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Journalism of Courage
There8217;s an Old and a Young, a Fischer and an Octopus. There8217;s even Brad Pitt.
When it comes to the Beijing Olympics, most of the 10,000 athletes taking part won8217;t win medals but their exotic names mean they certainly won8217;t go unnoticed.
A prime contender for best name of the Games must surely be featherweight boxer Prince Octopus Dzanie of Ghana.
Not only does he have a one off name, but also appears to be a one hit wonder judging by his performance in a first-round loss to Idel Torriente, a bout stopped several times because of problems with Dzanie8217;s headgear.
8220;It was unfortunate that the headgear broke, but I wasn8217;t thinking about it. I was thinking about the fight,8221; said Prince Octopus, who should be wary of Germany8217;s Fanny Fischer, angling for success in the kayaks.
We have a Ma Liyun and a Pappa Papavasilopoulou, which isn8217;t the longest name in Beijing.
That distinction though goes to Thai weightlifter Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakon, who won gold in the 53kg division.
It wasn8217;t always so unpronounceable. She changed it last year for good luck.
8220;The fortune teller told me, 8216;If you change your name you will win the gold8217;,8221; said the 24-year-old, who used to be plain Chanpim Kantatian.
8220;Some people believe in fortunetellers and I am one of them, so I followed her advice,8221; she explained.
The shortest name is undoubtedly North Korean weightlifter O Jong Ae, who threw a giant tantrum after seeing her Olympic record 8212; as well as her gold medal bid 8211; vanish in a flash this week.
O, the 58kg bronze medalist ranked number three in the world, initially refused to attend the mandatory press conference for medalists after the awarding ceremony.
8220;I was very sad and disappointed with my score,8221; the teary-eyed O said after she was coaxed to change her mind.
If ever there was an appropriate name for an athlete it is Yolande Speedy, who will need inspiration from her surname if she wants to win the cross country mountain bike event.
Beth Storry of Great Britain will have a yarn or two to tell her friends back home about her experiences in Beijing, but she won8217;t be raving about the weather.
She8217;ll leave that to Li Sun, a Chinese softball player, and teammate Ying Tan, who8217;s been catching some rays through the Beijing smog.
Then there8217;s Australia8217;s Amanda Beard, one of the few swimmers who didn8217;t shave time off a world record here. And who can forget about Precious Dede, the Nigerian women8217;s football team goal-keeper who is worth her weight in gold.
Which brings us to Brad Pitt, nicknamed 8216;Hollywood8217;. Apparently jokes about him in the Australian camp are starting to wear thin, and who8217;s going to argue with a Commonwealth boxing champion.
Finally, there8217;s German high jumper Raul-Roland Spank, about whom the less said the better. Perhaps he should be introduced to Korean basketball player, Jungja Sin or Jamaican runner Andrea Bliss.
