Top 10 Olympians to watch out for in London.

Usain Bolt

Track and Field, 100m and 200m —Jamaica

Strength: Incredibly long legs allow him to finish the 100-meter dash in just four strides
World Records Held: All the good ones
Weakness: Amazingly fast up to 400 meters, but any farther than that he gets nauseous and starts vomiting
Shoes: Got his one pair all covered in sand, but is planning to get new ones at the Olympics
Favorite Showboat Maneuver: Sawing own legs off during final 10 meters

Oscar Pistorius

Track and Field, 400m — South Africa

Advantage: Has been taking steroids openly since 2009, but no one has the heart to disqualify him Mental Strategy: Dominates paralympic competitions once in a while just for a quick morale boost Leg Features: Drops oil slicks to trip up approaching runners; satisfying “sproing!” noise Mandatory Clapping Duration For His Inspiring Bravery When He Finishes 70 Meters Behind Everyone Else: 35 seconds Background: Pistorius’ childhood doctor, Gerry Versfeld, is really good at amputating little boys’ legs and enjoys it very much

Sir Chris Hoy

Cycling — Great Britain

Number Of Times During A 5-Minute Conversation He Reminds You He Has Been Knighted: 17
Accomplishments: Considered the greatest male cyclist in Olympics history, which is just another way of saying you’ll never hear his name again after you click on the next person
Preferred Wheel Shape: Circle
Legacy: The most successful Olympic male cyclist of all time until next week’s drug test
Background: He is a professional at an activity most children master by age 6


Kenenisa Bekele

Track and Field, 5000m and 10,000m — Ethiopia

Racing Strategy: Drafts behind other runners for first 9,998 meters of race and then jumps out in front at the last second like an asshole
Training Regimen: Once ran 23,000 miles in one day, but usually only goes 21,500 miles
Favorite Meter: 5,186th
Biggest Concern: Lack of antelope herd at London’s Olympic Stadium means he won’t have access to adequate pacing
Regret: Still finishing the 1,850,000-meter event from the 2008 Beijing games


Yelena Isinbayeva

Track and Field, Pole Vault — Russia

Technique: So flawless nobody has noticed the numerous optical illusions she applies to add an extra 4 feet to her jumps
Doesn’t Matter What People Say: Is still no Svetlana Feofanova
Equipment: Signature-model Nike poles used by every young female pole-vaulter in Russia
Childhood: Trained for three hours every day by vaulting onto parents’ bed using a mop
Biggest Question: Do skimpy bikini bottoms actually help the act of pole-vaulting, or is there something else going on there?


James Magnussen

Swimming — Australia

Weaknesses: Technologically advanced American suits superior to Australian team’s heavy wool; sometimes distracted by coins on the bottom of the pool
Favorite Part Of Swimming: Big fuzzy towels with Olympic logo on them
Number Of Times He’s Said “Congratulations” To Michael Phelps Through Gritted Teeth: 34
Endorsement Deal With Snapple: No, he does not have an endorsement deal with Snapple
Childhood hero: Michael Phelps

Sarah Attar

Track and Field, 800m — Saudi Arabia

Accomplishments: Finding success despite growing up in a community notoriously hostile to talented, ambitious young women in Escondido, CA
Running Style: Must be accompanied in 800-meter by male chaperone, who hopefully can run fast
Outfit: Actually allowed to wear whatever she wants, as long as the entire track is surrounded by a tarp
Reasons For Success: Thanks to dual Saudi and American nationality, has never faced career-threatening disadvantage of actually living or training in Saudi Arabia
Long-Term Goal: Hoping to inspire other Los Angeles–based, Saudi-American girls to one day compete in track and field at the Olympics

Qui Bo

Diving — China

Training: Learned how to dive by jumping into sea of Dockers at parents’ work
Advantage: No matter what happens, people in China will be told he won every single event
Endorsements: Chunri Shi Tiger Paste; Chinese Communist Party; GoDaddy.com
Style: Has grace of a tiger, though it is far more fun to watch a tiger climb a 10-meter platform and jump into a swimming pool
Gold medals needed to spare life: 9
Events entered in: 1

Lauren Jackson

Women’s Basketball — Australia

Professional Perks: Still has a ton of free tickets to Seattle Storm games if anyone wants them
Part Of The Body Most Focused On During Workouts: Intangibles
Future Aspirations: To be much shorter
Percentage Increase In Black Friends Since Joining WNBA: 10,000
Looks: Might as well tell you what you came here to find out—not bad

Aldo Montano

Fencing — Italy

Fencing Style: Poke-heavy
Family History: Father was an Olympic fencer; grandfather was an Olympic fencer; great-grandfather enjoyed annoying people by prodding them with a yardstick
Prosciutto Company Sponsorships: Del Duca, Levoni
Favorite Home-Improvement Tip: When painting exterior of home, follow the daylight around the home, starting on the north side in the morning and proceeding clockwise as the afternoons wears on
Level Of Fame: Always goes out in public wearing fencing helmet to avoid being recognized

-According to theonion.com

No Nigerian made the list? Huh?

U.S. wrestler Elena Pirozhkova picked up Michelle Obama (PHOTO) | Fourth-Place Medal

Michelle Obama's visit with members of Team USA left them inspired, but one wrestler gave her a lift -- literally. Elena Pirozhkova, the 5-foot-5 wrestler, picked up the 5-foot-11 first lady. Fellow wrestler Clarissa Chun caught the moment in a blurry , yet amazing,To avoid the wrath of the Secret Service, Pirozhkova asked Obama for her permission .



"I hugged her, and then I asked her if I could pick her up. I think she was nervous. I went slow. I just picked her up. I wanted to ask her permission. There was security all around. And she gave it. I will only meet her once. I wanted to do something different.''
OK, regardless of your political leanings, how awesome is Mrs. Obama? She talked about how she was inspired by the team, and then felt comfortable enough with it to grant an Olympian her offbeat request.

Pirozhkova won a silver at the world championships in 2010. Perhaps her encounter with Mrs. O will lift her to the gold in London

-By Maggie Hendricks

Well, if you know you are brave enough try that with Nigeria's Dame Patience Jonathan when next she visits your area and your life will not remain the same again.

Best and worst dressed of the London Opening Ceremony | Fourth-Place Medal

Our old friend, Leryn Franco, aka the Hot Paraguayan , kicks off Fourth-Place Medal's list of the best and worst dressed delegations of the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony.
As always, our rankings our completely arbitrary. We should note that we pay special attention to national identity in this list. It's all dependent on who's wearing what. If the Americans rocked the Swedes outfit, it'd be a disaster -- not as big as the Ralph Lauren scarf/beret debacle, but pretty bad. Because they're Swedes, however, thick, horizontal stripes and shorts works. They're Scandinavian. They can pull off anything!



Onto the list! Our picks for the best and worst lead those respective categories. Everything else is in no particular order.

The best

The Netherlands


You can't pull off orange pants. I can't pull off orange pants. Only Dutch athletes can pull off orange pants.

Poland


Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska was a vision in rose leading the Polish delegation.

Fiji


A rule to live by: Never insult a man in a grass skirt.

Sweden


A Sig Ep or Tri Delt wearing this in a college bar would rightfully earn your derision. But there's something about the Swedish flag transformed into a rugby that's working.

Canada


Cuts down on the "where are you from" questions in the Olympic Village. The simplicity is glorious.

Germany


Over 200 countries marched at the Olympics. All of them would have earned "worst dressed" status with these Opening Ceremony uniforms. But these are the Germans and there's something so decidedly un-German about wearing baby colors.

Cook Islands


Ceremonial garb tends to fall in the middle of these lists. One on hand, we'll never criticize tradition. On the other, they're rarely fashion forward, as Tim Gunn might say. These Cook Islands outfits are different enough to buck that trend and make the list.

Paraguay


The silhouette is sonow. That's why we like it. Promise.

The worst

Great Britain


Are they in Abba? A cult? A recreation of Puffy and Mase in the " Mo Money, Mo Problems " video? If the English do as well in the Olympics as they did in looking the most ridiculous at their Opening Ceremony, then it's going to be one happy fortnight in London.

Mexico


Positives: Sombreros. Negatives: Everything else.

Cuba


If the Olympics don't work out, a gig announcing "Monday Night Football" in 1974 could.

Finland


Tennis shoes and skirts are only acceptable if you're walking from work to the subway.

Argentina


Were those outfits punishment for losing the Falklands War?

Belgium


Not that these outfits are so bad -- they're only marginally bad. They lead to one big question though: Why does one woman in the middle have on red tights and another have on a red skirt? WHY ARE THEY DIFFERENT?

Austria


Somewhere in Hollywood, a studio executive saw this picture and started writing a pitch for "The Sound of Music II: The Von Trapp Sisters Grow Up and Go To London."

United States


Fourth-Place Medal has covered these Ralph Lauren atrocities at length, so we won't waste any more text now. Side note: Great move by Kobe Bryant to walk with random Team USA members rather than his basketball brethren.

-By Chris Chase

Meanwhile you can decide to place the Nigerian Olympic team outfit amongst the best or worst. Your choice.

German town attempts to reclaim 450-year-old debt now worth trillions

A 450-year-old debt could help one small German town pocket a monumental windfall running into trillions following the recent discovery of a long lost IOU certificate.




The small German town of Mittenwalde could become one of the richest in the world if officials in Berlin were to pay back the long-outstanding debt.
According to Radio Berlin Brandenburg, the certificate shows that Mittenwalde lent Berlin 400 guilders in 1562, to be paid back with six per cent interest per year.
Today the original outstanding debt would stand at an estimated £87million, an amount which would run into 'trillions' taking into account inflation and interest.

- Metro News,U.K

So those owing me, Pay with interest now or....

Stunning Recovery for First Child to Get Stem Cell Trachea

The first child in history to receive a trachea fashioned by his own stem cells has shown remarkable progress since the initial transplant two years ago, marking a new record for the novel procedure.
Ciaran Finn-Lynch, the now 13-year-old boy from the UK who the world's first child to receive the stem cell trachea transplant , is breathing normally and no longer needs anti-rejection medication, researchers reported in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Lancet.
The organ itself is strong, has not shown signs of rejection, and has even grown 11 centimeters since it had been transplanted, according to the researchers.
Ciaran was born with a rare condition known as Long Segment Tracheal Stenosis, marked by a small windpipe that does not grow and can restrict breathing. He underwent the stem cell transplant in March 2010 after a standard trachea transplant did not work.

-Courtesy, Good Morning America

Hmmm, Science won't stop discovering

London welcomes world for Olympics opening

Excitement is building across Britain as it prepares for the official start of the Summer Olympic Games on Friday night.

One of the biggest secrets in London will finally be revealed, as perhaps a billion people worldwide watch the opening ceremony created by Danny Boyle, best known for the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire."

Meanwhile, the day got off to a resounding start as bells around the country pealed for three minutes, including more than 40 chimes from London's famous Big Ben clock tower.

The Olympic torch, which has traveled around the United Kingdom over the past 70 days, then set off on the final leg of its journey toward Olympic Stadium, aboard the royal barge Gloriana.

Rowers propelled the vessel, which played a central role in Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee celebrations, down the River Thames from Hampton Court to Tower Bridge.

Former Olympian rower Matthew Pinsent, tasked with carrying the flame on to the barge, said it was "a huge day for London."

Crowds lined the river's banks to cheer the torch along, adding to the more than 13 million who've turned out to watch it pass in the course of its 8,000-mile journey, according to the government.

-CNN

Even the Verbal Banter Between Ü.S. Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney and British Prime Minister David Cameron on the event's preparations wouldn't matter as the' World meets in One City'.