Olympic swimming returns to its origins in Beijing when the 10-km open water event, a physical event which can resemble wrestling in water, makes its debut. BMX cycling, synonymous with the Californian way of life, will also feature for the first time at a Summer Games in an attempt to reinvigorate young people's interest in the Olympics. Several other sports such as fencing, sailing and shooting have lost, or swapped, events as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) tries to keep the number of athletes roughly comparable with the 2004 Games - 10,500 after 10,625 in Athens. At the first modern Games in 1896, 245 athletes, all men, from 14 countries took part and the swimming events were held in open water near Piraeus. The water was very cold and the winner of the 1,200-meter race, Hungary's Alfred Hajos, said that by the end “my will to live completely overcame my desire to win”. The water in Beijing, where the men's and women's races will take place at the rowing venue, is a lot warmer but a fighting spirit will be just as important for the 10-km race. Swimmers openly tussle for position and only the strong survive when the pack rounds the buoys that mark out the course. “Everyone fights for the inside line, it's elbows under the water and stuff like that,” said South African Natalie du Toit after a qualifying race in April. “A lot of us came out with black eyes and a couple even had scratched corneas.” Men's Olympic 1,500 meters champion Grant Hackett tried to qualify at the same event and he appeared to be targeted by his rivals. Hackett was disqualified after he tried to get out of trouble by swimming over another competitor's legs. “I saw a couple of times people hitting him and swimming over him and obviously hurt him quite badly, and he just didn't have enough in the end,” said compatriot Ky Hurst. The events in Beijing could be more genteel because the number of entrants has been limited to 25 which, along with the calm conditions likely at the rowing basin, could benefit the long-distance pool swimmers such as Britain's David Davies. Du Toit is aiming to become the first amputee to win a medal at a Summer Games for nearly 60 years and will also compete at the Paralympics in Beijing. Athletics, the other blue riband sport of the Games, has also gained an event - the women's 3,000 meters steeplechase. The marathons will take place in the mornings in Beijing as will the swimming finals in the pool. BMX, an acronym for bicycle motocross, originated in California in the 1970s and soon became an integral part of popular culture. The first world championships took place in 1982 and the sport's links to the youth-orientated “extreme games” culture attracted the attention of the IOC who are facing a worrying decline in youngsters' interest in the Olympics. The races for men and women will be held on courses that include jumps, bumps and banked corners and should make great television, rather like snowboarding at the Winter Games. Cycling has lost two events since Athens - the one-km team trial for men and the women's 500-meter time trial, after just two Olympic appearances. Fencing has switched some events, adding women's team foil and team sabre in place of women's team epee and men's team foil which had been on the Olympic program since 1920. Sailing, where classes of boats change frequently to adjust to trends in the sport, has undergone another reshuffle with men's Laser, women's Laser Redial and open Finn taking the place of men's Finn, women's Europe and the open Laser class. The windsurfer used in the men's and women's competitions has also changed to RS:X, a hybrid board which is designed to allow the rider to adapt to a variety of wind conditions. The Mistral board had been used since the 1996 Games. Shooting has lost two events - the 10-meter running target for men and the women's double trap - but the sport will still provide its athletes with 15 events in Beijing. In table tennis, men's and women's team competitions have replaced the doubles tournaments for both genders. The team competitions will involve three players involved in four singles and one doubles match. Several sports have tweaked their rules since the Athens Games while gymnastics has introduced a new points system following a furore over the scoring at the 2004 Games during the men's all-round competition, won by American Paul Hamm. Fencing referees will have a video replay system for the first time. Freestyle wrestling now has three two-minute rounds and the first wrestler to win two rounds wins the match while a new procedure has been introduced for the coin toss in the sport. The coin toss is used to decide which wrestler takes the superior position during a bout and there were suspicions that some coin tosses were not being carried out fairly. Now a colored ball taken out of a black bag determines the position. - Reuters __
