[PRCo] Re: Wanted To Share This With You

[Herb Brannon]

Thanks Dwight for the information.
John,
Many of the additional benefits of watching these Olympic Games are the
excellent views of different areas of London. It's a great city. I was
there once and would very much like to go again. NBC's Today Show does a
good job of showing different areas of London and explaining some of the
differences between US and UK lifestyles. For me the men's and women's
swimming events, the volleyball, running events, and rowing events have
proved the most exciting. The US has a new generation of excellent men and
women athletes making their mark on these games. You mentioned an
Australian runner with no legs, I'm thinking perhaps you meant Oscar
Pistorius from South Africa. The original International Association of
Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruling, four years ago, is quoted here:

""A study for the IAAF by Peter Bruggeman, at the German Sport University
in Cologne, compared Mr. Pistorius with five able-bodied athletes of
similar ability.

"Pistorius was able to run with his prosthetic blades at the same speed as
the able-bodied sprinters with about 25 per cent less energy expenditure,"
the report concluded. It said that the returned energy from the prosthetic
blades was close to three times higher than that of the ankle joint.

"It is evident that an athlete using the Cheetah prosthetic is able to run
at the same speed as able-bodied athletes with lower energy consumption,"
the report added.

The findings have been unanimously endorsed by the IAAF ruling council,
which decreed that Mr. Pistorius should not be allowed to run in Beijing or
in any other meeting sanctioned by the world governing body.""

This year that ruling was reversed and he is now allowed to run and, of
course, won his qualification. I'm a bit skeptical about substituting
titanium for flesh and bone. We'll have to see how this plays out.

The Opening Ceremony was definitely "all British" and the part Queen
Elizabeth played in it was excellent. So, like I said before, take a
look...........it's on the telly all day, every day.





-- 
Herb Brannon
In Cuyahoga Valley National Park