More evidence that Chinese authorities don’t like Amnesty International, the BBC or journalists. Big surprise. Some 20,000 journalists are flowing into China to cover the Olympics and some of them are cranky that China is back-tracking on its pledge  of “absolutely no censorship on the Internet” for media covering the games. As if this should surprise anyone. No word yet on whether Outsports is included in the “no browse” list.

A little poetic justice in the land of tightly controlled media. On a day that saw journalists reeling from the news that the IOC and Chinese authorities had misled them about the censoring of access to certain web sites, a South Korean broadcaster leaked footage of a secret and heavily guarded rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies. I suspect many find the clip so enjoyable to watch not because it’s a brief, blurry glipse at lighting effects and costumed dancers, but because it’s a symbolic poke in the eye of the Chinese media censors. Read more about the leak and watch the video here.

Having recently started a new training regimen myself, I am more aware now of the intensity of focus required to achieve extraordinary results in sports, or simply fitness.  For those of you following yummy Michael Phelps’ journey through China’s Olympics this year, don’t miss this excellent article in the New York Times about him.  It paints a picture of a singularly focused individual.  But, as with many Olympians, the portrait eerily hints at what can also be the dangerous side of such commitment: isolation and the inevitable question of: “What do I do next?”

If you were afraid these Beijing Olympics may be taking a step back in time 40 years, they’ve given another reason for concern. Chinese officials say they have created a system for checking the sex and gender of athletes who participate as females but whose gender is in question. From The Guardian:

“Suspected athletes will be evaluated from their external appearances by experts and undergo blood tests to examine their sex hormones, genes and chromosomes for sex determination,” says Professor Tian Qinjie. The tests will not be conducted on every female athlete, but will be required if serious doubts have been raised about an individual competitor - invariably one competing in the women’s events. “The aim is to protect fairness at the games while also protecting the rights of people with abnormal sexual development,” he says.

Would-be Aussie steroid users ought to think twice when packing for Beijing. Customs is on to you! The Heraldsun.com.au reports:

“Australian Customs is investigating a highly sophisticated drug smuggling network where liquid steroids were hidden inside bottles marked as containing a sexual lubricant,” the agency said. “The bottles, labelled as ‘gay lube oil’, actually contain prohibited performance and image enhancing drugs manufactured and sent from Thailand.”

…Because they’re so hospitable. The telegraph.co.uk reports that:

the 16,000 competitors staying in the Beijing village will be able to purchase a wide variety of soft pornography, including erotic books featuring provocative pictures of naked women.

The nytimes.com has an interactive feature showcasing eight Olympic legends, including Greg Louganis who talks about his Olympic memories, HIV and hitting his head on the diving board. Other audio clips come from Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Bruce Jenner, John Carlos, Olga Korbut, Mary Decker-Slaney, Nadia Comaneci and Mark Spitz.

Dave Lohse, associate athletic communications director at the University of North Carolina and a longtime Outsports member, talks with us about working with Greg Louganis at the ‘88 Olympics, what he’s hearing from Beijing, what to watch for in Olympic swimming, and gay Olympians. Plus, he thinks that swimming is probably one of the most popular sports with Outsports readers; where in heavens name could he have ever gotten that idea?

See all of the Outsports podcasts, including this one.

The Chinese have reneged on a promise to keep the Internet uncensored for journalists, throwing a giant middle finger to the world’s media:

We have written before about French decathlete Romain Barras, who will compete in Beijing, and how he loves being eye candy for gay men. After contributing photographer Finneye shot him at a 2007 meet, Barras even asked for some images for his website. So he’s one of our favorite jocks. But even I was surprised to see the image above, which is on his website. It so cool to see a jock who knows he’s hot, has fun with it and welcomes everyone to look at him. Take a hint, Brady Quinn; don’t run away from the attention, embrace it. Fewer questions that way.

French swimmer Alain Bernard, a medal favorite in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle events. He has one of the best bodies I have ever seen on a swimmer (his competitors call him the “Horse.”) See why after the jump. Photo:

The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee announced today on its web site that “Tickets to watch competitive events of the 2008 Games in Olympic venues in Beijing are now sold out,” which is a very long way of saying that tickets are sold out (who do they have writing these press releases?). This comes days after an estimated 30,000 would-be ticket buyers stampeded a ticket center hoping to snatch the last available tickets. Police were seen kicking and pushing people as they pressed through metal barriers and at least one journalist was detained breifly in that altercation. Earlier this week the United States Olympic Committee claimed that American ticket buyers had been defrauded by two web sites that had sold bogus Olympic tickets, charging credit cards for tickets that were never mailed.

Jim B. was joking with me the other day that I could post whatever I wanted to about the Olympics, but to lay off the pictures of British equestrians. Well, I never!

Realizing that I knew squat about the equestrian competition, I took a poke around some websites and found out that, as I expected, this is not a sport for the working class. It’s damn expensive to care for multiple horses, house them, get them to competitions and so forth. More than that, though, I found out that at Olympic level, there’s three competitions involving humans and horses:

We’ve been hearing for years about the smog dangers in Beijing. The Chinese have reportedly been shutting down factories and limiting car use for months to stave off the international embarrassment of having the IOC postpone events due to smog. With under two weeks left before the Opening Ceremonies, reports are coming in that on Monday a “blanket of smog” had enveloped Beijing, and that visibility was no more than a “few hundred meters.”

A Chinese official said that the government would “implement an emergency plan 48 hours in advance if the air quality deteriorates.” Deteriorates? Looking at some pictures, I don’t see how it could get any worse! And what emergency plan are they going to implement that will clear the air in 48 hours? Are they going to stop all cars and factories and buy some giant fans to blow the smog away? I’ve been assuming all along that this would end up being a non-story for the Olympics. Now, I’m starting to believe it might become the story of the Olympics.

U.S. gymnast Paul Hamm (with Morgan, half of the Hamm brothers) won’t be going to the Olympics to defend his all-around gold medal, thanks to a broken right hand and a rotator cuff injury. It’s always a shame to see nice guys - and in this case a gay-friendly athlete - unable to go in a big competition. The Hamms talked with me four years ago after their medal-winning performances. Paul said he would welcome an openly gay teammate:

“I would think of them the same way I think of all my teammates,” Paul said. He added that someone’s sexuality shouldn’t be a consideration for his teammates. “They should be thought of as athletes.”

I’ve got to think Paul is particularly disappointed, given the controversy (by no fault of his own) that erupted after he won the gold in 2004, and calls for him to give up his medal.

The Hamm brothers certainly gained a lot of attention in Athens in 2004, but this time around it will likely be the Lopez taekwondo trio the press will latch onto. The elder statesman of the bunch is Steven Lopez (left), who is a two-time gold medallist; Mark and Diana are making their Olympic debuts this time around. Like the Hamms, not only is it a great sibling story, but they’re all quite attractive. Steven is presently gracing Minute Maid juice cartons and Coca-Cola packaging. You’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the coming weeks.

From Outsports cartoonist Dylan Edwards. See his Outsports cartoon archive.