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Olympians of Translation Services With all the publicity surrounding the London Olympics, a lot has been spoken about the shortcomings of the organisers. Much of this has resulted from the failure of one aspect of security, quickly rectified by our ever-vigilant forces. It is a shame that our tabloid press and even our news channels have allocated so many resources to highlighting the failings, instead of praising the successes. There is much more to an Olympic games than security and efforts to accommodate athletes and officials were appreciated by visiting teams who required in depth translation services. En francais s'il vous plait The official language of the Olympic Games is French because a Frenchman founded the modern Olympics. While the International Olympic Committee is not based in France, its location in Switzerland is also French speaking. English is also an official language of the 2012 games, but French will precede announcements when there are medals awarded to

Things You Might Not Know About The Olympic Stadium The 80,000 strong Olympic Stadium may be in the midst of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London this year but have you ever stopped to think what will happen to the structure after the event comes to a conclusion and what makes it such an attractive proposition? One thing is almost certain, the stadia won’t remain as an 80,000-seater venue with proposals from football clubs West Ham United and Leyton Orient suggesting reductions to respective 60,000 and 25,000 capacities. The Olympic Legacy Company is the institution who makes the decision regarding the future of the Olympic Stadium but a number of legal wrangles between the aforementioned West Ham, Leyton Orient and another professional football side, Tottenham Hotspur, have halted the race to win the keys to the ground in 2013. Whatever the outcome, the Olympic Legacy Company will be desperate to avoid a situation similar to their Greek counterparts which has seen

Crazy Facts About The Olympics Less than a few days in the 2012 Olympics and we have already seen some crazy things – from the parachuting Queen in the opening ceremony through to the ridiculous imagery of four Olympians trying the best to lose and a 16 year old girl comfortably out-swimming her male rivals, London has been host to some bizarre spectacles. Yet, for long time followers of the Olympics, the event has always boasted a history full of peculiarities and odd occurrences,. Here are some of the craziest facts about the Olympics. Abebe Bikila Didn’t Have Time To Find Trainers In the Olympic games of Rome in 1960, Abebe Bikila became the first African to win a marathon. That, in and of itself, is not overly peculiar but the preparation he made in advance of the games certainly was. The Ethiopian runner’s admission to the team was so last minute he only joined the team as their plane to Italy was about to leave.  Needless to say, this left him with very little preparation

Synthetic grass in sports, or ‘plastic pitches’ have been around in one form or another for over half a century, yet opinions have long been mixed as to the suitability of the surface for sport, especially at a professional level. In its first incarnation, ChemTurf, more popularly known as AstroTurf, was seen as the answer to sporting prayers. An all-weather, durable, high quality playing surface that could be used day in, day out without any damage being done to it seemed too good to be true. Things that seem too good to be true often are however, and this was no exception. Historical Disadvantages The downsides to plastic pitches became obvious in a relatively short space of time. The harder surfaces had far less give than real grass, and a prickly, Velcro-like texture. It soon became clear that players were at risk of sustaining far more serious injuries on this surface than on a regular grass pitch. This was especially true in sports such as football, where players have expos

2012 Olympic's American Taekwondo Team Many people are surprised to learn that taekwondo is a major event in the Summer Olympics. In the Olympic Games, each country is able to send a total of four competitors to compete in the taekwondo event; two men, and two women.  The tournaments are divided into different weight classes. As with any other Olympic event, each competitor is scored by judges, and receives points, and point deductions dependent upon the rules of the game. A loss in one tournament does not automatically disqualify a contender. Some of the rules have changed for this year’s Olympic Games in taekwondo. A loss in the first game will allow still a competitor to compete again for the chance to earn a bronze metal.  A total of two bronze metals are awarded for each weight class in the Olympic Games. This year’s Olympic events will be exciting for the four Americans who have qualified to take part. Each of the four has trained very hard, and is aiming for gold! Her

This summer, the Olympics are on everyone’s mind whether you are into sport or you prefer less energetic past times. The majority of people will have seen a few events on the television and they will have seen athletes receiving their medals. For some people, an Olympic gold medal is the ultimate award. Few trophies are coveted as much, although there are some very high profile trophies that some consider more important. The Beautiful Game When I grew up, the Football World Cup was all that I imagined lifting, kissing and waving above my head. Goals scored in the schoolyard were followed by an imaginary award ceremony at least ten times every break time. Lifting the real thing may have been in the imagination, but you can’t beat the feeling you get when you shake someone’s hand before receiving your first trophy in front of your teammates and your parents. The special feeling of achievement is unique, despite the fact that everyone in the room had a trophy by the end of the present

Chad Bowes (South Africa) • Nicknamed ‘Pigeon’ • Made his first-class debut for KwaZulu-Natal in March 2011 • Favourite cricketer is AB de Villiers for his skill, self-belief and integrity

Test match cricket: the highest level of the sport.   For many cricketers this is an unreachable level, for others it can take many years before they start to flourish in this rarefied environment. But, for a select few, a test match debut can provide a memorable success, a personal triumph, and a great platform to build on. The top five test match batting debuts are listed below. Image courtesy of Rikx - http://www.flickr.com/photos/95438214@N00/ Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji – 216 runs This Indian prince made his test debut for England in 1896, when test matches consisted of three days play, in a match that what would ultimately end in defeat. Australia batted first and amassed a total of 412.  England hit back with a reply of 231, of which Ranjitsinhji, or Ranji as he was commonly known, made a steady 62.  England were then forced to follow on and this is where he made his landmark century, scoring 154 runs, over half of England's second innings total, as they reached 3

10 Facts About The Olympic Games You Probably Didn't Know Unless you have been living under a rock you might have noticed the world being caught in an Olympic frenzy. You can’t switch on the TV, read a paper, browse social networks without finding the latest updates on record breakers, losers and winners, as the 2012 Summer Olympics hosted in London is well underway. To celebrate this is amazing tradition we have a look at 10 interesting facts you may or may not know about the Olympic Games. 1) The early Olympic Games were actually a religious festival until 393 AD when it was banned for being a pagan festival. (The games celebrated the Greek god Zeus.) In these early games women were not allowed to participate and only unmarried women were allowed to be spectators or face the penalty of death. This is mainly because the contestants were naked. 2) It wasn’t until 1894 that the French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin, suggested a revival of the ancient games which took

Adam Ball (England) Adam Ball  * Played for Arsenal Football Club’s Academy between 9 and 12 * Favourite all-time cricketer is Andrew Flintoff

Meyrick Buchanan (Australia) Meyrick Buchanan (Australia)   * Made his senior debut for Melbourne Renegades in the domestic Twenty20 tournament in December 2011  * Handed a ‘rookie’ contract by Victoria for 2012-13 season

George Dockrell (Ireland) George Dockrell   • Played for Ireland as a 17-year-old in the ICC World Twenty20 2010 • Went on to play in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 • Was a member of the Irish Under-16 hockey squad • Favourite cricketer is fellow left-armer Daniel Vettori

Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies) Kraigg Brathwaite   • Also represented his college at athletics • Made his first-class debut at 16, scoring 73 for Barbados • Made his Test debut at the age of 18 against Pakistan • Favourite cricketer is Sachin Tendulkar for his run-making ability

Unmukt Chand (India) • Also a national level swimmer • Made his first-class debut for Delhi in 2010-2011, hitting 151 in his first season • Favourite cricketer is Sachin Tendulkar for his consistency and discipline 

This year the 14th Paralympics games will be held in the United Kingdom for the first time in its history. These special Paralympics are a joy for everyone involved as well as the thousands of spectators that are sure to attend these special events. Ludwig Guttman created the Paralympic games in 1948. They were actually created after World War 2 and involved veterans of that war that had spinal injuries. The Paralympic Movement encourages its athletes to believe in themselves and to know that anything is possible for them to achieve with encouragement and determination. Disabled sports are a way for the community to give back to the amazing athletes that have overcome so much to get where they are today. The Paralympic games are sporting events where athletes with physical disabilities compete. It is much like the regular Olympics in that they are held in the summer and winter, and have a variety of different events for the athletes to participate in. Paralympic games are held rig

Cricket Australia (CA) has appointed Allister de Winter as the National Bowling Coach. They also plans to have him on board the team in time for the VB Tour of the UAE where Australia will play Afghanistan and Pakistan. Allister de Winter