Muse – Survival (Official Song of the 2012 London Olympic Games)

I got goosebumps watching this. Let the Games begin!!!

Sabine Lisicki - I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing

I'm still gutted at Sabine Lisicki's Wimbledon quarter-finals loss to compatriot Angelique Kerber. It was a gallant stand for my favorite tennis player. I know you'll bounce back!

On a lighter note:

Photo from  blog.sportscape.tv

Can Sabine actually sing this song?

Saori Kimura 木村 沙織 (JPN, Volleyball)

Saori Kimura 木村 沙織 is a veteran Japanese volleyball player. Since making her international debut in 2003, Kimura has competed in three editions of the Volleyball World Championships and two Olympic Games.

Photo from m-louis

Soari was just in high school when she made her maiden Olympics appearance in Athens back in 2004. She was part of the Japanese team that won a bronze medal at the 2010 World Championships. The same year, she was adjudged as Best Scorer at the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix.

The talented spiker has won several awards in Japan's domestic professional league. As a 20-year old, Saori was cited as Newcomer of the Year. The spiker then won two Most Valuable Player awards in 2009 and 2010, on top of consistent appearances in the Best Six team of the Women's Volleyball Premiere League.

Kimura plays her club volleyball with the Toray Arrows 東レ・アローズ. Since 2007, the team has garnered a total of nine titles from various high level tournaments.

Source:
Saori's Toray Arrows Profile
Soari's Wikipedia Profile

Bethany Hamilton (USA, Surfing)

When I broke my arm back in 2006, it took me about four months to hurdle again. A few months later, I set a new personal best in the sprint hurdles. Bethany Hamilton was back riding waves barely a month after a shark attack tore off her left arm.

Photo by Noah Hamilton

She was just thirteen years old when the unfortunate accident happened. The young Bethany was just lazing on her surfboard, watching a bunch of sea turtles swim nearby, when a tiger sharp attacked.

At first, she had to make do with a modified surfboard. In time, she learned how to surf on a standard board with just one arm. Two years after the shark attack, Hamilton was crowned as the National Scholastic Surfing Association champion. In 2008, she became a full fledged surfing professional.

Bethany's amazingly comeback has inspired millions, and made the surfer quite popular. She has guested in countless TV shows and had published a book about her experience in 2004.

Source:

Bethany's Wikipedia Profile

Stephanie Rice (AUS, Swimming)

I can still vividly remember my first swimming lesson. We were made to jump into the pool and cross (by whatever way possible) to the other side. My eight-year old self chickened out. There and then I knew for a fact that I'm every inch a land lubber. Considering my childhood fears of water, I look at champion swimmers with a certain sense of respect!

Stephanie Rice is one such athlete. 

The Australian is a certified sports star. She made her major championship debut for her country at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where as an 18-year old, she won two gold medals. A year later at the World Championships, the young rice snared two bronzes at the 200m and 400m medley.

Her Olympic debut was golden - three times over. The Brisbane-based Stephanie topped her two best events, adding a 4x200m relay freestyle gold as icing on the cake. Rice had set world records in each of her three events in Beijing. 

Source:

Stephanie's Wikipedia Profile

Annette Gerritsen (NED, Speed Skating)

As a former sprint hurdler, I'm attracted to sports that showcase natural speed. Having lived in a tropical country all my life, the winter sports is a foreign concept (perhaps because of the Mighty Ducks series I've watched as a kid) Speed skating is an interesting discipline. The prospect of going all out on an ice track wearing those razor-sharp skates is a fascinating thought.

Gerritsen in full speed. (Photo from UweFan)

Annette Gerritsen is an elite speed skater. The Dutchwoman is a former World Junior record holder in the 500m, with a time of 38.57s. Gerritsen is a veteran of many international campaigns, having won medals at the world's highest stage, when she snared the silver at the 1000m at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. 

In two editions of the World Sprint Championships, Annette had brought home a bronze (2008) and a silver (2011). Likewise, she reached the podium for both the 500m and the 1000m at the World Single Distance Championships in 2008.

Gerritsen immediately made an impact upon turning professional in 2005.That same year, she won bronze medals at national level championships. Her performances earned her a ticket to the World Sprint Championships, her first ever appearance at a major international.

Source:
Annette's Wikipedia Profile

Wimbledon News Flash: Lisicki beats Sharapova!

Sabine Lisicki defeats World No. 1 Maria Sharapova!

With Sabine's win, she now enters the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Coming from an ankle injury sustained last March, Lisicki's performance was undeniably superb!

Congratulations, Sabine!

On Juliane Stolle

I've been perplexed at the popularity of Juliane Stolle. I first wrote about the talented German sprinter back in 2010, as part of my weekly Track Beauty feature in my other blog. Despite her seeming inactivity in the athletics circles (her profiles in All-Athletics and IAAF are dated), she has been drumming up a consistent stream of hits to hurdler49. 

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Juliane Stolle"

For instance, my original Track Beauty post on Juliane has generated 105 unique page views today, mostly from search engine referrals. In terms of search strings, 11 people have come across my blog looking for information on Juliane. The post has garnered 1,838 unique page views in its almost two years of existence, at par with articles about active and popular athletes like Maris Mägi (5/1/2011 - 1,962), Janin Lindenberg (3/5/2011 - 1,824), and Danielle Carruthers (8/7/2011 - 1,815).

In fact, my post is at the very top of the Google search results for "Juliane Stolle."

I must admit that I"m embarrassed about this. The tone of my original Track Beauty feature was not entirely positive, reeking of disappointment at the seeming end of her athletics career. 

For this, I apologize to Juliane. The Track Beauty of the Week feature intends to showcase the talent of female athletes, not to highlight their flaws. I have made necessary revisions to uplift the mood of my article.

Whatever Juliane's career path now, however different it may be from athletics, I wish her the best.

The Versatile Rosolova

I first learned about Denisa Rosolova while watching last year's European Indoor Championships. It was remarkable how a former champion heptathlete and world class long jumper shifted to the quarter mile and strike gold! I admired her athletic talent and versatility. More importantly, Rosolova has the audacity to try something unorthodox. For this, she has reaped dividends.

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Denisa Rosolova"

Rosolova competing at the 2011 Bislett Games. (Photo from Chell Hill)

I was in for another surprise while watching the European Athletics Championships. Rosolova competed in the 400m hurdles, repeatedly setting new personal bests. The Czech star eventually wound up third in the final, finishing behind Russia's Irina Daydova (53.77s) and Ukraine's Anna Yaroshchuk Ханна Ярощук (54.24s). Remarkably, this was Rosolova's sixth or seventh outing in her new event, according to an EAA interview.

Back in the olden days, quarter milers usually dabbled in the intermediate hurdlers with good results, considering the fact that the two events are practically sister events. Those with good 400m flat times could succeed in the low hurdles, despite technical flaws in hurdling. True enough, talented intermediate hurdlers like Angelo Taylor, Bershawn Jackson, and Natalya Antyukh have successfully won medals in the flat one-lap sprint and the long relays.

Read:  "The 400m hurdles/400m dash Combo"

What makes Rosolova stand out is her circuitous journey from heptathlete, long jumper, quarter miler and intermediate hurdler. Not many athletes in this day and age of specialization can emulate Rosolova.

Denisa's major championship curriculum vitae is impressive, having won World Junior long jump title, European Indoor Championship gold, and now - the European Championship intermediate hurdles bronze.

Denisa Rosolova, indeed, is one Superb Senora!

Track Beauty of the Week: Dafne Schippers

Dafne Schippers is this week's Track Beauty!

Schippers started out as an excellent heptathlete in her junior and youth days, but has since ventured to the sprints. The Dutch athlete won the World Junior title in Moncton back in 2010, scoring 5,967 points. A year later, she topped the European Junior Championships in Tallinn, amassing a total of 6,153 points.

Photo from Erik van Leeuwen

The 2011 season was a revelation in terms of her flat out sprinting speed. Dafne particularly excelled at the half-lap sprint. Schippers has demonstrated repeatedly that she could hold her own against more seasoned opponents. She made it as far as the 60m dash semifinals at the European Indoor Championships in Paris.

At the Daegu World Championships, the young Schippers ran a lifetime best of 22.69s in the 200m dash heats - a major achievement considering her relative youthfulness and multi-events background. Dafne exited the competition at the semifinals. With her sterling performance in Daegu, Schippers shaved off 1.01s off her then personal best to set a new Dutch national record.

Dafne has not turned her back to heptathlon just yet. In fact, her points tally in the grueling seven-event discipline has shown marked improvement the past few years. To date, she has a personal best of 6,370 points in the heptathlon, set in Gotzis last May 2012.