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Political turmoil, murder mar opening day of Beijing Games By Haaretz Sports Staff and Agencies China's hopes for a trouble-free Olympics were dashed yesterday as geopolitical upheaval and the murder of a visitor tarnished the Games' opening day in Beijing. Still, China's athletes performed strongly amid the high drama, taking an early medal lead ahead of the United States. The former Soviet republic of Georgia threatened to pull its Olympic team out of the Games because of Russian military attacks on its territory, the country's National Olympic Committee said. Advertisement "We're talking about it now. It will be the decision of the president of the country [Mikheil Saakashvili]," spokesman Giorgi Tchanishvili said in the Chinese capital. Russian forces have widened an offensive against Georgia to force Tbilisi's troops out of the Caucasus region of South Ossetia. Earlier, expectations for an orderly Games were upended by the daylight murder of the relative of a U.S. volleyball coach. A 47-year-old Chinese man stabbed two American relatives of the coach and a Chinese tour guide at a popular tourist site, leaving one man dead. The assailant then jumped to his death from high up the Drum Tower, a 700-year-old, 45-meter-high monument once used to sound time for the Chinese capital's residents. Olympic organizers have deployed a 100,000-strong security force to protect the 10,500 athletes and thousands of spectators, citing the threat of terrorism but sparking criticism they were blocking protests. Meanwhile, Chinese hopes of taking an early lead were met as competition got underway. Chinese athletes took gold in women's weightlifting and men's shooting, though they lost the first medal to be awarded after the Chinese favorite buckled under pressure. Katerina Emmons won the Games' first gold in the women's 10-meter air rifle for the Czech Republic. Du Li of China, a favorite ahead of the Games, finished fifth and left in tears. "There was pressure for all of us but for her it was even harder," Emmons said of her rival. "I'm sorry, but the Chinese press is putting a lot of pressure on Chinese athletes." According to Du, who won gold in Athens in 2004: "I wasn't fully prepared for the pressure of competing at home." Pang Wei restored home pride in the shooting with victory in the men's 10-meter air pistol, the second gold for China after Chen Xiexia won, as expected, in the women's 48kg weightlifting. U.S. swimming sensation Michael Phelps set off on his quest for a record eight gold medals, diving into the pool at the bubble-wrap Water Cube building to win his heat in the 400-meter individual medley for an Olympic record. Phelps' first gold could come today, as the U.S. swim team is well placed to triumph in three of the four finals being staged. Bookmark to del.icio.us   A Model Zionist How did Bar Rafaeli conquer the U.S. blogs and gossip columns? A lost pillar Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish to be laid to rest in Ramallah, mourned for 3 days.

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