Kim Ha Na, Meiliana Jauhari, Ha Jung En, Jung Kyung Eun, Kim Min Jung, Greysia Polii, Wang Xiaoli, and Yu Yang
Ruta Meilutyte
Ruta Meilutyte, the 15 year old swimmer from Lithuania, surprised many at the London Aquatics Centre. It all started when, in the 4th Heat for the women's 100 meter breaststroke, she came in 1st in not only the heat that include olympic record holder Leisel Jones from Australia, but also 1st of all participants. In the semi-finals, she set a European record in the event with a time of 1:05.21 and was, again, 1st overall. Swimming in Lane 4 in the finals, she won the gold medal with a time 1:05.47. In the 50 meter freestyle, she was 1st in her heat, but did not qualify for the semi's and in the 100 meter freestyle,she finished 5th in her heat and didn't make the semi's.
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| Wang, Yu, Jung, and Kim hear it from Torsten Berg http://static.ibnlive.in.com/ibnlive/pix/sitepix/08_2012/ badminton_scandal_reuters.jpg |
These 8 badminton participants were disqualified from the women's doubles tournament. Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang were the 2011 World Champs and number 1 seed from China. Jung Kyung Eun and Kim Ha Na of South Korea faced the Chinese duo in the last match of the Group A. Both were 2-0. The winner might have to face the number 2 seed of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, who lost a day earlier, in the semi-finals instead of the finals. So they wouldn't have to face the 2 seed until the finals, Wang and Yu deliberately tried to loose the match. They faltered on many serves and missed easy shots. The South Koreans also performed poorly. Later in the day, Ha Jung En and Kim Min Jung of South Korea faced Indonesia's Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii. All 4 players were told to play hard and after they were not, tournament referee and umpire Torsten Berg disqualified them all by giving them black cards. They were taken back after the players promised they would play harder. They Indonesia's ended up losing the match. The 2 other teams in their group made the quarters due to the DQ's.
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| Torsten Berg Talks To Ha, Kim, Jauhari, and Polii http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2012/08/ olympic_badminton_-_h_2012.jpg |
The defending men's singles gold medalist and number 2 seed in this years competition, China's Lin Dan said about the controversy that, "This situation really is not in the Olympic sporting spirt," and "I think it will definitely bring a negative impact." He also said that having a round-robin style preliminary round is also at blame, saying, "If they just had a knockout round it would all be fine. You lose and that's it," and "Why would the tournament rules people have (a format) like this?" This is the 1st time the competition has a preliminary round. In the past, it was just a regular single-elimination tournament.
Ruta Meilutyte
Ruta Meilutyte, the 15 year old swimmer from Lithuania, surprised many at the London Aquatics Centre. It all started when, in the 4th Heat for the women's 100 meter breaststroke, she came in 1st in not only the heat that include olympic record holder Leisel Jones from Australia, but also 1st of all participants. In the semi-finals, she set a European record in the event with a time of 1:05.21 and was, again, 1st overall. Swimming in Lane 4 in the finals, she won the gold medal with a time 1:05.47. In the 50 meter freestyle, she was 1st in her heat, but did not qualify for the semi's and in the 100 meter freestyle,she finished 5th in her heat and didn't make the semi's.
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Natalia Partyka
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Poland's Natalia Partyka is not your average table tennis player. She has no right forearm. That does not stop her from playing in not only the Paralympics, but the Olympics, too. The 68th ranked women's player is participating in both the women's singles and women team tournaments. For the women's singles, she had a preliminary round and 1st round byes. Partyka started play in round 2. She started by playing Mie Skov of Denmark. Partyka won 4 sets to 3. In the 3rd round, she lost to Jie Li of the Netherlands, 4-2 after being up by 2 sets. She will be playing on Denmark's women's team for the team competition. They will face Singapore in the 1st Round.
Mikkel Hanson and Aron Palmarson
Mikkel Hanson and Aron Palmarson have been playing great in the men's handball tournament. Hanson, the 2011 Men's IHF World Handball Player of the Year, has been lighting it up for Denmark. He is tied for 6th in goals with 22 and 4th in assists with 17. The Left Back has led Denmark to a 3-1 record in Group B with 1 game to go, securing a spot in the quarterfinals. His best match so far was against Serbia when he scored 7 goals and dished out 5 assists. Palmarson has been a leader for 4-0 Iceland. He has 25 goals, which puts him 4th in goals, and 15 assists, which puts him at 6th for assists. When Iceland faced Tunsia, Palmarson scored 8 goals and had 4 assists.
Elisa De Francisca, Arrianna Errigo, Valentina Vezzali
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| Ilara Salvatori, Errigo, Vezzali, and De Francisca celebrate a gold medal in women's team foil http://www.london2012.com/mm/Photo/sport/General/01/32/03/31/ 1320331_M01.jpg |
