CHINA DAILY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2012 olympics 5 off track ... Deng dazzles on beam EIGHTH TIME A CHARM? China secures Italian kayaker Josefa Idem became the fi rst woman to its fourth compete in eight Olympic Games when she set off in her heat for the 500m K-1 at Dorney Lake on Tuesday. gymnastics The 47-year-old Idem’s fi rst summer games were in Los Angeles in 1984 and she has fi nished fi fth or higher gold medal at each Olympics. She won gold in Sydney in 2000 and missed out on another in Beijing four years ago when she By REUTERS in London was edged into silver by four-hundredths of a second. Idem, who was born in Germany but became an Italian citizen in 1992, fi nished third in her heat to reach the semi- China’s Deng Linlin beat her fi nals later Tuesday. compatriot Sui Lu, the world champion, to the Olympic bal- ance beam title on the fi nal day WHAT A JUMP of artistic gymnastics at the London Games on Tuesday. Deng, herself world cham- Nick Skelton, who returned after breaking his neck in a pion on the apparatus in 2009, competition fall, led Britain to its fi rst Olympic show jump- gave China its fourth gymnas- ing gold medal in 60 years. tics gold medal of the Games, Skelton, 54, fractured his neck in 2000 but returned to riding two years later. an hour aft er Feng Zhe had won “After I broke my neck, my goal was to get back to Ath- the parallel bars title. ens in 2004 and then to get to here,” Skeleton said. “When Sui, competing fi rst, pulled you have a horse as good as Big Star, you look forward to off a diffi cult routine but cried getting up every day and riding him.” on her coach’s shoulder after Deng surpassed her by 0.1 points with a score of 15.600 BOLT TO MAN UNITED? at the North Greenwich Arena. Aly Raisman snatched the JULIE JACOBSON / ASSOCIATED PRESS It’s a prospect that will have aging Premier League bronze medal from 2004 Chinese gold medalist Feng Zhe celebrates with the national fl ag, as bronze medalist Hamilton Sabot from France walks behind him defenders everywhere quaking in their boots — Usain Bolt champion Catalina Ponor of after the results were declared during the artistic gymnastics men’s apparatus fi nals for the parallel bars. wearing the red shirt of Manchester United. Romania on a tiebreak aft er the But if the idea of the world’s fastest man blazing a trail judges increased the diffi culty around English soccer grounds remains unlikely, United element of her score follow- center-half Rio Ferdinand is enthusiastic about bringing ing a review requested by the the Jamaican sprint king into the fold. United States team, upping her “If you want that trial at Man Utd shout me, I’ll speak to fi nal mark. the boss!! Well done in 100m, waiting for you to smash the While Ponor, who came out 200m now!,” Ferdinand said in a message to Bolt on Twit- of retirement last year, left the ter on Tuesday. arena stony-faced after being Bolt joked he would welcome the opportunity: “After the demoted to fourth, the Ameri- Olympics we work on that...lol..thanks man.” can was all smiles having just missed out on all-around bronze because of the same tie- COMPLETE COVERAGE break rule on Aug 2. Introduced at the behest A reported 1,600 Chinese journalists have headed to of the International Olympic London for the Games. Committee to rule out double Among them, nearly 300 are accredited journalists and medals, the system takes into photographers, while more than 800 are non-accredited, account execution scores to according to Gao Dianmin, director of the London bureau separate two gymnasts who of Xinhua News Agency and member of the International accumulate the same total. Olympic Committee’s press commission. The rule gave the edge to REUTERS - CHINA DAILY - AFP Raisman by 0.3. Deng was part of the Chinese line-up who won team gold in | Beijing four years ago. REPORTER’S LOG CECILY LIU The 20-year-old gymnast produced a routine full of dif- London Olympics is ficult combinations, finishing with two backflips, a double- pike dismount and a huge smile EMMANUEL DUNAND / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE the world’s Games as she saluted the judges. China’s Deng Linlin performs during the women’ s beam fi nal on Tuesday. She said the gold medal com- pensated for disappointment so I was able to recover and pre- All-around silver medalist failed them 100 percent. ents say everything is OK, but litism’s shadow has Already the most visited in the team event when she fell pare for this.” Victoria Komova also came off , “I don’t know if I will con- I don’t feel that.” been cast over the city in Europe and a major from the beam and China fi n- American Gabby Douglas, remounted and then sat down tinue sports,” added the 17-year- Larisa Iordache, who helped London Olympics fi nancial center, London real- ished fourth. who dazzled to win the all- on landing. She fi nished last of old, who cried after finishing Romania win team bronze, E over the past week, ized the most an Olympics “After the team event I was around title, finished seventh the eight fi nalists, with 13.166. second in the all-around and came into the fi nal as a replace- as media have criticized ven- can bring are solid improve- depressed,” she told reporters aft er missing her footing on a Komova, daughter of 1985 team events last week. ment for injured compatriot ues’ many empty seats and ments to people’s daily lives. through an interpreter. “Moti- half-turn and swinging under- world team champion Vera “I will go back home, take Diana Bulimar but she also fell, the “ghost town” eff ect on Examples of the benefi ts vation for this event came from neath the 10-cm wide beam Kolesnikova, said: “I was not some time off, and think toppling off the end of the appa- West End business. abound. my coach and other teammates before falling off . very lucky at these Olympics. I through the situation. My par- ratus as she fi nished sixth. But a recent stroll through Over the past four years, Piccadilly Circus on Friday Britain’s 97 million pound evening made me realize ($144 million) Cultural London’s Olympics is still for Olympiad funded more than its people. 2,700 community projects Rocky road reaches its end Londoners and tourists across the country, involving alike gathered to watch the more than 10,000 people. women’s 800m freestyle on a As the Union Jack was large outdoor screen. Being raised high in the open- Donewald’s tumultous tenure in China ends badly surrounded by cheering ing ceremony, sweet voices and clapping crowds made singing the British national with fi ve straight losses, Sun Xiaochen reports. it almost like watching the anthem came from 80 chil- event live. A few minutes later, dren of the Kaos Signing It didn’t have a happy ending, When he was 25, his father He succeeded again, guiding as Britain’s heroine Rebecca Choir for Deaf and Hearing but it still left Bob Donewald － Bob Donewald Sr, himself China past Jordan in the fi nal, Adlington secured her bronze, Children, some of whom smiling. a well-known college basket- only to be met with another the crowds shouted with joy sang in wheelchairs. Donewald, who took over ball coach — asked him if he’d wave of skepticism following a — and even I, a foreigner, felt Th e children’s eyes showed the Chinese national basket- prefer to coach in college or 1-point victory. deeply moved. hope, pride and a newfound ball team in April 2010, came the NBA. Many fans disliked his signa- If a shopping district could courage to acknowledge their to the end of his contract on The Olympics, was Done- ture defensive style, which fre- CUI MENG / CHINA DAILY create such a festive atmo- equality. Monday as the wald’s answer. quently led to a high number of Coach Bob Donewald (right) led guard Chen Jianghua and the sphere, then one can surely When the three-week team’s Olympic Now that he’s done it, he said fouls. And his motion off ense Chinese national team to a somewhat surprising Olympic berth imagine the level of participa- event ends, London will have run ended with he has no regrets about his was slammed as nothing more but couldn’t do much once there. tion at the pop-up gathering forever transformed East its fi ft h defeat in a oft en-tumultuous three years than one-on-one battles set up spots in the Olympic Park, End. Th e once contaminated row in the group in China. for the team’s only consistent mentator, Yang Yi of CCTV, ,thought we just did the best Hyde Park, Victoria Park industrial site would become stage at the London Games. “It’s been an honor for me to scorer, Yi Jianlian. echoed Su’s sentiment. that can be done in this era.” and many other dedicated what Newham mayor Robin It was the team’s worst be with China in basketball the Not all of this was fair, of “What (Donewald) brought Donewald has grown used to venues. Wales calls a “decent place” to result in recent history, after past three years,” he said at the course.