Archive for October, 2008
Biathlon Women Get Naked to Raise Money
Bold Beautiful Biathlon
Canada’s female biathletes took off their clothes to be photographed for a calendar to raise both money for their sport and admiration for an athletic woman’s body.
Zina Kocher of Red Deer, Alta., Calgary’s Sandra Keith, Rosanna Crawford of Canmore, Alta., Megan Imrie of Falcon Lake, Man., and Megan Tandy of Prince George, B.C., launched their 14-month calendar Wednesday by roller-skiing through downtown Calgary wearing shorts, tank tops and race bibs and their rifles strapped to their backs.
You can read the rest of the article here.
So what do you think of this? Should female athletes resort to getting naked to raise money and awareness for their sport? I haven’t seen the calendar or heard any of the “naked details”, so I am not sure just how graphic the photos are. That would make a big difference in my opinion of it. If it’s just “Rated R” poses, then it’s not as big of a deal. But if it’s out-right pornographic then I really think there are better ways of raising money. And is it really bringing attention, and most of all respect, to your sport?
The calendars are on sale at www.boldbeautifulbiathlon.com.
Olympic Spirit Train Protest ends peacefully
Protesters block rail line in hopes of halting CP Rail Olympic Spirit Train
(The Canadian Press circulated the following on October 12.)
VAUGHAN, Ontario — Protesters briefly barricaded a railway line north of Toronto Sunday evening and threatened to stop CP Rail’s Olympic Spirit Train, but police quickly persuaded them to end their protest after about an hour.
“They listened to reasoning and they’re dispersing,” said Sgt. Mike Sterchele of York Region Police, the police department responsible for this suburban region north of Toronto.
“We always like to negotiate these things to a peaceful end.”
Nobody was arrested.
The group issued a news release earlier Sunday vowing to block the train’s route to bring attention to what it called unresolved issues with aboriginals, the poor and the environment related to the staging of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Read the rest of the article here.
The Olympics are supposed to be about the sports and not about politics. But wherever there is a large audience and lots of press, there are going to be political protesters. The Beijing Olympics had the Tibet protesters, and Vancouver is going to have the First Nations. I’m sure every Olympics has had it. I think if I had something to protest, I might use the Olympics to do it too… Let’s just hope all of the First Nations protests end as peacefully as this one.
Too Little, Too Late for Lund
Drug that got Lund banned from Turin will be legal
The drug that got American skeleton racer Zach Lund barred from the Turin Olympics hours before the opening ceremony is being removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list. Lund tested positive for finasteride, an ingredient in a popular hair-restoration pill that also was believed to be capable of masking steroid usage. It was prohibited in 2005, but after further study showed athletes gain no tangible advantage from the drug, it will be removed from WADA’s banned list on Jan. 1.
Lund served a one-year suspension and could not race in Turin, where he would have been a gold-medal favorite.
“When it happened, I said they would make this legal in a year or two, because that’s what WADA does,” Lund said in Lake Placid, where he’s training for the upcoming World Cup season. “They put stuff on the banned list without any scientific proof saying why. They’re not held accountable. It’s not like I’m getting a ‘Sorry we took the Olympics away from you. Sorry we almost ruined your career.’”
Read the rest of the article here.
Yeah, this would stink for Lund. But I find it hard to believe that he didn’t know that the drug was considered to be a masking agent. He also should have known that the stuff he was using to battle his baldness contained the banned substance. If I was an Olympian, I would obsess about what I was putting in (and on) my body and I would make sure that nothing would keep me from participating. You would think that Lund would have had a trainer who would have made it part of his job to keep track of things like that.
Winter Olympians begin on-ice training
Lake Placid sliding track opens for winter season
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — With temperatures around freezing, the bobsled-skeleton-luge track in Lake Placid opened for the season Monday morning, allowing more than 100 American sliders to officially begin on-ice training.
The Lake Placid track was the first in the world to open in preparation for the 2008-09 season.
“It always feels good to get back on the ice,” said 2002 Olympic luger Ashley Walden. “We’ve all put a lot of hard work in this summer, so we’re ready to get back into sliding after the long break.”
When skeleton racers – the ones who slide headfirst down the track on thin sleds, at speeds of around 80 mph – arrived to begin training around 9:30 a.m., a thin layer of snow greeted them at the start deck.
“It’s nice to be on the track this early, because it gives us an advantage over other nations,” said 2007 women’s skeleton champion Noelle Pikus-Pace, who became a mother for the first time earlier this year and skipped the last racing season.
Read the rest of the article here.
It always amazes me the hard work and determination and level of commitment that it requires to be an Olympic-caliber athlete. Maybe in this case, the early bobsled gets the gold??
Olympic Ski Jumpers sue Vancouver organizers
Canadian female ski jumper joins lawsuit
A 17-year-old female ski jumper has become the first active Canadian athlete to join a lawsuit over the sport’s exclusion from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Zoya Lynch is among 10 female athletes — most from the United States and Europe — suing Vancouver Olympic organizers because female ski jumping isn’t on the lineup for the 2010 Games.
Read the rest of the article here.
The IOC votes events in and out of the Olympics. I’m not sure why they would sue the Vancouver organizers instead of the IOC. The are suing because Men’s Ski Jumping is included and Women’s Ski Jumping is not. They say it violates their equality rights. Leave a comment and tell me what you think.
Petro-Canada keeping families together for 2010 Olympics
Program to unite athletes with their families at 2010
Cost of families to see Games covered by Petro-Canada
Johanne and Jean-Pierre Monette of Montreal have never seen their speed-skating sons Marc-Andre and Jean-Francois compete at any major competition.
They weren’t there when Jean-Francois skated in the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, or when their sons traveled to Europe for short-track speed skating championships.
Instead, they put all their money into making sure the two boys could compete, knowing that they could always watch them on television or see a video later.
“When we are not there with them, it is always heartbreaking, but they do call home,” Johanne Monette said.
All of that will change for the Monettes and the immediate families of all Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes who compete at the 2010 Games.
Read the rest of the article here.
This program will cost $3 million for Petro-Canada, but I think it’s a great move. Petro-Canada is one of the corporate sponsors of the Vancouver Games, so the company will be receiving free tickets anyway. They will simply pass on these tickets to the family members of the Olympic athletes. Meals and 4 days in a Vancouver hotel will be provided for two family members of each Canadian athlete.
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