Trevor Graham, former ace athletics coach, is banned for life for coaching or partcipating in any athletic event. Reason? He has doped many of his athletes before.

The former trainer of disgraced sprinters Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin, Graham is banned from coaching or participating in any competition or activity organised by the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Track & Field, the International Association of Athletics Federations and other world-wide bodies.

Via Yahoo Sport

The Beijing Olympics is getting nearer (you can almost hear the crowds roaring).

And The Beijing Olympics FAN! blog has been around for over a year now and I have to confess I’m not the very sporty type. Only until recently, I’m picking up running (try to be on a daily basis) again. The main reasons are that there is a great running track just next to where I’m living and the other inspiration is from this blog.

I’m running 6 rounds (about 2.4km) everyday.

It has been 2 weeks and from the initial 20-minute run-jog-walk to the present 16-min run-jog.

Yes, I’m impressed with myself with such improvement as I haven’t been running for nearly 10 years.

What I’m trying to drive at is to tell you to take up a sports…any one you enjoy or prefer and make it a point to do that sports on a frequent basis.

You don’t have to strive to be an Olympian but do strive to be healthy.

I can hear the crowds cheering for me everyday.

Image: DJ Bass

Can fashion and babes go in line with official Olympic sports in Beijing 2008? Donning a dress in high jump, going prom in still rings and dancing in table tennis are some of the ways to land you in the fashion limelight but not an Olympic gold medal.

Babes Photo Gallery

This is another sad story about doping and athletes. Chinese runner Xing Huina is hoping to find a new coach and a new training program since her former coach Wang Dexian received a lifelong ban from coaching when another runner under his direction tested positive for steroids. While I do think support Wang’s ban, I think that Xing (who never tested positive for steroids) ends up suffering quite a bit because of it.

“After I left Wang, I have been training alone. Without systematic trainings and teammates around, it’s impossible to keep up a high-level performance,” said Xing, whose slumping form also cost her a spot in this year’s Osaka World Championships.

“There is not much time left for me. I hope I will get back to my best form under Li in the US.”

Xing is heading to the US to train with Chinese-American coach James Li, the USA Track and Field Coach of the Year.

Li, who was born in Chengdu and naturalized as a US citizen in 1998, was named the USA Track and Field Coach of the Year after producing world 1,500m and 5,000m champion Bernard Lagat.

Lagat became the first man to win a 1,500m and 5,000m world championship double this year at Osaka, claiming the US’s first-ever 5,000m podium finish at the Worlds under Li’s guidance.

Head coach of China track and filed team Feng Shuyong also believes the training opportunities in the US will be of great help to Xing’s rehabilitation.

“She is now physically fit and her form is getting better day by day. So it’s the right time for us to send her there,” Feng said. “Li is a great coach. The weather conditions are also very comfortable right now. And besides, training with the high-level teammates will also be helpful.”

Via The People’s Daily

This series of Nike “Anytime” (随时) commercials are all related to the Beijing Olympics. In the advertisements, you are encouraged to do any sports such as fencing, weightlifting, marathon running, discus throwing, basketball, 100m sprinting and judo anytime, even in a classroom or at the school canteen. In a sense of “Just Do It - Anytime”.

I love the judo part, reminds me of my dating history. Duh.

China local and foreign international brands are using the Beijing Olympics to increase profiles and getting their every sponsorship dollar worth. Only a handful of athletes are earning top dollars from endorsements and sponsorships. They are Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian (basketball), Guo Jingjing (diving), Liu Xiang (Track & Field, Athletics) and Wang Nan (Table Tennis), just to name a few.

The emergence of top athletes as spokespeople is happening as domestic brands are developing national or even global profiles and international brands are looking for ways to relate to Chinese customers.

So do they get unlimited supply of Coke?

Via BusinessWeek

Asian high jump champion, Lee Hup Wei, sets his goal to qualify for a place in the Beijing Olympics 2008 and bring pride to Malaysia. His personal best is 2.24m which was set in the Asian Track and Field (ATF) championships.

The qualifying mark under category B is 2.27m while for category A is 2.30m. Hup Wei improved tremendously after tough three months of intensive training under Cuban coach Antonio Yznaga Ibar.

The Olympics is where Hup Wei can prove his mettle.

Via The Star

The current world record holder of 110 metres hurdles, best bet for next year Beijing Olympics, Liu Xiang, or rather his running shoes, had raised 200 000 Yuan ($25 770) in a charity auction. The auction was held to raise funds for the children of migrant workers in China.

The children of the millions of migrant workers who have flocked to China’s major cities in recent years are often excluded from the same school and health opportunities as established residents.

It’s nice to see athletes, sports men and women do their part for charity. Keep it Up!

Via CNN