Rogge expects more doping cases, Liu needs surgery
Monday, 10th November 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
A short glance at some of China's biggest current sports stories:Liu Xiang
Doctors that hurdler Liu Xiang visited in the United States agreed with his Chinese doctors in advising surgery for the Achilles tendon injury that kept him out of the Beijing Olympics.
Doping
The International Olympic Committee is still conducting doping tests from the August Olympics, and IOC president Jacques Rogge said he expects at least 15 cases from this year's Olympiad.
Diving
Former Chinese national team diving coach Yu Fen has threatened legal action against diving's administrative body, to secure several million yuan she believes she is owed in bonuses from her tenure with the team, which ended in 1997. Yu coached greats Guo Jingjing and Wu Mingxia.
Soccer/Football
Tickets are on sale for the Chinese women's national soccer team's match against gold medalists the United States at Detroit's Ford Field December 17.
Aquatics
Hong Kong is among the cities bidding to host the 2013 FINA World Championships. The world governing body for aquatic sports including swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming holds a world championship every year. The 2011 championships will take place in Shanghai.
Tags: diving, doping, FINA, football, Guo Jingjing, Liu Xiang, soccer, swimming, track and field, Wu Mingxia, Yu Fen
Guo Jingjing denies Hong Kong 2012 rumors
Monday, 1st September 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
If Guo Jingjing (郭晶晶) isn't in the pool, she must be in the tabloids. Post-Olympic rumors have the diver taking her gold medals and moving to Hong Kong, where the buzz is that she may marry her boyfriend Kenneth Fok and compete for Hong Kong in the 2012 Olympics.According to this AFP story she has denied the rumors, saying at a press conference in Hong Kong: "I have no plan to move to Hong Kong. I am still a member of China's national diving team and there will be many new plans and new goals to follow."
Will she or won't she? Guo on a post-Olympic HK media tour
But because the next best thing to actual news about China's top-earning female athlete is speculation about possible news, the papers are not letting this one rest.
Some Hong Kong media are reporting that Guo's wedding plans have "entered the final sprint, with a wedding next September [2009]," according to a report on mainland sports portal Titan24. Moreover, the reports assert that Guo will not retire as the reigning "queen of diving" but will become a Hong Kong resident and represent Hong Kong in the 2012 Olympics in London.
"As soon as the Chinese Olympic champion representative group touched down at Hong Kong's airport, Guo Jingjing became Hong Kong media's number one target," the report said, "This has become the hottest topic of conversation among Hong Kong's sport and media circles."
According to that story, Guo has not been clear on whether she intends to marry or whether she'll compete in London at all.
The story also cited inside sources saying that should Guo want to represent HK in London, she'll need to talk with the China Olympic Committee and China Swimming Association. Conventional wisdom in China's sports circles seems to be suggesting that should she want to represent HK, neither organization will give her much trouble.
This is likely because she'll be 31 years old in 2012, and is unlikely to be perceived as a major gold medal threat.
Guo Jingjing image: Singtaonet
Tags: diving, Guo Jingjing, Kenneth Fok, Olympics, 郭晶晶
Diving gold medal brings China's total to four
Sunday, 10th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China's "diving queen" Guo Jingjing ( 郭晶晶) and her partner Wu Minxia (吴敏霞) won gold in the women's 3-meter synchronized springboard event. It was the fourth gold for China in these games, and the fourth career gold for Guo, who is China's third highest earning athlete.Guo and Wu dominated the competition, taking a nearly insurmountable 17-point lead into the fifth and final round of dives. The pair finished with a score of 343.5. Runners up Russia totaled 323.61, and Germany landed bronze with a strong finish and an overall score of 318.9.
Here's a recap of their 2004 gold medal run (from Beijing TV, commentary in Chinese):
Guo and Wu are expected to go head-to-head in the springboard individual final next Sunday, August 17 at 8:30 p.m.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, diving, gold medal, Guo Jingjing, Olympics, synchronized, Wu Minxia
China's highest-paid athletes
Thursday, 31st July 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
It's gotta be tha shoes... the Reebok Yao Ming ATR Elite All-star
As reported by Qilu TV (hat tip to Shanghaiist), the top three earners in the Chinese sports world ranked according to the sum of their basic annual pay, prize money, endorsement and appearance fees are Yao Ming (RMB250 million), Liu Xiang (RMB70 million) and Guo Jingjing (RMB15 million). These are followed by Sun Jihai (RMB10 million), Shao Jiayi (RMB6 million), Dong Fangzhuo (RMB4.8 million) and Zheng Zhi (RMB4.5 million).
For the most part, Chinese athletes have yet to be fetching the astronomical salaries and endorsement contracts common for superstars in the US or Europe, but they are beginning to catch up. According to Qilu TV in Shandong province, Yao Ming is the highest-earning Chinese athlete, pulling in 250 million yuan (US$36.5 million) per year.
Being an NBA All-Star and a celebrity in both the US and China markets, Yao is miles ahead of the rest of China's biggest sports stars in terms of income. His 250 million yuan/year is more than double what Liu Xiang, Guo Jingjing, Sun Jihai, Shao Jiayi, Dong Fangzhuo and Zheng Zhi make combined.
Here's the breakdown of the athletes by gender, sport and annual income:
Yao Ming – male – basketball – 250 million yuan
Liu Xiang – male – 110m hurdles – 70 million yuan
Guo Jingjing – female – diving – 15 million yuan
Sun Jihai – male – football/soccer – 10 million yuan
Shao Jiayi – male – football/soccer – 6 million yuan
Dong Fangzhuo – football/soccer – 4.8 million
Zheng Zhi – football/soccer – 4.5 million
Aside from how far ahead of the pack Yao's earnings are, it is also noteworthy that a woman – Guo Jingjing – is in the top three, and four of the top seven are footballers, despite China being universally acknowledged as a weak football/soccer country. That said, it is unlikely that Shao Jiayi will be pulling in much in the way of endorsements or paid appearances in the next year after missing a crucial penalty kick earlier this year in a World Cup qualifier against Australia in Kunming.
Ten years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine Chinese athletes pulling in millions of dollars each year – a testament to the rapidly growing importance of professional sports and sports marketing. At this point though, it is difficult to imagine any Chinese athletes coming close to Tiger Woods' US$127 million annual income, however Yao's salary would be enough to make him one of the top ten highest-paid American athletes had he been born across the Pacific.
Tags: Dong Fangzhuo, endorsements, Guo Jingjing, NBA, Shao Jiayi, sports marketing, Sun Jihai, Tiger Woods, Yao Ming, Zheng Zhi
Guo Jingjing Wins Two Golds at Sheffield
Friday, 30th May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Sheffield, England—Any chance at truth in the rumors that Guo Jingjing is pregnant and leaving the national team were laid to rest as she joined the team at the FINA Diving World Series in Sheffield, England, and took the gold medal in the 3-meter springboard competition.Guo also won the 3-meter synchro gold with her teammate Wu Minxia. The men took three of the four gold medals on offer, winning the 3-meter springboard synchro (Wang Feng and Qin Kai)10-meter platform (Huo Liang) and 3-meter springboard (He Chong). The only event where no Chinese diver won a medal was the women's 10-meter synchro.
Tags: diving, Guo Jingjing, He Chong, Huo Liang, Qin Kai, Wang Feng, Wu Minxia
A Walk Down Wangfujing
Friday, 16th May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
This one's for the advertising and marketing nerds out there. Wangfujing pedestrian shopping street is, in some sense, the Times Square of Beijing—full of ads, bright lights, flagship stores and tourists. It runs a length equivalent to a couple of city blocks, and right now it's plastered with sports advertising. Here's a full accounting of the ads up right now.
So what's up with Nike's all Kobe, all the time strategy? A couple of weeks ago, it wasn't like that. He shared ads on Wangfujing with other Nike spokes-athletes Liu Xiang (110-meter hurdles world record holder), Roger Federer (tennis star) and Yi Jianlian (forward for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks). But Kobe just won the NBA's MVP award, he's leading the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff run and will be featured in a show on CCTV next week.
Tags: Adidas, advertising, Guo Jingjing, Kobe, Li-Ning, marketing, Nike, Tiger Woods, volleyball, Wangfujing
Guo Jingjing Pregnant, Leaving the National Team?
Tuesday, 13th May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (2)
UPDATE: There seems to be no truth in the rumor below. As of late May, Guo is competing with the diving team.
"During recent routine physical examinations of China's national swimming and diving team, Guo Jingjing was discovered to be pregnant. After consecutive nights of emergency meetings by relevant officials it was decided that the individual is most important and the athlete's personal choice would be respected; it was agreed that Guo Jingjing would leave the team.
"A reporter that ran into Hong Kong Olympic Committee Chairman Huo Zhenting asked about matters relating to Guo Jingjing's pregnancy. Huo laughed without answering him, finally saying one sentence: 'We respect the decisions of children. '" [That is not a mis-translation or a typo, but likely a jab at Guo, who has been criticized by officials and the media for enjoying her fame too much and being short with the press.]
Guo is the highest paid female athlete in China and the most recognizable female face of Team China in any sport. She has endorsements with McDonald's and Coca-Cola, to name just a couple. Ask a Chinese person on the street who their favorite Chinese athletes are, and you will hear her name.
Guo Jingjing and Kenneth Fok (霍启刚)
In addition to her diving performance, her love life has been closely followed by fans. During the 2004 Olympics in Athens, she was dating Tian Liang, who won a bronze that year. She has most recently been connected with Kenneth Fok (Huo Qigang, or 霍启刚), grandson of a Hong Kong tycoon. And she has been criticized by media for not being dedicated enough to the team, and for not being accommodating to the media.
Update, noon on 5.14: More Chinese sites continue to report on the pregnancy rumor, some suggesting that it's just a publicity stunt. The entertainment page of Mop.com is all over the story, with lots of photos and the headline: "The empress of diving is pregnant? When will Guo Jingjing marry into the wealthy and influential clan?" Finally, a CCTV segment from yesterday features a team spokesperson denying the rumor. There are still no reports in English, and no confirmation from the state-run media.
Images: tupianz.com, yhnews.com
Tags: diving, guo jingjing, Olympics
Around the Web
Friday, 11th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Marketing: Big brands get local to boost China sales (CScout.com)Soccer: Chelsea sow seeds for financial domination in Asia
(SoccerLens.com)
Olympics: Hanging by a Thread (a feature from ESPN on diver Guo Jingjing and other Olympians)
Basketball: Young Buck bounds toward Beijing (A wrap-up of Yi Jianlian's rookie year in the NBA from China Daily)
Tags: Adidas, baseball, CBL, Guo Jingjing, links, marketing, Nike, soccer, swimming, Yi Jianlian