Ham Express

The national stadium in Beijing, known as the Bird's Nest

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing began today. China welcomes athletes around the world as they get ready for the opening ceremony. I honestly don’t know too much about the Olympics and its history. I only know the very basics of it. For those who want to get a full list of sports and other specific information, go to www.olympics.com and choose the language of choice. There you will find news, schedule, backgrounds, histories, and almost everything you need to know about the Olympics. But since you’re here with us at Ham Express, I’ll do my best to give you a sparknotes of the upcoming Olympics!

Yao Ming, one of the flag bearers in the 2008 Olympics

Here’s the rundown:

USA, China, and Russia are the top three favorites to collect the most medals. They have been the biggest powerhouses for the past years.

The information below are excerpts from USA Today’s article:
<http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/beijing/2008-08-08-usa-china-rivalry-cover_N.htm>

USA Today's cover of athletes

In the 2004 Olympics, the medal count consisted of:

1st: USA [102 medals (32 golds)]
2nd: Russia [92 medals]
3rd: China [63 medals]

USA Today predicts that China will capture the most gold medals with 51 golds to the USA’s 43, while the USA is likely to retain a slight edge in the overall medal count, 104-97 (USA Today). China is expected to excel in gymnastics, diving, badminton and table tennis. USA Today also predicts that Russia will capture 75 medals, including 26 gold medals. China has a slight “home-field advantage” and edge due to its automatic qualification of all athletes and events, being the host of the 2008 Olympics.

Liu Xiang the hurdler

Chris’s athletes of choice to keep an eye on:

Kobe Bryant [USA, Basketball]
Roger Federer [Switzerland, Tennis]
LeBron James [USA, Basketball]
Shawn Johnson [USA, Gymnastics Artistic]
Yao Ming [China, Basketball]
Michael Phelps [USA, Swimming]
Liu Xiang [China, Track & Field]

This will be the first Olympic appearance for Kobe Bryant, and I’m very anxious to see how his debut will go when he meets Yao Ming on August 10. Michael Phelps is a popular swimmer who many Americans are familiar with. Liu Xiang is known as the most famous Olympian in China after having a major breakthrough in 2004.

To get the entire list of all the athletes competing in the Beijing Olympics, click the following link:
<http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/A.shtml>

Many countries were concerned about the pollution in China. Some athletes believed it would affect their breathing and performance. According to the New York Times, Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, praised Chinese authorities in doing everything humanly possible in keeping the air as clean as possible. George Thurston, a professor of environmental medicine at the New York University School of Medicine, believes an air quality rating of 95 is far too low for athletes. He says that “This is very bad pollution; we’re talking about something that is nearly triple the U.S. limit for a given day” (Macur). I don’t know much about air pollution and/or write much about it. Perhaps Mark (mtor82) can answer your questions regarding air pollution.

Overall, I think this year’s Olympics is going to be very entertaining to watch. I will watch some of the popular events, but I’m mainly focused on the U.S. basketball team. I’m Chinese, so I will be at crossroads when rooting for both teams when they compete against each other. Especially on August 10 when the U.S. basketball team will face China in their very first Olympic basketball game. I wish the U.S. the very best and hope to see Team USA and China capture the most medals!