Most of us know Anne Vyalitsyna as supermodel Anne V from SI’s swimsuit issue, but this weekend she’ll trade in her two-pieces and body paint for running shoes as her efforts to raise money for people with disabilities culminate at the New York City Marathon this weekend.
I’ll be guiding Alexander Dmitriev from Russia for the first 4 and last 6 miles of the marathon. He got in a car accident at the age of 26 and will be participating in a wheelchair.
We are clearly in difficult economic times, but I promise, this donation is worth it, and every dollar, no matter the contribution … counts.
Achilles Track Club coordinates programs with both disabled children and injured former military personnel. Donations can be made from that website; so far Anne has raised $3,925.00. Well, 3,926 if you count my boner. Maybe I’m over-valuing that…
Dawn Fraser won the Olympic 100-meter women’s freestyle in 1956, 1960, and 1964. And just the other day, at age 71, she fought off and helped capture some ass that tried to rob her.
“This guy came out of the gate and grabbed me and I grabbed him by the ear and I kicked him in the groin,” she told several Australian television stations.
“So he had to let me go. He threatened my life and I got really annoyed about that and just grabbed him by the ear and the hair.” via.
And then she said, “G’day mate,” because they do that down there. But yeah, I never thought of a threat on my life as being “annoying” before, but I guess that would qualify. Since retiring from swimming in 1964 after being accused of stealing a Japanese flag (seriously,) she went into politics and then did their version of Dancing With The Stars. What a life. Other than writing a memoir and taking a weekend trip to Singapore, I’d say she has that bucket list knocked out.
Bar Refaeli isn’t the hottest woman in the world; in fact, I’m not even sure I’d put her in my top ten, if you will. But she, as the bald guy in “America’s Next Top Model” always says, takes great pictures. Here, you can see the Israeli supermodel practicing her craft for next year’s swimsuit issue, which my penis tells me will be out next February. Oh sure, getting paid to “stand there and look hot” doesn’t sound tough, but she does it a lot better than I do. via. via.
Olympic swimmer and noted marijuana connoisseur Michael Phelps crashed his SUV in Baltimore yesterday. A woman drove through a red light and collided with Phelps’ black Cadillac Escalade last night, around 9 pm. Police have apparently cleared Phelps of any fault in the accident.
It was not clear whether the woman, whom police have not named, would be charged with any traffic offenses. She suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Phelps and his two passengers were not hurt, police said. via.
Police described Phelps’ state after the crash as “coherent” and did not give him a Breathalyzer test. Wow, I guess we’re just presuming that Phelps is either drunk or high every time he leaves the house now. The woman, by the way, was driving a Honda Accord, which is about as good a match for the Escalade as you’d expect–she was admitted to the hospital with neck and arm injuries. I smell lawsuit! Wait, no, I think that’s actually pot. Read the rest of this entry »
FINA, which is the world’s governing body of swimming and not a cold, refreshing fruit juice, imposed a ban on the full-body swimsuits that are getting a lot of the credit for the 105 world records in swimming broken in 2008. The suits, whose construction allows for more buoyancy and less drag in water, will be forbidden after Sunday’s world championships.
FINA has banned bodysuits altogether for the men, limiting them to so-called “jammers” that go only from the waist to the top of the knees. Women will be able to wear suits that must stop at the shoulders and the top of the knees.
It’s a stunning change for a sport that took its first drastic turn at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when Ian Thorpe showed up wearing a daunting black suit that covered everything but his head, feet and hands. via.
I’m not a big fan of imposing limits on technology in general. It’s one thing when race cars are flying around a race track at over 200 miles per hour; it’s quite another to pitch a fit just because you’re sick of re-writing your record book. And then there’s Britain’s Rebecca Addington, who climbed onto her moral high horse just in time to avoid getting punched in the face:
‘These costumes are technological doping,’ she said. ‘Just like I have never used doping to go faster, I will not use these costumes that I think are illegal.’
‘I’m aware that everyone else I’ll be racing against will be in one of these new suits…I know it will be a massive disadvantage and I know that some people will criticise me for that.’
via.
Whatever, kid. Just remember that your opinion only matters once every four years. In the meantime, let’s enjoy Aussie swimmer Stephanie Rice, who decided not to wear a full-body swimsuit, either, but for much more enticing and benevolent reasons. Does this count as caring about swimming? No? Eh, whatever.
Italian swimmer Flavia Zoccari lived through veritable humiliation yesterday when she was disqualified from a race after the back of her swimsuit busted open. But while Zoccari was not allowed to compete, she did have an amazing ass that wouldn’t quit. From the Daily Mail, who always drive on the left side of the motorway, old chum:
Flavia, 22, was wearing the controversial £318 top-of-the-line Jaked J01 swimsuit when disaster struck at the Games in Pescara, Italy today.
She burst into tears as she was forced to stand down from her race.
That motorway comment reminded me of Punte’s Tips For Savory Living: if you own a GPS and are having a bad day, change the language settings on your machine from “US English” to “UK English.” You’ll instantly feel more sophisticated. And if you live in some big city and don’t drive regularly, then up yours. You deserve to be depressed.
|thanks (again) to Slanch Report|
