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 son before returning to San Francisco. "Adams a guy we have complete and utter faith in,"
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Geplaatst op 02-07-2015 04:13
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 Guru  Berichten: 1263 Datum van aanmelding: 28.03.15 |
LONDON - "Enlightenment" was the theme, physicist Stephen Hawking the guide and Olympic Stadium the venue Wednesday night as London welcomed 4,200 athletes from more than 160 nations to the 2012 Paralympic Games. Who better to greet Paralympians than a scientist who has shown the world that physical disabilities do not limit human potential? "The Paralympic Games is about transforming our perception of the world. We are all different, there is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we share the same human spirit," said Hawking, who was given two years to live in 1963 after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. "What is important is that we have the ability to create ... however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at," he added. The extravaganza, directed by Bradley Hemmings and Jenny Sealey, was billed as a voyage across "a sea of ideas" - including Isaac Newtons discovery of gravity, the force that all Earth-bound athletes strive against. The show included 73 deaf and disabled professional performers and 68 disabled people among its 3,250 volunteers. The gala opened with a look at the Big Bang - considered the beginning of the universe - as a glowing sphere turned the stadium into a giant nebula. In a nod to the famously erratic British weather, umbrellas were a central theme. Seeing performers with no legs beneath the knee doing aerial flips carrying umbrellas could inspire the most ardent couch potato. Sebastian Coe, chief of the London organizing committee, issued a big welcome home "to a movement that shows what sport is all about." "Sport is about what you can do, what you can achieve, the limits you can reach, the barriers you can break. Sport shows what is possible. Sport refuses to take no for an answer," Coe told the audience of 60,000. The London event is on track to be the most-watched Paralympics ever, with 2.5 million tickets expected to be sold by the time it ends Sept. 9. As the athletes paraded in under a full moon, a huge roar filled the stadium for South African flagbearer Oscar Pistorius, the sprinter who is making history by running in both the Olympics and the Paralympics this year. Glittery ticker tape and a standing ovation then greeted the enormous British team as they entered to the David Bowie song "Heroes." The parade took nearly an hour longer than expected, with athletes arriving in dozens of ways. Some came in motorized carts, others wheeled themselves in, still others were pushed by coaches or volunteers. They walked in with canes or crutches, eye patches and sunglasses, prosthetic limbs and walking sticks, determined to make it around the imposing stadium, welcomed by a global music mash-up by local DJs. Led by flag bearer Garett Hickling, some 85 Canadian athletes marched in after Cameroon and ahead of Cape Verde. Hicking, a 41-year-old from Kelowna, B.C., will represent Canada in wheelchair rugby at a fifth Paralympic Games. Canada has 145 athletes seeking medals in 15 of the 20 Paralympic sports. The teams objective is a top-eight finish in gold medals won. Canada was seventh four years ago in Beijing with 19 gold. Blind soprano Denise Leigh then sang the tribute song "Spirit in Motion" and several Paralympians took flight in an elegant aerial display. And of course, this being Britain, the words of Shakespeare once again made an appearance, with both Miranda of "The Tempest" and British actor Ian McKellen announcing that "the greatest adventure is what lies ahead." That, over the next 11 days, includes Paralympic athletes competing in 20 sports, including archery, cycling, rowing, equestrian, sailing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketball. At the start, Hawking directed the fictional Miranda to "be curious" - and the stadium was transformed into a giant blinking eye, with performers on huge waving sticks acting like eyelashes. Along her travels, the curious Miranda was to navigate a maze to find an apple - and everyone in the stadium was encouraged to take a bite out of the fruit they were given with her. Other performers included soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, Beverley Knight, the British dance group Flawless and six London-based choirs. Outside the stadium, hundreds of performers cheered, sang and danced. Jason Kajdi, an 18-year-old from south London, did huge splits with bouncy legs that resembled the "Cheetah" prosthetic limbs worn by Pistorius. "Never used these before this," Kajdi admitted. "They are brilliant fun but hard work." Authorities, meanwhile, promised to provide "a grand and global stage" for a games that everyone will remember. Queen Elizabeth II said the nation looked forward to "celebrating the uplifting spirit which distinguishes the Paralympic Games from other events." She was accompanied by her grandson, Prince William, his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prime Minister David Cameron. The Paralympic movement tracks its beginnings to the vision of Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, who in 1948 organized an archery competition for 16 injured patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Britain. Wednesdays ceremony concluded with a bevy of fireworks and Miranda breaking a glass ceiling - just as Paralympians must smash through their own barriers. Society, too, was encouraged to abandon old-fashioned perceptions of what disabled people can and cannot do. Pistorius, in an earlier news conference, praised London for its inclusivity. "Kids didnt stare at peoples prosthetic legs and they were asking guys in wheelchairs what events they do," Pistorius said. "There are a lot of people here who dont focus on the disability anymore - they focus on the athletes abilities ... theres nothing to be ashamed of." Nike Air Max Goedkoop . -- Kris Versteeg scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal near the midpoint of the third period, to lead the Florida Panthers to a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the teams preseason finale on Saturday night. Nike Air Max 90 Nederland . The terms for the agreement were negotiated during a bargaining session held in Buffalo, NY last week. The two sides have also agreed to continue negotiating on a long-term CBA for the 2014 season and beyond. http://www.nlgoedkoopschoenen.com/ . After being listed as a healthy scratch against Boston on Saturday, Ellis bounced back with the go-ahead goal and the Nashville Predators handed the Chicago Blackhawks their ninth consecutive loss, 3-2 on Tuesday night. Nike Air Max 90 Goedkoop .C. -- Jameis Winston and Florida State didnt take long to hush Death Valley, making a statement that that could be heard from Alabama to Oregon. Nike Air Max Thea Nederland ., scored 21 points to lead Canada to a decisive 25-17, 25-18, 25-18 quarter-final win over Mexico Wednesday night at the Olympic qualifying tournament in womens volleyball.SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Nothing that has happened the past two weeks has shaken that belief, and his teammates and coaches feel the same way. But theres a sense of urgency as the defending NFC champions take a two-game losing streak into Monday nights game against the Washington Redskins. The 49ers (6-4) have slipped to the sixth and final spot in the conference playoff picture, as San Francisco prepares for the seasons stretch run. Snyder will be in the middle of it Monday when he makes his first start of the season. The ninth-year veteran takes the place of injured All-Pro left guard Mike Iupati for a struggling offence that has been a big reason for the teams recent slide that followed a five-game winning streak. Its a familiar situation for Snyder, who made 69 starts at four line positions during his first stint in San Francisco from 2005-2011. Whats not so familiar for the 49ers is a losing streak that has dropped them near the edge of playoff contention. Its just the second time San Francisco has lost two games in a row since coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff arrived in 2011. But the 49ers, who were 9-1 and 7-2-1 after 10 games the past two seasons, remain confident they can get back on course for a return to the Super Bowl. "I still believe that and I know that everybody in this locker room believes that, and thats where we are right now," Snyder said Saturday. "The games become more important now. We put ourselves in this position coming down the stretch and we use it as motivation. Things didnt go the way that we planned, but we just have to keep fighting, stay on task, and thats what were doing every day." As his team prepared to leave for Washington early Saturday afternoon, Harbaugh was able to stray from his usual "one-game-at-a-time" mentality and look at the big picture. The 49ers, two-time defending NFC West champions, trail the Seattle Seahawks by 3 1/2 games in the division with six to play. One of those games is a home rematch with Seattle in two weeks. "The thing you look at is, the season plays out differently each year," Harbaugh said. &"I mean, the sense of urgency is high every week.dddddddddddd Theres plenty of opportunity ahead of us and the opportunity thats staring us right here in the face is a very good one, and thats what we focus on." Iupati suffered ligament damage in his left knee during last weeks 23-20 loss at New Orleans, ending his run of 63 consecutive starts to begin his career since the 49ers made him the 17th overall selection of the 2010 draft. San Franciscos offence had been struggling even with the first-team All-Pro in the lineup, gaining 151 total yards during a 10-9 home loss to Carolina two weeks ago and then 196 yards last week at New Orleans. In that game, 17 of San Franciscos 20 points came after turnovers by the Saints. The other three came on Phil Dawsons 29-yard field goal that followed the Saints turnover on downs in the third quarter. Dawsons kick culminated a 49-yard drive that was San Franciscos longest of the day. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been sacked nine times the past two weeks after San Franciscos line allowed just seven sacks over the previous five games. The 49ers arent expecting much drop-off with Snyder, who started 15 games at right guard in 2011 before leaving the team as a free agent. Snyder started 14 games for the Arizona Cardinals last season before returning to San Francisco. "Adams a guy we have complete and utter faith in," offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman said. "So thats really about it. Hes a very versatile guy. Plug him in and go. Dont even blink." Iupatis injury will break a string of consecutive starts for San Franciscos offensive line. All five starters along that unit earned recognition last season as either a Pro Bowl starter or Pro Bowl alternate, and all five started each of San Franciscos 19 games last season and all 10 so far this season. "Its rare to have an offensive line go through almost an entire two seasons and not have an injury," Snyder said. "They were fortunate enough to do that but now I have to step in and I dont want to have any drop-off in the level of production. I think Im capable of doing that. Theyre big shoes to fill, but its not like Im stepping into a situation that Ive never been in and theyve never been a part of." cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' ' |
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