International Games News

January 1999

Bangkok Pulls off the Games!

Thailand, as it had promised to do, pulled off a magnificent Asian Games in Bangkok, overcoming economic and organizational difficulties that had plagued the organizing committee almost since its inception. By the time Thailand's crown prince Maha Vajiralongkorn declared the games closed on the final day Thai newspapers had praised the games saying they had succeeded beyond all expectations and IOC President Samaranch, a guest at the opening ceremonies had also given high marks to the games.

During the games an Asian Games Youth Camp was held with 150 participants from 23 countries between the ages of 15 and 22. The camps mission was to encourage international friendship with an emphasis on environmental conservation. A pen pal program across Asia was also begun in conjunction with the games to allow children to communicate with youth from other nations about the games.

The hosts took advantage of the hometown status to win 24 gold, 26 silver and 40 bronze medals, far surpassing their previous best of 12 gold medals when they hosted the games of 1966. The Chinese though having won the most gold medals with 129 were disappointed with their overall performance which was far below their records of the previous two games. The Japanese, in third place, were also disappointed. The Japanese had won medals in 20 sports when they hosted the 1994 games in Hiroshima, this time they medaled in only eleven sports and suffered an especially crushing 13-1 loss to a team of South Koreans baseball professionals. The Japanese did regain the top position as the regions swimming power, overcoming the Chinese and gaining a measure of revenge for the games of 1994 which were marred by Chinese drug use. Twin brothers Shunsuke and Shusuke Ito won the gold and silver medals in the 100 meter freestyle for the Japanese.

Japan's sprint sensation Koji Ito won the award, and 100,000 dollar prize, as the outstanding male competitor of the games. Ito won the 100 and 200 meter dashes and was part of the winning Japanese 4X100 relay team. Ito's 10.00 time in the 100 meters was an Asian record just missing becoming the first Asian athlete to run a sub 10 second 100 meters.

Japan's Naoko Takahashi was the women's outstanding competitor winning the marathon in an astounding time of 2:21.47 remarkable for the weather and the tiny 12 person field for the race.

Qatar's distance star Mohammed Suleiman won the 1500 and 5000 meter runs to bring his career total to five Asian Games gold medals.

Chinese women weightlifters set world records on every day of competition.

The games were not without the usual carping and minor political sniveling, though they tried to live up to the motto "Friendship Beyond Frontiers"

Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan withdrew before the games began, Afghanistan citing economic difficulties and protesting the amounts the Thai were charging to stay in the village. The Saudi Arabians withdrew in part because the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began during the last week of the games. Iraq was not present for the third games in a row, still banned for it's aggressions against Kuwait in 1990.

The Chinese Embassy protested when Taiwanese flags were found flying in various locations around Bangkok. Because of the political disputes between China and Taiwan it was agreed before the games that only the flag of the National Olympic Committee of Taiwan could be flown.

North Korea insisted that it march before South Korea during the opening ceremonies but the Thai hosts said that the Thai alphabet would be used and the South Korean delegation would march in fourth or fifth while North Korea would be approximately the 35th team to walk into the stadium. The teams were also separated in the village as much as possible.

The North Koreans were challenged to prove the ages of their female gymnasts which some nations thought were under the required age of sixteen years. After inspecting their passports the OCA allowed them to continue the competition.

Both Taekwondo and Billiards had embarrassing displays of rancor and unsportsmanship. China, South Korea, Taiwan and the host Thai all protested decisions of the judges in the taekwondo competition, with sit-ins, and near riots in the stands. Police were called in to restore order on more than one occasion. Pakistani and Indian billiards players got into heated discussions over proper behavior during their match play and the Chinese reported that a few of their table tennis players had been approached and offered bribes to throw their matches, all of whom refused.

When India's Jyotirmoy Sikhdar won India's very first gold medal of the games the hosts mistakenly began to play the Chinese national anthem, the anthem heard most often at the games. After Indians in the crowd began to boo the hosts realized their mistake and apologized. The Indian anthem was then played, and later in the day played again as a further apology.

An Asian Games rule that does not allow any nation to collect all three medals in one event caused a row when South Korea protested after taking the first three places in the individual dressage event of the equestrian competition. The medal was awarded to the fourth place Japanese rider. South Korea lost two other medals under the same rule.

Drug suspensions caused other medals to come under dispute. Fakruddin Taher of the United Arab Emirates was disqualified for illegal drug use after winning the silver medal in the 60 kilo class in karate. The OCA has preliminarily ruled that the two bronze medal winners (there is no bronze medal bout and two medals are awarded) would both be given silver medals and the fifth and sixth place winners moved up and both awarded bronze medals.

Drug issues were fortunately not as big a topic at these games as they had been at Hiroshima four years before. Only four athletes failed tests at the games although a few athletes failed tests prior to the games and were removed from their nations teams.

The Asian nations used the occasion of the games to discuss Asian solidarity in the World Cup. Football's governing body, FIFA, has decided to reduce the number of qualifying positions from an automatic three plus one in a playoff chance, to two. This would mean only two of the 43 Asian nations would be participants in the 2002 World Cup to be co-hosted by Korea and Japan. If Korea and Japan were to go along with a proposed boycott this would put them in the most curious position of boycotting a tournament they would have hosted and organized.

While there were no major health problems for athletes two coaches from visiting teams died during the games, both of heart attacks. Rizvi Fulile Zain, Sri Lankas swimming manager died December 14 and Evgeny Godlevsky a 63 year old Uzbeki track coach died on the final day of the games.

All in all, the games were regarded as a rousing success, with the minor incidents mentioned above par for the course in most any large international games.

The Asian nations will meet again in just a few weeks at the Asian Winter Games, the first time they have ever been held so close to the summer games.

Pusan Korea will host the 2002 Asian Summer Games.

Asian Games Financial Rewards

With many Asian Games nations providing monetary rewards to their medal winners, (despite the regions money woes), we decided to tally who came out on top in the "Money Race" at the Asian Games in Bangkok this past month.

Host Thailand far exceeded it's expectation, winning twice as many gold medals as they had predicted. 1 million dollars was budgeted for rewards to athletes. The Thai should be giving out almost 1.1 million for the 90 medals won. China, though winning the greatest number of gold medals will give out the least amount as each gold was worth just 480 dollars.

Lagos African Games 25th Anniversary.

Twenty-Five Years Ago this month January, Lagos Nigeria hosted the second edition of the All-African Games. Kenyan champion Kip Keino was upset in the 1500 meter run by an unknown young Tanzanian, Filbert Bayi.

Bayi would go on to break the World Record in the 1500 meters at the Commonwealth Games in 1974 in Christchurch, New Zealand beating New Zealand's John Walker. Walker would set a world record in the mile in 1975 and win the 1500 meter gold medal in the Montreal Olympic Games in which the Africans, and Bayi would be absent. Bayi made appearances at the 1978 Commonwealth games in Edmonton where a recurrence of malaria affected his form. Finally in 1980 in a new event, the steeplechase, Bayi would win an Olympic silver medal.

Jim Peters, the former British marathon world-record holder died on January 9th in Britain at the age of 80. Peters was etched into Commonwealth Games history in 1954 when, moments after Roger Bannister and John Landy completed their epic Miracle Mile, Peters staggered into the stadium some 20 minutes ahead of the rest of the marathon field. He never made it to the finish line that day, collapsing from heat stroke several times, and picking himself up he finally into the arms of the British trainer, and ended up in the hospital for seven days and never raced again.

Peters was awarded a special commemorative gold medal by Prince Phillip and years later was invited back to Vancouver by the Canadian people to run the final 200 yards during halftime of a Canadian Football League game..

The Women's Global Challenge sponsored by the Women's Sports Foundation has been cancelled for 1999. Adequate sponsorship for the 1999 event could not be secured. The WSF hopes to launch the event in Washington DC in 2001.

The bribery scandal swirling around the preparations for the Salt Lake City Olympic games, have spread to other Olympics and have begun to affect the Commonwealth Games and Pan-American Games as well.

Atlanta, Nagano, Sydney, Melbourne, Amsterdam and other cities have all had been implicated in the press in recent weeks. In each case the respective organizing bodies have denied the charges.

The scandal has begun to spread to other games. Adelaide, Australia has leveled claims against Kuala Lumpur of supposed improprieties during the bidding process for the recently concluded Commonwealth Games and San Antonio, Texas and Raleigh Durham, North Carolina, two cities hoping to land the 2007 Pan-American Games have had to postpone site visits while bidding procedures are reevaluated.

The aftermath of the bridge disaster at the 1997 Maccabiah Games continues. On January 5 four Israeli athletes showed up before a special Israeli parliament inquiry into the disaster and returned their medals from the games and called for the resignation of Maccabi World Union President Ronald Bakalarz. Bakalarz called the protest "media showmanship" and accused committee chairman Micha Goldman of running a "kangaroo court".

Quebec is seeking recognition apart from the rest of Canada and is asking to be able to send its own team for international events and championships. The Bloc Quebecois, in a report to a Commons subcommittee on Canadian sport, referred to the rules for the Commonwealth Games which allow England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to participate as separate entities.

Palau and Eritrea will become NOCs (National Olympic Committees) 199 and 200 respectively at the 108th IOC Session in June, in Seoul, Korea. In accordance with IOC eligibility rules both nations this month received provisional recognition from the IOC Executive Board.

ESPN has announced it will produce the "Great Outdoor Games" beginning in July of 2000. The games are to be held on an annual basis, with the first edition in Lake Placid, New York. Archery, Shooting, Fishing, and Dog Sports (specifics) Timber sports

One would expect that the anti-firearm lobbies, animal-rights and environmental groups will have a field day protesting these games.No word yet on whether the event will have international participants.

The Arctic Winter Games Society has announced that Nuuk, Greenland and Iqualit, Nunavut will jointly host the 2002 edition of the Arctic Winter Games.

Bid News

China, India, Malaysia, Syria and Qatar have so far expressed interest in bidding for the 2006 Asian Games

Other News

-China's Sang Lan, the 17 year old paralyzed in a fall during warm-ups for the gymnastics competition at last summers Goodwill Games helped New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani drop the ball in Times Square on New Years Eve.

-Shirley Babashoff and the members of the silver medal winning team in the 1976 Olympics will not have their medals upgraded by the IOC. The USOC had asked the IOC to reconsider these cases based on the new information that has come to light pertaining to the official doping programs of the East German Olympians. The IOC has so far decided not to change any of the medal results based on the new findings.

-Seattle's bid for the 2012 Olympics has fallen completely apart. The bid committee seen by many of the citizens of Seattle and by the Seattle City Council as an elitist group pushing their will for the games upon the people, was disbanded after the city council refused to provide assurances for the financial backing of the games as required by the IOC.

Games Next Month

February will have a relatively light schedule:

Asian Winter Games Kangwon Korea Jan. 30-Feb.6,

Palm Springs International Senior Olympics Palm Springs USA February 12-21