A Feast of Lycra and not-so Lycra Men/Women in Snow and Ice 1972-2002

Alright, we end our Winter Olympics special with this rough, but brilliant highlighting music video of recent Winter Olympics bar 2006 and 2010, of course. Some really good footage of the earlier Olympics which are hard to find on Youtube. The Sports genre will take a break, but we'll be back to good ol' football and more.

List of Winter Games shown:

1972 -Sapporo, Japan

1976 - Innsbruck, Austria

1980 - Lake Placid, USA

1984 - Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina)

1988 - Calgary, Canada

1992 - Albertville, France

1994 - Lillehammer, Norway

1998 - Nagano, Japan

2002 - Salt Lake City, USA

It's a very good highlights video with small clips of each Games opening ceremonies, and the features the most awe-inspiring and most excelled athletes of the games, so we see the likes on Torvill and Dean for '84, Alberto Tomba for '88 and so on. Also, period music of the time from each Olympics, If you want to know what the songs are, well, I'm horribly bad at naming these earlier ones. I've heard the 1972 one loads of times, I just can't put a name to it?

1972 -???

1976 -???

1980 -???

1984 - Irene Cara - What a Feeling

1988 -Erasure -Give a Little Respect

1992 - Snap - Rhythm Is A Dancer

1994 - Whigfield - Saturday Night

1998 - ???

2002 - James Williams - Call of the Champions

Keep Your Head Down...and Skate!

Speed skating Men 10000M Oslo 1952 Winter Olympic Games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhibkjBkomE

We're doing the rounds from the Winter Olympics again, with something a little different each time. We focus on the 1950s incarnation of Speed Skating at the Oslo, Norway Winter Olympics. Commentary is in Norwegian, but there is plenty to watch in this short clip. Speed Skating, a sport now dominated by lesser countries accustomed to the Winter Olympics like the Netherlands and South Korea and adorned in the latest very tight and aerodynamic lycra, taking place on artificial ice in an indoor arena.

In this clip, it shows a Norwegian (Norge) skater winning 2 races, going on to win the Gold medal in the 1000m event. The losing skater who unuckily slides off track is, hard to tell, telling from the flag in black and white, could be German. What we see here is a form of long track speed skating.

Speed Skating has been part of the Winter Olympics from the start, from the inaugural 1924 Games held in Chamonix, France. The roots of the sport go back a few centuries but official races were first set up in the 19th century in Norway. The race and movements for this sport are rather complex. The most notable movement is the "Double Push" which is trying to skate as a straight as possible by pushing alternatively on each side, giving a swaying effect, with the head down, and the arms or arm carrying the momentum in its swing. The skaters also sometimes just skate, but not really sprinting, where the their hands are behind their back. This does looks rather laid back, but probably to conserve energy for the corners and final dash at the end. The races in long-track speed skating are usually fought between two competitors, and after 400 metres, they swap lanes in a straight run section of the ice rink.

The differences between now and the clip are massive. Skates were firmly fixed to the shoes, while in the 1990's what's called a "Clap Skate" was invented, which would detach from one side of the shoe, when lifted off the ground. No more woolly hats, but athletes are now consumed by lycra and now wear goggles too.

Norway dominated the 1952 event with 3 Gold medals in 3 of the 4 various length events, including 2 Bronze medals to go with that. This was in great thanks to Hjalmar Andersen, as seen in the Youtube clip.

Norway went to claim top spot in the overall medal tables with 7 golds and 16 medals in total, with the United States and Finland in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time! COOL RUNNI...Did they Actually Say That Though?

Jamaica Olympic Bobsled team 1988



We now enter Bobsleigh territory in our Winter Olympics season, once again from the Calgary 1988 games. Yes, it's the first ever Jamaican bobsleigh team, a tropical country with no snow/ice whatsoever, that became famed for their glorious failure (which could've turned to tragedy, mind you) which embodied the spirit of "The taking part" under the Olympic banner, not just winning that counts. Of course, the event would be even more well-known after the based 1993 film "Cool Runnings" starring one of my favourite North American actors, Canadian comedy actor John Candy. Anyway, this is perhaps a good time to seperate fact from fiction..later on.

The sport of Bobsleigh (made a winter sport in 1924) is a trecherous, horrendously fast slide down narrow ice chutes that turn and slope, reaching possible speeds of 118 mph. There are 3 divisions of Bobsleigh in the Winter Olympics, the 4-man bob, 2-man bob and 2-woman bob.

First of all, it's annoying to find out, the Jamaican bobsleigh team were not setting the standard before they crashed. No world record pace here. They did though impress, with some fast starts. However, real footage was of the crash was shown on the film "Cool Runnings". The Bobsleigh goes to one side, and one or the men could've broke their neck as the their helmets are hitting the ice as it continues to slide around 2 more turns pretty fast! But they were lucky.

The four men were not accurately portrayed in the film, but they were sprinters, just not Olympic-standard ones, but from the army. However, the idea of a Jamaican Bobsleigh team was inspired by pushcart racers, from which the American backers of a Jamaican team saw. The names of the real Jamaican Bobsleigh team were Devon Harris, Dudley Stokes, Michael White and Samuel Clayton. They had a team of coaches, not just one coach. John Candy's Irving 'Irv' Blitzer was a fictional character, and there was no connection to any cheating scandal, and there was no hot rivalries from other countries. Everyone wanted to see the Jamaicans do well.

They didn't carry the Bobsleigh to the finish line like you see in the clip. Would be too heavy I guess. Instead it slid to the finish line, with the men walking along. But what about some of the catchphrases of the film like "Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time! Cool Runnings!" they guys' chant as they begin to dash with the Bobsleigh? What about one of the characters who kissed a lucky egg? Did they sing "Jamaica have a Bobsleigh Team!"? Still unanswered questions, but I think it's likely to be from the film only!

Sabotaged American Figure Skater Returns with a Flourish at Lillehammer

Nancy Kerrigan - 1994 Olympics LP



On to ice skating now, in our Winter Olympics section, as the present 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics rumbles on. Although she never won Gold medal, the American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is considered one of the greatest never to have won the Gold. Only a month before, Nancy Kerrigan was purposely smacked by a combustilble baton on the knee, which was disturbingly planned out by Figure skating American rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, and her bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt. They ordered a man by the name of Shane Stant, to make the hit on Kerrigan. Harding was not completely guilty and actively tried to cover up the plot. In cruel fashion, Harding won the US Championships while Kerrigan was out of action.

A media frenzy ensues and a court case was taken out against Harding on February 1st, 1994, where she pleaded guilty, but still maintained her innocence, in perhaps a selfish attempt to not receive a jail sentance. Controversially, Tonya Harding was still allowed to participate in the Lillehammer 1994 Olympics, however her career floundered thereafter, and was then banned from figure skating for life, after these events. Harding finished 8th while Kerrigan, not quite the fairytale, but ended in second place for the silver medal, with one of her greatest performances on the ice. Kerrigan was lucky to have recovered from the incident in time for the Winter Olympics.

More off-topic, what was odd about the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics in Norway, was it only came 2 years after the previous 1992 Olympics in Alberville. This was to stop both the Winter and Summer Olympics clashing in the same. They would never of course clash directly, but the thought was, with the close proximity of the looming Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympics, not quite the ratings-winner as the Summer ones, was felt to be overshadowed by it.

The Best Skier of All-Time?

ALBERTO TOMBA



Continuing our special focus on the past Winter Olympics from the 20th Century, it was only a matter of time, before we turned to quite simply, the most premier of the Winter and Alpine sports which is skiing. Now Skiing is broken up in different styles of event, featured in this short clip, is one of the most powerful and impressive skiers of all time, Italian Alberto Tomba, at the ultimate peak of his career, winning the gold medal for the Giant Slalom event, and the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Although the commentary is in Italian, that is only second fiddle to the visual aspect of "Tomba la Bomba", mastering the course with great skill in this nice, short clip.

Alberto Tombo, from Castel de Britti, near Bologna won 2 gold medals at the Calgary Olympics for both the "Slalom" and the "Giant Slalom", following a decent Bronze from the 1987 World Championships. He later won another gold medal for the Giant Slalom event and a silver at the regular Slalom, at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics. His career declined after this year, and only just managed to win a silver for the Slalom at the 1994 Lillehammer event. He peaked once again 1995, with an impressive winning streak and won the World Cup title for the Giant Slalom. Afer a dismal performance at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, including a non-finish (crashing), he hanged up his boots for retirement.

Although it's pretty much the same aspect as Skiing down a hill, there is some difference between the Alpine sports of Downhill, Slalom, Giant Slalom and Mogul Skiing.

Downhill is one of the faster disciplines, starting from the mountain top or "piste", and make your way through the "Gates", which are the gaps between 2 level flags on a flexible pole-like thingy. The ski lengths are larger, hosting more exhilarating speeds than "Slalom".

Slalom is means to zigzag between obstacles. The course is much like Downhill, but the gates are more plentiful and smaller gaps between the gates, so the turns are more trickier. Men's Slalom has more gates than women's skiing.

Giant Slalom is simply the same as Slalom, but the gaps between gates are slightly larger. There is also "Super-G Slalom"...well, that's easy to find out for yourself!

Mogul Skiing is a mix of freestyle and downhill, but this is nowhere near as fast as Downhill. The skiers perform 2 jumps in the battle for points, which involves aerial skills and acrobatics. They then land of very bumpy terrain, and the important factors are not only speed, but keeping your balance.

East vs. West on Ice

1960 Winter Olympics USA vs. USSR



In 1960, many people around the world, feared the nuclear arms race between the 2 superpowers the USA and the USSR would likely culiminate into the war that would end all wars, before being nuked into oblivion. Thankfully the only contest fought between the 2 were taken place on an Ice Hockey rink. Taking place before "The Cold War" really peaked, with the rise of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and the "Cuban Missile Crisis" in 1962, here we witness the sporting rivalry between the 2 nations, that expanded into a fight for the most gold-winning nation of the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley in California.

In this match, the USA defeat the Soviet Union 3-2. Compared to other games played in this tournament, this was a pretty low-scoring game. The USA won all their games from group qualifiers to the final five group to claim the gold medal. They defeated the likes of other giants of the game such as, Canada, Czechoslovakia and Sweden. Canada eventually claimed silver, and USSR claimed bronze, winning both preliminary games, but only winning 2 games in the final five, including one tie game.

Looking at the bigger picture, the roles are reversed, and it was the Soviet Union that came out on tops in the overall medal league with seven gold medals, 3 over the second placed Germany, while the USA lie in third place with 3 gold medals.

All the Best Eddie!

Calgary 1988 Opening Ceremony Highlights



If you have recently enjoyed the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, then why not compare and contrast with the last Winter Olympics in Canada? Also situated in the west of the country, Calgary welcomes the world to all favourite quad-annually portions of Downhill Skiing, the Ski Jump, Slalom, Bobsleigh, Speed Skating, Ice Skating, Biathlon, the Luge and Curling. I'm sure I've missed a few others.

We're sure they have full explainations, but the Opening Ceremony highlights consist of dancing dinosaurs breaking out of eggs, Canadian cowboy drum/percussion bands, celebrating the heritage of the state, you know, some more cowboys, Native Indians and not forgetting lasso artists. Balloons of every colour rage into the sky. You can tell by now, compared to recent Opening Ceremonys, are alot more linear, less artistic in production, but dammit when you think about, these tough sports don't really need fluff around the ears to advertise them really.

12 year old figure skater Robyn Perry, lights the Olympic flame. Of course, she did not compete in the actual competition.

Held in Calgary, Alberta the 15th Winter Olympics was held at McMahon stadium. The stadium wasn't built exclusively for the Olympics, as it has been a Canadian Football stadium. Canadian Football is somewhat similar to American Football -they cheat with their hands- but has a larger playing field and a different number of men in a team.

These are highlights of the Opening Ceremony, however also on Youtube, some wonderful person indeed, has uploaded it, in it's full entirety, 33 parts infact. Now I only want to whet your appetite, because I will posting quite a bit more about more Winter Olympics videos in the days and weeks to come.

This is an highlights clip of the opening ceremony, which is not as impressive as Canada's recent effort, but still here for archives sake. The 1988 Olympics contained some amazing achievements, not forgetting the fact, that the host country failed to win a gold medal. However, us Brits think about the tail-end, or the bottom rung of the talent in this edition, our Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, Britain's best ski-jumper at the time, and the celebrated but unlucky Jamaican Bobsleigh team.

Youtube Sports Sweepstake

The umpteenth edition of the Sweepstake series, this time for sport.

Gary Newbon & Jimmy Greaves Football argument Central TV 1983



Let's start off with a lesser-known gem. An argument ensues over whether injustice is being served in Football, when it comes to there being no TV evidence or replay, that a referee and double check with, in certain events in a football match, because even with the ref and linesman monitoring, they still can't see everything, as the view may be obscured by a crowded penalty box.

Gary Newbon in this argument, supports a call for TV evidence, while Greaves is against, as the coverage could be prone to edit and interference. Greaves also attacks Newbon's personal favourite team Birmingham City, in a heated moment. The youtube user claims their friendship was ended after this. Can anybody clarify this? Comment if you know, folks!

Torvill & Dean - 1984 Olympics - Bolero - HQ



Historic moment for Britain at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Probably our most celebrated Gold Medal at the Winter Games. Now 25 years ago, Jean Torvill and Christopher Dean achieved an all-perfect score in Sarajevo. 12 sets of 6.0 for Maurice Ravel's "Bolero"! Never been achieved before or since. The couple won a bronze at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, and can now be seen on celebrity talent show "Dancing On Ice" on ITV, on round about February every year, and they are the mentors.

Did Torvill and Dean ever get it together. Rumours were rife, at the time afterwards, and the answer was simply no., although many wanted to believe it. The 2 managed on a business only basis, but it is a true friendship. Dean married French Canadian World Ice Dance Champion Isabelle Duchesnay in 1991, but divorced in 1993. He then went on to marry second wife, US skater Jill Trenary, in 1994. Torvill has been happily married to Phil Christensen, since 1990.

BBC Grandstand April 1990



This clip is a brilliant flashback to an age before the Premiership, the ridiculously high wages and the multi-million foreign chairmen that make teams into overnight sensations. The now elusive Bob Wilson presents the league standings at the end of Saturday matchday. Spot the teams that are now Premiership regulars like Bolton Wanderers, in the lower divisions, and the others in their former glories like Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday and Wimbledon.

Not to mention the great instrumental track from Bruce Hornsby and the Range's "That's Just the Way It is".