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Log inPhelps breaks world record to take first gold
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Phelps breaks world record to take first gold
by Outspoken on Sat Aug 09, 2008 8:43 pm
Phelps breaks world record to take first gold
By Andrew Cawthorne
Reuters News Service
BEIJING (Reuters) - Michael Phelps smashed the world record to take his first gold on Sunday in the quest for an unprecedented eight wins in the pool, but violence again spoiled the Beijing Olympics party with blasts in the restive west.
American swimmer Phelps won the 400 meters individual medley final in Beijing's futuristic Water Cube with a time of 4.03.84, knocking more than a second of his own previous world record.
Watched by George Bush Senior and Junior and cheered by flag-waving compatriots, Phelps raised his hands aloft after comfortably winning what he calls the weakest of his events.
Even if the lanky 23-year-old wins only half his eight race competitions, he will hold more Olympic gold medals than any other athlete.
Phelps won six golds in Athens in 2004 and has Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven wins at a single Games in his sights.
The Olympics' second day were marred by pre-dawn explosions and shooting in a city in Xinjiang, more than 3,000 km (1,860 miles) west of Beijing. Suspected Muslim militants killed 16 policemen in the region a week ago.
"Casualties of the incident may still rise," state news agency Xinhua said, without elaborating on who was behind it.
China says it has foiled plots to sabotage the Olympics by separatists in Xinjiang. Critics have accused Beijing of exaggerating the threat to justify repression of dissidents.
Chinese authorities hope the Phelps phenomenon and its own early leadership of the medals' table will finally put the spotlight on sports after a Games build-up dominated by accusations of rights abuses and concerns over pollution.
On the Olympics' first day, though, a Chinese man stabbed to death the father-in-law of the U.S. men's volleyball coach at a Beijing tourist spot. That and Sunday's second flare-up in Xinjiang cast a pall over Games that China hoped would be a showcase for its modern face and economic might.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080810/sp_nm/olympics_dc;_ylt=Aj9F_6TNgC2tgKl.K42frS6s0NUE
(Jerry Lampen/Reuters)
By Andrew Cawthorne
Reuters News Service
BEIJING (Reuters) - Michael Phelps smashed the world record to take his first gold on Sunday in the quest for an unprecedented eight wins in the pool, but violence again spoiled the Beijing Olympics party with blasts in the restive west.
American swimmer Phelps won the 400 meters individual medley final in Beijing's futuristic Water Cube with a time of 4.03.84, knocking more than a second of his own previous world record.
Watched by George Bush Senior and Junior and cheered by flag-waving compatriots, Phelps raised his hands aloft after comfortably winning what he calls the weakest of his events.
Even if the lanky 23-year-old wins only half his eight race competitions, he will hold more Olympic gold medals than any other athlete.
Phelps won six golds in Athens in 2004 and has Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven wins at a single Games in his sights.
The Olympics' second day were marred by pre-dawn explosions and shooting in a city in Xinjiang, more than 3,000 km (1,860 miles) west of Beijing. Suspected Muslim militants killed 16 policemen in the region a week ago.
"Casualties of the incident may still rise," state news agency Xinhua said, without elaborating on who was behind it.
China says it has foiled plots to sabotage the Olympics by separatists in Xinjiang. Critics have accused Beijing of exaggerating the threat to justify repression of dissidents.
Chinese authorities hope the Phelps phenomenon and its own early leadership of the medals' table will finally put the spotlight on sports after a Games build-up dominated by accusations of rights abuses and concerns over pollution.
On the Olympics' first day, though, a Chinese man stabbed to death the father-in-law of the U.S. men's volleyball coach at a Beijing tourist spot. That and Sunday's second flare-up in Xinjiang cast a pall over Games that China hoped would be a showcase for its modern face and economic might.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080810/sp_nm/olympics_dc;_ylt=Aj9F_6TNgC2tgKl.K42frS6s0NUE
(Jerry Lampen/Reuters)
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
