tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77808575868355497402024-02-19T08:26:49.102-05:00Scramble For GoldWhere African Champions Live. Be a part of it !Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-9381779352530176882012-09-02T15:55:00.002-04:002012-09-02T16:01:07.777-04:00African Paralympians Shine in London - 10 Gold Medals and Counting ! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Yakubu Adesokan of Nigeria shows off his gold medal after setting a new world record during the Men's 48kg Powerlifting on Day 1 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The 2012 Paralympic Games are underway in London and only in its 5th day, African nations have already grabbed a combined 10 Gold medals, just 1 Gold medal shy of the total Gold medals won by all African countries at the Olympic Games 4 weeks ago. Quite impressive, I must say, given the limited resources and training facilities available to disabled athletes in most African nations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A strong showing from the continent, there are a total of 43 nations and 308 athletes participating from the continent. Nigeria leads the medal table with 4 Gold medals already and 4 Silver medals. South Africa is second with 2 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals and and 4 Bronze. Stay tuned for more news and wins by these African Heroes.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKUBlT4eYhvGYchPaEi-Vrl9pPnY0oinqk-FdEXeKy_9QysaDeapiBpMju5OmbZ_IfNCpBwox-a2QxESt2BJhlKTOUD1sFGs0-MySkY_U14RstxsD4cA66UjI5nOVtZiYDneJRz-PlJPm/s1600/Adesokan+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKUBlT4eYhvGYchPaEi-Vrl9pPnY0oinqk-FdEXeKy_9QysaDeapiBpMju5OmbZ_IfNCpBwox-a2QxESt2BJhlKTOUD1sFGs0-MySkY_U14RstxsD4cA66UjI5nOVtZiYDneJRz-PlJPm/s400/Adesokan+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Yakubu Adesokan of Nigeria celebrates his Gold medal win</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Yakubu Adesokan of Nigeria celebrates his Gold medal win</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXf4XRUrIZbV8E6FlZTPuQdAETaNvgJcAizRYI62jsRq7XrMDTjLJ012cfE-UoSCyWqpbmNQ0fGbvd8CMTmxjodQEmK5O0sJ1Jsqropw3QbnHBbQJ0883Un1gGU_CTLNemMsKeiaYchks7/s1600/Jonathan+Ntutu+Mens+100m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXf4XRUrIZbV8E6FlZTPuQdAETaNvgJcAizRYI62jsRq7XrMDTjLJ012cfE-UoSCyWqpbmNQ0fGbvd8CMTmxjodQEmK5O0sJ1Jsqropw3QbnHBbQJ0883Un1gGU_CTLNemMsKeiaYchks7/s400/Jonathan+Ntutu+Mens+100m.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Jonathan Ntutu of South Africa (2nd from the right) wins Bronze in the mens 100m</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ivory Nwokorie (middle) wins Gold in the Women's 44kg Powerlifting</span></td></tr>
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Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-6108626883865804692012-09-02T13:40:00.000-04:002012-09-02T16:01:56.754-04:00A Sports Day For War Veterans Becomes A Global Event - The Paralympic Games<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kImN7Az1I5ggVraq4-wQoXjLUBLn8NY9EXnjzyYwxJtwq1-Xqa5eAzXyZ8SIdvGgEOhrp49p7yJiMsLrH4jSe0E4-3O2H18STrPzeqvziVnbaR5rVYNBEI2HybZtfvp91KdC4Nx3gHCa/s1600/History+Para.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kImN7Az1I5ggVraq4-wQoXjLUBLn8NY9EXnjzyYwxJtwq1-Xqa5eAzXyZ8SIdvGgEOhrp49p7yJiMsLrH4jSe0E4-3O2H18STrPzeqvziVnbaR5rVYNBEI2HybZtfvp91KdC4Nx3gHCa/s640/History+Para.bmp" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="caption" itemprop="caption">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">An archery class at the Ministry of Pensions Spinal Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 1949. Photograph: Raymond Kleboe/Getty Images</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you have a loved one or know of someone with a physical disability, then you must be aware of the rehabilitative benefits of sports in the lives of these individuals. Far beyond its rehabilitative benefits, sports brings a sort of camaraderie,a competitive spirit and enhances an active lifestyle for individuals with disabilities. Just as Dr. Ludwig Guttman intended, sports has continued to play an important part in the lives of the disabled and is evident in the performance of today's paralympians from all over the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The history of athletic games for the disabled can be traced back to World War II, mainly from efforts by an English doctor named Ludwig Guttman. Known as the "Father of Sport For the Disabled", Dr. Guttman was a strong advocate for using sports therapy to enhance the quality of life of people who were injured or wounded during World War II.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dr. Guttman organized the 1948 International Wheelchair Games to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics.</span> His dream was of a worldwide sports competition for people with disabilities to be held every four years as “the equivalent of the Olympic Games.” Twelve years later, his dream became a reality. <br /><br />The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy, in 1960 and involved 400 athletes from 23 countries. Originally, only wheelchair athletes were invited to compete. Since that time, the Paralympic Games have grown dramatically. The present-day Paralympic Games include five major classifications of athletes: persons with visual impairments, persons with physical disabilities, amputee athletes, people with cerebral palsy, people with spinal cord injuries and Les Autres - athletes with a physical disability that are not included in the categories mentioned above.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Just like the London 2012 theme message "Inspire a generation", Dr. Guttman inspired a generation of disabled athletes and the Paralympic Summer Games are now the second largest sporting event in the world today, the first largest being the Olympic Games. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The Paralympic Games are underway in London, from August 29 - September 9, 2012.</span>Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-86149800843310131722012-08-15T23:03:00.004-04:002012-08-15T23:03:50.517-04:00Gold was the Goal. Few African Nations Achieved it.<br />
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 395px;"><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 877; mso-width-source: userset; width: 18pt;" width="24"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 4205; mso-width-source: userset; width: 86pt;" width="115"></col><col span="4" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col><tbody>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"><td class="xl75" colspan="6" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 15.75pt; width: 296pt;" width="395"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Medal Count of African Nations - London 2012 Olympics</span></strong></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl66" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Country</span></strong></td><td class="xl68" style="background-color: #e26b0a; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gold</span></strong></td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: #bfbfbf; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Silver</span></strong></td><td class="xl70" style="background-color: #974706; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bronze</span></strong></td><td class="xl71" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Total</span></strong></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">South Africa</span></strong></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">3</span></strong></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6</span></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">Ethiopia</span></strong></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">3</span></strong></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7</span></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3</span></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">Kenya</span></strong></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">2</span></strong></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">11</span></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4</span></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">Tunisia</span></strong></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">1</span></strong></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3</span></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5</span></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">Algeria</span></strong></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">1</span></strong></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6</span></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">Uganda</span></strong></td><td class="xl78" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><strong><span style="color: #e26b0a; font-family: Calibri;">1</span></strong></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Egypt</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Botswana</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl72" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gabon</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl79" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td></tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"><td class="xl73" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15.75pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10</span></td><td class="xl74" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Morocco</span></td><td class="xl74" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl74" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></td><td class="xl74" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td><td class="xl80" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></td></tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Data: courtesy of <a href="http://www.london2012.com/">www.London2012.com</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When the 2012 Olympic Games kicked off on July 27th, there were 204 countries, all with one goal. To take home a medal. Gold was the goal. Silver and Bronze medals were targets as well. But not winning any medal at all was not the hope of any nation. 53 African nations participated in the 2012 Olympics and as the games came to an end, there was rarely a medal of any kind for most of the African nations. Six countries won at least one gold medal and four countries won at least a silver or a bronze medal. 43 countries did not collect any medal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There is much to be said about the poor performance of African countries at the Olympics, especially the 43 countries who did not make it to the medal podium at all. Is poverty, corruption and politics keeping Africa's elite athletes from stepping on the medal podium?</span><br />
Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-10873489191760547602012-08-10T12:29:00.001-04:002012-08-10T12:29:59.914-04:00Nijel Amos Grabs Botswana's First Ever Olympic Medal<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjukDrMKo945fNIdjd6uDZ2bm_kLyBBX3p16M5FsXdZHZXM4eVWQYGCjYzx8x3JIv7F3E1bcObxvfp0ysDRv67KXSEp1GL-H9Vjyrfy9dPPaFiuV7LbhtI5UAwAuCCrBtbggOflUku9isMI/s1600/flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjukDrMKo945fNIdjd6uDZ2bm_kLyBBX3p16M5FsXdZHZXM4eVWQYGCjYzx8x3JIv7F3E1bcObxvfp0ysDRv67KXSEp1GL-H9Vjyrfy9dPPaFiuV7LbhtI5UAwAuCCrBtbggOflUku9isMI/s400/flag.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Amos celebrating Botswana's First Ever Medal</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Botswana made its debut in the Olympic Games in 1980 in Moscow and since then, the nation has never won any Olympic medal in their last 8 Olympic appearances. Although many had predicted Amantle Montsho (women's 400m) will be the first to lift an Olympic medal for Botswana, it was Nijel Amos who took care of business on Thursday as he powered through the finish line for a Silver medal win in the men's 800m. It was a complete African sweep in the men's 800m, with Lekuta Rudisha of Kenya grabbing Gold and Timothy Kitum of Kenya with the Bronze.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Well done Nijel! A true trend-setter for Botswana and other African nations who are still in search for their first Olympic medal.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWe-mWKu1kg1f-nSB7zyi7qFauBGG-6CDbsfSryLKyKboLrhdTAI4j8_2Jql-e6yU0F_SbKsLHqImXFtwC1izvt-SRIBqxP5eRxES66hxf1IlRzcpahB7I0ATGd3R1SJWVJHkSMabbPuWK/s1600/all+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWe-mWKu1kg1f-nSB7zyi7qFauBGG-6CDbsfSryLKyKboLrhdTAI4j8_2Jql-e6yU0F_SbKsLHqImXFtwC1izvt-SRIBqxP5eRxES66hxf1IlRzcpahB7I0ATGd3R1SJWVJHkSMabbPuWK/s400/all+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A medal sweep in the 800m by Africans. Allez mes freres!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4ZpD4fMsEBlT-H7j-PDItMpLFXS-gyeeKoVd0DxtEyHE6ZQDKSXixkBdHzJOxOBkXOH8zgXfpVRun_paoXdNGmx9lCFYEW6OOA0XT83HfgcoJRPmvli2sIdKlEDRXJV1NYxnUnn7hw1J/s1600/Amos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4ZpD4fMsEBlT-H7j-PDItMpLFXS-gyeeKoVd0DxtEyHE6ZQDKSXixkBdHzJOxOBkXOH8zgXfpVRun_paoXdNGmx9lCFYEW6OOA0XT83HfgcoJRPmvli2sIdKlEDRXJV1NYxnUnn7hw1J/s400/Amos.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fortune favors the brave! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Photos:courtesy of indiatimes.com)</span><br />Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-64611837334214157562012-08-08T06:24:00.000-04:002012-08-08T06:51:37.484-04:00Ivory Coast and Nigeria Eyeing a Gold Medal Tonight<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8TNqgSNspiSOF_Alo-1Xfg73IY2TKS4Ddw7zFx281BdAjZXjsZ5d5b54bziRDVBkry6XiE83DE7ATWWP14dz0W2_nB3U4J2NxhMErpkrL2a6T2pn9RTXXzMw5qIUb6Yj4zGPU8iBWBje/s1600/Murielle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" kda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8TNqgSNspiSOF_Alo-1Xfg73IY2TKS4Ddw7zFx281BdAjZXjsZ5d5b54bziRDVBkry6XiE83DE7ATWWP14dz0W2_nB3U4J2NxhMErpkrL2a6T2pn9RTXXzMw5qIUb6Yj4zGPU8iBWBje/s640/Murielle.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Murielle Ahoure of Ivory Coast has her eyes on Gold tonight in the 200m</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ivory Coast and Nigeria will have a chance to grab a gold medal tonight in the final of the women's 200m and the women's 400m hurdle respectively. Ivory Coast' Murielle Ahoure, who came in second in the 200m semi-final last night, is a favorite to grab the medal and be the first to put West Africa on the Medal table. Murielle was also the 2009 NCAA indoor champion in the 200m while running for the University of Miami. The 200m kicks off at 9pm tonight.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8FqufLWT8rS9K7oM86OBGt_KxhCT8CdMWE0oBYVbRqb6NLFGv9n2HnX7tA9tahIJ9HjSKYqhtUm2Vt8sxY3wqSpKskMGWSoYs_ym9g_YIRDyYmjNAg3vAejRnlIBPvPprtPjYj_nCnte/s1600/odumosu+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" kda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8FqufLWT8rS9K7oM86OBGt_KxhCT8CdMWE0oBYVbRqb6NLFGv9n2HnX7tA9tahIJ9HjSKYqhtUm2Vt8sxY3wqSpKskMGWSoYs_ym9g_YIRDyYmjNAg3vAejRnlIBPvPprtPjYj_nCnte/s1600/odumosu+pic.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Muizat Odomusu clears a hurdle in the semifinal of the 400m hurdle</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Muizat Ajoke Odumosu of Nigeria will also be eyeing her first Olympic gold medal tonight in the women's 400m hurdles. Muizat has won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth games in the 400m hurdles and it will be a dream come true if she can do the same at the Olympics. The 400m hurdle kicks off at 8.45pm</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Bonne chance les filles!! In Gold we trust!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(Photos courtesy of reuters.com)</span>Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-1543839077298701342012-08-08T06:23:00.004-04:002012-08-08T06:23:58.471-04:00Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi Survives a Scare and Scrambles For Gold!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmVM0FyUe_xLA3kGlk9sb6cbqrOQk9_sRgac7iF9UY41T8xcVyF7GbyO8SJQnUoSmlAK8dGJxTjF-WCow0qU-fW3NCornurw5Bs2wCdkCUzafakcVzaFR9-o2i2umKsPjSt788QUt-2IB/s1600/Marouk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" kda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmVM0FyUe_xLA3kGlk9sb6cbqrOQk9_sRgac7iF9UY41T8xcVyF7GbyO8SJQnUoSmlAK8dGJxTjF-WCow0qU-fW3NCornurw5Bs2wCdkCUzafakcVzaFR9-o2i2umKsPjSt788QUt-2IB/s400/Marouk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Taoufik Makhloufi celebrates a gold medal win in the mens 1500m</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One day after being disqualified from the Olympic Games due to what many considered as a lack or sportsmanship or morale fiber, Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi wins gold in the men's1500m then next day when the decision was overturned by the IAAF. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The International Association of </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Athletics</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Federations had initially taken a view of the Algerian's 800m performance, in which he jogged barely 150m before opting to drop out and wander back across the infield. "The referee considered he had not provided a bona fide effort and decided to exclude him from participation in all further events in the competition," said an IAAF statement. LOCOG, however, later released a statement confirming the disqualification had been revoked after a medical certificate was supplied by a local doctor suggesting he had a knee problem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Maybe Makhloufi truly had a knee injury during the 800m or maybe he was saving his knees for the best race of his life! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(Photo: courtesy of france24.com)</span></div>Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-74960068175826099072012-08-06T19:15:00.004-04:002012-08-06T19:27:14.911-04:00After Week 1, Low Medal Count For African Countries at the Olympics<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 410px;"><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 877; mso-width-source: userset; width: 18pt;" width="24"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 3145; mso-width-source: userset; width: 65pt;" width="86"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 3035; mso-width-source: userset; width: 62pt;" width="83"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2889; mso-width-source: userset; width: 59pt;" width="79"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2706; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="74"></col><col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col><tbody>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"><td class="xl70" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 15.75pt; width: 18pt;" width="24"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></td><td class="xl76" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; width: 65pt;" width="86"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Country</span></strong></td><td class="xl71" style="background-color: #e26b0a; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; width: 62pt;" width="83"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gold</span></strong></td><td class="xl72" style="background-color: #bfbfbf; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; width: 59pt;" width="79"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Silver</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl73" style="background-color: #974706; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; width: 56pt;" width="74"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bronze</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl74" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; width: 48pt;" width="64"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Total</span></strong></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl75" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></div>
</td><td class="xl68" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">South Africa</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl65" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></div>
</td><td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ethiopia</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl65" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3</span></div>
</td><td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kenya</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">5</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl65" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4</span></div>
</td><td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Egypt</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl65" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 15pt; text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">5</span></div>
</td><td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tunisia</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1</span></div>
</td><td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
</div>
</span><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Medal count of all African Nations as of Monday August 6, 2012</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With only 6 more days left before the closing ceremony for the 2012 Games, the medal count of African nations has not been impressive. The report card for most African countries has been very poor so far, with only five nations winning a medal and only three countries with gold. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Clearly, there's been very little scrambling for gold ! </span><br />
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<br />Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-52628968399190612002012-08-05T15:21:00.003-04:002012-08-05T15:21:12.962-04:00Ghana's Alberta Boatema Ampomah Struggles in the +75kg Weightlifting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFtXF4GCdZQAhZN_mWYO0AzOWl04Jt8BWQYIHTo-qcWFX898FG_Si_5UCnXUcVXpzfQKzC5ZAKpStsIMga6OfW3ED0ca5nRCf4ZsKRENbyXzBx3GKgA3eorWupn1PFb1NTQaQ2j1RPW3f/s1600/Ampomah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFtXF4GCdZQAhZN_mWYO0AzOWl04Jt8BWQYIHTo-qcWFX898FG_Si_5UCnXUcVXpzfQKzC5ZAKpStsIMga6OfW3ED0ca5nRCf4ZsKRENbyXzBx3GKgA3eorWupn1PFb1NTQaQ2j1RPW3f/s400/Ampomah.jpg" width="340" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ghana's Ampomah falls short of a medal win</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ghana’s sole female weightlifter, 17 year old Alberta Boatema Ampomah failed in her scramble for gold as she finished 13 out of 14 weightlifters in the womens +75kg event. She lifted a total of 174kg after three attempts in both the snatch event and clean/jerk event. She lifted 73kg in the Snatch event and 101kg in the Clean and Jerk event making a total of 174kg in the competition ahead of Nigerian Weightlifter Maryam Usman who had failed to record a total.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Awarded a wild card by the International Weightlifting Federation, Alberta Ampomah first competed on the international scene during the 2010 World Youth Olympics where she won a bronze medal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Out of 8 Ghanaian athletes who qualified to the Olympics, 5 Ghanaians have already gone out while 2 withdrew due to injury.The last athlete left is 28 year old Vida Anim who will hit the 200 meters tracks on Monday at the Olympic park. Vida Anim, go make Ghana proud !</span>Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-34574614437252115222012-08-05T11:18:00.000-04:002012-08-05T11:18:05.245-04:00Senegal exits the Olympics but Moussa Konate gets an "A" Grade<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_4DxR29gr3JVSAbjeGTIV6pEDDFl5vcRkrhU7Naymn80PJ0u0sWFXWpMMSB_jGAVYMItdzJ6jmyBN1Q1d4QFGf_BDkDw0amA9zOUDrkOEYFkBmuVJ-i83MoaeguUViOMDU68RbACIH-W/s1600/Konate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_4DxR29gr3JVSAbjeGTIV6pEDDFl5vcRkrhU7Naymn80PJ0u0sWFXWpMMSB_jGAVYMItdzJ6jmyBN1Q1d4QFGf_BDkDw0amA9zOUDrkOEYFkBmuVJ-i83MoaeguUViOMDU68RbACIH-W/s640/Konate.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Moussa Konate of Senegal is the leading scorer in the Olympics tournament</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Saturday was a sad day for African football, as the last two men's teams lost in the quarterfinals, with Senegal going down 4-2 to Mexico in overtime and Egypt losing 3-0 to Japan. But even with Senegal's exit, Moussa Konate remains the talk of the Games, leading the tournament in scoring, with 5 individual goals. Let's just say the scramble for Moussa Konate has just begun, based on what the football world just saw from the young gun in the last few days. The Newcastle and West Ham football clubs are already in a race to sign Senegal's scoring sensation, Moussa Konate.</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Great Job Moussa! But the African teams still have alot of homework to do if they want to prevail at the world's biggest stages.</span><br />
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(Photo: courtesy of Bleacherreport.com)Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-71890500974119120612012-08-04T23:01:00.000-04:002012-08-04T23:04:47.696-04:00From Wimbledon, With Love.....<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6K71h_Xn8KPX88MnRbx2cz8f2yPZ85xGU2A0v544KuNHtBkcK4mTbwgDo9j2VcvjUzCk1SJmOLr1pm12tZ1Q7zQUPUIoJq8WVanq4oKd6OTG30FqqnTILnwY9TajN5N2YhcdcuCDnk6n0/s1600/serena1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6K71h_Xn8KPX88MnRbx2cz8f2yPZ85xGU2A0v544KuNHtBkcK4mTbwgDo9j2VcvjUzCk1SJmOLr1pm12tZ1Q7zQUPUIoJq8WVanq4oKd6OTG30FqqnTILnwY9TajN5N2YhcdcuCDnk6n0/s640/serena1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Serena Williams is truly a rare champion !</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Disclaimer: This particular blog post is unrelated to neither an African athlete nor their scramble for gold. But please pardon the interruption. Anyone who knows me, probably knows my true love is tennis and today was truly a lovely tennis day and I could not resist to blog about it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Being at Center Court at Wimbledon watching an Olympic gold medal match was simply, super! And even better, watching my fav tennis player, Serena Williams, fire aces and winners (I call them "frozen ropes" ) against Maria Sharapova felt like a blend of sugar mixed with sugar. Absolute sweetness!! 6-0; 6-1 was the score. Serena Williams won the Gold medal in the women's singles and becomes only the second woman in tennis history to have won all four grand slams and the Olympic gold medal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I spent the rest of the day at Center Court watching the men's doubles finals followed by the semifinals of the women's doubles match, featuring the Williams sisters again. What a lovely tennis day!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From Wimbledon, with love......</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pEhLlS1BAvaO0mD2KKBL5vdVTpILXV3ARZrQv9b88ytl0tZgI2FUpS4PaPa8otW6GhE9M1GjV9yR3SZySBtYDjheC3xhajPxUV66IcQAG1b4CiecJlFu1wu8xhgiVXVDYwmgZ0zq0Pm5/s1600/Wimbledon+Aug+4+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pEhLlS1BAvaO0mD2KKBL5vdVTpILXV3ARZrQv9b88ytl0tZgI2FUpS4PaPa8otW6GhE9M1GjV9yR3SZySBtYDjheC3xhajPxUV66IcQAG1b4CiecJlFu1wu8xhgiVXVDYwmgZ0zq0Pm5/s640/Wimbledon+Aug+4+015.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Bryan brothers win gold in men's doubles and the french men win silver and bronze in doubles.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_OisRA7NjunaMnAo-FAbVskQexY79VtqeEXz3ARvxSwtJNBLQXeV9KWQY0n-Wq0upve4qejoKC3xL7FO-9m4BZQUDsFcDVM76RY8CZyo6_S0xe3EfQ0HAh5TpYfFo0zX9jgBIVd3EkVU/s1600/Wimbledon+Aug+4+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_OisRA7NjunaMnAo-FAbVskQexY79VtqeEXz3ARvxSwtJNBLQXeV9KWQY0n-Wq0upve4qejoKC3xL7FO-9m4BZQUDsFcDVM76RY8CZyo6_S0xe3EfQ0HAh5TpYfFo0zX9jgBIVd3EkVU/s640/Wimbledon+Aug+4+019.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Williams sisters warm up to play the doubles semi-finals, they won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKBTOfq3Y1vfQtej5ZDoK8GflHuxuB72ZH1bY6Q7K61Dae1vq3B77V8WxRLO98BAXrmMYceiVnlHSUD8HhSqfzms_ECcwvlsGlZSPP39P2vtcU8PHnr0ilmQJ0Hka4IMdeB0kfuL8WtT1/s1600/Wimbledon+Aug+4+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKBTOfq3Y1vfQtej5ZDoK8GflHuxuB72ZH1bY6Q7K61Dae1vq3B77V8WxRLO98BAXrmMYceiVnlHSUD8HhSqfzms_ECcwvlsGlZSPP39P2vtcU8PHnr0ilmQJ0Hka4IMdeB0kfuL8WtT1/s640/Wimbledon+Aug+4+007.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From Wimbledon, with love......</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Photos: courtesy of Scramble for Gold)</span><br />
<br />Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-6713931154322609412012-08-03T19:55:00.003-04:002012-08-03T19:55:56.712-04:00Ethiopia becomes 2nd African country to secure a Gold Medal<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtR57sHrr9u39o4uN7ojF2e_cBNtWGBluttzvBCEpK2fX9Q_2O8DZ2kcakl7fwQAwn9pM5b6neHpKaVpS6l3Gn74VWrux5a_Xdx7jk5XuWB3CSu2it78saxMWiy5WjhGvzUKj_QnJintVp/s1600/Dibaba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtR57sHrr9u39o4uN7ojF2e_cBNtWGBluttzvBCEpK2fX9Q_2O8DZ2kcakl7fwQAwn9pM5b6neHpKaVpS6l3Gn74VWrux5a_Xdx7jk5XuWB3CSu2it78saxMWiy5WjhGvzUKj_QnJintVp/s400/Dibaba.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dibaba celebrates her Gold medal win !</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ethiopia becomes only the 2nd African country, after South Africa to grab a gold medal in the 2012 Olympic Games. 27 year old Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia defended her Olympic 10,000m title with a dominant display at the Olympic park, grabbing Ethiopia's first gold medal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Way to go Tirunesh!! Hope you grab one more in the 5,000m. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Photos courtesy of London2012.com)</span><br />Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-16622856521500033312012-08-03T09:46:00.001-04:002012-08-03T09:46:09.008-04:00African Women Looking Sharp on Day 1 of Athletics
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7_T8dN_8dpfA09jpEORGumhnjXypsWzCVYEOBbdLH6_QoSEyEh3GCuS_n_Bqk2JliX7PmlmJi9-ThDaMW_l7EAstudo19hUVCElARQTTKY6NOEu8o9njasDob9qtonoE4NBk6oJ5Q9Xw/s1600/Montsho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7_T8dN_8dpfA09jpEORGumhnjXypsWzCVYEOBbdLH6_QoSEyEh3GCuS_n_Bqk2JliX7PmlmJi9-ThDaMW_l7EAstudo19hUVCElARQTTKY6NOEu8o9njasDob9qtonoE4NBk6oJ5Q9Xw/s640/Montsho.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Earlier today, Amantle Montsho of Botswana produces the best time in the 400m Round 1</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The most exciting part of the Games have just begun! The Athletics events (Track, High jump, Shot put, Horizontal jumps, and Throws), which take place inside the Olympic Park kicked off today. Reigning world champion in the 400m, Amantle Montsho, lived up to expectations as she produced the fastest time of round 1, a comfortable 50.40 saunter. Most of the African female athletes have been very sharp today, making big strides toward their Scramble for Gold! Below is a summary of those who made it through.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Women's 400m </span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">Amantle Montsho</span></strong> of <span style="color: red;">Botswana</span> qualified to the semi-finals (semifinals Sat Aug 4th)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Joy Sakari</strong></span> of <span style="color: red;">Kenya</span> qualified to the semi-finals (semifinals Sat Aug 4th)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Omolara Omotosho</strong></span> of <span style="color: red;">Nigeria</span> qualified to the semi-finals (semifinals Sat Aug 4th)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Tjipekapora Herunga</strong></span> of <span style="color: red;">Namibia</span> qualified to the semi-finals (semifinals Sat Aug 4th)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">Regina George</span></strong> of <span style="color: red;">Nigeria</span> qualified to the semi-finals (semifinals Sat Aug 4th)</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Women's 100m</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Feta Ahamada</strong></span> of <span style="color: red;">Comoros</span> qualified to Round 1 (Round 1 7pm tonight)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Bamab Napo</strong></span> of <span style="color: red;">Togo</span> qualified to Round 1 (Round 1 7pm tonight)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Delphine Atangana</strong></span> of <span style="color: red;">Cameroon</span> qualified to Round 1 (Round 1 7pm tonight)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Lorene Bazolo</strong></span> of <span style="color: red;">Congo</span> qualified to Round 1 (Round 1 7pm tonight)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Saruba Colley</strong></span> of <span style="color: red;">Gambia</span> qualified to Round 1 (Round 1 7pm tonight)</span><br />
<br />Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-14283823489365223892012-08-02T07:34:00.003-04:002012-08-02T07:54:43.603-04:00Interview with Christine Manie<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">While attending the New Zealand Vs. Cameroon match in Coventry, I got a chance to catch up with Christine Manie, a defender on the Cameroon women's soccer team. When she's not playing with the Lionesses, she is with her football club in Romania, Negrea Resita. Here is her take on their last match at the Olympics. Enjoy !</span><br />
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(Thanks to my dear cousin, <a href="http://ordinaryfashionistas.blogspot.com/">Alice Ntam</a> for recording the interview) </div>Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-63603893041423489682012-08-01T20:52:00.004-04:002012-08-01T20:53:23.328-04:00Archery - Did you know?<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSywFERzf_IUX0PgvS8AKeFeELKxQ1gtQTjVvsn4sbLT99JcrXN" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="173" data-width="291" height="173" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSywFERzf_IUX0PgvS8AKeFeELKxQ1gtQTjVvsn4sbLT99JcrXN" style="height: 173px; width: 291px;" width="291" /></a><img _prototypeuid="6" alt="El Nemr Ahmed El Nemr Ahmed of Egypt competes in his Men's Individual Archery 1/32 Eliminations match against Crispin Duenas of Canada on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Lord's Cricket Ground on July 30, 2012 in London, England." height="212" id="currentPic" src="http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/El+Nemr+Ahmed+Olympics+Day+3+Archery+Fx9VoKAEJLql.jpg" title="Olympics Day 3 - Archery" width="320" /> </div>
<img height="57" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSywFERzf_IUX0PgvS8AKeFeELKxQ1gtQTjVvsn4sbLT99JcrXN" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 499px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 36px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ahmed El-Nemr of Egypt defeats Canada's Crispin Duenas in the 1st Round of the Men's Individual Archery Elimination</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Do you participate or understand the sport of archery? If your answer is "no", please find comfort in the fact that you may not be the only one. I just learned of the sport and yes, Africans are competing in archery at the 2012 Olympics. Ahmed El-Nemr of Egypt made it to the 2nd round of the men's individual competition but lost yesterday to Kuo Cheng-Wei of Chinese Taipei.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Fun Fact for the Day : Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">arrows</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> with the use of a </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">bow</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, from Latin <i>arcus</i>. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat, while in modern times, its main use is that of a recreational activity. A person who participates in archery is typically known as an "archer" or "bowman", and one who is fond of or an expert at archery can be referred to as a "toxophilite. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Archery</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> had its debut at the </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1900 Summer Olympics</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> and has been contested in 14 Olympiads. Eighty three different nations have appeared in the Olympic archery competitions, with France appearing the most often at 11 times.</span>Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-6755189159454561492012-08-01T11:26:00.001-04:002012-08-01T11:27:42.277-04:00The Cameroon Lionesses Bow Out of the Olympics Without a Win<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7i3vZhCDb-LGfLQtfcc3JLLK9aBZlSy87CmZBohNXbWpzGvJ3oJuK6YL8YEyRgF-T_8qKDZxGceO1CxFpwKv6HDvK0I0QMIxbUWWf7t5ZEX8_aagUg7TA_1nJ6_Olu2fDx6RHoJKkLtxI/s1600/CMR+womens+match+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7i3vZhCDb-LGfLQtfcc3JLLK9aBZlSy87CmZBohNXbWpzGvJ3oJuK6YL8YEyRgF-T_8qKDZxGceO1CxFpwKv6HDvK0I0QMIxbUWWf7t5ZEX8_aagUg7TA_1nJ6_Olu2fDx6RHoJKkLtxI/s640/CMR+womens+match+008.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Cameroon Lionesses strategize at Coventry Stadium, hoping to grab one win!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Still recovering from my trip to Coventry. But I must give one last shout-out to the Lionesses of Cameroon. Tough to say, but I watched the physically fit but tactically lacking Cameroon women's football team take another tough loss, as they wrapped up their 1st ever showing at the Olympic Games. The Coventry stadium was full of green, red and yellow colored outfits, mostly Cameroon fans hoping they could grab one win against the New Zealand women's team. Unfortunately, the Lionesses only had brave hearts last night and no brave plays! They lost the match 3-1 and that officially put them out of the competition. Tough loss but lets hope there will be lessons learned! Du Courage mes soeurs!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX5yQWxuYEiUU6yonCv51LfJgVmIhGoeHAWEM38fVysubqoI64zZFTzOM5fxt3HBXIF0qt4Uuk3YXt4Iot6mExMZDab73bFr9Bj6_X-NUg78ZjKiXuWV9R26QSsdeMKteARIwordt7o-E/s1600/%237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX5yQWxuYEiUU6yonCv51LfJgVmIhGoeHAWEM38fVysubqoI64zZFTzOM5fxt3HBXIF0qt4Uuk3YXt4Iot6mExMZDab73bFr9Bj6_X-NUg78ZjKiXuWV9R26QSsdeMKteARIwordt7o-E/s400/%237.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Gabrielle Onguene, a Forward, warming up before the match</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BlC9YisduskkeVNIm-tIN9IEV-Lq-OZxKJ9cy13GhOZXZOhBawwubrCgavJu8rCwTkW5zDjRyKw9nXIedB9VKygvnVxBwgMRUpuzV2Yv4WH7mv96Lxc_nj8kzMGvybwzaRvC-d42lR0Z/s1600/2gether.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BlC9YisduskkeVNIm-tIN9IEV-Lq-OZxKJ9cy13GhOZXZOhBawwubrCgavJu8rCwTkW5zDjRyKw9nXIedB9VKygvnVxBwgMRUpuzV2Yv4WH7mv96Lxc_nj8kzMGvybwzaRvC-d42lR0Z/s400/2gether.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They gave it their all, but that was not enough.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7x1ONdTp4xHqR_SLLNQfuVTMLEiPz6wPPWopY7-0CxpoWehe-Nsfx98sXINvVrY4qFGMq5PuVMusKx-lY38wKto81xT0VeWLv01dXi-Ee6ePohcki1XVTb0XoyY2H4BrSqdYQpoe6Etcd/s1600/CMR+womens+match+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7x1ONdTp4xHqR_SLLNQfuVTMLEiPz6wPPWopY7-0CxpoWehe-Nsfx98sXINvVrY4qFGMq5PuVMusKx-lY38wKto81xT0VeWLv01dXi-Ee6ePohcki1XVTb0XoyY2H4BrSqdYQpoe6Etcd/s400/CMR+womens+match+001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Devoted Cameroon fans. Gotta love it !!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99JVF9B6JOp5dJ9SQ40pnsaItFDLF-X_T6LLgGcLa3ZkN9gLTvK56ICRdA0fbZZEyH60WS6fgPyqoKe7Iy-MgjHxWulrPkFBr-C6OboIIEcKiTi8qUlVYlndwJjQaXC6MNimt9tQ_jChA/s1600/CMR+womens+match+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99JVF9B6JOp5dJ9SQ40pnsaItFDLF-X_T6LLgGcLa3ZkN9gLTvK56ICRdA0fbZZEyH60WS6fgPyqoKe7Iy-MgjHxWulrPkFBr-C6OboIIEcKiTi8qUlVYlndwJjQaXC6MNimt9tQ_jChA/s400/CMR+womens+match+012.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allez "les Lionesses" !!</td></tr>
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(Photos courtesy of Scramble For Gold)Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-8050187729514096212012-07-31T06:06:00.002-04:002012-07-31T06:07:19.092-04:00Africans Shine in Rowing<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6E37rUb-YBn3O-6whr_LFRmvE8wzZYbCdhXXpelN-LhIsFKZ8EVf8tGb_Sag7nonwJHEaMpDTiAl8mLHkM0CxmY83p0ZE4-DpnTwBxnrTH-I7tPS7DIcG8Bhd0K7fUIjpdhseVw2QSagP/s1600/Paul+Etia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6E37rUb-YBn3O-6whr_LFRmvE8wzZYbCdhXXpelN-LhIsFKZ8EVf8tGb_Sag7nonwJHEaMpDTiAl8mLHkM0CxmY83p0ZE4-DpnTwBxnrTH-I7tPS7DIcG8Bhd0K7fUIjpdhseVw2QSagP/s640/Paul+Etia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Paul Etia-Ndoumbe of Cameroon competes in the men's semi-final</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A sport known to very few in Africa and definitely a sport with a very low participation rate, Olympians from Cameroon, Niger and Zimbabwe were impressive in the Rowing Men's Single Sculls at Eton Dorney today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In the semi-final E group, Hamadou Djibo-Issaka of Niger finished 4th while Zimbabwe's James Fraser-Mackenzie finished 3rd and Cameroon's Paul Etia-Ndoumbe finished 5th in the semi-final E group. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Fun fact : Rowing is ranked as one of the most difficult sports in the world according to ESPN</span>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hamadou Djibo-Issaka of Niger competes in the Men's semi-final</span></td></tr>
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(Photos courtesy of London2012.com)Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-17923540413613005062012-07-30T21:15:00.004-04:002012-07-30T21:47:43.095-04:00Van der Burgh - 1st African to Scramble For Gold <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmYA7lnTxO50uJ-ltvQW3gvdRzZ42Rm6-7-Wo9v_oWcZSmej9COaObEFafhRhxFDk7tfSYZEku6t2OrJxYrJAqnJQxQVVELPV8SBrfjGovNkcbzEPr9zKfRJlX_eklHEfRpXO4RZ_UnJj/s1600/Cameron-Van-der-Burgh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmYA7lnTxO50uJ-ltvQW3gvdRzZ42Rm6-7-Wo9v_oWcZSmej9COaObEFafhRhxFDk7tfSYZEku6t2OrJxYrJAqnJQxQVVELPV8SBrfjGovNkcbzEPr9zKfRJlX_eklHEfRpXO4RZ_UnJj/s400/Cameron-Van-der-Burgh.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">South Africa's Cameron Van der Burgh stopped the drought of no medals won by an African Country when he won gold in the men's 100-meter breaststroke on Sunday. Not only did he collect gold, he set a world record by clocking 58.46 seconds, better than anyone else has even clocked in this swimming event. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Great job Cameron ! we hope the other African athletes follow suit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On the overall medal count, China leads with 17 medals (9 Gold), USA comes 2nd with 17 medals (5 Gold) and France comes 3rd with 7 medals (3 Gold).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Photo courtesy of Super Sport)</span><br />
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Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-68732457408589842152012-07-29T20:29:00.002-04:002012-07-29T20:33:16.662-04:00Meet Ons Jabeur - The Lone Female Tennis Olympian from Africa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The 17 year Ons Jabeur is about to grab the 1st set from Sabine Lisicki</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Far from home, the 17 year old Ons Jabeur from Tunisia is the only female tennis player from Africa competing in the 2012 Olympics. I took immediate interest in her match once I saw the schedule of play for today at Wimbledon park. It was one of those days where both the players and the fans needed patience in abundance! A very very rainy London kinda day! Jabeur's match against Germany's Sabine Lisicki was initially set to start at 1.30pm on Court 12 but finally started around 6.30pm after several rain delays. I managed to keep busy watching matches on center court and eating strawberries and cream. But it was worth the wait, at least for the few games I saw. Jabeur started a bit slow, falling 0-2 and later on finding her game to break Lisicki's serve, and led 4-3 before the match was suspended for the day due to darkness. During the 33 minutes of play, I saw the young talent from Tunisia show some bold and tricky play. Returning first serves with a drop shot and sneaking in a squash forehand from the centre of the court. She was definitely throwing Lisicki (ranked world #15) off her rhythm. Jabeur, who was ranked outside the top 1000 at the beginning of the year, has moved to world #297 in only 7 months. I need not say more, the kid has got game! And Sabine Lisicki is about to find out when the match resumes on Monday at Wimbledon Park.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I caught up with Ons Jabeur for a few minutes after the match was suspended and here is what she had to say:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Giving thumbs up to Jabeur for representing Africa Tennis</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>Scramble For Gold:</strong> You have such a good game. Did you go through the Olympics qualification or you got selected by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>Ons Jabeur:</strong> Thanks. I was given a wild card by the ITF</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>Scramble For Gold:</strong> How does it feel knowing that you are the only African female tennis player competing at the Olympics?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>Ons Jabeur:</strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I feel very proud. There is also a male tennis player from Tunisia competing. His name is Malek Jaziri.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>Scramble For Gold</strong> : Great to know. Well, I know you have had an exhausting day with the rain,so I'll cut it short. But "du courage" for the rest of the match tomorrow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>Ons Jabeur:</strong> Thanks</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And that was the end of my brief encounter with the teen sensational as she left the court. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ons Jabeur mixing it up as she sets up to hit a one-handed slice backhand</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She's got a solid serve too !</span><br />
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And it is never really a true day at Wimbledon without a rain delay :-) <br />
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(Photos courtesy of Scramble For Gold)Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-82229297003188121052012-07-28T21:45:00.002-04:002012-07-28T21:45:58.279-04:00Day 1 : Africa Village makes its debut at London's Kensington Gardens<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzLJfj9_uZkYu9wHjn6d8VE-iY2tsHed_WJw5lVAaHHV7MfdABTNm8JCLX_QmexBU5vwtetvblw9B0XGlTUU0u9BX_ePvCMEfw9aSxrhyIdAud0D8z9VfFd8fCdAKjHFpP41upCYBaBJQ/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzLJfj9_uZkYu9wHjn6d8VE-iY2tsHed_WJw5lVAaHHV7MfdABTNm8JCLX_QmexBU5vwtetvblw9B0XGlTUU0u9BX_ePvCMEfw9aSxrhyIdAud0D8z9VfFd8fCdAKjHFpP41upCYBaBJQ/s320/Africa+village+day+1+008.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LNwy4sk7f60qHfUjqfVgy9_us_8IIZ8B_j29ze2NnhpCHOkxduLueDzuwSmlpkf5QqsMFuLIIhak8BcYUeXLywZ4AsEhx6Xq6AXXmMT4bjj-dKf6PtoBqkfAivKHcRx9w9Dwpraj2783/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LNwy4sk7f60qHfUjqfVgy9_us_8IIZ8B_j29ze2NnhpCHOkxduLueDzuwSmlpkf5QqsMFuLIIhak8BcYUeXLywZ4AsEhx6Xq6AXXmMT4bjj-dKf6PtoBqkfAivKHcRx9w9Dwpraj2783/s320/Africa+village+day+1+010.JPG" width="240" /></a> <br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Giving my signature thumbs-up to Africa Village!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few days ago, I blogged about Africa Village. An outdoor lounge where African sport authorities will showcase the cultural and sporting riches of their respective countries during the Olympics. Today, I am blogging live from Africa Village in the heart of London's Kensington Gardens. Surrounded by the Russia House and the Czech Republic House, the Africa Village was filled with a warm and energetic ambiance and the unique decor of each country was most amazing to absorb. In true African fashion, some countries were still setting up their booths. Big surprise there! But majority of the countries were ready and set to go! Some countries went for a museum look, others went for a lounge look and some went for both! Unfortunately,there were no African athletes on site today and the village was only open to the media today. The village will be open to the public beginning Sunday July 29. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 1- Inside the Africa Village</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I liked the Libya house, cozy and welcoming</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cameroon house was colourful!They did not hesitate to showcase Eto's jersey as a work of Art :-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hmmm...i wondered if the Uganda crew didn't make it to London yet but i think i saw them at the Opening Ceremony :-) </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Algeria House was jamming!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gabon house has beautiful artwork!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fbd-gRmEwfz_lRhtCEr07iiIQUMzLzUolYUTx9FuG6XiCyjdWNDFIzZ8ThZDJ0-yWcH2zX0BMszBqaEG2UOJU0LIQeOTO5JetZAoJe_VhxONftv-N-zNWlfwhMPqUn1u6QgkbelLoy3o/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fbd-gRmEwfz_lRhtCEr07iiIQUMzLzUolYUTx9FuG6XiCyjdWNDFIzZ8ThZDJ0-yWcH2zX0BMszBqaEG2UOJU0LIQeOTO5JetZAoJe_VhxONftv-N-zNWlfwhMPqUn1u6QgkbelLoy3o/s400/Africa+village+day+1+026.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Botswana house had a fresh feel to it! love it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2Z93WObege4wK0BASfB0RSVXvTrsziNhXey8WPD57UHHIe2G5GjpVj7q_wxhR7hItEIsFEmqD7sxbcwynQz1yTxGVBJlFIls9tuihR4ndSRkUTZJmKsCV8VHafIjw39gk_Wf9HMn3uOw/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2Z93WObege4wK0BASfB0RSVXvTrsziNhXey8WPD57UHHIe2G5GjpVj7q_wxhR7hItEIsFEmqD7sxbcwynQz1yTxGVBJlFIls9tuihR4ndSRkUTZJmKsCV8VHafIjw39gk_Wf9HMn3uOw/s400/Africa+village+day+1+029.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Nigeria house definitely went for a lounge feel!! E no easy oh!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_G7mxtMsmWXpInDDiqzvcemUCA9xDg6VqiXyYGqloeoV1ktZidMADs18GmriEBCZamWkqyVHx52USjVGP1wcCfaqT167ZNnTP3EHjtWaCXCPZrn-uDYNcSHybrI8YiX-XXP-buh77p-Wn/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_G7mxtMsmWXpInDDiqzvcemUCA9xDg6VqiXyYGqloeoV1ktZidMADs18GmriEBCZamWkqyVHx52USjVGP1wcCfaqT167ZNnTP3EHjtWaCXCPZrn-uDYNcSHybrI8YiX-XXP-buh77p-Wn/s400/Africa+village+day+1+030.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ivory Coast house was very colourful ! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGpamuzZ63WYu8HppjxR6tyl4fon07EUq7X9KTsDUCrJIBuZLjfssCrTRglKfEATU48K2vb55prSHHqLVI-_MTq411gbZWhGroGUWypfZ6OqQpglT73IY7njaTXQLXstYhwvnaunifIfd/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGpamuzZ63WYu8HppjxR6tyl4fon07EUq7X9KTsDUCrJIBuZLjfssCrTRglKfEATU48K2vb55prSHHqLVI-_MTq411gbZWhGroGUWypfZ6OqQpglT73IY7njaTXQLXstYhwvnaunifIfd/s400/Africa+village+day+1+034.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite was the Tunisia house! Soo chic and elegant!<br />
</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwA5PoEISODtoxa-7bhA9nXG5spPnar46iPIn-Ytv5Y4wtHDKnWecMnmL_HWXqYguzEY5LhUBl7z4x20rV0utUDLnYLFrwERXGaPu6OpCRCkDEByEvHJBId0_tj3IV-Jr8FFUiiiq_RJaz/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwA5PoEISODtoxa-7bhA9nXG5spPnar46iPIn-Ytv5Y4wtHDKnWecMnmL_HWXqYguzEY5LhUBl7z4x20rV0utUDLnYLFrwERXGaPu6OpCRCkDEByEvHJBId0_tj3IV-Jr8FFUiiiq_RJaz/s400/Africa+village+day+1+032.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chilling in my favorite house, the Tunisia house.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepAz_k_52naSUaw1d8JmiZvkaRBO_V7gKbS_oQPcw_LoytwN1sJag_xK4H4ZS51tCN803z0qw4zm29MHTeMMx5hL0UAF0q5rc4DHwClmo8-DOjcLqMczXepAtxP6h0qyM6NSPBbDqIsuO/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepAz_k_52naSUaw1d8JmiZvkaRBO_V7gKbS_oQPcw_LoytwN1sJag_xK4H4ZS51tCN803z0qw4zm29MHTeMMx5hL0UAF0q5rc4DHwClmo8-DOjcLqMczXepAtxP6h0qyM6NSPBbDqIsuO/s320/Africa+village+day+1+035.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQNGJUTQKMlkzCLkjv0fEKlQ-HFXzDho6IDxsPXWjrlvgLdjkhuGuybfJeX3MdXUTMTTKBPjVb3eVyf1S_ANglEmN1EjorC2OyDYA0-NqZLFDxYJNrfx3YPLZIYZWQv8_j89tKqHKnpD4/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQNGJUTQKMlkzCLkjv0fEKlQ-HFXzDho6IDxsPXWjrlvgLdjkhuGuybfJeX3MdXUTMTTKBPjVb3eVyf1S_ANglEmN1EjorC2OyDYA0-NqZLFDxYJNrfx3YPLZIYZWQv8_j89tKqHKnpD4/s320/Africa+village+day+1+038.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
I was loving the Rwanda house !! can you tell? Its soo original !!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaII6RCo3xRZ6gNyMQgLR7nl4SMnNivnQFVFuPRhyfOVxZvpC_Lr-cFxYSDyK3a-4NCU8lNkLnD1puX6zpcEpJ9TkfcxUmkX2C1-cluPhX0-Tl1rOAufWXQTA2LMxsF9U5nlLpRJ6HnkK/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaII6RCo3xRZ6gNyMQgLR7nl4SMnNivnQFVFuPRhyfOVxZvpC_Lr-cFxYSDyK3a-4NCU8lNkLnD1puX6zpcEpJ9TkfcxUmkX2C1-cluPhX0-Tl1rOAufWXQTA2LMxsF9U5nlLpRJ6HnkK/s400/Africa+village+day+1+033.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Morocco house was very culturally rich!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOx7uXxNi0DnUUOv7MqVVBFDu1KcpCMeCkxyYnYvc8MzFmHTeVlCIBWdZox2yUQMVaTi3kD1z1GEfkjtG5LZFVuu0A2K9s29MHXtvblkA7yVN98UusTPMDQg_4_j8pVeThSFlxqDp8GmJ7/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOx7uXxNi0DnUUOv7MqVVBFDu1KcpCMeCkxyYnYvc8MzFmHTeVlCIBWdZox2yUQMVaTi3kD1z1GEfkjtG5LZFVuu0A2K9s29MHXtvblkA7yVN98UusTPMDQg_4_j8pVeThSFlxqDp8GmJ7/s400/Africa+village+day+1+040.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The set-up of the Togo house was still in progress...coming up good though :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVugrPm847MfF1atHVIgo_5Cwm6oYJCcjjlnl_C9gQo0n3J6zmfLagdaPLrBvxlNhAVpBgrzKeUA5uotPIy8f003Moqe9jRihvubGJ8lAjKuiFLMeKdllGrU3MlGBGHbQ8QD_j251d397u/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVugrPm847MfF1atHVIgo_5Cwm6oYJCcjjlnl_C9gQo0n3J6zmfLagdaPLrBvxlNhAVpBgrzKeUA5uotPIy8f003Moqe9jRihvubGJ8lAjKuiFLMeKdllGrU3MlGBGHbQ8QD_j251d397u/s400/Africa+village+day+1+042.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethiopia house was beautiful !!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbT-wyL_NglPhP1nOk15S9hFd8UMbnY1QAeUVw5reTQeNuxLVhtyYfPffVo8anWMQiGDfxv30qpRboRC-tPNGvkZGm3SJgsUAUDYJyk5kFRoZf6WyC0q_rrQJV53i7kjBdc69X8GlAPyj/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbT-wyL_NglPhP1nOk15S9hFd8UMbnY1QAeUVw5reTQeNuxLVhtyYfPffVo8anWMQiGDfxv30qpRboRC-tPNGvkZGm3SJgsUAUDYJyk5kFRoZf6WyC0q_rrQJV53i7kjBdc69X8GlAPyj/s400/Africa+village+day+1+024.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Egypt house had their doors covered. Looks nice from the outside though :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMhKS_EkydMgzYxTiWTFt0ymfUq1XRKf2sCxnB37UgB0ULG0LMXyJZA3bJo_brmH1C9a1ZrmmP8c7wOdM2A6LsfDLo4RlUkbhyphenhyphenxaCYgE8AP7Fa1sUxWW8orwY6BfDcChsiHMx5eeB5Rv6/s1600/Africa+village+day+1+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMhKS_EkydMgzYxTiWTFt0ymfUq1XRKf2sCxnB37UgB0ULG0LMXyJZA3bJo_brmH1C9a1ZrmmP8c7wOdM2A6LsfDLo4RlUkbhyphenhyphenxaCYgE8AP7Fa1sUxWW8orwY6BfDcChsiHMx5eeB5Rv6/s400/Africa+village+day+1+016.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And off we go...what a busy day :-)</td></tr>
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(Photos courtesy of : Scramble For Gold)<br />Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-26608253539294769952012-07-27T13:09:00.000-04:002012-07-27T13:10:43.296-04:00Senegal's Moussa Konate forces a tie against host Britain, while the Cameroon Lionesses still stand strong despite loss<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBm41hnqZY7HfaJSZFl2Ap8T-AxoUb1bkpegT8rKQz42wcsjVRaeU_b-rIyq_cWwzDqN2151-Jp4k6Yv5ZLCZ8oWco7wndduH3K1x6KxiTvMQlkV2EUn6FGNdPmQBBeOHSEqfUWYNJPtv/s1600/Moussa+Konate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBm41hnqZY7HfaJSZFl2Ap8T-AxoUb1bkpegT8rKQz42wcsjVRaeU_b-rIyq_cWwzDqN2151-Jp4k6Yv5ZLCZ8oWco7wndduH3K1x6KxiTvMQlkV2EUn6FGNdPmQBBeOHSEqfUWYNJPtv/s400/Moussa+Konate.jpg" width="336" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbaSGzl1U0azTzNRWvLafwhZioDpH1Fpr1k48uazcxmoCpJ0xO5KeR8JWFyO7bFqwKmb8cp3AcIacp6nbCDIQOMrDz7tyc6ke7tzxcLY2dOrXmDAWlUhGYZyTFPb7UFjbE_ypilXqvSNr/s1600/cameroon+women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbaSGzl1U0azTzNRWvLafwhZioDpH1Fpr1k48uazcxmoCpJ0xO5KeR8JWFyO7bFqwKmb8cp3AcIacp6nbCDIQOMrDz7tyc6ke7tzxcLY2dOrXmDAWlUhGYZyTFPb7UFjbE_ypilXqvSNr/s400/cameroon+women.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Moussa Konate celebrates a goal while the Lionesses still stand strong, hoping to roar back!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Soccer Olympic events are a step ahead of all other Olympic events due to scheduling. Although the Games officially begin today, the soccer events started on July 25th, with women's soccer, followed by men's soccer on July 26th. Not a very strong start for the African teams ! The only two African women's soccer teams which qualified for the Olympics faced tough opponents in their 1st round matches. The Cameroon Lionesses were overwhelmed with a tactically sound Brazilian women's team, as they lost 5-0, while the South African women's team could not find their rhythm in a 4-1 loss to Sweden. The Cameroon Lionesses are still standing strong, hoping to roar back when they meet Britain on Saturday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On the men's side, Senegal, Gabon and Morocco fought hard to finish with a tie against their opponents while Egypt lost 3-2 to Brazil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cheers !! Here's to shaking off a tough start and getting ready for wins in Round 2 !!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Results</strong> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Women's Soccer: July 25th</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Group E: Cameroon Lost 0-5 to Brazil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Group F: South Africa loses 1-4 to Sweden</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Men's Soccer: July 26th</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Group D: Morocco tied 2-2 with Honduras</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Group B: Gabon tied 1-1 with Switzerland</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Group C: Egypt loses 2-3 to Brazil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Group A: Senegal ties 1-1 with Great Britain</span>Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-27150289173354330582012-07-25T14:22:00.001-04:002012-07-25T15:18:12.254-04:00One of a Kind - An Independent Olympic Athlete, by way of South Sudan<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAHcydHtLozb68f0g3huHvS7YIJKn4tZLHL2KX1zktgOT21TlkrJkkFETvjv16tdnEXojuiRyCRmvb-lN-GrjpaQm1_Q_sZhUvJkKoZOQt5B7oDYV1u3MWc8qAN4FCHaOEK2D-CO1T6gH/s1600/strides+of+hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAHcydHtLozb68f0g3huHvS7YIJKn4tZLHL2KX1zktgOT21TlkrJkkFETvjv16tdnEXojuiRyCRmvb-lN-GrjpaQm1_Q_sZhUvJkKoZOQt5B7oDYV1u3MWc8qAN4FCHaOEK2D-CO1T6gH/s640/strides+of+hope.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guor Marial - Making strides of courage and hope !</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Guor Marial, a South Sudanese track and field athlete based in the United States, will be participating in the Olympics as an independent athlete, bearing neither Sudan's flag or his home country's flag, South Sudan. He will be bearing the Olympic flag. An independent athlete, truly one of a kind! Far beyond scrambling for a gold medal, Marial's goal for training relentlessly to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games is to glorify and honor the 28 immediate and extended family members he lost during the civil war in Sudan. "Their spirit is what allows me to get up every single day, put on my shoes and train to honour them", says Marial, as he prepares to take off for London.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Under normal circumstances, the International Olympic Commiitee (IOC) requires athletes to be full citizens of the countries they represent, to bear the flag of that country and to participate in the Olympics under that country. Because South Sudan just recently gained its independence on July 9, 2011, time was not on their side to meet the Olympic requirements, assemble an Olympic team and be ready for London 2012. As such, a brave heart like Guor Marial decided to fight for his right to participate in the Olympics, with or without a South Sudan flag. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And just like that, his quest to have a chance to participate in the Olympics started. First, a change.org petition was set up titled "Allow South Sudanese runner, Guor Marial to compete in the Olympics Marathon" and received 3500 signatures. Followed with a plea letter from the President of Refugee International, Michel Gabaudan addressed to Jacque Rogge, President of the IOC. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A period of silence and no decision from the IOC did not discourage Marial, as he trained even harder and met the Olympic "A" standard in October 2011, making him eligible to participate in the 2012 Olympics. But the morning of Saturday July 21, 2012 was a bright and sunny one for Marial as he learnt from the IOC just 6 days ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony that he has been granted entry into the 2012 Olympics as a stateless athlete. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Call it independent, stateless, flagless or refugee athlete, Guor Marial will be a symbol of courage, hardwork and hope to his fellow country men and women of South Sudan when he sets his footprints on the Olympic tracks this July. As for South Sudan's plans to participate in future Olympic games, that still remains an unknown "Unknown"!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAT6grMwNKIuKGdzziPIwrbuAHU3HPVS4aJKqmEMw6oKFVekc1JVa3c3pHA4E43GzQY7uXrpRzMJrehamfRuE9uubFjZUcOKFjtDxs6vwqrQN9DRKlNXR4ApvATDCnbboLR2CucxGEiAQ/s1600/strides+of+courage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAT6grMwNKIuKGdzziPIwrbuAHU3HPVS4aJKqmEMw6oKFVekc1JVa3c3pHA4E43GzQY7uXrpRzMJrehamfRuE9uubFjZUcOKFjtDxs6vwqrQN9DRKlNXR4ApvATDCnbboLR2CucxGEiAQ/s400/strides+of+courage.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brave heart, Guor Marial trains for the Olympics<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29BY0-2aJNnEY0K97c-cK_Fz7-knH4hQaze_hVfpUsFz54UsKBWV-GdBOSj9jMb4RJxzZE8E_d5ugeODs4AXINFPkILJsOqFz1RrHzXUTt0WlBGf-PKGPG0gYOi7pRXyfzSEJeWhDq6Jr/s1600/cover+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29BY0-2aJNnEY0K97c-cK_Fz7-knH4hQaze_hVfpUsFz54UsKBWV-GdBOSj9jMb4RJxzZE8E_d5ugeODs4AXINFPkILJsOqFz1RrHzXUTt0WlBGf-PKGPG0gYOi7pRXyfzSEJeWhDq6Jr/s400/cover+page.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A true symbol of courage, hardwork and hope for the people of South Sudan<br />
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Even if you don't win a medal in London, you are a winner already! Bonne Chance Guor!</td></tr>
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(Photos courtesy of the Washingtonpost.com and google images)Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-8683811780097941062012-07-22T22:25:00.002-04:002012-07-22T23:19:07.456-04:00Africa Village - The Melting Pot for the Cultural, Artistic and Sporting Riches of Africa in London <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is the Olympic Village and there is the Africa Village, all in London. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thanks to the Olympic Games, i</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">f you are an advocate for a United States of Africa, your dreams may have come true, though it will be very short-lived! For two weeks, starting July 27th when the Games begin, through August 12th, a hospitality lounge called "Africa Village" has been set up in the heart of London, at the Kensington Gardens, to welcome the public and to showcase the cultural, artistic and sporting riches of the African continent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">An initiative spearheaded by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), Africa Village will be open to the public daily from 9am to 10pm and will have representatives from all 53 African National Olympic Committees. It will be divided into two areas; Africa Land and Africa House. Africa Land will showcase Olympic-themed events combined with modern and traditional African music concerts, fashion shows, art displays, African stage plays and the most appetizing of all, an on site African restaurant. Yumm! There will also be a daily celebration of medals won by an African athlete, accompanied with interviews and photo sessions with the winning athletes. Africa House, on the other hand, will serve as a welcoming area for African Olympic athletes and African sports leaders. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This will be the first time in the history of the Olympic Games where all African countries have united as one, to support each other, showcase our rich and diverse cultures and most of all, in unity, Scramble for Gold!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you happen to be in London during the games, I encourage you to come immerse yourself in the sweetness and richness of Africa Village.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Details : Free entrance from 9am - 10pm. Tube station: South Kensington (District or Circle line).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIUFXlTkw9pBMnOgFMeO8pH37Oa3ut4g-nqLkhFjbKysJvZJRkvXB77Bp6JqM9AwWnoDe5AeSqyof91xxJCzaGhFebqX1qFmpXjEYiowy2AnFErjyK4Nr35nZroE9gvcDflfbqRbrF927/s1600/Africa+Land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIUFXlTkw9pBMnOgFMeO8pH37Oa3ut4g-nqLkhFjbKysJvZJRkvXB77Bp6JqM9AwWnoDe5AeSqyof91xxJCzaGhFebqX1qFmpXjEYiowy2AnFErjyK4Nr35nZroE9gvcDflfbqRbrF927/s400/Africa+Land.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front view of Africa Land</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside view of Africa Land, with tents representing each country</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pedestrians stare at Africa Village as they walk by</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And... You are here !<br />
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Enjoy...<br />
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(Photos courtesy of africa-village.com)</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-57824645507131810882012-07-19T23:10:00.003-04:002012-07-19T23:10:43.786-04:00Edwin Ekiring and Badminton - A Sport of Vectors and Parabolas<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uganda's Edwin Ekiring - Africa's No. 1 ranked badminton player qualifies for his 2nd Olympics.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Since its inception as an Olympic sport in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, only 8 African countries have participated in Badminton at the Olympics and no medal; gold, silver or bronze, has been won by an African. In fact, 69 of the 76 medals won in the sport as of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has been won by an athlete of Asian descent, with China having the most medal counts. But this did not stop Edwin Ekiring, the 28 year old native of Uganda from pursuing his dream to become one of Africa's best badminton players and an Olympic medalist. Well, not quite yet!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now ranked No. 93 in the world according to the Badminton World Federation and also Africa's highest ranked badminton player, Edwin is one out of five Africans who qualified to compete in badminton at the 2012 Olympics. Just like many African boys and girls, Edwin always wanted to be a professional football player, but quickly realized he was too skinny-framed to become a pro. He switched to a surprising sport most Africans would not think about, badminton. And both have never broken up. A true love affair!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Badminton is a sport of vectors and parabolas. A fan favorite at the Olympic games, it is known for its fast paced excitement, chaotic footwork, agility, poise, extraordinary hand-eye coordination and power smashes from the players. The game revolves around each player's ability to move the opponent back and forth with high lofty shots, called lobs or sharply hit, perfectly aimed smashes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Edwin has faced many challenges in his young life and the challenge to win a medal at the Olympics is just one more. Growing up in the capital of Uganda, Kampala, Edwin watched his mother die in a car crash when he was just 10yrs old. He later moved to Germany and then Netherlands, where his career in badminton peaked. But then, in 2009, he had the misfortune of experiencing a second accident, this time, he was hit by a car while cycling home from training. Thirteen weeks passed before he could walk again and the dream of being a badminton professional seemed to have vanished.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In just a few days in London, the world would see Ekiring in steady concentration. Making fast paced reflexes. Making a connection with his racquet and the shuttlecock. Would he go bold, for gold? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Whatever it may be, Edwin Ekiring is a true sports hero, a true African hero! Bonne Chance Edwin !</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recovering from a car accident in 2009, Ekiring is back on top of his game.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrknQQj0GWsiBDE8IXHqRD3WqnVC9L-sTzj3onSIA5Os9qrHHisSQJidUNsTmLfpMeYLN6ZM3o3yklZN1h3HW7AWhLPRprAXKEU2KV6vk2tTN4GUMhCu-1v-VZKz6X3ENy-8ctggkdRlk/s1600/Seeking+qualificaiton+for+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrknQQj0GWsiBDE8IXHqRD3WqnVC9L-sTzj3onSIA5Os9qrHHisSQJidUNsTmLfpMeYLN6ZM3o3yklZN1h3HW7AWhLPRprAXKEU2KV6vk2tTN4GUMhCu-1v-VZKz6X3ENy-8ctggkdRlk/s400/Seeking+qualificaiton+for+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Hardwork rewards the brave! Edwin sweats it out at the Olympic qualifiers. <br />
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Eyes set on gold. Allez !<br />
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(Photos courtesy of Africa Badminton and Radio Netherlands Worldwide)</td></tr>
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Scramble For Goldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05171950727981909977noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-17892237853939211082012-07-18T00:12:00.002-04:002012-07-18T00:12:41.406-04:00The Olympic Flame - A symbol of Peace, Unity and Friendship <br />
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<span style="font-family: ""serif"", "serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cote D'Ivoire's very own Didier Drogba carries the Olympic flame in Swindon, UK (May 23, 2012)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ever wondered why the hype about the Olympic Torch Relay and what the flame really means anyway? I once did too. So here goes our "très bref " history lesson about the Olympic Flame. <br /><br />The Olympic Flame, Torch and Relay draw on a history going back to the ancient Olympic Games in Greece. The Torch and Relay represent important elements of the cultural festivals surrounding the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece, during which a sacred flame burned continually on the altar of the goddess, Hera. Before the Games begin each Olympic year, a very precise ritual for the lighting of the Flame occurs. It is lit from the sun's rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, in a traditional ceremony among the ruins of the home of the ancient Games. After a short relay around Greece, the Flame is handed over to the new Host City at another ceremony in the Panathenaiko stadium in Athens. Once delivered to the Host Country, the torch is transferred from one Torchbearer to another, spreading the message of peace, unity and friendship. It ends its journey as the last Torchbearer lights the cauldron at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in the host country's Olympic Stadium, marking the official start of the Games. The Flame is extinguished on the final day of the Games, at the Closing Ceremony. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Some of Africa's prominent athletes, Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast and Haile Gebrelassie of Ethiopia were part of the Olympic Torch relay this summer.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In Didier's own words "To carrry the Olympic Torch is, I don't know if there are any words to describe it"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: ""serif"", "serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">King of Marathon, Haile Gebrelassie of Ethiopia, holds the torch in South Shields, UK (June 16, 2012)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: ""serif"", "serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">David Beckham lights the Olympic Torch upon its arrival in the UK (May, 18, 2012).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: ""serif"", "serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Will. i. am carries the Olympic Torch in Taunton, UK (May, 21, 2012). </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: ""serif"", "serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> Olympic flame at the temple of Hera in Greece, (May 10,2012).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ""serif"", "serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(Photos courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">)</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780857586835549740.post-4677606516654006422012-07-15T14:19:00.001-04:002012-07-15T14:29:49.863-04:00A Sprinter Rises from Botswana<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUc67bNJN_iDWTu5FyPMjTy1k9AU34TNiZdit_YpxS9PPUYF5v1Vy1lVLdUiAbMqetB97faUjg7wGnMQfBKwQ1rmHgq29sbctkDCOt8X86x-D787fqTB_AWmyrDkVh8kENVK6n7cIc7aq/s1600/Cover+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUc67bNJN_iDWTu5FyPMjTy1k9AU34TNiZdit_YpxS9PPUYF5v1Vy1lVLdUiAbMqetB97faUjg7wGnMQfBKwQ1rmHgq29sbctkDCOt8X86x-D787fqTB_AWmyrDkVh8kENVK6n7cIc7aq/s640/Cover+pic.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amantle Montsho celebrates winning gold in the 400m at the World Championship in Daegu, 2011.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Amantle Montsho, a 28 year old female sprinter from Botswana, is the current world champion in the 400 metres. Her body leaning over, hands on the track, butt up in the air, elbows unlocked. When Montsho settles into the starting blocks on the track, her eyes bursting with desire, all you can see is a champion in quest for gold. Considered one of the fastest women in the world, the Botswana hopeful is a favorite to win gold in the women's 400 metres at the Olympics this summer. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But Montsho's journey from a small town called Maun, located in the North West region of Botswana to the biggest stage in sports, is very different from the other athletes she will be competing against in London. Growing up in Maun, which had only one gymnasium and no track fields, Montsho spent alot of her childhood sprinting back and forth in the family's cattle post. Today, she is the reigning world champion in the 400m and a few days away from making history if she captures Botswana's first ever Olympic medal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Far from home, Montsho has been based at the I.A.A.F training center in Dakar, Senegal since April 2006. Chasing her Olympic dream, she has been living in near isolation in her quest for gold. Her routine is the same 6 days of the week. She eats well, sleeps well and does intense training. A combination of workouts on the beach, in the nearby hills, on an outdoor track, and in the weight room. Her coach, Anthony Koffi, a native of Ivory Coast, is hopeful that all the sweating and grinding will pay off at the games in London. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From a small city in Botswana, Montsho has become an icon in her country. The legacy; a sponsorship deal with Nike, 6 gold medals in other races worldwide, earns prize money through these races including $60,000 for winning the World Championships last summer (which is nearly four times the annual per capita income in Botswana) and finished 8th in the 400m at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Would she win Botswana's first Olympic medal in London this summer? That remains her quest and a nation's hope!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amantle races past Allyson Felix (U.S) to win the World Championships, Daegu 2011</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">In Dakar, walking with other athletes to the training center.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As part of her routine, Amantle sprints along the beach in Dakar 6 days during the week.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Endurance, hurt and pain. Amantle knows what it takes to be a champ!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In her hometown, Maun, a billboard of Amantle Montsho wielding the nation's flag. <br />
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Good luck in London Amantle! Make Botswana proud, make Africa proud !</td></tr>
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(Photos: courtesy of the New York Times and Super Sport)<br />
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