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Did you know…
Nadia Comaneci was a Romanian-born gymnast who won many Olympic medals. For many sportswriters, Nadia is the greatest athlete of all time. In the 1970s and early 80s, she was a member of the Romanian Olympic gymnastics team. When she was 13 years old, Nadia won four gold medals at the 1975 European Championship in Skien, Norway. She defeated Ludmilla Turishcheva (USSR), who won two Olympic and four world titles (1972-1974). Nadia Comaneci was discovered by Bela Karolyi. He said: “I was visiting the kindergarten that day and I saw two little six-year-old girls playing in the courtyard during the recreation period. They were running and jumping around, pretending they were gymnasts.Then the bell rang, and they ran into the school with all other little girls and I lost them. I knew I would never leave that school until I found those two little girls. I went into each class of that kindergarten looking for them. I went through twice without seeing them. The third time around I asked each class, ‘Who loves gymnastics? In each class a few of the little girls would raise their hands. But in one class two of them sprang up and shouted, ‘We do! We do!’ and I had found them. One was Nadia Comaneci. The other one is now a very promising ballerina”.
Said Aouita is a legendary athlete of the Kingdom of Morocco (Africa). He was one of the world’s most famous runners. This Arab sportsperson won a gold medal in the 5000m at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and set several world records in the 1980s (1,500m, 2,000m, 3,000m and 5,000m ). In the 1988 Olympics, he only won a bronze medal in the 800 metres. Said was the favourite to win three Olympic gold medals. In an interview with Michael Janofsky, published February 5, 1989 by the New York Times, he explained: “From the point of view of morale, it was a catastrophe that I lost in Seoul”.
The Pakistani field hockey team has won two Olympic titles: 1960 and 1968. It also won the Field Hockey World Championship four times ( 1971, 1978, 1982, 1994).This country has won the Asian Tournament a record seven times: Tokyo’58, Jakarta’62, Bangkok’70, Tehran’74, Bangkok’78, New Delhi’82 and Beijing’90. In 1979, Pakistan won the World Junior Cup.
Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic champion of 2004, is the best African female athlete in history. She was born on September 16, 1983 in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe (former Rhodesia). Like many Latin American and African sportspeople, she currently lives and trains in the United States. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe is one of the Africa’s poorest countries. She once said, “The USA experience was very useful for me, as I had a scholarship for the University of Auburn and the opportunity to have contact with the best female American swimmers. I could then constantly progress, and from Athens 2004 to be part of the world elite. I advise young swimmers of my continent to do the same in order to fulfil their dreams”.
In 2002, she finished first in the 200m individual medley (2:14.53) at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester (United Kingdom). At the 2004 Olympics in Greece, Kirsty won 3 medals, including 1 gold. Her country did not win any Olympic medal since 1980. It was a surprise for the Olympic movement. This sportsperson also won six medals at the FINA World Championships (2005-2007). In July 2007, Kirsty became the “star” of the 9th African Games. Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry won 10 women’s swimming medals. She said: “I was training very hard in Austin (Texas) with my coach Kim Brackin, but I wanted to represent my country at these Games. In 2003, I couldn’t come and I had failed other continental competitions because of my university studies in Auburn. So, I am very happy to come back to the atmosphere of the African swimming family, eight years after my first participation in the African Games in Johannesburg in 1999”.
Jefferson Leonardo Perez Quezada is a gold medalist who led an Ecuadorian sweep in the 20 kilometer walk at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. This athlete won a gold medal at the 1997 Bolivarian Games in Arequipa, Peru. He is also three-time Pan American medalist who captured the gold in 20 kilometer walk at the 1995, 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games. Furthermore, he won a gold medal at the IAAF World Championship in Osaka (Japan) in 2007. He won two medals at the 1990 and 1992 World Junior Championships. The Latin American track and field star was born on July 1, 1974 in Cuenca, Ecuador (South America).
The Zimbabwean women’s field hockey won a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow (Soviet Union) in 1980. The Olympic champions were: Christine Prinsloo, Sonia Robertson, Anthea Stewart, Helen Volk, Linda Watson, Sarah English, Maureen George, Ann Grant, Susan Hugget, Patricia McKillop, Brenda Phillips, Elizabeth Chase, Sandra Chick, Patricia Davies and Gillian Cowley.
The Brazilian national team won the gold medal in men’s volleyball in the Olympics in 2004. The Brazilian medals winners were: Giovane “Giggio” Gavio, Rodrigo “Rodrigao” Santana, Gilberto “Giba” Godoy Filho, Anderson Rodrigues, Mauricio Lima, Sergio “Escandinha” Dutra Santos, Andre Heller, Nalbert Tavares Bitencourt, Andre Luiz da Silva Nascimento, Dante Guimaraes Amaral, Gustavo Endres and Ricardo “Ricardinho” Rezende.
Top performances:
1997: World Cup-1st place; World Junior Championship-2nd place
1999: Pan American Games-2nd place; World Junior Championship-3rd place; South American Tournament-1st place
2000: Olympic Games-6th place
2001: World League-1st place; South American Tournament-1st place; World Junior Championship-1st place; World Youth Championship-1st place
2002: World Championship-1st place; World League-2nd place
2003: World League-1st place; World Cup-1st place; Pan American Games-3rd place; South American Championship-1st place; World Junior Championship-2nd place; World Youth Championship-1st place
2004: World League-1st place; Olympic Games-1st place
2005: World League-1st place; South American Tournament-1st place; World Junior Championship-2nd place; World Youth Championship-2nd place
2006: World League-1st place ; World Championship-1st place
2007: World League-1st place (it won its seventh title); Pan American Games-1st place; South American Championship-1st place; American Cup-2nd place; World Cup-1st place; World Junior Championship-1st place.
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Source by Alejandro Guevara Onofre
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