Olympics

“Faster. Stronger. Higher.” Michael Phelps brought unwanted attention to his interpretation of the last word of the Olympic motto, so the swimming world is probably happy to shift focus back to the ongoing controversy regarding “faster.”

Olympic cheaters better hide those gold medals deep in their sock drawer. The International Olympic Committee has confirmed they will begin retesting samples from Beijing, just months after the flame was extinguished.

Who's Got the Drugs?

Anybody notice something missing? Where are all the drugs? Despite all the attention going into the games, Beijing has been relatively clean (air pollution not withstanding).

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. To aid in your immersion, we continue with our daily edition of "know your Olympic sport," by answering some and posing some questions about the science of Michael Phelps (and swimming).

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton, wonder about the modern decathlon and proudly pause for synchronized swimming. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, the next two weeks of our lives should be impressively unproductive. To aid in your immersion, we continue with our new series: “know your Olympic sport.” It’s part reminder that people actually get medals for this stuff (see: trampoline gymnastics) and part introduction to the science behind the sports.

In our second installment, we leave the ping pong balls on the porch and head to the track. Inside you’ll find shoes that don’t match, a suit not made by Speedo, an excuse for why you never won races in high school; along with a plea for some better technology. Andalé!

How do you say "Big Brother" in Chinese? Visitors to the Beijing Olympics need to be careful what they email (and what websites they peruse) according to Senator Sam Brownback, the senior Republican from Kansas. Based on hotel documents, Brownback alleges that the Chinese government has spent millions of dollars installing spy software in major hotel chains to monitor its guests' email and web surfing.

"The Chinese government has put in place a system to spy on and gather information about every guest at hotels where Olympic visitors are staying," said Brownback.

Virginia company Ceres Nanosciences claims it has the first drug test capable of detecting human growth hormone in an athlete's urine. Validation of the test will require at least six months, meaning cheaters in the 2008 Olympics need not be concerned. The test claims it could detect HGH usage up to two weeks prior to testing, unlike blood tests, which can monitor only the past 48 hours.

In Olympic shooting, athletes have to think fast and shoot faster. The double trap event involves two clay targets fired simultaneously at 50 miles per hour at different angles, so getting off both shots quickly, and in the proper rhythm, is incredibly important. But how fast is fast enough? The British Shooting Team brought that question to the scientists at BAE Systems.