SIRC - Newsletter -August 2008

Book Giveaway

Enter to win- Culture, Education and Drug-Free Sport: A Child's Perspective. Five lucky winners will receive this Olympic focused book by CESEP.

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2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

With the Olympics underway, SIRC thought it would be fun to search our collection for interesting and unique facts about Olympic Games of the past and the Beijing Olympic Games.

SIRC would like to wish all athletes good luck at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics!

Did you know...

According to ancient Chinese numerology, 8 is the most auspicious number -8/8/08 at 8pm is the official beginning of the Beijing Games.

To promote breaking of swimming world records, the Chinese have optimized their swimming pool for speed.

This is the first time in its history that the Canadian Olympic Committee is providing performance awards to athletes who win Olympic medals. Canadian athletes will earn $20,000 for each gold medal they win.

After swallowing sewage-tainted water at Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center in 2006 Australian sailor Elise Rechichi suffered intestinal problems for 10 months and lost over 20 pounds.

During the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, 4500 doping control tests will be carried out, which is a twenty-five per cent increase over the testing that took place during the Olympic Games in Athens.

Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila was the first man to successfully defend the marathon title. (1960 and 1964). He only wore shoes for the second victory.

Etienne Desmarteau, a Montreal policeman, became the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal. He won Gold for throwing a 56-pound weight in the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis.

China’s women athletes are performing at more than twice the rate of their male counterparts. While China’s performances are improving as a nation, it is being driven by the women athletes.

Canadian race walker Tim Barrett and soon to be five-time Olympian, qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games 50km event by walking 125 laps around a 400-meter track at a high school in Burnaby, BC in just under 4 hours.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the first time a Paralympian will be competing in the Olympics.

Focus on Beijing

SIRC Highlights Canadian Olympic Athletes!

SIRC is pleased to be highlighting Canadian athletes who will be competing at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Each day leading up to the Games a different athlete is featured in the SIRC email service and on the SIRC homepage. The athlete profiles have become an instant hit, with thousands of readers checking them out each day.

To receive the free daily email service simply sign-up or contact us for more information.

Check out our athlete profile's to view the athletes that have been profiled thus far.

Ask A SIRC Librarian

SIRC members have access to SIRC librarians and we are pleased to share some of your questions.

Dear SIRC Librarian:
Are there any articles to support use of RED Bull as a performance enhancer? The mechanism of action, contents /perceived benefits/ health issues and legality with WADA.

Thank you very much,
Sport Medicine Practitioner

... See Response »