01. Oscar's win - what now? Oscar Pistorius won his appeal and will now be allowed to compete in able-bodied events at the Beijing Olympics. But what will this mean for the future of athletics? Read02. Pollution scare hits Beijing Pollution levels rose sharply in Beijing this week, just two and a half months before the Olympic Games. Authorities have warned residents with respiratory problems to stay inside. Read 03. Hormone test in time for Olympics Tests for human growth hormone, which world anti-doping bodies hope to use to trap cheats during the Beijing Olympics, have hit a snag but should be ready by August. Read 04. Tough new doping regulations The International Olympic Committee has dispatched details of the tough anti-doping regulations it will implement at this year's Beijing Games to all national committees. Read 05. Speedo swimsuit update FINA approves the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit - and opens the can of worms
Read 06. Olympic athletes in asthma study Athletes from 10 European countries will take part in an allergy study at the Beijing Olympics. Read 07. New doping test for Olympic cheats The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency has said that an effective test for human growth hormone would be ready in time for the Beijing Olympics and warned drug cheats to beware. Read 08. China bans smoking for Olympics Beijing is to ban smoking in most public places from May 1 as part of its efforts to improve the city ahead of the Olympics, state media has reported. Read 09. Concern for athletes at Olympics A study has shown that there may be a risk to athletes competing in this years Olympic Games, despite the IOC's reports that Beijing's air quality is better than expected. Read 10. Food safety assurances in Beijing Beijing is growing vegetables at special farms and breeding "Olympic pork" after food quality issues gained international attention last year following a series of scandals.
Read 11. The Olympics in the movies There have been numerous films related to the Olympics, few of them good ones and several Olympic athletes have made a transition to Hollywood, but none became really good actors. Read 12. A description of badminton Players use a racquet to strike a leather-covered, cork-topped shuttlecock over a net into the opponent's area. Points are won when the opponent fails to return the shuttlecock. Read 13. A description of baseball Baseball has been an Olympic sport since 1992. The Olympic format consists of one elimination tournament with eight teams, each with nine players. Read 14. A description of basketball Basketball was first played in 1891. The game is played by two teams. The aim of each team is to score in the opponent's basket and to prevent the opposing team from scoring. Read 15. A description of canoeing Canoeing (kayaking) competitions are conducted under two categories: slalom and flat water.
Read 16. A description of fencing One of the four sports featured in every Olympic Games since 1896, fencing is the modern manifestation of an ancient form of combat, practiced indoors. Read 17. A description of football Arguably the most popular sport in the world, after the elimination rounds, the teams (are split into four groups (two for the women) of four teams. Read 18. A description of handball Handball consists of two teams of seven, who aim to score as many goals against the opposing teams using only the hands.
Read 19. A description of the sprints Sprints generally include the 100m, 200m, 110m hurdles and 4 x 100m relays.
Read 20. A description of the 3-day event The three-day event is essentially a combination of the dressage, cross country and showjumping events. Read 21. A description of wrestling There are two styles in modern wrestling: freestyle and greco-roman. Read | 22. Asthma & the Olympics Asthma need not hinder your performance: here's the proof. Read 23. Description of sailing events Sailing originally became an Olympic sport in 1900. Now small design boats and not large yachts are used, with the emphasis being on the skill of the sailor not the boats speed. Read 24. Description of swimming At first glance it’s less visible than, say, athletics, but swimming is a perennial Commonwealth/Olympic favourite and eagerly anticipated. Read 25. Description of weightlifting Weightlifting is one of the few Commonwealth/Olympic sports that measures pure strength. Read 26. Doping boost - all in the mind? The "placebo effect" may play a part in the athletic performance-enhancing effects of growth hormone, particularly in men, new findings suggest. Read 27. Games: Russia's finest banned Seven of Russia's leading women athletes have been banned from competing in the upcoming Olympic Games following what the IAAF are describing as tampering with the urine samples. Read 28. Middle-distance athletes- how fit? Simply put, Commonwealth/Olympic runners are the pinnacle of physical conditioning. Read 29. How fit must you be for badminton? Badminton is one of the finest conditioning game activities. During the game, the player performs highly concentrated actions on a continual basis. Read 30. How fit must you be for sailing? While people can carry on sailing for the rest of their lives, sailing at Olympic level is fiercely competitive and requires top-level fitness. Read 31. How fit are weightlifters? How fit must you be to take part in wrestling? World-class weightlifters have to be strong and powerful, fast and flexible. A high level of fitness is required.
Read 32. How fit must you be for wrestling? Wrestling greatly emphasises strength and flexibility. You have to be very fit and very strong just to participate. Read 33. Whats the hardest event? What Olympic event causes the greatest physical strain? Arguably, it's dingy racing. Even though the race may seem dull, the sailors get a real workout. Read 34. What price for an Olympic Gold? We are five days into the Beijing Olympic Games and the SA team has been humbled by standards that have progressed well beyond what might have been expected. Read 35. A devastating 9.69 seconds Health24's FitnessDoc describes Usain Bolt's winning race as "the most devastating display of 100m sprinting I have ever seen". He gives us his analysis on this spectacular race. Read 36. Heptathlon athlete fails dope test Ukraine's heptathlon silver medallist Liudmyla Blonska has failed a drugs test, the IOC confirmed as the first high-profile doping failure hit the Beijing Olympics on the 13th day. Read 37. Bolt: the world's fastest man The debate is over: Bolt is the fastest man in the world, ever. FitnessDoc tries to answer the only question left - which performance was more spectacular? Read 38. Discovering Bolt Health24's FitnessDoc, Dr Ross Tucker, takes a look at the man behind the medals and tackles the tricky question on everyone's mind: did he dope? Read 39. 302 golds The Olympics: who really got the medals? Two sports scientists take a closer look. Read 40. Could Bolt have run 9.55s? Swedish scientists claim Usain Bolt could have run 9.55s if he hadn't started celebrating before the end of the race. Is this possible? Not a chance, says Health24's FitnessDoc. Read 41. Olympics vs Paralympics With both the Olympics and the Paralympics behind us, Health24's FitnessDoc evaluates the success and failures of both, and explains why it's unwise to compare the two. Read | |