Japan sees first day of no medals as gold rush ends

Tuesday 19th August, 07:21 AM JST

BEIJING —

Japan had its first day of winning no medals at the Beijing Olympics on Monday, as China dominated in gymnastics, Australia won sailing and triathlon titles, and Britain continued to rule the cycling track with a blistering world record in the men’s team pursuit. With judo and women’s wrestling finished and its interest in swimming also at an end, Japan will be wondering where its medals are going to come from during the second week of full competition. The three sports have accounted for 16 of the country’s 20 medals so far. Japan had no finalists in action in the gymnasium, where China won gold and silver in the men’s rings, and gold and bronze in the women’s uneven bars.

In sailing Tetsuya Matsunaga and Taro Ueno did well to place second in the 11th and final race of the men’s 470 two-person dinghy event, but they finished seventh overall, as Australia’s Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page won the gold, with Britain and France taking silver and bronze. Australia also took gold in the triathlon, with three-time world champion Emma Snowsill of Australia winning in an overall time of 1 hour, 58 minutes, 27.66 seconds. Portugal’s Vanessa Fernandes took the silver and Australian Emma Moffatt the bronze. But Japan’s Juri Ide turned in a strong running performance to finish fifth overall for the best result by a Japanese since the triathlon became an Olympic sport eight years ago. Ide got off to a strong start to the race and placed fourth in the 1.5-kilometer swim before dropping to 15th after the 40-km bike. But the 25-year-old made up ground on a hilly course during the 10-km run to finish with a total time of 2:00:23.77. At Laoshan Velodrome, Japan’s Satomi Wadami was one of three of 22 finalists to drop out of the women’s points race, Marianne Vos of the Netherlands winning the 25-kilometer 100-lap event, with Cuba and Spain taking the silver and the bronze. In the men’s team pursuit, Britain out-paced rivals Denmark from the off to finish the 4-km, 16-lap race in 3:53.314, renewing the world record it set on Sunday. New Zealand beat defending Olympics champions Australia for the bronze.

Kyodo

Latest 15 of 50 Total Comments Show All

northlondon at 12:26 AM JST - 20th August

they seem to do well in a limited number of sports. For Japan, it's judo and perhaps swimming. For GB, it's rowing, sailing and cycling. Some journalist was explaining why they did well in cycling and rowing - they're sports where you don't need to shift your lazy arse. You just remain seated.

You mean like the Gold we just won in the womens 400 metres and the Silver in the mens High Jump this evening ? Nice effort but try again.
smithinjapan at 12:28 AM JST - 20th August

People like boobug are just on here stirring up trouble for fun. Seriously, if the US were winning all the judged sports and someone suggested it was because of bribery, etc., he'd be jumping up and down with steam coming out of his ears, saying how unfair timed events are.

Bottom line: Everyone complains when it's not them winning. Sometimes they are correct, but more often than not they are sore losers (you know, I've never seen the term 'sour grapes' used as often as I have on this site recently); no country is an exception, and certainly not the 'leaders'.

Oh, and boobug... while the US has a mere 3 medals more than China at present, they have just a wee bit more than half the gold medals. Sorry, bud, but with that much discrepancy between the COLOUR of the medals, the slightly higher total number has no meaning. Just to throw a little thorn at you, since you seem to be drying to dish it out.
boobug at 12:30 AM JST - 20th August

We seem to have some "armchair athletes" among us tonight.

"What I did say though is that yes a gold is worth more than a silver, which in turn is worth more than a bronze."

Again, says "you" ! But "you" might be surprised to know that many athletes simply consider the participation in an Olympic games "worth more" than any gold, silver, or bronze doohickey draped around their neck. But then again I somehow doubt that you, chibaman, have attained any real level of athleticism whatsoever, thouroughly explaining your obsession with "gold". That is my final take on the issue, I'll not feed the Japantoday trolls like you and Northlondon. Just a quick peruse of you history file speaks volumes, no thanks.
chibaman at 12:42 AM JST - 20th August

Looks as though the Gold goes to Chiba and myself

Congrats on your gold. That boobug guy should have been disqualified for insanity, but it matters not cos he's sobbed off now anyway. He can have the bronze, but most people would agree that our medals are better. Kampai!
boobug at 06:39 AM JST - 20th August

Interesting story coming out of Beijing this morn. Seems the debate over "judged versus non-judged" events is not isolated to only here at Japantoday.

Found at Yahoo and titled, "The Real 2008 Medal Count"

China: 22 gold; 11 silver; 11 bronze

United States: 21 gold; 19 silver; 21 bronze

As you can see, in the events where medals are determined by competitors rather than judges, the gold medal gap between China and the U.S. is greatly narrowed, and the total medal count is an American runaway. Counting the judged events, China has a commanding lead in golds."

Gee, didn't I just say that ?
chibaman at 08:01 AM JST - 20th August

Morning boobug. I don't know what you are trying to show other than your sour grapes, and luckily I need not bother to retort as thousands of comments to that article illustrate the fallacy born of your patriotism.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourthplacemedal/post/The-REAL-Olympic-medal-count?urn=oly,101537
ProudKoreanGuy at 08:08 AM JST - 20th August

I think Japan still has a real chance to win few more gold medals before Olympics ends.
Pukey2 at 08:53 AM JST - 20th August

northlondon:

You mean like the Gold we just won in the womens 400 metres and the Silver in the mens High Jump this evening ? Nice effort but try again.

Let me say it again. The majority of their wins were in cycling, rowing and sailing. Just a few in other sports. Take away those 3 sports and tell me how many golds GB is left with. And I wish GB would stop all this appraisal of Paula Radcliffe. Mara did very well, but I don't think she even gets more attention than Liz.

boobug:

You just sound as if your grapes have gone sour. The more you go on, the more bitter and jealous you sound. Maybe you can suggest to IOC to get rid of those 'judged' events. And also ask those USA silver and bronze medallists whether they'd prefer gold. Bascially, it's quality (gold) vs quantity (total). I'm sure if it were USA who had more golds, you wouldn't even be on this thread.
northlondon at 11:44 AM JST - 20th August

Pukey,

I was talking weeks ago about about Mara (Yamauchi) finishing ahead of Radcliffe. I used to run ekiden so I kind of know my running. I think it suits Mara for all the attention and media focus to be on Radcliffe. By the way, apart from the cycling, rowing and sailing we are still in for the mens triple jump and the mens 4 x 400. There again, take away gymnastics and diving for China and what are they left with ? And take away anabolic steroids from Team USA and what do they get..?
nigelboy at 11:56 AM JST - 20th August

Take away those 3 sports and tell me how many golds GB is left with.

What's the point of taking away certain sports events?
boobug at 12:42 PM JST - 20th August

"There again, take away gymnastics and diving for China and what are they left with ?"

Not alot, which was my point exactly. The chinese have the "judged" events to thank for their "apparent success. Just wait for the post-total shift though when the chinese ladies are disqualified for being underage.

"And take away anabolic steroids from Team USA and what do they get..?"

No change ! There hasn't been one American thrown out of these Olympics for doping. Go USA ! I expect the medals to start flowing in again now that most of the US teams have advanced to the medal rounds, and the chinese haven't !
northlondon at 01:18 PM JST - 20th August

There hasn't been one American thrown out of these Olympics for doping.

Marion Jones. Justin Gatlin. Tim Montgomery. The stricter doping controls may be another reason for the US falling behind the gold medal count.
Pukey2 at 09:10 PM JST - 20th August

northlondon:

I was talking weeks ago about about Mara (Yamauchi) finishing ahead of Radcliffe.

I wasn't talking about YOU. I was referring to the British media. If you read other message boards like those of Eurosport, you'll find many Brits sick and tired of the excess attention towards Radcliffe, especially that from the commentator on GB TV.

I used to run ekiden so I kind of know my running.

Good for you! I do some running, too, and I've done the Tokyo Marathon, but I'm not boasting.

I think it suits Mara for all the attention and media focus to be on Radcliffe.

Yes, I agree. She even said so herself. BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT. She did well recently in a Japanese marathon, so she deserved a bit more attention.

There again, take away gymnastics and diving for China and what are they left with ?

Boobug answers your question:

Not alot, which was my point exactly.

which now lets me lay into Boobug. Boy, you have a short memory span. What did you write before? Let me refresh your memory:

Interesting story coming out of Beijing this morn. Seems the debate over "judged versus non-judged" events is not isolated to only here at Japantoday.

Found at Yahoo and titled, "The Real 2008 Medal Count"

China: 22 gold; 11 silver; 11 bronze

So, 22 golds is NOT A LOT, is it? I'd hate to hear you describe GB's gold tally, seeing that they are now ranked third (and that's including all those lazy arse sports).

Yeah, 22 golds ain't much, hey?

And as for drug cheats, why don't you ask America's Marion Jones about all that? However, you'll have to wait till September because she's still serving time!

Boobug again:

Just wait for the post-total shift though when the chinese ladies are disqualified for being underage.

Go ahead, strip them of their TWO golds. The Chinese men won something like SEVEN golds. Let's see, maybe we can convince everyone that the men are really 12 years old. Yeah, that might work.

God, I'm loving this Olympics. I have nothing against Americans in general, but when posters like you sound so bitter and jealous, it gives me great pleasure to see USA slip down the medal tables.
Pukey2 at 09:12 PM JST - 20th August

Oh, and thank God for the Jamaicans too. USA shut-out.
boobug at 10:58 PM JST - 21st August

There seems to be a lot of "off topic" junk here on this board. Now considering Japantoday has opted to exclude any reference to team USA or Jamaica in this story, why does the rhetoric from pukey2 and northlondon remain ? Could someone please clarify the moderation policy on off topic remarks ? I'm confused.