Olympics | Police clash with ticket seekers

BEIJING — A crowd of about 30,000 people, baking in the heat and waiting for up to two days, swarmed a ticketing center Friday as the final batch of Olympic tickets went on sale.

Police shoved and kicked some of them and used metal barricades in an effort to prevent a stampede.

The Beijing Games, which open Aug. 8, are the first Olympics expected to be sold out, and some fans spent the night on thin bamboo mats or newspapers for a chance to buy the 250,000 tickets that went on sale in different parts of the city.

At the main ticket office not far from the stadium known as the Bird's Nest, tempers flared as sticky bodies pressed against each other in the surging crowd before sales began at 9 a.m. Police yanked more than half a dozen unruly fans from the crowd, kicking one who fell as he was being led away and dragging another by his hair.

"It was very dangerous. I was afraid," said Wang Zhenqiang, who waited 28 hours with Ji Liqiang, a fellow businessman, to buy tickets to the diving competition.

Hundreds of police and paramilitary troops tried to control the crowd, with lines of officers throwing their weight into hastily erected metal barricades to hold back the throng.

There was no line; fans were allowed to pass through the police barricade in groups of 25 to 50, streaming toward the two-dozen-plus sales windows.

Scuffles broke out as officials opened additional windows at the last minute, reportedly causing some fans to rush ahead of others.

"People got hurt around me. They fell and injured their knees and elbows. A barricade was bent out of shape by the crowd," Wang said.

In the scramble, Wang and his friend ended up with tickets to synchronized swimming, instead of the diving competition — where China is a gold-medal favorite. "We all could see there would be a huge problem, and it became very chaotic," Ji said.

"This also shows the Chinese government lacks the ability to deal with public crises."

There was a combination of 93-degree temperature and 94 percent humidity — and some people fainted. Some police restraining the ticket seekers handed out bottles of water.

Security officials also scuffled with journalists trying to report on the sometimes-chaotic scene. Some reporters were escorted away after going into off-limits areas, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Hong Kong television showed several journalists pushing back against police. Hong Kong Cable TV showed a policeman putting his arm around the neck of one of their reporters and pulling him to the ground.

The reporter said he was assaulted after his crew refused to leave a media zone, Cable TV reported. They were seen surrounded by dozens of police.

A spokeswoman for Hong Kong Cable TV said the authorities' behavior was "unacceptable."

"We hope the authorities will live up to their earlier promise to allow full freedom of the press during the Olympic Games," Shum Siu-wah said.

Notes

• Swimmer Jessica Hardy professed her innocence and said she has no idea how she tested positive for Clenbuterol during the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb. She is trying to get a ruling overturned in time to compete in Beijing.

"Whether or not people chose to believe me, I'm innocent," the 21-year-old said.

• Asafa Powell of Jamaica won the 100 meters at the London Grand Prix in 9.94 seconds.

In the men's mile, Shedrack Korir of Kenya triumphed in 3:54.68 and Andrew Baddeley of Britain was second in 3:54.76. American Bernard Lagat, a former Washington State standout who is the world champion in the 1,500 and 5,000, was third in 3:55.20 for his first loss in 10 races this season.

"I'm going to make sure I don't lose again, because if I lose the next one, it means I lose gold," Lagat said. "I can't afford to lose the one that's coming up, the Olympics."