Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

Athlete Spotlight: Javier Gomez

8/31/2014

 
Picture
Javier Gomez (ESP) won the overall World Triathlon title this year today, after finishing third in the final race in Edmonton, securing enough points for the overall season win.  He's the 2012 Olympic silver medalist, and was originally born in Switzerland.  This is his 4th overall title, and 8th time on the overall podium.

On This Date, August 31: Lasse Viren's World Record

8/31/2014

 
Picture
Finland's Lasse Viren won the 1972 Olympic 10,000 meters in a world record time of 27:38.35, despite falling down onto the track in the 12th lap after a collision.  He later won the 5,000 meters, and again won both 4 years later in Montreal.  Viren was one of the last 'Flying Finns', who defined long-distance running for decades since Paavo Nurmi.  Post-racing, he served in Finland's parliament for 9 years.

Great Britain Tops the Rowing Worlds

8/31/2014

 
Picture
Great Britain came out on top of the medal table at the Rowing Worlds ending today, and capped it off with a last-race victory in the men's eights, which was a successful defense of their championship last year. GBR finished 10 total medals, 4 gold - just ahead of NZL with 9 overall, and AUS and GER both with 8.  A remarkable even practically even spread at the top, which closely resembled the table last year where four countries finished atop with 8.  GBR continues a strong tradition in the sport - they led the table at 2012, too, but it is nice to see some continued diversity in the sport, with countries including Turkey, Greece, South Africa, and Israel all won at least one place on the podiums across the 27 events contested.  With the back-to-back wins in the finale, the GBR men's eights certainly set themselves up as the Olympic favorites for '16, and probably carries some confidence for them after failing to win on home turf in '12.  It will be interesting to see how teams deal with GBR in next year's final major tune-up before the Games.

On This Date, August 30: Stefka Kostadinova's World Record

8/30/2014

 
Picture
​Today, in Rome at the World Championships in Athletics, Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova set a new standard in the women's high jump, with a world record of 2.09 meters.  Amazingly, the record stands today (it's the 2nd oldest field world record in the books still, after Natalia Lisovskaya's shot put mark).  She retired in 1999, after 2 Olympic medals, 2 World Championships, and 5 Indoor World Championships (in which she also once had the world record).  She eventually served as president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.

On This Date, August 29: The 1904 Olympics Start

8/29/2014

 
Picture
On this date in 1904, the St. Louis Summer Olympics officially started. Unthinkable in today's context, the Games were actually a sideshow to the World's Fair, which had started in July.  And, they weren't a bastion of diversity, as only 125 of the 651 athletes were not from the USA.  They actually did not resemble the bureaucracy, process and popularity of hosting a Games at all, and might have spelt a decline for the movement had it not been for the Intercalated Games of 1906, which introduced a system and organization for hosting and registering that London for 1908 then emulated.

<<Previous

    About This Blog

    Highlights from the world of Olympic sports, focused on the athletes, and as seen through the cheeky lens of this one particular, passionate fan.

    Navigate It

    ​A Little Roundup
    Biweekly links to select Olympic sport headlines and news, with a focus on the athletes

    Let's Get Social
    Biweekly selection of intriguing, provocative social posts from Olympic sport athletes
    ​

    Athletes Worth Watching
    Weekly roundup of features on emerging Olympic sports athletes to keep an eye on

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own thoughts on Olympic sport news and athletes sometimes!
    Read more about me.

    Picture
    At Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park
    Header: Kallimamaro stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896

    Follow Me

    Picture
    Tweets by @GamesandRings

    Picture

    Picture

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Channel
    The Olympic Museum
    ​
    Team USA
    World Athletics
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    WADA
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    ​AP Olympics
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    ​Totallympics
    ​Qualifying to the Games
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    Rio 2016
    Pyeongchang 2018
    Tokyo 2020
    ​Beijing 2022
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    Aquatics
    Archery
    Artistic Swimming
    Athens 1896
    Athens 2004
    Athlete Spotlight
    Athlete Worth Watching
    Atlanta 1996
    Badminton
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Basketball 3x3
    Beach Volleyball
    Beijing 2008
    Beijing 2022
    Biathlon
    Bobsled
    Boxing
    Breaking
    Canoe/Kayak
    Cross Country Skiing
    Curling
    Cycling
    Cycling BMX
    Cycling Mountain Bike
    Cycling Road
    Cycling Track
    Diving
    Equestrian
    Fencing
    Field Hockey
    Figure Skating
    Freestyle Skiing
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Handball
    Ice Hockey
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Munich 1972
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    Olympic Sports Media
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Summer Olympics
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    Ternnis
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014


    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly