Billie Jean King:USA

1943- 

Opened minds by beating Bobby Riggs in 1973 "Battle of the Sexes"; opened doors by helping establish Women's Sports Foundation in '74.

Never mind the 39 Grand Slam titles, 695 match victories or the redoubtable career that lasted more than two decades. Mention Billie Jean King's name and the images first conjured are not of a tennis champion. Instead, King's legacy is that of a trailblazer who used her fame on the court to smooth the pavement for the next generation of female athletes.The daughter of a fireman and a homemaker, King was imbued with an activist spirit as a middle-class prodigy trying to infiltrate a country-club sport. While she practiced tirelessly on the public courts of Long Beach, Calif., less skilled but better-connected players always seemed to get noticed first. Years later, traveling the circuit as an amateur, King grew weary of winning large events only to go uncompensated. So in 1968 she helped usher in tennis's open era by joining with several other women in signing professional contracts. In '70, angered by the fact that male players were being paid significantly more for victories than females, King and eight other women signed with Gladys Heldman, founder of what would become the Virginia Slims Tour. The next year King became the first female athlete to surpass the $100,000 benchmark in annual prize money.

King will forever be known for her 1973 victory over Bobby Riggs in the so-called "Battle of the Sexes." The match, played in the cavernous Houston Astrodome and televised nationally, was as much burlesque as tennis. But at the height of the women's liberation movement, its significance transcended sport. In defeating Riggs, the aging male chauvinist oink-oink, in three decisive sets, King laid to rest notions that testosterone was a prerequisite for athletic ability and intestinal fortitude. "Before that, women were chokers who couldn't take the pressure," says King. "Except, of course, in childbirth." Truth be told, King was so nervous before the match that she vomited in the locker room.Her devotion to causes wasn't limited to tennis. In 1974 she helped create the Women's Sports Foundation, and she has long been a vocal supporter of Title IX. Today, in addition to serving on the board of a Fortune 500 corporation, the 56-year-old King (who retired from competitive tennis in '84) captains the U.S. Federation Cup team and remains active in, as she puts it, "growing the game of tennis" -- a game now filled with millionaire female athletes who are international celebrities. "Like the slogan says, We've come a long way," says Lindsay Davenport. "And we owe a big debt to Billie Jean King

Babe Didrikson Zaharias: USA

1911-1956 

Ultimate multisport athlete won three Olympic medals to go with 31 LPGA titles.

In an era when nice girls didn't sweat, Babe Didrikson Zaharias was an anomaly. For almost 25 years, from the Olympic Games of 1932 to her death, in 1956, Didrikson outboasted and outcompeted any rival to her reign as America's greatest female athlete. However, it wasn't just her two Hall of Fame careers, in track and field and in golf, that cemented Didrikson's place in the pantheon of American sports champions. Beyond her physical talent, Didrikson's intense, competitive spirit and supreme self-confidence set her apart from her contemporariesA talented sandlot softball player and all-around athlete while growing up in Beaumont, Texas, Mildred Ella Didrikson first shone on a public stage as an AAU All-America high school basketball player. In 1932 she single-handedly won the AAU team track and field championships, finishing first in five of the eight events she entered.

Didrikson came to national attention later in '32 during Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, winning gold medals and breaking her own world records in both the javelin and the 80-meter hurdles. She was awarded the silver in the high jump despite clearing a world-record height because her jump technique -- in which she cleared the bar headfirst -- was ruled ineligible for the gold.

In those days it was expected that if a woman excelled in sports, she should at least not let her ambitious nature show. Babe, as Didrikson was known because of her Ruthian clouts in softball, was instead an outspoken and relentless self-promoter who reveled in the decidedly unladylike world of sports. This persona helped keep her in the news even when she wasn't winning on the playing field.

She began her second Hall of Fame career on the amateur golf tour, in 1934. She would go on to 35 career victories -- 10 of them majors, including three U.S. Opens (1948, '50 and '54) -- and an unprecedented 17 consecutive tournament titles from April 1946 to August '47. She was one of the founding members of the LPGA in 1950.

Didrikson was still at the top of her game in 1953, when she was diagnosed with rectal cancer and underwent surgery. The next year she was back on the LPGA tour and won the '54 U.S. Open by a record 12 strokes, but by 1955 the cancer reappeared in her spine and she retired from sports permanently. She died on Sept. 27, 1956, at 45, six years after the Associated Press had named her the Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee: USA

1962- 

Won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals over four consecutive Olympic Games.

In every revolution -- and surely the explosion of women's sport is nothing less -- there is a leader. Whether vocal or silent, whether by purpose or happenstance, there is a figure whose shadow falls across an era and whose footprints mark the path for others to follow. In ways that could be measured, Jackie Joyner-Kersee was one of the greatest Olympic athletes in history, and in ways that could not, she was a rare combination of courage and grace, of power and vulnerability. A generation of women looked into her face and saw something they had never before seen in sport, and they were drawn to it."You could see that she loved everything she did and that she invested every ounce of strength she had in it," says Mia Hamm, who was 12 when Joyner-Kersee narrowly missed winning a gold medal in the heptathlon at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. "You saw her and

you got the idea of what a woman athlete should be. At the time it seemed almost like she wasn't responsible for just her sport, but for all of women's sport."

Hamm's words ring true. Joyner-Kersee is Sports Illustrated For Women's Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century not just because she was one of the best performers in track and field history, but also because the energy of her athleticism and personality wrapped itself around all of women's sport at precisely the time when it began to grow.

Joyner-Kersee was one of the first children of Title IX. She was 10 years old when the groundbreaking legislation was passed in 1972, mandating equal access to sports for men and women across the country. A brilliant athlete, she also became a surrogate parent to the later offspring of Title IX, her career beginning in one era of women's sport and ending in another. "When I was little, a lot of women's sports heroes were gymnasts and figure skaters, and I just could not relate to those sports," says Julie Foudy, Hamm's U.S. soccer teammate and, like Hamm, a teenager during Joyner-Kersee's finest days. "Jackie I could relate to."

When Marion Jones, who would grow into an NCAA championship-winning basketball player at North Carolina and a two-time 100-meter world champion, was a high school junior in Southern California, she met Joyner-Kersee at a track meet. "She encouraged me, said nice things to me, and I was just overwhelmed," says Jones. "Jackie was everybody's role model." Like Hamm and Foudy, Jones later became close friends with Joyner-Kersee and was more taken with her as a person than as an athlete. "She was everything I expected and more," says Hamm. "That's saying something, because she was one of my heroes."

Joyner-Kersee's childhood was set in the dark ages of women's sport, when athletic girls spent their time racing boys and playing on their teams. The second oldest of Mary and Alfred Joyner's four children, raised in the south-end slums of East St. Louis, Ill., she was first a dancer, then a cheerleader. When she discovered track and field at age nine, she and her friends would carry sand in potato-chip bags they found in a nearby playground and spread it in front of the Joyners' porch, creating a makeshift long jump pit. There were none of the elite travel teams that nurture the athletic careers of talented girls in the '90s. There was, instead, a man named Nino Fennoy, who coached a junior track team called the East St. Louis Railers and who gave Joyner-Kersee the means to learn about herself. (It is telling of Joyner-Kersee's generation that one of the most important moments in her life came at the age of 14, when she beat her older brother, Al, in a race. "He still says he won," says Jackie, "but he didn't.")

Yet it is not for inspirational qualities alone that Joyner-Kersee stands at the top of this list, ahead of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (No. 2), Billie Jean King (No. 3), Sonja Henie (No. 4) and the inseparable tandem of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert (Nos. 5 and 6). Joyner-Kersee's athletic résumé holds up to the harshest scrutiny.

Her silver medal in Los Angeles marked a prelude to one of the greatest Olympic careers in history, in which she would win six medals, three of them gold. Four years after L.A. she won not only the heptathlon but also the long jump in Seoul. At the '92 Barcelona Games she won another heptathlon gold and took a bronze in the long jump. In Atlanta she closed out her Olympic career with a last-jump bronze in the long jump.

Joyner-Kersee did for the heptathlon what Bruce Jenner did for the decathlon, taking an oddball mix of events and not only elevating them to great sport but also infusing them with high personal drama. In the final event of the '84 Olympic hep, the 800 meters, Joyner-Kersee needed to finish within .33 of a second of Australian Glynis Nunn to win a gold medal; she finished 2.6 seconds behind. Her heptathlon victories were operatic struggles. She won in Barcelona despite illness and debilitating heat, and at the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart, Germany, during one of the worst asthma attacks of her life. Her world record of 7,291 points in the event, set in Seoul, still stands, and Joyner-Kersee has the top six performances in history.

In 1987 she tied the world record in the long jump. It was broken a year later by Galina Chistyakova of Russia, but Joyner's 24'7" leap in 1994 remains the second-longest jump in history and would have won the 1999 world championship by an astounding 17 inches. True to her versatility, she also broke or tied American records for the sprint hurdles, both indoors and out. As a track athlete alone she presents a persuasive case for attaining the No. 1 spot on this list. But she was not just a track athlete. She was also an All-Pac-10 basketball player at UCLA. In 1996, at the age of 34 and long past her basketball prime, she played briefly for the Richmond Rage of the American Basketball League.

Yet merely reciting achievements sanitizes her greatness. It was in her last moments as an athlete that she best showed herself. After withdrawing tearfully from the heptathlon at the Atlanta Olympics and being walked off the track by her husband and coach, Bob Kersee, Jackie returned six days later to compete in the long jump. Stuck in sixth place among eight jumpers and reduced to a pale imitation of herself by the same injured right thigh that forced her out of the heptathlon, Joyner-Kersee faced her final jump. "This is it, Jackie," she told herself before sprinting down the runway. "This isn't the way you wanted it to be, but this is your last shot." Grimacing with every stride ("I never thought there was any shame in making faces, even when I was a little girl," she says), Joyner-Kersee reached into her past and popped a jump of 22'11 3/4", good for a bronze medal by one inch.

Two years later she dragged her tired body to Uniondale, N.Y., for the Goodwill Games, in which she would compete in her final heptathlon. Against all reason, in bludgeoning heat and humidity and on minimal training, she ran a 2:17.61 for the closing 800 meters, good for a 23-point victory over DeDee Nathan, her heir to American heptathlon supremacy. At the finish she fell into her husband's arms and wept. "I can't believe it's over," she said that night. "I can't believe the time went by so quickly."

Time has not slowed since. On a recent fall afternoon she rode in a limousine, scooting from a photo shoot in Kansas City to catch a flight home to St. Louis, where she could resume operations in her many business ventures, including Elite Sports Marketing (athlete representation and management), Gold Medal Rehab (sports medicine), the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Foundation and her sponsorship of a NASCAR team. "I'm retired, and I've never been busier," she says. "I thought I'd be chillin'." Even postcareer she is blazing a trail.

Earlier that day she had posed for the picture that appears on the cover of this magazine with members of the U.S. women's soccer team, her successors in the public eye. At the end of the photo session, as the soccer players put on their team sweats, Joyner-Kersee pulled a yellow fleece top over her taut upper body, paused and then cartwheeled gracefully across the room. The soccer players, celebrities themselves, shrieked like schoolgirls. Joyner stood tall and laughed until she shook. If you looked closely, you could almost see the cord that connected them.

British Olympic Association (BOA) may reject GB Taekwondo's Aaron Cook Muhammad ahead of European championnon-selection

The British Olympic Association (BOA) is "not afraid" to overturn GB Taekwondo's nomination of Lutalo Muhammad ahead of European champion Aaron Cook for London 2012."We do have a right to reject a nomination," BOA chief executive Andy Hunt told .The BOA has scheduled a meeting with GB Taekwondo for Thursday, having refused to ratify their selection.A BOA panel requires clarification of GB Taekwondo's selection process.

"We are meeting the selection panel from GB Taekwondo [on Thursday] morning that undertook the second selection. There are a number of questions that we have around both the process and some of the elements that they looked at in coming to their decision," Hunt elaborated.

"We will come to a decision as to whether we can ratify the nomination they have made or indeed reject the nomination."

Cook confirmed on Monday that he "could not believe" the decision to select world number 93 Muhammad when he was informed on 11 May.

He subsequently asked for BOA help after previous appeals to the sport's governing body had failed.Hunt was clear what powers are available to the BOA, should they wish to use them.

"Let's not hypothesise, but we do have a right to reject a nomination in exceptional circumstances," he said. "It's never been done before but I'm not worried about that. We will always do the right thing by any athlete.

"If we reject the nomination it would be put back to GB Taekwondo to then meet again as a selection panel and nominate another athlete."

"I don't want to sound rude, but Gatlin's had his chance," Usain Bolt

31 May,Usain Bolt has dismissed suggestions former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin will provide the biggest challenge for his 100m crown at London 2012.

Gatlin, who won 2004 gold in Athens before a four-year drugs ban,clocked 9.87 seconds in Doha two weeks ago.

"I don't want to sound rude, but Gatlin's had his chance," said Bolt. "He's been on top, but to say 'get ready for the Gatlin show' is funny.

"He has a few guys to get past before he should be worried about me."

World indoor champion Gatlin staked his claim as a contender for the Olympic 100m with victory in Doha's Diamond League meeting on 11 May.

The 30-year-old aims to book his place at London when he runs in the United States team trials in Portland next month.

But Bolt, who won 100m gold in Beijing four years ago, believes American Tyson Gay and current World Championship title holder Yohan Blake will provide sterner challenges than Gatlin.

Meanwhile, the Jamaican sprinter has pledged to bounce back at Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Rome after his disappointing time in Ostrava last week.

He clocked 10.04s in last Friday's 100m and afterwards blamed a lack of sleep and food.

He said: "I explained to my coach that my legs were not feeling that energetic, probably through a lack of sleep and not enough food.

"I've been trying to get a lot more sleep and eating better."

Bolt's time in Ostrava was the first time since 2009 in Toronto that the Jamaican has failed to break 10 seconds in a final.

However, the triple Olympic champion was in relaxed mood ahead of this week's meeting in Rome and admitted he does not feel under pressure to perform in every race.

He said: "You never have a good race every time you run. You have to just put that behind you and move on. It's not a worry. I have a lot more races and the main one is at the Olympics.

"I have set a high standard for myself so I know people like to see me run fast.

"I can't look at it as pressure. People expect you to do certain things - I know I will have my bad races but I have to stay strong and focused."

Bolt will face fellow countryman and former world-record holder Asafa Powell, France's European champion Christophe Lemaitre and veteran Kim Collins in the 100m on Thursday.

Britain's world 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene faces a tough test in Rome, with American Bershawn Jackson among those keen for revenge after the Welshman's victory in Daegu last year.

There is British interest in the men's long jump with both Greg Rutherford - who set a world Long Jump lead of 8.35m in California at the beginning of May - and Chris Tomlinson in action, while Andrew Osagie and Michael Rimmer go in the 800m.

London 2012:Saudi team with no women,IOC fails to take sanctions against Saudi Arabia

The board discussed the situation at length during a meeting in Quebec on Thursday that was their last chance to impose sanctions on the Middle East country but it broke without any progress having been made.

The prospect of Saudi Arabia competing at London 2012 without a single female among their team moved a large step closer to reality on Thursday after the International Olympic Committee executive board failed to act on the issue,

The IOC is now hoping it will be able persuade the Saudis to change their attitude on the issues, with a source saying “we are still optimistic the country will send female athletes to London”.

However, their approach is bound to provoke an angry reaction from international human rights groups.

The meeting on Thursday was supposed to represent the final deadline for Saudi Arabia to agree to women being part of their London delegation or they would be in breach of the IOC’s charter.

This was to be the first Olympic Games to have women in every national delegation participating but the Saudis have consistently resisted calls to send a female delegation.

The Queen’s Jubilee collide and London 2012 Olympics

What with two huge events happening in London this summer, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and of course the Olympics, it was only a matter of time until the two collided.

The Queen has been depicted all muscular and in a suitably Olympic get up on a new range of eggcups for Regal Eggcups.

The eggcups show Her Majesty cycling, weight lifting, running and diving and over all looking very sporting indeed.

So what better way to celebrate the two happenings over the summer than sitting eating your breakfast in these brilliantly relevant egg cups?

The patriotic London eggcups are limited edition and come in a ‘beautiful gift box’. They will no doubt be the highlight of the back pages of every glossy newspaper pull out this week so you better get in there early if you want to grab some before all the Royalists snap them up.

Although London hasn’t gone totally crazy with Olympic items the same as it has with Jubilee themed ones there are still some nice unusual options out there if you want something to commemorate the occasion.

Swatch are doing an Olympic pink and brown watch to mark the occasion, or how about a London 2012 teaset to go with your themed eggcups? If you want to buy early Christmas gifts then you can get an Olympic 2012 themed snow globe and silver Olympic Mascot, you know the ones we mean, those strange creatures with one eye.

The conclusion here is that although the Jubilee may be over shadowing the Olympics temporarily when it comes to kitch memorial souvenirs, once the Diamond Jubilee passes there are plenty of items waiting in the wings to adorn many a London shelf.

Olympics-Ramadan sets Muslim athletes extra test at London Games

LONDON,When Malaysian cyclist Azizulhasni Awang opted to postpone his Ramadan fast until after the London Games, the decision was all about going for Olympic gold.

Anything that might jeopardise the chance of a medal for the 24-year-old at his second Olympics had to be dealt with sensibly, he says. And going without food and drink between sunrise and sunset every day for four weeks is just too risky.

"We need to train, we need food, fluids, water," he told during a training session at a velodrome in Melbourne with team mate Fatehah Mustapa, who will become the first Malaysian woman cyclist to ride at an Olympics.

"We've trained really, really hard , to strive for the gold medal, so we're not going to waste it. This Olympics is really important for me and Fatehah. You think we're going to sacrifice that?"

The coincidence of Ramadan this year with the London Olympics, which starts on July 27, a week into the month-long Muslim fast, has thrown up a dilemma for the estimated 3,000 Muslim athletes expected to compete.

The Ramadan fast is a time when Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink during daylight hours. Athletes are allowed to defer their fasts until a later date, but many Muslim sportsmen and women from cultures or countries where not fasting is frowned upon may well honour the holy month.

Ben Ainslie announced as first Torchbearer in UK

The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) have announced that three-times Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie will be the first Torchbearer to carry the Olympic Flame in the UK.

Ben, who won gold medals in Sailing at the Beijing 2008, Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000 Games will start the 70-day Relay at the Land’s End landmark signpost at 7.08am on 19 May.

Ben Ainslie said: 'I am extremely honoured to be the first Torchbearer at the start the 70-day Olympic Torch Relay. It will be an amazing experience to be able to carry the Olympic Flame in the area that I grew up in.'

LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe said: 'Ben is one of 8,000 Torchbearers who will carry the Olympic Flame during the Relay. At Land’s End he will pass the Flame to 18-year-old Anastassia Swallow, a Torchbearer from the Coca-Cola nomination campaign.'

The other Torchbearers at Land’s End will be: Eric Smith, 76, who was nominated through the LOCOG campaign, Victoria Smith, 16, who was nominated through the Lloyds TSB campaign and Stephen Brady, 59, who was nominated through the Samsung campaign.

Olympic Flame crosses Clifton Suspension Bridge

Torchbearer Rebecca Pantaney carries the Olympic Flame over Clifton Suspension Bridge between Failand and Filton on Day 5 of the Torch Relay.

British Bulldogs lick their lips in anticipation of the Flame

Alice and Hugh, a pair of  British Bulldogs, wait patiently for the Olympic Torch to arrive in Bideford during the Olympic Torch Relay.

Schoolchildren wave flags as they wait for the Olympic Flame

Local school children wave Union Jack flags as they wait for the Olympic Torch Relay to reach Frome.

Children await the arrival of the Flame

Local schoolchildren wait for the Olympic Torch Relay to arrive in Monmouth on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

The Torch at Gloucester Cathedral

Torchbearer Sophie Williams stands in front of Gloucester Cathedral carrying the Olympic Flame on the Torch Relay between Gloucester and Hartpury.

Olympic Flame arrives in Wales

The Olympic Flame travels 102.13 miles, carried by 117 inspirational Torchbearers, into Wales with an evening celebration taking place in Coopers Field, Cardiff. The Flame will visit a number of iconic landmarks including the Elgar statue at the start in Worcester, Cardiff Castle and the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff where the Flame will be carried by rugby hero Sam Warburton who currently plays rugby for the Cardiff Blues.

The last Torchbearer of the day Melanie Stephenson, 24 from Cardiff who was nominated through the Coca-Cola Future Flames programme, will light a celebration cauldron on stage at the event which will enable the Olympic Flame to be seen by the audience. Melanie was selected for her success in sport and voluntary work despite her Type 1 Diabetes.

The evening celebration will feature a variety of entertainment staged by LOCOG and the three Presenting Partners of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay - Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. This celebration is one of Coca-Cola’s Special City Celebrations and they will provide entertainment from Cardiff born Kids in Glass Houses, Emeli Sande and You Me At Six.

China's diving champion Wu Minxia

 

Wu Minxia of China is a diving champion who won gold at both the Athens and Beijing Olympic Games in the 3 metre women's synchronized springboard competition.

The greatest tennis player Rafael Nadal

 

Instantly recognizable, Rafael Nadal of Spain is arguably one of the greatest tennis players of all time and will be defending his Olympic title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, better known as the home of the Wimbledon championships, in London.

Argentina's Hockey champ Luciana Aymar

As the only player in history to receive the International Hockey Federation World Player of the Year award seven times, Argentina's Luciana Aymar will be expected to lead her team to field hockey glory.

German discus thrower champ Robert Harting

German discus thrower Robert Harting came in fourth at the 2008 Olympic Games and will no doubt be determined not to let a medal slip through his fingers this year.

USA's world champion gymnast Alicia Sacramone

After taking the fall for Team USA's silver medal placement in Beijing, world champion gymnast Alicia Sacramone will be seeking redemption in what will most likely be her final Olympic appearance.

Korea's swimming champ Park Tae-Hwan

Korea's swimming champ Park Tae-Hwan won a gold medal in the 400m freestyle and a silver in the 200m freestyle events in Beijing. We'll see how he measures up against Phelps this time.

London Olympics2012,US swimmers Mariya Koroleva,Mary Killman

Synchronized swimmers Mariya Koroleva (L) and Mary Killman pose for a portrait during the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in Dallas, Texas May 13, 2012.

London Olympics U.S. first lady gets athletes and kids moving

DALLAS (Reuters) - Michelle Obama offered a pep talk on Monday to U.S. athletes who will be competing at the 2012 London Olympics while announcing a nationwide program to get more American children active.

The U.S. first lady, who will lead the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremony of the July 27-August 12 London Olympics, is hoping the American athletes will inspire children to get active as part of her "Let's Move!" initiative.
Speaking at the United States Olympic Committee's media summit, Obama announced a joint effort with the USOC and 10 sports federations to get 1.7 million American children, not already involved in exercise programs, to commit to beginner level Olympic sports.
"This summer, my hope is that together with our children we can support Team USA not just by cheering them on but by striving to live up to the example they have set," said Obama, flanked by athletes expected to challenge for medals in London.
"In the end some of these athletes will bring home the gold but all of them will make our country proud, all of them will inspire a generation of young people to get active."
With obesity among American children on the rise, Obama has spearheaded efforts to get kids physically fit.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity now affects 17 percent (or 12.5 million) of all children and adolescents aged two to 19 years old in the United States.
USA Tennis, USA Track and Field and the U.S. Soccer Federation are among the 10 national governing sports bodies hoping to engage hundreds of thousands of children in various programs by the end of the year.
USA Swimming hopes to enroll 530,000 new learn-to-swim participants while USA Cycling will offer free clinics and 30-day memberships to 350 BMX tracks across the country.
Obama and U.S. President Barack Obama have taken an active interest in the Olympic movement, even traveling to Copenhagen in 2009 to pitch Chicago's failed bid to land the 2016 Summer Games, which will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro.
"When I'm sitting in that stadium in London cheering on Team USA, I'll be thinking about all those young people cheering them on at home," said Obama.
"I'll be thinking of the power of the Games to truly inspire a generation and how our Olympic and Paralympic athletes can serve as role models."

World number one Ding Ning will replace Guo Yan in China’s table tennis women’s team for London Olympics,

 World number one Ding Ning will replace Guo Yan in China’s table tennis women’s team for this year’s London Olympics, the sport’s world ruling body said.

Li Xiaoxia and Guo Yan had originally sealed the two spaces available in the singles by virtue of their world rankings after occupying the top two spots last June, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said.

However, with Guo suffering from an undisclosed injury, the 21-year-old Ding, who took over the top ranking in November, will join Li in the singles and team events at the London Games, which take place from July 27 to August 12.

“The decision was confirmed by the Chinese National Olympic Committee on May 9,” the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said on its official website (www.ittf.com).

Each ITTF member association is permitted a maximum of two players by ranking in the singles and three in the team event. Guo Yan’s place in the team event will be taken by former world champion Guo Yue.

Ding, who captured last year’s world singles title in Rotterdam, has risen from third to first in the rankings over the past year.

(Reporting by Alastair Himmer in Tokyo; Editing by John O’Brien)

London may temper China's gold medal pride

BEIJING (Reuters) - When Chinese athletes swept to the top of the gold medal table during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the feat was accompanied by a wave of national pride, the culmination of China's "100 year dream" to host the world's most prestigious sports event.

BEIJING (Reuters) - When Chinese athletes swept to the top of the gold medal table during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the feat was accompanied by a wave of national pride, the culmination of China's "100 year dream" to host the world's most prestigious sports event.

Whether China can repeat that feat at this year's London Games will surely be watched closely by all. But cooler heads may prevail at home if that success is not repeated as China has been buoyed by the country's other achievements since hosting the Games, such as its bounding economy.

"I'm not sure it is now as politically important as it was, since they did it once," said Susan Brownell, professor of anthropology and expert on Chinese sports at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

The simmering debate over the importance of the pursuit of medals began to heat up after the Beijing Games ended in success. There appeared to be acknowledgement the country lacks a broad-based sports culture and Olympic medals are generally won by a minority of government-supported athletes, raising questions over whether it can become a sports power, she said.

"So I do have the feeling that with the great success of the Beijing Olympics, at least domestically it was hugely successful, that it's not so important to prove themselves any more," she added.

"But why was it so important all along? It had to do with the idea of China standing up against domination by the West ... hosting the Olympics was called China's 100-year dream."

This is, of course, not to say that China will not be trying to win as many golds as it can in London.

China has not slackened off in its Olympics medals quest. Nor has the state even begun to back off from its involvement in producing national winners.

"THE CRADLE OF WORLD CHAMPIONS"

At the state-run Shichahai sports school, located in central Beijing not far from the top leadership compound at Zhongnanhai, the government begins training young athletes from as young as 6.

Dubbed "the cradle of world champions" in a gold-embossed stone plinth outside one of its entrances, the school has raised 39 world champions and seven Olympic ones. Large Chinese flags dominate the austere gyms and other training rooms.

Slogans reminiscent of the heyday of Chinese communism pasted around the campus exhort athletes not to forget that "All training is for competition" and "There are no heroic individuals, only heroic groups".

It is a spirit the school's head, Shi Fenghua, has no intention of abandoning.

"Competing peacefully like this as the Chinese nation is rising, confirms our abilities. China was once the sick man of Asia," Shi told Reuters in her office.

But Chinese sports officials are keen to temper expectations.

"I have complete confidence in our team at the London Olympics, but there are many, many difficulties," said Cui Dalin, former deputy head of the State Administration of Sport, which answers directly to China's cabinet.

"Firstly, we were the host nation during the Beijing Olympics, doing battle on home turf, while in London we will be the guests. There's the time difference, the different food and a different environment from Beijing," he told Reuters.

There also will be many new and somewhat untested faces competing in London, Cui said, citing table tennis champions Wang Nan and Zhang Yining among those who have now retired.

"It will be a handover from the old to the new. Whether the young athletes can get through the test of such an enormous event as London, we will have to see what they can do."

Perhaps ironically, the official discussion of China's medal hopes in London echoes that in the run up to Beijing - when officials routinely would play down the country's prospects and play up its challenges.

By the time the Games closed on August 24 2008, China had earned 51 golds, leapfroging the United States' 36 golds and topping the medals table for the first time.

Prince William, Kate dress up for UK Olympic team

Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge at the Royal Albert Hall for a British Olympic Team GB gala event in London, Friday, May 11, 2012.

Olymic tourch relay continues trip across Greece

ATHENS, The Olympic flame lit on Thursday for London Olympics continued its trip across Greece, sending the world the messages of peace and hope, as the torch relay reached on Saturday the city of Ioannina in the western part of the country.

"We welcome the sacred light that enlightens the great ideals of the Olympic movement and the most beautiful and optimistic images of our country amidst difficult times," Mayor of Ioannina Filippas Filios said during a welcoming ceremony, as students greeted the torchbearers with songs, flowers and crowds of locals and foreign visitors erupted in warm applause.

It was a reference to the severe debt crisis that has hit Greece hard since late 2009. Hellenic Olympic Committee officials reminded Saturday that the Greek leg of the Olympic torch relay this year is held thanks to sponsorships from the private sector, as state expenses have been cut down amidst efforts to tackle the crisis.

Similar ceremonies were staged in many western Greek cities, such as the port of Patras at the Peloponnese, where the flame returned Saturday after its stopover in the southern Greece islands of Crete and Kastellorizo on Friday.

The sacred light that will burn for the 2012 Games from July 27 to August 12, was ignited on Thursday at Olympia, the birthplace of the Games 2,500 years ago.

It will cover approximately 2,900 kilometers across Greece in the hands of about 490 torchbearers until reaching on May 17 the Panathenaic stadium in Athens.

At the venue of the first modern Olympics in 1896, the flame will be handed over to the British organizers of this year's Games.

The last athletes to carry the flame inside the stadium before it continues its journey for Britain will be Olympic champions Pyrros Dimas from Greece and Li Ning from China.

75 percent of Olympics tickets bought by Brits

LONDON, Seb Coe, the chairman of London Olympic Games organizing committee, said that 75 percent of available tickets for the Olympics have gone to British fans.

Coe told the BBC that as a sports fan himself, he "accepts" that some people have been left "disappointed" after their applications for tickets to this summer's Olympic Games, but that 75 percent of available tickets have gone to British fans.

He said there has "never been a ticket in the history of sports tickets" that has provoked "such an extraordinary demand".

The chairman also said he felt the committee was fulfilling their mains aims -- to have full venues, affordable tickets and to hit revenue targets.

British Airways is the official carrier of the 2012 Olympics in London.

one-eyed mascots for the 2012 Olympics

The one-eyed mascots for the 2012 Olympics are raising eyebrows.

London Olympics2012: India's Female Boxer Aims for Medal

Five-time world champion M.C. Mary Kom hopes to win an Olympic medal for India when women's boxing is introduced at the London Games this summer.

The 29-year-old Kom said she's in her best form and has a good chance of winning a medal at the 2012 Olympics. She needs to qualify for the London Games at the World Championship this month in Qinhuangdao, China.

Kom has competed in the 101-pound and 105-pound events. If she qualifies, Kow will move up to the 112-pound category, one of three women's weight classes.

"I'm at my best right now and the Olympics are my biggest dream," Kom said Tuesday before leaving for China. "If I win a medal there, it will set me free as far as my future is concerned. I might continue or might decide to go (retire)."

Despite her resolve, Kom said she doesn't want to raise her nation's expectations at the Olympics, which run from July 27-Aug. 12.

"It is important for me to win an Olympic medal, but it is not everything," Kom said. "I've nothing left to prove and don't want to take too much pressure on myself.

"I have to take each of my opponents very seriously, concentrate hard and remain confident."

Her teammates, L. Sarita Devi (132 pounds) and Pooja Rani (165 pounds) will attend qualifying in China.

Although only two Indian female boxers will compete in London, coach Anoop Kumar said all three women have a chance.

"These girls are at par with others, and I am sure they will do well," Kumar said.

India's best chance for an Olympic medal at the London games is boxing. Seven male boxers have already qualified for the Olympic competition. India had won its first Olympic medal in boxing at the Beijing Games when Vijender Singh won a bronze in the 165-pound category.

Italy win the women's competition

The Italian team sing the Italian national anthem during the medal ceremony after winning the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Olympic Qualification round at North Greenwich Arena on January 11, 2012.

Saudi Arabia Bans Women From 2012 Olympics

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has yet again forbidden women from taking part in the Olympic Games. Should the all-male team be allowed to participate in the games while their female counterparts are vetoed?

Women have the every right to participate in any sport, there is no religious ban against them running or swimming or riding a horse. The misogynistic view is that women should stay in the home and never leave, never mind participate in any sporting events.

The Saudi Arabian government provides physical education in its state schools for boys and allows all male gyms but the facilities for women are non existent. There are over one hundred sports clubs in Saudi Arabia and not one of them has a female team of any kind participating in any sport.

Saudi women have no real opportunity to partake in exercise outside of the home. They are discriminated against in many aspects of life. Dressing in black from head to toe stops the sunlight from getting to the skin and rickets is becoming a major disease for these women.

The International Olympic Committee needs to send a clear message to the Saudi Olympic Committee president Prince Nawaf bin Faisal. He has said he was “not endorsing” female participation in London as part of the official delegation.

What right does this man have to tell any women that she cannot join in this world event? Who is he to take away their human rights? Nowhere in the Quran does God say women are forbidden from taking part in a sport so why is this man speaking for God?

In 1999 Afghanistan was banned from the games as it too prohibited women from participating in the games. Qatar and Brunei have also banned female athletes from the Olympic Games and will send female athletes for the first time this year.

The rules of the Olympic Games say that no one should be discriminated against because of race, sex or ability. The Olympic Charter says:

"Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”

Despite the fact the Olympic Games wastes a lot of money, is not really beneficial to the planet and that it has caused many problems for Londoners*, everyone has the right to contribute if they wish.

*(Tenants are being forced to leave their homes so that greedy landlords can rent the property to visitors of the games for thousands of pounds. New contracts stipulate the tenant must leave the property during the games.)

Prince Nawaf is a member of the I.O.C. and told a news conference in Jeddah: "We are not endorsing any Saudi female participation at the moment in the Olympics or other international championships. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of women who practise sports, but in private."

Can you just imagine how many female athletes/housewives in Saudi Arabia are practicing their sport in their own back yards? How many laps around the garden would it take to run a mile? How far could they throw a javelin in the high walled yard? High jump over the washing line and a one hundred meter dash to the well and back would earn a medal? Watch out for the shot putt!

Prince Nawaf and men like him deserves a gold medal for corrupting Islam and discriminating against women. The Saudi all-male team should be banned from participating in the games or else made to run in full burka!

Saudi Arabia should be bought to task and banned from all Olympic games until they allow female participation.

We all know nothing will be done to stop this discrimination against women. Saudi Arabia will still be allowed to attend and it will make the whole Olympic Games Charter a mockery. If the I.O.C. does not ban Saudi Arabia’s all male team from participating, it too will be guilty of discriminating against women.

London 2012 Olympics: A complete venue guide

1) Venue: Aquatics Centre
Location: South-east Corner of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Diving, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo, Paralympic Swimming, Modern Pentathlon.
Capacity: 17,500 for Diving and Swimming events and 5,000 for Water Polo.
About: New venue for the Games, with a stunning wave-like roof 160m long and 80m wide.
Fact: The roof of the centre will have a longer single span than Heathrow Terminal 5
Post Games: It will be transformed into a facility for locals as well as elite swimmers. Two of the wings will be removed leaving a maximum capacity of 3,500.

2) Venue: Basketball Arena
Location: North of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Basketball, Handball, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby.
Capacity: 12,000 during the Olympic games; 10,000 during the Paralympic Games.
About: New venue for the Games, however it is only temporary and will be one of the largest ever temporary venues built for any Olympics.
Fact: To accommodate the size of the athletes, all doors in the venue are required to be at least 2.4 metres high.
Post Games: It will be dismantled after the London 2012 Games.

3) Venue: Earls Court
Location: West London, near the Natural History and Science Museums
Hosting: Indoor Volleyball
Capacity: 15,000
About: Existing venue which during the year hosts hundreds of events as well as music concerts.
Fact: Britain’s first supermarket opened in Earls Court in 1951.
Post Games: After the Games, Earls Court will go back to being an exhibition centre and music arena.

4) Venue: Eton Dorney
Location: Near Windsor Castle, 25 miles west of London
Hosting: Rowing, Canoe Sprint, Paralympic Rowing.
Capacity: Up to 30,000
About: Existing venue which hosts all types of races, including internationals, and is in the process of being enhanced. The lake came about as an idea by Eton College teachers in the 60s, who wanted a still-water course rather than the choppy waters of the Thames.
Fact: To minimise disruption to the local community extracted construction material was removed on a special conveyor belt to a point two miles away for collection by lorry there.
Post Games: The venue will continue to be a world class training and competition facility.

5) Venue: ExCeL
Location: Near London City Airport in East London.
Hosting: Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Boccia, Paralympic Table Tennis, Paralympic Judo, Paralympic Powerlifting, Sitting Volleyball, Wheelchair Fencing.
Capacity: ExCeL will be divided into 4 sports halls with capacities ranging from 6,000 to 10,000.
About: It is an existing venue which is an exhibitions and conference centre and rivals Earls Court for being the best exhibition centre in London. No work will need to be done to the centre.
Fact: Since 2000, ExCeL has welcomed over 5 million visitors from over 200 different countries.
Post Games: The venue will revert to being one of Europe’s largest exhibition spaces.

6) Venue: Greenwich Park
Location: In south-east London on the south bank of the river Thames.
Hosting: Equestrian- Jumping, Dressage, Eventing and Paralympic Equestrian. Also Modern Pentathlon.
Capacity: 23,000.
About: Existing venue, which is an enclosed royal park, with the Old Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum also within its grounds.
Fact: Henry VIII introduced deer to Greenwich Park in the 16th Century for him to be able to hunt them. He did not catch them all however, and some still remain in the park today.
Post Games: The temporary structures will be taken down and the park will return to the way it was.
7) Venue: Hadleigh Farm
Location: East of London in Essex
Hosting: Mountain Bike
Capacity: 3,000, not including standing around the course
About: It is a new, 550 acre venue, which is the alternative site to the original Weald County Park which was deemed not challenging enough.
Fact: Hadleigh Farm is owned by the Salvation Army
Post Games: The temporary structures will be taken down.
8) Venue: Handball Arena
Location: In the west of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Handball, Goalball, Modern Pentathlon.
Capacity: 7,000
About: New, permanent venue which will host the handball games up to the quarter-final, but the semis and the finals will be played in the larger Basketball Arena.
Fact: Rainwater collected from the venue’s roof will be used to flush lavatories and reduce water usage by 40%.
Post Games: It will be adapted to become a multi-use sports centre for the community to use, as well a training centre for athletes and a venue for small to medium sized competitions.
9) Venue: Hockey Centre
Location: Olympic Park
Hosting: Hockey, Paralympic 5-a-side Football, Paralympic 7-a-side Football.
Capacity: 15,000
About: New venue, composed of two pitches, the main pitch with a capacity of 15,000 and the second pitch with a capacity of 5,000.
Fact: The first Olympic Hockey final was played in 1908 in London, where England defeated Ireland 8-1.
Post Games: The hockey pitches will relocate to the north of the Olympic Park, joining a collection of facilities in a place known as Eton Manor.
10) Venue: Horse Guards Parade
Location: In Whitehall, in the heart of London next to Downing Street and Buckingham Palace
Hosting: Beach Volleyball
Capacity: 15,000
About: The venue will be new, however the Parade has a long history, hosting the Queen’s official birthday celebration each year with the Trooping of the Colour.
Fact: At the 1996 Olympics, The USA men's side were so good that they had two teams playing each other in the final.
Post Games: The temporary facility will be taken down.
11) Venue: Hyde Park
Location: In the West End of London
Hosting: Triathlon, 10k Open Water Swim.
Capacity: 3,000
About: Hyde Park is the largest of London’s Royal Parks and has been open to the public since 1637. The seating will be a new but temporary addition to the park.
Fact: Queen played a concert here in 1976 with an estimated audience of between 150-200,000 people turning up.
Post Games: The course and the grandstand will be removed.
12) Venue: Lee Valley White Water Centre
Location: 30km north of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Canoe Slalom
Capacity: Up to 12,000
About: The centre will be a new, permanent venue which is made up of two courses, one for training, one for competition.
Fact: 15 cubic metres of water per second will flow into the 300m competition course – enough to fill a 50m swimming pool every minute.
Post Games: The venue will remain a Canoe centre open to the public as well as elite athletes, but the temporary seats will all be removed.
13) Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground
Location: North-west London near Regent’s Park
Hosting: Archery
Capacity: 6,500
About: Lord’s is an existing venue and in sporting terms, is the ‘home of cricket’ and has been since 1814, hosting international matches on a regular basis.
Fact: The ground slopes 8ft 8in from one square boundary to the other.
Post Games: The ground will go back to being home for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club. Archery equipment from the Games will be given to schools across the country.
14) Venue: North Greenwich Arena
Location: Right at the point of the Greenwich peninsular in East London near Canary Wharf
Hosting: Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline, Basketball, Wheelchair Basketball
Capacity: 20,000
About: The Arena (also known as the O2 Arena), is an existing venue which currently hosts hundreds of concerts a year as well as sporting events such as tennis. It is widely regarded as one of the best venues in the world, attracting the biggest names in entertainment.
Fact: If the Eiffel Tower was laid on its side, it would still fit inside the arena.
Post Games: It will remain an entertainments venue, attracting people from all over the world.
15) Venue: Olympic Stadium
Location: In the south of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Athletics, Paralympic Athletics
Capacity: 80,000
About: The Stadium is being built from scratch and aims to be constructed by next year. 55,000 of the 80,000 capacity is removable, which apparently has never been attempted before.
Fact: 10,000 tonnes of steel are being used to build the venue, compared to the 42,000 used by Beijing for their ‘Bird’s Nest’.
Post Games: Negotiations are still ongoing as to what exactly will happen to the Stadium, with various sporting clubs in London all expressing interest in using or leasing it.
16) Venue: Olympic Village
Location: In the Olympic Park
Hosting: All athletes and officials.
Capacity: 17,000
About: As well as residential apartments, the village will comprise of shops, restaurants, medical, media and leisure facilities. There will also be a ‘Plaza’, where athletes can meet up with friends and families.
Fact: The plan of the village has been based around London’s tradition of building homes around communal squares and courtyards.
Post Games: The village will become housing for new residents in east London, transforming into 2800 homes.
17) Venue: The Royal Artillery Barracks
Location: On the edge of Woolwich Common in south-east London.
Hosting: Shooting, Paralympic Shooting, Paralympic Archery
Capacity: 7,500
About: The artillery barracks were constructed in the 18th century and it only seems fitting that the shooting events take place here. Four temporary indoor ranges will be built for Pistol and Rifle shooting, with outdoor ranges for Trap and Skeet events.
Fact: Hungarian shooter Karoly Takac, taught himself to shoot left-handed after a grenade blew off his right arm in 1938. 10 years later, he won two gold medals at the London 1948 Games.
Post Games: There is still uncertainty as to where elements of the venue and sports equipment could be reused after the Games.
18) Venue: Velodrome
Location: In the North of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Track Cycling, BMX, Paralympic Track Cycling.
Capacity: 6000 in the Velodrome (permanent), 6000 at the BMX track (temporary)
About: Totally new venue with the velodrome having two tiers, with a glass window in between the tiers for a 360-degree view of the Olympic Park.
Fact: Sir Chris Hoy was involved in the design process of the Velodrome.
Post Games: The BMX seating will be removed and the track reconfigured. A new mountain bike course and road cycle circuit will be added to create one venue which will encompass all disciplines of the sport.
19) Venue: Wembley Arena
Location: Northwest London, 6 miles from the city centre.
Hosting: Badminton, Rhythmic Gymnastics
Capacity: 6,000
About: Wembley Arena is one of the most famous concert venues in the world and has been host to many of the biggest names in the music industry. It has also hosted sporting events such as boxing, ice hockey and darts, so very little preparation needs to be done for it to be ready.
Fact: Wembley Stadium was the primary venue the last time the Games were held in London, in 1948. Was built for the equivalent of the Commonwealth Games (The Empire Games) in 1934 by Sir Arthur Elvin, and originally was intended to be a swimming pool.
Post Games: It will return to being a world-class concert venue.
20) Venue: Weymouth and Portland
Location: In Dorset on England’s South Coast
Hosting: Sailing, Paralympic Sailing
Capacity: No seating at venue
About: Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour provide some of the best natural sailing waters anywhere in the UK, along with facilities to match on land. It has already hosted the World Youth Championships which was attended by over 60 nations.
Fact: Great Britain has been the most successful sailing nation at the last three Olympics.
Post Games: The venue will be used predominantly by the National Sailing Academy after the Games, who will no doubt benefit from the improved facilities. Local community use will also be allowed.
21) Venue: All England Lawn Tennis Club
Location: Wimbledon
Hosting: Tennis
Capacity: 30,000
About: Wimbledon is the home of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club and is the setting for arguably the best tennis tournament in the world which takes place every summer. It is famous for being the only major grass-court venue in the world.
Fact: ‘Love’ – the term for ‘no points’ in tennis – is thought to come from the French word ‘l’oeuf’, meaning ‘egg’ – the shape of a zero.
Post Games: Wimbledon will go back to being host of the major tennis tournament.
22) Venue: Water Polo Arena
Location: Olympic Park
Hosting: Water polo
Capacity: 5,000
About: designed to complement the look of the Aquatics Centre, the wedge-shaped arena will rise from 12 metres to 25 metres and feature a rippling roof made of recycled PVC cushions inflated with air to provide extra insulation.
Fact: the Aquatics Centre and Water Polo Arena will be adjacent to each other in one of the most tightly-packed areas of the Olympic Park.
Post Games: the arena will be taken down, although it is expected that materials will be reused or recycled.
23) Venue: Eton Manor
Location: Olympic Park
Hosting: Wheelchair tennis
Capacity: 10,500
About: the formerly disused sports club will house nine competition courts and four warm-up courts, as well as temporary training pools – three 50m pools for swimmers, and smaller pools for synchronised swimmers and Water Polo players.
Fact: Eton Manor acted as a temporary base for the Construction College East London, a training centre for people hoping to work in construction. When the college moved to its permanent base in 2009, many students stayed on to work on the Olympic project.
Post Games: the site will serve as a sports centre for the local and regional communities and will include a tennis centre with four indoor and six outdoor courts, a hockey centre with two competition pitches and five-a-side football pitches. The site will be able to accommodate elite hockey events with up to 15,000 spectators.
24) Venue: Brands Hatch
Location: In Kent, one hour away from the Olympic Park
Hosting: Paralympic road cycling
Capacity: TBC
About: The internationally-renowned motor racing circuit plays host to many British and international racing events throughout the year. The Paralympic course, which passes through Sevenoaks, will start and finish at Brands Hatch.
Fact: The venue was originally a mushroom field, before its potential as a racing track was spotted by a group of cyclists in 1926. The track was used for 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986.
Post Games: The track will revert to its role as one of Europe's leading motor racing venues