Michael Phelps has 'terrible' swim, still sets national titles record

Only Michael Phelps could proclaim he was "terrible" on a night in which he won two national championships and broke the all-time record for most national titles in a career.

The 14-time gold medalist won the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly, his 48th and 49th national titles, on Wednesday night at the U.S. swimming championships, but said he "felt absolutely awful" in the water. "I'm going to have to be in a lot better shape," he said. "I know what I need to do to change."

It was the first major meet for Phelps since the 2009 world championships and his rustiness showed. His won the 200 butterfly in 1:56.00, nearly 4 1/2 seconds slower than the world record he set last year in Rome. It was an uncharacteristically sloppy race for Phelps, who jammed his second turn and was late getting off the starting blocks. The time was still good enough to outpace the second-place finisher by over one second, but that seemed irrelevant to the most decorated swimmer ever.

"The bottom line is that I'm not in shape and it shows," he said. "It was probably the worst 200 fly of my life. That's not even a top five time in the world, and in my eyes [that's unacceptable]."

His performance in the 200 free was a bit better. In that race, which preceded the fly by about an hour, Phelps held off six-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte and swam the fastest time in the world this year. His time of 1:45.61 was three seconds off his personal best though.

To be fair, this meet is of relatively low importance to Phelps. It's a qualifier for the lone major international competition of the year, the Pan Pacific Championships, which will be held in Irvine, Calif., later this month. Even that won't be a big deal for Phelps. This is an off-year with no world championships or Olympics and Phelps isn't training seriously. The two events that matter are in 2011 and 2012. Until he starts training for those, he might want to get used to being frustrated with his times.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Michael-Phelps-has-terrible-swim-still-sets-n?urn=oly-260485

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Two Weeks 'til the Shamrock Shuffle! Please help us fund this film.

We have only two weeks to raise $900 for our Shamrock Shuffle 8K shoot on 4/10. This is the kick-off to the running season here in Chicago, with an estimated 35,000 runners. Most of our film's ladies will be competing, along with a list of some of the Midwest's top female distance runners. Will you please help us by donating to our film fund? If everyone who visits this blog donates $5-10, we'd raise enough to cover the Shamrock Shuffle and Eugene Marathon on 5/1 (where Christina Overbeck will be going for her Trials qualifier!) You can help by clicking on the Donate link on the upper-right hand side of this page. Thanks!

� 2010 Brian Kieffer

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/27-days-til-shamrock-shuffle-and-start.html

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Ugh, so close!

Heather Prekop shared her thoughts on October 17, one week after attempting to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials in the 2010 Chicago Marathon.

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2010/11/ugh-so-close.html

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The funny side of London 2012

Sometimes life imitates comedy. Earlier this week I was at a showing of the new BBC sitcom "Twenty Twelve" - the first episode of which is about the unveiling of a London 2012 icon.

Then last night I was at St Pancras Station where London's first giant Olympic rings were being unveiled by Boris Johnson and Seb Coe.

One of the gags in the sitcom is about the launch of 2012's countdown clock; and, sure enough, we can expect the real countdown clock to make an appearance soon.

"Twenty Twelve" the show launches on BBC Four on 14 March, and its genesis is in the normal business of BBC Comedy.

It was conceived, written and delivered independently of the BBC 2012 project team - and our role has simply been to liaise on some of the logistics.

One of the things we were able to help on, for instance, was the appearance in episode two of the real Seb Coe who performs a cameo role with some aplomb.

London 2012 Chair Seb Coe make a cameo appearance in the show. Picture: BBC

You can watch a short piece about how the show was made on the BBC London site, including an interview with Lord Coe.

But the key point about any comedy, of course, is whether it's funny - and here I have to proceed with a degree of caution.

I think it is. In fact, I love the show - as do almost all the people who've had sneak previews, including some of our friends from Locog who are on the receiving end of the satire.

The only qualification, of course, is that we do our jobs in a London 2012 world in which the characters seem eerily familiar and there are situations we've experienced.

The challenge is whether that plays as strongly to audiences way beyond this website for whom London 2012 is only just creeping onto their agenda.

I hope and believe it will. Partly that's because it's beautifully played by the cast.

Hugh Bonneville is exceptional as the harrassed leader of Olympic deliverance, but there isn't a weak link in the performances; and you can get a flavour of them in the trailer here.

It's also because it's quite a warm show - written by John Morton who did "People Like Us" - and it's not as much of a shark tank as "The Thick Of It", brilliant though that is.

I haven't yet seen the whole series, but I want to know whether the lovelorn PA ever finds happiness and how the compulsive pizza-eater solves London's traffic problems.

The characters work even if you've zero interest in the 2012 scenarios.

We'll know how many people share that view as the six parts play out each week; and this will be just one of a range of Olympic-related shows that will appear on the BBC between now and the Games.

But I'm pleased Comedy is off the blocks early because it would be a shame if there weren't some humour to be had from the Olympics as well as the sport and the ceremonial.

Locog rightly took the view when they agreed Seb Coe's appearance that it's a good thing if we can be seen to laugh at ourselves; and though most of what they and we do has a serious purpose, a joke or two should make the next 18 months even better.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/rogermosey/2011/03/the_funny_side_of_london_2012.html

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Lindsey Vonn dresses up like Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct'

Already this year, Lindsey Vonn has been a Sports Illustrated cover girl, become America's Olympic sweetheart after winning Olympic gold and made a cameo on the longest running drama in television history. So what better way to end the greatest year of her life than dressing up like a sex-crazed, homicidal crime writer from an 18-year old movie on the cover of a magazine?

Vonn will appear on the cover of the upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine dressed like Sharon Stone's character, Catherine Trammel, from the film "Basic Instinct." It's part of the mag's film issue, which hits newsstands on Friday.

You can watch a behind-the-scenes video of Vonn's transformation to a 1990s-era Sharon Stone here. The resemblence is uncanny, but there's one major difference between Stone in the film and Vonn in the photo shoot: Vonn isn't holding a cigarette. (What, you thought I was talking about something else?)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Lindsey-Vonn-dresses-up-like-Sharon-Stone-in-Ba?urn=oly-287062

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U.S. figure skaters react to decision to move world championships to Moscow

The world figure skating championships were awarded Thursday to Moscow, nearly two weeks after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami ravaged Japan, preventing Tokyo from holding the competition with 199 athletes from 45 countries. What some of the 15 Americans headed to Moscow are saying on Facebook and Twitter: JOHN COUGHLIN Let?s be mindful that [...]

U.S. figure skaters react to decision to move world championships to Moscow is a post from: Higher, Faster, Stronger

Source: http://gazetteolympics.freedomblogging.com/2011/03/24/u-s-figure-skaters-react-to-decision-to-move-world-championships-to-moscow/4241/

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7 Days 'til Houston and we need your help!

You folks have really been coming through for us with some nice donations in the past 48 hours. We're still in need of support to reach our goal of filming the USA Half Marathon in Houston in less than 10 days,  so whatever you can do is really appreciated. $5, $10, every dollar will help! If you want to help us, please click on the Donate button located on the right-hand side of this page. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Wendy Shulik, Producer

 

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/9-days-til-houston-and-we-need-your.html

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Olympic gymnast Dawes new co-chair of President Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition

Most people's first experience with the President's Council on Fitness, Sport and Nutrition is the Presidential Challenge, the test given to school-aged children to measure their fitness. Three-time Olympian Dominique Dawes, the recently named co-chair of the council, fondly remembers excelling in the challenge.

"I did the sit and reach, and I reached so far that I hit my head on the block, and I had a knot on my head for a week," Dawes told Fourth-Place Medal. "I got to 33 chin-ups before the teacher said, "Enough. You've beaten everyone and all the boys in the school." For someone like me, the President's Challenge was exciting."

Some students dread the challenge, but Dawes wants to changes children's attitudes on staying healthy.

Dawes, who has served as a Yahoo! Sports correspondent for the past two Olympics, said she jumped at the chance to work with the President and Mrs. Obama on making our nation healthier.

"It's something that I've been passionate about for almost a decade now, so when the White House called, it was a no-brainer. It's something I've enjoyed doing in the past, and I look forward to doing it on a national level for the President and the First Lady."

Dawes singles out Mrs. Obama as a good role model in maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. 

"Michelle came to an Council event, and she was so excited and energetic that she started jumping rope with me and the kids! She's out there, in the community. She's not just talking the talk, she's walking the walk." 

Speaking of walking, Dawes said that's an easy way for a family to get moving.

"Get outside, join your kids and go for a walk. It sounds very simple and very basic and sounds like it won't make a difference, but it will. That's a good way to start. Go for a walk. It will be great family time. Ask your children how their day was, how they're doing in school."

Though she became an elite athlete early in life, Dawes believes that it's important for children to know that they don't have to be a superstar to get active.

"It's not about them becoming the next Tiger Woods or the next Kobe Bryant. It's about them going out and learning from each of their experiences. Winning and losing is what a lot of people focus on, but it's about learning work ethic, commitment, discipline and teamwork. All those qualities that they will use later in life."

Dawes says that parents need to serve as good examples for their children.

"If we have more parents preaching that and getting out, and getting involved with their kids and being good role models, they will guide their children in the right direction."

Click here to read more about the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Olympic-gymnast-Dawes-new-co-chair-of-President-?urn=oly-251438

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Make This Time Count!

In light of yesterday's sad news about the death of top U.S. marathoner, Sally Meyerhoff, I thought I'd post some words of inspiration and motivation from my very good friend, Janeth Salazar-Ohst. Janeth qualified for and competed in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Marathon. Now a wife and mother of two, she continues to run competitively and is a source of inspiration for many young (and not so young) athletes.

Someone asked me why I was training so hard for the Olympic Trials if I didn?t have a realistic shot at making the Olympic team.  I simply said, ?Because it IS my Olympics.?  The Olympic Trials represented the very best I could be.   It may have not been the international stage but it was a grand stage nonetheless.  I worked hard to qualify, I met the standard and I was going to give that race everything I had. 

Watching your video about Heather reminded me of this.  I think she is right on the money when she says she has to keep her focus on the race that she will attempt to use to qualify for the trials.  All steps lead to a possible qualification and the focus needs to be on the here and now.  I?m sure it is different for the top professional elites in our country as making a qualifying mark is not a big concern for them.  Heather isn?t responsible for them, she?s responsible for herself.  You can dream big but the details of the work involved must be attended to, day in and day out.  

My advice to potential qualifiers is, for this short time in your life, make all the necessary sacrifices to make this dream your reality.  The Trials only come around once every four years.  You want to be there and you want to be on that line with the very best you have.   Life has a way of really changing in four years when you don?t necessarily make your living off of racing.  MAKE THIS TIME COUNT!

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/make-this-time-count.html

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Search Engine Suggests Chinese Gymnast is Underage

The latest controversy associated with the Chinese government and the Beijing Olympics has been to do with the age of their gymnasts, and specifically gold medal-winning He Kexin (???). Allegations have suggested that Miss He was born in 1994, meaning that she is too young to compete in the Olympics (16 years or older), while [...]

Source: http://beijingolympicsblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/search-engine-suggests-chinese-gymnast-is-underage/

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Luger's father angry over coroner's report

The coroner's report on Nodar Kumaritashvili has been released, and at least one of the luger's loved ones is upset. The Georgian luger died in an accident at the Olympic track in Vancouver just hours before the Opening Ceremony.

The report concluded that Kumaritashvili could not handle the difficult track at Whistler, outside of Vancouver. Part of the report from The Province:

"The collision was a result of an interaction of factors including high speed, technical challenges and exacting physical forces with the associated physiological stresses, which converged at a critical moment overwhelming the athlete and causing irrevocable loss of control of the sled," the report said. [...]

"It has been offered to this investigation that some highly skilled and experienced lugers can 'learn a track' in as little as 10 or 15 runs. That may be the case but it would also be reasonable to conclude that the less experienced, less trained or less skilled athletes may require more venue-specific training time in order to attain their level of comfort at a particular track."

Kumaritashvili's father did not take the report well.

"I don’t accept the statement about Nodar’s lack of experience," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "He wouldn’t have won the right to take part in the Olympics if he lacked experience."

It's understandable for David Kumaritashvili to be upset. He lost his son less than a year ago, and now he hears that the reason his son died is because he wasn't good enough.

But the coroner's report didn't look at Olympic qualification procedures, which is how his son "won the right" to compete. The coroner looked at the situation in which his son died, two completely different things. What comes next from the coroner's report may comfort David, as the coroner had specific recommendations to improve the safety of a sport that involves athletes flying down a track on a small sled at upwards of 90 mph.

The report asked that athletes get more time to train on the track before major competitions, especially for new tracks, like the one at Whistler. It also recommended that the international governing bodies for luge, bobsled and skeleton -- the sports that use the track -- require safety testing and audit their own safety procedures.

These recommendations seem so common sense that it is insane that an athlete had to die for them to be made. But if safety in a high-risk sport is improved, then perhaps Kumaritashvili's death will not be in vain. Hopefully, his father can take solace in that. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Luger-s-father-angry-over-coroner-s-report?urn=oly-274657

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Make This Time Count!

In light of yesterday's sad news about the death of top U.S. marathoner, Sally Meyerhoff, I thought I'd post some words of inspiration and motivation from my very good friend, Janeth Salazar-Ohst. Janeth qualified for and competed in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Marathon. Now a wife and mother of two, she continues to run competitively and is a source of inspiration for many young (and not so young) athletes.

Someone asked me why I was training so hard for the Olympic Trials if I didn?t have a realistic shot at making the Olympic team.  I simply said, ?Because it IS my Olympics.?  The Olympic Trials represented the very best I could be.   It may have not been the international stage but it was a grand stage nonetheless.  I worked hard to qualify, I met the standard and I was going to give that race everything I had. 

Watching your video about Heather reminded me of this.  I think she is right on the money when she says she has to keep her focus on the race that she will attempt to use to qualify for the trials.  All steps lead to a possible qualification and the focus needs to be on the here and now.  I?m sure it is different for the top professional elites in our country as making a qualifying mark is not a big concern for them.  Heather isn?t responsible for them, she?s responsible for herself.  You can dream big but the details of the work involved must be attended to, day in and day out.  

My advice to potential qualifiers is, for this short time in your life, make all the necessary sacrifices to make this dream your reality.  The Trials only come around once every four years.  You want to be there and you want to be on that line with the very best you have.   Life has a way of really changing in four years when you don?t necessarily make your living off of racing.  MAKE THIS TIME COUNT!

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/make-this-time-count.html

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Honda LA Marathon Unveils 2011 Course: Stadium to the Sea 2.0

Race to be more runner-friendly, add loops through Chinatown & Little Tokyo; Starts at Dodger Stadium, finishes just steps from the Santa Monica Pier One of the world?s greatest marathon routes just got a little better. The 2011 Honda LA Marathon Presented by K-SWISS will once again start at Dodger Stadium and finish on Ocean [...]

Source: http://www.lamarathon.com/2010/11/honda-la-marathon-unveils-2011-course-stadium-to-the-sea-2-0/

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Michael Phelps has 'terrible' swim, still sets national titles record

Only Michael Phelps could proclaim he was "terrible" on a night in which he won two national championships and broke the all-time record for most national titles in a career.

The 14-time gold medalist won the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly, his 48th and 49th national titles, on Wednesday night at the U.S. swimming championships, but said he "felt absolutely awful" in the water. "I'm going to have to be in a lot better shape," he said. "I know what I need to do to change."

It was the first major meet for Phelps since the 2009 world championships and his rustiness showed. His won the 200 butterfly in 1:56.00, nearly 4 1/2 seconds slower than the world record he set last year in Rome. It was an uncharacteristically sloppy race for Phelps, who jammed his second turn and was late getting off the starting blocks. The time was still good enough to outpace the second-place finisher by over one second, but that seemed irrelevant to the most decorated swimmer ever.

"The bottom line is that I'm not in shape and it shows," he said. "It was probably the worst 200 fly of my life. That's not even a top five time in the world, and in my eyes [that's unacceptable]."

His performance in the 200 free was a bit better. In that race, which preceded the fly by about an hour, Phelps held off six-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte and swam the fastest time in the world this year. His time of 1:45.61 was three seconds off his personal best though.

To be fair, this meet is of relatively low importance to Phelps. It's a qualifier for the lone major international competition of the year, the Pan Pacific Championships, which will be held in Irvine, Calif., later this month. Even that won't be a big deal for Phelps. This is an off-year with no world championships or Olympics and Phelps isn't training seriously. The two events that matter are in 2011 and 2012. Until he starts training for those, he might want to get used to being frustrated with his times.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Michael-Phelps-has-terrible-swim-still-sets-n?urn=oly-260485

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London 2012 Olympics: how the world?s top sprinters are faring ahead of Games

[fivefilters.org: unable to retrieve full-text content] Telegraph Sport’s guide to the top sprinters ahead of London 2012.

Source: http://london-2012-olympics.net/News/london-2012-olympics-how-the-world%e2%80%99s-top-sprinters-are-faring-ahead-of-games/

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Thursday?s Olympic noteworthy

? Fort Carson soldier Derek Moore suffered a 3-0, 5-0 loss against Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico in a 132-pound freestyle match at a USA Wrestling dual meet that was staged in conjunction with the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. Both were NCAA champions ? Moore in 2007 at UC Davis and Gomez in 2009 at [...]

Thursday?s Olympic noteworthy is a post from: Higher, Faster, Stronger

Source: http://gazetteolympics.freedomblogging.com/2011/03/18/thursday%e2%80%99s-olympic-noteworthy-4/4183/

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Miles & Trials Ladies: Post-Race

Wow, a year of training for the 2010 Chicago Marathon and now it's over! Five of the girls attempted to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Team Trials. How did they do? One qualified, one ran a PR, two dropped out due to the heat. Which girl did what? Well, you'll just have to watch the film when it's completed to find out!

L-R:  Christina Overbeck, Heather Prekop, Amy Haney

L-R:  Claudia Becque, Suzanne Thomas Ryan

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2010/10/miles-trials-ladies-post-race.html

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14 Days 'til Houston and we need your help!

We are trying to get to Houston on 1/28 to shoot the USA Half Marathon Championships and Chevron Houston Marathon for our film. Thanks to your support, we've received some generous donations in the past two days; however, we are $1,000 short of our goal! If you want to support the film, please click on the PayPal link on the upper right-hand side of this blog page :)

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/14-days-til-houston-and-we-need-your.html

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Chinese gold medalist gets two-year ban; pork chops to blame?

The women's heavyweight judo champion of China has been banned for two years after testing positive for the dangerous steroid clenbuterol. Her coach says it's all a misunderstanding stemming from Tong Wen's love of pork chops.

The 2008 +78 kg Olympic gold medalist tested positive for the drug during the 2009 World Judo Championships. Her coach says the result wasn't because of anything nefarious but due to eating steroid-injected Chinese pork products.

"She trained in Europe for a while and was sick of European food so we gave her a lot of pork chops when she returned home to prepare for the 2009 world championships in Rotterdam," Coach Wu Weifeng told Beijing Youth Daily. China's food problems are well documented and have been blamed before in positive tests, most notably when a swimmer blamed eating at a barbecue for his increased clenbuterol levels.

The drug is often used as an additive to feed pigs in China. 

Tong Wen was stripped of her 2009 world championship but still retains the gold medal she won in Beijing. The IOC can retroactively take away the gold but has yet to decide on the matter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Chinese-gold-medalist-gets-two-year-ban-pork-ch?urn=oly-239860

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Friday's franchise questions

Here is a short video of Rachel Crass, who is a 75kg lifter for the USA:



Here is part one of an interview I had with Rachel, so I hope you enjoy it and any questions that you have, leave a comment below and Rachel might answer them herself. I will have part two of the interview ready for next week.



As for my own training, I have taken a download week to recharge my batteries. Being tired all the time is not fun so I have trained onece this week with a light session and then the following day I did some squatting to make sure my legs did not forget who I was. I have a competition on Saturady in Belfast so I am going to go up and enjoy it. I will be coaching beforehand again, but there is no way I can change this, so get on with it I suppose! Have a nice weekend everyone and train hard!

Source: http://weightliftingepiphanies.blogspot.com/2010/11/fridays-franchise-questions.html

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10 Weeks 'til Eugene!

Christina and Heather are headed to Oregon on May 1st for their second attempts to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Marathon Team Trials at the Eugene Marathon. Hear what Heather has to say about it in this video:

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/10-weeks-til-eugene.html

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Italian shooter becomes first athlete to qualify for 2012 Olympics

The 2012 Olympics are still two years away, but one athlete has already punched his ticket to London.

Last week, Italian shooter Niccolo Campriani became the first person to qualify for the upcoming Olympics after winning the 10m air rifle final at the ISSF World Championships in Munich. He defeated the current world-record holder and defending Olympic gold medalist to win the automatic berth.

The 22-year-old participated in the same event in Beijing, finishing 12th overall. He also came in 39th in the 50m rifle prone competition.  

"I can't believe I am the first qualified athlete," he said in the Telegraph UK. "This is going to help me, the sport and our federation, in the future. I am so happy."

Campriani is an engineering student at West Virginia University.

In the days following Campriani's victory, other athletes have qualified for the Games in different shooting events. Slovakia's Zuzana Stefecekova was the first woman to earn a berth to the Games after winning the trap event at the championships.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Italian-shooter-becomes-first-athlete-to-qualify?urn=oly-261256

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11 Global Cape Town 2011 RR.

Onto one of my faverouite Triathlon events the http://www.11global.com/Cape-Town-2011/Race-Information Ryan Landy from 11 Global Has a great way of giving back, by means of development clinics.. ON the 17th & 18th of Feb 2011 there were 2 Development clinics allowing … Continue reading →

Source: http://richardmurray.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/11-global-cape-town-2011-rr/

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Friday's franchise questions

Here is a short video of Rachel Crass, who is a 75kg lifter for the USA:



Here is part one of an interview I had with Rachel, so I hope you enjoy it and any questions that you have, leave a comment below and Rachel might answer them herself. I will have part two of the interview ready for next week.



As for my own training, I have taken a download week to recharge my batteries. Being tired all the time is not fun so I have trained onece this week with a light session and then the following day I did some squatting to make sure my legs did not forget who I was. I have a competition on Saturady in Belfast so I am going to go up and enjoy it. I will be coaching beforehand again, but there is no way I can change this, so get on with it I suppose! Have a nice weekend everyone and train hard!

Source: http://weightliftingepiphanies.blogspot.com/2010/11/fridays-franchise-questions.html

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ECB echelons

Here is the new East Coast Barbell video I made. Our beginner weightlifting classes are going really well and all the lifters are improving rapidly, so if anyone is interested, email eastcoastbarbell@gmail.com to join up. I hope you like it:



Along with my friend Cedric Unholz, I have also organised for Glenn Pendlay and Jon North to come over and do a seminar in ECB on Wednesday, March the 23rd from 6-10 pm. This is going to be amazing and the cost of the seminar is ?120. I only started to let people know about it today and already we have 8 places out of 20 booked. We are limiting it to 20 people because we want it to be an optimal learning environment. That weekend on March 26th and 27th we will be hosting a two day seminar in Edinburgh and this will be a more in depth look into how Glenn trains people. There are only 8 places for that left though. If anyone has any interest in attending either seminars, email me at eastcoastbarbell@gmail.com in order to book your place.

Here is a video of Jon Snatching 155kg; he has actually hit 160kg in competition. Jon will be demonstrating Glenn's coaching methods and will assist in helping to coach others.





In other news, I had a good session today. Today focused on the Snatch and I worked up to 12 singles with one and a half minutes between each lift. I started with 95kg and went up in one kilo increments until I hit 102kg which I stayed on for four reps and I finished up with a really comfortable single with 103kg. Here is a video of my last lift:



I then did my RDL's and Box Squats and saw an improvement in both. A good session tonight and I felt even more comfortable with a slightly narrower grip again.

Source: http://weightliftingepiphanies.blogspot.com/2011/01/ecb-echelons.html

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Wesley Visits Los Angeles

I’ve just spent 48 hours with Wesley Korir, our two-time defending champion. He’s an extraordinary person with an incredible story. I’ll share a lot of that with you soon, but I wanted to get up this video clip from this week’s appearance on KTLA Channel 5. More on the way. Peter

Source: http://www.lamarathon.com/2011/01/wesley-visits-los-angeles/

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Tuesday's tap it in the hole moment--tappity tapperoo!

I have found my weightlifting mojo again and it feels great. To start off today's post, here is a video of a British sprinter Power Cleaning 170kg weighing around 88kg:



I love watching raw power and passionate lifters.

As for my own training, I am effectively in an off season and I needed to do something different to get my mojo back. Here is the reality of my situation over the last few months:

1. I was not getting stronger.
2. I was not lifting more weight in the classical lifts.
3. My positioning was not improving.
4. Running a gym alongside a full time job pretty much sapped my physical and mental energy.
5. Putting myself under pressure to lift certain weights by a certain time actually made the problems worse because the more wound up I got the worse I lifted.

So, these are the main priorites for my lifting in the next two months:

1. Get stronger: I will focus on the Box Squat and the RDL.
2. Lift only three days a week so that I can recover adequately to work both jobs and lift at the same time. The idea of not recovering as a weightlifter in order to force adaptation does not wash with me in my current life situation.
3. Get lots of reps in with the classical lifts.
4. Chill out and enjoy training again.

So here is my program for the next month. I am a week in and I really love it because I know I will make progress and it is completely different to anything I have done before. I am basically lifting using some of Glenn Pendlay's coaching methods for beginners and it is great for improving strength, rhythm and tempo in the classical lifts, and sport specific weightlifting conditioning. Here it is:

Day One:

Snatch: Work up to a top weight and Snatch it twenty times in twenty minutes; you lift every minute and this generally adds up to around 35 to 40 seconds of recovery. Today I lifted 93kg for 20 singles and I am finding so far that my last ten are the smoothest and fluid lifts.

RDL: Work up to 3x3 with a top set. Each week I will increase the weight slightly and improve the range of movement.

Box Squat (14 inch box): I am following the Texas Squat Method and it is delightfully simple. Day one is the volume day and you work up to 5 sets of 5.

Core work: I neglected this too much in the last two years. Laziness.

Day Two:

Hang Snatch: I work up to 5 triples with a modest weight. This is as much positional reinfocement as it is a warm up for the main act that is the focus as follows:

Clean and Jerk: Work up to 20 singles in 20 minutes. I have only done this once so far and it is tiring, but like the Clean and Jerk, it is doing wonders for my timing and overall feel of the lift. Because there is so little recovery, I cannot muscle up the weights like I have been guilty of in the past. Technique and rhythm and tempo improve as the lifts mount up.

Front Squat: Work up to a medium weight for 3x3. This is effectively a squat recovery.

Pressing and Pendlay rows: I need to get stronger and mentally, I need the variety for something different.

Core work

Day Three:

Snatch : 20 singles in twenty minutes.

Clean and Jerk: 20 in 20.

Box Squat: Intensity day of Texas method. Work up to a max set of 5 in the squat. If I cannot progress in this basic squat program, I deserve to be shot. I have every faith in it though. This is my second week and it feels great already.

Core work and fexibility. I will have to stretch every day or else my hips will tighten up and get painful and restrict my movement very negatively. I have been far too lazy with my stretching and doing it two or three times a week is simply not good enough for me. I need to stretch my hips out every day if I am to improve and get my flexibility to any kind of standard for weightlifting. It is currently awful and holding me back; I simply have not worked hard at it enough.

Let me know what you think of the program. I will monitor my progress closely and it it helps me out and I gain from it, it will obviously affect what my following program will look like. 4 weeks on and 1 week download. Let's see how it goes then!

Here is a brilliant lifting video to leave you with:

Source: http://weightliftingepiphanies.blogspot.com/2010/12/tuesdays-tap-it-in-hole-moment-tappity.html

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Watching the Olympic Games 2012: Sailing

How it works There are 10 events with 380 athletes competing, split between 237 men and 143 women. There will be six events for men and four for women across different disciplines from dinghies and keelboats to windsurfing boards. Points are doubled in the final, medal race, and the individual or crew with the [...]

Source: http://london-2012-olympics.net/News/watching-the-olympic-games-2012-sailing-3/

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Planning the next phase of production

WendyCity Productions is currently on a short filming hiatus while we plan the next phase of production (which includes reaching out to potential partners and sponsors). We've had a few changes in the lineup of ladies being featured in the documentary and will be posting videos introducing some new faces, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, please check out this video about Janeth Salazar-Ohst, one of our film consultants who made it to the 1996 Olympic Marathon Team Trials. Janeth and I entered this video into the 2009 Nike "Believe in the Run" video contest and we were thrilled to have won Second Place, Best Video! This was the singular reason I decided to move forward and produce a documentary about women and the Trials.

Nike Contest: 2nd Place, Best Video (I Believe in the Run) from WendyCity Productions on Vimeo.

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2010/11/planning-next-phase-of-production.html

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Friday's fitness buff

This video is far more important than anything I have to say:



I do have a few things to discuss unfortunately, so here it goes:

My week's training has been refreshing, tough and very, very enjoyable. I had a wonderful Christmas Eve workout with Zag and few of our dedicated ECB members. We all trained well and Stephen Kinsella hit a huge pb in the Clean and Jerk; the more impressive part is that he got it after failing twice. Awesome. Zag also trained well and it is great to see him getting his training back on track. Aco is another new member in ECB and the man has an awful lot of potential, as does young Josh who is a beast of a 16 year old. I wish I had trained like that when I was 16.

As for my own training, today I Snatched 94kg for twenty singles in twenty minutes, lifting on every minute, giving me around 40 seconds of recovery. Again, my technique got better every lift and I really enjoyed the challenge. I Clean and Jerked straight after and did my 20 singles with 114kg in twenty minutes, giving me around 35 seconds of recovery between each lift. I followed this up with a max set of 5 reps with 140kg in the box squat. Yes, this is embarrassingly small, but it is better than last week and there is more there. I am aiming to push it more in week three and four.

As for my new program, there are a few points I neglected to make in my previous post. I chose the Box Squat over the regular Back Squat for the following reasons:

1. I am awful at the movement because I have a weak posterior chain and poor--but improving--hip mobility. My first day of doing 5x5 in the Box Squat had my hamstrings about to pop off the bone.

2. Both John Broz, David Spitz, Max Aita and Glenn Pendlay all told me the Box Squat would help me immensely for the above reasons. As well as that, Broz gave out to me in length about how I was Back Squatting like I should Front Squat and that basically, it was embarrassing. The idea is that performing the Box Squat for a few months will help me regroove a proper Back Squat and allow me to focus on a physical imbalance. When I get up to hitting 160 for five reps, I will drop down from a 14 inch box to a 12 inch box and build my numbers up again. Once I get stronger at this height, I know the proper movement pattern will be ingrained and some of my physical areas to work will have been strengthened.

3. I am choosing to do the twenty lifts in twenty minutes for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I got the idea from Glenn Pendlay who has used the program with his beginners with great success. The amount of repetitions helps lifters get a high amount of reps in to learn the movements; but more importantly for me: because there is very little recovery between lifts, rhythm, tempo and technique determine success and it is far more difficult to muscle up weights, which is something I have been very guilty of for a long time. My twentieth rep today with 94kg was far better than my twentieth rep with 90kg a week and a half ago. I was hitting the positions I want to hit far better after all the reps. Usually I would hit higher weights regardless of positioning and go on ingraining negative movement patterns.

Also, the lack of recovery time means that I dwell less on technique and simply focus on controlling my breathing, getting set and lifting the weight overhead. Basically, it gets me to shut up and lift. Another reason I chose this style of training because it is great for off season sport specific conditioning. It is very demanding on the heart and lungs, particularly the Clean and Jerk.

And finally, I actually enjoy the challenge of lifting this way. I have never done anything like it and it is my short term aim to hit twenty reps in twenty minutes with 100/120 within the next four weeks. I know I can do it.

I am really enjoying training again and this makes me happy. The most simple squatting system in the world is making me stronger and I am getting lots of reps in improving weights.

For all of you who love X-Factor, Christmas and comedy:



For people who love to laugh:







Everyone knows weightlifting is the same as bodybuilding, right?



Last one to make you smile. If it doesn't, I never liked you anyway:

Source: http://weightliftingepiphanies.blogspot.com/2010/12/fridays-fitness-buff.html

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Photos of the week: Hadleigh Farm, volunteer interviews and Handball Arena

See what has been happening at London 2012 this week...

Construction progresses on the Handball Arena's lower tier of retractable seating, following completion of the sprung wooden field of play.

Source: http://www.london2012.com//blog/2011/03/photos-of-the-week-hadleigh-farm-complete-volunteering-a.php

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Friday's franchise questions

Here is a short video of Rachel Crass, who is a 75kg lifter for the USA:



Here is part one of an interview I had with Rachel, so I hope you enjoy it and any questions that you have, leave a comment below and Rachel might answer them herself. I will have part two of the interview ready for next week.



As for my own training, I have taken a download week to recharge my batteries. Being tired all the time is not fun so I have trained onece this week with a light session and then the following day I did some squatting to make sure my legs did not forget who I was. I have a competition on Saturady in Belfast so I am going to go up and enjoy it. I will be coaching beforehand again, but there is no way I can change this, so get on with it I suppose! Have a nice weekend everyone and train hard!

Source: http://weightliftingepiphanies.blogspot.com/2010/11/fridays-franchise-questions.html

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2011 Production Schedule... help needed!

Hello, ?Miles & Trials? friends! Well, it?s fundraising time again. We?ve now entered the second year of production and upcoming filming will be at the Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago on 4/10 and the Eugene Marathon on 5/1 (where Christina and Heather will be going for their Trials qualifying times of sub-2:46). Alas, we won?t have the financial resources to shoot these segments without your help. Any amount is appreciated. Please click the PayPal Donate link on the upper right-hand side of this page if you'd like to assist us with our production costs. Thanks!

Source: http://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/2011-production-schedule-help-needed.html

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Where We?ve Been

Our words here have been scarce over the last two months. I don’t have a credible excuse, but I can at least share with you what we’ve been busy with. As many of you know, there are two big seasons in the marathon world: Fall and Spring. Our event, along with London, Boston, Big Sur, [...]

Source: http://www.lamarathon.com/2011/01/where-weve-been/

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Olympic silver medal stolen from U.S. water polo player

Merrill Moses may have won silver as the goalkeeper for the U.S. men's water polo team, but he has no medal to show for it after thieves broke into his parents' California home. Moses and his parents were in Jamaica celebrating his engagement, and while they were there, his medal, a ring and watch from the U.S. Olympic Committee and several other items were stolen. From Recordnet.com:

"It was really a pretty glorious event before I heard about my house being robbed," Marlene Moses [Merrill's mother] said. "They took an enormous amount of stuff, but I'm focusing on the watch, the ring and that medal, because it can't be replaced."

The stupidity of a criminal is rarely in doubt, but these ones just may take the cake. They stole a rare, easily identifiable item. As seen in the picture, the medal is silver, hangs from a red ribbon and has a circle of jade on one side. They also made several trips between the Moses house and their van, and were scared away by a neighbor opening their garage door. 

Moses and his teammates won the silver after losing to Hungary in the gold-medal final in Beijing. He was named to the Olympic All-Star team, and was on the U.S. team that took fourth at the FINA World Cup in July.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Olympic-silver-medal-stolen-from-U-S-water-polo?urn=oly-306778

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Work begins on the Hockey Centre

Inside the London 2012 Olympic Park.

Source: http://insidelondon2012.blogspot.com/2011/02/work-begins-on-hockey-centre.html

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Britain releases hilarious etiquette guide for 2012 Olympics

Britain's national tourism agency has released an etiquette guide designed to help Brits create a warm atmosphere for visitors at the 2012 Olympics. The goal of the guide is to help citizens become sensitive to the delicate cultural sensibilities of guests from over 200 countries. 

Basically, the guide is a rundown of stereotypes and social mores, some of which you're probably already familiar with (the French tend to be picky) and others that you may be learning for the first time (don't wink at somebody from Hong Kong). How you're supposed to differentiate who's from which country is left unanswered. Maybe everyone wears nametags or something.

The guide is well-intentioned, but probably is more offensive than the behavior it seeks to avoid. Instead of listing a country-by-country breakdown of actions to avoid, the guide should say to be respectful of everyone and recommend that visitors attending the Olympics keep an open mind during the fortnight. If snapping offends you (like it apparently does to Belgians), maybe let it go if "Beat It" comes on in a bar and a dude from Chicago goes into his Michael Jackson impersonation. And if you're from China and if an Italian says "grazie" after a compliment, feel good about it. That's their cultural more. And isn't joining cultures what the Olympics is about? 

Here are some of the most notable tips. They were written by agency staff about their own countries. Let me stress, these are all real: 

1. Do not be alarmed if South Africans say they were held up by robots, which is their term for traffic lights. But if a South African isn't talking about traffic lights, this has the potential for a disastrous real-life "boy who cried wolf" moment.

2. Indians may be suspicious about the quality of British food. That's only an Indian concern? (And, come on, I'm sure Indians have a little bigger problem with Britain than that.)

3. A smiling Japanese person is not necessarily happy. (They tend to smile when angry, embarrassed, sad, or disappointed.) I'm hoping this leads to a British official consoling a joyous, gold medal-winning Japanese athlete.

4. Pouring wine backwards into a glass indicates hostility to an Argentinian. Also, don't be offended by Argentinian humor, which may mildly attack your clothing or weight. But what if you're someone who gets offended by jokes about your clothing or weight? Are you just supposed to let Diego Maradona get away with that?

5. Never imply that people from Poland drink excessively. Despite stereotypes, Poles are not large consumers of alcohol and excessive drinking is frowned upon. Is that even a stereotype? I can think of about a dozen stereotypes of Polish people and being heavy drinkers isn't one of them. An affinity for putting screen doors on submarines, yes.

6. When meeting Mexicans, it is best not to discuss poverty, illegal aliens, earthquakes, or their 1845-46 war with America. Also, the Phoenician delegation will still be salty about getting conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE.

7. Avoid discussing linguistic and political divisions within Belgium between Dutch and French speakers. There goes 70 percent of my usual conversation.

8. The French are notoriously picky in restaurants. Yes, just in restaurants.

9. Chinese visitors may be unimpressed by landmarks just a few hundred years old. The uncensored internet connection should make up for that.

10. Never call a Canadian an American. Some Canadians take offense at being mistaken for U.S. citizens. One, Canadians never take offense to anything except switching the channel off Hockey Night in Canada. Two, that's a two-way street, Britain. Next time I hear someone say Justin Bieber is an American sensation, I'm going to show my anger by smiling broadly.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Britain-releases-hilarious-etiquette-guide-for-2?urn=oly-262013

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