London, U.K. — He may have finished 10th in the men’s 5000m at the London Summer Games Saturday night but former Sudan Lost Boy Lopez Lomong remains committed to helping children. Lomong, who led near the end of the race, is tentatively planning a trip early next year to Kenya and South Sudan to help children living in poverty.

The trip is part of a long-term partnership between 4South Sudan, Lomong’s non-profit, and Team World Vision, a program sponsored by international Christian humanitarian organization World Vision. Lomong’s group is hoping to raise $500,000 to provide impoverished people with access to clean water, health care, education and nutrition.

According to the latest estimates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are more than 660,000 displaced South Sudanese as fighting rages with Sudan. Malaria and diarrhea run rampant in the overcrowded refugee camps. Nearly three children die of preventable illnesses in the camps every day.

At the age of six, Lopez was kidnapped from his Southern Sudan village and held captive as he was prepped to be a child soldier. Too small to undergo training, his fate would most likely have been starvation. But after three weeks, he managed to escape with the help of three other captives. After running three days and nights, they were captured by Kenyan troops and brought to a refugee camp where Lopez lived for 10 years.

He was sponsored by a U.S. family and brought to America, where he soon discovered he was the fastest kid in school. At track meets he then discovered he was the fastest in the state. Soon he would become one of the fastest in the nation. In 2008, Lomong qualified for the Beijing Olympics in the men’s 1500m. He was voted by his teammates as the flag bearer in the Opening Ceremonies.

World Vision’s child sponsorship programs establish sustainable, long-lasting programs in the world’s most impoverished regions. A $35/month commitment helps provide clean water, improve agricultural conditions and provides educational opportunities for children and their communities. World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicate to working with children, families and their communities worldwide by tacking the causes of poverty and injustice.

Image Courtesy of  Sudan Envoy (Two Children) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The article Olympian Lopez Lomong Fundraises for Sudan appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Los Angeles, U.S.A. — Luminys Systems Corp. proudly supported the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska with the company’s proprietary SoftSun lights. Luminys provides the world’s most powerful and controllable single source lights for sporting venues, concert arenas, and film and television production, as well as other commercial and industrial applications.

JustLighting of LasVegas, Nevada, renowned event lighting designers, once again teamed up with Luminys for the Olympic Swimming Team Trials.

“With the use of just four 50K SoftSuns, JustLighting was able to deliver incomparable depth of field and stunningly brilliant color renderings to the NBC Sports HD national broadcast,” said Steve Heller of Attitude Specialty Lighting who worked with JustLighting as the exclusive Luminys agent in the Southeast. “The NBC production team was very impressed with the quality of light provided by the 50K’s for their slow motion replays,” Heller added.

Luminys previously supplied SoftSuns for JustLighting’s lighting design of Dolphin Stadium for Super Bowl XLI, among other events.

JustLighting installed four SoftSun 50,000 Watt models within the CenturyLink Center facility for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials. Viewers saw the amazing difference in the resulting picture quality in broadcast and photography taken during the Olympic Swimming trials.

“The superior color quality of the SoftSun lights delivered an enhanced high definition experience captured on camera,” said David Pringle, Chief Technology Officer of Luminys. “Being able to showcase these talented athletes in a highly anticipated and photographed event leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London was a great opportunity to demonstrate the performance that SoftSun delivers.”

Image Courtesy of  US Olympic Team

The article US Olympic Swimming Team Lights Up appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Clearwater, U.S.A — GFI Software released its VIPRE Report for July 2012, a collection of the 10 most prevalent threat detections encountered last month. In July, GFI threat researchers observed a number of malware attacks targeting mobile users, including fake applications exploiting consumers’ interest in the official app for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games as well as mobile Web browsers such as Firefox and Opera Mini.

“Mobile malware is a relatively new frontier for cybercriminals, but that does not mean that their attacks are any less sophisticated or dangerous,” said Christopher Boyd, senior threat researcher at GFI Software. “Many users are not aware of the fact that cybercriminals have created malware specifically for Android devices and are rushing to download apps before ensuring that they are legitimate.”

Just days ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies in London, GFI researchers uncovered Russian websites hosting Trojans posing as the London 2012 Official Mobile Game app. The websites were designed to mimic the official Google Play app market in order to trick users into downloading the application. GFI also discovered a spam email campaign falsely promising victims a chance to win free airline tickets to the London Olympics in exchange for filling out a survey and supplying personal information.

Users also encountered a phony version of Firefox for Android exploiting the recent release of the official Web browser on Google Play in June. The application is part of the Boxer malware family, which normally tricks users into agreeing to send premium SMS messages before directing them to the official Firefox website.

This version of the app goes a step further and installs the application without notice, covertly sends premium SMS messages and directs users to the Google™ homepage. GFI researchers believe that this may be a tactic used to convince users that the app was not installed properly, thus returning to the scam website and going through the process multiple times.

Mobile users interested in the Android version of the Opera Web browser were in danger of coming across the OpFake family of Trojans, which often pose as the Opera Mini application. Like victims of the Boxer Trojans, users who fell for this scam had their phones send SMS messages to premium-rate numbers without their knowledge.

The version of OpFake uncovered by GFI also installs the real Opera Mini Web browser in order to trick users into thinking that they have installed the correct application. Victims of this scam would not realize anything was amiss until they receive their monthly phone bill.

Secure Smartphones and Tablets:

GFI Software recently released GFI VIPRE Mobile Security Premium, one of the most comprehensive mobile protection applications for Android phones and tablets. The app combines GFI Software’s award-winning VIPRE antivirus technology with lost device features, parental controls and automatic backup capabilities.

This powerful combination enables consumers to use their devices freely without having to worry about mobile viruses, identity theft, data loss or unsupervised activity. To learn more about GFI VIPRE Mobile Security Premium, visit www.vipremobile.com.

The article Fake Olympics Mobile App Scams Android Users appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Fort Lee, New Jersey — The National Inflation Association issued the following statement about the multi-platform revolution that is beginning this week at the London Olympic Games: On August 5th, tens of millions of Americans were upset about being unable to be among the billions of people worldwide to watch Usain Bolt’s 100 meter Track & Field gold medal victory live on TV.

One of NBC’s main reasons for not airing Olympic events live on TV in the U.S. is the fact that NBC recognizes the London Olympic Games as the beginning of the U.S. multi-platform revolution. All Americans who own a laptop, desktop, iPhone, or iPad, and are subscribers of any cable, satellite, or telco TV service, had the ability to authenticate their Internet-connected device and watch Usain Bolt race live using NBC’s ‘TV Everywhere’ web site and iTunes apps.

NBC reported that 1.3 million Americans watched their live ‘TV Everywhere’ stream of Usain Bolt’s race. This was NBC’s second most popular multi-platform live stream during the London Olympic Games so far, with only the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team gold medal victory surpassing it with 1.5 million live streams across all platforms.

In the 48 hours leading up to Usain Bolt’s 100 meter gold medal victory, NBC reported that an additional 1 million pay-TV subscribers authenticated their Internet-connected devices. This increased NBC’s total ‘TV Everywhere’ devices authenticated by consumers for the London Olympic Games across all platforms up to 7.6 million. So far, 7.6% of America’s 100 million pay-TV subscribers with the right to authenticate their multi-platform devices, have successfully gained access to live streams of every single Olympic event, with NBC streaming as many as 40 events live simultaneously.

NBC is also making available an archive for authenticated multi-platform ‘TV Everywhere’ users that offers a total of 3,500 hours of prerecorded London Olympic events.NIA recognizes the fact that Americans have fallen in love with their smartphones and tablet devices. With the new multi-platform revolution now officially underway, Americans will no longer be forced to watch TV in their living room.

Americans who are pay-TV subscribers will now be able to watch any TV programming, at any time, from any location, on any platform! This could create billions of dollars in value for pay-TV companies and their subscribers between now and the end of 2012.

NIA recently accumulated 2% ownership in Synacor, Inc., a publicly traded company with multi-platform authentication technology that is making it possible for NBC to provide their ‘TV Everywhere’ coverage of the London Olympic Games, by authenticating for NBC the pay-TV subscribers of nearly 40 pay-TV companies, including 12 of America’s 25 largest multi-channel programming distributors including Dish Network, Charter Communications, SuddenLink, Mediacom, and CableOne! Synacor recently reported 58% revenue growth last quarter, which validates the huge growth ahead for companies that deliver ‘TV Everywhere’ services across multi-platforms.

If you are looking for ways to capitalize on NBC’s hugely successful multi-platform coverage of the London Olympics and the multi-platform revolution that is now underway, please be sure to download NIA’s brand new free 58-page educational ‘TV Everywhere’ report by going to: http://inflation.us/tveverywhere.html

NIA’s brand new in-depth report talks about how this is the biggest fundamental shift for the TV industry since the invention of color TV. NIA believes that multi-platform offerings of ‘TV Everywhere’ services could potentially create billions of dollars of wealth in the U.S. for leading pay-TV companies. NIA’s report is the most important report ever released about the future of cable, satellite, and telco TV services in America.

Image Courtesy of  Denis Kuvaev / Shutterstock.com

The article London Olympics Beginning Multi-Platform Revolution appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

London, England — The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, cautions against complacency when it comes to securing the lasting legacy of the London Games. Following a hugely successful Games for Team GB, it is important that the determination required for sporting success is deployed to ensure that London 2012 is remembered as one of the most ambitious and successful sustainable regeneration projects too.

Shaun McCarthy, Chair, Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, said: “I have always seen London 2012 as a sustainable regeneration project interrupted by a few weeks of sport! There is no doubt that East London has exploded on to the world stage as a place to visit, live and work. However, much is still to be done. It is important that the London Legacy Development Corporation works to ensure the positive momentum gathered from the Games is not lost.”

According to the Commission, the work done to build a community after the Games is a notable achievement. The Olympic Village is set to deliver 2,700 homes; the operations centre will become a school; and the athletes’ polyclinic will become a modern GP clinic. This represents a major contribution to London’s housing shortage.

Jobs are key to legacy. The Commission was impressed by the contribution of the Games during the construction phase as 7,438 jobs came from the five host boroughs. Whilst figures for LOCOG are less clear, it is estimated that 6,000 people have been recruited through their local job brokerage scheme. Nonetheless, the Commission believes that local jobs are important and it encourages the legacy company to actively focus on jobs as much as the ODA and LOCOG have.

The next legacy challenge is promoting healthier lifestyles based on sport. The Commission believes getting more people active takes investment at a community level and a clear plan. Currently no such plan currently exists outside London. Supporting community and school sport will also give a chance for budding young athletes to become the sporting stars of the future.

The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012: The aim of the Commission is to provide independent assurance and commentary to enable the sustainability objectives of the London 2012 programme to be achieved and to support a sustainable legacy. The Commission tracks all the recommendations made here: http://www.cslondon.org/recommendations

Image Courtesy of  karnizz / Shutterstock.com

The article No Time for Complacency About the Legacy of London 2012 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Seattle, U.S.A. — After qualifying Wednesday for this weekend’s final in the men’s 5,000 meters, former Sudan Lost Boy Lopez Lomong is ready to use his Olympic fame to help kids back home in Africa. After Saturday’s final, Lopez will focus on a partnership with international Christian charity World Vision, including a trip, tentatively planned for early next year to Kenya and South Sudan to help children living in poverty.

The trip is part of long-term partnership between Lomong’s non-profit, 4 South Sudan and Team World Vision, a program sponsored by World Vision. Lomong hopes to help raise $500,000 to provide access to clean water, health care, education and nutrition.

According to the latest United Nations (UNHCR) estimates, there are more than 660,000 displaced South Sudanese as fighting rages between Sudan and its neighbor, South Sudan. Malaria and diarrhea run rampant in the overcrowded refugee camps. Nearly three children die of preventable illnesses in the camps every day.

At the age of six, Lopez was kidnapped from his Southern Sudan village and held captive as he was being prepped as a child soldier. Too small to undergo training, his fate would most likely have been starvation. But after three weeks, he managed to escape with the help of three other captives. After running three days and nights, they were captured by Kenyan troops and brought to a refugee camp where Lopez lived for 10 years.

He was supported by a U.S. family and brought to this country where he soon discovered he was the fastest kid in school. At track meets he then discovered he was the fastest in the state. Soon he would become one of the fastest in the nation. In 2008, Lomong qualified for the Beijing Olympics in the men’s 1,500 meters. He was voted by his teammates as the flag bearer in the Opening Ceremonies.

Lomong has a new book entitled “Running For My Life” (Thomas Nelson Publisher) http://www.thomasnelson.com/running-for-my-life.html

For more info: 4South Sudan : http://lopezlomong.com/foundation/

Team World Vision: http://support.worldvision.org/site/TR?px=1209501&fr_id=1790&pg=personal

Image Courtesy of   Maxisport / Shutterstock.com

The article Lopez Lomong Qualifies for Olympics Finals in 5,000 Meters appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Oxford, England — With the Games well under way this summer, businesses have been given a unique opportunity to evaluate the way they communicate internally and externally in the face of challenging outside influences. It has been reported that some of the busiest commercial districts in London have been unrecognisable during the last week – not because of increased footfall but because they are so much quieter than usual.

This is down to an improvement in the way companies in the capital have dealt with important communications in adverse conditions – such as the hosting of a major international sporting event. A large number of businesses trading in the capital have made full use of the technology supplied by telecommunications experts like MeetingZone Ltd.

In the run-up to the Games inquiries came flooding in to meetingzone.com from companies eager to assess how their in-house communications systems could be enhanced using cutting edge technology in preparation for a testing time in the capital. The solutions supplied have enabled many businesses to keep operating at the optimum level in spite of the forecast difficulties many have had to face in terms of travel and logistics.

Improved communications in the form of web conferences and telephone conference calls make it possible to gather a team in order to solve problems, meet with partners, clients and suppliers and discuss strategies, even when external conditions make it very difficult for businesses to succeed in this capacity, especially when they are limited to less up-to-date modes of communication.

How well businesses have dealt with the unique conditions supplied by London’s hosting of the Games is likely to determine how they move forward with their own communications strategies in the future.

In order to deliver solutions to more businesses in need of advice in the field of communications, Meeting Zone has teamed up with Cheshire SEO agency Just Search – the aim being to enhance the online presence of the company so that more enterprises can make use of their individually-tailored packages and services.

Image Courtesy of   Bikeworldtravel / Shutterstock.com

The article London Olympics Leads Businesses to Evaluate their Visibility appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Seven athletes from the Cameroon delegation at the 2012 London Olympics have left the Olympic village without official permission, confirmed the Ministry of Sport and Physical Education in the African country. Five boxers, a swimmer and a soccer player are the athletes who have disappeared from the concentration, presumably for economic reasons.

“What began as rumour has finally turned out to be true. Seven Cameroonian athletes who participated at the 2012 London Olympic Games have disappeared from the Olympic village,” wrote David Ojong, the manager of the Cameroon delegation, in a message for the Ministry of Sport and Physical Education in Cameroon.

He said the Cameroon delegation consisted originally of 59 people, but 28 already have returned home, 24 remain in London and seven are missing.

Ojong explained that Drusille Ngako, a reserve goalkeeper from the Olympic football woman team, was the first to disappear. Ngako did not finally make it for the group of selected 18 players to compete in the Olympic competition. While her teammates moved from Scotland to Coventry to continue the preparation, Ngako did not accompany the group and no one ever heard from her.

A few days later it was swimmer, Paul Ekane Edingue’s turn. Also, five boxers, Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adjoufack, Abdon Mewoli, and Serge Blaise Mendouo Yepmou Ambomo, were absent from the village on Sunday.

Representatives of the International Olympic Committee said today that they knew nothing about it. “We are not aware of it,” said spokesman Mark Adams.

It is not the first time Cameroonian athletes have disappeared during international sports competitions. At past Francophonie and Commonwealth games as well as junior soccer competitions, several Cameroonians have quit their delegation without official consent.

Image Courtesy of   Denis Kuvaev / Shutterstock.com

The article Cameroon Olympic Athletes Go Missing During Games appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

London, England — Simon Fuller managed Andy Murray wins epic victory against Roger Federer in a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory.

Andy Murray joined the ranks of the Olympic gold medal winners after securing an emphatic victory over Roger Federer in the Olympic Men’s Singles final at Wimbledon. He became the first British man to win Olympic gold in the tennis since Josiah Ritchie in 1908.

Murray’s victory was secured after one hour and 56 minutes in front of a packed Centre Court and a global TV audience of many millions:

“It’s number one for me. The biggest win of my life,” Andy Murray said after the game. “I have had a lot of tough losses in my career and this is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final.”

After beating Djokovic in the semi-final, Murray was full of confidence going into Sunday’s final. He saved two break points in the opening game and then went on to dominate the first set before breaking serve in the sixth game, and taking the set 6-2. This comprehensive display set the tone for the rest of the match, with Murray racing into a 3-0 lead in the second set despite saving six break points in the third game, going on to a 6-1 second set victory. Although the final set was closer, finishing at 6-4, Murray always looked likely to win Team GB’s 16th gold medal at the summer games.

Simon Fuller Andy Murray’s manager, said after the game, “What an incredible day for Andy, not only for winning an Olympic Gold, but for winning here at Wimbledon during London 2012 in front of his home fans. This is a justified reward for all his hard work and devotion. Andy is an exemplary sportsman and an inspiration for a young British sporting generation. I am proud to be associated with him at this special moment and certain that this will be the first of many more great victories.”

Shortly after the game Andy Murray competed in the Final of the Mixed Doubles with his partner Laura Robson, winning a silver medal.

Image Courtesy of  Neale Cousland / Shutterstock.com

The article Olympics 2012: Andy Murray’s Biggest Win appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

During the past days we have heard of athletes being expelled for unruly behavior. Up until now, there were no Americans involved in the controversies surrounding this year’s Olympics, but unfortunately the time has come for an American athlete to join the unflattering ranks. Judoka Nick Delpopolo has been expelled from the Olympics for failing a drug test where he tested positive for marijuana.

Test results showed that Delpopolo had cannabis metabolites within his body the day he competed (July 30).

Delpopolo has defended himself saying that he unintentionally ate something before the Games that had marijuana baked into it: “My positive test was caused by my inadvertent consumption of food that I did not realize had been baked with marijuana, before I left for the Olympic Games.”

The American Judoka competed in the 73-kilogram class where he ended up in the seventh position, which gave him an Olympic diploma. However, according to information on the official International Olympics website, Delpopolo’s diploma from the event has been withdrawn.

The athlete has shown remorse for his behavior, despite assuring that he did not know that he was eating a banned substance: “I apologize to U.S. Olympic Committee, to my teammates, and to my fans, and I am embarrassed by this mistake,” he said in a statement released by the USOC. “I look forward to representing my country in the future, and will rededicate myself to being the best judo athlete that I can be.”

U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky made clear that athletes have to face the consequences of with their actions: “The IOC is absolutely committed to clean competition and stringent anti-doping penalties. Any positive test, for any banned substance, comes with the appropriate consequences and we absolutely support the disqualification.”

Delpopolo’s doping positive is the fifth case of use of an illegal substance since the International Olympic committee started making the tests. However, the other four athletes were caught before competition started.

Therefore, Delpopolo is the first athlete to be expelled during competition for using drugs. He joins the list of athletes who have been forced to leave London for their behavior: Greek Voula Papachristou and Swiss Morganella were sent home for inappropriate social media use, Australian rower Josh Booth was expelled for damaging a storefront while drunk, and 8 badminton players were kicked out for trying to lose their game on purpose.

The article American Judoka Expelled from Olympics For Marijuana Use appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Morrissey, the infamous singer of ‘The Smiths,’ and “one of the most singular figures in Western popular culture from the last twenty years” as defined by Pitchfork, recently addressed the Olympic Games and the media entertainment related to them. Via ‘True To You,’ he expressed his disappointment towards the games and the life style promoted during their happenings, while the country and the continent are suffering from one of the major economic crisis of modern time.

After talking about his latest tour, he went on to say “And, yet! I am unable to watch the Olympics due to the blustering jingoism that drenches the event. Has England ever been quite so foul with patriotism? The “dazzling royals” have, quite naturally, hi-jacked the Olympics for their own empirical needs, and no oppositional voice is allowed in the free press. It is lethal to witness.

“As London is suddenly promoted as a super-wealth brand, the England outside London shivers beneath cutbacks, tight circumstances and economic disasters. Meanwhile the British media present 24-hour coverage of the “dazzling royals,” laughing as they lavishly spend, as if such coverage is certain to make British society feel fully whole. In 2012, the British public is evidently assumed to be undersized pigmies, scarcely able to formulate thought.

“As I recently drove through Greece I noticed repeated graffiti seemingly everywhere on every available wall. In large blue letters it said WAKE UP WAKE UP. It could almost have been written with the British public in mind, because although the spirit of 1939 Germany now pervades throughout media-brand Britain, the 2013 grotesque inevitability of Lord and Lady Beckham (with Sir Jamie Horrible close at heel) is, believe me, a fate worse than life. WAKE UP WAKE UP.”

This is not the first time Morrissey expresses opinionated concerns towards his country and the politics of it. Once again via ‘True To You’, he recently addressed Queen’s Elizabeth II and her Diamond Jubilee. He said the Jubilee “presents a new lesson in the force of tyranny, and is an expression of loathing and abhorrence of the British poor” and again “It is degrading to anyone of intelligence.”

Last year he also wrote an article for the Irish publication Hot Press, in occasion of the Queen’s visit to Ireland. Among other things he wrote “For a broad historical view of what the Queen is and how she ‘rules’, examine Gaddafi or Mubarak, and see if you can spot any difference. You won’t be able to.”

Image Courtesy of   jdlasica

The article Morrissey Attacks the London Olympics appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Andy Murray stunned Roger Federer to win the Olympic gold medal at Wimbledon yesterday just 28 days after a gut-wrenching defeat saw the Brit in tears on centre court.

Murray did not drop a set, beating the world number one 6-2, 6-1, 6-4, in a one-sided encounter which showed the world Murray is capable of beating the big guns on the big occasions.

It was revenge for the Scot who lost the Wimbledon final to the Swiss just a month earlier on the same court.

“It’s number one for me – the biggest win of my life,” said Murray., who took inspiration from team GB’s performance on the athletics field on Saturday night.

“I have had a lot of tough losses in my career and this is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final.”

Murray had  beaten world number two Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the semi-final and looks to be in imperious form entering the American hard-court season.

Many believe this could be the boost the Brit needs to win his first grand slam.

He will now prepare for the final major of the year – the US Open – and will enter with renewed confidence.

“I hope this will give me the confidence to go there and believe in myself a bit more than I have in the past,” said Murray, whose straight sets victory on Sunday was his first in five sets over Federer.

“Hopefully I can have a good run and give myself a shot at winning.

“I’ve had a lot of questions asked about me many times. I’m just glad I managed to put on a performance I’ve been waiting for.

“It was a huge match for me. It was a big match for Roger as well. I’m sure he would have wanted to win the gold – it’s one of the few things he hasn’t done in his singles career.

“To win today, in the way I did, makes those losses a little bit easier to take. It will help with the way I go into the [Grand Slam] matches and I hope it will make me a better player.”

Murray went on to claim a silver medal in the mixed doubles with Laura Robson. They lost in the championship tiebreak to number one seeds Victoria Azerenka and Max Mirnyi.

Image Courtesy of  Maxisport / Shutterstock.com

The article Murray wins Olympic Gold in Imperious Fashion appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Serena Williams demolished Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 en route to winning the Olympic gold medal and securing a career golden slam.

Williams stamped her authority on the competition from the outset and lost just 17 games through the course of the competition. The impressive gold medal match victory leaves her on a 17 match-winning streak since her shocking first round exit at the French Open.

The 63 minute final saw the American drop just one game against Sharapova, and was the most comprehensive Olympic women’s single win.

She joins Germany’s Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi of the United States and Spain’s Rafael Nadal as the only players to have won all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in singles.

“Oh my gosh, I got the gold. I’ve never played better. Playing against someone like Maria you have to be at your best. I knew that, so it was like I had nothing to lose,” said Williams.

“I never expected gold in singles. I was so happy with my doubles golds [in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008].

“I thought, ‘If my career’s over I have my gold medal and now I have everything.’

“I have singles, doubles, actually everything there is to win in tennis. Where do I go from here?”

Silver medal winner, Sharapova said: ”Serena played some incredible tennis, with the form she was in during Wimbledon and afterwards.

“With every match she has played she has played great, she has improved and become better, and that showed today.”

Williams teamed up with sister Venus to win the doubles gold medal in a similar fashion, with the pair not dropping a set in the concurrent competition.

She hopes to continue her form into the final part of the season as she attempts to win her 15^th grand slam singles title at the US Open in a few weeks time.

In the bronze medal match, Victoria Azerenka beat Maria Kirilenko to secure her first Olympic medal.

Azerenka went on to win the mixed gold with partner Max Mirnyi leaving her and Williams with two medals each.

Image Courtesy of   Neale Cousland / Shutterstock.com

The article Serena Thrashes Sharapova to Claim Golden Career Slam appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

A historic moment has happened in the London Olympics. For the first time in history, Saudi Arabia has sent a women to the games. Wojdan Shaherkani, one of the two women sent, has already made her debut in Judo wearing a modified hijab.

Wojdan Shaherkani is only 16 years old; she competed against Melissa Mojica, a 28-year-old Puerto Rican ranked 13^th in the world, so the fight only lasted one minute 22 seconds. Mojica quickly did a technique called a side-drop, in which she made Shaherkani hit the mat, so a knockout was determined by the judges. But the result of the fight was the less important thing; Shaherkani had already made history.

Wojdan Shaherkani in Judo and Sarah Attar, an 800-meter runner, are the only women the Saudi Arabian delegation has sent to the Olympics. This was not an easy decision for some of the country leaders. Along with Brunei and Qatar, Saudi Arabia had never sent a women to the Olympics. But now in London things are different, Brunei and Qatar have also sent women in their delegations; Qatar has sent four female athletes and Brunei has also sent their first female Olympian.

The decision to send women to the Olympics was taken at the last moment; the different leaders had a very intense internal debate. External pressure also contributed to the final decision.

One of the latest controversies was if Wojdan Shaherkani would be able to fight wearing a hijab. This was not an easy topic because Judo has a very strict dressing code. But in the end Saudi Arabia and international Judo federations agreed to let her compete with a modified hijab, so her debut was possible even with much negative pressure from her country. Hard-liners said she was dishonoring herself fighting in front of men.

Shaherkani, after the fight, said “I’m excited and proud to be representing my country,” although she was disappointed for her loss she is sure she will do it better in the future. We must consider that Shaherkani is only a blue belt in Judo that has been trained by her father for two years and she faced one of the most experienced Judo fighters in the Olympics.

The president of the Saudi Arabia Judo and Taekwondo Federation, Hani Kamal Najm, is very proud of her participation in the Olympics and said that “certainly it’s a good start, and hopefully it will progress from here onward.”

The article First Saudi Arabian Female Olympian Makes History appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

If we talked in past days about athletes being careless with social media use, the irresponsibility news of the day would be related to alcohol abuse. The rower Josh Booth from Australia was detained by police for causing damage to a storefront. Apparently he smashed two windows, severely damaging them.

Josh Booth, age-21, was debuting in London in the Olympic Games, and was apparently under the influence of alcohol during the incident. The incident took place a few hours after he disputed the men’s eight on rowing, where his team ended up in the last position.

Nick Green, head of the Australian delegation and former Olympic rowing champion, said to the press that police contacted him by telephone at 3.30 AM to notify him of the arrest of one of their athletes.

According to Green, the rower, collapsed in the police station where he was interrogated, hitting his head, and had to be taken to a hospital. The Australian athlete was subsequently released without charge. However, Booth will have to go back to the police station: “No charges have been laid but he has to go back to the police station tomorrow (Friday) where the police will investigate the matter,” said Nick Green.

Australian team leader added that they will make a decision on possible disciplinary action to punish Booth for his actions.

This has not been the first incident related to alcohol in this Olympics. South Korean sailing coach Lee Jae-cheol was sent home last week from the London Games after being caught by police drunk driving on his way back to the athletes’ village.

Image Courtesy of   jo.sau

The article Josh Booth, Australian Rower Arrested for Damaging Store appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Keyla Harrison has made history by becoming the first American judo woman athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. The Ohio athlete got the gold on Thursday, August 2 in the 172-pound women final by blocking Brit Gemma Gibbons. The bronze was won by French Audrey Tcheumeo and Brazilian Marya Aguiar.

The final match lasted five minutes, and Harrison dominated from the start. The U.S. judoka age-22 won by throwing Gibbons twice with two separate yuko scores. The first point came when the clock was pointing minute one, while the second point took place when only one minute was remaining.

Journey to gold has not been easy for Harrison. In the first game she beat Vera Moskalyuk from Russia in just 56 seconds. On quarterfinals she had to play Abigel Joo of Hungary who was beat in 3:10. In the semifinals Harrison had to play world number 1 Mary Aguiar, who was defeated with an arm lock when 14 seconds were remaining for the end.

This has been the second American medal in the judo category during this Olympics. The first one came with Marti Malloy, who won a bronze in the women 57-kilogram category. Judo is a sport that has recently started producing results for the United States in women’s category, since the first medal was achieved in 2008 (Ronda Rousey, bronze.)

The article Judo Olympics: First Gold Medal in Judo for US appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The quarterfinals for the soccer Olympics are already here, as the group stage games ended on August 1. This has been so far an Olympics full of surprises, as favorite Spain and Luis Suarez’s Uruguay have not made it to the next round. It is especially startling in the Spanish case. The winners of the last World Cup and Euro Cup have not even scored a goal on the three games played in the group stage, and could just tie one of their games (0-0 against Morocco)

The group stage was composed of 16 teams divided within 4 different groups. Teams that have made it into quarterfinals are Great Britain and Senegal in group A, Mexico and South Korea in group B, Brazil and Egypt in group C and Japan and Honduras in group D.

With Spain out, the favorite is the ever-feared Brazil and host Great Britain. Giovani dos Santos’ Mexico is the third front-runner to lift the title. However, the other countries must also need to be taken into account as they have already struggled, and triumphed, through different battles.

A draw has already been made for the quarterfinal round, which will be played on August 4th. Host Great Britain will play against South Korea. Favorite Brazil will have to beat Honduras, who already won to mighty Spain. Mexico will play against Senegal, and Japan and Egypt will face off in the last quarterfinal game.

The most attractive game from the last day of the group stage was Brazil’s victory against New Zealand by 3-0. The Brazilians won the game with even a greater superiority than what the final result reflected. The first two goals were scored before the first half an hour by Leandro Damiao and Danilo. The third one was Sandro’s work at the beginning of second half.

The other big game of the day was the one played between Great Britain and Uruguay in Cardiff, Wales. The Brits won by 1-0 with Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge’s goal in a game that started shrouded in controversy since it was feared that Welsh were going to boo on the God Save the Queen British anthem. At the end fans respected the anthem.

Image Courtesy of  Cyril Hou / Shutterstock.com

The article Olympic Soccer: Quarterfinals are Already Here appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The microblogging service credited with helping free speech flourish goofed this past weekend. After suspending the Twitter account of journalist Guy Adams for a tweet that supposedly violated Twitter’s privacy rules, the service was besieged with media requests and outraged users over the dubious nature of the suspension.

Adams, a Los Angeles correspondent for UK-based publication The Independent, lost his account over a July 27 tweet that included the NBCUniversal corporate email of Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics. On July 29, NBC Sports filed a support ticket with Twitter to suspend the account, which it did.

The Comcast Corporation subsidiary and Twitter entered a non-financial partnership for the duration of the London 2012 Olympics, which led to skepticism about the service’s quick response to its business partner.

There were also questions about the accuracy of Twitter’s privacy rules to ban the posting of “private and confidential information” with regards to Zenkel’s corporate email address, which follows the same format as all NBCUniversal employees: FirstName.LastName@nbcuni.com.

The situation became murkier on July 31, when UK-based publication the Telegraph broke news that the Twitter Olympics team assisted NBC in making the report, according to correspondence with Christopher McCloskey, vice-president of communications for NBC Sports.

Despite silence from the social networking website all weekend, Twitter unsuspended the Independent correspondent’s account on July 31 and issued an apology on its blog:

“The team working closely with NBC around our Olympics partnership did proactively identify a Tweet that was in violation of the Twitter Rules and encouraged them to file a support ticket with our Trust and Safety team to report the violation, as has now been reported publicly. Our Trust and Safety team did not know that part of the story and acted on the report as they would any other.”

Posted by Twitter’s general counsel, Alex Macgillivray, the statement went out of its way to explain the service’s objectivity as a whole, separate from the actions of individual employees, “As I stated earlier, we do not proactively report or remove content on behalf of other users no matter who they are. This behavior is not acceptable and undermines the trust our users have in us. We should not and cannot be in the business of proactively monitoring and flagging content, no matter who the user is— whether a business partner, celebrity or friend.”

In response to the quandary surrounding whether Zenkel’s corporate email address fell into the realm of personal email addresses as defined by Twitter Rules, Twitter responded: “There are many individuals who may use their work email address for a variety of personal reasons— and some may not.” Therefore, the site’s response stemmed from the policy, which, as the post says, “That we can implement across all of our users in every instance.”

However, it had been determined that Zenkel’s corporate email had previously been revealed by a blog protesting NBC’s coverage of this year’s U.S. Open.

A report from Wired states that the Guy Adams incident has its own place in debates about Twitter’s future, and whether it has a place as a technology company or as a media entity.

A tweet from the reinstated account of Guy Adams suggested that his account was unsuspended because NBC rescinded its complaint.

The article Twitter Reinstates Journalist’s Account, Apologizes appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Hod Hasharon, Israel — Allot Communications, a leading provider of service optimization and revenue generation solutions for fixed and mobile data networks worldwide, have announced a new Allot Olympics Report tracking broadband traffic volumes and usage patterns during the 2012 Olympics in London.

Traffic statistics were collected from mobile and fixed networks around the globe, starting with the opening ceremony on Friday evening, July 27th, and continue throughout the games. Allot began monitoring global traffic weeks before the event to establish a usage baseline.

Results and analysis of broadband usage are posted in an Olympic Online Edition of Allot MobileTrends Report at http://www.allotmobiletrends.com. To mark the event, Allot released a special edition of protocol signatures with unique support for identifying traffic directly related to popular sources of online sports coverage such as ESPN, CNTV (China) and BBC Sports.

Key findings in the Online Report include:

• Instant Messaging increased 182% on average during the opening ceremony; WhatsApp was out front with a massive 430% increase
• Online video increased and peaked at 217% during the first official day of competition, with dedicated sites such as ESPN, BBC Sports and CNTV leading the pack
• Facebook traffic posted an 87% increase during the first two days of the games
• YouTube traffic hit 40% during the first official day of competition

This is the first time the Olympics are being streamed live over the Internet. As a result, people can watch and discuss the games anywhere, anytime via mobile access devices.

“Mobile access to the Internet has become part of the online lifestyle for billions of people, and they are taking full advantage of the online content available,” said Jonathon Gordon, Director of Marketing, Allot Communications. “Allot enables fixed and mobile broadband service providers to gain a competitive edge by monitoring and managing the real-time impact of the Olympic Games on their networks.”

Visit http://www.allotmobiletrends.com to view more statistics and sign up for updates sent directly via email

Image Courtesy of  RachelC

The article Olympics Report Shows Social Media Wins Gold appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

No one could ever doubt that Michael Phelps is a legend. But with his new gold in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay, he has became the most decorated Olympian of all times. It is the 19th time that he has been awarded with a medal and the 15th that it is gold.

With this new medal he has broken Soviet Larisa Layynina’s record, who won 18 medals between the 1956 and 1964 Olympics under the gymnastics category.

This has been the first gold for Phelps on the London Olympics, but he still could win three more (the 200 individual medley, the 100 butterfly and the 4×100 medley relay,) and make the record even bigger.

He started to become a legend in Athens 2004 after having debuted when he was only 15 in Sydney. The Baltimore swimmer won six gold medals (100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley, 4×200 free, and 4×100 medley) and two bronze (200 free and 4×100 free) in Greece before facing the greatest challenge of swimming history: overcoming the seven gold medals record from Mark Spitz.

In the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps became the greatest swimmer in the world to win eight gold medals in an Olympic game. (400 styles, 4×100 free, 200 free, 200 butterfly, 4×200 free, 200m medley, 100 butterfly and 4×100 styles.)

Having achieved the feat, Phelps faced the London Games with less demand but with a final record to beat: that of the 18 Olympic medals from the gymnast Larissa Latynina. He failed in the 400 individual medley and placed fourth in the final, had to settle for silver in the 4×100 free after France and could not overcome South Africa’s Le Clos in the 200 butterfly.

But it was just a matter of time before Phelps won his nineteenth medal. This one came in the 4×200 free category; making Phelps the best swimmer of all time in the history of the Olympics.

Phelps’ ambition seems to not have an end, as he is already thinking about making the record even bigger: “It has been a pretty amazing career but we still have a couple races to go,” he said.

Larisa Layynina, who held the record before Phelp’s achievement was happy for the swimmer’s victory: “I saw his swim, and I saw my record swim away,” Latynina told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “He’s very talented — no doubt about that.”

Image Courtesy of   jdlasica

The article Phelps Becomes Olympic Legend appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The U.S. basketball team had fun playing on Tuesdays night against Tunisia, who was destroyed by the Americans mightiness. The U.S. tried to have fun with this game and did not give it their all. If this happened we would probably be talking about the biggest win difference in the Olympics Games.

Things did not start well for Krzyzewski’s men though. They started in a sleepy mood, so the coach decided to change the 5 initial players when the first quarter was about to end. Until that moment the Africans dreamed during the first eight minutes of the game, when they were winning 15-12. But with the five new players on the pitch (Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala and Kevin Love,) the score moved to 15-26 in just three minutes. Tunisians were back to reality. Especially in the second half.

The second half started with a still close 33-46, and with the U.S. alternates at the pitch. They were the ones that killed Tunisia. Westbrook, Harden and Iguodala opened the scoring gap, ending any chance for Tunisia by the end of the third quarter (47-85).

Last quarter (63-110) was a mere formality for the enjoyment of the viewer and the United States, which keeps on making its way to gold.

It was a game to give the most important men of the team some rest and relaxation. Kobe Bryant just played 8 minutes, while Lebron James and Kevin Durant played 18 and 22 respectively.

Carmelo Anthony led the American scorers with 16 points, while Kevin Durant had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. However, the man of the match was Tunisian Makram Ben Romdhane who scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds.

Nineteen year old Davis, who will debut in the NBA during next season after he was picked in the draft by the New Orleans Hornets, scored 12 points in 12 minutes, and showed his happiness in the after match declarations: “It was real fun just playing with these guys.”

Coach Krzyzewski was also appreciative with his men’s performances: “It’s not going to be a perfect thing, you know?” he said. “But, overall, tonight was good. I mean, come on, it was 110-63.”

Image Courtesy of  Oleksiy Naumov / Shutterstock.com

The article Olympic Basketball: Tunisia Was a Toy in U.S. Hands (63-110) appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The U.S. has won another gold medal thanks to the performance of the so called “Fab Five” in the women’s gymnastics team finals, especially due to the high score obtained by Gabby Douglas and World Champion Jordyn Wieber.

The gold has come after beating Russia by more than 5 points (183.596-178.530). The bronze went for Romania (176.414 points.) Former gold winner, China, was a disappointment as they ended up in fourth position.

The American team was made up of Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber.

Gabby Douglas, the “Flying Squirrel,” scored a 15.966 on the vault, a 15.200 on the uneven bars, a 15.233 on the balance beam and a 15.066 on the floor exercise. She was the only one that did all four events and performed brilliantly in all of them.

The highest score was achieved by McKayla Maroney, who got 16,233 points on the vault.

It is the first time that the US has won the gold for the women’s gymnastics team since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Back then the Magnificent Seven made history, and now the day has come for the Fab Five to write their names in gold letters in the U.S. sports history book.

From the outset it became clear that the Americans were superior to the other countries and that the battle was really only for second place. The difference was so great that the last competition, the floor exercise, was almost a formality.

Bela Karolyi, who was the coach of the 1996 squad, made a declaration to The Detroit Free Press, comparing this year’s team to the Atlanta one: “I think this is a more even team with their performances.” “The 1996 team had ups and downs,” he added.

Image Courtesy of   US Olympic Team

The article London Olympics: US ‘Fab Five’ Win Gold in Gymnastics appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The US basketball team will play on Tuesday, July 31 against Tunisia in a game that is considered purely procedural. The NBA starts showed their authority and superiority against France (98-71) and now they will play against weak Tunisia that lost in the first game against Nigeria (60-56).

US is the favorite to win the gold and in this game they can ratify the image showed in the first Olympic games. Today’s game will be a good opportunity to correct some of the mistakes made against France, such as the series of triples that were missed at the beginning of the game (first six were failed). LeBron James was one the players that showed his nonconformist face and showed his wanting to improve: “It wasn’t perfect. We’ve still got room for improvement. We had too many turnovers, too many fouls and we had a couple of defensive rebounds we could have come up with.”

This game will also bring the opportunity to adapt to the meticulous referees. US players complained about how the ref whistled during the meeting with France. “There were calls being called that didn’t seem right,” said the NBA star Carmelo Anthony.

On the other side of the field will be Tunisia, which will aim to lose the less amount of points. They might make the surprise of the Olympics, but it will be tight, especially taking into account that from the 12 teams in the Olympic basketball tournament, they are the only country that that does not have at least one current NBA player.

Although winning it is important, the US also has the obligation to play like any team could ever do. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said that playing well creates good habits: “It’s about our performance,” he said. “We should beat Tunisia, but we want to play well against Tunisia. When you play games in your pool and you’re a significant favorite, you don’t want to just win, you want to maintain and build good habits. We don’t want to overlook anybody because then we overlook ourselves. And in short period of time you can fall into a bad habit that will have its impact on a game where you’re not a significant favorite.”

The US and Tunisia have only played each other once in their histories. It was in the 2010 World Championships in Turkey and the US won by a clear 92-57.

Kobe Bryant said that this US team could beat the Dream Team from 1992. Today’s game could be a great chance to play like angels and show that this team has nothing to envy from the team from ’92.

Image Courtesy of  Oleksiy Naumov / Shutterstock.com

The article US-Tunisia: A Chance to Prove They Are Better than the Dream Team appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Olympics 2012 is once again making a scene on Twitter. On July 26, Toonari Post wrote about Greek athlete Voula Papachristou being sent home after she made a racist comment on the social network and this time the turn has come for the Swiss soccer player Michel Morganella.

The Swiss Federation has decided to expel the 23-year-old Palermo player from the Olympic Games after he posted a controversial tweet right after his team lost against South Korea. The player wrote a message saying that South Koreans “can go burn” and referred to them as a “bunch of mongoloids.”

The Chief of the Swiss Olympic Delegation, Gian Gilli, made a statement where he explained the Swiss decision to send Morganella home: “Michel Morganella gravely insulted and discriminated against the South Korean people and their football team with his highly offensive comments on Twitter. We condemn his comments, which are in fundamental violation of the IOC’s Olympic charter and Swiss Olympic’s own ethics charter. This is why, in consultation with the Swiss Football Association, we have withdrawn Morganella’s accreditation.”

Morganella did not take long to apologize and even closed his Twitter account. He made a statement where he expressed his remorse: “I wish to apologise to the people in South Korea and their team, but also to the Swiss delegation and Swiss football in general. I obviously accept the consequences for my actions.”

However, the apology was not accepted by the Swiss Delegation. Gian Gilli said that “despite the public apology for his behavior, he is strongly condemned by the Swiss Football Association.” The delegation chief explained that he had “no alternative” than to send him home. Morganella is the second athlete to go home prematurely on account of Olympics-related chatter on Twitter. Have other athletes learned from their mistakes or can we expect more cases of bad sportsmanship on the social network?

The article Morganella Is Expelled from Olympics After Insulting South Koreans appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Ryan Giggs made history on Sunday 28th by becoming the oldest player to score a goal in the soccer category of an Olympic tournament. The Manchester United player was 38 years and 243 days old when he scored the goal with a header that helped the UK team to approach the quarterfinals.

However, Ryan Giggs name is not on people’s mouth because of his last goal, but because of a controversial political overtone. A Welsh player for the UK team Ryan Giggs, alongside his fellows Bellamy and Allen did not sing the ‘God Save the Queen’ anthem when it sounded, as the other members of the team did.

The UK national soccer team has 5 Welsh players, while the rest are English. It is well know that citizens from Scotland and Wales do not feel themselves as Brits, so that is the reason why Giggs and the others did not show much passion when the anthem was played. “It is a personal thing,” said the Manchester United player when asked about why he did not sing it. “’It’s difficult but it’s not an issue for us. It might be for other people but, once the game starts, we’re all pulling in the same direction and I think that’s the main thing,” he said to downplay the situation.

However this has not been the spark that provoked all the fires. Polemic started when the officials came up with the idea of having an UK soccer team for the London Olympics, something that has not happened since 1972, when the UK played its last official game in soccer.

Next the UK game against Uruguay will take place in the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff (Wales), so controversy may grow, since the national anthem may not be so warmly received in the Welsh capital. However, and despite not singing the anthem, soccer star Giggs has asked the Welsh fans to respect the UK colors: “I hope the National Anthem won’t get booed and I hope the fans will get behind us.”

A draw on Wednesday will be enough for UK to qualify to the quarter-final. However it will not be easy for the blues, especially taking into account that no one knows how the Welsh people will react, and whether they will, or won’t, support the UK team. Ryan Giggs has made the first step to look for a tacit agreement with the supporters despite his political beliefs.

Image Courtesy of   Jaggat / Shutterstock.com

The article Ryan Giggs Does Not Sing God Save The Queen UK Anthem appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Chicago, U.S.A. – United Airlines will launch its 2012 Team USA television advertising this evening, highlighting the airline’s role as the official airline of Team USA and marking the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The commercials – under the direction of veteran commercial director Joe Pytka – are narrated by Academy Award-winning screenwriter and actor Matt Damon, and feature a stirring new arrangement of United’s signature theme, “Rhapsody in Blue,” by the London Symphony Orchestra:

• “Tunnel,” a 60-second commercial highlighting United’s role in flying Team USA to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The spot launches during NBC’s broadcast of the Opening Ceremony and will run, along with a 30-second version, throughout the network’s 17-day coverage of the Games.
• “Getting Ready,” a 30-second commercial highlighting United employees’ pride and coordination in flying Team USA. The spot will also run throughout NBC’s coverage of the Games.

The commercials are part of a larger United 2012 Team USA advertising campaign, “Before They Move Us, We Move Them,” which highlights the airline’s history in flying Team USA Olympic and Paralympic athletes to training events, competitions, Olympic Trials and Olympic Games for 32 years. The campaign includes print and outdoor advertising, a “17 Days/17 Flights to London” promotion that United conducted in the spring, social media and airport signage in United’s eight continental U.S. hubs.

“Our effort reflects the enormous pride United has in flying Team USA,” said Mark Bergsrud, United’s senior vice president of marketing. “We are thrilled to support the 2012 Team USA Olympic and Paralympic athletes as they ‘go for gold’ in London.”

United’s agency-of-record, McGarryBowen, developed the campaign with the airline.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,605 flights a day to 375 airports on six continents from our hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. In 2011, United carried more traffic than any other airline in the world, and operated more than two million flights carrying 142 million passengers. United is upgrading its cabins with more flat-bed seats in first and business class and more extra-legroom economy-class seating than any other airline in North America.

United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and has orders for more than 270 new aircraft deliveries through 2022, including 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 25 Airbus A350XWBs, and 100 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

United was rated the world’s most admired airline on FORTUNE magazine’s 2012 airline-industry list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Readers of Global Traveler magazine have voted United’s MileagePlus program the best frequent flyer program for eight consecutive years. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 85,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com or follow United on Twitter and Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

Image Courtesy of   Aspen Photo / Shutterstock.com

The article United Airlines, Team USA Celebrate 2012 Olympic Games appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

After the excitement over the opening ceremony have settled in, the organizers of the Olympic Games in London are waking up to the harsh reality of failed expectations: the many too many empty seats at the stadiums.

The problem is not just isolated to the less popular sports, but also big audience disciplines such as swimming, tennis, basket, and soccer are not competing in view of a full house. The initial rounds so far have rarely sold out.

The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has initiated an investigation into why there are so many empty seats at the stadiums. Especially taking into account that there was a really high demand for tickets in the months leading up to the opening ceremony and many people could not get a hold of the ones they wanted. In fact, before the Games started, 8,8 millions tickets were sold, which beg the question — where are these tickets being used?

According to the investigations, the empty seats are those provided to media, government authorities and sponsors.

The organizing committee chairman, former athlete Sebastian Coe, has threatened to name the sponsors who have not filled their seats. The controversy has even made the British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson say that he is “very disappointing” to see the empty seats.

Coe has said that he will try to fill up the stadiums by offering the empty seats to the army personel that helps with security within the Olympic village, and to teachers and students in the area, as long as it means putting more tickets on sale. This last action worked on Sunday 29, where 3,000 tickets were sold through the Olympics website.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt called the situation ‘very disappointing’ and said that they might try selling the sponsor-reserved tickets: “I think it was accredited seats that belonged to sponsors, but if they’re not going to turn up, we want those tickets to be available for members of the public, because that creates the best atmosphere. We are looking at this very urgently at the moment.”

Jackie Brock-Doyle, director of communications for the London organizers, or LOCOG said that they are working on solutions: “We are trying everything we can to make sure that those accredited seats are filled where we can.”

Image Courtesy of   Maxisport / Shutterstock.com

The article London Olympics: Why So Many Empty Seats? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Britain’s men won a surprising bronze medal in the team gymnastics competition, and were unlucky to not claim the silver medal after an appeal from the Japanese team meant the home nation were downgraded from second spot.

The result was completely unexpected – Britain’s men have not even qualified for the final since 1924 and just making the final itself was seen as a big achievement.

They shocked competition favourites such as the USA, Russia and Germany and took the bronze in controversial fashion, perhaps marking a change in fortune for Team GB.

A strong all round performance from Louis Smith, Sam Oldham Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis  saw them battling with Ukraine for third place as they went in to their final apparatus, the floor.

Whitlock, Purvis and Thomas landed every move of their floor routines to secure Britain the bronze.

But a surprising twist of events saw Japan, who looked comfortable in second place, make a succession of errors on the pommel horse.

Japan moved down from second place to fourth, leaving Britain and Ukraine in the medals, but they questioned the points awarded to their final gymnast on the horse and made an official inquiry.

Their successful appeal put them back into their deserved silver medal spot as China comfortably won the gold.

But it was Britain’s medal that was the biggest talk of the day and the home nation will look to gain from the result which could spur on the rest of the team after a start which many have perceived as slow.

Cyclist Lizzie Armitstead won Britain’s first medal, a silver, in the women’s road race on day two, after favourite Mark Cavendish missed out on the men’s equivalent on Saturday.

Rebecca Addlington added the second medal on Sunday with a bronze in the 400m freestyle, the event she won four years ago in Beijing.

But it had been anticipated these medals would be just two of many by this stage in the Games for Britain, who had high hopes as they chase a demanding target set by UK Sport.

With a few medal hopes not living up to expectations thus far, many believe Team GB have not risen to the challenge, but the pressure of a home Olympic Games cannot be overstated.

It felt like Cavendish had won the Olympic road race before the Tour de France was even completed, whilst Tom Daley was expected to bring back a medal – no questions asked - in the diving, an event which can be swung with one tiny error.

Daley came fourth in the 10m synchronized diving as he partnered Pete Waterfield on Monday, but still has a chance in the individual event.

Elsewhere the sailors seem to be struggling for form in an event the home team was looking to dominate and a few medal prospects, especially in the swimming, have not made the most of their opportunities.

The triumphs of the home nation are vital to the success of the Olympics and these Games have the potential to be one of the greatest the world has ever seen so the nation will be hoping that the unexpected success in the men’s team gymnastics result will be the much-needed boost for the rest of Team GB.

Image Courtesy of   Sergei Bachlakov / Shutterstock.com

The article Bronze For GB Men’s Gymnasts To Spark Much Needed Gold Rush? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Now that the Olympics are facing their fourth competition day, the medal count panorama is starting to get its usual shape with China and USA in the first positions.

China’s delegation is still at the top of the medal table with a total of 14 medals, of which eight are gold, four silver and two bronze.

On Sunday, July 29 there were 14 gold medals at stake, of which two were awarded to the Chinese divers Zi and Wu Minxia in synchronized three-meter springboard. Chinese woman Guo Wenjun also climbed to the top of the podium in the shooting category after winning the rounds of the 10-meter air pistol.

With these two new medals, China reached six golden medals -now they have 8 golds after today’s victory in men diving in the 10 meter synchronized, and Sun Yang winning in the 400m swimming freestyle with a new Olympic record- which leads them as the best country, so far, in the London Olympics.

The United States is the closest to the Chinese, with a total of 13 podiums, 3 of them being gold. On Sunday 29th the shooter Kimberly Rhode (Skeet) and swimmer Dana Vollmer (100m butterfly) caused the American anthem to be played, for a country that can already presume to have three gold, five silvers and five bronzes.

Kimberly Rhode has become the first American athlete to win five medals in an individual event in five consecutive Olympic Games. Will she make the record bigger in Rio, Brazil is a question on everyone’s minds.

The other gold, Dana Vollmer, broke the 100m butterfly world record at the Olympics, finishing in a time of 55.98 seconds.

The six first places in the medal count go for Italy that has gone up to the podium 8 times (2 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze), France (2,1,3 respectively), Republic of Korea (2,1,2) and Russia (2,0,3).

It is still early to make any conclusion, but it seems that both China and USA are full of expectations. On the other hand, the UK (one silver and one bronze), Germany (0 medals), and Spain (0 medals and loosing in soccer where they were favorites) are not doing as well as originally expected.

MEDAL COUNT

• China 8 Golds 4 Silver 2 Bronze 14 Total
• USA 3-5-5-13
• France 2-1-3-6
• Italy 2-4-2-8
• Republic of Korea 2-1-2-5
• Russia 2-0-3-4
• Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 2-0-1-3
• Kazakhstan 2-0-0-2
• Japan 1-3-3-7
• Romania 1-2-0-3

Image Courtesy of   Raywoo / Shutterstock.com

The article Olympics Medal Count: China At The Top appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Bets, other coaches, press and soccer experts were wrong in their predictions. They awarded Spain with a medal even before competition started, and now the Spanish have to set aside any hope of bringing home a medal even before the group stage has finished.

Against all odds, Spain lost on July 29th against Honduras by 0-1. This loss, along with the first stumbling block against Japan in the initial game (also 1-0), removes all the possible chances of passing through to the next stage for the “Rojita” -remember that during the Olympics the soccer squads play with their under 21 teams.

The loss against Honduras seems inexplicable, especially taking into account the superiority shown by Spain during the 90 minutes. But everything was against the “Rojita”: They hit the post in three different occasions, and referee Juan Soto did not whistle two penalties that seemed pretty clear. Honduras goalkeeper Jose Mendoza also played an incredible game, and flew from post to post in different occasions to save the Spanish onslaughts.

Spain started losing soon and could not do anything to fix it. Honduras’ goal came at minute 7 when striker Jerry Bengston headed a precise cross from Roger Espinoza. It is Bengston third goal in the Olympics, after the two goals he scored against Morocco, which so far leads him to the top score first position from this Olympic Games.

Once it was hit, Spain had a lot of chances to equalize the game, but whether it was goalkeeper Mendoza or the posts it did not happen. Best chances came from Juan Mata’s boots, who could have changed Spain’s destiny three different times. Munian, Rodrigo and Adrian also had great chances to invert the game situation.

Therefore, after yesterday’s loss against Honduras the Spaniards have to pack before time and will play the last group stage game against Morocco without any chance on passing through to the next stage. On the other hand, if Honduras ties against Japan in next game, they will make history, since it would be the first time that they played on quarter finals.

The Rojita, -Olympic champion in Barcelona-1992, conceded the greatest failure of Spanish football in recent years, especially after the contrast with the historic treble that the Absolute achieved just a month ago in Kiev (Euro – WorldCup).

Image Courtesy of   Solovyova Lyudmyla / Shutterstock.com

The article Olympics Soccer: Favorite Spain Goes Home Before Anyone appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.