marți, 2 august 2016

Taekwondo and the challenge to match or beat London

The Spanish Olympic taekwondo team looks at the Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016 the possibility to continue making history hand gold medal in London 2012 Joel Gonzalez, who recovered from a serious knee injury aspires to defend the honor in a new category of -68 kg, while the young Jesus Tortosa (-54 kg) and Eva Calvo (-57 kg) willing and able to fight for metals in search of the sport repeat at least four years.

In the London Games, taekwondo was one of the most successful sports went to Spain to sign a hundred percent on their athletes. Three went and got three medals, led by gold Joel Gonzalez, who seconded the silvers of retired Brigitte Yagüe and Nico Garcia Hemme.

Far from being an unknown candidate, Joel González now has the double pressure of being Olympic champion and he always gets on top, fight for a medal in Rio. They can get away from the spotlight the Olympic debutantes Jesus Tortosa, who wants to be 'the new Joel' in the sense of giving an unexpected joy, as Eva Calvo facing its greatest challenge.

But is Catalan Joel Gonzalez who, after reaching the peak of his career in London 2012 with 22 years with gold in the category of less than 58 kg and spend four hard years for a serious injury to his left knee, breaking the posterior ligament, looking to repeat success. Recovered from that blow and subsequent relapse, the power being in Rio gave him strength to make a living and reinvent himself. At the same speed, which has not lost, he adds strength and claw to go for the gold with ten kilos.

The Spanish golf does not despise the Olympics

Golf live this August and more than 100 years after his return to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, an historic event and an opportunity for the sport that has nevertheless been compromised by the heavy casualties, absences that do not affect the Spanish team led by Sergio Garcia.

After in the 1900 and 1904 editions of golf from enjoying their Olympic status it has been required 112 years to return. IOC meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 agreed to return golf. Rio will crown new champions in the sport after Americans Charles Sands and Margaret Abbott and Canadian George Lyon for more than a century.

However, the Olympic spirit has failed to catch on among the best in the world in this sport, with many important low for fear of Zika and the tight schedule as the main reasons. Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and South African staff officers are the most notable absentees.

It is not the case of the Spanish team, who came with his best classified, Sergio Garcia and Rafael Cabrera-Bello, as sixes and nine Olympic ranking, and Carlota Ciganda (20th) and Azahara Muñoz (23rd), in the women. In the men's tournament, both come to direct River last 'big' of the year, the PGA Championship.

Baltusrol best feelings took the canary after the castellonense managed to not make the cut. However, Borriol is in good shape, regulate this season especially important appointments, as in the recent US Open and British Open, each with fifth places.

Lidia Valentin wants his first 'official' gold leading a thriving Spanish delegation

Lidia Valentin Ponferradina is postulated as a clear candidate to achieve the first medal in the history of the Spanish weightlifting in the Olympics, something that has already achieved informally following the recent downgrading of its rivals in London 2012, leading a powerful delegation which also includes Brachi Joshua, David Sanchez and Andres Mata.

At 31, Valentin reaches full maturity at third Olympic Games of his career and also driven by the recent news that places him as Olympic champion in London, where he finished fourth ranked, improve in a position registration Beijing ' 08.

The reanalysis recently made by the International Olympic Committee revealed that the Kazakh Svetlana Podobedova (gold), Russia's Natalya Zabolotnaya (silver) and the Belarusian Iryna Kulesha (bronze), who took the Olympic podium four years ago, did doped. None compete in Rio.

"Of course I feel gold medalist, is that I am," he said flatly Valentin just before leaving for Rio de Janeiro, where he hopes to achieve his first 'official' Olympic medal in the category of 75 kilos, in the absence of knowing whether red tape finally confirm their gold in London.

European champions in 2014 and 2015, Ponferradina comes after recovering from an injury to the dorsal area prevented him from participating this year in both the World United States and the European Norway, although reassured about his condition explaining that it is fully recovered and ready to face the most important moment of his career.

Strong winds in Rio forced to cancel training rowing

Training for Olympic rowing competition in Rio de Janeiro on Monday has been canceled due to high winds the Brazilian city four days before the start of the Games.

Tournament organizers explained that conditions in the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, which will be held the rowing and canoeing, made it impossible to train in place during that time.

The Games, the first held in South America, will begin this Friday, August 5. However, organizers are still finishing Olympic facilities amid a political and economic crisis in the country, which has affected the preparations.

To date, weather conditions in Rio have not helped the rowers. In addition, the main ramp of the sailing competition was destroyed last Saturday by the high tide and big waves and Sunday sandbags were placed to deal with the strong waves that hit television facilities along Copacabana.

The guys in the Under 23, with Nadal and Ferrer

The Under 23 team of Vasco Olarticoechea continues to prepare for his debutOlympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to Portugal , on August 4, but the squad also used to give some tastes.

Because in the Olympic Village unite various disciplines and athletes share in common places. And that made ​​the guys in the Albiceleste were crossed with two giants of Spanish tennis Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer.

You encounter this kind of players it does not happen every day, so José Luis Gómez, Lautaro Gianetti and Mauricio Martinez did not hesitate and asked them to take a photo souvenir.




Americans want the Olympic Games without political interference

Most Americans want Olympians keep in reserve their political opinions during the event which starts this week in Rio de Janeiro, according to a Reuters / Ipsos, although the political favor before the Games is the most intense in recent decades.

Brazil, the host nation is mired in a political crisis stronger. Amid a summer plagued by deadly shootings at home, American activists recently extended their campaign against racial discrimination to Rio de Janeiro, to march with Brazilian citizens to protest against violent discrimination against local police.

The Reuters / Ipsos interviewed 3,015 people online between 22 and July 26 revealed that most Americans-and whether to identify themselves as white or racial minorities feel that it is better to keep politics out of games. The margin of error is 2 percent.

Overall, 65 percent said they want the policy not to intervene in the Olympics, while nearly a quarter said that athletes should express their political views if they wish.

Forty-eight years after American runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos made the greeting of Black Power in the Olympic Games in Mexico City, Americans racial minorities were only slightly more likely to accept political gestures in the event , with 52 percent not in favor of and one third of itself.

Rio Games have also been affected by a doping scandal in Russia with reminiscences of the Cold War. Moscow officials accused the West of political conspiracy to ban dozens of Russian athletes competing, including 67 exponents of athletics.

The survey indicated that 29 percent of Americans believe that at least half of all Olympic athletes take drugs to improve their performance, although most think that the delusions are minority.

In another survey of 2,044 people with a margin of error of 3 percent, about 75 percent said he believes that Russian athletes are most likely to use drugs. And while also suspected of Chinese athletes, nearly a third of Americans said they think their country athletes are more prone to deception via use of medication.