This weekend, the world’s best figure skaters gathered in Everett Washington (outside of Seattle) for the 2008 Skate America competition, the first ISU Grand Prix event of the 2008/2009 season. Below are the winning performances:
Ice Dancing: the Gold Medal went to Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (France), whose winning performance is featured below. Taking the Silver Medal were Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States. Sinead Kerr and John Kerr of the United States finished in third place.

The mens individual Gold went to Takahiko Kozuka of Japan. Johnny Weir of the United States won the Silver and Evan …read more

China’s athletes earned more than twice the number of Medals than Great Britain, who ended the Paralympic Games in second place in the Medal count. Chinese athletes, including runner Li Yansong pictured above, were awarded a total of 211 Medals (89 Gold, 70 Silver, and 52 Bronze). Great Britain earned a total of 102 (42 Gold, 29 Silver, and 31 Bronze). The United States ended the Games with 99 Medals and Ukraine was fourth with 74 total Medals. Canada was awarded 50 Medals, putting them in seventh place overall.
(photo © Newscom)

Olympian sighting continue around the United States. Friday, US Olympic swimmers, Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, and Ryan Lochte tour the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. They were guests of Warnaco, the parent company of Speedo, for whom the trio are spokespersons.
Phelps won a record eight Gold Medals at the Beijing Games in August. Coughlin won six Medals including one Gold, and Lochte won four Medals including two Gold.
(photo © Newscom)

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Imagine competing in the long jump, shot put, discus throw, 400m, 1500m, 100m, and javelin–all in two days. Then, imagine doing it with a prosthetic leg. That’s what Jeremy Campbell of the United States did in world record style to win the Gold Medal in the Pentathlon at the Beijing Paralympic Games. He finished with a paralympic world record 4662 points. Coming in second for the Silver Medal was Jeff Skiba of the United States.

Oscar Pistorius of South Africa won the Paralympic Gold Medal in the mens 100m event on Monday. Pistorius, a double amputee who runs on specially-constructed blades, is best known for having won the right to compete with able-bodied athletes in the Olympic Games. He failed to qualify, but vows to try again for the 2012 London Games.
Pistorius is also the favorite to win the 200m and 400m events at the Paralympic Games.
Coming in second in the 100m for the Silver Medal was Jerome Singleton of the United States. Brian Frasure of the US finished third, earning him the Bronze Medal.
(photo …read more

One of the many US paralympians to watch in Beijing this next week is Jessica Galli, who is competing in her third Paralympic Games. Galli’s many achievements include winning the Silver Medal in the 800 T53 wheelchair race at the Sydney Games in 2000 and being nominated for a 2008 ESPY Award as the Best Female Athlete with a disability. Galli, a graduate of the University of Illinois, is also the current world record holder in the T53 400m race.
(photo © Newscom)

A look a the road that led American gymnast, Nastia Liukin to her Gold Medal performances at the Beijing Olympics:

In another of the last competitions of the XXIX Olympiad, the United States men’s volleyball team defeated the two-time Olympic and world champion Brazilian team 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 to win the Gold Medal. The US team was thrust into the news early in the Games after their head coach’s father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was killed by a Beijing national while sightseeing.
Russia took the Bronze Medal, defeating the Italian team in three sets.

The United States regained the Gold Medal in men’s basketball on Sunday, defeating the reigning world champion Spanish National team 118-107. They completed the Olympic competition undefeated. The game was close until late in the fourth period. Then the American offense went into gear and led by a four-pointer by Kobe Bryant soared ahead for the victory.
Dwayne Wade led the American scoring with 27 points. Bryant had 20. Rudy Fernandez was the high scorer for the Silver Medalist, Spanish team, with 22 points.
Defending Olympic champion, Argentina, playing without star Manu Ginobili, defeated the Lithuanian team 87-75 on Saturday to earn …read more

The track and field events of the XXIX Olympiad concluded on Saturday. Here are the results:

The American women took the Gold Medal in the women’s 4×400m relay, with anchor Sanya Richards passing Russian, Anastasia Kapachinskaya in the final meters. The Russian women took the Silver Medal and the Jamaican team earned the Bronze. In addition to Richards, the US team included Allyson Felix, Monique Henderson, and Mary Weinberg.

Nancy Langat of Kenya took the Gold Medal in the women’s 1500m event, followed by Iryna Lishchynskia and Nataliya Tobias of Ukraine for the Silver and Bronze Medals, respectively. American Shannon Rowbury finished …read more