Robert Grasso - the sweet spot

Get the inside scoop on the week that was and the big issues facing sport World News Australia presenter Robert Grasso.

A new kind of Rice in China

11 August 2008 | 9:51 - By Robert Grasso

For weeks, she was Australia’s most talked about Olympic athlete ... and she hadn't even swum a competition lap inside Beijing's Water Cube.

Stephanie Rice

Stephanie Rice (AAP)

So it was somewhat refreshing that swimmer Stephanie Rice made news at the Games not for some frivolous relationship bust up but for her exploits in the pool.

VIDEO: All the latest news from Beijing

Rice’s Gold medal in the 400 metres individual medley was our first at these games, and our 400th at the Summer Games since 1896.

Even more impressive was that the feat was achieved in world record time.

The United States’ aqua boy, Michael Phelps also got off to a flying start as he attempts to win an unprecedented eight Gold medals at a single Olympics.

One down. Just seven to go.

It’s safe to say Mark Spitz’s record isn’t looking too vulnerable just yet.

It seemed Australia was set to record its greatest ever football performance at the Games.

Fresh from their 1-1 draw against Serbia. the Olyroos took on world powerhouse Argentina in their second Group A match.

For 76 minutes, it looked like Graham Arnold’s men would defy the critics and secure an all important point.

What was amazing was that despite all their squandered chances, including countless attempts from superstar Lionel Messi, the South Americans chose to wind down the clock in the final stages.

It’s the sort of deliberate time wasting exercise normally reserved for better credentialled, opposition.

That Argentina opted for the tactic speaks volumes of the growing respect afforded Australia on the international scene.

Meanwhile, despite being battered on its human rights record, China, as expected, made its strongest statement on the medal tally.

On day three, the hosts remain on top with six Gold.

No doubt there will be plenty more to come.

Share article: 
top

Join the discussion

You have characters remaining.
Validation (
) :
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.

PLEASE NOTE: All submitted comments become the property of SBS. We reserve the right to edit and/or amend submitted comments. HTML tags other than paragraph, line break, bold or italics will be removed from your comment.

About this Blog

World News Australia's Robert Grasso analyses the week in sport.

Robert Grasso Robert Grasso is an award-winning Senior Sports Journalist and Presenter for SBS World News Australia.

 
ADVERTISEMENT

Other Blogs

TV
Food
Movies
Documentary
World News Australia
Sport
Music
About SBS
Internet and Technology
Business