American shooter Matthew Emmons is going to be one of the most memorable characters in Olympic history…
Matthew and Katerina Emmons
In Athens 2004, Matthew was just a shot away from winning a gold in the three positions competition… but he shot on the wrong target, a mistake that sounds almost impossible in professional shooting. He finished eighth.
It’s not all bad for Matthew though… later that night, he went to a pub and met Czech shooter Kateřina Kůrková who offered him consolation. The couple fell in love and got married in 2007.
If the name Kateřina Emmons sounds familiar to you, that’s because she is the winner of the first gold medal in Beijing Olympics 2008.
Matthew was trying to emulate his wife’s success, and he was pretty close at the three positions competition, again needing just an average score at his final shot to secure the gold.
Somehow, it’s deja vu… he didn’t fire the wrong target this time, but pulled the trigger at a wrong timing and got a bad score. He finished fourth.
Make no mistake though, Matthew is an excellent shooter. He won a gold in Athens in other shooting event and also a silver in Beijing. It’s just the bizarreness of how he missed those two golds that is going to make him a folklore of the Games.
Matthew has already expressed his ambition for London 2012… wish him luck.
World and Olympic champion Liu Xiang has withdrew from the 110m hurdle event following a right foot injury.
Liu’s appearance was in doubt when it was reported last weekend that he was suffering from a sore Achilles tendon, but he showed up for the qualifying heat anyway.
The 90,000 crowd at the Beijing National Stadium didn’t manage to catch Liu Xiang in real action though, as he quit after a false start (by another hurdler), limping out of the race track into the tunnel. The Chinese are generally disappointed, but showing plenty of support for the iconic athlete.
Liu Xiang was China’s best (and probably the only) hope for a gold medal at the track and field event.
Besides “You and Me” the official theme song, there are a dozen of two other theme songs that are endorsed by the Beijing Games organiser. I have shared “Beijing Welcomes You” and “Olympics in Beijing” previously; here are a few more that’s worth mentioning…
Sun Nan & Zhang Hui Mei – Forever Friends
“Forever Friends” (永远的朋友), composed by Italian composer Giorgio Moroder and Chinese pianist Kong Xiangdong. The English lyrics are helped by Michael Kunze, while Chinese lyrics by Huang Xiaosheng.
This is my favourite candidate for the official theme song. Moroder, having wrote the popular “Hand in Hand” (theme song for Seoul Olympics 1988), certainly understand what makes a good theme song. It might not be the nicest song among all, but I think it’s the best that fits the occasion.
Sharing here is the Chinese version sang by Chinese singer Sun Nan and Taiwanese star Zhang Hui Mei; the English version is sang by Sun Nan and Hong Kong singer Coco Lee…
26-year-old Liu Yan, a renowned Chinese classical dancers, was supposed to be one of the stars at the Olympics opening cerremony… but lady luck was not on her side, as she was badly injured during a rehearsal on July 27.
The opening ceremony directors visiting Liu in hospital (Image via Sina)
Liu was rushed to the hospital after falling from a three metre stage. Her spine was badly injured, and her lower body paralysed. It’s feared that she might not be able to walk again without assistance. Best wishes from us here.
Visa Olympics commercial, featuring Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan, with Chinese basketball star Yao Ming having a cameo role in the end.
This is one of the earliest TV commercials related to the Beijing Games; started showing in late 2006 if not mistaken. Video below is the full version of the commercial…
The Chinese didn’t get the first gold medal of the 2008 Olympic Games as hoped… the honour belongs to Kateřina Emmons of Czech Republic in the women’s 10m air rifle event.
The Chinese’s disappointment didn’t stand long as weightlifter Chen Xiexia captured the first gold for the country in the women’s 48kg class weightlifting event moments later.
LEGO Sport City
An exhibition is currently running at Grand Century Place in Hong Kong with the major Beijing Olympics venues being recreated in LEGO.
So, what do you think about the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Friday night? It’s a decent show for me; not great, but nice.
The ceremony started off well. The fou (the drum like instrument) performance managed to draw the crowds’ attention, the giant footsteps’ fireworks were cool, and the countdown managed to boost the mood very well.
Then came the splendid fireworks, followed by the formalities of flag raising and national anthem singing.
The masterpiece of the show was revealed after that… the giant paper scroll, which was quite captivating at first. The initial performances still managed to keep me in front on the TV, but things started to turn boring for a few reasons…
