Britain's Tasha Danvers, the bronze medallist in the 400m hurdles at the Beijing Olympics, has retired after conceding defeat in her battle to be fit for the London 2012 Games. The 34-year-old has suffered a series of injuries and ahead of the preliminary squad announcement for the Games this week Danvers, from south London, has quit.
"It's extremely disappointing not to be able to put myself into contention for selection for London 2012," she said. "Based on my training at different stages my coach and I believed we had a genuine chance of making it. But the setbacks have been too many to overcome.
"Since winning Olympic bronze in Beijing I have made so many sacrifices to fulfil my dream of competing in London. Making the decision to relocate back to the UK meant leaving my seven-year-old son behind in America, which is the hardest thing in the world to do. But we genuinely believed I could step on to that podium again and with the support of my family, [coach] Malcolm Arnold, UKA, the medical team and the National Lottery, I've done everything possible to try to achieve that. Sadly my body has had enough."
Danvers, who also won Commonwealth Games silver in 2006 – less than 18 months after giving birth to her son – has made every final she has contested since 2004.
Arnold said: "This is the worse possible news for Tasha but there is no doubt she has thrown everything at trying to make London. She is an Olympic medallist and that pedigree doesn't just disappear. I was confident that if we could get her to the Games she would have been very competitive.
"This is the flipside of the Olympic dream but career-ending injuries are a fact of life at this level of sport. Our medical team have worked incredibly hard but sometimes the body knows best."
Great Britain's head coach Charles van Commenee added: "We don't have too many current Olympic medallists in our team and in an ideal world they would all be with us in London. Tasha knows what it takes to be competitive and make the podium, which would have been a huge advantage. Retirement is a hard decision for any athlete but when the decision is taken out of your hands so close to an Olympic Games, it must be even tougher. I wish Tasha all the very best."
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
'Bionic' woman who competed in the London Marathon will cycle from Paris to London for charity - Daily Mail
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She captured the hearts of the nation when she miraculously crossed the finish line of the London Marathon by using bionic legs.
And now Claire Lomas plans to captivate Briton's once more - by cycling from Paris to London.
Despite not being able to move her legs she will cover the 250 mile ride on a special bike which uses electrical pulses to stimulate her muscles, forcing her to pedal.
Claire Lomas on her exercise bike at ;home in Melton, Mowbray. She is hoping to ride from Paris to London next Spring, despite being paralysed
Miss Lomas, who was left paralysed from the waist down following a horse-riding accident which severed her spinal cord, will once again be accompanied by her husband Dan.
'It is going to be really hard work but it is going to be very different to doing the marathon,' said the 31-year-old to the Sunday Telegraph. 'For the marathon I didn't have to be super fit as the pace was so slow in the robot.'
Miss Lomas, who is a mother to one-year-old Maisie, said she is concerned about not being able to tackle hills but has been using an indoor bike to train and is looking forward to being able to cycle outdoors.
In April this year she was joined by her husband, a research biologist, and tiny daughter for every step of the London Marathon, which took her two and a half weeks to complete.
Miss Lomas, of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, managed to raise more than 200,000 for Spinal Research and attracted world wide attention during the challenge.
Aching with pain and struggling to stay upright she crossed the finish line a gruelling 16 days after she first started.
Hundreds gathered to watch Claire as she completed her challenge in London
A delighted Claire, who was supported by her husband Dan all the way, plants a kiss on daughter Maisie
People across the country were outraged when organisers refused to honour her achievement with an official medal because she did not finish within 24 hours.
Instead, 14 of her fellow runners, who were so inspired by her efforts donated theirs.
Miss Lomas was overwhelmed by support during her efforts and said it inspired her to think of something else to do for charity.
Her legs will be strapped into the special Functional Electrical Stimulation Bike, which is actually a tricycle, and electrodes will be attached to her thighs and connected to an electrical stimulator.
A computer, activated with the push of a button, will control the muscles in her legs and cause them to produce a pedalling motion.
Claire, pictured in her wheelchair with Maisie, will use a special tricycle to help her complete the ride from Paris to London
A throttle in the handle will also manage the intensity of the stimulation and the speed of the pedalling.
As part of her training Miss Lomas will take part in an outdoor ride from Glasgow later this month and hopes to complete her challenge from Paris to London in the Spring of next year.
She has said that although she gets help with pedalling from the electrical stimulation, it is still tiring for her.
'The signals from my brain can't get down my spinal cord because of my injury so they don't reach my legs, so the pads put an electrical signal straight into the muscles to make them contract. They still need oxygen and it requires cardiovascular fitness,' she said.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Ruud Gullit's wife leaves him for a younger man after getting 'sick of his cheating' - Daily Mail
By Leon Watson
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The wife of football legend Ruud Gullit has left him for a younger man because she says she's sick of his cheating.
Estelle, 33, revealed the Sky Sports pundit was left 'angry and confused' after she told him she wanted a divorce.
Estelle has fallen in love with Moroccan-born world champion kickboxer Badr Hari, who at 28 is 21 years younger than Ruud.
Split: Former Holland star Ruud Gullit with his bride Estelle Cruyff on their wedding day in Amsterdam. She has now told him she wants a divorce
In an interview with Dutch paper De Telegraaf, she blamed her husband's infidelity for the end of their 12-year marriage.
Estelle, who is niece of Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, said: 'There is one thing Ruud needs to know. Badr has not stolen me from Ruud... Ruud gave me away.'
'Ruud is angry and confused,' she revealed. 'He can’t believe what is happening. He was really angry when I told him I was leaving him.
'I wanted us both to tell the children. We have a daughter Joelle and a son Maxim together. But I did not get the chance to discuss that.
'Ruud is so annoyed. He really did not see this coming. But that is what happens when you are so busy with your own things.'
Ruud played for AC Milan, Sampdoria, Chelsea and Holland in a glittering career before going on to manage Chelsea and Newcastle United.
Ruud Gullit, when he was manager of Chelsea, and his then-girlfriend, Estelle Cruyff at Fulham Town Hall in London, celebrating the club's 1997 FA Cup win over Middlesborough
Glamorous: Estelle Cruyff became the third Mrs Ruud Gullit when the couple married in Amsterdam. Ruud astounded guests by arriving with his trademark dreadlocks shorn off
Unfaithful: The couple attend the Golden Foot Ceremony Awards in Monaco in October last year
Estelle said she has fallen in love with Moroccan-born world heavyweight kickboxing champion Badr Hari (pictured right), who is 21 years younger than her husband
His wife said: 'Of course Ruud had affairs. He always did during our marriage. And of course I knew about them. And of course he would deny them all the time. My trust in him decreased over the years. In the end I didn’t trust him one bit.
'That was the moment I started to ask myself, what is this whole marriage actually based on?
'I put on a brave smile for a long time when I was with friends. It was a smile to hide my disappointment and hurt. As a woman you feel so much more than a man. I just knew his things weren’t incidents, but pure lust. The first time I confronted him with one of his affairs, we weren’t even married.'
Talented footballer: Ruud Gullit is tackled by Tottenham's Allan Nielsen in a match at Stamford Bridge in 1996
Ruud, with Dennis Wise and Gianfranco Zola after winning the FA Cup in 1997
Ruud announced his resignation as Newcastle United manager in August 1999, he blamed the media and a disastrous start to the Premiership season
Estelle met Ruud at a nightclub while she was aged 17 and still at school. The couple married four years later and have two children together.
She gave birth to their two-year-old daughter, Joelle, when she was 19 and the family lived in a flat on the outskirts of Amsterdam.
'Ruud does not realise that he has hurt me so much over the years,' she said. 'I wonder now if he was aware of how much pain he caused me.
'I wanted that pain to end,' she told De Telegraaf. 'I hope he finds somebody who can make him happy. It has become clear over the years that I could not make him happy. Well, not just me on my own.
'Ruud knows I know everything. He really is not a bad man, but he has one particularly bad habit.
'I was looking forward to a lovely, romantic life with Ruud. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. He was sweet, happy. I could not wait to start a family with him. I don’t want to forget the great moments, which we did have, otherwise this would not have lasted 16 years.'
Estelle said Ruud is 'an adorable father' which 'as a woman, that makes you melt at times'.
But she said being a good father is not enough. The former European Footballer of the Year was married twice before and has four children with his ex-wives.
Ruud told Dutch media this week that he was getting divorced, 'because of recent developments in his marriage'.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
London to Brighton bike ride attracts 27,000 cyclists - BBC News
More than 27,000 cyclists are taking part in the 54-mile London to Brighton bike ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation.
Riders set off from Clapham Common from 06:00 BST, with the first arriving at the finish just before 09:00.
The toughest part of the ride is the climb up 813ft (247m) Ditchling Beacon just outside Brighton, which takes an average of 15 minutes to scale.
The event, which is now in its 37th year, has raised more than £50m.
Among the riders taking part was Toby Field from Eastbourne, also known as the Fat Cycle Rider, who has lost 8st 14lb in weight since taking up cycling.
His father died from a weight-related heart attack at the age of 55, and Mr Field said after his father's death he was in denial about his own health problems.
"I wanted a cheap bike so I could ride around the park with my kids. I was walking and they were leaving me behind. That's where it all started."
Road closures have been in place along the route out of London, through the boroughs of Reigate and Banstead and Tandridge in Surrey and through Sussex into Brighton.
Southern Railway and First Capital Connect do not allow bikes to be carried on trains on race day, but a park and ride service operates between Brighton Racecourse and Madeira Drive.
Bus services have been redirected and Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach company said the A23 into Brighton was gridlocked at about midday because of the race.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
She is well rid he is UGLY
- Old England is dying, London, 17/6/2012 15:05
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