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Hypólito puts his foot to the floor |
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
 “I can say that Diego was born to be a champion, he has a champion’s soul,” says Renato Araujo, coach to 23-year-old Diego Hypólito, the two times world floor exercise champion from Brazil. What makes a champion’s soul is difficult to quantify, but in Hypólito’s case you suspect a combination of conquering adversity and blazing new trails - and having a champion gymnast older sister for inspiration.
‘Very determined’Born and raised in the industrial city of Santo André, near São Paulo, when he was eight Hypólito moved to Rio de Janeiro where he began working with Araujo. “He was always a very determined person, always in a good mood,” says Araujo “He is generous too. His family didn´t have a good financial situation when he was a child, and with their gymnastic talent Diego and Daniele have helped.” |
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FOUR CITIES TO COMPETE TO HOST THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES |
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced today that Chicago (USA), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Madrid (Spain) have made it on to the shortlist of cities bidding to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Candidate Cities were accepted unanimously from seven Applicant Cities, which also included Prague (Czech Republic), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Doha (Qatar)*. “All the bids were of a very high standard,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “It is a tribute to the health of the Olympic Movement that the field was so strong. I congratulate the Candidate Cities and I hope that those cities which were unsuccessful this time have benefited from the process.” (uefa.com) |
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Countdown to Beijing 2008: today on environment ! |
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
 As Beijing prepares to host the Olympic Games in August, the city’s commitment to staging a “Green” Olympics is coming under increasingly close scrutiny. China’s capital, through the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), has undertaken a programme of measures to improve the urban environment, not just for the Games but also for the future benefit of its citizens. But how has it fared? Pretty well, it seems. Cleaner and greener cityBeijing has spent over USD 16 billion (120 billion Yuan) tackling its chronic pollution to create a cleaner and greener city. This includes relocating polluting factories, increasing green space, improving waste management and water treatment, and adding more subway lines while scrapping older, polluting vehicles and introducing more ecologically-friendly buses. Alternative energy sources, such as wind farms and solar power, are also helping to lessen the reliance on coal-fired energy. |
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Rogge reminisces in Athens; looks forward to Beijing |
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
 Four years on from the ‘Unforgettable, Dream Games’ in Athens, the International Olympic Committee is back in the Greek capital for a series of meetings which kicked off Tuesday evening with an Opening Ceremony of the SportAccord Convention at the Athens Concert Hall. Speaking at the Opening, IOC President Jacques Rogge expressed his happiness at returning to the city saying, “I am delighted to be back in Athens, the spiritual home of the Olympic Movement. This city was transformed by the 2004 Olympic Games. Everywhere you look, you see the legacy of improvements to infrastructure, transport, roads and – best of all –there are new sports facilities and a new confidence in the Greek people.” |
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Olympic Handball tournament complete |
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
 The final places for the men’s Olympic handball tournament in Beijing in August were allocated last weekend at the Olympic qualification tournaments held in Paris (France), Wroclaw (Poland) and Zadar (Croatia). The players from Croatia, Spain, France, Iceland, Poland and Russia will thus be joining their German, Brazilian, Chinese, Danish and Egyptian counterparts. Parity in BeijingFor their part, the women's teams are also known. For the first time, the women’s Olympic handball tournament will have as many teams as the men’s version, i.e. 12. Apart from China, automatically qualified as the host country, we shall see women’s teams from Germany, Angola, Brazil, Korea, France, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Norway, Romania, Russia and Sweden competing in Beijing. |
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Olympic 
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