1.
Madison, Wisconsin
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Madison is the capital of the U. S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. As of July 1,2015, Madisons estimated population of 248,951 made it the second largest city in Wisconsin, after Milwaukee, and the 84th largest in the United States. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureaus Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Dane County and neighboring Iowa, Green, the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Areas 2010 population was 568,593. When the Wisconsin Territory was created in 1836 the territorial legislature convened in Belmont, One of the legislatures tasks was to select a permanent location for the territorys capital. Doty lobbied aggressively for Madison as the new capital, offering buffalo robes to the freezing legislators and he had James Slaughter plat two cities in the area, Madison and The City of Four Lakes, near present-day Middleton. Doty named the city Madison for James Madison, the fourth President of the U. S. who had died on June 28,1836 and he named the streets for the other 39 signers of the U. S. Constitution. Being named for the founding father James Madison, who had just died. The cornerstone for the Wisconsin capitol was laid in 1837, on October 9,1839, Kintzing Prichett registered the plat of Madison at the registrars office of the then-territorial Dane County. Madison was incorporated as a village in 1846, with a population of 626, when Wisconsin became a state in 1848, Madison remained the capital, and the following year it became the site of the University of Wisconsin. The Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad connected to Madison in 1854, Madison incorporated as a city in 1856, with a population of 6,863, leaving the unincorporated remainder as a separate Town of Madison. The original capitol was replaced in 1863 and the capitol burned in 1904. The current capitol was built between 1906 and 1917, during the Civil War, Madison served as a center of the Union Army in Wisconsin. Camp Randall, on the west side of Madison, was built and used as a camp, a military hospital. After the war ended, the Camp Randall site was absorbed into the University of Wisconsin, in 2004 the last vestige of active military training on the site was removed when the stadium renovation replaced a firing range used for ROTC training. The City of Madison continued annexations from the Town of Madison almost from the date of the citys incorporation, Madison is located in the center of Dane County in south-central Wisconsin,77 miles west of Milwaukee and 122 miles northwest of Chicago. The city completely surrounds the smaller Town of Madison, the City of Monona, Madison shares borders with its largest suburb, Sun Prairie, and three other suburbs, Middleton, McFarland and Fitchburg. The citys boundaries also approach the city of Verona, and the villages of Cottage Grove, DeForest, and Waunakee. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 94.03 square miles
2.
Speed skating
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Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, in the Olympic Games, long-track speed skating is usually referred to as just speed skating, while short-track speed skating is known as short track. The ISU, the body of both ice sports, refers to long track as speed skating and short track as short track skating. The standard rink for long track is 400 meters long, but tracks of 200,250 and it is one of two Olympic forms of the sport and the one with the longer history. An international federation was founded in 1892, the first for any winter sport, the sport enjoys large popularity in the Netherlands and Norway. There are top international rinks in a number of countries, including Canada. A World Cup circuit is held with events in those countries, International Skating Union rules allow some leeway in the size and radius of curves. Short track speed skating takes place on a rink, normally the size of an ice hockey rink. Distances are shorter than in long-track racing, with the longest Olympic individual race being 1500 meters, races are usually held as knockouts, with the best two in heats of four or five qualifying for the final race, where medals are awarded. Disqualifications and falls are not uncommon, there are variations on the mass-start races. In the regulations of roller sports, eight different types of mass starts are described, races usually have some rules about disqualification if an opponent is unfairly hindered, these rules vary between the disciplines. In mass-start races, skaters will usually be allowed some physical contact, relay races are also held in short track and inline competitions, but here, exchanges may take place at any time during the race, though exchanges may be banned during the last couple of laps. Most speed skating races are held on a course. Oval sizes vary, in track speed skating, the rink must be an oval of 111.12 metres. Inline skating rinks are between 125 and 400 metres, though banked tracks can only be 250 metres long, inline skating can also be held on closed road courses between 400 and 1,000 metres, as well as open-road competitions where starting and finishing lines do not coincide. This is also a feature of outdoor marathons and it was much later, in the 16th century, that people started seeing skating as fun and perhaps even a sporting activity. Later, in Norway, King Eystein Magnusson, later King Eystein I of Norway, however, skating and speed skating was not limited to the Netherlands and Scandinavia, in 1592, a Scotsman designed a skate with an iron blade. It was iron-bladed skates that led to the spread of skating and, in particular, while in the Netherlands, people began touring the waterways connecting the 11 cities of Friesland, a challenge which eventually led to the Elfstedentocht
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Speed skating at the Winter Olympics
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Speed skating has been featured as a sport in the Winter Olympics since the first winter games in 1924. Womens events were added to the Olympic program for the first time in 1960, no speed skating events were contested, although figure skating – also governed by the ISU – was on the programme. The preliminary calendar for the 1916 Summer Olympics, to be held in Berlin, listed a 3-event allround competition, the International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix, retro-actively dubbed the 1924 Winter Olympics, contained five speed skating events. Uncommon for the time, it not only included an all-round competition and these Games in Lake Placid, New York also saw the first female speed skaters at the Olympics, although their events were only demonstration events. Womens events were set to be held at the 1940 Winter Olympics. After the war, they were withdrawn again until 1960, when the women skated 500 m,1000 m,1500 m and 3000 m, the latest addition to the Olympic speed skating programme is the team pursuit, which was added for the 2006 Turin Games. Its inclusion was remarkable as it had not yet been contested at a senior World Championship in the form skated at the Olympics at the time of inclusion, the following table shows when events were contested at each Games. Womens events were demonstrated in 1932
5.
1980 Winter Olympics
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This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932. The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia, Canada, which withdrew before the final vote The mascot of the Games was Roni, the mask-like rings on a raccoons face recall the goggles and hats worn by many athletes in winter sports. The selection process for the 1980 Winter Olympics consisted of one bid, from Lake Placid and it was selected at the 75th IOC Session in Vienna on October 13,1974. The United States teams 4–3 win over the Soviet team, which came into the 1980 Games having won 4 consecutive Olympic gold medals, became known as the Miracle on Ice in the US press. The win captured the hearts of Americans during a time of Cold War tensions, heiden became the first to ever win all five speed skating events and is still the only athlete to win 5 gold medals at one Winter Games. Swedens Ingemar Stenmark won both the giant slalom and the slalom, hanni Wenzel won the womens giant slalom and slalom, making Liechtenstein the smallest country to produce an Olympic champion. Ulrich Wehling of East Germany and Irina Rodnina of the USSR won their events for the third time, Wehling in Nordic combined. Aleksandr Tikhonov of the USSR earned his fourth gold medal as part of the 4 x 7. 5m biathlon relay team. Nikolay Zimyatov of the USSR earned three medals in cross-country skiing. Robin Cousins won gold for Great Britain in the singles figure skating. East Germany won the most medals overall but had fewer golds than the USSR and this led the International Ski Federation to time all events to the nearest 1/10 second in the future. Although they did not get any medals, the Peoples Republic of China entered the Olympics Games for the first time after the IOC agreed to designate the Republic of China Chinese Taipei, Lake Placid 1980 marked the first use of artificial snow in Olympic competition. Lake Placid 1980 was the last Olympics to be opened by the Vice President of the United States, there were 38 events contested in 6 sports. Van Hoevenberg Bob and Luge Run – Bobsleigh, Luge Olympic Center – Figure skating, Ice hockey, Closing ceremonies James B. The supply and demand for event tickets never merged, as would-be buyers were unable to buy unsold tickets because only those who already had a ticket could enter ticket-sales areas at venues. Unsold tickets are still being sold as souvenirs at several local tourist shops, the former Will Rogers Memorial Hospital was briefly used as press headquarters. United States President Jimmy Carter had already called for the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, nevertheless, the USSR and its allies participated. Cyprus made their Olympic debut at the games, the Peoples Republic of China and Costa Rica both made their Winter Olympic debut
6.
Speed skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics
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Speed skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics, was held from 9 February to 18 February. Nine events were contested at James B. Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink, Heiden led the individual medal table, while the most successful woman was Nataliya Petrusyova of the Soviet Union, who won one gold and one bronze medal. All previous Olympic records were broken in Lake Placid, along with one record, from Eric Heiden in the final event. Twenty nations competed in the skating events at Lake Placid. China and Romania made their debuts in the sport, sports-Reference 1980 Olympics - Speed Skating
7.
World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men
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The International Skating Union has organised the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1889–1892, in 1889, three distances had to be skated, 1/2 mile –1 mile –2 miles. In the years 1890-1892, four distances had to be skated, since 1893, four distances have to be skated,500 m –1,500 m –5,000 m –10,000 m. In 1889, one could win the World Championships by winning all three distances. If no one won all three distances, no winner would be declared, silver and bronze medals were not awarded. In the years 1890-1907, one could win the World Championships by winning at least three of the four distances, so there would be no World Champion if no skater won at least three distances. Silver and bronze medals were never awarded, in the years 1908-1925, ranking points were awarded, the final ranking was then decided by ordering the skaters by lowest point totals. The rule that a skater winning at least three distances was automatically World Champion was still in effect, though, so the ranking could be affected by that, silver and bronze medals were awarded now as well. In the years 1926-1927, the points on each distance were percentage points, calculated from a skaters time. Apart from that, the system used was the same as in the preceding years. Since 1928, the system has been in use. However, the rule that a skater winning at least three distances was automatically World Champion remained in effect until 1986 and it was abolished as a result of three-distance-winner Rolf Falk-Larssen having a worse samalog score than silver medal winner Tomas Gustafson in 1983. Sven Kramer has won a total of nine championships, in 2007,2008,2009,2010,2012,2013,2015,2016 and 2017. Before Kramer, Clas Thunberg and Oscar Mathisen held the record with five world championships, Kramer has won four consecutive world championships, in 2007,2008,2009 and 2010. World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women
8.
Long track speed skating
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Speed skating is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure, sports such as short track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating are also called speed skating. Speed skaters attain maximum speeds of 60 km/h, organized races on ice skates first developed in the 19th century. Norwegian clubs hosted competitions from 1863, with races in the town of Christiania drawing five-digit crowds, in 1884, the Norwegian Axel Paulsen was named Amateur Champion Skater of the World after winning competitions in the United States. The Nederlandse Schaatsrijderbond was founded in 1882 and organised the championships of 1890 and 1891. Skaters started in pairs, each to their own lane, competitions were exclusively for amateur skaters. Peter Sinnerud was disqualified for professionalism in 1904 and lost his world title, World records were registered since 1891 and improved rapidly, Jaap Eden lowered the world 5000-metre record by half a minute during the Hamar European Championships in 1894. The record stood for 17 years, and it took 50 years to lower it further by half a minute, the Elfstedentocht was organised as a competition in 1909 and has been held at irregular intervals whenever the ice on the course is deemed good enough. Other outdoor races developed later, with Noord-Holland hosting a race in 1917, since artificial ice became common in the Netherlands, Dutch speed skaters have been among the top long track speed skaters and marathon skaters in the world. Another solution to still be able to skate marathons on natural ice became the Alternative Elfstedentocht, at the 1914 Olympic Congress, the delegates agreed to include long track speed skating in the 1916 Olympics, after figure skating had featured in the 1908 Olympics. Charles Jewtraw from Lake Placid, New York, won the first Olympic gold medal, Finland won the remaining four gold medals at the 1924 Games, with Clas Thunberg winning 1,500 metres,5,000 metres, and allround. It was the time an allround Olympic gold medal has been awarded in speed skating. Norwegian and Finnish skaters won all the medals in World Championships between the world wars, with Latvians and Austrians visiting the podium in the European Championships. At the time, North American races were usually conducted packstyle, similar to the races in the Netherlands. The ISU approved the suggestion that the 1932 Olympic speed skating competitions should be held as packstyle races, Canada won five medals, all silver and bronze, while defending World Champion Clas Thunberg stayed at home, protesting against this form of racing. At the World Championships held immediately after the Games, without the American champions, Norwegian racers won all four distances, in the 1930s, women began to be accepted in ISU speed skating competitions. Although womens races had been held in North America for some time and competed at the 1932 Winter Olympics in a demonstration event, however, Zofia Nehringowa set the first official world record in 1929. The womens long track speed skating was dominated by East Germany and later reunified Germany
9.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
10.
East Germany
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East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic, was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it, as a result, the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a state of the Soviet Union. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948, Soviet forces, however, remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party, though other parties participated in its alliance organisation. The economy was centrally planned, and increasingly state-owned, prices of basic goods and services were set by central government planners, rather than rising and falling through supply and demand. Although the GDR had to pay war reparations to the USSR. Nonetheless it did not match the growth of West Germany. Emigration to the West was a significant problem—as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people, the government fortified its western borders and, in 1961, built the Berlin Wall. Many people attempting to flee were killed by guards or booby traps. In 1989, numerous social and political forces in the GDR and abroad led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the following year open elections were held, and international negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and borders of Germany. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin known as East Berlin which was also administered as the states de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied by the Western nations were sealed off from the rest of the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989, the official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik, usually abbreviated to DDR. West Germans, the media and statesmen purposely avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone, Sowjetische Besatzungszone. The centre of power in East Berlin was referred to as Pankow. Over time, however, the abbreviation DDR was also used colloquially by West Germans. However, this use was not always consistent, for example, before World War II, Ostdeutschland was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe, as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt
11.
Dianne Holum
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Dianne Mary Holum is a former speed skater. In 1966, Holum became the youngest person to compete in the speed skating championships. Next year she won bronze at the World Allround Championships, at the age of 16, Holum earned a silver medal in the 500 meter race at the 1968 Winter Olympics, finishing in a three way tie for second place. Holum added a medal in the 1000 meter event. At the 1972 Winter Olympics, Holum won a medal in the 1500 meter event. After finishing sixth in the 1000 meter race, Holum ended her Olympic career by winning a medal on the 3000 meters. After winning bronze once more at the World Allround Championships later that year, Holum retired from speed skating. The following year, she began her career as a coach, helping put a 14-year-old Eric Heiden on the road to the 1980 Winter Olympics and she also coached Erics sister Beth Heiden. At the 1976 Olympics, she became the first female coach to a speed skater. For her achievements as a skater, Holum was inducted in the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1986. For her achievements as a coach, Holum was inducted in the International Womens Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and she also coached her daughter Kirstin Holum, who was Junior World Allround Champion in 1997 and participated in the 1998 Winter Olympics
12.
ESPN
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ESPN is a U. S. -based global cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc. a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Corporation. ESPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut, the network also operates offices in Miami, New York City, Seattle, Charlotte, and Los Angeles. John Skipper currently serves as president of ESPN, a position he has held since January 1,2012, as of February 2015, ESPN is available to approximately 94,396,000 paid television households in the United States. In 2011, ESPNs history and rise was chronicled by These Guys Have All the Fun, Bill Rasmussen conceived the concept of ESPN in late May 1978, after he was fired from his job with the World Hockey Associations New England Whalers. One of the first steps in Bill and his son Scotts process was finding land to build the channels broadcasting facilities, the Rasmussens first rented office space in Plainville, Connecticut. However, the plan to base ESPN there was put on hold because a local ordinance prohibiting buildings from bearing rooftop satellite dishes and this helped the credibility of the fledgling company, however there were still many doubters to the viability of their sports channel concept. ESPN launched on September 7,1979, beginning with the first telecast of what would become the flagship program. Taped in front of a live audience inside the Bristol studios. ESPNs next big break came when the acquired the rights to broadcast coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament. It first aired the NCAA tournament in March 1980, creating the modern day television event known as March Madness. The channels tournament coverage also launched the career of Dick Vitale. In April of that year, ESPN created another made-for-TV spectacle, the next major stepping stone for ESPN came over the course of a couple of months in 1984. During this time period, the American Broadcasting Company purchased 100% of ESPN from the Rasmussens, for years, the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball refused to consider cable as a means of broadcasting some of their games. However, with the backing of ABC, ESPNs ability to compete for major sports contracts greatly increased, later in 1984, the U. S. ESPNs Sunday Night Football games would become the highest-rated NFL telecasts for the next 17 years. In 1992, ESPN launched ESPN Radio, a sports talk radio network providing analysis. It became the fastest growing cable channel in the U. S. during the 1990s, ownership of ABC, and in effect control of ESPN, was acquired first by Capital Cities Communications in 1985, and then by The Walt Disney Company in 1996. In 2012, ESPN generated more revenue for Disney than any of its other properties combined, alongside its live sports broadcasts, ESPN also airs a variety of sports highlight, talk, and documentary-styled shows. 30 for 30 started airing in 2009 and continues airing to this day, each episode is through the eyes of a well known filmmaker and has featured some of the biggest directors in Hollywood
13.
SportsCentury
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SportsCentury is an ESPN biography program that reviews the people and athletic events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Using stock footage, on-camera interviews, and photographs of their athletic lives, the episodes for the top two athletes, Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth, appeared on a special combined edition broadcast on Christmas Day on ABC. The top two names were announced in no order, and the final positioning was announced at the conclusion of the two episodes. An additional list of numbers 51-100 were announced on the ESPN SportsCentury website, themed specials such as Greatest Games, Greatest Coaches, Greatest Dynasties, and Most Influential Individuals were premiered throughout the year, as well as six SportsCenter of the Decade programs. After the initial run was complete, the episodes were rerun at various times on ESPN, ESPN2, the original plan for the series was to expand to include #51 through #100. Acknowledgements were given to athletes that were notable for more recent accomplishments, even if they spent only a part of their career in the 20th century. Special subsets of episodes were created revolving around a particular event and they would typically air in the days leading up to those events. ESPN Classic began to feature the program with host, Chris Fowler, after cycling through the entire series several times, and after debuting several new episodes, it was removed as a nightly program. As of 2007, reruns of the series airs Monday through Friday at 4 p. m. Eastern time. The last original program was that of Shaquille ONeal, which aired in November 2007, the final order of choices led to debate, some of which came from the SportsCentury camp. Bob Costas, one of the voters, said, I had Babe Ruth as my number one. Everybody more or less deserved to be there, ESPN writer Bud Morgan conceded that the Secretariat pick was kind of controversial because a lot of people took the attitude What is a four-legged animal doing on this list. Tony Kornheiser, whose ballot was topped by Ruth, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan, said and he had the greatest impact of anybody on a sport by far. They may have overpersuaded a lot of us, did Jim Thorpe get the praise he deserved. Probably not, because there werent enough people old enough to remember him. ESPN anchor Charley Steiner said I think picking number one was a generational decision, the list was dramatically North American-centric. Only one athlete in the Top 100 list, Martina Navratilova, was born outside of the United States or Canada, australian cricketer Donald Bradman, considered by many to be the pre-eminent sportsman of all time was also omitted. No soccer player was included in the rankings despite it being the worlds most popular sport, baseball player Ty Cobb, appearing at 20 on the list, also ranked objectively above Jordan on the same ground
14.
Beth Heiden
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Elizabeth Lee Beth Heiden Reid is an American athlete who excelled in speed skating, cross-country skiing and bicycle racing. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin and her brother Eric was a five-time gold-medalist speedskater at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. In her first year in high school Heiden was a tennis and that same year,1975, she ran a national record in the mile for her age and ran in states for both the 800 and the mile. She attended her first Olympics in 1976, at the age of 17, in 1979, she won the World Allround Speed Skating Championships, the second female American to do so. Kit Klein had been the first, winning the first official championship in 1936. Heiden won a medal in the 3,000 m at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. In cycle racing, which she took up as cross training outside the skating season Heiden won the US road championship, in that same year she became the US National Champion in one of the skiing distance events. She graduated from the university in 1983 and was inducted into the UVM Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993 and she has been inducted in the Speed Skating Hall of Fame. She suffered a broken wrist and a ruptured spleen when she fell to the ground in 1980 after a second-floor porch railing gave way and she now lives in California, where she continues cross country skiing with her family. In the 2010 US Nationals, Heiden placed in the top 10 in two races at the age of 50. She has won the California Gold Rush, Great Race, and won every race she competed in at the cross country skiing Masters World Championships in McCall. She placed in the top five at the NCAA Western Regionals in 2006 as a guest skier, on November 16,2013, she was inducted into the US Bicycling Hall of Fame in the Modern Road & Track Competitor category. At the age of 54, she continues to be a dominant force in the ski racing community, for most of her skating career Heiden was a junior, but she belonged to the world top. This meant she participated in junior and regular championships during the same season several times, both with success. This was most obvious in 1979, when she became world champion and. Between those championships, she won silver at the sprint championship. Much was expected of her the year at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Despite that, she won a medal in the 3,000 m
15.
Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin
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Shorewood Hills is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,565 at the 2010 census, a suburb entirely surrounded by the city of Madison and Lake Mendota, it is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Shorewood Hills is located at 43°4′43″N 89°26′43″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.80 square miles, all of it land. Shorewood Hills is served by the Shorewood Hills Police Department, prior to 2014, the Shorewood Hills Fire Department provided fire and emergency medical services to the village. Starting in 2014, a contract with the city of Madison was established, as of the census of 2010, there were 1,565 people,620 households, and 478 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,956.3 inhabitants per square mile, there were 660 housing units at an average density of 825.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 91. 2% White,1. 0% African American,0. 1% Native American,5. 2% Asian,0. 1% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 8% of the population. 19. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11. 1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the village was 48.4 years. 25. 2% of residents were under the age of 18,3. 4% were between the ages of 18 and 24,16. 1% were from 25 to 44,35. 4% were from 45 to 64, and 19. 9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48. 2% male and 51. 8% female, at the 2000 census, there were 1,732 people,640 households and 504 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,139.8 per square mile, there were 664 housing units at an average density of 820.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 91. 97% White,1. 44% African American,0. 12% Native American,2. 83% Asian,1. 62% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 18% of the population. 18. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.94. Age distribution was 26. 5% under the age of 18,3. 2% from 18 to 24,16. 7% from 25 to 44,36. 5% from 45 to 64, the median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males. The median household income was $122,879, and the family income was $131,265. Males had an income of $93,506 versus $51,667 for females
16.
Ice rink
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An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. There are also synthetic ice rinks where skating surfaces are made out of plastics, Rink, a Scottish word meaning course, was used as the name of a place where curling was played. The name has retained for the construction of ice areas for other sports. Early attempts at the construction of ice rinks were first made in the rink mania of 1841–44. As the technology for the maintenance of natural ice did not exist, the area of artificial ice is extremely convenient for such as may be desirous of engaging in the graceful and manly pastime of skating. The worlds first mechanically frozen ice rink was the Glaciarium, opened by John Gamgee in a tent in a building just off the Kings Road in Chelsea. In March, it moved to a permanent venue at 379 Kings Road, the rink was based on a concrete surface, with layers of earth, cow hair and timber planks. Atop these were laid oval copper pipes carrying a solution of glycerine with ether, nitrogen peroxide, the pipes were covered by water and the solution was pumped through, freezing the water into ice. Gamgee had discovered the process while attempting to develop a method to freeze meat for import from Australia and New Zealand, Gamgee operated the rink on a membership-only basis and attempted to attract a wealthy clientele, experienced in open-air ice skating during winters in the Alps. He installed an orchestra gallery, which could also be used by spectators, the Southport Glaciarium opened in 1879, using Gamgees method. In Germany, the first ice skating rink opened in 1882 in Frankfurt during a patent exhibition and it covered 520m² and operated for two months, the refrigeration system was designed by Linde. Rinks can also be made in cold climates by enclosing an area of ground, filling it with water. Snow may even be packed to use as a containment material, the rink is prepared by lowering the canals water level and letting the canal water freeze. The rink is then resurfaced nightly by cleaning the ice of snow, the longest ice skating trail can be found in Invermere, British Columbia, Canada, on Lake Windermere Whiteway. The naturally frozen trail measures 29.98 kilometres, in any climate, an arena ice surface can be installed in a properly built space. This consists of a bed of sand or occasionally a slab of concrete, the pipes carry a chilled fluid which can lower the temperature of the slab so that water placed atop will freeze. This method is known as ice to differentiate from ice rinks made by simply freezing water in a cold climate, indoors or outdoors. A more proper term is mechanically frozen ice
17.
Stanford University
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Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, adjacent to Palo Alto and between San Jose and San Francisco. Its 8, 180-acre campus is one of the largest in the United States, Stanford also has land and facilities elsewhere. The university was founded in 1885 by Leland and Jane Stanford in memory of their only child, Stanford was a former Governor of California and U. S. Senator, he made his fortune as a railroad tycoon. The school admitted its first students 125 years ago on October 1,1891, Stanford University struggled financially after Leland Stanfords death in 1893 and again after much of the campus was damaged by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Following World War II, Provost Frederick Terman supported faculty and graduates entrepreneurialism to build self-sufficient local industry in what would later be known as Silicon Valley. The university is one of the top fundraising institutions in the country. There are three schools that have both undergraduate and graduate students and another four professional schools. Students compete in 36 varsity sports, and the university is one of two institutions in the Division I FBS Pac-12 Conference. Stanford faculty and alumni have founded a number of companies that produce more than $2.7 trillion in annual revenue. It is the alma mater of 30 living billionaires,17 astronauts and it is also one of the leading producers of members of the United States Congress. Sixty Nobel laureates and seven Fields Medalists have been affiliated with Stanford as students, alumni, Stanford University was founded in 1885 by Leland and Jane Stanford, dedicated to Leland Stanford Jr, their only child. The institution opened in 1891 on Stanfords previous Palo Alto farm, despite being impacted by earthquakes in both 1906 and 1989, the campus was rebuilt each time. In 1919, The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace was started by Herbert Hoover to preserve artifacts related to World War I, the Stanford Medical Center, completed in 1959, is a teaching hospital with over 800 beds. The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which was established in 1962, in 2008, 60% of this land remained undeveloped. Besides the central campus described below, the university also operates at more remote locations, some elsewhere on the main campus. Stanfords main campus includes a place within unincorporated Santa Clara County. The campus also includes land in unincorporated San Mateo County, as well as in the city limits of Menlo Park, Woodside. The academic central campus is adjacent to Palo Alto, bounded by El Camino Real, Stanford Avenue, Junipero Serra Boulevard, the United States Postal Service has assigned it two ZIP codes,94305 for campus mail and 94309 for P. O. box mail
18.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
19.
Hilbert van der Duim
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Hilbert van der Duim is a Dutch former speed skater. A two-time world and European champion, Van der Duim won often but also fell often, hilbert van der Duim became World Allround Champion in 1980, being the first skater in four years to beat Eric Heiden in international competition. He became World Allround Champion again in 1982 and he also was European Allround Champion twice and became Dutch Allround Champion a record number of seven times, winning seven consecutive national allround titles in the years 1979-1985. He participated in the Winter Olympics, twice, but his highest finish was fourth place in the 5,000 meters in 1980 in Lake Placid, in 1986, Van der Duim switched to marathon skating and impressed by his high skating speed. On 28 November 1986, he became World Hour Record holder and he was forced to end his skating career when he was involved in a severe automobile accident in 1987, driving home after a marathon. Van der Duim also gained fame as a colourful skater because of several incidents, at the European Allround Championships in 1981, he fell on the 10,000 m and finished this distance in a time of 15,28.53. His fall probably cost him the title – he won European Allround silver 0.728 points behind Amund Sjøbrend. After his 10,000 m race, Van der Duim explained that skating over bird poop had made him fall, later, Van der Duim admitted there had been no excrement, but the episode has come to stand for any unexplained failure in Dutch sports. His chances to defend his World Allround Championships title were ruined when he fell on the 1,500 m the next day. After an excellent 500 m race, he finished only 17th on the 5,000 m and therefore did not qualify for the final distance, after his distastrous 5,000 m race, Van der Duim declared that he had porridge in his legs. An overview of medals won by Van der Duim, Source and his highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a 3rd place. Hilbert van der Duim at SkateResults. com
20.
Heerenveen
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Heerenveen is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands. The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, Heerenveen was not one of the traditional eleven cities in Friesland as it did not have so-called city rights. However, it is now one of the municipalities of the province. The windmill Welgelegen or Tjepkemas Molen is the survivor of seventeen which have stood in Heerenveen. Museum Belvédère, modern art and contemporary art Railway station, Heerenveen Heerenveen is famous for its sporting accomplishments, thialf is also home to the citys ice hockey team, the Heerenveen Flyers. In 2006, the Sportstad project was completed, which included a hall, swimming pool. The Abe Lenstra stadium is unusual because its capacity is larger than the number of inhabitants of the town. One of the few venues that shares this distinction is Stade Félix Bollaert in Lens. Several American football venues, mostly college football venues, also share this distinction
21.
James E. Sullivan Award
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The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union, is awarded annually in April to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the intent to recognize amateur contributions, the award was established in 1930 in honor of the organizations founder and past president, James Edward Sullivan. Finalists are selected from public nominations following a review by the AAU Sullivan Award Executive Committee, approximately 10 semi-finalists are chosen, and the eventual winner is determined by votes from various members of the nationwide news media, former winners and AAU personnel. More recently, a portion of the vote has been determined by the general public. Recipients are eligible for subsequent awards, although this has yet to happen, the inaugural winner of the award was golfer Bobby Jones, winner of 13 majors between 1923 and 1930. The first female recipient, in 1944, was swimmer Ann Curtis, other notable athletes to win the award include famed Olympians Bruce Baumgartner, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mark Spitz, and Michael Phelps. Former UCLA basketball star Bill Walton and University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning have also earned the prestigious honor
22.
Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame
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Established in 1951, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame honors distinguished members of Wisconsins sports history. The Hall of Fame hosts several events, including an induction ceremony to honor new members, nomination luncheons, speaker series breakfasts. The Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame was created in 1951 by the Milwaukee Arena and it was created to honor outstanding sports figures whose achievements earned them special acclaim. S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee so the plaques could be on permanent public display at no cost, in 2014, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame was acquired by Lammi Sports Management, a Milwaukee-based sports marketing corporation. Shortly after the acquisition, Lammi Sports announced that Wisconsin Hall of Fame LLC will manage, bud Selig will also be honored for his efforts to advance athletics and better the community in the state of Wisconsin with the Lifetime Achievement Award. 2016 inductee and Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Donald Driver will serve as the MC for the event, see footnotes There are over 135 people inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. Inductees come from a variety of sports, including racing, football, basketball, water skiing, bowling, baseball, and bicycling. A full list of inductees, along with pictures of their corresponding Hall of Fame plaques, can be found on the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fames official website, www. wihalloffame. com
23.
Alkmaar
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Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its cheese market. For tourists, it is a cultural destination. The earliest mention of the name Alkmaar is in a 10th-century document, as the village grew into a town, it was granted city rights in 1254. The oldest part of Alkmaar lies on an ancient sand bank that afforded protection from inundation during medieval times. Even so, it is only a couple of metres above the surrounding region, in 1573 the city underwent a siege by Spanish forces under the leadership of Don Fadrique, son of the Duke of Alva. Some of his dispatches fell into the hands of Don Fadrique, and, with the beginning to rise. It was a point in the Eighty Years War and gave rise to the expression Bij Alkmaar begint de victorie. The event is celebrated every year in Alkmaar on 8 October. In 1799, during the French revolutionary wars, an Anglo-Russian expeditionary force captured the city but was defeated in the Battle of Castricum. The French victory was commemorated on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as Alkmaer, the North Holland Canal, opened in 1824, was dug through Alkmaar. In 1865 and 1867 the railways between Alkmaar and Den Helder and between Alkmaar and Haarlem were built respectively, in the second half of the 20th century, Alkmaar expanded quickly with development of new neighbourhoods. On 1 October 1972, the town of Oudorp and the portions of Koedijk. The municipality of Alkmaar consists of the cities, towns, villages and/or districts, Alkmaar, Koedijk, Overdie, Oudorp. These once separate villages are now all linked together by the suburban sprawl of buildings that arose between the late 1970s and early 1990s, during this time, the population of Alkmaar almost doubled. On 1 January 2015 the municipalities of Graft-De Rijp and Schermer were merged into Alkmaar, there are direct trains to Den Helder, Hoorn, Zaandam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Ede, Arnhem, Nijmegen, s-Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven, Maastricht and Haarlem. For exact details see Alkmaar railway station, Alkmaar has two railway stations, Alkmaar Alkmaar Noord The waterway Noordhollandsch Kanaal, which opened in 1824, runs through Alkmaar. Alkmaar has many buildings that are still intact, most notably the tall tower of the Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk
24.
Bislett Stadium
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Bislett Stadium is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norways most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track, the original stadium was demolished in 2004 and construction of a new stadium was completed by the summer of 2005. The New Bislett Stadium was designed by C. F, in 1999, the American sports magazine Sports Illustrated declared that the old Bislett Stadium was one of the top 20 sports venues of the 20th century. Bislett Stadium lies on the site of a 19th-century brick works, which was bought by the Municipality of Kristiania in 1898, one of the squares outside the stadium is named Martinus Lørdahls Square, in his honour. Bislett became Norways main arena for speed skating and track and field in 1940 when the architect Frode Rinnans new functionalistic stadium was completed, rinnan was also responsible for the renovation of the stadium for the 1952 Winter Olympic Games in Oslo. At those games, the stadium hosted some of the figure skating, Bislett has hosted the Bislett Games since 1965, an annual track and field event in the IAAF Golden League. The venue hosted the Norwegian Athletics Championships 18 times, in 1926–29, 1931–36, 1938–39,1947,1949, 1951–52,1955 and 2006. Bisletts career as a skating venue ended in 1988, when it was decided that ice production would discontinue. Speed skating has increasingly become a sport and providing the famous record breaking ice would no longer be possible if the stadium was to be optimized for athletics. The new stadium designed by Danish architecture practice C. F. Møller Architects was inaugurated with the Bislett Games on 29 July 2005, the New Bislett Stadium meets international requirements for track and field events. The running track now has eight lanes with a 37,5 m turning radius, the track has received a 1st class certification by the IAAF, shared by only a handful other stadiums in Northern Europe. In addition, there is a running track beneath the stands for warming up and for indoor workouts during the winter. The new turning radius has provided space for a 105 x 68 m football pitch, the World Speed Skating Championships were held at Bislett for the first time in 1925, but it was not until 1940 that Bislett became the main venue for speed skating in Oslo. Since then one unofficial World Championship event right before the start of World War II and 11 more official World Championships have been held here, Bislett has also hosted ten European Championships, with the last one being held in 1986. Norwegian speed skaters Hjalmar Andersen, Knut Johannesen, Fred Anton Maier, the largest speed skating event at Bislett was that of the 1952 Olympics. Hjalmar Andersen won three gold medals, despite its low-lying altitude, Bislett was on many occasions able to provide ice of a high quality, resulting in ten single distance world records and five overall world records. In 1963, Knut Johannesen broke Boris Shilkovs eight-year-old 5000 m world record from Medeo, jonny Nilsson improved the record by around four seconds during the World Championships in 1965. Fred Anton Maier was able to set a 10000 m world record twice, in 1966
25.
Vaillant Arena
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Vaillant Arena is an arena in Davos, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the arena of HC Davos. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated, every year the Spengler Cup is played in this arena. The open natural ice rink beside the arena, Eisstadion Davos, was in the past the venue for international speed skating events. It still continues to be used for Swiss Championships in speed skating and it is an outdoor, natural, ice rink and lies 1,560 metres above sea level. The arena also had a reputation for variable conditions, the sun or warm winds could play havoc with ice conditions throughout a championship, Bandy has also been played at the Eisstadion. Apart from local games, the 1913 European Bandy Championships was held at the site, at the beginning of the 20th century HC Davos played home games at an outdoor ice rink. The first attempt to cover the ice rink came around 1970, soon after work began on the wooden enclosure, the project was stopped because of a lack of funds. In 1979 HC Davos, qualified for the Nationalliga A and a rink was necessary. Construction finished on the structure, allowing the team to participate in the 1979/80 season. It was not until the 1981/82 season that the arena was closed by glass panes. In 1998 the west tribune was renovated and instead of a big standing area, at that time the arena could hold up to 7,680 people. In summer 2005 a new, modern, tribune was built, which included the restaurant “Nordside”, VIP rooms, a sector for sponsors, capacity was subsequently reduced by the new construction to 7,080 people. The renovations continued in 2006 with small investments in the security of the southern and eastern tribune, in January 2007 the indoor ice-hockey rink was renamed Vaillant Arena after the Vaillant Group paid three million Swiss francs to help fund future renovations
26.
Brno
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Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and area, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the center of the South Moravian Region in which it forms a separate district. The city is also a significant administrative centre and it is the seat of a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman, and the Office for the Protection of Competition. Brno is also an important centre of education, with 33 faculties belonging to 13 institutes of higher learning. Brno Exhibition Centre ranks among the largest exhibition centres in Europe, the complex opened in 1928 and established the tradition of large exhibitions and trade fairs held in Brno. Brno hosts motorbike and other races on the Masaryk Circuit, an established in 1930. Another cultural tradition is a fireworks competition, Ignis Brunensis. The other large preserved castle near the city is Veveří Castle by the Brno Dam Lake and this castle is the site of a number of legends, as are many other places in Brno. Another architectural monument of Brno is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat which has been included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, one of the natural sights nearby is the Moravian Karst. The etymology of the name Brno is disputed and it perhaps comes from Old Czech brnie muddy, swampy. Alternative derivations are from a Slavic verb brniti or a Celtic language spoken in the area before it was overrun by Germanic peoples, throughout its history, Brnos locals also referred to the town in other languages, including Brünn in German, ברין in Yiddish and Bruna in Latin. The city was referred to as Brunn in English. The Asteroid 2889 Brno was named after the city, as well as the Bren light machine gun, one of the most famous weapons of World War II. In the early 11th century Brno was established as a castle of a prince from the House of Přemyslid. Brno was first mentioned in Cosmas Chronica Boëmorum dated to year 1091, seats of these rulers and thus capitals of these territories were castles and towns of Brno, Olomouc, and Znojmo. In the late 12th century, Moravia began to reunify, forming the Margraviate of Moravia, since then, until the mid of the 17th century, it was not clear which town should be the capital of Moravia. Political power was therefore divided between Brno and Olomouc, but Znojmo also played an important role. The Moravian Diet, the Moravian Land Tables, and the Moravian Land Court were all seated in both cities at once, however, Brno was the official seat of the Moravian Margraves, and later its geographical position closer to Vienna also became important
27.
Cycle sport
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Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of racing including road bicycle racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX. Non-racing cycling sports include cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX. The Union Cycliste Internationale is the governing body for cycling. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the body for many ultra-distance cycling races. Bicycle racing is recognised as an Olympic sport, bicycle races are popular all over the world, especially in Europe. The countries most devoted to bicycle racing include Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, other countries with international standing include Australia, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and the United States. The first bicycle race is held to have been a 1,200 meter race on the 31 May 1868 at the Parc de Saint-Cloud. It was won by expatriate Englishman James Moore who rode a bicycle with iron tires. The machine is now on display at the museum in Ely, Cambridgeshire, road bicycle racing involve both team and individual competition, and races are contested in various ways. They range from the road race, criterium, and time trial to multi-stage events like the Tour de France. The races typically take place from spring through to autumn, many riders from the northern hemisphere spend the winter in countries such as Australia, to compete or train. The longest one-day road race sanctioned by USA Cycling is Lotoja which covers the 206 miles from Logan, Utah to Jackson, criteriums are races based on circuits typically less than a mile in length and sometimes run for a set time rather than a specific distance. Criteriums are the most popular form of racing in North America. In Belgium, kermesses are popular, single-day events of usually over 120 km, as well as road races in which all riders start simultaneously, individual time trial and team time trial events are also held on road-based courses. Track cycling encompasses races that take place on banked tracks or velodromes, events are quite diverse and can range from individual and team pursuits, two-man sprints, to various group and mass start races. Competitors use track bicycles which do not have brakes or freewheels, cyclo-cross originated as a sport for road racers during the off season, to vary their training during the cold months
28.
7-Eleven (cycling team)
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The 7-Eleven Cycling Team, later the Motorola Cycling Team, was a professional cycling team founded in the U. S. in 1981 by Jim Ochowicz, a former U. S. Olympic cyclist. The team lasted 16 years, under the sponsorship of 7-Eleven through 1990, from 1989 to 1996 it rode on Eddy Merckx bikes. 7-Eleven was formed as a cycling team in 1981 by Ochowicz. Ochowicz had managed the U. S. national speed-skating team and was friends with Eric and Beth Heiden and he managed to get sponsorship from the Southland Corporation, owners of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, and bicycle manufacturer Schwinn to form an amateur team. Of the seven men on the inaugural 7-Eleven-Schwinn team racing in 1981, Eric Heiden was the captain, the other Americans were Jeff Bradley, Greg Demgen, Bradley Davies, Tom Schuler, Danny Van Haute and Roger Young. They were joined by Canadian Ron Hayman, the all-amateur 7-Eleven team was featured in the 1985 movie American Flyers, starring Kevin Costner. Southland continued its commitment by sponsoring the cycling venue at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the other sponsors of the team included Descente, Huffy, Campagnolo, and Tag Heuer. Often, those sponsors elected not to continue after their contracts were completed. In 1985, Ochowitz changed the teams status to professional. Ochowicz disbanded the team after the 1996 season, when Motorola decided to discontinue sponsorship, while it was not the first professional cycling team in the U. S. 7-Eleven was responsible for an overall increase in bike racing interest in the U. S. The team claimed a win in a Grand Tour, when Andrew Hampsten won the championship as well as the mountains championship at the 1988 Giro dItalia. It also claimed a handful of championship medals and US championships, as well as Tour de France and Giro stage wins. It was the second U. S. team to ride the Giro dItalia and in the Tour de France and its Tour de France stage winners included Phinney, Jeff Pierce, Hampsten and Dag Otto Lauritzen from Norway. In 1989 Brian Walton won the pro-am Milk Race, as of 2009, Team 7-Eleven is the only cycling team to have been inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame. Finally Eddy Merckx sponsored the team from 1989 through their ultimate cessation in 1996, for Eddy Merckx, sponsoring the American team had a special meaning. Eddy Merckx said, I had a relationship with the 7-Eleven team. They were happy to have somebody with my racing and frame-building experience, for me remains a great memory. I was happy I could make more successful in Europe
29.
Jim Ochowicz
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Jim Ochowicz is a former bicyclist and manager of the BMC Racing Team. He was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1997 as a contributor to the sport of cycling, Ochowicz participated in the 1972 Summer Olympics in the 4 km team pursuit cycling event. He served as president of the USA Cycling Board of Directors from 2002–2006, in 1981, Ochowicz founded the successful 7-Eleven squad, which he managed through 1995. In 2007 he began the BMC Racing Team, which first competed on the professional cycling circuit in 2010. 2013 Wall Street Journal – business relationship with Hein Verbruggen and Thomas Weisel, Jim Ochowicz is the husband of former track cyclist and Olympic speed skater Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz and the father of Olympic speed skater Elli Ochowicz. 2011 Pezcyclingnews interview of Jim Ochowicz by Matt Wood
30.
1986 Tour de France
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The 1986 Tour de France was the 73rd running of the Tour de France, one of cyclings Grand Tours. The Tour consisted of 23 stages, beginning with a prologue in Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, on 4 July and this year had the first American cycling team, 7-Eleven, in Tours history. The race was organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation, was shown on television in 72 countries, following the success of Bernard Hinault in the previous edition, the La Vie Claire team was heavily favored. Hinault promised to return Greg LeMonds support to win the 1985 Tour, however and he claimed that his tactics were simply to wear down LeMonds opponents and that he ultimately knew that LeMond would be the winner because of time losses earlier in the race. Regardless of his motives, this tactic worked well, and rivals Laurent Fignon of Système U. Fignon quit the race due to injuries aggravated by stress, the ascent of the legendary Alpe dHuez gave spectators a spectacular stage in which Hinault made a suicidal solo attack to demoralize the opposition, to be matched only by LeMond at the top. In a gesture of respect, the two reached the top hand-in-hand, beaming smiles, and LeMond let Hinault finish first to claim the stage. However, within hours LeMond and Hinault were interviewed together on joint television and he went on to say that they would let the final time trial determine the winner. This would be the final Tour for legendary Dutch rider Joop Zoetemelk and he started and finished 16 Tours, a record, of these Tours he finished in the top 5 eleven times and won the 1980 Tour de France. In June,23 teams had requested to start in the 1986 Tour, the Tour direction accepted 21 applications, so a total of 21 teams participated in the 1986 Tour de France. The two teams whose application was denied were Skala-Skil and Miko, each team sent a squad of ten riders, which meant that the race would start with a peloton of 210 cyclists, a record setting total. From the 210 riders that began this edition,132 made it to the finish in Paris, 7-Eleven became the Tours first team from the United States, with a squad consisting of eight Americans, one Canadian and one Mexican. Jim Ochowicz, 7-Elevens founder and manager, met with the Amaury Sport Organisation, in the Spring, the team withdrew from competition in Europe due to the United States conflict with Libya, losing out on much needed competitive racing unavailable in the United States. The teams entering the race were, Bernard Hinault, winner of the 1985 Tour de France, had promised to support his teammate Greg LeMond, after their domination in 1985, their La Vie Claire team was the clear favourite. Before the start of the event, Hinault announced it would be his last Tour de France of his career, past winner Laurent Fignon was working on his comeback, for the Système U team. Juan Mora of El País believed that the race would be highlighted by a duel between Fignon and Hinault and he named LeMond and Frenchman Charly Mottet as potential contenders if their team captains – Hinault and Fignon, respectively – fail to perform to the level expected. Mora believed Pedro Delgado to be the best Spanish contender for the title citing that his PDM–Concorde should perform well in the team time trial. Ormezzano also thought the favorites going into the race were Hinault, the race route for the 1986 edition of the Tour de France was unveiled on 8 October 1985 by both Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan
31.
Woodside, California
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Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It has a system of government. The population of the town was 5,287 at the 2010 census, Woodside is home to many horses and is among the wealthiest communities in the United States. The median household income in the town is $212,917, the Woodside area was originally home to natives belonging to the Ohlone tribe. In 1769, led by Gaspar de Portolá, Spanish explorers searching for San Francisco Bay camped at a site near Woodside, Woodside is located on the Rancho Cañada de Raymundo Mexican Land grant. Woodside is said to be the oldest English-speaking settlement in the part of the San Francisco Peninsula. The first English-speaking settlers arrived in the early 19th century to log the rich stands of redwoods, charles Brown constructed the first sawmill in Woodside on his Mountain Home Ranch around 1838. His adobe house, built in 1839, still stands today, by mid-century, the Woodside area had a dozen mills producing building materials for a booming San Francisco. In 1849, during the California Gold Rush, 20-year-old Mathias Alfred Parkhurst purchased 127 acres of timberland and named it “Woodside, of course, by the late 19th century, Woodside was home to country estates. The Sequoia Redwood trees in Woodside are currently 3 generation growth, the first generation of the Redwood trees were used to build San Francisco original homes. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the returned to Woodside to cut the second growth of redwood so they could be used for the rebuilding of San Francisco. In 1909, the Family, a club, set up camp facilities and rustic buildings in Woodside at the Family Farm. Gatherings at the Family Farm include an annual Farm Play, written, in 1912, the Family pooled funds to build Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Portola Valley, designed by 19-year-old Timothy L. Pflueger, his first commission. The historic building was repaired at a cost of US$600,000 after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Woodside was incorporated in 1956 to prevent urbanization, and it still retains a rural residential character, though it is a short commute to Silicon Valley. Today, Woodside is among the wealthiest small towns in the United States, outside of the business district are the Stillheart Institute educational event center, Skywood Trading Post and the Mountain Terrace event center. Horses are part of the local culture, numerous residents keep horses, and the town government maintains a network of horse trails. Some residents homes are even considered farms, the town is also popular among local cyclists and draws them in large numbers on weekends. The most popular road cycling routes include Old La Honda Road, Kings Mountain Road, Cañada Road, Southgate Drive, Skyline Boulevard, the Tour of California bicycle race includes several roads along and adjacent to CA-84 and Skyline Boulevard
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United States National Road Race Championships
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The United States National Professional Road Race Championships began in 1985. They are run by the body, USA Cycling. Until 2006 the race was open to all nationalities, the first American to finish being named the winner, since the championship in Greenville, South Carolina, in 2006, all riders have had to be American. Before 1985, only the champions were named. From 1921 to 1964, the Amateur Bicycle League of America National Championships were held as an omnium of track-style events for Men, Women, and Juniors, rather than as a road race. In 1964 the American Cycling Newsletter reported the results of a Flemington, NJ race as the road racing championships
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Sten Stensen
Sebastian Coe
Kurt Thomas
