At the BNP Paribas Open 2012 (photos from Christian Mesiano):
At the Texas Tennis Open 2011 (photo from R. Hensley):
Friday, July 6, 2012
Sabine Lisicki Action Shots
Here are some photos of my favorite tennis player, Sabine Lisicki!
At the BNP Paribas Open 2012 (photos from Christian Mesiano):
At the Texas Tennis Open 2011 (photo from R. Hensley):
At the 2010 U.S. Open (photos from Christian Mesiano):
At the 2011 U.S. Open (photos from Charlie Cowins):
At the BNP Paribas Open 2012 (photos from Christian Mesiano):
At the Texas Tennis Open 2011 (photo from R. Hensley):
Godspeed, Darya!
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| Photo from Nigel Chadwick |
Hence, it is hardly surprising that the recently concluded Russian National Championships in Chekosbary featured so much depth. The top six athletes all had personal bests of beyond seven meters. Yelena Sokolova Елена Соколова won gold with a best mark of 7.06m. Anna Nazarova Анна Назарова (6.88m), Lyudmila Kolchanova Людмила Колчанова (6.87m), Olga Kucherenko Ольга Кучеренко (6.81m), Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина (6.81m) and Kotova (6.66m) rounded up the next five places.
For all the advantages of having a solid field, it is also a selector's nightmare.
As a big Darya fan, I am particularly concerned about her Olympic prospects*. Nazarova, Kucherenko and Sokolova are amongst the very best long jumpers this season. Although Klishina is a veteran of several major championships and is the reigning European Indoor Champion, the credentials of the aforesaid jumpers are not particularly far behind.
Read: "Darya Klishina and Superb Senora"
Read: "Darya Klishina and Superb Senora"
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for decision favorable to Darya. A healthy Klishina has what it takes to leap the winning distances in major events.
Additional Links:
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Muse – Survival (Official Song of the 2012 London Olympic Games)
I got goosebumps watching this. Let the Games begin!!!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
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:
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| Photo from blog.sportscape.tv |
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.
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.
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| Photo from m-louis |
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.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
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.
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.
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| Photo by Noah Hamilton |
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:
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!
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:
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.
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.
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| Gerritsen in full speed. (Photo from UweFan) |
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.
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!
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!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
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.
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.
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