Jezebel: olympics 2008

Bathing Beauty

Margaret — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST

Four months after winning Olympic golds in the 400m and 800m freestyle races, swimmer Rebecca Adlington is getting the Michael Phelps treatment in Britain. Dubbed the UK's most successful swimmer in 100 years, Adlington's life is now filled with photoshoots and awards ceremonies, but she says winning two gold medals still hasn't sunk in. "I'm just a 19-year-old girl. Everyone keeps saying it's really special, but I don't see myself as being special," she said. "It's like how you don't think you're beautiful but someone else thinks you're stunning." Want to relive her awesome race? Click here. [Guardian]

Good As Gold

Maria — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:45:00 EDT

After much controversy and speculation, the Fédération Internationale de Gymanastique has found that the Chinese gymnastics team in the Beijing Olympics were all of age. However, officials from FIG are continuing their investigation into the ages of Chinese gymnasts who competed in the 2000 Games in Sydney. Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun, two gymnasts who won bronze medals in Oz, are still under scrutiny after some documents and interviews with the athletes suggested that they were only 14 when they competed. [AP]

Fallen Dancer

Maria — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:20:00 EDT

Liu Yan, considered one of the top classical dancers in China, was seriously injured while practicing a solo routine for the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Beijing, and she may be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life. On July 27, the 26-year-old dancer was practicing in the National Stadium when a platform malfunctioned and she fell 10 feet, landing on her back and suffering nerve and spinal damage. At the moment, she cannot feel anything below her chest, and she cannot move her lower body. Organizers for the opening ceremonies initially told witnesses and friends to not disclose the accident until after the Olympic Games, but news began to leak after several newspapers began inquiring about Liu. [NY Times]

Today Show Correspondents Are Too Fat, Male, To Be Olympic Hostesses

Maria — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:20:00 EDT

This morning, Kevin Tibbles from the Today show investigated the 337 Chinese Olympic hostesses who carry the medals to the winning athletes at the Games. Tibbles noted that the girls "to no one's surprise look very similar." (The young women were chosen to fit a specific size — between 5'6" and 5'8" in height and between 110-120 pounds.) Later, Tibbles asked the women if he could join their group and one young woman delicately told him "no" by miming the belly of an obese person after motioning to her slim figure which Matt Lauer later harped on. Clip above.

Victory With A Veil

Maria — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:20:00 EDT

When watching the Olympics this year, don't be surprised if you see more veiled female athletes than before. The Beijing Games will see eleven female athletes from predominately Muslim countries who are opting to wear specially-designed hijabs while they compete. While countries like Saudi Arabia and Brunei do not allow women to officially participate in competitive sports, countries including Egypt, the UAE, Iran, Afghanistan, and Yemen are all sending female athletes to the Games, some for the first time. Roqaya Al Ghasara from Bahrain is perhaps the highest-profile female Muslim athlete; she won the gold in the West Asian Games for sprinting in 2005. She hopes that showing she can compete well in a hijab will break Western stereotypes of Muslim women. [Reuters]

The Reds Of Their Eyes

Maria — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:45:00 EDT

The women's Olympic field hockey team from the UK have a way to deal with the thick smog in Beijing: red contact lenses. The team will wear the lenses so they can spot the ball through the haze and also reduce squinting which can cause headaches. While The Sun seems to be tickled that the women will be wearing the lenses "despite the effect they have on the ladies' looks", we're thinking the only effect the lenses will have is to scare the shit out of the Olympians' competitors. [The Sun]