I know it's a little early for the thread.
2012 Summer Olympics
I know it's a little early for the thread.
-Pregnant woman will compete in Olympics
Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi will be shooting for two at the London Olympics.
The Malaysian shooter will be eight months pregnant when she's scheduled to participate in the 10m air rifle event this summer. Her doctors have given her the tentative OK to compete, as has her husband and Malaysian Olympic officials. Most importantly, Suryani feels she'll be ready.
"My aim is to compete," she told Reuters. "Maybe, at the end of June or whatsoever, if I have some problem that would jeopardise the baby inside me, I will reconsider whether I am going or not. But I feel I am strong and my husband says 'as long as you feel like that, energized to do that, it seems like that is your baby talking to you so you go'.
Suryani qualified for the Games at the Asian Shooting Championships in January, days after finding out she was pregnant. She recognizes that some people will question her decision to compete -- family members and some in Malaysia already have -- but with the doctor's blessings, Suryani doesn't expect any problems.
"I will talk to the baby before I compete... 'no kicking, stay calm for one hour and 15 minutes only please," she said.
The nation's best shooter will make some concessions to her gestational state. She plans on leaving London before the closing ceremony since doctors recommend she not fly after 35 weeks. And she won't be competing in the 50m competition, even though she achieved the qualifying marks.
"Yeah, I cannot do a prone position with this big stomach," she said.
--Keith Moon, The Who dummer who died in 1978, was invited to play at the Olympics
Ever since Beijing put on one of the most spectacular coordinated displays in human history at the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony, observers have wondered how London could possibly improve on it. This would be a start.
Organizers for the 2012 ceremony recently asked the manager of The Who if legendary drummer Keith Moon would be able to perform at the London Games. It was a fine idea, except that Moon has been dead for 34 years.
Bill Curbishley told Metro how he responded to the request.
"I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green crematorium, having lived up to The Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old,'" he said. "If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him."
That's well done, Bill. Well done.
The surviving members of The Who, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend, still tour and are expected to play some role in the Olympic festivities. Nothing against the band who gave the world "Quadrophenia" and "Tommy," but if you're going to go for big names to play at the Olympics, why not try and get John Lennon and George Harrison to stage a Beatles reunion? Go for the gold, as they say.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols turned down an invitation to play the closing ceremony. No excuse was reported. Whatever it was, I doubt it was as good as Moon's.
-Kurt Angle Pulls Out Of Olympic Trials
Kurt Angle announced via a string of Twitter posts that he has pulled out of the U.S. Olympics Trials due to a series of injuries. While the injuries are serious, Angle states that he will still wrestle Sunday at TNA’s Lockdown PPV. Here are his posts…
“I Plan On Wrestling @ Lockdown and see what happens from there. I’ve had worse injuries while Pro Wrestling and worked around them
Due to Hamstring@Knee Injuries, I’m forced to Pull out of trials. Had a talk W/ Usa Wrestling Coach Zeke Jones Who has Supported Me all Year. I trained Extremely hard for a full Year. I’m Very Disappointed. I want to thank All the fans for Ur Support. U Motivated Me.
I Must focus On TNA and Lockdown PPV, Which Has Always Been My 1st Priority. I Hope to Be Able to Put On the Best Performance I Can. TNA Has Supported My Olympic Dream Since the Day I Approached Dixie Carter about My Quest for Gold! Thank You.
I injured My MCL in My Knee. The Doctors Say It’s a partial tear which will take 4-6 Months w/ rehab. I Will have It Heavily Protected at Lockdown. I’ve Had Prior Knee Injuries More Serious than this @ Still Won Ncaa’s but I Must Put My Job in Tna 1st. Again, thank You all for Us Support. Ur Support. Your Prayers and Support Have motivated Me to Put On the Best Performance I Can at Lockdown, Considering My injuries.
As Zeke Jones told Me, We Were Hoping that Father time Would Hold Off Until After London Olympics. Unfortunately It Hit Me Hard 1 Month Prior to Olympic trials. Thank You to All My training Partners, Especially Edinboro Univ Wrestlers and Coach Tim Flynn and Tony Dipietro.
Training for Gold and Wrestling for #ImpactWrestling at the Same time took it’s toll. I’m Still Proud that I Went 4 It at age 43. Thx to all the fans Who Supported Me! I Will Heal and focus On What I Do Best and that’s Perform for all Of You. GOD Bless!”
UPDATE: Kurt Angle spoke with the Associated Press about his failed bid to make the Olympics, which was curtailed due to an injury. Check out the highlights:
On the injury: ‘ I feel like it was a waste of time. Here I am, at the 11:30 hour, and I get the worst injury I’ve gotten in the last year. I’ve had four or five injuries, but I’ve worked around them. This one, I can’t work around. There’s no way around it.”
On being advised by US Olympic Team coach Zeke Jones to withdraw: ”We have such incredible, awesome competition, that with my MCL injury, they would have torn me apart.”
On his match at Lockdown still being on: ”In amateur wrestling, I have no control over what’s going to happen to me. My No. 1 priority is TNA Wrestling. With TNA, I can work around my injuries and still have a five-star match.”
On whether he would have made it if not for the injury: ”I really thought that I had a legitimate shot of at least making the team, or being an Olympic alternate. At 43, no one’s ever done it. I had that opportunity. I had that shot.”
UPDATE x 2: Dixie Carter commented on Kurt Angle withdrawing from the 2012 Olympic trials today on Twitter:
I am heartbroken for Kurt. His commitment to making the Olympic team was unreal. But that’s the kind of athlete he is.
-Lewd Dude Messes With The Wrong Olympian
It's a lesson as old as the Internet: Photos of your privates rarely stay private.
But imagine if those photos were sent to a cop. That's exactly what happened to a man in Germany who emailed a photo of his privates to Olympic high jumper Ariane Friedrich. When she's not training for the Olympics, the 2009 world bronze medal high jump winner just so happens to work as a police officer.
Friedrich, 28, wasted no time posting the man's name, address and phone number on Facebook. According to a Fox Sports post, she plans to press charges against the man.
“I’ve been offended in the past, sexually harassed and I’ve had a stalker before,” she wrote on the Facebook post. “It’s time to act; it’s time to defend myself. And that’s what I’m doing. No more and no less.”
She may have the bronze medal for high jumping, but she gets the gold for putting the alleged pervert to shame.
-Alexander Dale Oen, gold medal swimming favorite, found dead
Norway's Alexander Dale Oen, the defending world champion in the 100 breaststroke and a top contender for a gold medal at the London Olympics, was found dead in his bathroom late Monday night.
The 26-year-old, who was training with the Norwegian national team in Arizona, died of cardiac arrest. The country's swimming federation said he was found sprawled on the bathtub. Teammates became worried when repeated knocks on the door went unanswered. A team doctor performed CPR before an ambulance arrived, but the young swimmer was never resuscitated and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
"We're all in shock," Norway coach Petter Loevberg told reporters. "This is an out-of-the-body experience for the whole team over here. Our thoughts primarily go to his family who have lost Alexander way too early."
Even at 26, Dale Oen was already the greatest swimmer in Norwegian history. He won the nation's first swimming medal in Beijing, a silver in the 100 breast. Three years later, he won the same race at the world championships, solidifying himself as a favorite for the upcoming Summer Olympics. It was that race that turned Dale Oen from an athletic star into a national hero.
He led wire-to-wire and won by half a body length over a field that included one of the greatest breaststrokers in history, Kosuke Kitajima. His time of 58.71 narrowly missed the world record in the event. But the athletic achievement was only a small part of the overall meaning.
Dale Oen's victory came three days after the Norwegian massacre that killed 77 people. With the country still reeling from the attacks, Dale Oen's win provided a brief sense of diversion. He dedicated his victory to the victims, pointing to the flag on his cap after touching the wall.
"We need to stay united," he said after the race. "Everyone back home now is of course paralyzed with what happened but it was important for me to symbolize that even though I'm here in China, I'm able to feel the same emotions."
In Beijing, Dale Oen entered the final as the top seed but was defeated in the final 50 meters by Kitajima. He seemed to carry that defeat ever since. Quotes on his personal website and Twitter page often had a theme of redemption. London was supposed to provide it.
am i the only one that finds the summer olympics boring. the only events i ever watch are women's beach volleyball and the 100 meter dash. watching anybody run further than 100 meters is boring.
I respectfully disagree. I like almost every athletic competition excluding shot put and hammer. Besides that, basketball tournament, swimming, male/female volleyball might be good to watch.
Olympics >> Soccer World Cup, imo.
Summer Olympics are just a way for poor countries to feel important at something on the world stage.
no one really cares if you can run 1000 meters, but have at it and well give you a medal.
mind you the javelin toss is cool, be cooler if they had someone to throw it at
Originally Posted by THE MASON
Are there any chicks that compete in the beach volleyball that aren't completely flat chested?
Anthony Davis will be added as a finalist for the U.S. Olympic roster, according to sources.
http://basketball.realgm.com/news#ixzz1tpAPA76w
IS IT JUST ME OR DO YOU FIND IT AMUZiNG OLYMPIQ POSTED IN THE OLYMPIC THREAD?
Anthony Davis reminds me of some type of prehistoric creature
-Saudi Arabia to let women compete in Olympics for first time
(CNN) -- Saudi Arabia will let its female athletes compete in the Olympics for the first time, its embassy in London said.
Until now, Saudi Arabia was one of three countries that did not allow women to participate in the games.
The other two -- Qatar and Brunei -- also reversed course this year and said they will send female athletes to the London games, which begin July 27.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wishes to reaffirm its support for the sublime meanings reflected by Olympic Games and the cherished values of excellence, friendship and respect that they represent," the Saudi Embassy in London said in a statement announcing the decision.
The International Olympic Committee had been pressing Saudi Arabia to allow women to compete and act as officials, and said in March that talks were going well.
"IOC is confident that Saudi Arabia is working to include women athletes and officials at the Olympic Games in London in accordance with the International Federations' rules," the committee said March 19.
The decision is a rare concession for a kingdom where women are banned from driving.
They also cannot vote or hold public office, though that will change in 2015.
Women in Saudi Arabia also cannot marry, leave the country, go to school or open bank accounts without permission from a male guardian, who usually is the father or husband. Much of public life is segregated by gender.
When it came to sports, female athletes were barred from the Olympic Games because they would be participating in front of a mixed-gender crowd.
The Saudi Embassy did not say what prompted the kingdom to change its mind. Officials in Saudi Arabia could not immediately be reached for comment.
The embassy statement added that women who qualify for the games will be allowed to participate, raising questions how many female athletes will be ready at such short notice.
Dalma Rushdi Malhas, who became the first Saudi woman to compete in the youth Olympics, praised the decision, calling it "a dream come true."
"This just opens so many doors for women," Malhas, an equestrian, told CNN International.
Malhas said she won't be competing in the London games this summer, because her horse suffered a minor injury, but didn't rule out future competitions.
"I look forward to giving my best and I'm determined to keep on trying for the next games, hopefully," she said.
Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch issued a report in which it said the Saudi government's policy of banning women's participation in national competitive sports reflects the "predominant conservative view that opening sports to women and girls will lead to immorality: 'steps of the devil,' as one prominent religious scholar put it."
In 2009 and 2010, the country closed private gyms for women, and its schools' curriculum does not include physical education classes for women, the rights group said.
And while the Saudi National Olympic Committee selects athletes to represent it in competition, the committee does not have a women's section.
Saudi Arabia's 153 official sports club are also closed to women, Human Rights Watch said. The only exception is the female basketball section of Jeddah United, a private sports company that is not among the official sports clubs, the group said.
For its part, Qatar will send three women to London this year: a shooter, a swimmer and a runner.
Brunei will send a woman who will compete in hurdling.
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