Posts Tagged ‘2012 olympic games’
Friday, June 7th, 2013
Serena Williams (Katherine Shann, Wikimedia Commons)
Back in 2004, Russian newcomer Maria Sharapova shocked the tennis scene when she beat the great Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 in the final of Wimbledon. Sharpova, who was only 17 at the time, proved her victory was no fluke when she beat Williams at a tournament in Los Angeles later that summer.
However over the last nine years, it has all been Williams in their head-to-head battles. Serena, who is currently ranked number one in the world, has defeated Sharapova, currently ranked second, twelve straight times. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Williams gave Sharapova a 6-0, 6-1 beatdown in which it was quite possibly Williams’s best tennis match ever.
Now Williams has not won the French Open since 2002 when she beat her sister Venus, but should go into the final as the clear favourite (Saturday, NBC, 7:00 a.m.).
Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
Saturday & Sunday–LPGA Championship–Golf Channel–1:00 p.m.–Women’s golf second major is this weekend from Rochester, New York. Once again, a South Korean is in the lead. Currently in first round action, Chella Choi at -6 leads American Morgan Pressel by two strokes. Choi is trying to become the fourth consecutive South Korean to win a major, following Na Yeon Choi, Jiyai Shin and Inbee Park. Round one was on Friday because action was rained out on Thursday. Organizers are expected to have round two on Saturday and then 36 holes on Sunday.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, boston red sox, canadian grand prix, chella choi, Chicago Blackhawks, cn reliability grand prix, david ferrer, david ortiz, equestrian, eric lamaze, fernando alonso, french open, inbee park, jeff carter, jiyai shin, kent farrington, los angeles angels of anaheim, los angeles kings, lpga championship, maria sharapova, max decugis, Miami Heat, mike napoli, morgan pressel, na yeon choi, nico rosberg, okotoks dawgs, patrick sharp, peter loubardias, RAFAEL NADAL, san antonio spurs, saskatoon yellow jackets, sebastian vettel, serena williams, slava voynov
Posted in Amateur Sports, ATP World Tour, Ladies Professional Golfers Association, MLB, More, NBA, NHL, Western Major Baseball League |
Friday, May 17th, 2013
Ryder Hesjedal (Luca Volpi, Wikimedia Commons)
Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria will not repeat as the Giro d’Italia champion.
On Friday, Hesjedal made the decision to pull out of the race after falling to 37th place. Hesjedal was 183rd in Thursday’s stage.
It seems that Hesjedal is simply not feeling well. He cited “a deteriorating physical decision”, according to the Canadian Press, as the major reason why he decided to pull out of this marathon cycling race.
Hesjedal actually dropped 34 places in only one week as he was third last week.
Another top cyclist who has pulled out is Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain because of a chest infection. Wiggins is the 2012 Olympic Gold medallist in the time trial and is the 2010 Tour de France champion. Wiggins also has great success in track cycling as he won a Gold medal in the team pursuit at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and won the Gold medal in the individual pursuit at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
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Tags: 2004 Olympic Games, 2008 Olympic Games, 2012 olympic games, bradley wiggins, cycling, giro d'italia, ryder hesjedal, tour de france, vincenzo nibali
Posted in Home |
Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Dylan Armstrong (Wilson Wong, Wikimedia Commons)
According to the Canadian Press, Athletics Canada has decided to fire head coach Alex Gardiner and chief high performance officer Martin Goulet.
The reason for the decision was because Canadian track and field athletes failed to win the projected goal of three medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Their lone medal came from Derek Drouin of Sarnia, Ontario in the men’s high jump.
However, the three projected medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London seemed to be high from the very start. Team Canada only won one medal at the 2011 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championship in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea.
Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops, British Columbia, who won silver in Daegu, was in a very deep men’s shot put field, finished fifth at the Olympic Games. Drouin’s medal was completely unexpected.
Meanwhile, the Canadian men’s 4x100m relay team nearly won the Olympic bronze medal last summer in London, but were disqualified after a video review.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, alex gardiner, derek drouin, dylan armstrong, martin goulet
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
Maria Kirilenko (Wikimedia Commons)
It appears one of hockey’s greatest players in Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, is set to marry one of the world’s hottest tennis players in Russia’s Maria Kirilenko.
According to Ovechkin, he confirmed the engagement on his twitter account.
Everybody knows about Ovechkin, but what do we know about Kirilenko? Well, she is 25 years old from Moscow and won the Olympic Bronze medal with Nadia Petrova in women’s doubles at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Petrova and Kirilenko defeated Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Kirilenko is also seeded 14th in the world in singles, and has qualified for the quarterfinals at the 2010 Australian Open and 2012 Wimbledon. She has also reached the final in doubles at the 2011 Australian Open and 2012 French Open.
Kirilenko has also done some successful modeling, as she was in the 2009 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and has done modelling with Adidas and famous fashion designer Stella McCartney.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, alexander ovechkin, australian open, maria kirilenko, Wimbledon
Posted in ATP World Tour, More, NHL |
Friday, December 28th, 2012
Christine Sinclair (John Maxmena, Wikimedia Commons)
According to the Canadian Press, Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, British Columbia has won the 2012 Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s top female athlete on Thursday.
Sinclair won the bronze medal for Canada in women’s soccer at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. During the tournament, she set a record for most goals in an Olympic women’s soccer tournament with six.
Sinclair’s value to the Canadian women’s soccer program in 2012 was enormous. In scoring 23 goals, she contributed to 65.9% of Canada’s goals. Three of those goals came in Canada’s controversial 4-3 loss to the United States in the semi-final of the Olympic tournament.
Sinclair was also the flag bearer for Canada during the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, christine sinclair
Posted in Soccer |
Saturday, August 11th, 2012
Catharine Pendrel (Wikipedia Commons)
SATURDAY
2:30 a.m.—Men’s Kayak Single 200m Final–CTV (Mark de Jonge–Calgary)
2:45 a.m.—Men’s Canoeing Single 200m Final–CTV
3:15 a.m.—Women’s Kayak Single 200m Final–CTV
3:40 a.m.—Men’s Kayak Double 200m Final–CTV
5:30 a.m.—Women’s Mountain Biking Final—(Catharine Pendrel—Fredericton, Emily Batty—Oshawa)–CTV
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, arjan bhullar, cameron levins, catharine pendrel, dylan wykes, emily batty, eric gillis, francois coulombe, geoff kabush, mark de jonge, max plaxton, reid coolsaet
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Sunday, August 5th, 2012
Usain Bolt (Phil McElhinney, Wikimedia Commons)
On day nine of the 2012 Olympic Games, Jamaica went 1-2 in the men’s 100 metre dash.
Usain Bolt ran a time of 9.63 to win his fourth Olympic Gold medal of his career. The sprinter, who many in Jamaica call Lightning, beat eventual silver medallist Yohan Blake of Jamaica by 0.12 seconds. American Justin Gatlin ran a time of 9.79.
The final was remarkably fast with seven sprinters running under 10 seconds. Jamaican Asafa Powell, who ended up last with a time of 11.99, would have probably run under ten seconds as well, if he had not got injured during the race.
The 2012 Olympic Games in London will also be remembered from an athletic perspective as the Olympics swimming legend Michael Phelps of the United States retired. When Phelps helped the United States win the 4×100 metre medley relay yesterday, he recorded his 18th Gold medal of all-time, more than double of those Olympians who are second on the list.
Tags: 2012 olympic games, athletics, michael phelps, Swimming, usain bolt
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Saturday, August 4th, 2012
Ryan Cochrane (Mike Ridewood, Canadian Olympic Committee)
Ryan Cochrane of Victoria, British Columbia has won Canada’s tenth medal of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Cochrane won an Olympic silver medal Saturday in the men’s 1500m freestyle swimming competition Saturday. Team Canada now has won one gold medal, three silver medals and six bronze medals.
Cochrane posted a time of 14:39.63, over three seconds faster than when he won his bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Cochrane also swam faster than the defending Olympic gold medallist, Oussama Melloulli of Tunisia, who at 14:40.31, won a bronze medal, and was 0.53 seconds faster today than when he was the Olympic champion.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, oussama melloulli, ryan cochrane, Swimming
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Saturday, August 4th, 2012
Rosannagh MacLennan (Mike Ridewood, Canadian Olympic Committee)
Rosannagh MacLennan of Toronto has delivered Canada’s first Gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
MacLennan delivered a flawless performance in women’s trampoline Saturday. According to www.london2012.com, MacLennan had the greatest degree of difficulty (15.4) and highest execution score (25.6) in defeating China’s Shanshan Huang by 0.575 points. He Wenna of China meanwhile won the bronze medal with a score of 55.95 points.
MacLennan, the defending World Championship silver medallist, continues a strong tradition in the sport of trampoline for Canada, but becomes the first Canadian ever to win Olympic Gold in trampoline. Cockburn won the Olympic silver medal for Canada at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and an Olympic Bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
On the men’s side Mathieu Turgeon of Pointe-Claire, Quebec (Cockburn’s husband) won the Olympic bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, and Jason Burnett of Toronto won the Olympic silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Tags: 2012 olympic games, he wenna, karen cockburn, rosannagh maclennan, shanshan huang, trampoline
Posted in Home |
Saturday, August 4th, 2012
Paula Findlay (Martin Putz, Wikimedia Commons)
Heading into day eight of the 2012 Olympic Games in London Saturday, there were two Edmonton-based athletes I was keeping an eye on– cyclist Tara Whitten and triathlete Paula Findlay.
Their results were on the opposite ends of the spectrum.
Whitten, who was born in Toronto and raised in Edmonton, won Olympic bronze in the team cycling pursuit with Jasmin Glaesser of Coquitlam, British Columbia and Gillian Carleton of Scarborough, Ontario. They had a solid semi-final in losing to eventual Gold medal winning Great Britain, but had a fantastic performance in delivering a huge upset to beat Australia for a medal.
For triathlete Paula Findlay, there were a lot of question marks if she would even participate in the Olympic race, having suffered significant injuries to her hip a year ago. She participated, but the five-time World Cup champion over the last two years finished last in her first competitive race in over a year.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, cycling, gillian carleton, jasmin glaesser, paula findlay, simon whitfield, tara whitten, triathlon
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
Michael Phelps (J.D. Lasica, Wikimedia Commons)
Michael Phelps has passed Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina as the most decorated Olympic medallist ever.
Yesterday Phelps guided the American 4x200m freestyle swim team to Olympic Gold. Joined by Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens, the Americans posted a time of 6:59. 70—a full 3.02 seconds faster than the Silver medal winning French team.
Phelps now has 15 Gold medals, two Silver medals and two Bronze medals in his distinguished swimming career.
In other Olympic news Tuesday, Team Canada has qualified for the quarterfinals in the Olympic women’s soccer tournament. Yesterday, Melissa Tancredi scored two emotional goals as Canada tied Sweden at 2.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, conor dwyer, equestrian, melissa tancredi, michael phelps, ricky berens, ryan lochte, Soccer, Swimming, zara phillips
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Tuesday, July 31st, 2012
Christine Girard (Wikimedia Commons)
Team Canada now has four bronze medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In a compelling spn of one hour, Canada moved to one medal to four.
The first came in women’s synchronized diving. As predicted by me prior to the start of the Olympic Games, Roseline Filion of Laval, Quebec and Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal won Bronze in women’s 10m platform event.
The second bronze was completely off the radar. Ranked 17th in the world prior to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Antoine Valois-Fortier of Quebec City defeated Travis Stevens of the United States by a yuko in the men’s 73 kilogram division. Along the way Valois-Fortier beat an Olympic champion and World Championship silver medallist in one of the most dramatic judo days in Canadian sports history.
The third bronze came from a women’s weightlifter who barely finished off the podium at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Christine Girard of Elliot Lake, Ontario finished fourth four years ago with a lift of 236 kilograms today. It is Canada’s first weightlifting medal since 1984.
Tags: 2012 olympic games, antoine valois-fortier, christine girard, diving, judo, meaghan benfeito, roseline filion, weightlifting
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Monday, July 30th, 2012
Natalia Partyka (Gael Marziou, Wikimedia Commons)
There were two more Olympic Gold medals set in swimming Sunday at the London Aquatics Centre.
Dana Vollmer of the United States set a World Record in the women’s 100m butterfly with a time of 55.98, and Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa set a World Record in winning the men’s 100m breaststroke with a time of 58.46. France then shocked the United States in winning the 4x100m freestyle.
Meanwhile, middle distance runner Oscar Pistorius of South Africa and blind Korean archer Im Dong-Hyun are not the only two disabled athletes at the Olympic Games that are showing remarkable skill and inspiration.
This past weekend, the world was introduced to Polish table tennis player Natalia Partyka, who with only one arm, defeated Denmark’s Mie Skov 5-11, 11-3, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9 in five very dramatic sets. Partyka lost in the third round to Li Je of the Netherlands, but the amount of inspiration she has delivered is remarkable. Partyka will stay in London for the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Tags: 2012 olympic games, cameron van der burgh, dana vollmer, im dong-hyun, li je, mie skov, natalia partyka, oscar pistorius, Swimming, table tennis
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Saturday, July 28th, 2012
Melissa Tancredi (Wikimedia Commons)
Team Canada is back at the .500 mark in women’s soccer at the 2012 Olympic Games.
On Saturday, Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, British Columbia scored twice in a convincing 3-0 win over South Africa. With the victory, Canada improves to 1-1 and are in third place in Pool F behind Japan and Sweden, who each have a win and a tie.
According to the London 2012 website, Melissa Tancredi of Ancaster, Ontario opened the scoring for Canada only seven minutes into the contest. Like Sinclair, Tancredi has two goals in the tournament.
According to Canadian men’s head coach John Herdman:
“We said winning was the only option today. We hopefully got what we needed. We could have had more, but that’s football sometimes.”
Like the game against Japan however, Team Canada did not finish the game without a significant injury concern. Robyn Gayle of Mississauga, Ontario went down which appeared to be a lower body injury and did not return. Defender Candice Chapman was injured against Japan and did not play against South Africa. Meanwhile, Emily Zurrer of Crofton, British Columbia hasn’t played in the tournament to date due to an injury.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, christine sinclair, melissa tancredi
Posted in Soccer |
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