MOSCOW — Russia on Tuesday unveiled the phrase "Hot. Cool. Yours." as the slogan for the 2014 Winter Olympics as the 500-day countdown began to the opening in the Black Sea resort of Sochi."Russia in many ways is a country of contrasts and we wanted to emphasise that in the slogan," said the organizing committee president, Dmitry Chernyshenko, at a presentation in Moscow."The climate is cold but the hospitality is warm. The Olympics are Winter but Sochi is a southern city, and you could list many other contrasts here, so we picked this slogan."In Russian, the slogan reads slightly differently: "Hot. Wintry. Yours."The "hot" refers to the sheltered subtropical Black Sea resort of Sochi, which has palm trees, in contrast with the "cool" mountains above the city, which Russia is hoping will be thickly coated with snow for the ski events.The slogan, which was first informally revealed by Chernyshenko on a television talk show on Monday evening, got a mixed reception in Russia, with many people mocking its slightly suggestive wording."The official slogan of the Sochi Olympics sounds like an ad for a premium sex line," wrote Twitter user Sergey Evdokimov."The slogan brings up so many associations, but none of them are to do with sport," wrote another, Nadin Pilipenko.Lawmaker Robert Shlegel of ruling United Russia party told Russian News Service radio station: "I can't say it stands out at all or describes the Olympic movement. It's neither fish nor fowl."Russia last hosted the Olympics as part of the Soviet Union in 1980 and its winning bid for the Winter Games was a massive boost for national pride, spearheaded by strongman leader Vladimir Putin.The construction of the sports facilities is now more than 70 percent complete ahead of the start on February 7, 2014, Chernyshenko said, allaying fears that the project is running behind schedule.As massive construction work is under way at the Soviet-era resort, ecologists and rights activists have criticized the preparations for damaging the environment and forcing locals out of their homes, claims denied by the organizers.The Games will be hosted from Feb. 7 to 23.
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Judoka Ebinuma earns place in London Olympics
Fukuoka — Masashi Ebinuma scored an ippon to beat rival Jumpei Morishita in the men's 66-kg final at the judo national invitational weight-class championships Saturday, effectively securing his spot for this summer's London Olympics.The 22-year-old Ebinuma, winner of the gold medal at last year's judo world championships in Paris, made his berth for London all but a formality as the top seed with his third consecutive title, along with Yoshie Ueno, who triumphed in the women's 63-kg category for the first time in two years."The pressure will be intense at the Olympics, so I want to be able to show my resolve with a better and highly spirited performance in London," said Ebinuma. "My dream is to win the gold medal, so this is just the starting line."World champion Riki Nakaya won his first title in the men's 73-kg class — one of the categories Japanese men are expected to win gold at the Summer Games. Hiroyuki Akimoto crashed out with a first-round loss at Fukuoka Kokusai center.Hiroaki Hiraoka took the men's 60-kg crown for the fifth straight year.Mika Sugimoto got revenge against Kanae Yamabe in a rematch to win the women's over 78-kg crown for the fourth year in a row after losing to Yamabe on points in the final of the women's national championship in April.Women's judoka Akari Ogata (78 kg) and Haruka Tachimoto (70 kg) claimed their first titles.The All Japan Judo Federation will make an official announcement of those selected to compete at the London Games at a meeting following the conclusion of the national invitational meet on Sunday.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Japan punches ticket to London Olympics
Japan booked its ticket to the London Olympic men's soccer tournament with a 2-0 win over Bahrain on Wednesday night.
See you in London: Hiroshi Kiyotake scores Japan's second goal against Bahrain on Wednesday at National Stadium. KYODOThe Under-23 team went into the match at National Stadium needing only a draw to make sure of its place at this year's Summer Games, but goals from Takahiro Ogihara and Hiroshi Kiyotake early in the second half allowed Takashi Sekizuka's side to top qualifying Group C in comfort.This summer's July 26-Aug. 11 tournament will be Japan's fifth successive Olympic appearance, with a bronze medal in Mexico City in 1968 the high-water mark to aim for.Japan could have qualified even in defeat with a strong goal difference providing a buffer from nearest rivals Bahrain and Syria, but Sekizuka was taking no chances as he fielded an experienced lineup. Full internationals Kiyotake and Genki Haraguchi took their places alongside Borussia Monchengladbach striker Yuki Otsu, but it was Omiya Ardija midfielder Keigo Higashi who almost opened the scoring when he hit a rasping shot from outside the box with only two minutes on the clock.Bahrain managed to keep Japan quiet until Haraguchi headed straight at goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla in the 21st minute, but the visitors grew in confidence as the first half wore on and Hiroki Sakai was lucky not to gift them the lead when he headed over his own bar shortly before the interval.But with Japan still struggling to find any fluency as play resumed after the break, Ogihara made the breakthrough. Haraguchi made a smart cutback from the left in the 53rd minute, and the 20-year-old Cerezo Osaka midfielder opened up his body to coolly side-foot the ball past Lutfalla.The impact was immediate. Kiyotake added a second six minutes later as Japan clicked into gear, rifling a shot from the edge of the area after Higashi had shredded the Bahrain defense again down the left wing.Kiyotake hit the post soon after as Japan threatened to run riot, but not even the substitute appearance of livewire striker Kensuke Nagai could conjure up another as the home side eased down toward the final whistle.The draw for the 16-team final tournament will take place on April 24. Nadeshiko Japan have already qualified for the women's competition.WARSAW — Japan will play five-time world champion Brazil in a friendly international in the Polish city of Wroclaw on Oct. 16, Reuters reported Tuesday.Reuters quoted Wroclaw mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz as saying on the city stadium's official website, "Japan and Brazil want to play in Europe and we are lucky enough to be (located) right in between.""We bet that after the Euro emotions in June there will still be hunger for more spectacular matches," he said.Wroclaw is one of the four cities in Poland that will stage matches during Euro 2012.LONDON — Germany striker Mario Gomez scored four goals, leading Bayern Munich into the Champions League quarterfinals Tuesday with a 7-0 rout of FC Basel.A week after Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match, Gomez became the eighth to hit four as Bayern overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance 7-1.Arjen Robben also scored twice for Bayern, which was joined in the next round by Marseille despite the French club's 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan.
See you in London: Hiroshi Kiyotake scores Japan's second goal against Bahrain on Wednesday at National Stadium. KYODOThe Under-23 team went into the match at National Stadium needing only a draw to make sure of its place at this year's Summer Games, but goals from Takahiro Ogihara and Hiroshi Kiyotake early in the second half allowed Takashi Sekizuka's side to top qualifying Group C in comfort.This summer's July 26-Aug. 11 tournament will be Japan's fifth successive Olympic appearance, with a bronze medal in Mexico City in 1968 the high-water mark to aim for.Japan could have qualified even in defeat with a strong goal difference providing a buffer from nearest rivals Bahrain and Syria, but Sekizuka was taking no chances as he fielded an experienced lineup. Full internationals Kiyotake and Genki Haraguchi took their places alongside Borussia Monchengladbach striker Yuki Otsu, but it was Omiya Ardija midfielder Keigo Higashi who almost opened the scoring when he hit a rasping shot from outside the box with only two minutes on the clock.Bahrain managed to keep Japan quiet until Haraguchi headed straight at goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla in the 21st minute, but the visitors grew in confidence as the first half wore on and Hiroki Sakai was lucky not to gift them the lead when he headed over his own bar shortly before the interval.But with Japan still struggling to find any fluency as play resumed after the break, Ogihara made the breakthrough. Haraguchi made a smart cutback from the left in the 53rd minute, and the 20-year-old Cerezo Osaka midfielder opened up his body to coolly side-foot the ball past Lutfalla.The impact was immediate. Kiyotake added a second six minutes later as Japan clicked into gear, rifling a shot from the edge of the area after Higashi had shredded the Bahrain defense again down the left wing.Kiyotake hit the post soon after as Japan threatened to run riot, but not even the substitute appearance of livewire striker Kensuke Nagai could conjure up another as the home side eased down toward the final whistle.The draw for the 16-team final tournament will take place on April 24. Nadeshiko Japan have already qualified for the women's competition.WARSAW — Japan will play five-time world champion Brazil in a friendly international in the Polish city of Wroclaw on Oct. 16, Reuters reported Tuesday.Reuters quoted Wroclaw mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz as saying on the city stadium's official website, "Japan and Brazil want to play in Europe and we are lucky enough to be (located) right in between.""We bet that after the Euro emotions in June there will still be hunger for more spectacular matches," he said.Wroclaw is one of the four cities in Poland that will stage matches during Euro 2012.LONDON — Germany striker Mario Gomez scored four goals, leading Bayern Munich into the Champions League quarterfinals Tuesday with a 7-0 rout of FC Basel.A week after Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match, Gomez became the eighth to hit four as Bayern overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance 7-1.Arjen Robben also scored twice for Bayern, which was joined in the next round by Marseille despite the French club's 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan.Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Kagawa keen to play in Olympics
Osaka — Borussia Dortmund's Japan international midfielder Shinji Kagawa is hoping to stay injury-free for the remainder of the season and has an eye on this summer's London Olympics."My main objective is to finish the season without being injured and on top of that deliver results," Kagawa told reporters Monday at Osaka airport before heading back to Germany to his Bundesliga club."I'm in good condition and have high hopes for myself for the second half of the season," the 22-year-old added.Kagawa has yet to feature for Japan's Olympic hopefuls but would likely be considered for selection if Takashi Sekizuka's men qualify for London."The team has its stance on selection so it is not for me to comment but I want to get myself prepared," he said.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Yoshida, Icho qualify for Olympics
Wrestler Saori Yoshida captured her 10th consecutive title in the women's 55-kg class, while Kaori Icho won the 63-kg title for the third time in a row at the national championships Friday, allowing them to secure their tickets to next year's London Olympics.With the victories, the women met the selection criteria set by the Japan Wrestling Association for their Olympic berths after Yoshida, 29, won her ninth consecutive title and Icho, 27, defended her crown at the world championships in Istanbul in September.
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