Sports Rubbish » Track and Field

Malaysian sports officials angered by pregnant athlete’s pull-out

Jonathan Sacks — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:17:35 +0000

Yuan Yufang, competitor in the 20 kilometer walk, pulled out of December’s Southeast Asian Games after her husband did not.

Her pregnancy has angered Malaysian sports authorities, who feel that their country’s medal chances have been blown.

Karim Ibrahim, deputy president of the Malaysian Amateur Athletic Union said, “She should have informed us earlier so that we could prepare another walker to replace her in the Games. Now it is too late to look for a replacement. We will have a council meeting in Ipoh on November 20 to determine what action to take against her. We are disappointed with her as we will lose a sure gold medal in the women’s 20km walk in the biennial Games.”

Guess she shouldn’t be expecting much of a baby shower from MAAU.

How hard can it be though to find someone who can walk? Having not been to Malaysia, I can’t say for sure that it’s not a nation where 99% of the population is in wheelchairs, but I’m thinking these officials could just look out their window and find a perfectly adequate replacement for the competition.

Malaysia irked by pregnant athlete’s pull-out [Reuters]

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Usain Bolt Sets New World Record In 200m – 19.19 : Video

Jonathan Sacks — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:29:47 +0000

There is no way that Usain Bolt is human. Or if he is, he must have been sent backward in time from some future point where humans have evolved to outrun cheetahs.

Bolt just set yet another world record, this time in the 200 meter final at the World Championships in Berlin, running an amazing 19.19 to blow away the pack.

The rest of the field held some of the fastest human beings on Earth, and somehow Usain Bolt made them look like Tony Siragusa.

It’s incredible what we’re seeing from Usain Bolt right now. Not only is he the fastest man ever, he’s seemingly doing it with such ease that it looked like he was jogging at the end.

Unfortunately, any time anyone puts up numbers or records that just seem too good, there will always be speculation. He’s been tested and there has never been any evidence that he has cheated, but many will anticipate that happening. Let’s hope that day never comes because Usain Bolt is just insane.

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A Follow-Up On Kyle Perry, AKA Mop Guy

Jonathan Sacks — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:37:25 +0000

A couple of years ago, I wrote a brief post about a BYU track star who had been arrested after being involved in a mop fight in the middle of a Provo intersection.

As is usual with these stories, they get posted and we all move on, unless more news comes out and the sporting world revisits the story. It turns out there is indeed a follow-up to post about Kyle Perry, AKA “Mop Guy”.

When news of this altercation first came out, police accounts had Perry taking away a man’s mop and attacking him with it. Subsequently, it was found that the runner was actually just defending himself from the man who was attacking him and he was exonerated.

Following the incident, Perry set out to become known for something else other than mops. In a recent interview with the Deseret News, Perry said, “After that mop thing it all started turning around.”

“I decided I wanted people to remember me for what I accomplished, not for something I didn’t do,” he added.

“My goal was to not be mediocre,” he said. “No more slacking off in practice, no more just getting by. I set really lofty goals, some would call unrealistic.”

In the end, these goals weren’t unrealistic at all. The NCAA track championships were held recently, and Kyle Perry, who was running in just his 7th steeplechase race ever, blew away the field to become your 2009 National Steeplechase Champion.

Congratulations to Kyle, and here’s to him being remembered for positive things as he continues his running career.

Mop guy is now a national champ [Deseret News]
Kyle Perry Steeple 2009 NCAA Track and Field Champs [Flotrack]

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BYU track star is arrested following mop fight

British Long Jumper Jonathan Moore Jumps Naked From Roof Of House

Jonathan Sacks — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:39:00 +0000

In an attempt to qualify for the new event of nude long jumping, British long jumper Jonathan Moore jumped from the roof of a house in South Africa, just 24 hours after finishing 4th in the Yellow Pages Athletics Series meeting in Potchefstroom.

According to Lappies Labuschagne, the owner of the house, Moore was first found outside wearing a tracksuit.

“He didn’t react at all when I spoke to him. I tried English, Afrikaans and Tswana. He just wandered off,” Labuschagne said.

Later on, the long jumper returned, this time having removed the tracksuit. It was at this point that Moore, “who was described as being in a trance-like state, climbed on to the roof of the house in Potchefstroom, spread his arms out and jumped.”

Lucky for him his 6 or 7 meter fall was broken by a Ford pick-up truck. Moore then went and sat naked on a pile of bricks. He was still sitting there when police arrived.

Going out on a limb here (but not jumping naked off of it), it’s safe to say that Jonathan Moore needs some help. You don’t high jump off a roof naked unless you’re on drugs, have a mental issue, or want to risk some serious damage to many parts of your body.

He will be getting that help, as UK Atlhetics will be standing behind him (hopefully not under him).

“Our primary concern is for the welfare of Jonathan and his family at this sensitive time,” said a UK Athletics spokesman.

“UKA will do all they can to provide – or where necessary identify – the appropriate support to help nurse the athlete back to health.”

Failing that, with the 2012 Olympics being in London, they could always just petition to have naked house jumping added to the list of events.

British athlete leaps naked from house roof [TimesOnline]
GB athlete injured in naked jump [BBC]

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BYU track star is arrested following mop fight

Jonathan Sacks — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 05:36:00 +0000

BYU doesn’t exactly have the tough reputation that other schools have. If you are confronted by a Florida State or Miami athlete, you’d better be prepared for a gun battle. BYU, not so much.

Kyle Perry, a track star at Brigham Young, does things a little bit differently. When he got into an altercation with a man who was pushing a bucket with mops in it across the street, Perry grabbed a mop and started hitting the man with it. The man then grabbed a mop himself and the two had a good old fashioned mop fight in the middle of a Provo street.

Source: (Yahoo)
BYU track star mops up pedestrian (Lion in Oil)

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