U.S. Olympic Team Has More Women Than Men

Pin It Now! 

The Summer Olympics



For the first time in U.S. Olympic history, female athletes will outnumber their male counterparts at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.


There are a total of 530 U.S. Olympians competing this year in London, and 269 of them are women. That leaves 261 male competitors on the team, a first for the U.S. Olympic team.

United States Olympic Committee (USOC) CEO Scott Blackmun said the female majority was “a true testament to the impact of Title IX,” the law that increased opportunities for women in sports, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year.

The U.S. Olympic team will compete in 25 sports, and in total 246 of the 302 medal events available at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Of the 530 Olympians competing this year, 228 are returning from one or more previous Olympics, including five women. They are:

• Track and field star Amy Acuff

• Archery expert Khatuna Lorig

• Equestrian standout Karen O'Connor

• Shooting expert Kim Rhode

• Indoor volleyball star Danielle Scott-Arruda

At age 54, Karen O'Connor is not only the oldest female Olympian representing the United States in London, she's also the oldest Olympian on the entire team. Her Olympic experience started at age 30 in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, with returns in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney, Australia in 2000, and Beijing, China in 2008.


The youngest U.S. Olympian competing in London is Team U.S.A. swimmer Katie Ledecky. Born March 17, 1997, the high school sophomore from Bethesda, Maryland, still not old enough to drive, will compete in the 800m freestyle event.

It's a wonderful narrative that this year's U.S. Olympic team is bookended by the female athletes who represent the youngest and the oldest competitors. It's a testament to those still waiting to compete that they will soon have their chance, and motivation for those who might think they're possibly too old to contribute.

The American Dream is all about grabbing the bull by the horns and carving out your own glory, freedom, and opportunities. The 2012 Olympic Team, led by the most female athletes in our nation's short history, is proof positive the Dream is still alive and kicking.

About the Author: Porter Olson is a writer and blogger for UsDirect TV.

U.S. Olympic Team Has More Women Than Men

Read More ->>

Oscar Pistorius to Compete in London 2012 Olympics Games

Pin It Now!

Oscar Pistorius made history by becoming the first amputee athlete cleared to compete among the able-bodied athletes in an Olympics games as he qualified to represent South Africa in the 400m race at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Pistorius had continually made a case to be allowed to compete alongside able-bodied men at major competitions. His second position in a time of 45.52s at the African Championship in Benin Republic meant that he did not meet the Olympic ‘A’ qualification standard (45.30s) for the individual 400m at the Games.

However, his inclusion in the South Africa’s relay team would eventually pave way for him to compete in the individual events. Pistorius would also participate in the Paralympics’ Games in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 4x100m relay

. After he was placed second in Benin Republic, the double amputee had this to say: "My race (today) felt good and I'm pleased to have won the silver medal at the African Championships. I am obviously disappointed that my time was just outside of the Olympic 'A' qualification time. I had felt very strong coming into this competition as my fitness and speed has been continually improving.

"I was in good shape to set the time and believe my speed will only increase over the next few weeks. I had a great early start to the season, setting the Olympic qualification time and I am hoping that there is still the opportunity for me to be selected to run for South Africa in the 4x400m relay.

"I am also extremely excited about the Paralympic Games in London and a big focus for me will be defending my three titles as well as being part of the South African team competing for a world record in the 4x100m relay at the Paralympics."

The 25 year old athlete popularly called the “Blade Runner” because of his prosthetic carbon fibre limbs was born in Johannesburg but lost his limbs 11 months after his birth, because of a congenital defect which resulted in his being born without lower limb bones.

However, this defect has not deterred him; it did not dampen his morale and his resolve to succeed. He was not satisfied with being called a disabled athlete. He wanted to make a statement on the track. He wanted to show to the world that disability was only a thing of the mind.

Today, what so many able-bodied men could not do, Oscar Pistorius has done it on prosthesis. He would be making history as he competes with both able-bodied athletes and physically challenged athletes as well at the 2012 London Olympics Games.

He has figured a way out of his disability. Today he can proudly say he does not consider himself disabled. Come to think of it, is Pistorius truly disabled? I don’t think he is. If he can do what great men cannot do, then he should not be considered a disabled man.

Oscar Pistorius is our ‘History Maker” of the week because of his ability to rise above his challenges and qualify to run alongside other able-bodied athletes at the London Olympics. He will not only make South Africa proud, he will also make other Africans proud by his great achievements. We are eagerly waiting to see him perform brilliantly at the Olympic Games.

Your comments are highly welcome. Is there any athlete you feel should make our “History Maker” of the week list? Please do let us know of such persons so we could include their names on our list. Share this post with your friends to help them rise above their circumstances.

Oscar Pistorius to Compete in London 2012 Olympics Games

Read More ->>

FIFA Approves The Use Of Goal Line Technology

Pin It Now!

FIFA has finally given its nod to the clamour for the use of Goal Line Technology at international matches. This approval will finally lay to rest the controversies that have followed and almost completely robbed the round leather game of its beauty and shine.

A lot of soccer pundits, coaches, players and fans alike had thrown their weights behind the quest for the introduction of the goal line technology because of the human errors that have plagued the game for several decades. Some referees had erroneously awarded crucial goals where they ought not to have been awarded, while others had denied teams of vital goals that eventually made them lose matches they should have won.

One good case study is the crucial goal scored by Frank Lampard in their match against Germany in South Africa 2010. The centre referee erroneously ruled it wasn’t a goal and England ended up losing the game by a whooping 4-1. Perhaps that goal would have made a whole lot of difference in that decider.

Another good example was the goal ruled in favour of Chelsea FC in their FA Cup semi final match against Tottenham Hotspur. The replay showed that the ball did not cross the goal line. This went on to dampen the morale of the Spur players. Of course they lost the match to Chelsea by 5-1.

Just recently, at the EURO 2012 Championship, a legitimate goal scored by Ukraine against England was cleared from inside the post by John Terry after it had crossed the goal line and the referee ruled that it wasn’t a goal. Ukraine needed to at least draw that game; but they lost it by a lone goal which led to their early exit from the tournament. The list is endless.

FIFA had hitherto argued that introducing a goal line technology would rub the game of it human input and beauty. But its introduction became inevitable when it became obvious that the round leather game was heading for a major crisis if nothing desperate was done.

In the match between England and Ukraine, a fifth official was even standing directly behind the post, yet he could not see when such a great goal was scored. Perhaps he allowed his emotion to overrule his sense of judgment and as such his inclusion in such match could not be justified.

My greatest excitement is that human emotion will no longer play a nasty role in deciding the outcomes of matches to some extent. The technology will officially be introduced during the FIFA World Club Cup in Tokyo, Japan in December 2012. It would also be used during the confederation Cup in 2013 and finally at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

How Will This help Football

The introduction of the goal line technology would go a long way at helping to reduce those errors that had trailed the game of football for decades.
1. Accurate decisions: This technology combined with the input of the centre referee and his assistants would assist the officials at arriving at accurate decisions during football matches.

2. No sentiment: Before now, some referees had awarded or cancelled crucial goals based on emotion and sentiments. They had indirectly favoured the teams of their choice and punished the opponents. But with this technology, such emotions and sentiment would be ruled out completely. The technology would not support or oppose any team; it would only award a goal based on merit.

3. Lesser argument: Arguments in the pitch of play would be reduced to a large extent. Players, fans and coaches had always questioned the accuracy of the decisions made by match officials. But when the decisions are now jointly made by both humans and electronic devices, such arguments would definitely reduce.

4. No more blaming of referees: The blames that had come to centre referees at crucial matches would be minimized as they would no longer award goals in errors. All goals would be thoroughly scrutinized before they are awarded. Any team that loses a match would do so on a level play ground.

5. True Champions: When goals are awarded in error, the true champions would not emerge at the end. When potential champions are eliminated as a result of human error, the eventual champions would not be seen as people who truly deserve to be champions. But when goals are awarded on a clean note, true champions that would be respected by all would emerge.

However, this is not to say that the technology would be 100% perfect. Issues that need to be considered include whether the technology would be powered by batteries, electricity or solar energy. In case of power failure or mechanical fault, there is bound to be error in results. In such cases, the final decision would be made by the officials.

FIFA Approves The Use Of Goal Line Technology

Read More ->>

Spain Create New European Championship Records

Pin It Now!

Spanish national football team is our history maker of the week after emerging the new Champions of Europe in Poland and Ukraine 2012. Spanish national football team broke all the jinxes that have plagued them for several years, to enter our history makers’ book.

First, it was the jinx over France that had to be broken at the quarter final stage of the competition. It was on record that Spain had never beaten France in any competitive tournament (Both at the World Cup and at the European Championship). But all that became history at the end of 90 minutes of play as the Spaniards defeated the French players by two goals to nil.

As though the Spaniards were not satisfied with breaking their age-long jinx against France, they went ahead to beat a highly skilful Portuguese side in the semi final and then the Azzurri of Italy by a whooping 4-0 in the final. Italy had never been beaten by Spain in any competitive match since 1920. But on Sunday night, all those records were shattered by the new kings of European football.

Spain went ahead also to become the first team in the history of the tournament to win it back-to-back. This they did in a stylish way, beating Italy by 4-0, a new Championship scoring record as well. The Spanish team deserved to be crowned kings, to say the least.

They were labeled “The most boring team” before their encounter against Italy. Considering the manner with which Italy sized up England and eliminated the star studded German team at the semi final stage, soccer enthusiasts had expected that Italy would give Spain a run for their money and even give them a bleeding nose. Surprisingly, it became the easiest match the Spanish side played in the championship.

Iker Casillas became the first player to win 100 international matches for his country. Besides, 13 of the Spanish players were the first to appear in and win two consecutive European Championship finals.

Xavi Hernadez and Fernando Torres were not left out as they became the first players to score and also provide assists in two of the games. The final match also saw all three Premiership players featured for Spain (Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and David Silva) registering their names on the scorers’ sheet.

Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot of the tournament even though he started in just two matches out of six and came in as a sub in two matches and was even left out in some. His 3 goals were enough to earn him the Golden Boot.

Not only football records were broken on the night, twitter records were also broken. Twitter all-time record for tweets per second related to sports was also shattered. Global traffic peaked at 15,358 tweets as Spain scored their fourth goal – The twitter blog.

The previous record of 12,233 tweets per second was set at this year’s Super Bowl; but all that is now history. Spain has created a record that would take sometime to break, having won three major tournaments in a roll – Euro 2008, FIFA 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 Championship.

The Spanish team has played as a compact team, displaying individual skills and team work, making all soccer followers to enjoy their money as they watched them display their soccer artistry. They truly deserve to be Champions and history makers.

You may also love to read:
1. Fernamdo Torres Bundles FC Barcelona Out of UEFA Champions' League

Spain Create New European Championship Records

Read More ->>

Who Were The Greatest Jockeys of All Time?

Pin It Now! In the world of horse racing, all eyes fall on the racehorses. While it’s the horse’s name that’s usually splashed across the headlines after a big win or tough defeat, the jockeys who ride these horses deserve some credit, too.

Jockey Mario Gutierrez was able to lead I’ll Have Another to victory in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, rocketing him from relative obscurity to the cover of sports publications worldwide. Twenty-five-year-old Gutierrez is just one name in a long line of jockeys who have led their horses to victory and fame. The following are some other noted jockeys in horse racing history, as well as information on their long list of accomplishments.

Eddie Arcaro: This jockey receives little notoriety even when the discussion of the all-time greats arises. However, he is the only jockey to ever win two Triple Crowns. Despite his success on the track, he also maintained a reputation similar to that of professional baseball’s Ty Cobb. Cobb, who once physically attacked a person in a wheelchair, is considered on of the sport’s greatest villain.

Arcaro, who was tossed out of the sport for a year after being charged with attempting to harm a fellow racer, defended himself by saying, “I wasn’t trying to hurt him. I was trying to kill the son of a [expletive].” Arcaro was famous for riding Lawrin, Whirlaway, Cirtation, Hoop Jr., and Hill Gail to victory and worked with major trainers, including Ben Jones and James Fitzsimmons.

Bill Shoemaker: Bill “The Shoe” Shoemaker won more than 8,800 races and broke an impressively long list of records. He wasn’t the only one responsible for his success, however. He worked with the same agent for 40 years and worked alongside Charlie Whittingham, a master trainer. Shoemaker was famous for riding Swaps, Tomy Lee, Lucky Debonair, Damascus, and Avatar to victory in many races. In addition to Whittingham, he also worked with other famous trainers such as Frank Catrone, Frank Whiteley, and Meshach Tenney.

Another factor contributing to his success was his ability to stay healthy. During his career, he was able to avoid most falls and serious injury. However, Shoemaker became a quadriplegic after involvement in a car accident during his retirement years.

Pat Day: Day’s career got off to a fast start and then quickly bottomed out. Day won four Eclipse Awards, 12 Breeders’ Cup races, routinely manhandled the competition at Churchill Downs, and eventually became the highest money-winning jockey on the planet with more than $297 million won during his career.

Day is famous for riding Lil E. Tee, Dance Smartly, and With Anticipation to victory. Notable trainers who helped in the process include Lynn Whiting, Jim Day, and Jonathan Sheppard.

Julie Krone: Krone faced an incredibly high barrier to entering the sport of horse racing: her gender. Because of this, she experienced substantial intimidation and pressure from her peers. However, she did race with the best and held her own against the boys. Krone was able to win more than 3,700 races during her career, including having the notable distinction of being the only woman to ever win either a Triple Crown or Breeder’s Cup.

Krone is most famous for riding Moni Maker (trained by William Andrews) to a world-record time for 1 mile, 1:54 and 1/5 seconds, at the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky.

Bet you didn’t know all of that information. Next time you are shooting the breeze, possibly with your fantasy horse racing buddies, now you know how to impress them.

You may also love to read:
1. 10 Baseball Players Who Age as Well as Dick Clark
2. Felix Baumgartner Threatens Joe Kittinger's Spacedive Record

About the Author:
Brian Russell is a horse racing enthusiast and freelance writer for MyFantasyStable, the fantasy horse racing league where it’s free to draft a unique stable of horses, jockeys and trainers, and manage your stable from week-to-week.

Who Were The Greatest Jockeys of All Time?

Read More ->>