THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015 SPORTS

Beijing’s 2022 bid joyful rendezvous upon pure ice and snow

BEIJING: China came of age as an tomorrow, after Oslo, Stockholm, The bid team says it is keeping the bobsleigh track, and an Olympic village cal base,” he said. “So they need to hold Olympic power when it hosted the Krakow in Poland and Lviv in Ukraine budget down by using 11 venues from and Nordic skiing centre in a currently a big event to make Chinese people feel spectacular Beijing 2008, a display of all backed out because of budget wor- 2008 — a Games which was estimated to barren and windswept landscape. Wang good.” the unlimited resources and political ries. have cost more than $40 billion-includ- Hui, the bid’s chief spokesperson, told The 2008 Games were an unmistak- will some say are essential to its bid for Before Oslo withdrew in October, ing the Bird’s Nest stadium for the open- AFP that encouraging 300 million able statement of Beijing’s role on the the 2022 Winter Games. The capital Norwegian politicians said it was “criti- ing and closing ceremonies, and the Chinese into winter sports was a key aim. global stage, but Brownell said the emerged as the frontrunner for 2022 cal” that democratic countries who Water Cube aquatics centre for curling. “We want to show our country that out- motives for the 2022 bid were more — which would make it the first city “respect human rights” should want to Ice sports would take place in central door physical fitness is not something probably rooted in inter-regional rivalry. ever to host both summer and winter stage the Olympics. Beijing, alpine skiing, bobsleigh, skeleton that begins in April and ends in October,” Chinese state media announced Olympics-after a string of European But the Norwegian government and luge would be held in Yanqing in the she said. China’s bid in early November 2013, just cities withdrew last year citing public balked at the expected $5.5 billion capital’s suburbs, and Zhangjiakou, two months after the Japanese capital concerns over costs, leaving it facing cost, even after a string of cost-saving around 200 kilometres away, would host ‘JOYFUL RENDEZVOUS’ Tokyo won the right to host its second off against only the Kazakh city of proposals, including making IOC mem- the rest. The plan makes the bid one of Beijing’s bid is officially labelled a Summer Olympics in 2020. Almaty. bers pay for their own accommodation the most geographically spread-out pro- “Joyful rendezvous upon pure ice and They will follow the 2018 winter Vladimir Putin’s Russia spent more during the event. posals for a winter Games, making trans- snow”, and organisers say that 88 per- event in South Korea’s Pyeongchang. than $51 billion on the last winter China has no such concerns, said port links crucial-and some believe it’s cent of respondents in Beijing support- “China wants to keep up with them in games in Sochi, and while democratic Susan Brownell, a visiting professor at real costs are far higher, as the budget for ed it in an independent telephone poll the number of Olympics hosted, and South Korea will host the next, there Heidelberg University’s Institute of the event does not incorporate many for the IOC, rising to 92 percent for the would no doubt prefer to surpass them are human rights concerns over both Sinology. “It looks to me that the cost infrastructure improvements. country as a whole. if possible,” said Brownell, author of candidates for 2022. “The dictatorship of the Winter Games is paltry for the Chief among them is a high-speed rail The bid website states: “No organised “Beijing’s Games, what the Olympics is now the only direction to go,” said Xu Chinese government,” she said. line already under construction between activities against the bid for the Beijing means to China”. The bid team, however, Guoqi, author of “Olympic Dreams: Beijing and Zhangjiakou, which will cut 2022 Olympic Winter Games have been said Beijing 2022 had nothing to do China and Sports 1895-2008”. REUSING VENUES travel times between them from more found.” with propaganda. “This is not about “This is because the cost has been a Brownell said some of China’s than three hours to a mere 50 minutes. But Xu, a history professor at Hong winning gold medals, or staging a ‘com- concern for many, many hosts in the Olympic costs would come from its Chinese state media estimated its cost at Kong University, said it was intended to ing out party’ for our country for the past, so now European countries don’t national sports lottery, which distrib- $5 billion. promote the ruling Communist Party’s world to see; that was what 2008 was want to invest-except Russia.” uted $7.24 billion in 2014 — almost China will still have to build many top- legitimacy. for,” said spokeswoman Wang. “This The International Olympic twice as much as Beijing’s entire 2022 class winter sports facilities from scratch, “From a government perspective, time, we are doing it for the Chinese Committee decides between them budget of $3.9 billion. including the country’s first competitive they still need to legitimise their politi- people.” —AFP China’s Sun sets sights on golden haul in Kazan

RUSSIA: Chinese sensation At the 2013 world championships in cannot seem to escape the spotlight in or out of , the 1.98 metre (6ft 6in) tall Sun the water, and at the world championships, start- scooped up three gold medals (400m, 800m and ing in Russia on Aug. 2, the towering freestyler will 1,500m freestyle) to join Australia’s Grant Hackett again be the name of everyone’s lips. as the only men to win the long-distance treble. A multiple world and Olympic gold medallist, The following year, with news of his three- Sun’s feats in the pool are already legendary but it month ban still secret, he openly taunted his is his exploits on dry land that have attracted the South Korean rival Park Tae-hwan at the Asian most attention in recent years. Games, but backed up his trash-talking on the At in 2012, Sun became the first blocks by winning another three gold medals. Chinese man to win an Olympic swimming gold The stigma of serving a doping ban has done medal when he took the 400 metres and 1,500m nothing to dampen his enthusiasm as he sets his freestyle double. sights on next year’s Olympics in Rio, opting to In the three years since, however, his life has hit tackle four individual events in Kazan in his last troubled waters. In 2013 he found himself in hot big dress rehearsal. In addition to the three events water with Chinese swimming officials for missing he won in Barcelona, the 23-year-old has added training sessions and was suspended from engag- the 200m freestyle to his busy schedule, a race he ing in any commercial activities, which had flood- is now looming as one of the favorites in the ed in after his Olympic success. absence of American , French He then fell foul of the law and spent a week in Olympic champion Yannick Agnel, Japan’s Asian jail for crashing a car that he had driven without a champion Kosuke Hagino and Korean Park. licence. China’s swimming authorities responded “When I was little, I watched Michael Phelps Missy Franklin in action in this file photo. by slapping a blanket suspension on him, banning compete in five or six events at a worlds, so I want him from all training and competition. to try it as well,” Sun recently told China’s official Last year it emerged Sun had secretly served a Xinhua news agency. “It will be a huge challenge three-month ban after testing positive for a for me. I’d rather keep the goal in my mind than Stars battle for world banned stimulant. The China Anti-Doping Agency speak it out.” could have imposed a longer ban but opted for a Although he did not need to swim at his best lenient punishment because Sun had been given to qualify for the 51-member Chinese team medication by a doctor to treat a heart issue and picked to compete at Kazan, Sun is still ranked titles in Kazan pool was unaware it had been added to the World Anti- second in the world in two events, and in the top Doping Agency’s banned list. eight in all his races, and his coach Zhang Yadong said he would be in top shape in Russia. BERLIN: With one eye on Rio de Janeiro, swimming’s the Dutch swimmer will be pushing the Australian sisters as world champion in the 400m, 800m and 1500m DRESS REHEARSAL “Sun is almost back to his peak,” Xhang stars begin the battle on Sunday for world champi- all the way. freestyle. Through it all, Sun remained unfazed. And in said. “Judging from his training, he is about 90 onship medals in Kazan to prove their form heading into Of the teenage talent to watch out for, 18-year-old After flopping in Barcelona in 2013 when she failed contrast to most of China’s top swimmers who try or 95 percent of his peak form.” The eight-day the 2016 . Australian Mack Horton has posted the world’s fastest to take a medal, Ye Shiwen, the Olympic 200m and 400m to avoid the limelight, his performances in the swimming programme in Kazan begins on The swimming section of the world aquatic champi- 400m and 800m freestyle times. individual medley champion, has something to prove on pool remained at the same high level. Aug. 2. —Reuters onships runs from August 2-9 with hungry pretenders Teenage breaststroke sensation Ruta Meilutyte, who the world stage. eager to steal some glory from reigning champions. won the Olympic 100m breaststroke as a 15-year-old, is Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, the world champion over As ever, the USA bring a star-studded team to the now 18 and the Plymouth-based teenager will be look- both distances, comes to Kazan on the back of a stellar Tatarstan capital, 800 kilometres east of Moscow, with ing to defend her world title she won in the event from season and will be out to attack Ye’s eye-popping world marquee names including Olympic champions Missy two years ago. 400m IM record of four minutes, 28.43secs set at the Franklin, Katie Ledecky, and . The Lithuanian teen set both the 50m and 100m 2012 Olympics. Treble world record-holder Ledecky is the only American breaststroke world records at the Barcelona champi- to top the 2015 world rankings in her events, with the onships two years ago. MISSING MEDALLISTS year’s best times in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m At the other end of the age spectrum, 35-year-old Injury, illness, suspension and tragedy will rob Kazan freestyle. Grant Hackett returns after an almost seven year hiatus of potential medallists. Michael Phelps, the sport’s great- Ledecky was responsible for breaking two of the six and will swim in the 4x200m relay. est star, withdrew from USA’s world championships’ world records which fell in the Barcelona pool when the world championships were last held two years ago. Franklin won six gold medals in Barcelona, but has something to prove in Kazan after failing to win an event at a Santa Clara meet in June-her only world champi- onships tuneup. Likewise Lochte, who has five Olympic titles and 15 long course world championship victories, is eager to bounce back from a 2014 he called “probably my worst year of swimming.” The 30-year-old will be swimming at his sixth world championships and is looking for a fourth straight win in the 200m individual medley, but is taking nothing for granted. FOXBOROUGH: In this Jan. 10, 2015, file photo, New England Patriots quarter- “There’s a bunch of other people out there,” Lochte back Tom Brady holds up the game ball after an NFL divisional playoff foot- said. “Just because they’re not there doesn’t mean it ball game. —AP should be a shoo-in for me.” SIBLING RIVALRY The Australian challenge will be led by two defend- Brady fires back on ing world champions in freestyler Cate Campbell and breaststroker Christian Sprenger. “The difference between winning and losing can be ‘Deflate-gate’ ban as little as one-one-hundredth of a second,” said Cate Campbell of Australia. Australia head coach Jacco Verhaeren. “The World Championships, like the Olympics is Sun Yang, the bad boy of Chinese swimming, leads team after a drink-driving arrest last year. Australia’s WASHINGTON: New England Patriots quarter- not be subjected to investigation under ANY cir- always difficult; almost everyone is there; anything can his nations bid to repeat the five golds they won in 100m freestyle world champion will back Tom Brady fired back at the NFL upholding cumstances,” Brady said. “As a member of a happen and it is becoming tighter and tighter.” Campbell Barcelona two years ago. not be able to defend the title after shoulder surgery. a four-game ban on him in the “Deflate-gate” union, I was under no obligation to set a new will get the chance to defend her world title in the The Chinese giant will be looking to add the world ’s 200m freestyle world and Olympic champion saga, taking to Facebook yesterday to defend precedent going forward, nor was I made aware women’s 100m freestyle and, if all goes to plan, she will title to his Olympic gold in the men’s 400m freestyle Yannick Agnel will sit out Kazan with pleurisy. himself. at any time during Mr. Wells investigation, that line up for the final alongside her sister Bronte and both after a helter-skelter couple of years which also saw him South Korea’s Olympic medallist Park Tae-hwan is “I am very disappointed by the NFL’s decision failing to subject my cell phone to investigation siblings are potential medallists. banned for three months for a doping offence. Stunned serving a doping ban while Japan’s Olympic bronze to uphold the 4 game suspension against me,” would result in ANY discipline. But Netherlands’ Femke Heemskerk along with Cate by Japan’s Kosuke Hagino in the 200m at last year’s Asian medallist swimmer Kosuke Hagino is also missing after Brady posted on his Facebook page. “I did noth- “Most importantly, I have never written, Campbell has posted the joint fastest time for 2015 and Games, the Chinese giant will want to prove his mettle fracturing his elbow in a bicycle accident. —AFP ing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organiza- texted, emailed to anybody at anytime, anything tion did either.” related to football air pressure before this issue One of the most high-profile athletes in was raised at the AFC Championship game in Bach: Boston to blame for Olympic bid flop American sport, Brady was found by Goodell to January. To suggest that I destroyed a phone to have been at least “generally aware” of a plot by avoid giving the NFL information it requested is KUALA LUMPUR: The International “What we could see in a nutshell, While the surprise withdrawal of 2024,” said Bach, who is in the Patriots staff to improperly reduce the air pres- completely wrong.” Olympic Committee (IOC) has laid what happened there is that Boston Boston was met with relief by Malaysian capital to attend an sure of balls used by Brady during the American Brady also called it disappointing that his the blame squarely on Boston for its did not deliver on promises they Massachusetts officials, who had Executive Board meeting and IOC Conference final against Indianapolis earlier this hours of testimony over the past six months led aborted attempt to host the 2024 made to the USOC when they were faced an active opposition campaign Session. “We have this commitment year. The Patriots defeated the Colts 45-7 on their Goodell to uphold the ban only on a “probable” Summer Olympics, saying the city selected,” IOC President Thomas that fought the idea of hosting the and we are sure that USOC will way to a Super Bowl crown, the fourth of Brady’s standard of him being “generally aware” of a vio- had failed to deliver on its promises. Bach told reporters in Kuala Lumpur Games, forecast to cost more than deliver on this commitment, and career. lation. “The fact is that neither I, nor any equip- Boston was picked by the United yesterday. $8.6 billion, it piled pressure on that we will have on Sept. 15 a bid Brady also took issue with the narrative of ment person, did anything of which we have States Olympic Committee to be the “Therefore we can understand USOC. from the United States. I have no NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in his 20-page been accused,” Brady said. “He dismissed my country’s candidate for the 2024 the decision by USOC and we are Bach said the American Olympic reason to doubt this commitment ruling Tuesday upholding his original suspen- hours of testimony and it is disappointing that Games but USOC rescinded its bid in looking forward to an American bid body, which had selected Boston by USOC.” Los Angeles, which has sion, the 37-year-old iconic passer saying that he he found it unreliable.” a spectacular U-turn on Monday with another city,” Bach said, adding over Los Angeles, Washington and twice hosted the Olympics, has destroyed his cellphone only after telling league Brady said that he submitted detailed cell- after the city’s mayor said taxpayers that Boston did not appear to have a San Francisco in January, had “com- expressed interest in stepping in investigator Ted Wells that it would not be phone records and every e-mail Wells requested could not afford to host the event. clear strategy. mitted” to submitting a bid for the but any U.S. bid will need to rush to allowed to be examined under any circum- and even made efforts to try and recover mes- The move was a blow to that “I gave up following it. It was 2024 Games and he was expecting meet the September deadline for stances. Brady said that was within union rules sages from the destroyed phone. campaign and came after four out pretty confusing. Every day, there them to deliver. applications. and not to hide evidence. “We exhausted every possibility to give the of six cities withdrew from the 2022 was a new project coming from “We are not concerned at all. For So far Rome, Paris, Budapest and “I replaced my broken Samsung phone with a NFL everything we could and offered to go thru Winter Games race, leaving China’s Boston or new people and new us the situation has not changed. Germany’s Hamburg have declared new iPhone 6 AFTER my attorneys made it clear the identity for every text and phone call during Beijing and Kazakhstan’s Almaty as ideas. I really gave up following it in We had a commitment from USOC their candidacies. The IOC will elect to the NFL that my actual phone device would the relevant time,” Brady said.—AFP the only bidders. detail.” for an Olympic candidature for the host in 2017. —Reuters