2014 Olympics

2014 Olympics — No Comments
13
Jun 13

Olympics 2014: Bobsled (Bobsleigh)

Sochi Bobsled Training

Australia’s Heath Spence takes part in a Men’s Bobsleigh training run at the Sanki Sliding Centre, one of the 2014 Winter Olympics venues, at Rzhanaya Polyana, 60 km northeast of the Black Sea city of Sochi, on February 14, 2013. With a year to go until the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, construction work continues as tests events and World Championship competitions are underway. LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: afplivefour943897

I know it’s almost the official start of summer and most people are thinking about summer fun and road trips but time is flying by faster than a bobsled team down a sheet of ice. The 2014 Winter Olympic countdown is on and the opening ceremonies will be here before we know it so it’s time to get prepared for the games by taking a closer look at the sports and athletes. What better sport than the fast paced sport of bobsled to start our profiles for the Sochi Olympics? Continue reading →

2014 Olympics — No Comments
05
Sep 12

Paralympics 2012: Archery

LONDON, Sept. 1, 2012 Matt Stutzman of the United States competes during the men's individual compound open 1/8 eliminations against Jiri Klich of the Czech Republic at London 2012 Paralympic Games in London, Aug. 31, 2012.

LONDON, Sept. 1, 2012 Matt Stutzman of the United States competes during the men’s individual compound open 1/8 eliminations against Jiri Klich of the Czech Republic at London 2012 Paralympic Games in London, Aug. 31, 2012. Wang Lili/ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: zumaamericas282005

I don’t understand why archery isn’t more popular. Between Legolas and Katniss, a bow  and arrow is definitely the coolest weapon of choice. That is, if a wand becomes unavailable. Continue reading →

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31
Aug 12

2012 USA 7-a-side Soccer team

Contested ball

Great Britain’s Matt Dimbylow and the USA’s Adam Ballou compete in Football 7-a-side during the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: zumawirewestphotosthree629297

Soccer 7-a-side (called “football 7-a-side” internationally) was first played in the Paralympics in 1984. The game is played by male athletes with cerebral palsy or other conditions including stroke and brain injuries. The players compete in two thirty minute halves that are fast paced just like able-bodied soccer.

Also like able-bodied soccer the United States has been trying to catch up to the rest of the world. The USA took 4th place in 1996 which marked their best finish in the Paralympics. The 2012 USA team is one of eight teams that will compete in London and this group is looking bring home the first medal for the USA.   Continue reading →

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30
Aug 12

Paralympics: USA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team

Sarah Castle (C) of the U.S. celebrates with her team mates after winning their wheelchair basketball gold medal game

Sarah Castle (C) of the U.S. celebrates with her team mates after winning their wheelchair basketball gold medal game against Germany at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games September 15, 2008. JASON LEE/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it at Newscom.com: rtrlthree056536

With the US women’s wheelchair basketball team taking the gold in 2008, the coming games are accompanied by high hopes and expectations.  Five veterans are returning from their last success in hopes of scoring the gold again: Sarah Castle, Mary Allison Milford, Becca Murray, Alana Nichols, and Natalie Schneider.  Watch for the new additions to the team: Sarah Binsfeld, Jennifer Chew, Rose Hollermann, Darlene Hunter, Desiree Miller, Jennifer Poist, and Andrea Woodson-Smith.  David Kiley is their coach for this season. Continue reading →

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28
Aug 12

Athlete in Focus: Eleanor Simmonds

Eleanor Simmonds of Britain swims on her way to clocking a world record time in the women's multi classification 200m individual medley at the British Gas Swimming Championships 2012 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in London March 8, 2012.

Eleanor Simmonds of Britain swims on her way to clocking a world record time in the women’s multi classification 200m individual medley at the British Gas Swimming Championships 2012 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in London March 8, 2012. TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive113999

Eleanor Simmonds MBE is a double gold-medalist Paralympian swimmer from Britain who has achondroplasia (a common form of dwarfism.) Eleanor is back for her second Olympics, having been the youngest British competitor at Beijing in 2008  where she took gold in the 100m and 400m freestyle and was dubbed the “British swimming sensation”. She was 13 then. Continue reading →

2014 Olympics — 1 Comment
27
Aug 12

2012 USA Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Team

Beijing gold overview

Team China competes against the United States team on September 14, 2008. Athens 2004 Paralympic Games gold medalists China beat the United States 3-0 to secure their second consecutive Paralympic gold medal in the Women`s Sitting Volleyball event at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. Yan Sheng – CNImaging/Newscom

The 2012 United States sitting volleyball team returns eight players from the 2008 Paralympic team that took silver after losing to China in the 2008 final. Kari Miller is one of the eight returning players looking for gold in 2012. Miller, a US Army Veteran who served in Bosnia and Korea in the late 90’s, first started playing volleyball after losing her legs in a car accident. Miller is now the specialized defensive position known as a libero for team USA. Continue reading →

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26
Aug 12

Athlete in Focus: Esther Vergeer

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Australia - 28/1/09..Esther Vergeer of Netherlands in action during her first round wheelchair singles match

Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Australia – 28/1/09..Esther Vergeer of Netherlands in action during her first round wheelchair singles match. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: zumasportswest282041

Wheelchair tennis has only been around since the 1970s when it began in America. It made its first appearance in the Paralympics in Barcelona in 1992 and has grown in popularity worldwide. This year, 112 athletes will compete in six tennis events, including men’s and women’s singles and doubles competitions, at the London 2012 Paralympics.  However, there is one woman has dominated in the sport and is predicted to win gold yet again. That athlete is Esther Vergeer. Continue reading →

2014 Olympics / Sports — No Comments
22
Aug 12

Paralympics 2012: Wheelchair Rugby

Hunting don the ball

Stefan Jansson (L) of Team Sweden races away from members of Team Great Britain during the opening match of the London International Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament played at the Basketball Arena at the London 2012 Olympic Park, 18 April 2012. The Tournament is an Olympic test event for the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic Games. GEOFF CADDICK/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: epaphotos369748

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover or judge a sport by its name. However, when you have a sport called “Murderball” it can be hard to get fans and sponsors to give it a chance. So years ago Murderball was changed to Wheelchair Rugby but the name was all that changed – the game is still fast paced and extremely physical that is played by some of the toughest athletes in any sport.

Continue reading →

2014 Olympics / Sports — No Comments
20
Aug 12

Paralympics 2012

the women's long jump at Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan

the women’s long jump at Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan. Akihiro Sugimoto/AFLO/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: aflosports125338

The Paralympic Games were started in 1948 for British WWII veterans that wanted to compete. They have since grown and are for athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. They are held immediately following the summer/ winter Olympics. This year, the London 2012 Paralympic Games will begin August 29th. Continue reading →

2014 Olympics / Newscom News — No Comments
15
Aug 12

50 of Our Favorite Photos from the 2012 Olympics

Ariane Friedrich

Germany’s Ariane Friedrich reacts after a successful attempt during the women’s high jump qualification at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 9, 2012. MARK BLINCH/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive432060

The Olympics seem to come through almost like a hurricane – there are months of preparation and anticipation; then they hit and we had 17 days of furious coverage with the stories of triumph, heartbreak, tragedy, scandal, and sportsmanship; now they’re gone and they’ve left us with hundreds of thousands of pictures to dig through and try to put together some meaning in the huge void the Olympics have left in our lives. Continue reading →

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