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As the 2008 Beijing Olympics draw closer, the spotlight falls on the athletes who will be competing on the sports world’s biggest stage in another edition of the Summer Olympic Games. While we all watch in awe as these athletes ply their trades and do things that most of us can only dream of, it’s important to remember the dedication and determination involved in becoming an Olympic level athlete. You will only be even more impressed by these great individuals when you come to understand what it takes for them to reach the Olympic Games.

One important thing to keep in mind is that no one just becomes an Olympic athlete. You can’t simply make it to the highest level of competition on natural talent alone. Every last athlete competing in each edition of the Olympics is successful based upon not only natural talent and ability, but years of hard work, preparation and planning. Since the Olympics only come every four years, athletes will have to train for several years just to get one opportunity to be the best in the world at their sport of choice.

If you think about it, that’s an incredible amount of sacrifice with no guaranteed reward at the end. An injury, a poor performance that keeps an athlete from qualifying for the Olympics, or any other number of things can happen that will render an athlete’s years of hard work and dedication effectively useless. Imagine dedicating your entire life to one goal, only to know that a single slip-up, mishap, or poor performance could erase all that you have worked for! This is the kind of pressure that Olympic level athletes must live with.

Although some Olympic athletes, such as basketball players, are professionals, most are not. This means that many Olympic athletes are students or must maintain jobs while training full-time to be the best in the world. It would not be possible, especially with the requirements of today’s top athletes, if it weren’t for sponsors. Most athletes rely on sponsors to help pay for strength and conditioning coaches and other needs, as well as to help pay for living expenses so that they can focus solely on their training.

Depending on the sport that the athlete participates in, they may have a very different background in their sport. As mentioned earlier, many Olympic basketball players are professional athletes, while top gymnasts are amateurs who are sometimes barely teenagers! Olympic athletes come in all ages, shapes and sizes, and from all different kinds of backgrounds. Some athletes are college competitors, and others are athletes who sharpened their skills on the college stage and have continued to train for a chance at Olympic greatness, deferring the start of their careers and families in the process.

While the demands and risks that are imposed upon athletes who dream to be in the Olympic Games are great, for these men and women, the potential rewards are well worth it. It takes a special person to dedicate themselves so completely to a singular goal, and even though many of us would love nothing more than to be given an Olympic gold medal, only a select few are willing to truly dedicate themselves to accomplishing the task.

Why is it that some athletes are able to devote themselves to the pursuit of Olympic excellence, while others can not? Perhaps Olympic athletes are simply more competitive, and their drive helps separate them from other top athletes. After all, at the highest levels of sport, the difference between a gold medal winner and a non-Olympic qualifier can be as simple as who wants to win more. One thing is for sure, though: Olympic athletes are a very special breed of individual. Although Olympic athletes are known and revered mostly for what their bodies can do, the best of them know that the work all begins in their minds and hearts.

There are few Olympic sports which have the historic tradition that Olympic boxing has built over the years. Great boxers such as Oscar de la Hoya, George Foreman, and “The Greatest” himself, Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) have fought and succeeded on the international stage at the Summer Olympic Games. Nowadays, it lives on as one of the more popular, and sometimes controversial, Olympic sports. Whether you’ll be watching along with 13,000 other fans at the Worker’s Indoor Arena, or watching from the comfort of your own home, let’s prepare yourself for boxing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with this basic history and explanation of Olympic boxing.

Surprisingly, the first modern Olympics didn’t include boxing as an Olympic sport. The reason? It was considered too violent. However, in 1904 boxing debuted at the St. Louis Olympic Games, albeit only as a demonstration sport. In 1908, boxing was included as a medal sport in London, but was once again, not a part of the Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden four years later. Finally, in the 1920 Olympic Games, boxing returned to stay (there were no 1916 Olympics).

There has never been women’s boxing in the Olympic Games, though in 2012 there will be for the first time ever. Somewhat appropriately, London will host those Summer Olympics, since London was also host when boxing first appeared as a medal sport in 1908.

Olympic boxing is notable for several reasons. For one, there are actually two bronze medals in Olympic boxing. Each loser in the two semifinal bouts receives a bronze medal. Also, the boxing tournament is a single elimination one, so there is very little margin for error- actually, there is none.

Some of the rules and guidelines of Olympic boxing are different from the professional boxing ones that many fans are more familiar with. Olympic boxing separates competitors into twelve weight classes, ranging from light flyweight (approximately 106 pounds) to super heavyweight (over 200 pounds). Also, all competitors are made to wear headgear, similar to amateur boxing in the United States.

Some of the rules of Olympic boxing, particularly the scoring and judging system, have been controversial over the years. In Olympic boxing, points are scored by hitting the opponent in the head or torso, as long as it is a legal blow. Judges don’t score the bouts by round, giving ten points to the winner. Instead, they use an electronic scoring system to register how many punches land.

When a punch lands, the judge presses a button, and if three of the five judges do so, a point is registered. Judges must also hit the button within one second of the others. However, if a flurry is exchanged, judges are told to wait until it is over, than give a point to whomever they feel got the better of the exchange. As you can see, the judging is quirky, to say the least.

At the end of the fight, if the time is up and neither fighter has been defeated, points are added up to decide the winner. If the fight is a draw, the judges vote based upon who they felt fought the better fight. However, there are no points awarded for a knockdown, so a punch that results in a downed opponent is no more valuable than a jab that lands, if a knockout doesn’t result. Similarly to in most boxing bouts, three knockdowns in a single round result in a technical knockout, although in the Olympic Games, four knockdowns in a total fight also give the same result.

The combination of these somewhat strange rules and judging guidelines have led to some controversial decisions and frustration from fans and competitors alike. However, Olympic boxing has remained as one of the purest outlets for boxers to ply their trades, and also remains one of the greatest tests possible for the world’s top amateur pugilists.

It seems that everyone dreams of participating in the Olympic Games. As kids, athletes all over the world imagine themselves on the sports world’s biggest stage, competing for glory while representing their countries and their families in friendly competition.

For those of us who aren’t able to compete at an Olympic level, the next best thing is to be able to attend the Olympic Games. For as long as they have existed, the Olympic Games have had an appeal and a tradition that set it apart from similar sporting events, and which somehow manage to capture the collective imaginations of people all over the world, whether or not they are normally sports fans.

If you are among those that are lucky enough to be attending the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, you are most likely excited, but maybe a bit stressed out as well. After all, there are a lot of things to arrange and prepare before the Olympic Games arrive. You may not have quite as much to think about as say, an Olympic gymnast or sprinter, but it’s understandable if the prospect of getting around during the 2008 Beijing Olympics is a bit daunting!

With a city the size of Beijing, China, combined with the tremendous influx of visitors that only an Olympic competition can bring, getting around town to various events as well as other tourist attractions can be pretty intimidating. It’s vital for an Olympic city to not only provide great public transportation, but also to be easy to get around for those who choose to transport themselves to where they need to go. For those folks, there has to be ample parking, and the roads must be able to occupy a larger than usual amount of drivers without causing chaos, and worse yet, traffic jams!

Luckily, the public transportation system in Beijing appears to be ready for the rather formidable challenge that such a large number of new visitors and athletes will bring. Not only can you get around for a fairly small fee (1 yuan for a bus ride in the city, and 2 yuan if you’re in the suburbs), but Public Transportation Cards are available, even to visitors, so that you can save money. It’s probably a good idea to take advantage of that offer if you’re going to be making lots of trips, which you likely will if you’re attending the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

If buses aren’t your style, you can also get a quick ride from one of the over 60,000 taxi cabs within the city of Beijing. Taxis can be a great way to travel because, although they are more expensive than buses, they can get you where you need to go quickly. Also, with a taxi, you can give the driver a specific destination, without having to tailor your arrival to a pre-set location along a bus route.

If you’re still not pleased, you’ll probably want to go with the subway or city rails that Beijing have to offer. For little more than what you would pay for a bus ride, you can take the subway and possibly get to your destination even faster.

Of course, officials in the city of Beijing, China have been preparing for the influx of visitors for years now, and they have made adjustments within the public transportation system to guarantee convenient and quick travel for all Olympic enthusiasts. The venues that have been built for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China have been placed in locations that are easily reachable using the public transportation system.

Congratulations to any of you who are attending this summer’s Beijing Olympic Games. You can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you will be able to get around quickly and efficiently, even if you don’t know your way around Beijing (which you probably don’t). Be sure to explore all the options available to you before choosing your preferred method of getting from place to place, and enjoy your Olympic experience!

Many questions abound regarding the men’s basketball competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Can the United States rebound from disappointing performances at the 2004 Sydney Olympics and the 2006 World Championships? Will China have a healthy roster as they compete in front of their home fans? Can Argentina win another gold medal after their amazing performance in 2004? Soon, these questions will all be answered. Let’s take a look at the 2008 Olympic basketball tournament that will take place in Beijing this summer.

The Argentina squad is one of the main favorites to medal in this year’s Olympic Games. Gold medal winners in 2004, they feature several great players, such as Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, and Andres Nocioni. They are known for their good team play, outside shooting and passing. While they may not be the favorites after a poor showing in the 2006 World Championships, they will take advantage if the other teams make mistakes.

China’s main questions surround the health of Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi. Both players were taken out of the NBA season before its conclusion due to injuries they sustained. However, both will likely do whatever it takes to make sure they can compete as their home country hosts the 2008 Olympic Games. If they are able to play, China will boast a very intimidating front line, although their guard play is suspect. If Yao and Wang are able to play, don’t bet against China to finish well.

The United States team is full of question marks. Their talent is never a problem, but in the 2004 Sydney Olympics, they failed to play as a cohesive unit and paid the price. After three losses and a disappointing bronze medal, it was clear that the rest of the world’s talent had begun to catch up with the United States, and that throwing together a “dream team” every four years just wasn’t going to get the job done. Since then, the philosophy behind the roster of the team has evolved, with coaches looking to have players that compliment each other, instead of a team of all stars.

Only time will tell whether the United States will win with their new approach, but it’s hard to think of a team that faces more pressure than they do. The United States fans literally expect their team to win the gold medal, and anything less is absolute failure. Even after a disappointing several years on the international scene, the United States team is the favorite to win the gold medal in Beijing. As you can see, there’s a lot of pressure on the U.S. players.

Other teams that could make a splash include Spain, who has a lot of great talent, including Pau Gasol, Jose Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro. Spain is a talented team that has an exciting style of play and doesn’t back down to any challenge. If the Spanish players shoot well and play good team defense, the sky is the limit at the Beijing Olympics for them.

An exciting dark horse team is the Lithuanian team, which is famous for a free-wheeling, outside shooting style. They can win games with great outside shooting, or shoot themselves right out of the game, so it’s hard to know what to expect from Lithuania. However, it’s definitely assured that they will be entertaining to watch. They are led by Cleveland Cavaliers star Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

If Canada is able to qualify during July’s 12-team tournament that will determine three more competitors, they could be exciting to watch as well. Canada’s Steve Nash is a multiple-time NBA MVP who usually plays a fast-paced style of basketball that fits well with the international game.

The only way to find out what will really happen will be to watch the men’s basketball tournament at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Make sure to follow the teams so you can stay up to date with one of the most exciting sports in the world!

As we get closer and closer to the newest exciting installment of the Olympic Games, the athletes themselves are also preparing for the biggest event of their lives. While cities, fans, and organizers are preparing to host, attend, or enjoy the Olympic Games, the athletes are doing preparation of their own to attempt to be recognized as among the world’s best athletes. Before we watch the athletes take center stage in the Beijing Olympics, let’s take a look at what Olympic athletes go through to get themselves in position to be the best in the world.

Olympic athletes have different lives depending on what kind of sport they participate in. Gymnasts, for example, begin their training at a very young age, many times as toddlers. After they show the aptitude and interest in gymnastics, their training is more and more serious as they spend much of their time perfecting their techniques and getting ready for competitions. Gymnasts must be very hard-working and dedicated, as they train full-time while attending classes or working with tutors to acquire their education.

For an Olympic gymnast, the Olympic Games are the summit of a lifetime of training and competition. Most gymnasts reach the prime of their careers in their teens, so it is especially important for them to capitalize on their limited chances to succeed on the Olympic stage. Keep that in mind as you watch gymnasts compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics- they are under a lot of pressure! Gymnasts, like many Olympic athletes, are particularly impressive because their sport requires so much mental toughness and maturity, along with athletic talent.

Some Olympic athletes, such as basketball players, are already professional athletes as well. This doesn’t necessarily make life easier for them, however. Professional basketball players must participate in the Olympics after already competing in a grueling season for their professional teams. This shows the dedication of basketball players who choose to represent their respective countries. After all, they have already succeeded at a high level, so other than representing their country in international competition, they have no reason to give up their off-season to compete in the Olympic Games.

Athletes that are a part of team sports, such as football (or “soccer” if you’re from the United States) have a slightly different regimen than athletes in individual sports, such as wrestling. In an individual sport, you train with others, hoping to hone your skills to the point that you can qualify to participate in the Olympic Games. In a team sport, you are generally selected to participate on the team far in advance of the Olympic Games. From then on, your time is spent practicing with the team (in addition to working with any other team that you may already play for) so that your team will have the best possible chance to succeed in the Olympic Games. At the Beijing Olympics, you are likely to see many polished teams who play well together as a unit, and the practice and hard work that has been put in is the main reason.

Amateur athletes have a very special lifestyle that can be very difficult. If athletes don’t have sponsors or other financial assistance to help with training, they must go to school or work just like the rest of us, while trying to train at a world class level at the same time. Training is expensive, as coaches need to be paid, trainers must be compensated, and equipment or facility fees also have to be taken care of. Sometimes, the stress of the lifestyle that Olympic athletes must live is greater than the stress involved in training itself!

Although Olympic athletes live much different lives than us, it’s important to remember they are also people, just like the rest of us. They are only able to reach the level they compete at because of dedication and hard work. Keep that in mind when you’re cheering on your favorite athletes this summer at the Beijing Olympics!

One of the highest honors that any city can receive is being selected to host an edition of the either the Summer or Winter Olympic Games. The selection is the result of a long process that can be as grueling and dramatic as much of the competition that takes place in the Olympics! Only after years of consideration and effort can a city finally be chosen to host the Olympic Games, so the honor is no small one at all.

However, once the honor has been bestowed, the real work begins. Each Olympic city must prepare itself for being the sports and cultural epicenter of the entire world for a period of time. They must be ready for a dramatic influx of new visitors, be prepared to host athletes and workers, and have the facilities necessary to stage all of the events that make the Olympic Games what they are: the biggest spectacle in all of sport.

In the case of Beijing, China, many preparations had to be made to make the city “Olympics ready”. Many new venues were constructed, all of which are state of the art and incredibly expensive. For years, construction crews and architects worked incredibly hard to construct such venues as Beijing’s National Stadium, the National Indoor Stadium, the National Aquatics Center, and other structures that will play host to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. At a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars for each facility, and with thousands of workers striving to complete the construction involved, the venues finally became a reality. You can bet that officials within Beijing breathed a sigh of relief when the venues were finally revealed: after all, it’s not as if the Olympic Games can be postponed if construction takes longer than planned!

The venues themselves will not be very helpful to athletes and spectators if they are not easily and readily reachable through public transportation. The kind of mass migration of people that the Olympic Games inspires is hard for any city to prepare for, but it must be done. City officials must make sure that public transportation is optimized and altered to reflect the influx of people and the change in routes that will lead to more and more visitors going to Olympic venues.

Hotels also have to be on their toes, as the minute that the Olympic Games are announced as being hosted in a particular city, calls will start to come in as fans will want to be a part of the historic action. Even in surrounding areas, hotels will be booked well ahead of time, and hotels will have to be prepared, well-staffed, and ready for anything as visitors from all over the world arrive to be witness to sports history in the making.

The Olympic Games can be a very profitable, if very stressful, time for area businesses. Restaurants, shops, and other businesses must be prepared for an amount of people that they have never previously seen before. All of the people who come to be a part of the Olympic Games will need to eat, after all! In the months leading up to the games, parking, staffing, and other issues will become important as the time draws near and businesses try to prepare for the chaos that will surely ensue.

Of course, no restaurant owner is going to complain when they double or triple their usual profits as Olympic fans flock to their establishment. Even if the preparation can be stressful, the increase in tourism that results during, and even after each installment of the Olympic Games is a truly wonderful thing for area businesses.

As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done when a city is chosen to host the Olympic Games. The people of Beijing have worked very hard to make sure that their city is a suitable host for such a world stage, and it’s likely that they are very excited to show off all of that hard work in the 2008 Summer Olympic games.