Category: Sports

PARIS, June 09, 2008 (AFP) – Each Olympics brings out some memorable emotional moments and Beijing should not be any different.Here, AFP Sports picks out a selection of several of the outstanding memories: LONDON 1908 – The marathon that was not elementary John Hayes is one of the few winners of the Olympic marathon who […]

PARIS, June 5, 2008 (AFP) – With the 2008 Olympics getting under way in Beijing on August 8, AFP Sport presents a selection of the legends who have lit up the event down the years: Abebe Bikila (ETH) – Running barefoot, Bikila of Ethiopia won the marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Despite undergoing an […]

NEW YORK, June 1, 2008 (AFP) – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt clocked a 100m world record of 9.72sec Saturday to electrify the Reebok Grand Prix athletics meeting.The 21-year-old broke the previous record of 9.74 set by compatriot Asafa Powell in Rieti, Italy, on September 9, 2007. With a favorable wind of 1.7m/sec, Bolt finished ahead of […]

BEIJING, May 27, 2008 (AFP) – Pollution levels in Beijing hit the top of the scale on Tuesday, just 73 days before the Olympics, prompting a government warning for residents with respiratory problems to stay indoors.“Sensitive individuals should avoid going out of doors,” the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said on its website, announcing that air […]

VIENNA, May 23, 2008 (AFP) – The UN atomic watchdog said Friday that it had seen no concrete intelligence regarding a possible dirty bomb threat to this summer’s Olympic games in Beijing.Talking to journalists, Anita Nilsson, head of nuclear security at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was asked is she could confirm that the […]

KARACHI, May 19, 2008 (AFP) – Burgeoning cricket talent Afghanistan are confident as they prepare for the first step towards the 2011 World Cup, captain Norooz Khan Mangal was quoted as saying Monday. “The tour to Peshawar was a good one in which we won 13 out of 14 40-overs-a-side matches. In our domestic cricket, […]

SANYA, China, May 4, 2008 (AFP) – The Olympic torch began the mainland China leg of its relay here Sunday in front of thousands of flag-waving supporters, after a global journey marred by protests over Tibet and other controversies.Amid heavy security, winter Olympic speed skating champion Yang Yang was the first to carry the torch, […]

April 30, 2008 (AFP) – Record-breaking Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan said Wednesday he plans to team up with Indian counterpart Anil Kumble to coach spinners when he retires from international cricket.“I will do a little bit for the game, not for money but for enjoyment,” Muralitharan told the Mumbai-based Daily News and Analysis newspaper. […]

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, April 24, 2008 (AFP) – Athletes from national Olympic Committees on Thursday rejected any boycott of the Beijing Games and said sport should be kept separate from politics despite China’s poor human rights record.“We are all of the wholehearted belief that boycotts are pointless and senseless — and only hurt the athletes,” the […]

SYDNEY, April 21, 2008 (AFP) – More than half the police force in Australia’s capital Canberra will guard the Olympic torch when the troubled relay arrives in the city this week, officials said Monday.Security has been beefed up for Thursday’s run, which is expected to attract hundreds of pro-Tibet demonstrators angry at China’s treatment of […]

KATHMANDU, April 20, 2008 (AFP) – Authorities in Nepal said Sunday they had deployed security forces on their side of Mount Everest and could use gunfire against pro-Tibet protesters when China takes the Olympic torch to the summit.Nepal has been under pressure from Beijing to seal off the world’s highest peak for next month’s stages […]

NEW DELHI, April 18, 2008 (AFP) – Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other top news agencies have said they will not cover cricket’s inaugural Indian Premier League, which starts Friday, due to curbs on the distribution of photographs.IPL officials have prohibited news agencies from supplying photographs to cricket-specific websites for the eight-team, Twenty20 tournament. The London-based […]