AFP Video - Sports

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Around 40,000 people gathered on the Mall near Buckingham Palace in London on Sunday to celebrate 2012 host taking over from Beijing as the Olympic city. Images and soundbites.

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The president of the IOC Jacques Rogge says the Beijing Olympics showcased fine sportsmanship, especially Russian and Georgian athletes embracing on the podium.

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Rohullan Nikpai gave Afghanistan its first ever Olympic Games medal when he won the taekwondo men's under 58kg bronze medal in Beijing. An AFPTV report.

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Great Britain's Rebecca Adlington shattered the longest-standing world record with a sensational all-the-way victory in the women's 800 metres freestyle for her second gold medal at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday. The 19-year-old freestyler lopped 2.12secs off American Janet Evans's 19-year world mark in a time of eight minutes 14.10 seconds. Evans had held the record at 8:16.22 since August 20, 1989 and was the only world record in the sport to have survived from the 1980s. Adlington's spectacular succes

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In a country like Afghanistan, being a top athlete isn't easy. But 23-year-old Taekwondo champion Nisar Ahmad Bahawe is hoping to become the first Afghan to bring home an Olympic medal from Beijing.

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Guy Lapébie is the eldest of all France's Olympic champions. At 91 years old, the former cyclist loves nothing more than talking about his past victories -- like his two Olympic golds at the 1936 Berlin Games. With this wealth of experience, Lapébie is well placed to give advice to the young athletes in Beijing.

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Athletes from the world over flock to a training camp perched on the high plateaux of Kenya to rub shoulders with the princes of middle and long distance running -- many are now hoping to achieve Olympic glory in Beijing when the track and field events begin on Friday. An AFPTV report.

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South Africa is sending a black and white team to compete for a canoeing medal in the Beijing Olympics - a first for the country where apartheid is still a recent memory. AFPTV caught up with the pair as they attended a training camp in France.

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Sailor John Dane is 58. He will be the oldest member of the US Olympic Team in Beijing. After trying to qualify seven times since 1968, he finally made it this year.

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About 500 Russian athletes will participate in the Olympic Games in Beijing. The country is particularly hopeful its gymnasts will bring home medals but its traditional rivals ¿ China, Romania and the US could spoil the show.

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The 29th Olympic Games, costing an estimated 40 billion dollars and shrouded by political controversies, burst into life Friday with a spectacular start to the opening ceremony. Images of the first fireworks display over the Bird's Nest stadium.

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Nearly 1000 Tibetans staged a march through the Indian capital on Thursday amid heavy security to protest the Beijing Olympic Games. Carrying Tibetan flags, the protesters shouted "Say no to Beijing Olympics."

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IOC president Jacques Rogge said on Thursday that the Olympic Games would eventually help the World and China to better know eachother.

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One of Brazil's best chances of a medal at the Beijing Olympics is in beach volleyball -- a flagship sport here.

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The International Olympic Committee has said it was confident that China would show "tact and understanding" when dealing with demonstrations. IOC's spokeswoman Giselle Davies was commenting the arrest of four pro Tibet demonstrators who unfurled a giant "Free Tibet" banner near the Olympic stadium on Wednesday.

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IOC exective director Gilbert Felli said he was "sad" after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Wednesday that German sides Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, along with Barcelona, are under no legal obligation to release players for the Olympics. The CAS ruling means Barcelona star Lionel Messi, 21 and Brazilians Diego and Rafinha could miss the Olympic tournament.

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With over 4,500 anti-doping tests planned during the course of the Games, the upcoming Beijing Olympics will be the most scrutinised of all. But the development of biotechnologies has paved the way to more elaborate drugs.

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French and Australian swimmers Alain Bernard and Eamon Sullivan are two of the main favourites for the 100-metre freestyle at the Beijing Olympics. Soundbites of the two sprinters.

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Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussein has survived numerous assassination attempts pursuing her dream to go to the Beijing Olympics. For a while, it looked like Iraq would be banned from the Games but a last-minute reprieve means she can now compete after all.

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Table tennis is China's national sport. Tables can be found in parks, school yards and apartment compounds. But ping pong is under threat from international sports like football and basketball where big marketing campaigns from sporting companies are luring China's youth away. An AFPTV report.

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The success of Kenyan middle and long distance runners in the international arena is inspiring scores of youngsters to follow in their footsteps. The large majority of the country's athletics stars come from the Great Rift Valley area.

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If there's one country which is associated with swimming, it's Australia. Since the Melbourne Olympic Games, Australians have won 45 gold medals, seven of them in Athens. They hope to continue this winning streak in Beijing.

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Britain's youngest competitor in its Olympic squad will be 14-year-old diver Tom Daley, the second youngest athlete ever to be sent to the Games from the UK.

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The US swimming team arrived here on Monday afternoon, but with a large crowd waiting to catch a first glimpse of Michael Phelps's arrival in China, the swim sensation slipped out a side door. The 23-year-old, who is aiming for an unprecedented eight gold medals in Beijing, is the hottest ticket in town as fans and the media jostled for the best position at Beijing airport to catch sight of Phelps. An AFPTV report.

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Making the Olympic team for US track and field athletes is a simple process yet a brutal one: every four years, a few weeks before the Games, show up at a single event and finish in the top three, and you¿re in.

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Australia's high profile swimming team arrived in Beijing Sunday, after an eight day training camp in Malaysia. The team moves into the Athletes village for final preparation before the world's largest sporting events kicks off Friday. An AFPTV report.