Heavy Medal

Olympic Soccer in Maryland?

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:53:23 -0500

If Chicago wins the 2016 Olympics -- the decision comes in October -- preliminary soccer games might come to FedEx Field. See Steve Goff's Soccer Insider for more.

Russell Bout Set

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:12:04 -0500

Boxer Gary Russell Jr. of Capitol Heights, Md., will make his professional debut Friday on Showtime's "Shobox: The Next Generation." Russell, 20, will fight Antonio Reyes (3-2) of Dallas in a featherweight division bout at the Million Dollar Elm Casino in Tulsa, Okla. The fight is on the undercard of a featherweight contest between Leonilo Miranda and Orlando Cruz. "I have been waiting for this day for a long time," Russell said. "Having my pro debut showcased on Showtime is outstanding exposure, and I plan to put on a good show." Russell, known as an outstanding puncher, was on the 2008 Olympic team but collapsed before his weigh-in and was unable to compete.

USOC Official Roush Resigns

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:16:15 -0500

From the Associated Press: Steve Roush resigned from the U.S. Olympic Committee on Tuesday, leaving a post in which he played a key role in organizing logistics for American athletes at the last three games. He was the USOC's chief of sport performance since 2003. For the three years before that, he worked as sports partnership director. His duties were expected to be curtailed in a reorganization dividing the sports performance division into two sections: one for operations and logistics and another for athletes and national governing bodies. "While the decision to leave the USOC is not easy, I am confident the time is right," Roush said. The USOC said his resignation is "effective this month." Roush will be leaving five months after the Beijing Olympics, where he got entangled in a controversy involving cyclists who wore masks upon their arrival at the Beijing airport. The cyclists complained they were

Liukin, Phelps Score Speaking Roles in BarneyCam Finale

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:25:30 -0500

It's doubtful either has a future on the stage, but Olympic gold medallists Nastia Liukin and Michael Phelps have speaking roles in the final installment of BarneyCam, the annual video that features the First Dog giving viewers a peek at the White House Christmas decorations. This season's five minute, 39 second video includes a dream sequence, in which Barney falls asleep on his dog bed and imagines he is competing at the 2008 Beijing Games. Barney, it turns out, is quite an athlete Scottish Terrier. He sticks his landing on a difficult vault, teams with Miss Beazley for a perfectly executed synchronized dive and swims to a gold medal in the pool, out-touching the nearest competitor by a paw. To top it off, Barney sinks the putt that clinches the Ryder Cup for his country, with the U.S. team cheering him on. Olympic gold medallists Shawn Johnson and Garrett

Olympic Diving Coach to Tutor Two Local Stars

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:53:15 -0500

Two Vienna 10-year-olds selected into USA Diving's Talent Development Program will participate in a three-day training session with Wenbo Chen, head coach of USA Diving's National Training Center and a 2008 U.S. Olympic team coach. Grayson Campbell, who trains with Dominion Dive Club, and Ian Shelton of Patriot Dive Club will be joined by Bradley Buchter, 10, of East Berlin, Pa., at the training camp that begins Friday at George Mason University. In its second year, USA Diving's Talent Development Program (TDP) identifies 20 potentially exceptional divers between the ages of 7-13 and provides them with a number of opportunities to aid in training and development. Part of the program includes a visit from an elite level coach - in this case, Wenbo Chen - to the diver's home pool (or nearby facility), allowing the young athletes and their coaches to work side-by-side with some of the top coaches in

Local Skaters Get Big Results in Weekend Events

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:22:01 -0500

Langley High's Armin Mahbanoozadeh, 17, won a silver medal a the International Skating Union's Junior Grand Prix Final this weekend in Goyang City, South Korea, earning his second straight medal in the event and headlining a weekend of success for skaters from the Washington Figure Skating Club in international and national competitions. Great Falls's Mahbanoozadeh, who won the bronze medal last year, earned 193.49 points to finish second in both the short and long programs behind France's Florent Amodio, who claimed 199.58 points. Silver Spring's Kristine Musademba, 16, finished sixth overall in the ladies event with 122.86 points, earning eighth place in the short program and sixth in the free skate. Local ice dance teams, meantime, won two medals and earned three of the top six placements in the intermediate and juvenile categories at the U.S. junior figure skating championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Rachel Parsons (Derwood) and Kyle MacMillan

Belarusians Stripped of Medals

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:47:56 -0500

From the Associated Press: Two Belarusian hammer throwers were stripped Thursday of their silver and bronze medals from the Beijing Olympics because of high levels of testosterone. A Polish canoeist also was disqualified for drug use. The three cases bring to nine the number of athletes caught for doping in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee executive board ruled against Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan, who tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone after the hammer final on Aug. 17 at the Bird's Nest stadium. The silver will go to Krisztian Pars of Hungary and the bronze to Koji Murofushi of Japan. Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia won the gold medal. The IOC asked the International Association of Athletics Federations to officially modify the results and ordered the Belarus national Olympic committee to return the medals. The IOC also imposed a lifetime Olympic ban on the 31-year-old Devyatovskiy because it was his

Local Skater In Second At Junior Grand Prix

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:00:25 -0500

Langley High's Armin Mahbanoozadeh, 17, stood in second place Thursday with 67.05 points after the short program of the International Skating Union's Junior Grand Prix Final in Goyang City, South Korea. Mahbanoozadeh, who put forth a nearly mistake-free performance, trails only France's Florent Amodio, who had 68.20, entering the deciding long program. "I'm really happy," said Mahbanoozadeh, who lives in Alexandria and trains in Reston with the Washington Figure Skating Club. "It's a new personal best and I skated how I've been training." Silver Spring's Kristine Musademba, 16, will compete in the ladies event at the junior grand prix final.

Russell Turns Pro

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:38:43 -0500

From Les Carpenter: Capitol Heights boxer Gary Russell Jr., whose collapse before his weigh-in at the Olympics cost him a chance to fight in Beijing, said he has signed with manager Al Hayman and is scheduled to fight for the first time as a professional on Jan . 17. A location and opponent have yet to be determined. Russell, who appeared too muscle-bound for his 119-pound weight class in Beijing, will move up to featherweight. "It's definitely not forgotten," Russell said of his Beijing experience. "People go through things in life and they have to deal with certain things that will motivate them. This was my thing." Though some, including famed promoter Don King, speculated that Russell's collapse while trying to shed two pounds before the weigh-in might not help him land a professional contract, Russell and his father and trainer, Gary Russell Sr., said they had offers from several

IOC Won't Sell U.S. TV Rights in Bad Economy

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:38:19 -0500

From the Associated Press: The International Olympic Committee is prepared to postpone the bidding on lucrative U.S. broadcast rights until after next year's selection of the 2016 host city due to the economic downturn, the IOC's top TV negotiator said Wednesday. "In this economic climate, I don't see us moving forward quickly because all the prognostications we are seeing are that advertising will be down," IOC finance commission chairman Richard Carrion said. "I doubt very much this is a good time to begin talking. ... I don't see us being very active on this right now." Carrion said it's quite possible the IOC will hold off until after the Oct. 2, 2009, vote in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the host city for the 2016 Summer Games. The four candidates are Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. "In that sense, it removes some of the uncertainty which may work to our

IOC Will Retest 500 Olympic Samples

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:25:19 -0500

The International Olympic Committee will use two recently perfected drug tests to retest about 500 urine or blood samples taken from Olympic athletes during the August Summer Games in Beijing, the IOC announced today. About 400 samples will be re-examined beginning in January using a blood test for a variant of the endurance-boosting EPO (erythropoietin) known commercially as CERA. French laboratory officials caught several cyclists in last summer's Tour de France using CERA, but because the test had not been validated, it was not used at the Olympic Games. Another 100 samples will be examined using an improved urine test for insulin, which was recently improved by a laboratory in Cologne, Germany. The IOC said it would target athletes in endurance sports such as cycling, swimming and track and field. There were 4,770 drug tests were carried out in Beijing, including 3,801 urine and 969 blood tests, the IOC said.

USA Track Sets London Goal of 30

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:59:42 -0500

From the Associated Press: After a disappointing Beijing Olympics, USA Track & Field is setting its sights high by aiming for 30 medals at the 2012 London Games. "We now will announce to the world that we are going to take our 'A game' to London in 2012. Our goal: 30 clean medals," USATF CEO Doug Logan said at the group's annual meeting. How ambitious is that? It's a total the United States hasn't surpassed on the track at a non-boycotted Summer Games since winning 31 medals in 1956. The United States earned 23 track and field medals in Beijing this summer -- more than any other nation -- but the results were a letdown on many levels. One example: The U.S. went 0-for-6 in sprint events for the first time at a Summer Games. Another: The American men took home four golds, their fewest from any Olympics. In his

NBAC Receives $100,000 Grant From The USOC

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:40:05 -0500

Michael Phelps's goal of turning the North Baltimore Aquatic Club into a training hub for elite, post-collegiate swimmers got a $100,000 boost Saturday night from the U.S. Olympic Committee. The organization's board of directors approved a 2009 budget during a meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., that included a grant to the NBAC, according to USOC Chief Communications Officer Darryl Seibel. Seibel said he could not disclose the amount, but a swimming source said it was $100,000. The funding will immediately make the NBAC a central focus of U.S. Olympic development efforts in swimming as the 2012 Summer Games in London approach. Phelps's coach Bob Bowman, who along with Phelps took over the club through a post-Olympic business partnership after four years at the University of Michigan, said the grant would help the facility provide support services for a hoped-for training team of 10-12 professional swimmers. "It means a lot to

Local Skaters To Compete in U.S. Junior Champs

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:38:13 -0500

More than a dozen skaters from the Washington Figure Skating Club are slated to compete in the U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships beginning Monday in Lake Placid, N.Y. Haley Mulera, 12, of Rockville; Taylor Hoover, 14, of Ashburn; and Molly Crawford, 14, of Germantown give the Washington Figure Skating Club three representatives in the intermediate field of 41 skaters. Kathryn (Kit) Albaugh, 11, of Arlington will be compete in the juvenile category. Mulera won silver in the juvenile category of last year's U.S. junior championships and has been selected to the U.S. Figure Skating Association's developmental team. Five ice-dance teams will also compete next week: the brother-sister team of Danvi and Vu Pham of Silver Spring, who placed second at last year's event and also are developmental team members. Quinn Carpenter (Wheaton) and Lorraine McNamara (Germantown); Kristina Rexford (Silver Spring) and Michael Parsons (Derwood, Md.); Katherine Gourianova and Andrew Hickey

Putin: 2014 Budget Won't Be Cut

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:45:43 -0500

From the Associated Press: The budget for building venues for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi will not be cut, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday. A Putin deputy overseeing the construction for the Games suggested last month that the global economic crisis might force Russia to reduce the $12 billion cost for the venues, which are being built almost entirely from scratch. "So far as the financial resources for carrying out the necessary preparatory work, they've already been allocated and they won't be reduced," Putin said in a nationally televised question-and-answer session. The government is paying about half the bill.