Introduced on Thursday, Maryland’s Senate Bill 434 prohibits institutions “from requiring a student or and applicant for admission to provide access to a personal account or service through an electronic communications device” – by sharing usernames, passwords or unblocking private accounts, for example. This is apparently a common practice, to minor student-athletes’ social media accounts for instances of indecency or impropriety, especially in high-profile sports like football and men’s basketball. Read more here on Mashable.com
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Missy Franklin gets ready for Olympic trials
Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps says Missy Franklin is the one to watch heading to the London Games.
“I love being competitive,” Missy said. “I love racing. I love the water, it is in my veins and in my heart.” Her eyes sparkle as she talks about the thing that has always been a passion.
Read more here on 9News, and watch video.
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Spitz says Thorpe and Evans have lost their edge, predicts Phelps to win 5-6 gold medals
After having tried and failed himself (mind you, after 17 years in retirement), Mark Spitz questions the ability of Janet Evans and Ian Thorpe to stage successful comebacks for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Via The Telegraph:
“The world moves on and it is quite difficult,†Spitz said at the Laureus World Sports awards conference in London.
“I don’t think as an athlete you ever forget how to train but what you really lose is how to race against your competitors.
“I knew how to compete against those I had been competing against for years. When I went to the pool I truly believed they were wondering who was going to get second as opposed to who was going to beat me.
“By leaving the sport, the door was open for everyone else to jockey up to the No1 gig and so when I re-entered the sport 17 years later I was not only yesterday’s news I was trying to find my own way back.
“Therein lies the handicap [for stars making a return to their sports], they have lost the edge on the new stars.â€
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Kayaker ‘hunting’ humpback whales off Kona, Hawaii
Only to film them with his GoPro camera (or similar). And boy, are those clips marvellous.
Humpback Whales in Kona – 1-30-12 from HYPR Nalu Hawaii on Vimeo.
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CC photo #38: Pál Joensen being tested by Rein Haljand in Tórshavn
Pál Joensen taking a short breather while being instructed by Estonian kinesiology professor Rein Haljand about his next swim, back in 2009 in the swimming pool of Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. That guy with the trolley in the white t-shirt is Haljand’s son and assistant, Holger, the other two are a Faroese TV crew.
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Syed says world-class athletes are made, not born
Matthew Syed, author of “Bounce: How Champions Are Made” and a former Olympic table tennis player, believes that an individual’s ability is secondary to the level of coaching they receive and the facilities to which they have access. Via Public Health
“When I became English No. 1, I thought I must be super talented. But the top players in the country at that time, 80% of them didn’t just come from the same town or the same suburb, but from the very same street.
“There hadn’t been a genetic mutation — we happened to have the best coach who gave us access to the only 24-hour club.
“So we practiced before school, after school, at weekends, on holidays. Over many years, we transformed ourselves from perfectly ordinary players into world-class players.â€
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Hackett helping out to launch Swim Kids Operation 10,000
Swim Kids Operation 10,000 is a fundraising campaign developed by Uncle Tobys to help the Royal Life Saving Society raise awareness and funds to provide free Swim and Survive lessons for 10,000 children who would otherwise miss out. Targeting children from ethnic and indigenous communities as well as from disadvantaged families. Six-year-old Charbel Elias here was one of the lucky. Read The Daily Telegraph
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CC photo #37: Haljand-test in the swimming pool of Tórshavn
Faroese swimmer Poula Ø. Mohr ready for another lap of videoed sprint / racepace test in the swimming pool of Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, last year. Dr. Rein Haljand is ready with a front underwater camera in the far end, and his assistant (and son) Holger to pull the side view video trolley. See www.swim.ee for more details on Haljand’s technique testing procedure etc.
Dr. Rein Haljand is in Sierra Nevada now, by the way, testing the Danish team and Pál Joensen while at altitude.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/PalJoensen/status/165901357402963968″]
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James Magnussen hot favorite to win the London Olympics 100 freestyle
Last weekend in Adelaide, Magnussen produced a 100 meter freestyle time of 48.05 that would have see him win gold at every Olympics except the last (super-suited) one. While in heavy training. This makes him such a sure win at the London 2012 Olympics, that TAB Sportsbet has him installed as a $1.65 favorite to win that event, compared to Usain Bolt being a $1.50 favorite to win the 100 meter on the track, and Michael Phelps a $2.75 to win the 200 freestyle. Read The Telegraph