Japanese athletes in Athens Olympics

Even though PRC rivals US in Gold Medal count day by day, the most startling performance so far from Asian countries is -- Japan.

By today, Japan has already grabbed 15 Gold Medals -- 3 times more than what it had grabbed in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Moreover, it is the 3rd country with the most Gold Medals.

Its swimmers and gymnasts seem to be in par, if not stronger, than their Chinese counterparts.

but 8 of those golds came from Judo (their national sport), and 2 from wrestling, which is basically the same thing. If you give 14 golds to Wushu, I m sure China would be well ahead of the United States now.

But China's Gold Medals are also from only selected sports, i.e. weightlifting, pingpong, shooting and diving.

So far there is only one Gold Medal in swimming and none in Track and Field.

Judo ... and ... wrestling, which is basically the same thing

I've got a shiny red 100Y note for you if you say that to any Olympic Gold medallist in either of those sports . . .

Roddy

Chinese Olympic swimmers are not very athletic, especially the female swimmers, when compared to Olympic swimmers of other countries. I was surprised when a Chinese swimmer won the women's 100m breaststroke. It's a good start, but the breaststroke requires less strength than the butterfly or freestyle.

I was watching the women's gymnastics all-around, and that Russian gymnast Khorkina is arrogant! Not to mention calling herself the "Queen of Gymnastics"

For me, the most interesting trend is the fall of Germany as a Summer Olympics power. OK, East Germany was a massive cheat with regards to doping, but it seems that any advantage -even just a little- that a unified Germany would have gotten from the former East's sporting infrastructure and experience has vanished. The East alone would regularly take over a hundred medals, but since unification Germany has scored 80 in 1992, 65 in 1996, 57 in 2000, and as of now in 2004, 29.

But China's Gold Medals are also from only selected sports, i.e. weightlifting, pingpong, shooting and diving.

Japan: 

Athletics - Women's Marathon NOGUCHI Mizuki 
Gymnastics Artistic - Men's Team  JPN 
Judo - Men's -60 kg NOMURA Tadahiro 
Judo - Men's -66 kg UCHISHIBA Masato 
Judo - Men's +100 kg SUZUKI Keiji 
Judo - Women's -48 kg TANI Ryoko 
Judo - Women's -63 kg TANIMOTO Ayumi 
Judo - Women's -70 kg UENO Masae 
Judo - Women's -78 kg ANNO Noriko 
Judo - Women's +78 kg TSUKADA Maki 
Swimming - Women's 800m Freestyle SHIBATA Ai 
Swimming - Men's 100m Breaststroke KITAJIMA Kosuke 
Swimming - Men's 200m Breaststroke KITAJIMA Kosuke 
WR - Women's Freestyle 55kg YOSHIDA Saori 
WR - Women's Freestyle 63kg ICHO Kaori 

[b]5 categories.[/b]
_____________________________________________________

Australia:

Cycling Road - Women's Road Race CARRIGAN Sara 
Cycling Track - Men's Team Pursuit  AUS 
Cycling Track - Women's 500m Time Trial MEARES Anna 
Diving - Women's 10m Platform NEWBERY Chantelle 
Rowing - Men's Pairs  AUS 
Shooting - Women's Trap BALOGH Suzanne 
Swimming - Women's 100m Freestyle HENRY Jodie 
Swimming - Women's 100m Butterfly THOMAS Petria 
Swimming - Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay  AUS 
Swimming - Women's 4x100m Medley Relay  AUS 
Swimming - Men's 200m Freestyle THORPE Ian 
Swimming - Men's 400m Freestyle THORPE Ian 
Swimming - Men's 1500m Freestyle HACKETT Grant 

[b]5 categories[/b]
___________________________________________________

China: 

Badminton - Women's Singles ZHANG Ning 
Badminton - Women's Doubles  CHN 
Badminton - Mixed Doubles  CHN 
Diving - Women's Synchr 3m Springboard  CHN 
Diving - Men's Synchr 10m Platform  CHN 
Diving - Women's Synchr 10m Platform  CHN 
Gymnastics Artistic - Men's Pommel Horse TENG Haibin 
Judo - Women's -52 kg XIAN Dongmei 
Shooting - Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions JIA Zhanbo 
Shooting - Men's 10m Air Rifle ZHU Qinan 
Shooting - Men's 10m Air Pistol WANG Yifu 
Shooting - Women's 10m Air Rifle DU Li 
Swimming - Women's 100m Breaststroke LUO Xuejuan 
Tennis - Women's Doubles  CHN 
Table Tennis - Women's Singles ZHANG Yining 
Table Tennis - Men's Doubles  CHN 
Table Tennis - Women's Doubles  CHN 
Weightlifling - Men's 62kg SHI Zhiyong 
Weightlifling - Men's 69kg ZHANG Guozheng 
Weightlifling - Women's 58kg CHEN Yanqing 
Weightlifling - Women's 69kg LIU Chunhong 
Weightlifling - Women's +75kg TANG Gonghong 
WR - Women's Freestyle 72kg WANG Xu 

[b]10 categories[/b]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

USA:

Athletics - Men's 100m GATLIN Justin 
Athletics - Men's 400m WARINER Jeremy 
Cycling Road - Men's Individual Time Trial HAMILTON Tyler 
Fencing - Women's Individual Sabre ZAGUNIS Mariel 
Gymnastics Artistic - Men's Individual All-Around HAMM Paul 
Gymnastics Artistic - Women's Individual All-Around PATTERSON Carly 
Rowing - Men's Eight  USA 
Sailing - Men's 470  USA 
Shooting - Men's 50m Rifle Prone EMMONS Matthew 
Shooting - Women's Double Trap RHODE Kimberly 
Softball - Women's Team  USA 
Swimming - Women's 100m Backstroke COUGHLIN Natalie 
Swimming - Women's 200m Breaststroke BEARD Amanda 
Swimming - Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay  USA 
Swimming - Men's 50m Freestyle HALL Gary 
Swimming - Men's 100m Backstroke PEIRSOL Aaron 
Swimming - Men's 200m Backstroke PEIRSOL Aaron 
Swimming - Men's 100m Butterfly PHELPS Michael 
Swimming - Men's 200m Butterfly PHELPS Michael 
Swimming - Men's 200m Individual Medley PHELPS Michael 
Swimming - Men's 400m Individual Medley PHELPS Michael 
Swimming - Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay  USA 
Swimming - Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay  USA 

[b]9 categories[/b]
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selected sports? Is swimming a "selected sport"?

Chinese Olympic swimmers are not very athletic, especially the female swimmers, when compared to Olympic swimmers of other countries. I was surprised when a Chinese swimmer won the women's 100m breaststroke. It's a good start, but the breaststroke requires less strength than the butterfly or freestyle.

In 1992 Barcelona Olympics Chinese girls won 4 golds, 5 silvers in swimming :

金牌 

庄　泳　女子１００米自由泳  freestyle
钱　红　女子１００米蝶泳    butterfly
林　莉　女子２００米个人混合泳  individual medley
杨文意　女子５０米自由泳 freestyle


银牌 

林　莉　女子４００米个人混合泳 individual medley
林　莉　女子２００米蛙泳 breaststroke
王晓红　女子２００米蝶泳 butterfly
庄　泳　女子５０米自由泳 freestyle
女子４×１００米自由泳接力 relay

Quest:

If Chinese female swimmers could grasp 4 Gold 5 Silver Medals in Barcelona in 1992, then why do they only get 1 Gold 1 Silver in Athens?

Such regressive result lends some credence to the doping rumor.

What doping rumour? The one you're trying to start?

Roddy

Roddy:

The rumor was pontificated by the Turks. Read:

http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/01_01_99/sport2.htm

Of course the whole year (1998) started out with a doping scandal when Chinese swimmer Yuan Yuan was caught entering Australia for the World Championships with more than a little Human Growth Hormone (HGH). After dominating the 1994 championships in Rome with 16 golds and 28 medals overall, the Chinese were expected to be a big presence. But after Yuan was caught, she and her coach were sent home in disgrace and the Chinese returned to Beijing with only six golds and more accusations about systematic doping.

And of course the Chinese female swimmers are definitely clean this year. Otherwise they would have fetched 4 Gold 5 Silver like what they have achieved in Barcelona 12 years ago!

The rumor was for the generation of swimmers after those 4 women in Barcelona. If they were tested clean during the Barcelona olympics, then they were clean, period. I don't know what you are trying to say here. They would have been disqualified if what you accuse them of was true.

If Chinese female swimmers could grasp 4 Gold 5 Silver Medals in Barcelona in 1992, then why do they only get 1 Gold 1 Silver in Athens?

Because they are not the same swimmers as 12 years ago, duh.

It is not to be denied that China cannot match the swimming powers the US and Australia, but they are not as weak as bhchao thought.

Yeah, more than just a rumor...Quest should have quit while he was ahead as Chinese swimming went through quite a patch of rough water after those Barcelona Games...a Google search using words like "Chinese swimming/swimmers/banned/doping" will reveal all the sordid details you care to read, culminating in a 0-medal performance at the 2000 Sydney Games.

oh come on, yes there were swimmers that were tested positive for doping in the years afterwards, but during the Barcelona Olympics, none of those 4 women was tested positive. On what grounds can you say they doped then?

Quest:

The East German female swimmers were not found to use performance enhancement drugs in the '88 Seoul Olympics as well as earlier Games.

But now everyone knows they didn't deserve those medals even though they were not caught on the spot.

What if I say:

The Australians dope, they are not caught, but I am sure they dope.

The Americans dope, they are not caught on the spot, but everyone knows they don't deserve those medals.

Let's be fair.

Quest:

But unlike PRC female swimming athletes, the overall performance of the American and Australian female swimmers have been more steady. The medal counts have been increasing or decreasing more gradually.

Of course, individually there have been doping rumors revolving around them too.

But for PRC, the decrease in medal count has been very drastic.

It dropped from 16 Gold Medals in World Cup in Rome in 1994 to 1 Gold Medal this year in Athens.

So what went wrong? There is no explanation.

But if you have old tapes, go review those Chinese female swimmers in Barcelona in '92. Many of them, like Ms Yang, looked like a man more than a real man in body buildup.

On the other hand, Ms Lou, the sole Gold Medal winner in swimming in Athens, looks like a real girl.

yadda yadda

lets move on.

it seems Ian's a big fan of japan in every field.......

it's a bit disappointing that japan's defeated by china in volleyball women by 0-3

Russia, the previous swimming super power, only won 1 silver in Athens.

oh they must have cheated before.