Several riders surrendered long before the gold medal was decided, simply not having the energy to finish the race.

“The conditions were just so humid and so hot, it was just a real war of attrition today,” said Michael Rogers of Australia, who tied for fifth place.

Belgium’s Maxime Montfort simply gasped: “It’s too hard. Too hard. Too hard.”

Beijing’s air pollution index logged in at 79, a drop from the day before, though still higher than what the World Health Organization considers healthy. China considers levels between 51-100 to be moderate pollution, and anything more than 100 as harmful to sensitive groups, including children and the elderly.

The Associated Press has conducted its own snapshot readings since mid-July taken from the Olympic Green of Beijing’s worst pollutant—tiny dust particles known as particulate matter 10. The independent spot check on Saturday showed a level of 147 micrograms per cubic meter, reflecting a big drop in PM 10 concentration and an increase in visibility.

Officials at the International Olympic Committee have been particularly concerned about the impact of pollution on endurance sports, like the marathon and cycling, that last more than an hour.

The city’s notoriously polluted air, one of the biggest worries for Olympic organizers, had prompted drastic measures ahead of the games, including pulling half of Beijing’s 3.3 million vehicles off the road, halting most construction and closing some factories in the capital and surrounding provinces.

Health experts say there is little risk to athletes and visitors of long-term damage from breathing polluted air for a couple weeks. However, athletes who are exercising tend to breathe very heavily, thereby inhaling more amounts of dirty air, which can cause some temporary respiratory problems.

“It’s mainly about performance,” said Patrick Kinney, an epidemiologist at Columbia University who has conducted studies on the effects of pollution. “Will they be able to perform up to the level of their conditioning, given the pollution? It’s less about long-term health risks. That’s not the issue.”

IOC officials said this week they believe air quality to be safe for athletes but added they would monitor pollution levels hourly. Competitions could be postponed or rescheduled if smog levels were too high. Air quality was being monitored on an hourly basis at 21 stations.

At the beach volleyball venue in Chaoyang Park, those in the crowd tried to cool themselves with handheld fans or misters stationed around the concourse. President Bush stopped by, his back soaked with sweat while he offered encouragement to the U.S. players on the practice court.

The heat was too much for most to stick around for the six-hour session, and the venue largely cleared out after the Chinese match in the middle of the morning. In the media area, empty water bottles stacked up on the tables.

Andrew Schacht, a volleyball player from Australia, said the team had tried to get ready for Beijing’s muggy August weather.

“We were preparing for the conditions from hell,” he said. “We tried very hard to work out in the worst part of the day, and we stayed out there when it was hottest.”

On Saturday, temperatures obliged, rising to an average of 90 degrees with 94 percent humidity.

Samuel Sanchez of Spain won the men’s cycling with a furious sprint at the end. He said conditions pushed him to the limit.

“The heat and humidity were extreme,” he said. “I was saving my legs for that final lap.”

By the end of the day, there was still enough haze to obscure part of the panoramic finish-line views of the Great Wall.

China Olympics - Olympic athletes worry about heat, humidity??

China Olympics - Strong Olympic opening night for NBC

China Olympics - Strong Olympic opening night for NBC

NBC opened its Beijing Olympics coverage Friday on a strong, self-assured note, primarily because it recognized that Zhang Yimou was the star.

The Chinese filmmaker created an opening ceremony that produced spellbinding pictures of fireworks, nearly 15,000 cast members acting in concert and an architectural marvel of a stadium that was part of the show’s scenery.

NBC’s Bob Costas wisely recognized his best role was a supporting player, too, and he marveled the same way most viewers at home did.

“There are and will be issues and disagreements surrounding these games, but I don’t see how anyone can dispute the quality of these opening ceremonies,” he said. “What a stunning, stunning achievement.”

One nice touch was his observation that the choreographed dance moves by 2,008 drummers looked “both awe-inspiring and a little intimidating.”

Before the ceremony even began, NBC elder statesman Tom Brokaw adeptly put the Olympics into political context. He even mentioned the controversy over China’s role in war-ravaged Darfur, notable because some activists have accused NBC News of paying too little attention to that issue for fear it would bring bad vibes to Olympics coverage.

For the people of China, the start of the games “is a night of great consequence and patriotic pride that cannot be underestimated,” he said.

Contrast that with a relative NBC newbie, Chinese expert Joshua Ramo, and his cringe-worthy reference to nervous energy at the National Stadium representing “a nation about to put a match to the fuse of a rocket.”

Ramo was brought on to explain the references to Chinese history in Zhang’s ceremony and he crowded out Costas’ co-host, Matt Lauer. Better to brief Lauer on the show’s significance and give the more expert broadcaster as much airtime as you could.

Costas and Lauer felt like they were draining their briefing books of trivia as they narrated the parade of athletes into the stadium. In their defense, there’s not much else to do to fill time when the only pictures available were athletes out for a walk.

China Olympics - Strong Olympic opening night for NBC