1.
Czech language
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Czech, historically also Bohemian, is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group. It is spoken by over 10 million people and is the language of the Czech Republic. Czech is closely related to Slovak, to the point of being intelligible to a very high degree. In the later 18th to mid-19th century, the written standard was codified in the context of the Czech National Revival. The main vernacular, known as Common Czech, is based on the vernacular of Prague, the Moravian dialects spoken in the eastern part of the country are mostly also counted as Czech, although some of their eastern variants are closer to Slovak. The Czech phoneme inventory is moderate in size, comprising five vowels, words may contain uncommon consonant clusters, including one consonant represented by the grapheme ř, or lack vowels altogether. Czech orthography is simple, and has used as a model by phonologists. Czech is classified as a member of the West Slavic sub-branch of the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family and this branch includes Polish, Kashubian, Upper and Lower Sorbian and Slovak. Slovak is by far the closest genetic neighbor of Czech, the West Slavic languages are spoken in an area classified as part of Central Europe. Around the 7th century, the Slavic expansion reached Central Europe, the West Slavic polity of Great Moravia formed by the 9th century. The Christianization of Bohemia took place during the 9th and 10th centuries, the Bohemian language is first recorded in writing in glosses and short notes during the 12th to 13th centuries. Literary works written in Czech appear in the early 14th century, the first complete Bible translation also dates to this period. Old Czech texts, including poetry and cookbooks, were produced outside the university as well, literary activity becomes widespread in the early 15th century in the context of the Bohemian Reformation. There was no standardization distinguishing between Czech and Slovak prior to the 15th century, the publication of the Kralice Bible between 1579 and 1593 became very important for standardization of the Czech language in the following centuries. In 1615, the Bohemian diet tried to declare Czech to be the official language of the kingdom. After the Bohemian Revolt which was defeated by the Habsburgs in 1620 and this emigration together with other consequences of the Thirty Years War had a negative impact on the further use of the Czech language. In 1627, Czech and German became official languages of the Kingdom of Bohemia and in the 18th century German became dominant in Bohemia and Moravia, the modern standard Czech language originates in standardization efforts of the 18th century. Changes include the shift of í to ej and é to í and the merging of í
2.
Women's World Games
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The Womens World Games were the first international womens sports events in track and field. The games were four times between 1922 and 1934. They were established by Alice Milliat and the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale to compensate for the lack of sports at the Olympic Games. The games were an important step towards equality in sports. A forerunner tournament was held in Monte Carlo in March 1921, women were allowed to take part in the Olympic games since 1900. In 1919 Milliat started discussions with the International Olympic Committee and the IAAF to also include womens track, on refusal Milliat organised a first competition in 1921 called the Womens Olympiad in Monte Carlo, further editions were held in 1922 and 1923. A European version of the games was hosted in 1931 in Florence and was known as the Olimpiadi della Grazia. In response to the refusal of the IAAF to include events in the 1924 Olympic Games the FSFI also organized the first Womens Olympic Games in Paris in 1922. The IOC objected to the FSFI using the word Olympic in the title of its events, after negotiations the IOC and the IAAF therefore agreed to include 10 athletic events in the 1928 Olympic Games and in exchange Milliat altered the title to Womens World Games. They finally included only 5 events and only as an experiment, the FSFI did not find this satisfactory and organised the third Womens World Games in Prague in 1930 and the fourth games in London in 1934. The FSFI ceased operations in 1938 without ever accepting or rejecting the IAAFs decisions, four regular events were held, a planned 5th was cancelled as women participated in the 1938 European Athletics Championships
3.
Generali Arena
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The Generali Arena is a football stadium in Prague. It is the venue of Sparta Prague and often the home stadium of the Czech Republic national football team. It has capacity for 19,416 people, the first wooden stadium at its location opened in 1921, in 1930 it hosted the third Womens World Games. The stadium burned in 1934 and a new reinforced concrete grandstand was built in 1937. In 1969 all the other grandstands were replaced by reinforced concrete ones, the 1994 reconstruction into its present form saw Letná closed for nine months, till the stadium met all international standards. The running track was removed and all places were now seated. Letná has frequently hosted international matches, in October 1989 the venue saw a crowd of 34,000 watch home side Czechoslovakia defeat Switzerland in a match for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The playing surface was renovated in 2001, including the installation of a new heating and watering system. This necessitated Sparta playing league matches at the end of the 2000–01 season at the nearby Stadion Evžena Rošického and it was, at the time, the biggest fine ever handed out by UEFA to a club for racist chanting. During the Velvet revolution in 1989 there were some 800,000 people assembled here for various anti-government demonstrations, the stadium is served by the tram stop Sparta, called at by services 1,8,12,25 and 26. The nearest metro stations are Hradčanská to the west and Vltavská to the east, Generali Arena at the official AC Sparta Prague website Photo gallery and data at Erlebnis-stadion. de
4.
Prague
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Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is the 14th largest city in the European Union and it is also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city has a temperate climate, with warm summers and chilly winters. Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its history and it was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prague is home to a number of cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence. Main attractions include the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The city has more than ten major museums, along with theatres, galleries, cinemas. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city, also, it is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an Alpha- global city according to GaWC studies, Prague ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city more than 6.4 million international visitors annually. Prague is the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Istanbul, the region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes, around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map of Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis. In the following century, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in Levý Hradec, Butovice and in the Šárka valley. The construction of what came to be known as the Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, the first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which was founded in 1344, but completed in the 20th century. The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied, I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars. She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c.1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. The region became the seat of the dukes, and later kings of Bohemia, under Roman Emperor Otto II the area became a bishopric in 973
5.
Alice Milliat
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Alice Milliat was a pioneer of womens sport in France and around the world. Her lobbying on behalf of female athletes forced the inclusion of events in the Olympic Games. Milliat, a translator by profession participated in the sport of rowing and she was also an avid swimmer and hockey player. A member of Femina Sport, a club founded in 1911, she helped form the Federation Francaise Sportive Feminine in 1917, in 1921 she organized the first international womens sporting event in Monte Carlo. She is credited with igniting the pressure on the Olympic Games to allow more female representation in a range of sports. Her name is engraved on the pediment of a gymnasium in the 14th arrondisement in Paris, baron Pierre de Coubertin, a prominent Frenchman, is credited with reviving the Olympic Games and founding the IOC in 1894. 1900 was the first Olympics to allow women athletes, but only in the sports of golf, eventually, the Olympics integrated womens swimming and other events into the games. However, track and field events for women remained conspicuously absent from the Olympics In 1919, Milliat asked the IAAF to include womens track, on 31 October 1921, Milliat formed La Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale to oversee international womens sporting events. The FSFI decided to hold a Womens Olympic Games, which would include all sports, the first informal iteration of the games occurred in 1921 Monte Carlo, and due to the lack of a running track, took place on a pigeon shooting field. In 1922, the experiment was revived, again in Monte Carlo, eleven athletics events were conducted and the 20,000 strong crowd saw eighteen athletes break world records. Infuriated by the use of the term Olympic Games the IOC convinced Milliat and the FSFI to change the name of their event in exchange for adding 10 womens events to the 1928 Olympics. Ten teams took part in this edition of the Games. The Olympic Games and de Coubertin, due to pressure from the FSFI, eventually integrated five womens track, however, to Milliat, this was not enough, since men were allowed to compete in 22 events. The British womens team boycotted the Amsterdam games for the same reason, two further Games were held in Prague in 1930 and in London in 1934. After these games, Milliat issued an ultimatum, fully integrate the 1936 Olympics, to this day, the Olympics does not offer an equal slate of mens and womens sports. However, Milliats pressure greatly expanded womens representation at the Olympics, in a 1934 interview, Milliat said, Womens sports of all kinds are handicapped in my country by the lack of playing space. As we have no vote, we can not make our needs publicly felt, I always tell my girls that the vote is one of the things they will have to work for if France is to keep its place with the other nations in the realm of feminine sport. Milliat was once married for four years and was then widowed, in 1934 Milliat spoke to an interviewer from the Womens Magazine Independent Woman. In her statement, she advocated for suffrage in France
6.
International Olympic Committee
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The International Olympic Committee is the supreme authority of the worldwide Olympic movement. It is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Lausanne and its mission is enshrined in the Olympic Charter, to support the development of competitive sport by ethical and environmentally sustainable means. The IOC was created by Pierre de Coubertin, on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president, today its membership consists of 100 active members,32 honorary members, and 1 honour member. The IOC is the authority of the worldwide modern Olympic movement. The IOC organises the modern Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, held in summer and winter, the first Summer Olympics organised by the IOC was held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, the first Winter Olympics was in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year, the first Summer Youth Olympics were in Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 2012. In 2009, the UN General Assembly granted the IOC Permanent Observer status and this decision enables the IOC to be directly involved in the UN Agenda and to attend UN General Assembly meetings where it can take the floor. This has provided the possibility to promote sport at a new level, during each proclamation at the Olympics, announcers speak in different languages, French is always spoken first followed by an English translation and the dominant language of the host nation. The stated mission of the International Olympic Committee is to promote Olympic throughout the world and it is the IOC’s supreme organ and its decisions are final. Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the President or upon the written request of at least one third of the members, among others, the powers of the Session are, To adopt or amend the Olympic Charter. To elect the members of the IOC, the Honorary President, to elect the President, the Vice-Presidents and all other members of the IOC Executive Board. To elect the host city of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Laurel is awarded to individuals for promoting education, culture, development, and peace through sport. For most of its existence, the IOC was controlled by members who were selected by other members, countries that had hosted the Games were allowed two members. When named, they did not become the representatives of their countries to the IOC. The membership of IOC members ceases in the circumstances, Resignation. Non re-election, any IOC member ceases to be a member without further formality if they are not re-elected, age limit, any IOC member ceases to be a member at the end of the calendar year during which they reach the age of 80. Failure to attend Sessions or take part in IOC work for two consecutive years. Transfer of domicile or of main center of interests to an other than the country which was theirs at the time of their election
7.
60 metres
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60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is an event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a distance, at least for senior athletes. The 60 metres was an Olympic event in the 1900 and 1904 Summer Games but was removed from the schedule thereafter. American Maurice Greene currently holds the world record in the 60 metres with a time of 6.39. In the past, it was common for athletes to compete in the 60 yards race and this is not part of the lineage of the 60 metres, but is the predecessor of the 55 metres race. Indoor results only A = affected by altitude Correct as of March 2017, andre Cason also ran 6.45,6.46. Ronnie Baker also ran 6.46,6.47, + = en route to 100m mark Correct as of February 2017. Merlene Ottey also ran 6.97,6.99, gail Devers also ran 6.98,6.99. + = en route to 100m mark Note, The original winner in 1987 was Ben Johnson, notes, A Known as the World Indoor Games The original silver medal winner in 1987 was Angella Issajenko, who was disqualified in 1989 after admitting long term drug use. The original winner in 2003 was Zhanna Block, who was stripped of the title in 2011, All-time mens best 60 metres from alltime-athletics. com All-time womens best 60 metres from alltime-athletics. com
8.
Relay race
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During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of races and amateur games. In the Olympic games, there are types of relay races that are part of track. A swimming relay of four swimmers usually follows this strategy, second-fastest, third-fastest, slowest, then fastest. However, it is not uncommon to see either the slowest swimmer racing in the second slot, besides, many swimmers perform better in a relay than in an individual race owing to a team spirit atmosphere. As a result, relay times are typically 2–3 seconds faster than the sum of best times of individual swimmers, the three standard relays raced at the Olympics are the 4 ×100 m freestyle relay,4 ×200 m freestyle relay and 4 ×100 m medley relay. In athletics, the two standard relays are the 4 ×100 metres relay and the 4 ×400 metres relay. Traditionally, the 4 ×400 m relay finals are the last event of a track meet and it is hard to measure exact splits in a 4 ×400 relay. A4 ×400 relay generally starts in lanes for the first leg, a race organizer then puts the third leg runners into a line depending on the order in which they are running. The faster teams pass first, while the teams have to slide in to the inside lanes as they come available. 4 ×200,4 ×800, and 4 ×1600 relays exist as well, but they are rarer, especially at the school level. Each runner must hand off the baton to the next runner within a certain zone, usually marked by triangles on the track. In sprint relays, runners typically use a blind handoff, where the second stands on a spot predetermined in practice. The second runner opens their hand behind them after a few strides, by time the first runner should be caught up. Usually a runner will give a signal, such as Stick. Repeated several times, for the recipient of the baton to put out his hand, in middle-distance relays or longer, runners begin by jogging while looking back at the incoming runner and holding out a hand for the baton. Although some teams use second-fastest, slowest, third-fastest, then the fastest, but if a runner is better in the starting blocks than the others, he is sometimes moved to the first spot because it is the only spot that uses starting blocks. It is credited with popularizing relay racing in the sport of track & field, the worlds longest relay race is Japans Prince Takamatsu Cup Nishinippon Round-Kyūshū Ekiden, which begins in Nagasaki and continues for 1,064 kilometres
9.
Hurdling
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Hurdling is the act of running and jumping over an obstacle at speed. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle, after experimenting with different step patterns the 3-step for high hurdles, 7-step for low hurdles, and 15-step for intermediate hurdles was decided on. In the sport of athletics, hurdling forms the basis of a number track, in these events, a series of barriers known as hurdles are set at precisely measured heights and distances which each athlete must pass by running over. Failure to pass over, by passing under, or intentionally knocking over hurdles will result in disqualification, accidental knocking over of hurdles is not cause for disqualification, but the hurdles are weighted to make doing so disadvantageous. Hurdle design improvements were made in 1935, when they developed the L-shaped hurdle, with this shape, the athlete could hit the hurdle and it will tip down, clearing the athletes path. The two shorter distances take place on the straight of a track, while the 400 m version covers one whole lap of a standard oval track. Events over shorter distances are commonly held at indoor track and field events. Women historically competed in the 80 meters hurdles at the Olympics in the mid-20th century, hurdles race are also part of combined events contests, including the decathlon and heptathlon. In track races, hurdles are normally between 68–107 cm in height, and vary depending on the age and gender of the hurdler, events from 50 to 110 meters are technically known as high hurdles races, while longer competitions are low hurdles races. The track hurdles events are forms of sprinting competitions, although the 400 m version is less anaerobic in nature, a hurdling technique can also be found in the steeplechase, although in this event athletes are also permitted to step on the barrier to clear it. Similarly, in cross country running athletes may hurdle over various natural obstacles, such as logs, mounds of earth, horse racing has its own variant of hurdle racing, with similar principles. The standard sprint or short hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women, the standard amount of steps to the first hurdle should be 8. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for men and women. Each of these races is run over ten hurdles and they are all Olympic events, the mens 200 meters low hurdles event was on the Olympic athletics programme for the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics. These low hurdles events were widely participated in the part of the 20th century. However, beyond these two Olympic outings, they never gained a consistent place at international competitions and became increasing rare after the 1960s and this 10-hurdle race continues to be run in places such as Norway. Other distances are run, particularly indoors but occasionally outdoors, the sprint hurdle race indoors is usually 60 meters for both men and women, although races 55 meters or 50 meters long are sometimes run, especially in the United States. A60 meter indoor race is run over 5 hurdles, a shorter race may occasionally have only 4 hurdles
10.
High jump
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The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern most practised format, a bar is placed between two standards with a mat for landing. In the modern era, athletes run towards the bar and use the Fosbury Flop method of jumping, leaping head first with their back to the bar, performed since ancient times, competitors have introduced increasingly more effective techniques to arrive at the current form. The discipline is, alongside the pole vault, one of two vertical clearance events to feature on the Olympic athletics programme and it is contested at the World Championships in Athletics and IAAF World Indoor Championships, and is a common occurrence at track and field meetings. The high jump was among the first events deemed acceptable for women, Javier Sotomayor is the current mens record holder with a jump of 2.45 m set in 1993 – the longest standing record in the history of the mens high jump. Stefka Kostadinova has held the world record at 2.09 m since 1987. The rules for the jump are set internationally by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Jumpers must take off on one foot, a jump is considered a failure if the bar is dislodged by the action of the jumper whilst jumping or the jumper touches the ground or breaks the plane of the near edge of the bar before clearance. The technique one uses for the jump must be almost flawless in order to have a chance of clearing a high bar, competitors may begin jumping at any height announced by the chief judge, or may pass, at their own discretion. Three consecutive missed jumps, at any height or combination of heights, the victory goes to the jumper who clears the greatest height during the final. If two or more tie for first place, the tie-breakers are, 1) The fewest misses at the height at which the tie occurred. If the event remains tied for first place, the jumpers have a jump-off, the bar is then alternately lowered and raised until only one jumper succeeds at a given height. The first recorded high jump event took place in Scotland in the 19th century, early jumpers used either an elaborate straight-on approach or a scissors technique. In the later years, the bar was approached diagonally, around the turn of the 20th century, techniques began to modernise, starting with the Irish-American Michael Sweeneys Eastern cut-off. By taking off like the scissors, but extending his back and flattening out over the bar, Sweeney achieved a more economic clearance, another American, George Horine, developed an even more efficient technique, the Western roll. In this style, the bar again is approached on a diagonal, Horine increased the world standard to 2.01 m in 1912. His technique was predominant through the Berlin Olympics of 1936, in which the event was won by Cornelius Johnson at 2.03 m, American and Soviet jumpers held the playing field for the next four decades, and they pioneered the evolution of the straddle technique. Straddle jumpers took off as in the Western roll, but rotated their torso around the bar, straddle-jumper Charles Dumas was the first to clear 7 feet, in 1956, and American John Thomas pushed the world mark to 2.23 m in 1960
11.
Long jump
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The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point. Along with the jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a group are referred to as the horizontal jumps. This event has a history in the Ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympic event for men since the first Olympics in 1896 and for women since 1948. If the competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot past the foul line, a layer of plasticine is placed immediately after the board to detect this occurrence. An official will also watch the jump and make the determination, therefore, it is in the best interest of the competitor to get as close to the foul line as possible. Competitors are allowed to place two marks along the side of the runway in order to assist them to jump accurately. At a lesser meet and facilities, the plasticine will likely not exist, at a smaller meet, the number of attempts might also be limited to four or three. Each competitor has a set number of attempts and that would normally be three trials, with three additional jumps being awarded to the best 8 or 9 competitors. All legal marks will be recorded but only the longest legal jump counts towards the results, the competitor with the longest legal jump at the end of competition is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, then comparing the next best jumps of the tied competitors will be used to determine place. In a large, multi-day elite competition, a set number of competitors will advance to the final round, a set of 3 trial round jumps will be held in order to select those finalists. For record purposes, the maximum accepted wind assistance is two metres per second, the long jump is the only known jumping event of Ancient Greeces original Olympics pentathlon events. All events that occurred at the Olympic Games were initially supposed to act as a form of training for warfare, the long jump emerged probably because it mirrored the crossing of obstacles such as streams and ravines. After investigating the surviving depictions of the ancient event it is believed that unlike the modern event, the athletes carried a weight in each hand, which were called halteres. These weights were swung forward as the athlete jumped in order to increase momentum and it is commonly believed that the jumper would throw the weights behind him in midair to increase his forward momentum, however, halteres were held throughout the duration of the jump. Swinging them down and back at the end of the jump would change the center of gravity and allow the athlete to stretch his legs outward. The jump itself was made from the bater and it was most likely a simple board placed on the stadium track which was removed after the event. The jumpers would land in what was called a skamma, the idea that this was a pit full of sand is wrong
12.
Discus throw
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The discus throw is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-B. C, although not part of the modern pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least to 708 BC. Discus is a part of most modern track-and-field meets at all levels and is a sport which is particularly iconic of the Olympic Games. The mens competition has been a part of the modern Summer Olympic Games since the first Olympiad in 1896. Images of discus throwers figured prominently in advertising for early modern Games, such as fundraising stamps for the 1896 games, the discus was re-discovered in Magdeburg, Germany, by Christian Georg Kohlrausch and his students in the 1870s. His work around the discus and the throwing techniques have been published since the 1880. The first modern athlete to throw the discus while rotating the body was František Janda-Suk from Bohemia. He invented this technique when studying the position of the statue of Discobolus. After only one year of developing the technique he gained the silver in 1900. The womens competition was added to the Olympic program in the 1928 games, the mens discus is a heavy lenticular disc with a weight of 2 kilograms and diameter of 22 centimetres, the womens discus has a weight of 1 kilogram and diameter of 18 centimetres. Under IAAF rules, Youth boys throw the 1.5 kilograms discus, the Junior men throw the unique 1.75 kilograms discus, in international competition, men throw the 2 kg discus through to age 49. The 1.5 kilograms discus is thrown by ages 50–59, women throw the 1 kilogram discus through to age 74. Starting with age 75, women throw the 0.75 kilograms discus, the typical discus has sides made of plastic, wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber or metal with a metal rim and a metal core to attain the weight. The rim must be smooth, with no roughness or finger holds, a discus with more weight in the rim produces greater angular momentum for any given spin rate, and thus more stability, although it is more difficult to throw. However, a higher rim weight, if thrown correctly, can lead to a farther throw, a solid rubber discus is sometimes used. To make a throw, the starts in a circle of 2.5 m diameter. The thrower typically takes an initial stance facing away from the direction of the throw and he then spins anticlockwise around one and a half times through the circle to build momentum, then releases his throw. The discus must land within a 34. 92-degree sector, the distance from the front edge of the circle to where the discus has landed is measured, and distances are rounded down to the nearest centimetre
13.
Javelin
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A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the bow and arrow and slingshot, however, hurling devices do exist to assist the javelin thrower in achieving greater distance. The Roman javelin is called a pilum, the word javelin comes from Middle English and it derives from Old French javelin, a diminutive of javelot, which meant spear. The word javelot probably originated from one of the Celtic languages, there is archaeological evidence that javelins and throwing sticks were already in use by the last phase of the lower Paleolithic. Seven spear-like objects were found in a mine in the city of Schöningen. Stratigraphic dating indicates that the weapons are about 400,000 years old, the excavated items were made of spruce trunk and were between 1.83 and 2.25 metres long. They were manufactured with the thickness and weight situated at the front end of the wooden shaft. The frontal centre of gravity suggests that these weapons were used as javelins. A fossilized horse shoulder blade with a wound, dated to 500,000 years ago, was revealed in a gravel quarry in the village of Boxgrove. Studies suggested that the wound was caused by a javelin. The peltasts, usually serving as skirmishers, were armed with several javelins, the peltasts hurled their javelins at the enemys heavier troops, the hoplite phalanx, in order to break their lines so that their own armys hoplites could destroy the weakened enemy formation. He decided to ambush it with his force of peltasts, by launching repeated hit-and-run attacks against the Spartan formation, Iphicrates and his men were able to wear the Spartans down, eventually routing them and killing just under half. This marked the first recorded occasion in ancient Greek military history in which an entirely made up of peltasts had defeated a force of hoplites. The thureophoroi and thorakitai, who replaced the peltasts, carried javelins in addition to a long thrusting spear. Javelins were often used as a hunting weapon, the strap adding enough power to take down large game. Javelins were also used in the Ancient Olympics and other Panhellenic games and they were hurled in a certain direction and whoever hurled it the farthest, as long as it hit tip-first, won that game. In the ancient world javelins were thrown with the aid of a throwing string. In 387 BC, the Gauls invaded Italy, inflicted a defeat on the Roman Republican army
14.
Shot put
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The shot put is a track and field event involving throwing/putting a heavy spherical object —the shot—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, homer mentions competitions of rock throwing by soldiers during the Siege of Troy but there is no record of any dead weights being thrown in Greek competitions. The first evidence for stone- or weight-throwing events were in the Scottish Highlands, in the 16th century King Henry VIII was noted for his prowess in court competitions of weight and hammer throwing. The first events resembling the modern shot put likely occurred in the Middle Ages when soldiers held competitions in which they hurled cannonballs, shot put competitions were first recorded in early 19th century Scotland, and were a part of the British Amateur Championships beginning in 1866. Competitors take their throw from inside a marked circle 2.135 metres in diameter, the following rules are adhered to for a legal throw, Upon calling the athletes name, the athlete may enter from any part of the throwing circle. They have sixty seconds to commence the throwing motion otherwise they are banned from the game, the athlete may not wear gloves, IAAF rules permit the taping of individual fingers. The athlete must rest the shot close to the neck, the shot must be released above the height of the shoulder, using only one hand. The athlete may touch the surface of the circle or toe board. Limbs may however extend over the lines of the circle in the air, the shot must land in the legal sector of the throwing area. The athlete must leave the circle from the back. The athlete may enter the circle at the location of their choice. Foul throws occur when an athlete, Does not pause within the circle before beginning the throwing motion, does not complete the throwing movement within sixty seconds of having their name called. Allows the shot to drop below his shoulder or outside the plane of his shoulder during the put. At any time if the shot loses contact with the neck then it is technically an illegal throw, during the throwing motion, touches with any part of the body, the top or ends of the toe board the top of the iron ring anywhere outside the circle. Throws a shot which either falls outside the sector or touches a sector line on the initial impact. Leaves the circle before the shot has landed, does not leave from the rear half of the circle. The following are either obsolete or non-existent, but commonly believed rules within professional competition, the athlete entering the circle, then exiting and re-entering it prior to starting the throw results in a foul. Each competition has a set number of rounds of throws, typically there are three preliminary rounds to determine qualification for the final, and then three more rounds in the final
15.
Olympic Games ceremony
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Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games, the modern Olympic games have opening, closing and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies harken back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry, an example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies. During the 2004 Games, the winners received a crown of olive branches. The various elements of the ceremonies are mandated by the Olympic Charter, even the artistic portion of the opening and closing ceremonies must meet the approval of the International Olympic Committee. The ceremonies have evolved over the centuries, Ancient Games incorporated ceremonies to mark the beginning and ending of each successive game. There are both similarities and differences between the ancient Olympic ceremonies and their modern counterparts, the presentation of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies continue to increase in scope, scale and expense with each successive celebration of the Games, but they are still steeped in tradition. The Ancient Games, held in Greece from ca.776 BC to ca.393 AD, the victory celebration, elements of which are in evidence in the modern-day medal and closing ceremonies, often involved elaborate feasts, drinking, singing, and the recitation of poetry. The wealthier the victor the more extravagant the celebration, the victors were presented with an olive wreath or crown harvested from a special tree in Olympia by a boy, specially selected for this purpose, using a golden sickle. The festival would conclude with the victors making solemn vows and performing sacrifices to the various gods to which they were beholden. There is evidence of changes in the format of the Ancient Games over the nearly 12 centuries that they were celebrated. Eventually, by roughly the 77th Olympiad, a standard 18-event program was established, in order to open a Games in ancient Greece the organizers would hold an Inauguration Festival. This was followed by a ceremony in which took an oath of sportsmanship. The first competition, a competition of trumpeters and heralds. The Olympic opening ceremonies represent the official commencement of an Olympic Games, in recent Olympics, athletic competition began prior to the opening ceremonies. For example, the competitions for both men and women at the 2008 Summer Olympics began two days prior to the opening ceremonies. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, various elements frame the Opening Ceremonies of a celebration of the Olympic Games, most of these rituals were canonized at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. The artistic program is what creates the idiosyncratic element of each ceremony, Coubertins initial vision of the Modern Olympics featured both athletic competitions and artistic achievements. As the modern Olympics have evolved into a celebration of sport, the opening ceremonies are an important ritual of the Olympic games
16.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
17.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
18.
Kinue Hitomi
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Kinue Hitomi was a Japanese athlete. She was the record holder in several events in the 1920s – 1930s and was the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal. Hitomi was born in what is now part of Okayama-City, in November 1923 during the 2nd Okayama Prefectural Women’s Games, she set an unofficial national record of 4m67 in the long jump event. In April 1924, Hitomi entered what is now the Japan Womens College of Physical Education and she returned to Okayama in October 1924 to participate in the 3rd Okayama Prefectural Women’s Games, where she set an unofficial world record of 10m33 in the triple jump event. She bested this record the following month at the 1924 Meiji Shrine Games in Tokyo, with a distance of 11m35 and also set an unofficial world record for the Javelin throw of 26m37. In October 1925, Hitomi participated in the 4th Osaka Games, winning first place in the 50 metres event, in the 1925 Meiji Shrine Games in Tokyo, she won both the 50 metres event and the triple jump. In April 1926, Hitomi went to work for the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, in May, she set new unofficial national records for the long jump, shot put, 100m hurdles at the 3rd Women’s Olympics held by the newspaper at Miyoshino. In June, in a completion sponsored by the Tokyo Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, she set new national records for the long jump. In August 1926, Hitomi was selected to attend the 2èmes Jeux mondiaux féminins FSFI games at Gothenburg and she travelled by the Trans-Siberian Railway alone to Moscow, where a reporter from the Mainichi Shimbun met her and escorted her to Sweden. She also received a prize from Alice Milliat, president of Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale for the most individual points at 15. In May 1927, at the 3rd Women’s Athletic Meet at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo and she also tied the world record for the 100-meter run at a meet in Osaka in June. At a meet in Tokyo in October of the same year, Hitomi continued to set unofficial new world records in early 1928, with the 400-meter run and 100-meter sprint in Tokyo. At the Olympic qualifying event in Osaka, she set new world records for the long jump and the 100-meter spring. During the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Hitomi was the only Japanese woman athlete to compete and she entered the 100m, discus, and high jump individual events but had been concentrating most on the 100m. However, she lost this event in semifinals and she then decided to join 800m in haste, and as last-minute entries were still permitted, she was allowed to compete. Hitomi passed by 2,26.2 in the preliminary and she became the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal. In April 1929 Hitomi achieved 217 points in the setting an unofficial world record at the 6th Japan Women’s Olympics at Miyoshino. In May, she set an world record for the 200-meter run with a time 24.7 seconds in Tokyo
19.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
20.
Tollien Schuurman
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Tollina Wilhelmina Tollien Schuurman was a Dutch sprint runner who set three world records in the 100 m and 200 m events between 1930 and 1933. She competed at the 1932 Olympics in the 100 m and 4 ×100 m events, Schuurman was the third daughter in a family of educators – her father was the principal of an elementary school. In her early years she trained in athletics in summers and in gymnastics in winters, in 1929 she won her first athletics competition and in 1930 set her first national and world records in the 100 m at 12.0 s. The same year she won two medals in the sprint at the 1930 Womens World Games. In 1932 she improved her record to 11.9 s and was an Olympic favorite. However she could not concentrate during the games, partly due to a trip to Los Angeles. She made a start in the semifinals and then finished fourth. After returning home she trained hard for the 1936 Games, winning the titles in the 100 m,200 m. However, at the 1934 Womens World Games she severely tore her muscle in the first event, the 60 m, Schuurman came from an political engaged family, members of the SDAP and knew a lot about politics. When Hitler ruled out Jews to the Olympic games she refused to participate as an athlete and she wouldn t walk for Hitler even if this was the only and last opportunity to an Olympic medal. Later she worked as an assistant at a clinic, a pedicure practitioner. In 1948 she saved two girls from drowning off the coast of Vlieland, in 1952 she moved to Amsterdam, where she ran a pedicure shop until 1965. She died in 1994 aged 81, a local athletics club AV Impala in Drachten named their athletics complex after her
21.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
22.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
23.
Marie Dollinger
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Maria Marie Dollinger-Hendrix was a German track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events and the 800 metres. She represented Germany at three consecutive Olympic Games,1928,1932 and 1936 and she set an early Olympic record for the 800 m then the 100 m four years later. She was an 800 m finalist in 1928 and placed fourth in the 100 m at both the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. She had most success with the 4×100 metres relay team, setting a record at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Outside of the Olympics she won an 800 m silver medal at the 1930 Womens World Games, a gold medal at the 1934 Womens World Games. Individually, in her career she won six titles at the German Athletics Championships, after retirement in 1936 she married fellow Olympic sprinter Friedrich Hendrix and their daughter, Brunhilde Hendrix, later won an Olympic medal in the relay in 1960. Born in Langenzenn in Bavaria, Dollinger appeared at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics at the age of seventeen, as the winner of the very first 800 m heat, her time of 2,22.4 minutes was the first Olympic record for the discipline. She reached the final of the competition and finished seventh while her older compatriot Lina Radke took the gold in a record time. She improved her best to 2,17.5 minutes the following year and she entered the 1930 Womens World Games among the favourites but was beaten into second place by British runner Gladys Lunn. In Magdeburg in 1931 she matched Radkes world record time of 2,16, later that year she ran a 200 m personal best of 25.2 seconds in Magdeburg, equalling the European record time (not ratified by the European Athletic Association. Her second Olympic appearance came at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and she travelled with the German team to compete in the 100 m individual and relay events. She broke the 100 metres Olympic record with a time of 12.2 seconds and this time was immediately improved by Stanisława Walasiewicz, who set a world record. Dollinger reached the final but was beaten to the podium by Billie von Bremen, in the 4×100 metres relay she anchored a team of Grete Heublein, Ellen Braumüller and Tilly Fleischer, but the German women managed only sixth place overall. In 1934 she equalled her 100 m best and improved her 200 m time to 24.9 seconds – these ranked her in the top five worldwide in the events that year. She also set a best of 5.48 metres for the long jump and she continued to form a part of the German relay team and returned to the 1934 Womens World Games, taking the relay gold alongside Käthe Krauss, Margarete Kuhlmann and Selma Grieme. She dipped under twelve seconds for the 100 m for the first time in 1935, setting a best of 11.8 seconds in Berlin and she had her final year of competition in 1936 and the biggest races of her career came at the Berlin Olympic Games. In June, prior to the Olympics, she helped set a European record in the 4 ×100 m relay, timing 46.5 seconds in Köln with a team of Emmy Albus, Krauss, and Grete Debus-Winkels. At the Berling Olympics, Dollinger won both her heat and semi-final in the womens 100 m but was narrowly beaten out of the medal positions
24.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
25.
Ethel Scott
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Ethel Scott was the first black woman to represent Great Britain in an international athletics competition. She was an active in international competitions for a brief period in the 1930s. In general, Scotts achievements are only thinly documented, and she is unknown to the British public. While many details of Scott’s athletics career are unknown, short-distance track events such as the 60 metre sprint and she is known to have competed between 1928 and 1950, and achieved her greatest successes around 1930. On 30 August 1930, Scott set a personal best for the 60 meters at a meet in Mitcham. Her time of 7.8 seconds was 2 tenths of a second off the record of 7.6 seconds, it equalled the current British record. Scott is 39th on a list of the top performers in this event before 1940 and her best time for the 100 meters was also set in 1930, although it was unconfirmed. She obtained a time of 11.1 seconds at a meet in Arras, if confirmed, this would have been close to a world record for the time. Scott is believed to have competed with the Middlesex Ladies Athletics Club and her club affiliation is also confirmed by a brief reference in The Times from 1930. Scott also competed in a number of events organised by the Civil Service. In a photograph, taken in 1929, Scott appears in her MLAC uniform surrounded by the fruits of her career, at least six medals, four trophies. The oldest surviving prize is a set of knives and forks in a box marked E. Scott 1st 100 yards 1928. Her last medal is for the WAAA Relay in 1950, many of her awards were lost when the family home was destroyed in a German air raid during 1940, including her silver medal from the Womens World Games. The highlight of Scotts athletic career came in September 1930, when she was one of fifteen athletes chosen to represent Britain at the third Womens World Games in Prague. The Womens World Games were created by Alice Milliat as an alternative to the Olympics, according to The Times, Ethel Scott competed in the 60m sprint and the 4x100 relay. She won her heat in the first round of the 60 metre sprint on 6 September, however, she made little impression in the final on the following day, finishing out of the top six places. Her competitors included many of the most successful sprinters of the era, Stella Walasiewicz, Lisa Gelius, Kinue Hitomi, Ivy Walker. The British 4x100 relay team, consisting of Ethel Scott, Ivy Walker, Eileen Hiscock, the team completed their qualifying heat on 7 September in 49.7 seconds, and took the silver medal in the final the following day despite a time of 50.5 seconds
26.
Lien Gisolf
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Carolina Anna Lien Gisolf was a Dutch high jumper. She won a medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics and finished fourth in 1932. Her talent was discovered during school competition in 1926, when it turned out that she jumped 30 centimetres higher than her classmates. On 3 July 1928 she set an unofficial Dutch record by jumping 1.465 metres, the same year she became the first Dutch female athlete to win an Olympic medal. She improved her world record twice, to 1.608 metres in 1929 and 1.623 metres in 1932, during the 1930 Womens World Games Gisolf became second. When she had to jump a barrage with her only opponent left, German Inge Braumüller, she tore a muscle, after finishing fourth at the 1932 Summer Olympics Gisolf lost interest in athletics and turned to field hockey. Heere, A. and Kappenburg, B.1870 –2000,130 jaar atletiek in Nederland Groenevelt b. v, ISBN 90-901286-7-0 Hemert, W. van Fosbury-flop de klapschaats van het hoogspringen Atletiek nr. 1, KNAU Bijkerk, T. and Paauw, R. Gouden boek van de Nederlandse Olympiers De Vrieseborch
27.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
28.
Halina Konopacka
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Halina Konopacka was a Polish athlete. She won the discus event at the 1928 Summer Olympics, breaking her own world record. After retiring from athletics she became a writer and poet and she immigrated to the United States after World War II and died there. Konopacka was born in Rawa Mazowiecka, Russian Empire, and grew up in Warsaw and her whole family also played tennis, including father Jakub, sister Czesława and brother Tadeusz. While studying at the Faculty of Philology of the Warsaw University she also took up skiing and athletics, in 1926 she set her first world record in the discus throw, after only a few months of training, which followed by two more records in 1927 and 1928. Konopacka had dark skin and brown eyes owing to her Tatar ancestors and she always wore a red beret while competing, and had a model-like body shape, for which she was nicknamed Miss Olympia. In 1928 she married Ignacy Matuszewski, the secretary of Poland. She retired from athletics in 1931, but continued to do sports recreationally, including skiing, tennis and car races and she was a guest of honor at both the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics, and a member of the Polish Olympic Committee in 1938–1939. Being a well-educated woman fluent in three languages, she engaged in writing. In September 1939, at the onset of World War II, after France surrendered to Germany in June 1940, the couple immigrated to the United States, arriving there through Spain, Portugal and Brazil in September 1941. Her husband suddenly died in New York in 1946, after which Konopacka remarried, founded a school near New York, designed clothing. After her second died in 1959, she moved from New York to Florida. She mostly painted flowers under the alias Helen George and she died in 1989 and the same year was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit by the Polish government. Her ashes were buried in her parents grave at the Bródno Cemetery in Warsaw, karol Wiktor Zawodziński, Poezje Konopackiej, in id. Wśród poetów, Cracow, Wydawnictwo Literackie,1964, pages 306–308, and passim
29.
Tilly Fleischer
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Ottilie Fleischer was a German athlete who competed in a variety of track and field athletic events. She competed for Germany in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, four years later in her home country at the 1936 Games she won the gold medal in the javelin in front of the Berlin crowds. Rumours appeared in 1966 as to who was the father of one of her daughters, ottilie Fleischer was born on October 2,1911, her father was a butcher. Even at an early age she was interested in sports, initially gymnastics and she trained in a variety of events including pentathlon, javelin, discus and shot put. At the 1932 Games, she went in as one of the favourites for the medal in the womens javelin along with Ellen Braumüller. In the competition, she finished third, while Braumüller took the silver medal, american Babe Zaharias won the gold medal. She also competed in the Womens 4 x 100 metres relay with teammates Grete Heublein, the team came in the sixth and final position out of the teams that entered the race. She also finished fourth in the discus throw, just outside the medal positions. Whilst competing at the 1936 Summer Olympics, she broke the Olympic record for the javelin throw twice during the rounds of the competition. She threw a javelin 148 feet,2 25/32 inches, beating the record holder by over five inches. In so doing, she became the first German woman to win a medal at an Olympics event. As opposed to the 1932 Games, the event was the only competition she entered at the 1936 Games. After Fleischer won the event, she was taken, along with the other two medallists, to meet Adolf Hitler. She was congratulated by the German leader and Hermann Göring and posed for photographs, after retiring from athletics Fleischer became involved in handball and played for Eintracht Frankfurt handball club, winning the German championship in 1943. Fleischer was married twice, having two daughters in her first marriage, in 1948 she opened a leather goods shop in Lahr, near the Black Forest. This was due to the publishing of a book by Gisela, Gisela later took over the two leather goods shops owned by her mother following Tillys death on 14 July 2005
30.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Germany
Poland
United Kingdom
Japan
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