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Ice Skating Crashes

February 24th 2010 01:32
At the winter Olympic games ice skaters have a reputation for impeccable decorum and grace.
However, it doesn't always go according to plan!

Skater Crash


ice skating accident



Winter Olympics Ice Skating


Ice skater crash out


skating and crashing on ice





*Images sourced from Damn Funny Pictures.
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Great Racing Horses

November 30th 2009 20:14
Greatest Racing Horses of All Time!


Race horses can perform against the odds, achieve amazing feats and inspire a nation during dark times. These champion thoroughbreds not only enter racing halls of fame, but have statues built in their honour and films made about their lives. Here are four of the greatest racing horses who ever lived. Images and information sourced from Life.com. Read about more of the great champions here.




Phar Lap
Phar Lap
Foaled in New Zealand in 1926 and trained in raced in Australia, Phar Lap (pictured here in 1929 with Jim Pike up) was one of the greatest runners of all-time, dominating Australian racing for his entire career until a sudden illness killed him. Some evidence suggests he succumbed to arsenic poisoning (perhaps ordered by gangsters who bet against him before his final race), but no conclusive cause of death has ever been determined.


Secretariat
Secretariat Wins the Derby
Jockey Ron Turcotte rides Secretariat during the 99th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. on May 5, 1973. Secretariat went on to win the Preakness and, in one of the greatest athletic performances ever witnessed, won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, securing the Triple Crown. Secretariat has the greatest winning percentage of any horse, and his records in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes still stand today.


Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit After Winning the Santa Anita Handicap, 1940
Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many US citizens during the Great Depression.


Red Rum
Red Rum
The wonderful Irish runner Red Rum was foaled in 1965 and became one of the most popular horses in the storied history of British racing. He died in 1995 and was buried at the post at Aintree Racecourse (Merseyside, Liverpool). The epitaph on his marker reads: "Respect this place / this hallowed ground / a legend here / his rest has found / his feet would fly / our spirits soar / he earned our love for evermore."




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New Modern Stadium Designs

October 9th 2009 03:11
Some sporting arenas were built long ago and carry with them the traditions of the city in which they reside. However, recently new modern stadiums have been constructed which showcase the progressiveness of the area and its people. Thanks to Time.com, here are some very aesthetically pleasing stadiums built in recent times.


cool stadiums - bird's nest olympics Beijing
National Stadium
A.k.a the Bird's Nest, Herzog & de Meuron's intricately woven bowl became a symbol of the Beijing Olympics.


modern sporting stadiums
University of Phoenix Stadium
A playing field that slides in and out of the place on a tray is the wow factor of Peter Eisenman's design.


new wembley stadium
Wembley Stadium
London's new soccer field by Norman Foster's firm launches a dramatic steel arch as structural support.


best sporting stadiums
Allianz Arena
The Munich soccer stadium by Herzog & de Meuron has a plastic exterior skin that lights up in team colors.


world's newest and coolest stadiums
Cowboys Stadium
The Dallas-based firm HKS Architects arrived at a balance of steel and glass that's muscular in some places, transparent in others. Giant glass doors at both ends admit views and natural light, while sloping bands of fritted glass along the sides catch the sky.




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Sporting Equipment Breakthroughs

September 21st 2009 02:20
Just as technology is always improving in all aspects of our lives, the same happens with sporting equipment make things faster, easier and more accurate for participants.
However, sometimes a technological breakthrough is developed that’s so advanced, it threatens to change the very nature of the sport. What happens next can vary depending on the governing body in charge. Such breakthroughs can be adopted by all who wish to remain competitive, or it might be banned altogether for devaluing the sport in some way. Thanks to Popular Mechanics, here are some Equipment Breakthroughs which shook up sports. Read more here.


advances in sporting technology
Oversize Tennis Rackets
Until 1977, there were no limitations on the size or shape of tennis rackets—the wooden construction placed a de facto limit on gear. Then Howard Head introduced the aluminum Prince racket with a head that was 110 square inches, compared to the 78 square inches of a conventional wood frame. The International Tennis Federation scurried to cap racket size at 127 square inches. While the initial fears were that oversize rackets would give an unfair advantage to serve and volleyers—like Pam Shriver, who made the U.S. Open using one—the reality is that the new sticks have allowed baseliners to hit returns and passing shots with more topspin, rendering the serve and volley game all but extinct in singles.


advances sis
Shaped Skis
Once upon a time, ski racers simply used the longest skis they could find. In the mid-1990s, a young phenom named Bode Miller started experimenting with the shaped skis that were used mostly by beginners. He took the effort a step further, using slalom skis that were so short—155 cm—they looked like they came out of the rental shop. Miller's skis also featured a radical hourglass shape, which allowed them to carve ultra-tight turns. The ski police at the International Ski Federation took action, instituting a minimum length for a set of skis—now 165 cm for men's slalom races. They followed that up with minimum widths, which effectively placed limits on a ski's turning radius.



cycling technology
Aero Time-Trial Bikes
In 1993 a Scotsman and his unlikely bike shook up the world of cycling. Riding a bike that he built in his basement for $200, with his arms tucked awkwardly under his chest, unheralded Graeme Obree broke the sport's premier mark, the World Hour Record, riding 32 miles. The "praying mantis" position he used was deemed illegal by cycling's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), but Obree wasn't done. He devised a new "Superman" position, in which he reduced his frontal area by keeping his arms extended straight in front of him. In 1996, a British rider, Chris Boardman, set the World Hour mark of 35 miles, using the Superman position. The UCI banned this position too, and set aside Boardman's now-untouchable mark, opening record attempts to riders on more conventional bikes.


motor racing wings
Winged Race Cars
In 1967, Jim Hall's Chaparral 2E became the first car with wings. The wing was movable from the cockpit so that the driver could tilt it to provide downforce in the braking zones and corners and flatten it for top speed down the straights. Racing's international governing body, the FIA, immediately banned the Chaparral's movable wings, and the next year, after a series of serious Formula One crashes caused by sudden wing failures, also outlawed the tall struts. Lower, body-mounted wings have been a mainstay of open-wheel racing ever since. For his part, Hall pushed the envelope one step further, installing a vacuum cleaner to suck his Chaparral to the ground. Another ban ensued, but the idea later morphed into the so-called ground effects bottoms that help to keep modern race cars glued to the track.



Aluminum Baseball Bats
Aluminum Baseball Bats
Wrap your brain around this bit of baseball trivia: Babe Ruth could have played with a metal bat. The patent for the first non-wooden bat was issued to a man named William Shroyer way back in 1924. However, it wasn't until the 1970s that the first commercially available aluminum bats were introduced by Worth. While the bats were initially touted for their unbreakable durability, it quickly became apparent that they also provided awesome power. Professional baseball rules, in both the majors and the minor leagues, prevent the use of anything but one-piece wooden bats. However, aluminum bats are allowed in amateur play, even in Division I-A, where the top players are pro-caliber prospects. Scouts worry that these high-tech bats encourage bad habits in pitchers and hitters alike. In continuing to regulate bat construction, NCAA officials worry that line drives rocketing back at a defenseless pitcher as fast as 114 mph could be a tragedy waiting to happen.



illegal swimming suits
Next-Gen Swim Suit
In early 2008, during the ramp up to the Beijing Olympics, Speedo introduced the LZR swimsuit, which turned the sport upside down. Made of an advanced material called Peretex, the $500 full-body suit, reduced hydrodynamic drag, forced the swimmer into a more streamlined position and trapped air to increase buoyancy. Swimmers wearing the suit broke 25 world records at the Olympics and 93 records overall. This summer, manufacturers like Jaked and Arena countered with suits that were even faster; In the 200* meter freestyle, Germany’s Paul Biedermann beat Michael Phelps and took four seconds off his own Olympic time wearing an Arena Glide-X suit. Sensing that the sport had turned into a de facto swimsuit competition, FINA, swimming’s governing body took action. Starting in 2010, body length suits were banned and all competition swimwear must be made of a woven fabric.
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Funny Diving Faces

August 3rd 2009 02:18
Diving at the FINA Swimming World Championships

The world's best divers are famous for their elegance and grace, however a still shot from close up can tell an entirely different story!


world diving championships
Wu Minxia of China competes in the women's 1-metre springboard diving event


platform diving funny
Australia's Matthew Mitcham dives to clinch the bronze medal in the men's 1-metre springboard diving event


springboard diving funny faces
Canadian diver Melanie Rinaldi competes during the women's diving 1m springboard final


funny faces of divers
Illya Kvasha from Ukraine performs during the men's 1-metre springboard diving preliminaries


synchronised diving
Ruolin Chen and Xin Wang of China on their way to winning the gold medal in the Women's 10m Synchro Platform Final


funny diving championship faces
Canada's Eric Sehn performs during the Men's 1-metre springboard competition



*Images and information souces from telegraph.co.uk here.
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Extreme Paintball

February 11th 2009 06:06
To some people winning is everything, especially on the paintball field!
I imagine this device would only be useful at close range, but if you want to kill every mother f*!#$%^ in the room, accept no substitute!

[ Click here to read more ]
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Beer Belly

January 14th 2009 11:56
Now this is one beer gut that you'll want to have. Perfect for sneaking in illegal alcohol in the last place they'll expect.


[ Click here to read more ]
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Urinal Soccer

September 24th 2008 03:24
This is a fantastic way to make urinals more interesting, and would certainly help us boys to improve our aim! The idea is fantastic. You try and get the ball into the goal before you run out of juice. Then when you flush it pushes the ball back out for the next person. Genius!


[ Click here to read more ]
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Worst Mascots in the World

September 12th 2008 12:12
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AFL Footy Posters

June 6th 2008 04:43
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Beijing 2008 Olympic Logo

April 21st 2008 02:40
How they came up with the Olympic logo for Beijing...



[ Click here to read more ]
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Funny Pictures From Roland Garros

June 27th 2007 12:34
Tennis isn't always glamorous you know...



[ Click here to read more ]
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Red Bull Air Race World Series

May 7th 2007 13:04
The Red Bull Air Race World Series, established in 2003 and created by Red Bull, is an international series of air races with the participation of the world's most skilled pilots, in which competitors have to navigate a challenging obstacle course in the sky, in the fastest possible time. Pilots fly individually against the clock and have to complete tight turns through a slalom course consisting of specially designed pylons, known as "air gates".

The races are held mainly on airfields, but also above cities, sea or natural wonders. They are accompanied by a supporting program of show flights. Races are flown on weekends following three training rounds and one qualification round. The exciting event attracts huge crowds of people, and is also broadcast live throughout the world by major TV channels, the views from the onboard cameras providing spectacular shots


[ Click here to read more ]
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Synchronized Swimming

April 23rd 2007 10:05
Synchronized swimming is a hybrid of swimming, gymnastics, and dance. It involves competitors (either individuals, duets, trios or teams) combining strength, endurance, flexibility, grace and artistry with exceptional breath control while upside down underwater. Developed in the early 1900s in Canada, it is a sport performed almost exclusively by women.
An Olympic sport first demonstrated in 1952 and an official event since 1984. Olympic and World Championship competition is not open to men, but other international and National competitions allow male competitors. Both USA Synchro and Synchro Canada allow men to compete with women.
Competitors point to the strength, flexibility, and aerobic endurance required to perform difficult routines. Swimmers perform two routines for the judges, one technical and one free


[ Click here to read more ]
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