December 3, 2008

I’m chubby and I’m pregnant and it’s awesome!” Kerri told Billy [Bush] on Wednesday morning.

And as it turns out, a gold medal wasn’t the only thing Kerri and husband Casey Jennings brought home from the games in Beijing.

This will be the first child for the couple and it comes as no surprise.  During the Olympics Walsh and her beach volleyball partner Misty May-Treanor both said that after the games they would be turning their attention to starting families with their husbands.
Congratulations Kerri!

Listen to the whole interview.

Hoops:
Cardinal lose JJ Hones to ACL injury  - Stanford junior point guard JJ Hones suffered a knee injury Sunday during the Cardinal win against Rutgers and will miss the rest of the season. It’s her second ligament tear in two years. Does this preclude Stanford from reaching the Final Four?

Tennis:
Maria Sharapova expects to be back on the tennis tour at the start of 2009 - According to her agent, Masha is planning to defend her Australian Open title after being sidelined since July with an injured right shoulder.

Mauresmo not ready to retire - Former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo has committed herself to at least another year on the WTA circuit in a bid to end her career on a positive note.  The 29-year-old Frenchwoman struggled for form throughout this year and saw her world ranking plummet outside the top 20 as she failed to win a single tournament.

Olympics:  
Modern Pentathlon cut from five events to four - Modern pentathlon has been cut from five events to four in a bid to boost the sport’s popularity and keep it on the Olympic program. The International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) voted to combine pistol shooting and running into one discipline to create a shorter and more dynamic event.  Women have competed in the pentathlon since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Volleyball:
U.S. women’s volleyball coach Ping steps down - Jenny Lang Ping, 47, the former star of China’s Olympic champion volleyball team who guided the U.S. women’s volleyball team to the silver medal in the Beijing Olympics, will step down as coach of the US women’s national squad. Known as the “Iron Hammer” in her playing days, Ping was the only woman coach among those guiding the world’s 20 top-ranked national teams. Ping, who has a 16-year-old daughter, cited family reasons for her decision.

November 13, 2008

BMX made it’s debut in Beijing and the International Cycling Federation wants to include a freestyle event for the London games.

But last year, attempts to introduce skateboarding to the London Olympics failed.

The sports for London 2012 have already been decided but there are currently seven sports short-listed for consideration 2016 Summer Games. Only two will be added.

Leaders of baseball and softball, along with five other sports seeking inclusion in the Olympics, will present their cases to the International Olympic Committee in Geneva this week.

Golf, karate, roller sports, rugby and squash officials will also meet the 16-member commission, which will deliver a report to the IOC before the  members vote in October.

Baseball and softball were dropped after the Beijing Games because they didn’t receive enough votes in 2005 to remain on the 2012 program.

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October 23, 2008

Iranian women will participate in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. They took part in the ski on grass held in Tehran and Lebanon’s Asian junior championship both last year, snatching gold and silver medals, said the president of the Iranian Ski Federation.

Iran had two ski coaches after Iran’s revolution but 500 coaches work in the country at the present, Isa Saveh Shemshaki added.

It may be uphill for the skiers from Iran, who aren’t as well known as other international competitors.  But skiing is a popular sport in Iran and there are some great resorts near Tehran where skiers can train.

Situated in the Alborz mountain range near the peak of Damavand (a giant dormant volcano), the Dizin ski resort is Iran’s highest in altitude. Coming in at almost 14,000 feet Dizin is currently the largest ski resort in the Middle East. Shemshak is the host to the nation’s hardest and the steepest slopes

Until recently, ski slopes were segregated, with women skiing on one side and men the other.  It is still illegal for men and women to ride a lift together or share a gondola.  And of course women must remain covered which shouldn’t be much of a problem on the slopes. 

The announcement that women skiers will participate in the Olymics is good news and definitely a step in the right direction. Bring it on girls.

FYI: If you’re interested in learning more about how Muslim women are taking up sports, check out this paper on Islam and Women’s Sports.

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010.

What: Celebrate Columbus Day with silver-medal winning USA Women’s Softball Team

When: Monday, October 13, 2008 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

10 a.m. - 11 a.m: One-on-one interviews with Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman and the USA Softball team in the Billie Jean King International Sports Center

11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman and the USA Women’s Softball Team in the Museum’s special event space for autograph signing

1 p.m. - 4 p.m.:  Kym Hampton (NY Liberty) skills clinic and autograph signing in the Museum’s special event space

Where: Sports Museum of America - 26 Broadway (at Beaver Street) - Lower Manhattan

More info

From the NY Daily News:

If you want to be even more baffled by the International Olympic Committee’s decision to end women’s softball but keep curling, come to the Sports Museum of America, at Broadway and Beaver St., at lunchtime on Columbus Day. The whole team will be there, including outfielder Jessica Mendoza, who’s been named the new head of the Women’s Sports Foundation…  Word is the IOC doesn’t like sports that Americans keep winning.

October 7, 2008

Flanagan shattered her own American Record in the process, running 30:22.22. That’s 4:53 per mile, for more than 6 miles in a row. She crossed the finish line absolutely dumbfounded, asking “Did I do it?” and covering her mouth with her hands as she watched the big screen and learned that she did, in fact, do it.

Flanagan has been known to keep to herself; she trains mostly alone or with her husband, unlike many professional women runners who live near each other and train together. You don’t see her writing blogs, showing up in commercials, or giving speeches. The only commercial I’ve seen her in is a Johnson & Johnson one that honored mothers; Shalane looked into the camera and thanked her mother for all of her support.

Watch Shalane open up a bit to Runners World, below:

October 3, 2008

Among the benefits:

* 100 premium tickets to any event, including up to eight tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies, a guaranteed four tickets to prime events such as the gold-medal finals of men’s and women’s hockey, curling, figure skating, speed skating and snowboard.

* Premium seating at every victory ceremony.

* A vehicle and driver for four for the Olympic period.

* Admission for two to the International Olympic Committee’s “prestigious Opening Ceremony” of its annual session.

* The right for one person to run in the torch relay, and to keep a torch and torch-relay uniform.

* Entrance to other hospitality functions.

* Contribution of 100 event tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Charitable Ticketing Fund. 

The cost: $285,000. Not including a tax of $14,251. But hurry, because there are only 100 packages available.

Junking the traditional catwalk motif,  McCartney turned an empty hall into a futuristic health club on Tuesday and filled it with ace athletes wearing her new active wear line for adidas.

Gymnasts did somersaults off trampolines, performed Olympic-style feats on the balance beam, and set a fast pace on treadmills to show the clothes in action.

The show featured two genuine Olympic gold medallists - US track star Allyson Felix and British cyclist Victoria Pendleton - along with members of the British Olympic team, unfazed by their move from Beijing to fashion central. With the Summer Games heading to London in four years, it’s great that McCartney recognized the GB athletes.

Now entering it’s ninth season, the adidas by Stella McCartney Collection continues to be a leader in chic style meets performance gear - however many women opt to rock the gear for everyday wear as well.

The Spring/Summer 2009 Collection provides clothes for tennis, golf, yoga, and swimming, as well as an eco-friendly line featuring organic cotton and footwear made with sustainable materials.  The range included futuristic green running tops, dancewear influenced by the loose tops and layering of the 1980s, and geometric patterned swimwear.

Swimsuits had curvy mesh panels aesthetically inspired by corsetry, but were designed for maximum freedom of movement. The yoga range included leotards worm under loose cropped leggings inspired by men’s long johns. Tennis players were supremely elegant, in feminine, Gatsby-esque tennis dresses with fluted sleeves and lace applique detailing. Runners on treadmills, wore futuristic sheer white hooded sweatshirts and short shorts.  

McCartney’s way of blending a feminine fashion aesthetic with high-performance wear gives the new line powerful female energy and just the right feminine vibe.

“This collection tries to provide for all the needs of a modern woman. Style meets performance is crucial for women today, and I’ve tried to address this in my most recent collection. Remembering you’re alive is key, health is wealth!” says Stella McCartney.

Stella never fails to be on top of the game when it comes to “style meets performance”, and this new collection seems to be the perfect combination of pretty & tough. It definitely gets our stamp of approval!

Gymnastics Superstars Tour - Gold medal winner Nastia Liukin, silver medalist Shawn Johnson and teammates join musical artists Jordan Pruitt, KSM and others on a two-month 37-city trek across the United States. Can’t make it to one of the arenas? There will be a two-hour special airing on TV on Sept. 26th.

Achieve Your Gold Tour - If you’re a fan of the gold medal winning U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, they’ve hit the road for a a post-olympic tour playing a series of matches around the county. Check schedule here.

Miss beach volleyball? Catch gold medalist Misty May-Treanor when she partners with Maksim Chmerkovskiy on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars which premieres Sept. 22nd.

May-Treanor will also play herself in an upcoming episode of The Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place.” The episode air date has not yet been announced.

Still want more?  Here’s a vid that recaps some of the great moments from the Olympics. How many athletes can you identify? 

I landed in Portland, Oregon, and took the Athlete’s shuttle to Eugene, where the meet took place.  As we approached “Track Town USA”, I started to see billboards with phrases like “Home of the Hardest Team to Make” and “Where You’re Fired for Being 0.01 Seconds Late”, punctuated by the Nike swoosh. 

As the shuttle neared my drop-off at the Living Learning Center, a dormitory rented out to athletes during the Trials, we passed the famous Track Town Pizza and a bar that had a large Adidas banner hanging above its front door.  The time had finally come.

I competed in the 3000m steeplechase in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.  I won and set an American Record in the process.  But I did not go to the Olympics in Athens.  The steeplechase was not yet an Olympic event for women (it has been an Olympic event for men since the first Games).  So for the past 4 years, I put the rest of my life on hold and trained. 

I stayed in Lincoln, Nebraska, to be coached by my collegiate coach, Jay Dirksen.  I worked hard to balance the training, the recovery and sleep, the proper nutrition, and the job to pay the bills.  The 2008 Trials were the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Since 2004, more women have tried the steeplechase and those who already were doing it honed their hurdling skills, water jump technique, and training to perfect the art of the event.  The American record had been re-set twice since I had set it and several women were threatening to break it again SOON.  It was definitely going to be one of the “hardest teams to make”. 

Only the top three women in the final would qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team and many more than three wanted to make that team.  BADLY.  This was the first shot at the Olympics for all of us steeplechasers. 

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