Not All Olympic Moments Are Glorious

While Michael Phelps has gotten much deserved attention for his performances in the Olympic pool, other athletes have not had quite as good a time in Beijing:

While an Olympic medal would be seen by most athletes as the ultimate reward for a lifetime's work, Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian was less than pleased with the bronze he won at the Chinese Agricultural University Gym.

Abrahamian threw down his 84kg greco-roman bronze in disgust after his shot at gold was ended by a decision denounced by the Swedish coach as "politics".

Abrahamian took the medal from around his neck during the medal ceremony, stepped from the podium and dropped it in the middle of the mat before storming off.

The Swedish wrestler had to be restrained by team-mates earlier as a row erupted with judges over the decision in a semi-final bout with Andrea Minguzzi of Italy, who went on to the take gold.

Abrhamian, who won silver at the Athens 2004 Games, shouted at the referee and judges then went over to confront judges, angrily throwing off the restraining arm of a team official.

Swedish fans booed loudly as the judges filed out of the arena. Abrahamian said nothing to waiting reporters but whacked an aluminium barricade with his fist as he left the hall.

"It's all politics," said Swedish coach Leo Myllari.

He wasn't alone:

Former Olympic and world judo champion Keiji Suzuki said he felt "empty" and was considering his future in the sport after suffering a humiliating -100kg first round defeat at the Beijing Games on Thursday.

"I didn't do what I wanted to. I couldn't use any of my techniques. I have nothing left," a tearful Suzuki said after he was defeated by Mongolia's Naidan Tuvshinbayar with a tackle throw (morote-gari).

"If I step onto the tatami again, I may probably be thrown again. I'm really empty now," he said.

And then there was this story that made my legs weak just reading about it:

This is the moment Hungarian weightlifter Janos Baranyai's first Olympics ended in agony when he dislocated his right elbow in the ugliest moment yet of the Olympic weightlifting competition.

Baranyai was trying to snatch 148kg in his third lift in the men's 77kg division, when his elbow popped out of its socket.

No longer able to support the weight of the barbell, his right forearm bent backward. The 24-year-old Hungarian fell to the floor in shock, shaking and crying out in pain.

Hungary's coaching staff and competition officials rushed to Baranyai's aid as he lay trembling on the floor, his arm limp and twisted out of position.

That takes "agony of defeat" to a whole new level.

The American women gymnasts are alleging that their Chinese hosts may have cheated and cost the Americans the gold medal, and there are some pretty well founded suspicions that some of the Chinese "women" gymnasts are under the 16 year age limits. Despite all the wonderful platitudes about "world harmony" from the opening ceremony, a lot of people will leave Beijing with a fair amount of anger. Such is the world of sports competition.