#olympic athlete stiles

[paastliives]

justice smith + he/him + cis male – have you seen luke tozier around los angeles? the twenty-six year old is usually jamming to fancy by twice. word around the city is that they’re persistent, yet, they can also be pessimistic, but you didn’t hear that from me. they’re currently an nhl player and are typically seen walking the streets of los angeles with his samoyed, lorna. when i think of them, i think of hot chocolate in a cold ice rink, graphic sweaters and unsent postcards forgotten on a cluttered bedside table. let’s hope the city treats them good!

( WANTED CONNECTIONS )

(slight mention of teen pregnancy and tw for homophobia & biphobia, drug use & alcohol use)

full name: luke tozier

nicknames: louie

birthday: january 4th, 1997

zodiac: capricorn

birthplace: ottawa, canada

hometown: ottawa, canada

occupation: goalie for the anaheim ducks

sexual orientation: (closeted) bisexual

gender: cis male

character inspiration: benny weir (my babysitter's a vampire), stiles stilinski (teen wolf), kotaro bokuto (haikyuu), finn hudson (glee)

headlines

TOZIER'S ALL STAR SAVES: SEE FULL GAMEPLAY HERE! - tsn, march 2023 TOZIER TO ANAHEIM! ( the senators to trade hometown boy to california ) - cbc, june 2022 TROUBLE FOR A SENATOR? ( sens' goalie off to rehab, says insider source ) - tmz, may 2021

the story

practically born with a hockey stick in hand, luke tozier was born to teenage parents romee tozier (fourty-three) and theo moran (fourty-four) in the suburbs of canada's capital city, ottawa. romee & theo didn't stay together long, but they'd always considered themselves 'life long friends'. due to that, luke has always said he was brought up by 'love'.

when luke was around 3 or 4, theo and his brother played hockey on a rec level and romee would always bring luke around to watch his dad play. it was at one of these games that luke got his first taste for the ice and decided he loved the rough sport. he begged his parents to enroll him as soon as he was old enough. with the help of theo's mother finding his old hockey stuff & romee's father paying the year's dues - luke got his wish. he officially started playing hockey in the fall of 2002.

he found his place as a goalie not long after. he found the position on the ice natural, and was easily commended by his coaches & peers for every block he made. this was truly cemented for him when he went to his first hockey camp at age 8. he spent most of that camp as a goalie, and revelled in the cheers he got every-time he blocked the puck from the goal.

the first time the idea came up that luke could actually truly make a career out of hockey - he was 13. sure, the idea had come up in dreams and fun talks with his dad & uncle, but he didn't think it could actually happen to him. a scout put the idea in his head during one of his games; placed a card in theo's hand, and told him to call if he wanted his son on the ice for real. three months later, luke found himself at a prestigious hockey 'school' on his summer break - there, he met wanted connection, his closest friend, and it was also where he given his first real taste of big time parties.

luke's life kind of changed after that summer. it was like he was initiated into this new life of semi-pro athletes, and he started high school with this flow about him. another thing that changed for luke was his willpower towards certain substances and alcohol and the parties that came with his new life. even though he knew one wrong move could mess up his whole future, luke found he loved the rush he got whenever he indulged himself. it was almost better than the feeling of the crowd cheering for him.

as he got older, he got better. he continued going to hockey camp; played on the school team and on club teams. when he was 16, he was picked as a goalie for the canadian world juniors team and the team won silver after he blocked the final goal of the game from sweden. the first time he saw his uncle cry was after that game.

he played his first olympic game the following year. he turned 17 in the mist of his first olympics, and got a gold medal with it.

the olympics were another turning point for luke. it was the first time he kissed a boy. he never told any of his teammates or his friends, in fear of what would happen. he gradually came out to certain people in the years following, and still deals with internalised homophobia & biphobia over it.

luke was drafted by the nhl at the age of 19 - right out of high school. he started in colorado, before getting traded to his hometown team of the ottawa senators.

as the years went on, luke's penance for partying grew. he was known to be at clubs late at night, and was known for heavy drinking following bad losses. he thought he hid it well; he really did. he thought no one could possibly know - until everyone did. after a brutal binge (and maybe a couple thousand in damages to a couple of things), luke was sent to rehab.

following his stay at rehab, luke had a horrible season. he felt shitty; he felt bad. he felt like his whole life and everything he thought about himself was going to come crumbling down due to one bad season. despite his two gold and two silver medals, and constantly being named one of the top goalies in the nhl: luke felt he had ruined his career and life.

he was traded to the anaheim ducks the following season, and he had never been so thankful to move from his hometown.

OTHER THINGS

luke has always been described by teachers and coaches as 'quirky' and 'a little odd'. he's always had this odd flow to him - like he's on a different dimension than you. his warmup music consists of kpop girl groups and vitamin string quartet covers; a hobby he picked up as a kid was tumbling rocks, and he has continued it into adulthood; and his favourite ice cream flavour is pralines & cream. after he moved to la, this translated into his clothing style too. it was often to find pap photos of him in fun clothes going viral on twitter.

once a video a teammate took of him dancing to 'love dive' by ive in the locker room went viral on tiktok & twitter, and now he sometimes does it on the ice.

sometimes just comes to the rink to skate his feelings out. he tries to do figure skating moves, but can never land them right.

he plays the guitar and sometimes jokes about starting his own band 'if this hockey thing doesn't work out'

luke hasn't touched drugs since rehab, but still drinks. he's trying to stop completely, but he has cut back a lot.

[sourwolfstories]

Studying the Blade by never_love_a_wild_thing

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 16420

Figure Skater Derek Hale is going to the Olympics for the last time. Age and an old injury are finally starting to get the better of him, but a number of fresh faces on Team USA, or maybe one face in particular are enough to keep him going. Stiles Stilinski and his sister Lydia are going to the Olympics for the first time. Between nerves and drama, he's worried that they may be in over their heads, but a veteran skater reluctantly takes them under his wing. In other words: leave it to Sterek to fall in love in the middle of the Olympic Games.

[eternalsterekrecs]

DANCING ON BLADES

Author: tryslora

Summary: When Derek discovers that Mieczysław "Stiles" Stilinski--known for his YouTube videos of skating, not his competitions--is going to be at Nationals, attempting to make the Olympic team, he has to go. After all, Stiles learned ALL FIVE of Derek's Worlds routines and posted video of each one to YouTube. He sees something in this unknown skater, something that only Stiles's reclusive coach seemed to see before. And when Stiles manages to claim one of the three coveted spots, Derek makes an offer that Stiles can't refuse: Derek will coach him to win Olympic gold. The hard part? There are only two weeks between Nationals and the Olympics...

Info: 28k | Teen | YOI Inspired, Dad Derek, Ice Skating, Olympics

Notes: I have to be honest here, I never watched Yuri On Ice. But if it is anything remotely like this fic, sign me in because I’m down for that. The UST is incredible, there is a dancing scene that is just hot and overall is also the cutest! -C

Sneak Peek:

Stiles sidles closer to Scott, elbows him sharply. “Dude. Dude, shut up. That’s Derek Hale.”

“The guy whose routines you keep skating?”

A flush burns across Stiles’s cheeks, highlighting the path of moles dotted along his cheekbone. “Yeah. That Derek Hale.”

Derek presses his lips together, not quite fighting back the smirk. Because of course he’s that Derek Hale. He shoves his hands in his leather jacket, raises an eyebrow and says, “You would’ve fought for it. And it might’ve been close. But you would have beaten Daehler. Or you shouldbeat Daehler; you have more heart, better stamina, and a better instinct for the ice.”

“But?” Stiles tilts his chin, eyes still wide and cheeks still flushed.

“But you need polish. Finesse. And a better program.” Derek smiles, sharp and hungry, because this is why he’s here. “You’re going to the Olympics, Stiles. Starting today, I’m your coach.”

“What?”

Derek stops him, bulls through before Stiles can do more than stand there with his jaw dropped. “I am your coach, and I’ll make you win Olympic gold.”

[amclgamating]

@moltolavoro ; scott

   Stiles falls asleep almost immediately.

   Not in a ‘behind the wheel’ sort of way, thankfully. It’s only late afternoon when they drive out of the Preserve and follow the roads back to Scott’s house, and by the time Stiles hops out of his Jeep, he seems... okay.

   There isn’t so much of that fluttery anxious kick in his chest, though a low thrum of it still there, practically genetic by now, and he seems to have cleared up, like a passing rain shower. Whatever emotions flared up by the creek have either dissipated or compartmentalized themselves somewhere else for later.

   Stiles makes it a few more hours. He texts his dad where he’ll be until tomorrow. They order pizza and Stiles even fronts the extra cash to get more to split with Isaac because one werewolf already makes the McCall household look like they have the caloric intake of at least two Olympic athletes, and Stiles wants literally at least two slices for himself. Hell, Stiles even makes it all the way to the couch and loads Attack of the Clones, because yes, they’ve seen it a thousand times, but was Scott really going to deny him this comfort mental stimulation?

   But by the time Scott makes it to the couch, opening credits already rolling on-screen, Stiles is out like a light.

   Pretty uncommon for him, even after all the shit he’s been through, though it seems relatively peaceful, despite the faint smell of... something that seeps throughout the living room. Something that smells vaguely of ozone, that sharp, tinny scent right before a storm. The same non-smell that rippled off Stiles in the Preserve, by the river, before disappearing into the surrounding woods.

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

are there any sport-related fics with Steter or Sterek? like football/rugby/ice skating/baseball etc??

Yes! Let’s put a homerun into the basket without getting a red flag and put in a penalty box. Eh? I did that right, right? - Anastasia

Finding your discipline by Lesatha

(1/1 I 3,132 I General I Sterek)

“You also have nice eyelashes,” Derek whispered, although this was an understatement.

Stiles laughed, and Derek’s chest tightened with pride. For some reason, he liked making the young man laugh.

“What kind of athlete does this make me?” Stiles chuckled.

“A pretty one?”

***

Olympics AU. All the times Derek tried to guess what sport Stiles competed in -based on a very serious study of Stiles' body- and one time he found out.

Flying Changes by otter

(1/1 I 10,807 I Explicit I Sterek)

Derek's a dressage rider with a reputation for frowning and making people cry. Stiles is an acrobatic stunt rider whose resume includes medieval-themed dinner shows and the actual circus. Derek's an Olympian, he doesn't need this shit.

Chasing Number One by Metamorphosis2011 (Methamorphosis2011)

(1/1 I 18,530 I Mature I Sterek)

Meet Derek Hale, the world tennis number one and a "gift from god" for the sport. The 'Iron Man' from the US, four years at number one, unchallenged, with an unrivalled run of victories. Enter Stiles Stilinski, the 17 year old wunderkind from Germany, hot on his tail, chasing his spot at number 1. Surely there is no time and place for the small complication that is romance in the competitive world that is performance tennis. Definitely not if everyone else has their say!

Love All by tattooedsiren

(1/1 I 47,602 I Explicit I Sterek)

When Stiles Stilinksi steps foot onto Court 8 at Roland Garros, it's everything he's been dreaming of for the last nine years, and everything his life has been building towards since the first time he held a tennis racquet in his hands fourteen years ago.

It's kinda funny, Stiles thinks, that his first game in a Grand Slam (that's right, he's playing in a freaking Grand Slam) is against a fellow American. Hell, he's a fellow Californian. Derek Hale is slightly taller than him, his face is stubbled and just as grumpy in real life as he's seen in numerous photos and video coverage. And yeah, in any other circumstance Stiles might admit that the stubble and general sense of 'stay the hell away from me' totally works for him. But right now it's just intimidating as fuck.

Versus by secondstar

(15/15 I 94,521 I Explicit I Sterek)

At age nineteen, Stiles Stilinski was the next big thing, according to The Guardian. It was surreal, not being able to turn on Sky Sports without hearing his name mentioned along with the names of players he grew up idolizing. Stiles couldn’t believe that this was his life.

We Poured Mud Through Their Veins by ThisDominionIsMine

(33/33 I 158,034 I Explicit I Sterek)

Stiles is five-going-on-six years old when his mother buys a pony. He's twenty-two when he takes a job offer as a groom in a racing barn (because anything is better than driving forklifts in a warehouse) and full-on faceplants into a world that he's spent his entire life sneaking glorified glimpses of. It's not clean, and it isn't pretty by any stretch of imagination, but somewhere in there he gets a vague notion of what it is that make this the sport of kings.

[mia6363]

kirstock and steter olympics au has been in my mind for so long. kira a prodigy being trained/coached by former idol peter. stiles is a gymnastics kid who hired his childhood coach finstock. finstock as foul mouthed as ever

OKAY NO JOKE i might have to make it into a proper one-shot later. Because I have been toying with Olympic fencer Kira for a long time. This is beautiful and you should know that you have a beautiful brain for thinking of it.

-- Kira was one of those kids who just… clicked when it came to fencing. She was average at school, at singing, at band, but fencing Kira was like a duck in water. It doesn’t take long for Kira to start winning state championships before moving to a national audience.

-- She’s not very competitive as a kid, she fences because she enjoys it. Noshiko tries to get her to be more aggressive, but it’s simply not Kira’s style. By the time she’s sixteen, Peter Hale, American Olympic champion with four olympic gold medals under his belt, approaches Noshiko to see if he could mentor Kira.

-- Stiles… is not like Kira.

-- Stiles was hyperactive and Noah didn’t know what to do with him. Stiles loves school, he’s not so great with team sports, so Noah just signs him up for a gymnastics class when Stiles is eight and landed himself his fourth detention for interrupting class. He just tells the instructor to wear Stiles out.

-- Turns out, Stiles is actually really fucking good at gymnastics. His first and only Coach, Bobby Finstock, was an alcoholic, former athlete who always knew how to make Stiles shriek with laughter while also pushing the kid’s limits as to what he could do in a single run.

-- Stiles wasn’t pressing for the Olympics. But then he qualified. Finstock assumed that Stiles would shop around for a proper Coach. After all, Finstock was a functioning alcoholic who laughed too loud and basically had a tumbling class for kids. He only started getting new equipment because Stiles clearly needed something better, and even that was shady back deals and just annoying sellers into lowering their prices.

-- So when Stiles shows up on Finstock’s doorstep and looks genuinely shocked that Finstock wasn’t expecting to follow him to the Olympics, Finstock might cry a little.

-- “Why would I want some stranger with me? That’s dumb.” They hug. It’s emotional.

-- Stiles doesn’t win the first time he makes it to the Olympics. He’s 17 but it’s still thrilling. They keep training, and like Stiles gets sponsorships and basically splits it with Finstock so they can just train solo and get a better gym.

-- Kira is all about finesse and perfecting footwork. She studies fencing theory and just throws herself into it headfirst. Peter is sometimes able to encourage her to go out some nights, he’ll treat her to dinner or even just a few hours at a bookstore. He often is at the Yukimura’s house, either joining them for dinner or just spending time.

-- The first Olympics Kira goes to, she’s 18, and she wins silver.

-- Peter is twirling her around and Kira is crying, harder than she should be. “Next time,” she sobs, “I’ll get gold next time, I promise.”

-- He knew Noshiko was rough on her since fencing was just a sport and “not a stable career path,” but he didn’t realize it was so bad.

-- He adjusts his training regime to include meditation. At first Kira thinks it’s a waste of time because if she’s not moving, she’s not improving, but Peter convinces her to try it.

-- The next time they’re both at the Olympics, their paths cross.

-- It’s common for the countries to stick together, especially newer participants. Once a few Olympic Games are under their belts, then folks will start to shout on over to their competitors and eat together. But typically, it was easier to stay within your own country.

-- Peter came from money and dressed well, and him and Kira had matching jackets as they hung out in the quad. Meditation had helped Kira, she embraced stillness and approached her matches with a calmness that often threw off her opponent. She was still calm when she nudged Peter’s side.

-- “Who is that?” That being a wild-haired man in a neon yellow jacket with pink letters across the back read ASSHOLE. He had his arm slung around a young man, definitely the athlete of the two. Kira had never seen anyone like the coach before. “Not sure,” Peter snorted, “he’s a bit of an eyesore.”

-- She wasn’t sure if it was out of spite or just a moment of whimsy, but Kira stood up, her hand on Peter’s shoulder as she waved to the eyesore. She caught his eye, his athlete’s too, and smiled. The athlete pulled his coach towards them, while the older man kept looking behind him, like maybe Kira had been waving to someone else.

-- The two Coaches couldn’t be more different, Peter sitting tall and refined as Finstock slouched and cursed with Shakespearean eloquence that had Kira grinning. Stiles kept pushing Peter’s buttons, all in an attempt for the pretentious asshole to show a little personality.

-- “We should celebrate after our events,” Kira suggested, eager and hopeful in a way that Peter hadn’t seen in years. Stiles shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s make it a real reward. If we both get gold, we meet up. If not, better luck until next Olympics.”

-- Peter worries for a moment, thinking that the suggestion will unleash Noshiko’s pressures that he’d been doing his best to get Kira to cut out of her. Instead, he hears her inhale, her grin wide and crooked. Her posture slouches, just a little bit and Peter realizes that this isn’t about Stiles. It’s about his Coach.

-- “Deal.”

-- They both win gold that year.

[bleep0bleep]

the distraction (Derek/Stiles, T, 3k) by bleep0bleep A almost has-been, a young hopeful, and too much protection. ~

Derek stares flatly at the huge bin of condoms in the health center they had set up in the Olympic Village. Their shiny foil packets glisten, as if they’re mocking him.

“Go on, take some, we’ve got plenty,” the aide says, not even looking up from her clipboard.

“No thanks,” Derek says, fighting the blush rushing to his cheeks. He knows the reputation the Village has, and the reason why the athletes are provided with so much… protection. Derek takes a step back. A large step. It’s been so long since he’s even thought about being intimate with someone that the colossal amount of condoms even being present here is terrifying. {Read on AO3}

[andavs]

I wish you would write a fic where...Stiles is a diver and Derek a gymnast and they show the ropes of their sport to each other like the video Petals shared today

Real talk, I didn’t see the video and thought you meant Stiles was a scuba diver, and I spent way too long tipsily staring at my laptop screen with a pina colada, wondering how on earth you chose these two sports and why. And even after watching the video today, I still don’t know how to talk about these sports. I can’t even do a cartwheel and I have a hazy memory of doing a belly flop off a high dive in elementary school that ended pretty much all enjoyment of watersports for me.

But I did drift off to sleep last night dreaming up ways for gymnast Derek and scuba Stiles to meet:

There’s some kind of gymnastics competition/conference in Hawaii and Derek’s team books scuba lessons! After one round of classes, the rest of the team either plots to set up Derek with Stiles and ditches the next round, or Derek goes ahead and schedules private lessons. They kiss underwater and when they resurface, some kid is yelling at them to get a room because the water is crystal clear and everyone snorkeling saw that shit.

Shit happens in Derek’s personal life so he’s taking a break from his gymnastics career, maybe there’s a career-ending injury, and after a late night Nicholas Sparks tv marathon, he books a trip to Hawaii with no return flight and takes off without really telling anyone. In Sparks fashion, he buys some rundown remote house on the coast that overlooks the ocean and starts to fix it up, and wouldn’t you know it, Stiles gives scuba lessons within view of the deck! Derek doesn’t realize he’s close enough to be seen, but Stiles notices that creeper leering at his students immediately and storms up there to give him a piece of his mind, only to find a very attractive wreck of a person, who wasn’t so much leering as longingly wishing he could have fun too. They rebuild the house together and Derek learns to surf and they live happily ever after.

A Hawaiian gymnastics place/gym/training company? hires former Olympic athlete Derek Hale to come be a coach! Scott either owns or works at the gym, maybe he’s an older gymnast who trains there, but his best friend Stiles hangs out there when he’s not giving scuba lessons. And once he catches sight of the hot new coach, suddenly Stiles unearths a newfound urge to learn how to do a handstand. He spends a lot of time after hours taking informal lessons with Derek, who always refuses payment because he has a crush but he’s too emotionally constipated to just come right out and say it. Stiles is always wearing sweats and a t-shirt, refuses to wear any kind of spandex, but then one day Derek wanders down to the beach and sees Stiles in a wetsuit, the top half unzipped and folded over, and Derek trips over a tourist. Suddenly he has a desperate need to learn the art of scuba diving.

In the first two scenarios, Derek doesn’t like not being great at things, and he’s embarrassed when he isn’t instantly amazing at diving. He clams up when Stiles corrects him on something, and just stopped showing up for a few days the time he got turned around in the reefs and had to be rescued. So to make him feel better about it, Stiles decides to learn some gymnastics to even the playing field.

And how does Stiles take to gymnastics? Badly, and he spends the next few days lying around, more sore than he’s ever been in his entire life, complaining loudly about how he can’t move his arms. Derek doesn’t know why he finds that attractive.

I’m sorry. This is not what you asked for at all, and I would’ve written it out in some way, but I watched one video on scuba basics and gave up without trying.

[ao3feed-sterek]

the distraction

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2HAoKNT

by bleep0bleep

Derek stares flatly at the huge bin of condoms in the health center they had set up in the Olympic Village. Their shiny foil packets glisten, as if they’re mocking him.

A almost has-been, a young hopeful, and too much protection.

Words: 3067, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Olympics, Olympics, Athlete Derek, Athlete Stiles Stilinski, Fluff

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2HAoKNT

[expatimes]

What happened to football in 2020 – and what is next?

Empty football stadiums resound with their histories, argues Uruguayan historian and football fanatic Eduardo Galeano: “There is nothing less empty than an empty stadium. There is nothing less mute than stands bereft of spectators,” he writes.

His maxim has been tested repeatedly across the world this year, as football has been poleaxed by the pandemic.

“COVID has massively affected every aspect of football; from how the game is played, to how it is watched – with no fans, or restricted numbers – to the economics of the game,” journalist and author James Montague told Al Jazeera.

As COVID-19 spread rapidly in early 2020, nearly every professional league around the world was suspended.

Fans who were used to organising their lives around the regular rhythm and rituals of football matches were left with the option of rewatching old games or watching the likes of FC Slutsk take on FC Smolevichi-Sti in the Belarus Super League, the only European league to play on by late March.

Euro 2020 – with its particularly pre-pandemic friendly format of 12 host cities across the continent – was postponed to 2021, as was the Copa America.

Empty seats are seen in the stands prior to the German first division Bundesliga football match in Dortmund, western Germany

“It’s been a big x-ray and it’s been a big wake up call,” said sportswriter, broadcaster and academic David Goldblatt.

“On the one hand, the deep and profound importance of football to innumerable numbers of people and its reliance as a spectacle and a social phenomenon on a real human crowd, interacting with the thing on the pitch,” he told Al Jazeera.

“And then of course it’s revealed all the madness of the business model, at the level of individual clubs and in the game as a whole.”

FIFA estimates that COVID-19 is likely to cost football $14bn this year – about one-third of its value. It has posed an existential threat to many clubs often already floundering under debt and mismanagement amid wider inequality.

Even some of the world’s richest clubs have deferred salaries and payments, taken on huge loans, asked players to take pay cuts and furloughed or laid off staff – Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil even offered to save the club’s mascot Gunnersaurus from redundancy.

Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent at Inside World Football, told Al Jazeera smaller clubs who rely on matchday revenue have suffered most. Many clubs and entire leagues facing the prospect of collapse have been forced to seek bailouts.

“The biggest problem is really in the lower leagues and non-league football, because these clubs are struggling even to exist. They don’t have the TV revenue to fall back on,” he said.

The Olympic Stadium in Caracas is seen with empty stands due to the coronavirus pandemic, taken before the start of the closed-door 2022 FIFA World Cup South American qualifier football match between Venezuela and Chile

Empty stands

Reservations over the safety and wisdom of playing on during a pandemic were generally overruled by the brutal truth that the sport could not afford to forfeit the colossal broadcast revenues at stake.

While some countries cancelled their seasons, many leagues and competitions returned in May or June to play in empty stadiums – under strict testing and distancing protocols.

Liverpool saw out their first league title victory in 30 years playing in empty grounds. Continental club competitions returned in abbreviated formats – Bayern Munich won a Champions League that was packed into a couple of weeks in August.

Matches without fans – what the Germans call “Geisterspiele” (or ghost games) – played out to eerie soundscapes; whether from the cries of players made audible amid an ambient hum of absent fans or the artificial crowd noises added by broadcasters that jarred with shots of empty seats and often failed to compute with the messiness of real matches.

Montague says tensions between the idea of football clubs as institutions rooted in local communities and their status as globalised brands have been brought into even sharper relief this year – and the longer restrictions are in place, the greater the threat to fan culture.

“At the beginning of the pandemic I thought: it’s terrible how fans aren’t there but it’s also showing how important fans are – not just to the atmosphere, but also to the business model of football,” Montague said.

“But as it’s gone on, you start to see how people who run clubs, who run organisations in football see the need to exploit this window of opportunity to try to push through the reforms that would never have been possible before.”

Some clubs and officials – including Real Madrid’s President Florentino Perez – appeared increasingly determined to push for an elite breakaway European super league during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, English Premier League clubs in October rejected the controversial Project Big Picture plan devised by Manchester United and Liverpool, which had proposed more revenue and a financial rescue package for lower league clubs in exchange for the concentration of power among English football’s elite.

Playing on

The pandemic has often produced erratic football matches and wild score-lines, as well as more penalties and goals in many leagues.

Aston Villa beat reigning champions Liverpool 8-2, Bayern Munich humbled Barcelona by the same score in their Champions League quarter-final – leading to a thoroughly disgruntled Lionel Messi. Arsenal could not win a league match for almost two months.

“I think the fact that fans have not been able to attend home games, and the lack of pressure of having to perform in front of a packed audience, has led actually to free-flowing football by most clubs, and that’s why you’re getting these strange, bizarre results every other week,” said Warshaw.

Research by the Institute of Labor Economics found that in many leagues home advantage prevailed but was often less marked in empty stadiums and that referees awarded fewer yellow cards to away teams.

Many players tested positive for COVID-19 – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mohamed Salah – and picked up injuries amid a congested fixture list.

AC Milan’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic already played a lot pre-COVID, but having to squeeze all these games into such a short space of time is bound to have an impact on players’ physical and mental wellbeing,” Warshaw said.

Women’s football has also taken a huge hit, with many leagues cancelled in 2020. In a report on COVID-19 published in November, the global players’ union Fifpro found that in 26 percent of surveyed countries women’s clubs were not included in the return to play protocols.

Fifpro General Secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann said wage cuts, job losses and a lack of support meant there was a “real danger that progress towards gender equality in parts of world football will be set back years”.

Meanwhile, debates over altered offside and handball rules, as well as the application of the VAR (video assistant referee) technology system, have become noticeably more acrimonious this year, Montague said.

“Having more people watching in front of televisions and screens is exacerbating that problem somewhat I think,” he said.

There were some heart-warming football stories this year; Japanese football legend “King Kazu” aka Kazuyoshi Miura, 53, set a new record in September when he became the oldest starter in the history of the country’s elite division. Celtic player Ryan Christie was overcome with emotion in an interview after Scotland qualified for its first major tournament since 1998.

And, while athlete activism is nothing new, footballers in 2020 have increasingly spoken out on political, social, and environmental issues. “This is on a scale, depth and reach that is really unprecedented,” Goldblatt said.

Footballers joined a FIFA and World Health Organization campaign against domestic violence during lockdowns. Many players repeatedly demonstrated support for the racial justice movement Black Lives Matter.

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has become a powerful force for social activism in the UK against hunger – twice forcing the British government to back down and reverse its policy over free school meals – as well as promoting reading and literacy.

Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann cut his ties with Chinese telecommunications company Huawei over its alleged role in the surveillance of the persecuted Uighur Muslim minority.

But of course it has also been a year of profound loss in the football world.

Iraqi football legend Ahmad Radhi died after contracting COVID-19.

In 2020 the world also mourned the deaths of legendary Italian striker Paolo Rossi, former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier, England’s 1966 World Cup winners Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles, and Argentine great Diego Maradona.

Diego Maradona, then Argentina’s coach, waves to supporters prior the 2010 World Cup quarter-final match Argentina vs. Germany in Cape Town, South Africa

Looking ahead

Fans began returning to many stadiums across the world in the latter months of the year until surging infections and mutant strains emptied many stands again in December.

“ human cost – physically, mentally, and financially – is going to linger long after vaccines are rolled out worldwide,” Warshaw said.

Meanwhile, other trends loom on the horizon.

“A big story of 2021 will also be Brexit, and how that affects the Premier League,” said Montague, “and how much of a benefit there is going to be for other big clubs in Europe who can take advantage of the chaos.”

From January 1, 2021, all foreign players in the UK will be subject to a points based threshold, and British clubs will no longer be able to sign foreign players below the age of 18.

Goldblatt, meanwhile, pointed out that the pandemic is linked to environmental factors and the climate crisis, which will have increasingly stark implications for football and which the sport has to address now.

His research has found that the stadiums of 23 of the 92 English Football League clubs will experience partial or total flooding by 2050.

“Grimsby Town better take up water polo ASAP,” he said.

Goldblatt says football – as a sport of comebacks, shock victories, and deep cultural and political reach – generates collective hope and can play a vital role in climate activism.

“Maybe I am being too corny, but hope is a precious commodity. I don’t actually experience it in most of my life, spiritually or politically. But I do in football.”

#sport Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=16236&feed_id=26000 #coronaviruspandemic #europe #football #news #sports #unitedkingdom

[sayitaliano]

Sports Vocabs

lo sport - sport il campionato - championship i mondiali - world championship le olimpiadi / i giochi olimpici - olympics / olympic games il campionato italiano - italian championship le competizioni - competitions l’europeo - european competition la classifica - classification il risultato finale - final result la passione - passion la forza - strenght i muscoli - muscles l’esibizione - exhibition, show

il calcio - soccer la squadra - team il portiere - goalkeeper l’attaccante (m.)- forward, attacker, striker il gol - goal il difensore - defender il rigore - penalty l’arbitro (m.) - referee l’ammonizione (f.)- yellow card l’espulsione (f.)- expulsion, red card il guardalinee, il giudice di linea - linesman l’invasione di campo - pitch invasion la partita, il match, la gara, l’incontro - match  il basket, la pallacanestro - basketball il playmaker - playmaker la guardia - guard il punteggio - score la divisa - uniform il canestro - basket andare a canestro, segnare - to score il ferro (del canestro) - rim of the basket, basketball hoop il primo tempo - first half il secondo tempo - second half il fallo - foul i tiri liberi - free throws, free throws line i tiri da tre - three pointer il tiro dalla lunetta - semicircle throw, free throw line la pausa, l’intervallo - pause, break, half time 5 minuti allo scadere del primo tempo - 5 minutes until the end of the first time la pallavolo - volleyball la rete - net l’invasione (f.)- invasion il tocco - touch il palleggiatore, l’alzatore - lo schiacciatore - outside hitter l’opposto - opposite il libero - libero il centrale - middle blocker la battuta, il servizio - service la schiacciata - hit la ricezione - reception il muro - block la difesa - defense l’ace - ace il punto - point il set - set il tie break (il quinto set) - tie break il beach volley - beach volley l’allenamento - training, practice le ginocchiere - knee pads il tennis - tennis la racchetta da tennis - racket la terra rossa, terra battuta - clay court il torneo - tournament il tennis tavolo, il ping pong - ping pong la macchina lanciapalle - ball machine il pugilato, la boxe - boxe i guantoni - boxing glove l’asciugamano - towel i round, la ripresa - rounds andare al tappeto, finire k.o. - knock out (to be knocked out) i pesi massimi - heavyweights i pesi piuma - featherweights il sollevamento pesi - lifting il peso mosca - flyweights la lotta, il wrestling - wrestling il judo - judo il taekwondo - taekwondo sotto la cintura - under the belt l’incontro - match la palestra - gym il bodybuilding - bodybuilding i pesi - weights l’automobilismo - car racing il motociclismo - motorcycling i motori - motors, motor sports il circuito - circuit la velocità - speed il giro - lap il giro più veloce - fastest lap il cronometro - chrono le prove - trials le qualificazioni - qualifications la gara, la corsa - race i piloti - pilots, riders la scuderia - team, stable la pista - track il casco - helmet le due ruote (=le moto) - two wheels (=motocycles) le quattri ruote (=le auto) - four wheels (=cars) l’asfalto - asphalt la caduta - fall la scivolata - slide, slip la gomma, lo pneumatico - tyre i freni - brakes le marce - gears

l’atletica (leggera) - athletics la corsa - running il salto in alto - high jump gli ostacoli - hurdles la maratona - marathon il maratoneta - marathon runner il corridore - runner il velocista - sprinter il lancio del peso - shot put  lancio del martello - hammer throw i cento metri - 100m il salto con l’asta - pole valuting l’asticella (f.) - horizontal bar il ciclismo - cycling la bicicletta - bicycle, bike la mountain bike - mountain bike il ciclista - cyclist la camera d’aria - inner tube, tube i pedali - pedals il gruppo di testa - top peloton la società - society, stable la borraccia - water bottle, canteen il ciclismo su strada - road cycling il ciclismo su pista - track cycling la volata - sprint la ginnastica artistica - artistic gymnastics la ginnastica ritmica - rhytmic gymnastics l’attrezzo (m.) - apparatus, tool la palla - ball il nastro - ribbon le clavette - little clubs, gym clubs la ruota - cartwheel la capriola - flip il salto - jump la pedana - springboard il cavallo - horse, trestle il corpo libero - floor exercises (lit.: body free) gli anelli - rings il trampolino elastico - trampolining le parallele - parallel bars la pertica - pole il rugby - rugby il football americano - american football il fango - mudd la palla ovale - oval-shaped ball il mediano - half back la mischia - scrum il pilone - prop la meta - try touche - lineout il baseball - baseball il guantone - mitt la mazza da baseball - bat, baseball bat il cappello da baseball - ball cap la macchina lanciapalle - pitching machine la base - base gli sport acquatici - water sports, aquatics i tuffi - diving il trampolino - trampoline il nuoto - swimming lo stile rana - breaststroke lo stile dorso - backstroke lo stile delfino - dolphin crawl lo stile libero - freestyle il nuoto sincronizzato - syncro la pallanuoto - waterpolo la calottina - swim cap stare a galla - tread water la vela - sailing, sail boat il surf - surf la tavola da surf - surfboard il windsurf - windsurf la canoa / il kayak - canoe, kayak il canottaggio - rowing

il tiro - shooting il tiro con l’arco - archery le frecce - arrows la carabina - carbine, rifle il tiro a volo - skeet la pistola - gun, handgun il volano, il badminton - badminton la scherma - fencing la sciabola - saber il fioretto - foil la spada - fencing, sword, epee l’equitazione, l’ippica - riding, horseback riding il cavallo - horse gli ostacoli - hurdles, obstacles il dressage - dressage la pallamano - handball il pentathlon moderno - modern pentathlon  l’hockey su prato - field hockey gli sport invernali - winter sports l’hockey su ghiaccio - ice hockey, hockey lo sci - skiing gli sci - ski lo sci alpino - alpine skiing lo sci di fondo - cross-country skiing il freestyle - freestyle il pattinaggio artistico - skating il pattinaggio di figura - figure skating i pattini - ice skates il ghiaccio - ice la neve - snow il bob - bobsledding, bobsleigh lo skeleton - skeleton il curling - curling lo slittino - sled, sledding lo snowboard - snowboard

la (mia) squadra del cuore - my favourite team (lit.: the team of my heart) il tifo di casa - home supporters io tifo (per la) Roma - I cheer for Rome F.C. giocare in casa - to play at home giocare in trasferta - to play outside tifare - to cheer, to root for

l’infortunio - injury la slogatura, la distorsione - sprain le ossa - bones i tendini - tendons la caviglia - ankle il ginocchio - knee la rotula - patella, kneecap la spalla - shoulder rompersi i legamenti / il crociato - to break your own ligaments / cruciate

[sourwolfstories]

the distraction by bleep0bleep

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 3067

Derek stares flatly at the huge bin of condoms in the health center they had set up in the Olympic Village. Their shiny foil packets glisten, as if they’re mocking him.

A almost has-been, a young hopeful, and too much protection.

[ao3-sterek]

the distraction

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2HAoKNT

by bleep0bleep

Derek stares flatly at the huge bin of condoms in the health center they had set up in the Olympic Village. Their shiny foil packets glisten, as if they’re mocking him.

A almost has-been, a young hopeful, and too much protection.

Words: 3067, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Olympics, Olympics, Athlete Derek, Athlete Stiles Stilinski, Fluff

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2HAoKNT

[blackkudos]

Eddie Tolan

Thomas Edward "Eddie" Tolan (September 29, 1908 – January 30/31, 1967), nicknamed the "Midnight Express", was an American track and field athlete who competed in sprints. He set world records in the 100-yard dash and 100 meters event and Olympic records in the 100 meters and 200 meters events. He was the first non-Euro-American to receive the title of the "world's fastest human" after winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters events at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In March 1935, Tolan won the 75, 100 and 220-yard events at the World Professional Sprint Championships in Melbourne to become the first man to win both the amateur and professional world sprint championships. In his full career as a sprinter, Tolan won 300 races and lost only 7.

Early years

Tolan was born in Denver, Colorado, one of four children. Tolan's father was Thomas Tolan. The family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah when Tolan was young, and moved again to Detroit, Michigan in 1924, when Tolan was 15 years old. Tolan later recalled, "My father read about better opportunities for Negroes here, so he packed up Mom and the four kids and we came here."

Cass Tech High School

Tolan attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit where he was an outstanding football player and sprinter. While at Cass Tech, Tolan set state records in the 100 and 220-yard dashes. While still in high school, Tolan ran the 100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds and the 220-yard dash in 21.5 seconds. At age of 16, Tolan was a member of a two-man team from Cass Tech that won the 1925 National Interscholastic indoor meet in Chicago. He won his first sprint double at the state meet as a sophomore, and in 1927 he won the 100 and 220-yard dashes at the National Interscholastic Championship at Soldier Field in Chicago. Despite his accomplishments as a sprinter, Tolan's first love was football, and he often said "the six touchdowns he scored in one game as a 131-pound quarterback at Detroit's Cass Tech High School was his greatest thrill, rather than his double win in the Olympics."

University of Michigan

Football

Tolan was recruited by several major universities as a football player, but he chose the University of Michigan. There are differing accounts as to why Tolan never played on the varsity football team at Michigan. According to a published account in The Detroit News in 2002, Tolan joined the freshman football team as a freshman in 1927. At that time, no African-American had played on Michigan's varsity football team since George Jewett in the 1890s. Tolan was initially allowed to play, but on the third day of practice, the freshman football coach told him, "Some of the coaches are disagreeing on your chances. Some of them think that you shouldn't be allowed to play football. I'd be tickled to have you but I'm afraid I'm going to be outvoted." The Detroit News noted, that the freshman coach was outvoted: "They took away Eddie Tolan’s football uniform and handed him a track suit in exchange."

Other accounts indicate, it was an injury that prevented Tolan from playing football at Michigan. An Associated Press story on Tolan in 1958 stated: "He would have been a football great as a quarterback, had a knee injury in his junior year in high school not forced him to channel all his energies to track." In his obituary, the Associated Press reported that the coaches at Michigan "talked the pint-sized speedster into going out for track." Tolan was also quoted as saying, "The track team did a lot more traveling then, so I saw the opportunity to travel on a Pullman and see the country."

Big Ten and world sprint champion

At Michigan, Tolan ran track under the mentorship of two of the great sprinters of their generations. Michigan's head coach, Steve Farrell, was considered "the greatest professional footracer this country has ever known" in the 1880s and 1890s. And Michigan's assistant coach Charles B. Hoyt, who took over from Farrell in 1930, was rated "America's best sprinter" in 1913, but lost his opportunity to compete in the 1916 Olympics due to World War I.

As a sophomore in May 1929, Tolan broke the Big Ten Conference record and tied the world’s record for the 100 yard dash with a time of 9.6. Press coverage starting with this world record run, and throughout his career, focused on three features – Tolan's race, his eyeglasses, and his short stocky build. Tolan was one of the first African-Americans to have success in sprinting, and he raced with eyeglasses taped to his head. Various accounts put his height anywhere from 5 feet, 4 inches, to 5 feet, 7 inches. One writer noted that Tolan "looks like a church deacon." Another writer described Tolan's appearance this way:

"Tolan, known as the 'Midnight Express,' was five feet six inches (1.7 m) tall and weighed 130 pounds (59 kg). He smiled often, raced while chewing gum, and could be easily identified by a bandage around his left knee to protect an old football injury. In addition he wore horn-rimmed glasses held in place with adhesive tape."

Tolan's gum-chewing became part of his routine. He chewed gum before a race to relieve stress. After accidentally running with the gum in his mouth, Tolan found that he was chewing in sync with his stride. Tolan later began chewing gum as part of his routine, chewing the gum faster when he needed to accelerate his leg movements.

At the Big Ten championships in May 1930, Tolan broke the world's record in the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.5. Tolan's performance was accepted by the International Amateur Athletic Federation as the new official world's record.

Seven weeks after breaking the world's record in the 100-yard dash, Tolan also broke the world's record in the 100 meters race. Competing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tolan shaved two-tenths of a second off the record with a time of 10-1/5 seconds. Track officials in Vancouver announced after the race, that Tolan's record-setting performance was "all the more remarkable in the fact that he ran uphill, the finish mark being thirty inches higher than the starting point."

Tolan's world-record performances in 1930 brought him international fame, as he became known as the "Midnight Express." In May 1931, Tolan again broke the world's record in the 100 meters event with a time of 10.3 seconds in Vancouver. Southern California sprinter Frank Wykoff jumped to a slight lead, but Tolan came from behind to pass Wykoff at the 100-yard mark.

Tolan graduated from the University of Michigan in 1931.

Double gold medals at the 1932 Summer Olympics

Lead-up to the Olympics

After graduating from Michigan, Tolan enrolled at West Virginia State College, where he did "graduate work preparatory to teaching and coaching at a Negro institution." Early in 1932, Tolan was not running at his prior level. Despite the slow start, Dean Cromwell, Chairman of the All American Board of Track and Field, predicted great things for Tolan in his column on 1932's "Olympic Prospects." Cromwell wrote of Tolan:

"Just as spring warms into summer Tolan slides from the class of mediocre sprinters to that of the champions. He is a slow starter, but when the weather gets warm so does Eddie, and off he goes."

While press reports regularly referred to Tolan as "stocky," Cromwell took issue with that characterization:

"Eddie is now 24 years of age, five feet six inches tall and weights about 130 pounds. Although he has always been termed ‘stocky’ by the press, a comparison of his weight and height will show that he cannot properly be so styled. He is well muscled, though, and in action gives the impression of great running power, with his arms and legs working smoothly and strongly in a machine piston-like manner."

The Olympic trials were held at Stanford University, and Ralph Metcalfe won both the 100 and 200 meters finals, with Tolan finishing second to Metcalfe in each case. The results meant that the top two American sprinters in the 1932 Olympics would for the first time be African-Americans. As a result, much of the press attention focused on race. Los Angeles Times sports columnist Braven Dyer wrote: "Metcalfe and Tolan make the ace of spades look positively pale by comparison … But how these boys can run … And they figure to do even better here than they did at Palo Alto because it's warmer now and they enjoy the heat."

100 meters race

The 100 meters contest at the 1932 Olympics was one of the closest races in Olympic history. Tolan broke the Olympic record in the first heat of the second round with a time of 10.4 seconds, but Metcalfe remained the favorite. In the finals, Japanese sprinter Takayoshi Yoshioka jumped out to a four-yard lead after 40 meters. Tolan passed Yoshioka at the 6 -meter mark and had a two-yard lead over Metcalfe at the 100-yard mark. But Metcalfe passed Tolan at the tape and appeared to the crowd to be the winner. Sports writer Maxwell Stiles described the last strides as follows:

"His powerful legs churning wildly, Metcalfe swept down upon little Tolan like an avenging angel full of fury. Tolan, his left knee in an elastic bandage and his glasses taped to his head near his ears, dug in for one last desperate stride in his effort to hold the lead. Just at the tape, Metcalfe rushed past Tolan and was well ahead a yard beyond the finish. Almost everyone thought Metcalfe had won."

It was hours later, after review of films taken with a "Kirby two-eyed camera," that officials were able to declare Tolan the winner with a time of 10.3 seconds. The films showed that Tolan and Metcalfe hit the finish line in a dead heat, but Tolan was declared the winner, because he had his entire torso past the line on the ground before Metcalfe.

200 meters race

The 200 meters race was held on the fourth day of competition, and this time the race was not close, as Tolan beat Metcalfe easily with an Olympic record time of 21.2 seconds – four-tenths of a second better than the prior record of 21.6 seconds. Tolan stumbled slightly with three yards to go, but righted himself and finished with a four-foot lead. With double wins in the 100 and 200 meters contests, Tolan was dubbed the "world's fastest human." Tolan was the first African-American to have that distinction, and press coverage of his Olympic wins focused on his race. The Associated Press called him the "spectacled little American Negro" and "the dusky little thunderbolt." Braven Dyer referred to him as "the stubby colored boy," and noted that "the chunky Detroit Negro" had defeated Arthur Jonath of Germany, "the white-skinned Teuton." Another writer described how the "little black man with horn-rimmed glasses" crossed the finish line, being chased by "a white man of America, George Simpson," and "a brother black, Ralph Metcalfe."

Commentators also noted, that the only other two sprinters to win double gold in the 100 and 200 meters races were also University of Michigan athletes, Ralph Craig and Archie Hahn.

Reaction to Tolan's Accomplishments

After the sprint competition concluded, a reporter interviewed Tolan and Metcalfe in their shared room at the Olympic Village. When Metcalfe teased Tolan for being lucky, Tolan replied, "Yeah, I had it all right – but it's 'bout time, Ralph; first little ol' luck I had in eight years!" Still in bed at noon wearing pajamas and with a stocking cap on his head, Tolan said he was "in the best condition of my life when the 200 meters final started," and he vowed to give his gold medals to his mother.

Back in Detroit, Mayor Frank Murphy appointed a reception committee to meet Tolan at the train station, and Michigan Governor Wilber M. Brucker declared September 6, 1932 as "Eddie Tolan Day" throughout the state. The governor issued a proclamation stating that Tolan had "brought honor to our commonwealth" and encouraging communities throughout the state to arrange ceremonies "as an expression of Michigan's pride in his achievement."

Tolan's mother noted, that she was proud of her son's accomplishments. She noted that, though she had worked hard as the sole provider for the family, it was worth it. She added, "If my menfolk could only find jobs I could ease up a bit and a mighty big worry would be off Eddie's mind."

In April 1936, Tolan, along with many other sports champions and stand outs, was honored at a banquet in Detroit, MI. This Banquet was the first celebration of Champions Day.

Vaudeville and hard times

Less than six months after winning Olympic gold medals and the title of the "world's fastest human," Tolan garnered national press when he fell on hard times. Syndicated columnist William H. Beatty wrote that "the heady wine of victory has turned overnight to vinegar" for Tolan. Tolan noted that, when he was met at the train station by a welcoming committee, his half-brother was collecting waste paper in the grass of the park in front of the train station. Tolan noted that his half-brother was "luckier than I am," because he had a job. His parents had both been unemployed for many months, and it was not until January 1933 that Tolan was able to get a low-paying job as a filing clerk in a county office. Tolan's lifetime dream of becoming a physician was waning, as he had been "unable to make enough to support himself and his parents."

Desperate to earn a living, Tolan "walked the streets of many cities, seeking work," and even briefly appeared in vaudeville in 1932 with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. They made a good team; Tolan had set world records for running forwards, and Robinson had set world's records for running backwards: 50 yards backward sprint (6 seconds), 75 yards backwards sprint (8.2 seconds), and 100 yards backwards sprint (13.2 seconds).

Because of his brief appearance in vaudeville, the Michigan Amateur Athletic Association stripped Tolan of his amateur status in June 1933. And in April 1934, Tolan's bad luck continued as an automobile he was driving struck and seriously injured an 80-year-old pedestrian.

Professional sprinting career

In November 1934, Tolan took a leave of absence from his job as assistant county registrar of deeds to compete in the Australian sprint program, a series of five professional races, including the Stawell Gift handicap. Tolan returned in April 1935 after having set new Australian records of 21.5 seconds in the 220-yard dash on a full curve track and 7.5 seconds for the 75-yard dash. He won the 75, 100, and 220-yard events at the World Professional Sprint Championships in March 1935 in Melbourne, and became the first man to win both the amateur and professional world sprint championships.

In his full career as a sprinter, Tolan won 300 races and lost only 7. Throughout his career as a sprinter, Tolan worked by a simple creed: "Start fast, run easily, stay in your lane and finish strong."

Civil service and teaching career

After returning from Australia, Tolan returned to his job in Detroit as a clerk to the Register of Deeds. Tolan worked at a variety of jobs in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1956, Tolan became a school teacher in physical and health education. He taught at the Irving Elementary School on Detroit's West Side for several years.

Death and family

Tolan never married. In 1965, Tolan's kidneys failed, and he was required to undergo weekly dialysis treatments for the rest of his life. In 1967, Tolan died from heart failure at age 58 at Detroit's Mt. Carmel Hospital, while undergoing one of his weekly treatments. At the time of his death, Jesse Owens paid him tribute in Jet magazine:

"When I was in high school, Eddie and Ralph (Metcalfe) were my idols. Eddie and I later became close friends. I used to live in Detroit and every time I'd go back Eddie was one of the first ones I’d look up."

Tolan was survived by his sisters, June Brown and Martha Lombard, and a brother, Hart H. Tolan. Though the two never met, Tolan was also a cousin of former Major League Baseball player Bobby Tolan. Eddie Tolan is interred at United Memorial Gardens in Plymouth, Michigan.

Honors and awards

In 1958, Tolan was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He was one of the first 18 persons inducted. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1980. Only 17 individuals were inducted into the Hall before Tolan.

Tolan was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Eddie Tolan was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1982.

Wikipedia

[lenaglittleus]

How Exercise Can Improve Bone Density

Until nine years ago, Isabelle Daikeler thought about bone health like most healthy people do: She didn’t. Not often, at least. And why would she? As a track and field coach at UCLA, she made a habit of practicing what she preached, and her body reflected her efforts. Solid, strong bones were almost a given.

“I exercised regularly, I ran triathlons, I worked with collegiate and Olympic athletes—my life revolved around athletics,” says Daikeler, a renowned fitness and nutrition expert, and co-creator of Shakeology. “My bone density was amazing.”

She never imagined that could change. But the birth of her son left her with severe hip instability that prevented her from working out. “Every time I try to exercise, the head of my femur moves an inch, and I’m in pain,” says Daikeler. “I’ve tried everything to rehab my hip, but so far nothing has worked, and the result is that I have not been able to do any kind of weight-bearing exercise for nearly a decade.”

So when she received the results of a DEXA scan showing osteopenia (below normal bone density) in her lumber vertebrae, she was disheartened, but not surprised. “My calcium and vitamin D levels are good—everything else that is important for bone health is great,” says Daikeler, adding that she knew her lack of vigorous physical activity might eventually catch up with her. She just didn’t think it would happen so quickly—or that she’d be in such good company if it did.

As many as 44 million people in the United States suffer from low bone mass (many unknowingly), placing them at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis—a debilitating disease characterized by weak, brittle bones that affects more than 10 million Americans. In many cases, a lack of exercise is at least partly to blame. Oftentimes, it’s wholly responsible.

“And that’s one of the things I try to educate people about now—the importance of exercise to improve on every level, including bone health,” says Daikeler.

Like muscle, bone becomes stronger when challenged. Scientists have long known that it responds to physical stress—the radiating impact of a heel striking pavement, the repeated tug of a muscle contracting against resistance, the torsional force of a body winding up for a kick—by reinforcing its internal structure and remodeling itself to better handle that stress when challenged. But what has eluded researchers until recently is the type, intensity, and duration of exercise that works best for shifting bone building into high gear.

“We still don’t know the optimal amount of exercise for increasing bone density,” says Victoria Stiles, Ph.D., a senior lecturer in sport and health sciences at the University of Exeter, in England. “But we’ve found that it has to be intense, and we finally know the minimum dose, which can be measured in minutes.”

The Anatomy of Bone

Bone is a living tissue with a rigid, honeycomb-like structure comprised of collagen and calcium. Like every other tissue in the body, it has nerves, blood vessels, and cells, and is in a constant state of “remodeling,” breaking down and rebuilding itself like an endless construction project. Indeed, about 10 percent of the average adult’s bone mass is remodeled each year.

“People tend to think that bone is a solid, static thing,” says Stiles. “But it is always responding, always regenerating.”

Bone formation outpaces breakdown until sometime between the ages of 25 and 30, at which point the body achieves peak bone mass and remodeling plateaus for about a decade. “Bone-strengthening exercise is important throughout the lifecycle,” says Pamela Hinton, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri. “But during periods of skeletal growth, exercise is especially effective at increasing bone mass and strength.”

That’s important because the more bone you build before the age of 30, the more you’ll have in the bank when bone density begins its slow, steady decline at around the age of 40. The process is hastened in women thanks to a decline in estrogen (a key bone mass regulator) that occurs during menopause, but it can have serious consequences for men as well: After the age of 50, approximately one in two women and one in four men will break a bone—usually in the hips, spine, or wrists—due to osteoporosis, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. If such a fracture happens after the age of 80, the potential consequences are grim: Thirty percent of octogenarians who break a hip die within a year of doing so, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic.

“But even after the cessation of skeletal growth, exercise can still increase bone mass and slow the rate of age-related bone loss,” says Hinton.

In short, it’s never too late to start exercising to preserve bone density, and once you do, it’s not something you ever want to stop.

How Exercise Strengthens Bones

In order for exercise to affect bone density, it needs to be high impact and weight bearing. That’s why activities like running, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, soccer, tennis, weightlifting, and high intensity interval training can have a profound effect on bone formation—they increase the load on your bones, forcing them to adapt so that they can better tolerate the strain imposed by those activities. It’s also why activities like walking, swimming, and stationary cycling (AKA “spinning”), while effective for weight loss and improving cardiovascular fitness, have minimal impact on bone health. Being non-weight bearing, they don’t increase the load on your bones, and thus don’t provide enough stress to cause an uptick in remodeling.

When you lift a weight, stretch a resistance band, jump (and land) repeatedly, or pound the pavement, you create a compressive force that causes fluid to flow within your bone tissue. Cells called osteocytes detect that flow, and trigger an increase in bone formation as a result. “The degree of flow is proportional to the strain imposed by the exercise,” says Stiles. The greater the strain, the greater the exercise’s potential impact on bone remodeling.

Weight-bearing exercise can also stimulate bone formation in a way that is similar to how it stimulates muscle growth: By damaging bone tissue on the cellular level. This “micro-trauma” initiates a healing response, but the body doesn’t just repair the damage—it reinforces the bone’s collagen and calcium matrix to make it stronger than it was before. “New bone isn’t just laid on top of old bone, like some people think,” says Stiles. “The bone changes its structure and increases its strength right down to its core.”

Just 12 months of resistance training is enough to increase bone mineral density more than one percent, according to a recent study by Hinton and her colleagues at the University of Missouri. That might not sound like much—until you consider that it roughly matches the rate of bone loss after the age of 40, and that participants in the study exercised as little as twice per week.

At this point, it’s important to note two things. First, “the effect is site specific, meaning only the loaded bone gets stronger,” says Hinton. If you’re a runner, that means you’ll need to add upper body work (in the form of strength training) to your program if you want to optimize bone formation above your waist. Second, it is possible to get too much of a good thing.

“We don’t know the upper limit yet, but we do know that overtraining can be a problem, especially in women,” says Stiles, explaining that, much like menopause, it can cause a reduction in bone-regulating hormones, such as estrogen. “That’s one reason you need to build sufficient recovery time into your workout program.”

Here’s another: Like muscles, bones don’t grow stronger during workouts, they grow stronger between them. If you never allow your bones enough time to complete their repair process, you’ll never optimize your bone density. “You’ll also increase your risk of injury,” says Stiles.

The Importance of Nutrition

Proper nutrition plays a key role in the recovery process as well. But it’s not just about consuming the recommended 1,000mg of calcium per day or getting enough of the vitamins and nutrients that help you store it (such as vitamin D, potassium, and manganese)—you also have to make sure you’re consuming enough total daily calories, according to a review in the journal Current Sports Medicine Reports. The researchers found that some runners’ bone density is no greater than that of people who don’t exercise at all, and one of the primary reasons is that many runners don’t take in enough calories to meet their energy needs.

Another reason is the repetitive nature of distance running, according to the researchers. “When you do a lot of steady state exercise it becomes a bit like white noise to bone cells—they become desensitized to the constant stimulation and basically switch off,” says Stiles. “Brief bursts of intense exercise seem to work best for improving bone density.”

That doesn’t mean you should stop running if that’s your thing—just make sure that “long slow distance” isn’t the only way you enjoy it. Incorporate intervals, tempo runs, and other intermittent, high intensity efforts into your training plan, and don’t forget to strength train once or twice a week. If you’d like to cover all of your fitness bases (muscular, cardiovascular, and bone) at the same time, consider high intensity interval training (HIIT). You’ll find it in many of the programs available on Beachbody on Demand, including CORE DE FORCE, TurboFire, and INSANITY.

Of course, all of this advice assumes that you’re healthy enough for high-impact, weight bearing exercise. Not everyone is. “I’m getting there,” says Daikeler. “I’m slowly figuring out how to perform weight bearing exercise that doesn’t aggravate my hip, and it involves a lot of patience and upper body work, which isn’t something I’m used to doing.”

But like every other fitness goal, building stronger bones is worth doing. Many people consider increased bone density a fringe benefit of exercise, but the reality is that its right up there with losing weight and becoming stronger—especially when it comes to aging.

If you’re looking for a convenient and cost effective way to get those benefits right at home, check out Beachbody on Demand. Becoming a member gives you access to resistance training programs such as P90X, 21 Day Fix, and Body Beast; high intensity interval training (HIIT) programs like INSANITY and CORE DE FORCE; and lung-busting, functional fitness workouts, like those in Shift Shop. There’s something for nearly every exercise preference and fitness level. Sign up today and start building dem bones!

from News About Health https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/bone-density-exercise

[beyondforks]

Guest Post with Jessica Kapp, Author of Body Parts!

Body Parts by Jessica Kapp Genre: Young Adult (Science Fiction) Date Published: August 15,  2017 Publisher: Diversion Publishing

People would kill for her body.

Raised in an elite foster center off the California coast, sixteen-year-old Tabitha’s been sculpted into a world-class athlete. Her trainers have told her she’ll need to be in top physical condition to be matched with a loving family, even though personal health has taken a backseat outside the training facility. While Tabitha swims laps and shaves seconds off her mile time, hoping to find a permanent home, the rest of the community takes pills produced by pharmaceutical giant PharmPerfect to erase their wrinkles, grow hair, and develop superhuman strength.

When Tabitha’s finally paired, instead of being taken to meet her new parents, she wakes up immobile on a hospital bed. Moments before she’s sliced open, a group of renegade teenagers rescues her, and she learns the real reason for her perfect health: PharmPerfect is using her foster program as a replacement factory for their pill-addicted clients’ failing organs. And her friends from the center, the only family she’s ever known, are next in line to be harvested.

Determined to save them, Tabitha joins forces with her rescuers, led by moody and mysterious Gavin Stiles. As they race to infiltrate the hospital and uncover the rest of PharmPerfect’s secrets, though, Tabitha finds herself with more questions than answers. Will trusting the enigmatic group of rebels lead her back to the slaughterhouse? Read my Review!

The exit door buzzes. My breath catches when I notice it’s not a trainer—it’s Ms. Preen. And, she’s holding a red file, which can only mean one thing. One of us is getting out. Her heels make quick, light clicks as she crosses the floor past the weight equipment and yoga mats. She crinkles her nose as she moves through the thick cloud of sweat. By the time she reaches us, Meghan’s out of the pool. We stand, two-dozen bodies huddled together, anxious to hear the news. I scan my friends’ faces, wondering whose turn it is to go. Parker wraps his free arm around me. I imagine this is how a gymnast feels after a routine, waiting for her scores. Did I perform well enough? Could I have done more? Will I win the ultimate prize: a family? Ms. Preen presses through to the pool area, but stands far from our group, as if she thinks we’ll throw her in. It’s crossed our minds before. The light shines off her blonde bob, and her face is flawless. Freeze-dried, we like to say. “Where is she?” Ms. Preen looks at our group as if she can’t tell us apart, which is probably true. Even though she pops in at least once a month to check on our vitals, she isn’t interested in getting to know us. She’s the one in charge of pairing us with families, but all she knows is what we’re good at. Meghan is the fast one; Paige climbs like she’s part monkey; Parker’s built like a brick house; and me, I have the lungs. “The redhead, where is she?” All eyes turn to me. “We have names, you know,” Paige says, her voice curt. “Hers is Tabitha. T-A-B…” Ms. Preen pulls a piece of paper out of the file, holding it up toward the row of skylights to read it. “Yes. She’s the one.” Parker tightens his hold on me and I clasp my hands together to stop them from shaking. Ms. Preen doesn’t need to know I’m nervous. I’m supposed to be elated, ready to go. Maybe I’ve been fooling myself. I wiggle out of Parker’s grip to step forward. “That’s me.” Ms. Preen shoves the paper back into the file. “Get dressed. I’m taking you for your final screening. If you pass, you’ll be out tomorrow.” Her voice is hard and she turns to walk away. I glance back at the group, at the faces I’ve known since childhood. They’re excited for me, but I can see the disappointment in their eyes. I know the look, because up until today I’ve watched friends leave, waiting for my turn. Now that it is, I can’t move.

Running into trouble

By Jessica Kapp

There are two kinds of people in this world: People who love running, and people who run from the idea.  I fall in the latter group. Still, I force myself to get on the treadmill, because my metabolism isn’t what it used to be and that plate of nachos I inhaled for lunch (totally worth it by the way) will find its way to my thighs in two-point-five seconds.  So I run and I run and I run.  And it’s not just to burn off calories so my pants don’t look painted on.  I run because there’s that nagging voice in my head that says I need to. That I’m not beautiful enough. Not thin enough. Not good enough. The rational side of me knows that’s not true. I don’t need to look like the girls on the cover of fitness or fashion magazines. Heaven knows I’d trip in three-inch heels because I wasn’t blessed with the gift of grace. Yes, running is good for the heart and good for the soul. I’m not gonna lie; I always feel great after a workout. But deep down, I know I’m not just running to stay fit. We’re taught from a young age about body image, even if it’s not really talked about. It’s a looming shadow over our lives. A constant companion we never invited over. Cover models at the grocery store stare back at you while you wait in line. Department store mannequins are always tall and lean. Our favorite actors and actresses are criticized for gaining two pounds. Even if our parents tried to shield us from the advertisements that shamed us for not being stick-thin, the messaged seeped into our childhood. The question is, how loud were the voices then? And how loud are they now? Is there a difference?  As an adult, I’m more aware of the body images that surround us. The idea of taking a pill for instant muscle tone or weight loss is enticing. We’re a society obsessed with instant gratification. We can get answers at the click of a button. Patience is not our strong suit. Who really wants to spend all that time on a treadmill if you could simply take a pill after you eat ice cream and not have to worry about sweating out the extra calories you’ve consumed?  When I wrote my YA thriller, I wanted to explore what we’d be like as a society if we could take a pill to fix our image.  In BODY PARTS, 16-year-old Tabitha has been sculpted into an athlete who runs at Olympic-qualifying speeds. Raised in an elite foster center, she believes parents will only welcome healthy, disciplined children into their homes. But the foster home is owned by PharmPerfect, and the company is using the facility as a replacement factory for clients with failing organs. Perfection-hungry people have grown accustomed to taking pills to erase wrinkles, grow hair, and sculpt muscle without exercise.  It’s an eerie glimpse into an all-too-possible future. Would society turn a blind eye to the ramifications of popping pills? What’s more important: our organs, or our image? I’d like to say it’s a no brainer, that we would rise above the body image rhetoric and choose our health over drugs that promise results that would take weeks—even months—to achieve at the gym. But there’s another voice in my head, one that’s whispering that it could happen, and it keeps saying that my fictional world might not be too far from the truth. 

Have you read my review yet!!

Jessica Kapp always thought her penmanship would improve with age. She even wished for it on her eleventh birthday. But after having a hard time deciphering her own writing, she realized she’d never be the girl who stayed in the lines or dotted her I’s with hearts.To improve her legibility and speed, she hijacked her grandma’s typewriter—a really cool one with white correction tape—and started creating fictional worlds.

That same grandma took Jessica to her first writers’ group meeting where she shared a story about fairies.

The writing sucked, but with time, Jessica’s craft began to improve. Sadly, her penmanship has not.

Jessica enjoys writing Young Adult Contemporary and Speculative Fiction. Story ideas often strike at inopportune times, and she’s been known to text herself reminders from under the covers.

She lives on a small farm in Washington with far too many goats and an occasional cow.

To learn more about Jessica Kapp and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

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