More Sport Stories



 A paraplegic pal of mine, W Mitchell, was one of the people who inspired me to write CHASING GOLD. It was a labour of love. It took 12 years to research, collect and assemble the information about the inspirational people you will 'meet' in the the Book. Olympians are, perhaps, the most motivated people on earth.  But the book is designed to help ever reader, irrespective of whether you are an athlete or not.  We all have our 'bad days' and need someone to inspire and motivate us.  W Mitchell's credo is "It's not what happens to you...it's what you do about it!" You'll meet him in the book. So, now it's up to you.  

If you haven't already ordered CHASING GOLD you can do so by clicking here.  Then you will have 96 incredible athletes and their stories to help you be the best YOU you can ever be and dream and achieve things you never ever thought possible.  Good luck on your journey.   Click here to read what people from around Australia and around the World have said about CHASING GOLD. 

I invite you to re-live some wonderful moments from the Paris 2024  


Click here for Céline Dion's magnificent performance of Hymne A L'Amour at opening of the 2024 Olympic Games.  And here are the words and translation to English:

Le ciel bleu sur nous peut s'effondrer

(The blue sky over us may fall)


Et la Terre peut bien s'écrouler

(And the Earth may well collapse)


Peu m'importe si tu m'aimes

(I don't care if you love me)


Je me fous du monde entier

(I do not care)


Tant qu'l'amour innondera mes matins

(As long as love floods my mornings)


Tant qu'mon corps frémira sous tes mains

(As long as my body quivers under your hands)


Peu m'importe les problèmes

(I don't care about the problems)


Mon amour, puisque tu m'aimes

(My love, since you love me)


J'irais jusqu'au bout du monde

(I would go to the ends of the world)


Je me ferais teindre en blonde

(I would get dyed blonde)


Si tu me le demandais

(If you asked me)


J'irais décrocher la Lune

(I would go and get the moon)


J'irais voler la fortune

(I would go and steal the fortune)


Si tu me le demandais

(If you asked me)


Je renierais ma patrie

(I would deny my homeland)


Je renierais mes amis

I would deny my friends


Si tu me le demandais

(If you asked me)


On peut bien rire de moi

(You can laugh at me)


Je ferais n'importe quoi

(I would do anything)


Si tu me le demandais

(If you asked me)


Si un jour, la vie t'arrache à moi

(If one day life tears you away from me)


Si tu meurs, que tu sois loin de moi

(If you die, may you be far from me)


Peu m'importe si tu m'aimes

(I don't care if you love me)


Car moi je mourrais aussi

(Because I would die too)


Nous aurons pour nous l'éternité

(We will have eternity for us)


Dans le bleu de toute l'immensité

(In the blue of all the immensity)


Dans le ciel, plus de problème

(In the sky, no more problems)


Mon amour, crois-tu qu'on s'aime?

(My love, do you think we love each other?)


Dieu réunit ceux qui s'aiment.

(God unites those who love). 



Top 10 Hilarious Viral Moments from the Paris Olympics 2024: Click here to watch Mojo's picks for the funniest and most memorable moments from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.   



10 Controversies of the Paris Olympics:  Click here to watch Mojo's picks for the concerns, conflicts, and controversies that occurred at the 2024 Summer Olympics.




Australia notches its best ever gold tally in Olympic history: Click here to see an ABC report about Australia's performance at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 






Paris 2024: Watch the opening ceremony's unforgettable moments.
From Le Monde:
Twelve tableaux, illustrating ideals like freedom, sorority, and festivity, were performed throughout the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday evening, July 26, amid the traditional parade of Olympic delegations. In nearly a hundred boats, the 206 countries taking part in the Games paraded down the Seine in an outdoor ceremony that was the first of its kind, unhindered except for a steady downpour.   Click here to see the opening ceremony of what many people believe to be the best ever opening. 


Enjoy the book and enjoy these additional Olympic stories.





An Aussie ‘decked’ Joe Frazier: The first man to ‘deck’ American boxing legend Joe Frazier was Athol McQueen from Kyogle, NSW. (Australia).  He did it at the 1964 Olympics Games in Tokyo.  Athol says he should have ‘sat on’ Joe once he had knocked him down. For,             a maddened Joe got up and gave Athol one heck of a 'hiding.' Click here to listen to Athol tell this story...and also hear about how Athol (and his Mum) pummelled his Japanese opponent into submission in his first round bout at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.  I think you will agree with me that Athol sounds like a great guy...or as we say in Australia...a beaut bloke.                                      



Biggest upset in running history: Emil Zátopek was responsible for this. It happened in Men's Marathon in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.  Click here to learn more about this incredible athlete from Czechoslovakia.  

 


OLYMPIC TRAGEDY – Derek Redmond - His goal shattered at 1992 Olympics

 

OLYMPIC TRIUMPH – Derek Redmond –  How to reset your goals

 




How fast are ‘long distance’ runners?  In her final Olympic preparation, UK athlete Keeley Hodgkinson ran in the London Diamond League. She clocked 1min 54.61sec– the fastest 800m anywhere in the world since Caster Semenya in 2018.  

In a London Gym, BBC Sport challenged regular Gym goers to ‘keep up’ with Keely Hodgkinson's 800m pace on a treadmill. (With Keeley watching!) Click on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fllYaaBTXA or search YouTube for “Could you keep up with Keely Hodgkinson's 800m pace?”  


Olympic Flame ‘hoax’ in Australia in 1956: In 1956, amid Olympic fervour, Barry Larkin, a Melbourne veterinary student, staged a daring prank with a homemade torch. Posing as an Olympic torchbearer, he astonished onlookers, including police and Sydney's Lord Mayor Pat Hills. Larkin smoothly continued the charade to Sydney Town Hall, intending to challenge the torch relay's Nazi-linked origins. The fake torch was made of a wooden chair leg painted silver, on top of which was a plum pudding can. A pair of underpants, worn by one of the students in National Service, was put inside the can, soaked in kerosene. Search YouTube for “Hoaxer tricks crowd as Sydney greets Olympic Torch – 1956” or see Newsreel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eRdOk0IcKQ

Bobby stopped for ducks:  In the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928, Australian sculler Bobby Pearce was leading in his quarter-final when the crowd on the Canal bank alerted him to a duck and her ducklings crossing the course directly in his path. He stopped rowing…but he still won the Gold Medal.

Whisky salesman wins: In 1930, after winning the Empire Games single sculls at Hamilton, Ontario, Bobby Pearce accepted an offer from Lord Dewar, the Scotch whisky tycoon, to become his Canadian sales representative.  When Lord Dewar nominated Pearce for the Henley Regatta in England, as a lead-up to the 1932 Olympics, it was under the stated occupation of ‘whisky salesman’. Prior to this Bobby Pearce was a carpenter. But tradesman were not acceptable to the Henley Regatta committee. He went on to easily win the Diamond Sculls event and then Gold Medals in 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Wacky Sports? Some people have commented negatively on the new additions of of ‘Breaking’ and ‘Trampolining’ being added to the list of Sports for the Paris Olympics. Wacky? Not really. Consider some of the Sports of past years. Eg.  Distance Plunging; Live Pigeon Shooting; Running Deer shooting; Long Jump for horses; Standing High Jump; Underwater swimming in the Seine; Obstacle Swim; Chorus Singing. Ummmmm.   




Richard Norris Williams survived the Titanic's sinking in 1912, avoiding leg amputation by walking around and around the rescue ship - Carpathia. He won multiple tennis titles, including a mixed doubles gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics, the US National Championships in 1914 and 1916, and Wimbledon doubles titles in 1920, 1925, and 1926. He also served in WWI, earning the Légion d'Honneur and Croix de Guerre from the French Government. See: https://youtu.be/SEHaobHkN_M?si=37OWvCxv1KsW2CZ5




Greatest Aussie Olympian: Benny Elias, the legendary State of Origin Rugby League player, rates Peter Hadfield as one of the greatest sportsman Australia has ever produced.  Why? Probably because Peter Hadfield was Australia’s Decathlon champion for 10 consecutive years beginning in 1976.  As well, Hadfield represented Australia at two Olympic Games and two Commonwealth Games.  Hadfield was 2nd to Daly Thompson in the  Decathlon in the 1978 Commonwealth Games. Meet Peter Hadfield by searching YouTube for “Peter Hadfield Olympic Decathlete.” Or click on:  https://youtu.be/slOUP53z8cw?si=1G4eoAu2N352EZjV

She had 21 surgeries: Before Paralympian Louise Sauvage was 10 years and 299 days she had 21 surgeries.  She won 9 Gold and 4 Silver medals. As well as that she had 4 victories in the Boston Marathon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCWurIqxUy8

Kobe Bryant: Only one Olympian has won an Olympic gold medal and an Oscar. In 2008 American basketballer Kobe Bryant took home his first gold medal from the Beijing Summer Olympics.  Four years before he would replicate the feat in 2012 during the London Games. In 2018, he won an Oscar for an animated short film he wrote and narrated: Dear Basketball. ( To watch simply search YouTube for: Dear Basketball.)  It ultimately became a tribute to the life and legacy of the star who tragically lost his life in a helicopter accident in 2020.  See: https://youtu.be/lUcdx4W8Xes?si=h7ka2CY62bvZQuNF

Shane retired at 16: After the 1972 Munich Olympics, Shane Gould famously retired at 16 years of age. due to the immense pressure and media scrutiny that she faced. She is the only person, male or female, to hold every world freestyle record from 100 metres to 1500 metres and the 200-metre individual medley world record simultaneously, which she did from 12/12/71 to 1/9/72.  See: https://youtu.be/ogSPZBhp42E?si=QNTIsgvl4VOFIESk

Youngest Olympian: The youngest known Olympian is Dimitrios Loundras of Greece, who competed in gymnastics at the age of 10 in 1896.  He competed in the Summer Olympics in Athens and won a bronze medal with his gymnastics team.  See: https://youtu.be/uFjq6t4bDfY?si=Z1k-nSNUvVkjZk5E  

Won Winter and Summer Medals: Eddie Eagan of the USA is the only person to win Gold in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. He won Gold in boxing at the 1920 in Antwerp and Gold in Bobsleigh racing in 1932 Lake Placid USA. 

They boycotted the Games: The USA boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the USSR led a boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games in response.

Gymnastics Legend: Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union held the record for most Olympic medals (18) for nearly half a century until Michael Phelps surpassed it in 2012 with a combined total of 28 medals. This included 8 Gold medals at the 2008 Bejing Olympics.

First Refugee Team: The 2016 Rio Olympics featured the first Refugee Olympic Team representing displaced athletes worldwide. 43 promising athletes were identified. Ten were ultimately selected.


Gymnastics Legend: Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union held the record for most Olympic medals (18) for nearly half a century until Michael Phelps surpassed it in 2012 with a combined total of 28 medals. This included 8 Gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.


Dodi Fayed was the Associate Producer of the movie Chariots of Fire? The movie was about a story wrapping around the 1924 Olympics.  Dodi Fayed was killed in a car crash in Paris with Princess Diana in 1997.

Tarzan was an Olympian: In 1924 American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller won three gold medals and one bronze at 2024 Games. He was regarded as one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. After his swimming career, he portrayed ape man Tarzan in twelve films.
Dawnie won Gold at 3 Olympics: in the 1966, 1960, and 1964 Olympics Dawn Fraser won Gold medals in the 100m freestyle. Her triple gold medals across three Olympic Games makes her one of four swimmers to have ever won individual gold medals for the same event al three successive Olympics.

Youngest Olympian: The youngest known Olympian is Dimitrios Loundras of Greece, who competed in gymnastics at the age of 10 in 1896.  He competed in the Summer Olympics in Athens and won a bronze medal with his gymnastics team.


Oldest Olympian: Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn competed at three Olympic games and won six medals, including three gold. Swahn holds records as the oldest Olympian at the time of competition, the oldest person to win gold, and the oldest person to win an Olympic medal.  He competed at the 1908 Olympics (London); 1912 (Stockholm); 1920 (Antwerp).  He was 72 when he competed in Antwerp.  


Won Winter and Summer Medals: Eddie Eagan of the USA is the only person to win Gold in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. He won Gold in boxing at the 1920 in Antwerp and Gold in Bobsleigh racing in 1932 Lake Placid USA. 

They boycotted the Games: The USA boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the USSR led a boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games in response.

Aussie Olympian and Film Star:  "Snowy" Baker (1884–1953) was an Australian Olympian, athlete and an actor in the days of silent films.  In 1904 represented Australia in two Rugby Test matches against Great Britain.  At the 1908 London Olympics he represented Australasia in swimming and diving. As well, he took part in the middleweight boxing event in which he won a silver medal. He also excelled in horsemanship, water polo, running, rowing and cricket. In 1919 he starred in the Australian made silent movie “The Man from Kangaroo.” Search YouTube for The Man From Kangaroo (1919) – Interrupted…or click here: https://youtu.be/JYmplsMrnGU?si=bqdNBZARzE6_g0r0

Norwegian Olympian became a film star: Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star born in 1912, in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. After the 1936 World Figure Skating Championships, with the help of her wealthy parents, Henie transitioned to a professional career in acting and live shows. She moved to America and became one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. As well, she became the most famous Norwegian woman in the 20th century. Search YouTube for Sonja Henie 1936…or click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCvz0r_dKpA.

A film about Olympic tennis stars. Will Smith played the lead role in King William. This is a movie about Olympic Gold Medallist tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. Search YouTube for KING RICHARD – Official Trailer…or click here: https://youtu.be/BKP_0z52ZAw?si=_4ptTgu-f1D2KvZo


Professionals not welcome: American athlete Jim Thorpe was stripped of his gold medals in the 2012 Decathlon and Pentathlon after it was learned that he had played professional minor league baseball three years earlier. In solidarity, the Decathlon silver medalist, Hugo Wieslander, refused to accept the medals when they were offered to him.The gold medals were restored to Thorpe's children in 1983, 30 years after Thorpe’s death. Click here to read the  report.



"Thanks" General Choltitz: In 1944 General Choltotz was ordered, by Hitler, to destroy the Eiffel Tower. He disobeyed Hitler's orders and instead surrendered it to the Free French Forces on the 25/8/44.   Choltitz later asserted that his defiance of Hitler's direct order stemmed from its obvious military futility, his affection for the French capital's history and culture, and his belief that Hitler had, by then, become insane.

                                                             

Can 'sport' brings peace?

A beautiful moment at the 2024 Paris Olympics on 31st of July 2024.  It was reported on by News.com.au.   The article was titled North, South Korean athletes pose for selfie in ‘true spirit of the Olympics’.  It began "A rare piece of history has been captured at the Olympics, with athletes from two enemy states taking a bold selfie on the podium." Click here to read the article


The Strangest Dream 

Baron Pierre De Coubertain, the Founder of the Modern Olympic Games, had a goal for sport to be a unifying power to stop wars and conflicts and bring peace to the world through sport. He wanted sport to be the the glue of friendship that would build connections that would stretch around the world.  

After watching the North and South Korea teams competing against each other in the table tennis (see story above) perhaps The Baron's goal is still alive and well.  Hence, I share these words with you. They were penned by American country and Western singer Ed McCurdy.

“Last night I had the strangest dream

I’ve never dreamed before

I dreamed the world had all agreed

To put an end to War.”


“I dreamed I saw a mighty room

The room was full of men

And the paper they were signing said

They'd never fight again.”


“And when the signing was all done

And plans for peace were made

They all joined hands and bowed their heads

And silently they prayed.”


“And the people in the streets below

Rejoiced and danced round

And swords and guns and uniforms

Were scattered on the ground.”


“For now, at last, they understood

That Wars are never won

They all joined hands in brotherhood

A New World had begun.”


“Last night I had the strangest dream

I’ve never dreamed before

We all lived in a world of peace

And War was never more.”



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