Head coach Leigh Nugent is upbeat about Australian swimming’s new wave and the James Magnussen factor, yet he has prepared Australia for a 25 per cent downturn in Olympic medals from the pool in London, down to “somewhere between 13 and 15 medals”. Read The Herald Sun
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Dubbed “the London Booster”, Czech artist David Cerny has created this full-sized Routemaster bus which performs press-ups outside his country’s Games headquarters in London. Read for instance The Telegraph and RT
It so happens that these Olympic Games coincide with the Muslim month of Ramadan, which means that all able-bodied Muslims are expected to fast from sunrise to sunset, unless they have a valid reason no to, for example those that are traveling, sick or facing health risks. Apparently the biggest problem will not be fasting but sleep-deprivation from having to eat at 4 o’clock in the morning. Some choose not to, which of course is a tough, personal decision.
See also Al Jazeera
Old news, maybe, but the London Philharmonics managed to record all 205 national anthems of the London 2012 Olympics in just 50 hours over six days at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. That is about 15 minutes per song, arranged and rearranged to last 1 minute, to be ready for the 100 team welcome ceremonies and 805 victory ceremonies. Did you know that the Congo national anthem asks “And if we have to die/ Does it really matter?”, and that the opening line of Ukraine’s anthem is “Ukraine is not yet dead”?
And it is not just a question of playing them, but also to give each one of them a special London 2012 feel. Wow.
Alexander Dale Oen posting 59.37 in the 100 breaststroke semifinal at Shanghai 2011, en route to become Norway’s first World champion in swimming.
Nice touch
Really nice, informative video from the FINA Sports Medicine Committee (SMC), illustrating exercises to strengthen the areas that stabilize the shoulder joint: The core muscles, the rotator cuff and the shoulder muscles.
Yeah, she is obviously so much better, read for instance the New York Post.
The female MMA champion took some serious swings at swimming superstar Michael Phelps for his snobby behavior at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where Rousey competed for the United States in judo.
Via ryanlochte.com
