tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47077283368788911522024-03-08T12:57:08.399-08:00International Olympics-Olympic HeroesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-32588968989236191322009-06-16T07:57:00.000-07:002009-06-16T20:28:55.800-07:00Catalina PONOR<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Sje2hlGWQWI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/ftnBuDZ9bTk/s1600-h/Me05PoC2487FXq.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347943770536427874" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Sje2hlGWQWI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/ftnBuDZ9bTk/s400/Me05PoC2487FXq.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p style="PAGE-BREAK-AFTER: avoid; MARGIN: 5pt 0cm; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none" class="MsoNormal"><b>Flooring the Opposition<?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></b></p><p style="MARGIN: 5pt 0cm; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none" class="MsoNormal">During a period when Romanian gymnastics needed new talent, Catalina Ponor was spotted during a nationwide talent search and chosen to train with the national team. She competed in her first major meet in 2003 when she took part in the world championships and earned a silver medal in the team event on her sixteenth birthday. She went on to win two more silver medals, on the beam and in the floor exercise. In May 2004 she moved up to the gold medal in all three events at the European Championships. Three months later, at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad Athens 2004, she led the Romanian team to victory in the team event. She also qualified for two apparatus finals six nights later. On the balance beam, she outscored Carly Patterson of the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> 9.787 to 9.775 to win her second gold medal. After a break of only 45 minutes, Ponor won the floor exercise final. Her margin of victory, .188 points, was the largest in the event's history.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-43693689566920704702009-06-16T07:56:00.000-07:002009-06-16T07:57:52.160-07:00Barbara KENDALL<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeyxQH0SuI/AAAAAAAAAxA/UnPyvhzSC_k/s1600-h/001aa018ff9c0812e7133d.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeyxQH0SuI/AAAAAAAAAxA/UnPyvhzSC_k/s400/001aa018ff9c0812e7133d.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347939641736841954" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>An extraordinary windsurfer<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">This former dance school manager embarked on the professional windsurfing circuit in 1987, seven years after her debut in the junior category, The first of her four world championship titles convinced her to pursue her career in sailing, an area in which she had been immersed since childhood. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">Barbara Kendall took part in her first Olympic Games in 1992 in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city>. In the “lechner” board category, she took her first Olympic title at the end of 10 regattas. This title was already a feat in itself, as it was the first for a female <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region> athlete for 40 years. It also allowed Barbara to equal her brother Anthony Bruce, himself an Olympic windsurfing champion in 1988 and bronze medallist in 1984 (when it was a demonstration discipline). </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">At the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, the competitions took place in the “mistral” category. This change in no way affected Barbara’s performance, as she came second in the competition behind Lai Shan Lee of Hong Kong. This silver medal earned her the title of Athlete of the Year in her country, a title awarded to her on two other occasions. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">For her third Olympic Games, in <st1:city st="on">Sydney</st1:city>, Barbara Kendall took her third medal, this time a bronze, behind <st1:country-region st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>’s Alessandra Sensini, Olympic champion, and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Amelie Lux. On this occasion she became one of the three female athletes with the most medals in sailing, alongside <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ukraine</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Ruslana Taran and Alessandra Sensini. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">At the age of 36, the Athens Games marked her fourth Olympic participation. Two poor results in regattas n°3 and n°5 meant that her handicap was too large to be able to take part in the fight for the Olympic title. Despite her three victories over the 11 rounds of the competition, her Games ended with a fifth-place result. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">In <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city> in 2008, the windsurfer represented her country for the fifth time at the Olympic Games. After a laboured start, the New Zealander moved up the rankings thanks to her regularity. Unfortunately, a 13th and 21st place in regattas 9 and 10 put paid to her medal hopes. Barbara Kendall finished in sixth place </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">Besides her sports career, Barbara Kendall devotes herself to many activities in the administration of her sport. Since 2005, she has also been a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. </p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-3091789665677286982009-06-16T07:53:00.000-07:002009-06-16T20:31:09.677-07:00Kipchoge KEINO<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeyUxXyItI/AAAAAAAAAw4/3iohg0pytNs/s1600-h/art.keino.afp.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><strong><img style="WIDTH: 292px; HEIGHT: 219px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347939152445973202" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeyUxXyItI/AAAAAAAAAw4/3iohg0pytNs/s400/art.keino.afp.jpg" /></strong></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Middle Distance Master</span></span> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><p style="MARGIN: 5pt 0cm; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none" class="MsoNormal">Kip Keino, an uncoached Nandi tribesman, was already 28 years old when he made his second Olympic appearance at the 1968 Mexico City Games. Suffering from violent stomach pains caused by a gall bladder infection, Keino entered the 10,000m. He was running with the leaders when, with two laps to go, he doubled up with pain and fell onto the infield. He jumped back up and finished the race, but he was disqualified for leaving the track. Four days later, he earned a silver medal in the 5,000m, trailing Mohamed Gammoudi of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tunisia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region> by barely a metre. In the 1,500m, Keino tried to neutralize the finishing kick of the favourite, Jim Ryun, by building up a huge lead. His tactic worked and he won by 20m, the largest margin of victory in the history of the event. In 1972, Keino entered the steeplechase even though he had little experience in the event. Still, he was able to outkick teammate Ben Jipcho and win another gold medal. Six days after this victory, he added a silver medal in the 1,500m. Keino and his wife, Phyllis, eventually established a childrens' home and school for orphaned and abandoned children.</p></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-74239140248674911802009-06-16T07:51:00.000-07:002009-06-16T07:53:40.110-07:00Jackie JOYNER-KERSEE<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjexzepBacI/AAAAAAAAAww/4gK7in6TeIM/s1600-h/jackie_joyner_kersee_1220480a.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 263px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjexzepBacI/AAAAAAAAAww/4gK7in6TeIM/s400/jackie_joyner_kersee_1220480a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347938580482320834" /></a><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>The First Lady of the Heptathlon<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">When she was born on 3 March 1962, she was named Jacqueline after the wife of U.S. President John F. Kennedy because, in the words of her grandmother, "Someday this girl will be the First Lady of something". She was right. The first of Jackie Joyner's four Olympic appearances came in 1984, when she competed in both the seven-event heptathlon and in the long jump. Ironically, Joyner's downfall in the heptathlon came in her best event, the long jump, when she fouled her first two attempts and had to play it safe with a mediocre final jump. In the end, she earned a silver medal, missing the gold by only five points. Had she jumped only three centimetres farther or finished the 800m only one third of a second faster, she would have won. In the formal long jump competition, she placed fifth. By the time of the 1988 Olympics, Joyner-Kersee (she had married her coach, Bob Kersee) was so much better at the heptathlon than everyone else, that her husband had to invent a fantasy opponent: Wilhelmina World Record. At the Seoul Games, Joyner-Kersee won the gold by beating Wilhelmina by 76 points. Five days later, she earned a second gold medal in the long jump with a fifth-round leap of 7.40m. Joyner-Kersee easily won the heptathlon again at the 1992 Olympics. In the long jump, she gained a bronze medal. At the age of 34, Joyner-Kersee competed in the Olympics one last time, at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Entered only in the long jump, she was in seventh place after five rounds. With her last jump, she hit 7 metres and leapfrogged into third place to bring her career medal total to 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-14368040661450819682009-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:002009-06-16T07:51:18.804-07:00Earvin JOHNSON<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjexSmJ6YzI/AAAAAAAAAwo/b_2F7p7QL58/s1600-h/AAEK001_16x20~Magic-Johnson-Ball-in-left-hand-Posters.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjexSmJ6YzI/AAAAAAAAAwo/b_2F7p7QL58/s400/AAEK001_16x20~Magic-Johnson-Ball-in-left-hand-Posters.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347938015563637554" /></a><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>The Magic Man<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">Basketball player Earvin Johnson earned the nickname "Magic" when he was only 15 years old. He led his high school to a state championship, led <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Michigan</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> to the NCAA title and won the NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers all within a period of only three years. The tallest point guard in NBA history (2.06m), Johnson was elected the NBA's most valuable player of the year three times and, with the Lakers, won five NBA championships. His all-around play inspired the term "triple-double" to refer to a game in which he scored at least 10 points, captured at least 10 rebounds and made at least 10 assists. On 17 April 1989, the International Basketball Federation voted to allow NBA professionals to participate in the Olympics for the first time at the 1992 Barcelona Games. The <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> chose a squad of all-stars that deservedly came to be known as the Dream Team. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were honoured with the positions of co-captains. The Dream Team was so much better than their opponents that they never called a single time-out, and their average margin of victory was 43¾ points. They also averaged an Olympic record 117¼ points per game and scored more than 100 points in every one of their eight games.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-48497110894070281922009-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:002009-06-16T07:48:59.330-07:00Daley THOMPSON<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjewtWeyIQI/AAAAAAAAAwg/c2ew-Fzr3eo/s1600-h/Daley_Thompson.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 350px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjewtWeyIQI/AAAAAAAAAwg/c2ew-Fzr3eo/s400/Daley_Thompson.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347937375701049602" /></a> <div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">Daley Thompson first competed in the Olympics in 1976, finishing 18th in the decathlon at the age of 18. He was the youngest competitor in the event. Four years later in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city> he won the gold medal. Thompson returned to the Olympics for a third time in 1984 and faced his nemesis, Jürgen Hingsen of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">West Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It was a close battle over the first seven events, but then Thompson pulled away with strong performances in the pole vault and the javelin. With the gold medal secure, Thompson needed to run the final event, the 1,500m, in 4:34.98 to break Hingsen's world record. Thompson exasperated the crowd for easing up at the finish line and stopping the clock at 4:35.00. Two years later, IAAF officials reexamined the photo timer results and discovered that Thompson had completed the 110m hurdles in 14.33 seconds rather than 14.34 seconds. They added one more point to his Olympic total and he was given a belated share of the world record.</p><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-MS Mincho";mso-ansi-language:EN-SG;mso-fareast-language: JA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;">Decathlon Daley Double</span></b></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-3938350260182112702009-06-16T05:23:00.000-07:002009-06-16T05:25:39.291-07:00Sergei TCHEPIKOV<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjePNs6eeXI/AAAAAAAAAwY/2CF8lNHbdAE/s1600-h/xin_242070412092781203165.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 270px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347900548083251570" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjePNs6eeXI/AAAAAAAAAwY/2CF8lNHbdAE/s400/xin_242070412092781203165.jpg" /></a><br /><div>18 years between medals<br />Sergei Tchepikov is a survivor. He took up biathlon at the age of 13, and competed in his first World Cup in 1987. His first Olympic participation followed in 1988 in Calgary, for the USSR. After finishing fourth in the 20km, he won bronze in the 10km and then gold with the Soviet relay team. He would play a key role in every relay team of which he was a member.In 1992, at the Winter Games in Albertville, competing for the Unified Team, Sergei placed fourth and 10th in the 10km and 20km events, but won a silver medal in the relay. Two years later in Lillehammer, it was the flag of the Russian Federation which was raised for his victory in the 10km. In the 4 x 7.5km relay, as in 1992, Sergei and his team-mates finished behind the Germans. This was Tchepikov’s fifth Olympic medal.<br />The Russian Army officer then had to wait 12 years before again mounting an Olympic podium. At the Winter Games in Nagano, his best result was a fifth place in the 4 x 10km relay. In 2002, at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, he finished fourth with the Russian relay team, and eighth in the 20km.At the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Sergei Tchepikov placed fourth in the first event, the 20km, but only 24th in the 10km. He skipped the pursuit events in order to focus on the relay. For this 4 x 7.5km race, he set off in second place after Ivan Tcherezov had gone first. He was neck-and-neck with the French, who would finish in third place. Sergei achieved a faultless shooting performance. His team-mates Pavel Rostovtsev and Nikolay Kruglov could not catch up with the victorious Germans, but secured the silver medal for their efforts. In his last event, the 15 km, Sergei Tchepikov placed fifth.<br />After these Games in Turin, Sergei Tchepikov became the fourth most titled biathlete of all time. But it is above all his consistency at the highest level which has earned him a place in Olympic history. He competed in six editions of the Olympic Games, won medals in four different editions and mounted the podium 18 years after his first Olympic medal. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-83424404271446479782009-06-16T05:19:00.000-07:002009-06-16T05:22:17.592-07:00Ryoko TANI<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeObASuNeI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/qmYsXJ8R7_E/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 285px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347899677111891426" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeObASuNeI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/qmYsXJ8R7_E/s400/untitled.bmp" /></a><br /><div>Yawara-Chan<br />Ryoko Tamura was only sixteen years old when she upset Karen Briggs in the semifinals of the Judo extra-lightweight division at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. She lost to world champion Cécile Nowak of France in the final, but it was clear that the future belonged to Tamura. Indeed, she went undefeated for the next four years. Only 1.46m tall, Tamura was hugely popular in Japan, where her success had spawned an interest in women's judo. She was known as "Yawara-chan" because of her resemblance to a popular comic book character. She entered the final of the 1996 Olympics with an 84-match winning streak. Her opponent was a complete unknown: 16-year-old Kye Sun-hi of North Korea, who had never heard of Tamura. Kye startled Tamura by attacking from the start and the double world champion was unable to establish her rhythm. With 22 seconds left, Kye scored with a leg hook and then added an insurance point when Tamura, on her knees, was penalized for "false attack."<br />Between the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, Tamura again won all of her matches. No Japanese athlete at the Sydney Games bore the weight of her nation’s expectations more than Tamura. "My goal at Sydney?" she said. "At best a gold, at worst a gold." Tamura survived a near-upset in the semifinals when she was awarded a decision over North Korean Cha Hyon-hyang. As a contest, her final match against Lyubov Bruletova of Russia was an anticlimax, as Tamura used an uchimata (inner thigh throw) to score ippon after only 36 seconds. Tamura was mobbed by photographers and cameramen who broke down the barrier separating the athletes from the media. She was kept up doing live television interviews until 3am, when she was finally able to lock herself into her room at the Olympic Village. Alone at least, she burst into tears and then placed her gold medal on her pillow and fell asleep.<br />At the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, Ryoko Tamura, whose name is now RyokoTani - her husband Yoshitomo Tani is a member of the Japanese baseball team - defended her title won in Sydney in 2000 and won the gold medal in the - 48kg, ahead of French woman Frédérique Jossinet. She thus became the first judoka to retain her Olympic title.<br />In Beijing in 2008, the Japanese judoka took part in her fifth Olympic Games. The six-time world champion and double Olympic champion was the woman to beat in the under-48kg ranking. However, her dream to win a third gold medal ended in the semi-final, when, a few seconds before the end of the bout against Romania’s Dimitru, she took a penalty, which made her lose the match. As a great champion, Ryoko Tani did not throw in the towel, and won the bronze medal match again Russia’s Bogdanova. She thus stood on the Olympic podium for the fifth time in five editions of the Games.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-70667591908540639912009-06-16T05:18:00.000-07:002009-06-16T05:19:37.593-07:00Sergey BUBKA<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeNzBD5SdI/AAAAAAAAAwI/MX2p7r_xbHI/s1600-h/BUBKA_Sergey_19870704_GH_L.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 292px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347898990123370962" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeNzBD5SdI/AAAAAAAAAwI/MX2p7r_xbHI/s400/BUBKA_Sergey_19870704_GH_L.jpg" /></a><br /><div>The Vaulter Who Raised The Bar<br />Pole vaulter Sergey Bubka burst on the international scene when, as a 19-year-old, he scored an upset victory at the inaugural World Championships of Athletics in 1983. Over the next 14 years, he won all five world championships. He is still the only athlete in any event to win six world championships. Competing in Paris on 13 July 1988, he became the first vaulter to clear six metres. An overwhelming favourite at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Bubka came within one miss of finishing out of the medals completely. However he easily cleared the height - 5.90 metres - and won the gold medal. In 1991, Bubka became the first person to clear 20 feet, which he did both indoors and outdoors. Favored to win at the 1992 Olympics, Bubka missed all three of his attempts. However, he rebounded quickly and broke the world record twice in the next 36 days. Bubka eventually set world records 35 times, 18 times indoors and 17 times outdoors. Bubka is a member of the International Olympic Committee's executive board and he is chairman of the IOC's Athletes' Commission.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-30361129983566504262009-06-16T05:14:00.000-07:002009-06-16T05:16:49.986-07:00Olga BRUSNIKINA<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeNCkeqqOI/AAAAAAAAAwA/9Tb1H6k7r4c/s1600-h/001aa018ff9c0812e60636.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 270px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347898157817309410" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeNCkeqqOI/AAAAAAAAAwA/9Tb1H6k7r4c/s400/001aa018ff9c0812e60636.jpg" /></a><br />Living Upside Down<br />Olga Brusnikina first attracted attention when, at the age of 14, she performed a mesmerizing solo routine at the 1993 world junior synchro championships that earned her a standing ovation. When team synchronized swimming was added to the Olympic programme in 1996, Brusnikina was a member of the Russian team that placed fourth. In Sydney 2000 the duet result was never in doubt. Brusnikina and her partner, Maria Kisseleva, swam a karate-themed free routine, performed to Japanese drums, and earned straight 10's for artistic interpretation and technical merit scores of 10 from four of the five judges. Brusnikina won a second gold medal as a member of the Russian squad in the team event. Four years later, at the Athens Olympics, she earned another gold medal in the team event. Brusnikina, who had been a synchronized swimmer since she was nine years old, once explained, "After so many years of training, I feel at home in the water. I'm used to having my feet point upward. I'm used to living upside down."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-40681037554352573212009-06-16T05:09:00.000-07:002009-06-16T05:13:18.273-07:00Usain BOLT<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeMHz8yN3I/AAAAAAAAAv4/7TTejE07_nw/s1600-h/usain-bolt-olympics-200m.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347897148357883762" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeMHz8yN3I/AAAAAAAAAv4/7TTejE07_nw/s400/usain-bolt-olympics-200m.jpg" /></a><br /><br /> <br />Lightning Bolt<br />It was on 31 May 2008 at an athletics meeting in New York when the general public discovered Usain Bolt. That day, the Jamaican took the 100m world record in 9.72 seconds, a prestigious record, till then held by his compatriot Asafa Powell. When the athletics competition of the Olympic Games began in Beijing, Usain Bolt was the favourite in the sprint events thanks to his recent performances - though many could have claimed the final victory.<br />After a first heat completed in 10.20 seconds, the Jamaican ran both a second heat and a semi-final in under 10 seconds, setting the best qualification time. On 16 August 2008, the 100m final, the Games key event, was held in optimal atmospheric conditions. Positioned in the centre of the track, the Caribbean sprinter set off slightly behind his competitors. With his height of 1.96m, Usain Bolt caught up all his rivals and overtook them at the half-way point. With a few metres remaining to the finish line, victory was already his. Usain Bolt could savour his first Olympic gold medal. A look at the clock informed him that he had run an exceptional race: 9.69 seconds! A new world record: he is now the fastest man on the planet.<br />The 200m heats began two days after this achievement. Usain Bolt, who was world junior champion over this distance, lined up in his favourite event. He qualified for the final with the best time in the heats. On 20 August, he gave a new demonstration of his talent. In front of the enthusiastic crowd in the national stadium, known as the "Bird’s Nest", he won the race in 19.30 seconds. He thus beat the world record set by Michael Johnson in 1996.<br />His team-mates Dwight Thomas, Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Asafa Powell qualified the 4x100m Jamaican relay team for the final on 22 August. For this last race, Usain Bolt took the third relay leg on the bend and passed the baton to Asafa Powell. At the end of the home straight, Jamaica won the Olympic title. The four men achieved a great result, beating the world record and the relay teams of Trinidad and Tobago and Japan. This time, it was with his team-mates that Usain Bolt took victory.<br />In six days, "Lightning Bolt" as he is now known, won three gold medals and set three world records in the finals. In Beijing, Usain Bolt entered the Olympic Games and athletics history books.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-6302255842665907262009-06-16T05:06:00.000-07:002009-06-16T05:08:40.523-07:00Inge DE BRUIJN<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeLPHLtQrI/AAAAAAAAAvw/4cVyLWEBPXM/s1600-h/Inge_de_Bruijn.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347896174268203698" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeLPHLtQrI/AAAAAAAAAvw/4cVyLWEBPXM/s400/Inge_de_Bruijn.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br />Queen of the Sprint<br />Inge de Bruijn won her first medal at the World Championships in 1991 at the age of 17. For her first Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, she was one of the young hopefuls to follow. But these Games ended for her with two eighth-place finishes in the 50m freestyle and the 4x100m medley. In the 100m butterfly, she did not qualify for the final. Feeling demotivated, Inge, who had swum since the age of seven, put her career on hold, even though she continued to train. Then followed a long difficult period, topped off by not qualifying for the Atlanta Games in 1996.<br />In spring 2000, she signalled her return to the top by beating or equalling seven world records in two weeks! The Dutch swimmer arrived in Sydney for the Olympic Games as firm favourite in the sprint events, a status she confirmed in the pool by taking three tiles in the 50m freestyle, the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly. To these achievements she added exceptional times, lowering the Olympic and world records.<br />Accompanied by compatriots Thamar Henneken, Wilma Van Rijn and Manon Van Rooijen, she helped the Dutch relay team take silver in the 4x100m freestyle behind the untouchable US team. At the World Championships in 2001 and 2003, Inge de Bruijn confirmed her status as Queen of the Sprint by taking several titles.<br />At the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, she once again competed in five events. For her first race, the 4x100m freestyle, Inge de Bruijn swam the last leg. Even though she could not catch the Americans and Australians, she overtook Germany’s Franziska Van Almsick to snatch the bronze medal with teammates Chantal Groot, Inge Dekker, Marleen Veldhuis and Annabel Kosten (who swam in the semi-final).<br />In the 100m butterfly, she took another Olympic medal, this time a bronze, behind another Australian, Petria Thomas, and Poland’s Otylia Jêdrzejczak, even though she was only sixth at the half-way point.<br />Her third event was the 100m freestyle, where she came second behind Australia’s Jodie Henry. On the last day of the swimming competitions, Inge competed in the 50m freestyle. The world- and Olympic-record holder took the lead by three tenths of a second, and thus held on to the title she had won in Sydney, taking her fourth Olympic gold medal. In her last event, the 4x100m relay medley, she finished in sixth place.<br />With eight Olympic medals to her name, Inge de Bruijn is one of women’s swimming’s legends, confirming all the potential she showed at her first Games 12 years previously.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-83648906922334395862009-06-16T05:01:00.000-07:002009-06-16T05:04:49.002-07:00Pauline Elaine DAVIS<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeKVIRQvyI/AAAAAAAAAvo/KLa7LOInI2w/s1600-h/xinsrc_55207041210370003166353.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 270px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347895178127523618" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/SjeKVIRQvyI/AAAAAAAAAvo/KLa7LOInI2w/s400/xinsrc_55207041210370003166353.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br />The Doyenne of Bahamian Sprinters<br />Pauline Davis began practising sport at school. Although she already liked running, she also practised as many sports as possible, including softball, field hockey and basketball. At 13, she was spotted by a coach thanks to a video tape. It was then she took her first real steps into athletics.<br />At her first Olympic Games in 1984 in Los Angeles, Pauline was the flag-bearer for her country at the Opening Ceremony. In the 100m, she was eliminated in the semi-final, and she finished in sixth place in the 4x100m relay.<br />Her second and third Olympic Games, in 1988 in Seoul and in 1992 in Barcelona, resulted in semi-final places in the 100m and 200m. It was in Barcelona that Frank Rutherford, with whom Pauline was at school and who was behind her meeting her coach, won the first Olympic medal for the Bahamas in the triple jump.<br />At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Pauline Davis lined up for the 400m. In the semi-final and final, she twice beat the national record. In a very fast race in which Olympic, African and Oceanic records were beaten, she finished fourth by only 18 hundredths of a second. With her compatriots Sevatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup and Eldece Clarke, she won the silver medal in the 4x100m relay behind the US team.<br />Aged 34 in 2000, Pauline Davis competed in her last Olympic Games in Sydney. However, the sprinter had never run so fast. In the 200m final, she achieved the best time of her career beating Susanthika Jayasinghe of Sri Lanka by one hundredth of a second and collecting the silver medal: the first Bahaman woman to win an Olympic medal in an individual event. World champions since 1999, it was in the 4x100m relay that the Bahamians were eagerly awaited. After Sevatheda Fynes and Chandra Sturrup, Pauline passed on the baton to Debbie Ferguson, who held off Merlene Ottey-Page and Marion Jones to win the race and give the Bahamas their first gold medal of the Olympic Games.<br />With three Olympic medals, Pauline Davis retired at her peak. The woman who was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004 today gives back to athletics what the sport gave to her by training talented young Bahamian sprinters.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-33887254046721777712009-06-08T08:38:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:41:10.511-07:00Tamas DARNYI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0w8wuymJI/AAAAAAAAAvI/j-_eJ79eJ2s/s1600-h/63685_TOP.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 138px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0w8wuymJI/AAAAAAAAAvI/j-_eJ79eJ2s/s400/63685_TOP.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344982153190086802" /></a><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>The Greatest All-Around Swimmer<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">The most demanding of swimming events is the individual medley, in which the swimmer must use each of four strokes. The greatest medley swimmer in Olympic history is Tamás Darnyi of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hungary</st1:place></st1:country-region>. When Darnyi was 15 years old, he lost the vision in his left eye as a result of being hit by an icy snowball three years earlier. Darnyi entered the 1988 Olympics as the world record holder in both the 200m and 400m medleys. In <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Seoul</st1:place></st1:city> he won both races and set another world record in each. At the Barcelona Games in 1992, Darnyi successfully defended both of his Olympic titles and completed an eight-year stretch during which he was undefeated at either distance.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-64071692862182903912009-06-08T08:37:00.001-07:002009-06-08T08:38:31.917-07:00Mia HAMM<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0wTVu8yaI/AAAAAAAAAvA/vjUMmTtONcY/s1600-h/mia_hamm_001.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0wTVu8yaI/AAAAAAAAAvA/vjUMmTtONcY/s400/mia_hamm_001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344981441568360866" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>Women's football pioneer<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">The most dominant women's football player of the 1990s, Mia Hamm joined the U.S. national team at the age of 15 and scored her first international goal (against Norway) at 18. In 1991, she was a member of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> team that won the Women's World Cup. At the 1995 World Cup, the Americans placed third, but <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hamm</st1:place></st1:city>, who even filled in at goalie in one match, was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player. At the inaugural women's Olympic football tournament in 1996, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hamm</st1:place></st1:city> sprained her left ankle in an early match, but skipped only one game. In the final against <st1:country-region st="on">China</st1:country-region>, which was played before a crowd of 76,481, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hamm</st1:place></st1:city> slammed a hard shot that Chinese goalie Gao Hong deflected into the post. Shannon MacMillan collected the rebound and scored the match's first goal. The <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> went on to win 2-1. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hamm</st1:place></st1:city>'s ankle was still so sore that she was unable to join her teammates in the post-match victory lap around the field. On March 22, 1999, in a match against <st1:country-region st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region>, <st1:city st="on">Hamm</st1:city> scored her 108th international goal to break the career record previously held by Elisabetta Vignotto of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Later that year, <st1:city st="on">Hamm</st1:city> led the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> team to victory in the Women's World Cup. The final went to penalty shootout. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hamm</st1:place></st1:city> did not want to take part, but she was chosen anyway and made the fourth of five goals that won the Americans the title. At the 2000 Olympics, <st1:city st="on">Hamm</st1:city> helped the <st1:country-region st="on">United States</st1:country-region> to qualify for the final by scoring the only goal in their semifinal victory over <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The <st1:country-region st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> lost the final to <st1:country-region st="on">Norway</st1:country-region> in overtime, but <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hamm</st1:place></st1:city>'s play has continued to inspire young players around the world. At the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, Mia Hamm and the American team won the gold medal, beating the Brazilian team 2-1 after extra time.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-16870674478270148782009-06-08T08:35:00.001-07:002009-06-08T08:36:48.516-07:00Alfred HAJOS<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0v4DRXc9I/AAAAAAAAAu4/KevqVqnQN7w/s1600-h/xinsrc_06207041014582652712485.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0v4DRXc9I/AAAAAAAAAu4/KevqVqnQN7w/s400/xinsrc_06207041014582652712485.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344980972755973074" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>My Will to Live Completely Overcame My Desire to Win<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">Alfred Hajos was 13 years old when he felt compelled to become a good swimmer after his father drowned in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Danube</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:placetype></st1:place>. The first Olympic swimming contests, at the 1896 Athens Games, were held in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Bay</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Zea</st1:placename></st1:place> in water with a temperature of only 13 degrees Celsius. Hajos won the 100m and the 1,200m freestyle on the same day (11 April). For the longer race, the nine entrants were transported by boat to the open water and left alone to swim back to shore. According to Hajos, "I must say that I shivered from the thought of what would happen if I got a cramp from the cold water. My will to live completely overcame my desire to win". In 1924 Hajos won a prize in the architectural division of the Olympic Art Contest</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-58732348532538383042009-06-08T08:33:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:35:02.871-07:00Archie HAHN<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0vh1tbf4I/AAAAAAAAAuw/OsBsSwkbwXE/s1600-h/xinsrc_36207041014565461817584.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0vh1tbf4I/AAAAAAAAAuw/OsBsSwkbwXE/s400/xinsrc_36207041014565461817584.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344980591158460290" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>The Mildwaukee meteor<o:p></o:p></b></p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-SG;mso-fareast-language:EN-SG; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Archie Hahn, who came to be known as "The Milwaukee Meteor," was quite small for a sprinter: 1.65m tall and only 59kg. He did not seriously take up competitive running until he was nineteen years old. The following year, 1900, he was recruited by representatives of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Michigan</st1:placename></st1:place>, who saw him win a race at a county fair. At the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, Hahn earned three gold medals. He began by winning the 60m dash in 7.0 seconds. Next, he won the 200m, leading the final from start to finish, in a time of 21.6 seconds. Finally, Hahn shot out to a fast start in the 100m final and held on to defeat fast-finishing Nate Cartmell by about two metres. Running into a strong wind, Hahn's time was 11.0 seconds. Two years later, Hahn traveled to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Athens</st1:place></st1:city> for the 1906 Intercalated Games. Taking advantage of his usual quick start, he led the final from start to finish and beat fellow American Fay Moulton by one metre. Hahn studied law at university, but never practiced his profession. Instead he devoted his life to coaching young runners. His book How to Sprint was considered a classic text.</span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-30254868823719457942009-06-08T08:30:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:32:58.732-07:00Oddbjorn HAGEN<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0u1R21BqI/AAAAAAAAAuo/0s-wgXgGdSg/s1600-h/200812923051548.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0u1R21BqI/AAAAAAAAAuo/0s-wgXgGdSg/s400/200812923051548.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344979825619961506" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>Two-sport winter medalist<o:p></o:p></b></p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-SG;mso-fareast-language:EN-SG; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Oddbjørn Hagen won the Nordic combined world championship in both 1934 and 1935. It would be another 66 years before another Nordic combined athlete won two world championships in a row. At the 1936 Winter Olympics in <st1:city st="on">Garmisch-Partenkirchen</st1:city>, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hagen</st1:place></st1:city> earned three medals in fours days. On 10 February he skied the leadoff leg for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s 4x10km relay team. The Norwegians lost to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region> by only 20m, but they were far ahead of the third-place team. Two days later, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hagen</st1:place></st1:city> took part in the 18km cross-country race, finishing second behind Erik-August Larsson of Sweden. This race also served as the first half of the Nordic combined event. Since Larsson was only a skier, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hagen</st1:place></st1:city> took a lead of more than two minutes into the ski jump portion of the Nordic combined. Although his score was only the sixteenth best, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hagen</st1:place></st1:city> achieved a clear victory and led a Norwegian sweep of the medals.</span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-91854459420089140082009-06-08T08:28:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:30:33.509-07:00Georges ANDRE<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0uXZnEQJI/AAAAAAAAAug/m8ed96mwcUU/s1600-h/xin_2220704121011234439830.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0uXZnEQJI/AAAAAAAAAug/m8ed96mwcUU/s400/xin_2220704121011234439830.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344979312305258642" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>Forever young<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">Géo André made his first appearance at the Olympics as an 18-year-old high jumper in 1908. Although his pre-Olympic best was 1.79m, in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> he cleared 1.88m and earned a surprise silver medal. At the 1912 Olympics, André took part in the decathlon, the pentathlon, the high jump, the standing high jump and standing long jump and the 110m hurdles. He served as a soldier during World War I and was badly injured and taken prisoner. After escaping at his sixth try, he rejoined the fight as an aviator. At the 1920 Olympics he placed fourth in the 400m hurdles and then, a week later, he won a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay. He also ran in the 400m. In 1924 the Olympics were held in André's hometown of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city>. By now he was 34 years old and André, now participating in his fourth Olympics, was chosen to take the Athletes' Oath on behalf of all the athletes. He competed again in the 400m hurdles and again he qualified for the final and placed fourth. Even after his retirement from sport, André continued to be a late achiever. Anxious to do his part in World War II, but too old to be a fighter pilot, André joined the infantry and was killed near <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Tunis</st1:place></st1:state> on 4 May 1943. He was 53 years old.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-8929557786294749452009-06-08T08:27:00.001-07:002009-06-08T08:28:26.505-07:00Gabriela ANDERSEN-SCHIESS<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0t-ij47nI/AAAAAAAAAuY/5E-zdjIV-aE/s1600-h/30369_TOP.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 138px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0t-ij47nI/AAAAAAAAAuY/5E-zdjIV-aE/s400/30369_TOP.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344978885211123314" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><st1:place st="on"><b>Marathon</b></st1:place><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss was a ski instructor in the <st1:country-region st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> state of <st1:state st="on">Idaho</st1:state> when she represented <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Switzerland</st1:place></st1:country-region> at the 1984 Olympics. Twenty minutes after the winner, <a href="file:///C:/uk/athletes/profiles/bio_uk.asp?PAR_I_ID=30344">Joan Benoit</a>, crossed the finish line, the 39-year-old Andersen-Scheiss staggered into the stadium, suffering from heat prostration. Her right leg was stiff and her left arm was hanging limply by her side. While spectators gasped in horror, doctors noted that she was perspiring - a good sign - and they let her continue. For 5 minutes and 44 seconds, she lurched along the final lap around the track, occasionally stopping and holding her head. Finally she fell across the finish line and into the arms of waiting medics. Andersen-Scheiss placed 37th. Remarkably, she recovered rapidly and was released by medical personnel only two hours later.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-12824226852589113692009-06-08T08:24:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:26:53.349-07:00Hjalmar ANDERSEN<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0tjTFFHRI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/axEPP5lVHPc/s1600-h/andersen_gal_l_0158585860.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0tjTFFHRI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/axEPP5lVHPc/s400/andersen_gal_l_0158585860.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344978417198898450" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;page-break-after:avoid;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><b>Largest Victory Margins in Skating History<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">Hjalmar Andersen of <st1:country-region st="on">Norway</st1:country-region> was the first man to win three speedskating gold medals at one Olympic Winter Games, when in 1952, he triumphed in the three long races (1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m) in his native <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Oslo</st1:place></st1:city>. His winning margin in the 5,000m was an astounding 11 seconds and he also won the 10,000m by a substantial margin. His Olympic speed skating career began with a rather inauspicious debut, as he failed to finish the 10,000m in 1948, the only event in which he competed that year. He retired after the 1952 Games but returned to competition in 1954 to win his fourth Norwegian title, having earlier won the World, European and Norwegian all-around titles in 1950-52. Andersen competed at the 1956 Olympic Games, finishing 11th in the 5 000 and 6th in 10,000, but then retired for good. His strength was as a distance skater, and he was world champion at 5,000m and 10,000m from 1950-52 consecutively. He set one world record at 5,000m and three at 10,000m.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-38162867154791754472009-06-08T08:08:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:10:01.564-07:00Olympic StadiumOlympic Stadium is a Olympic Games Main Stadium.<div><br /></div><div><div>Summer Olympics Stadias</div><div><br /></div><div>Panathinaiko Stadium</div><div>Vélodrome de Vincennes</div><div>Francis Field</div><div>White City Stadium</div><div>Stockholms Olympiastadion</div><div>Antwerp Olympisch Stadion</div><div>Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir</div><div>Amsterdam Olympisch Stadion</div><div>Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum</div><div>Olympiastadion Berlin</div><div>Wembley Stadium</div><div>Helsinki Olympic Stadium</div><div>Melbourne Cricket Ground</div><div>Stadio Olimpico</div><div>National Olympic Stadium</div><div>Estadio Olímpico Universitario</div><div>Munich Olympiastadion</div><div>Stade Olympique, Montreal</div><div>Luzhniki Stadium</div><div>Seoul Olympic Stadium</div><div>Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys</div><div>Centennial Olympic Stadium</div><div>Telstra Stadium</div><div>Athens Olympic Stadium</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-47478353591202834582009-06-08T08:07:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:08:15.222-07:00Paralympic GamesThe Paralympic Games are an elite multi-sport event for athletes with a disability. This includes mobility disabilities, amputees, visual disabilities and those with cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, following the Olympic Games, and are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). (The Paralympic Games are sometimes confused with the Special Olympics, which are only for people with intellectual disabilities.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-59080118778732897912009-06-08T08:06:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:07:31.381-07:00Olympic FlameThe Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games.[1] A committee plans the route that it goes through, which ends at the city where the event is being hosted. Sometimes people use the torch route to make a point. During the 2008 Olympic torch relay to Beijing, people talked about and held signs that were against China's human rights record and signs that said Tibet was not a part of China.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4707728336878891152.post-40882364414597090412009-06-08T08:03:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:06:35.037-07:00Ancient Olympic Games<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0o5usIcbI/AAAAAAAAAuI/r2guMqoyS-Q/s1600-h/Bases_of_Zanes.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PrIk3qBTua0/Si0o5usIcbI/AAAAAAAAAuI/r2guMqoyS-Q/s400/Bases_of_Zanes.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344973305009435058" /></a><br />The Ancient Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held between the city-states of Ancient Greece. They used to be called the Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; Olympiakoi Agones) until the modern day Olympic Games started. The Ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. They ran until 393 AD.Prizes at the games were olive wreaths, palm branches and woollen ribbons.<div><br /></div><div><div>Famous athletes</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here are athletes that competed at the Games:</div><div>from Athens:</div><div>Aurelios Zopyros (Junior boxing)</div><div>from Sparta:</div><div>Acanthus of Sparta (Running: diaulos)</div><div>Chionis of Sparta (Running: stadium, diaulos. Long and Triple Jump)</div><div>Cynisca of Sparta (first woman to be listed as an Olympic victor)</div><div>from Rhodes:</div><div>Diagoras of Rhodes (Boxing 79th Olympiad, 464 BC) and his sons Akusilaos and Damagetos (Boxing and Pankration)</div><div>Leonidas of Rhodes (Running: stadium, diaulos and hoplitodromos)</div><div>from Croton:</div><div>Astylos of Croton (Running: stadium, diaulos and hoplitodromos)</div><div>Milo of Croton (wrestling)</div><div>Timasitheos of Croton (wrestling)</div><div>from other cities:</div><div>Koroibos of Elis (Stadion)</div><div>Orsippus of Megara (Runner: diaulos)</div><div>Theagenes of Thasos (Pankration)</div><div>non-Greek:</div><div>Tiberius (steerer of a four-horse chariot)</div><div>Nero (steerer of a ten-horse chariot)</div><div>Varastades, Prince and future King of Armenia, (last known Ancient Olympic victor (boxing) during the 291st Olympic Games in the fourth century. </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0