Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Saudi Arabia's Sarah Attar Crosses the 800 finish as the first woman to compete in track in her country

British Cycling champion has trouble fitting thighs into regular pants

The New York Times has a fascinating write-up on the massive quadriceps belonging to track cycling stars. As Greg Bishop notes in the piece, the velodrome is a place where getting called "thunder thighs" isn't an insult. The whole thigh phenomenon was started when two Olympians had a "thigh off" and an insane picture of massive legs went viral.
We found the article so interesting that we had to list four of the most startling facts:
1. One cyclist, nicknamed Mr. Thigh (cyclists are a literal bunch), aka Robert Förstemann, has thighs that are 34 inches. Each. That's a women's size 14. The average male human head is around 24 inches around.
2. Chris Hoy, Great Britain's six-time gold-medal winner, has thighs measuring 27 inches. He has to buy pants that are two sizes too big so his thighs will fit.
3 U.S. champion Beth Newell says having big thighs is advantageous beyond the track. She advises would-be cyclists: "Your friends love to hear

Cuban pole vaulter snaps pole on vaulting first attempt




Lazaro Borges shattered his pole into three pieces during qualifying for Thursday's pole vault final, sending shards of fiberglass flying in all directions and ejecting him into the pit.
The Cuban was making his first attempt of the Olympics at 5.35 meters (approximately 17.5 feet). The spectacular crash fortunately caused no injury to either Borges or trackside officials. He calmly brushed off his hands and collected the pieces of his pole after the incident.