2010 Winter Olympics Update #1

The Vancouver Winter Olympics are not yet to the halfway point, and already lots of people are complaining about what a disaster they are turning out to be. Whether it is the warm weather, the death of a Georgian luger, Zamboni problems, or the confused starts to several biathlon events, it is easy to find things that are going wrong. And don't forget the ridiculously uncompetitive scores coming out of the women's hockey tournament.

The most hated man in all of Toronto?/Olympic Update #2

Igor Kenk (pictured below) may be the most hated man in all of Toronto, Canada. For years he has operated a bike shop in Toronto, but this summer police discovered that he was the mastermind of a massive bicycle-theft operation - they uncovered more than 2,000 bikes hidden in various storage facilities and garages throughout the city.

Here is one of the many garages in which Igor Kenk and his henchmen hid their stolen bicycles.

Here are some Toronto police officers taking a coffee break during their investigation.

By the way, Maris Strombergs of Latvia did win the gold medal as expected in the men's BMX competition yesterday. The woman who won, Anne-Caroline Chausson, is from France. Her closest competitor, Shanaze Reade from the UK, wiped out near the end.

Olympics Update #1

The men's and women's finals of the BMX competitions were rained out yesterday and have been rescheduled for today. The number one male rider in the world is Maris Strombergs, from Latvia. I don't know anything about women's BMX.

In other news, the women's softball gold medal went to Japan in a shocking upset of the seemingly invincible US team. The US team had won 22 straight games going back to 2000, and they had already beaten Japan in these Olympic games. Softball (along with baseball) was recently voted out of the Olympics and can't possibly return until 2016.

The Japanese players celebrate.

The US players left their shoes at home plate.

Canada wins its first gold medal

Canada won its first gold medal of the 2008 Summer Olympics today when Carol Huynh of Hazelton, B.C. defeated Japanese wrestler Chiharu Icho to win the 48 kg gold medal. For more details, click on the links below: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080816.wolymfcanmedal16/BNStory/Front/home?cid=al_gam_mostview

http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/beijing-games/story.html?id=726713

(Note: 48 kilograms is equal to 105.5 pounds.)

My favorite athletes from the 2008 Summer Olympics #1

The Summer Olympics in Beijing are only a few days old, but already some athletes have clearly stood out. Here's just a few who have caught our eye:

Ara Abrahamian (above): This Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler refused his bronze medal in protest of what he thought was "corrupt" officiating. Contrary to what the US media has been reporting, he did not throw down his medal, but laid it gently on the ground, as can be seen from this photo. He also has promised to quit the sport. For more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2559292/Swedish-wrestler-Ara-Abrahamian-vows-to-quit-after-throwing-away-Olympic-medal.html

Ejegayehu Dibaba (below left) finished 14th in the women's 10,000 meters. Her sister, Tirunesh (right), finished first. She also has another sister and a cousin who race.






Kayoko Fukushi (below) finished 11th in the women's 10,000 meters. She appeared to be trying very hard. Earlier this year, in the Osaka marathon, she set out on a blistering pace only to completely collapse at the end. For more information on that race, click here: http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/01/sports-news-addition.html
Note: The picture below is not from the Olympics - she didn'y come close to winning a medal.




















Lovieanne Jung plays for the US women's softball team. She won a gold medal in softball at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and her boyfriend, Jon Garland, currently pitches for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.