zoutpiel.com » Ramblings

Oscar Pistorius still charging

zoutpiel — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:30:58 +0000

Fantastic news for Oscar, he gets the green light to compete with able body athletes, sprinting around a track at the highest level.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport have ruled against an IAAF ruling to prevent him competing in the Olympics. His personal best time for 400m is 46.5 secs and he needs to run a bit under 46 secs to run an SA qualifying time.

I wrote about his history here

The details of the latest on the ruling:

South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius has won an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that has given him an Olympic Games lifeline.

The disabled 21-year-old sprinter runs on specially adapted carbon fibre blades after having his legs amputated below the knee.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had banned the 400 metres runner from all competitions involving able-bodied athletes because of claims that the artificial legs he uses give him an unfair advantage.

However, CAS ruled against the IAAF decision.

“As you can imagine I have been struggling to hide my smile for the past half an hour,” Pistorius told a news conference.

“Now I can definitely say the truth has come out. I have the opportunity once again to chase my dream of the Olympics if not 2008, in 2012.”

After CAS’s ruling, Pistorius’ participation in the able-bodied events in Beijing will depend on him achieving the minimum Olympic qualifying time of 45.95 seconds, or 45.55 if another South African runs less than 45.95.

Pistorius’ personal record is 46.46.

-AFP/Reuters

Video from about a year

Goodbye Sir Ed

zoutpiel — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:49:46 +0000

We all have some childhood heroes, my first was Edmund Hillary. I first came across Sir Ed at something like 8 years old when I was a keen cub scout. I got an audio tape for christmas that discussed the adventures of many explorers on Everest – Mallory, Irvine and of course Sir Ed and many more.

If I think back now on all those heroes – most of them sporting – not one could hold a candle to what this man accomplished. He continued to do incredible things throughout his life, earning him the nickname among the Nepalese which translates as ‘man with a big heart’. Everything he did was done with the most incredible humility. His famous quote after sumitting Everest in May 1953 was simply

“Well George, we knocked the bastard off”

Sir Ed then went on to knock off another half-dozen Himalayan peaks. He drove a tractor to the South Pole and took jet-boats up the Ganges. Most will agree that his greatest legacy was being the first to summit Everest, but to many it was his tireless work for the people of Nepal that is his greatest gift. He launched the Himalayan Trust which has built more than 30 schools, two hospitals, and 12 medical clinics in Nepal’s Khumbu region.

Sir Ed was buried today, and at his funeral were an amazing mix of people. Buddhist monks, Nepali Sherpas, old mountaineering friends and dignitaries from all over the world. A special sattelite link was also setup to Nepal and Antarctica.

Sir Ed has had, in his own words, ‘an amazing life, filled with adventure’. Today Sir Ed’s son, Peter, said adventure “was compulsory” in the Hillary family.

“We always feared where dad was going to take us in the upcoming school holidays. That shared adventure was one of the greatest gifts he gave to his family and friends.”

Sir Ed is an inspiration, and although we could never accomplish what he has done, I agree with Peter that adventure is a great gift to give and share with our friends and family. In interviews I have seen, or transcripts I’ve read, the overwhelming feeling you get from this man is completely honest humility. humilty and generosity – also great lessons that maybe, shamefully, belong to a bygone era when one considers today’s ‘sporting’ heroes.

Goodbye Sir Ed – you are one of a kind.

June Blogwatch

zoutpiel — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:26:00 +0000

Here are a few fanblogsmic posts from (the month of) June. Click back when you’re done for the next ‘un:-

Excellent production on internet pornography stats

(see that got you interested)

Brilliantly written article, and right on the money regarding some of the issues faced by all South Africans today
Robin Williams talks of the real reasons behind suicide bombers’ mission (I never tire of this oke)
The Salami brings us up-to-date with the Hoff’s life, oh how we needed that. Check out the video! Yislaaik
Story about a new SA entrepreneur. Well written and good story, and opportunity
A google hack to search for free music files online
Peas talks about loove (she’s a peach really)
Developing intelligence (eish)
Racism ponderings in SA (this one generated some interet. Check out the responses. Valid point by both sides)

Paul wins!

zoutpiel — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:03:00 +0000

Well what a happy story, I posted this the other day, and now he’s won the competition – signed a million dollar record deal and no longer works at carphone warehouse. Life changed forever.

The audio in these clips is not as good as the original, and a bit more of the same (but completes the story) … Anyway, here’s the semifinal and final performances:
Semifinal:

Final:
cvds

A bit of Opera

zoutpiel — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 02:29:00 +0000

When I saw this video start, I thought it was going to be funny – you see this oke, then Simon Cowell, and think ‘yeah right’. Now watch it:

And then I got goosebumps. On the second watch I felt my eyes welling up. Then I wanted to hug him. Damn! And I hate opera. Wow. Classic that he works at the carphone warehouse!

Source

Speed climbing

zoutpiel — Sun, 27 May 2007 12:41:00 +0000

Dan Osman climbs this 400ft wall (rated 5.7) in 4.5mins without ropes. Incredible – real life spiderman. He makes it look so easy.

Bob Woolmer dies

zoutpiel — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 12:24:00 +0000

Bob Woolmer died within 24 hours of Pakistan’s shock loss to Ireland. The controversy surrounding how he died is just starting, but ignoring all that – he was a great man, and I felt a sense of loss when I heard the news. Anyone in SA who follows cricket knows what I mean, and understands what he did for the game in SA and the world. Neil Manthorp, SA cricket journalist wrote the following which best sums him up:-

It was more than he could really afford, it was daring and it was one of the most romantic moments anyone could have shared. One of Cape Town’s most tranquil and classy restaurants, hired out in it’s entirety, for a silver wedding anniversary.
There were 50 guests, and from the moment they sat down the whispers began. Following starters and the main course, a menu made up entirely of the lady’s favourites, the guests would need to gather on the driveway while the lady was ‘diverted’ for a few moments.
There they stood, wine glasses in hand, having enjoyed a meal of which few could remember better. Seconds passed before, slowly but surely, a silver sports car was driven amongst us. It had an enormous, silk bow tied around it and a card which read: “Happy Anniversary – love you always, Bob.”
The whisper had alerted everyone to the surprise, everyone that is, but the recipient. The whisper had told us that the lady had dreamed, all her life, of driving an open-topped sports car with the wind blowing in her hair and the scent of the Cape filling her senses.
She was escorted down to the entrance of the driveway by her two sons, clearly bewildered and unaware of the surprise. When she finally focussed on the car, her emotions froze. It was too much to believe.
But then her husband explained his wife’s dream to their guests, explained how critical she had been to his career, declared – after 25 years – his undying love for her, and said he could not think of anyone who deserved more to have their dreams come true than her. Still, she could not believe the evidence of her eyes, which were filled with tears.
When she finally pushed aside the giant ribbon and opened the door to sit behind the wheel, the guests cheered and whooped and danced. None of the guests would ever forget it. Tears and laughter were best friends.
In between tours and other assignments, Bob would stop at nothing to ensure that he and Gill could have at least a couple of days enjoying the passion they shared above all but their boys, Dale and Russell – game parks.
If Bob was away for two weeks or ten weeks, Gill would cope – as ‘cricket widows’ do – and they would catch up with each other in the tranquility of the bush, watching a pride of lions, a stray giraffe or just a humble herd of zebra at the watering hole.
Now Gill is a widow, not a cricket widow, and those days are no more.
To play golf with Bob Woolmer was a lesson in calm. It is impossible to play the stupid game without being frustrated, of course, but if he said it once he said it ten thousand times: “You’ve hit your ball into a lake, nobody died.” It didn’t always calm the rage, but it did, at least, bring a smile to his partner’s face.
After the tie against Australia in the semifinal of the 1999 World Cup, he was the only member of the entire touring squad able to speak, let alone aknowledge their emotions, for many hours. In some cases, days. He was dignified, honest and even generous in what he always described later as the darkest hour of his entire career as a player and coach.
If he could handle that, he could handle Pakistan losing to Ireland. Oh God, Bob, surely you could have handled that. As you said so many times, it was just a game. I know you handled it. I know you coped. You were one of the strongest and most honest men I ever met. Perhaps it was just your time to leave.
It saddens me deeply to hear former players describe Woolmer as having “lived and breathed cricket every hour of the day” because he did not. He was devoted and passionate about cricket, certainly, but he never lacked a sense of perspective and his family came before anything else. To say Bob Woolmer lived for cricket is to imply he was one-dimensional. The opposite is true.
Whenever in Cape Town, Bob loved a good meal out. Thai food was his favourite. The last time my wife and I joined Bob and Gill for grilled ginger fish, his favourite, was one of the best of many meals we shared. He was laughing about the peculiar and even scary pressures of coaching Pakistan. He dismissed the concerns of the table.
“Don’t worry about me,” he smiled, “I’ll be the last person to die of a heart attack. I’ve seen it all – been there, done that.”
If it was, indeed, a heart attack that took him away, it will be one of the very, very few things he ever got wrong.
The very best years of Bob’s life lay before him. His own academy was taking root, the long months of touring were coming to an end after the World Cup, the three-day breaks in game parks with Gill were about to become two-week holidays and he was going to be able to play golf once a week rather than once a month.
Bob always said cricket wasn’t fair. Fortunately he isn’t here to witness just how unfair life can be.
He pioneered the reverse-sweep, revolutionised one-day cricket and laid down coaching foundations to stand for 50 years. He coached in townships when he and Gill were virtually bankrupt in the late 1980s. He set records which may never be broken with Warwickshire in the county championship and he mentored more young players than can be counted.
But more than anything else, he was a generous, loving, decent and honest human being.
Bob Woolmer may be gone, but his name and legacy will live on. He will be missed. Deeply.