The Impact of American Collegiate Women’s Soccer in the 2012 Olympics

August 30, 2012 by Kirstine

Guest Blog by Chief Executive, Andrew Kean

Our earlier blog saw us taking a look at the impact of US collegiate swimmers at the London 2012 Olympics, and in particular, the medal podium.

With an impressive haul of 72 medals from American sports scholarship recipients; it was fair to say that impact of the US college sport was dominant when compared to the infrastructure and development programs of other nations – including the UK (3 swimming medals).

But, was it only in the swimming events that American scholarship athletes dominated?

Within the US collegiate sports system, women’s soccer has become one of the fastest growing and most competitive sports in the nation. The US National team is primarily made-up of players who have progressed through the college ranks and they have enjoyed great international success over the past 15-20 years.

How did former/current women’s soccer scholarship recipients fare at the London Olympics?

Olympics soccer medals, breakdown by college :

Find out more about Women’s Soccer Scholarships to the USA….

Top 10 Olympic 2012 Moments

August 14, 2012 by Rosie

Having just held an Olympic Games described as the ‘best modern Olympic Games ever‘ we decided to round up some of the most memorable moments from London 2012:

1. Mo Farah’s 10,000 and 5000m Triumph

Farah’s incredible win over the weekend makes him one of only six men to claim the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres titles at the same Olympics. He joins athletics superstars such as Czech Emil Zatopek, Soviet Vladimir Kuts, and Finland’s Lasse Viren, who did the double at both the 1972 and 1976 Games. Our greatest athlete said after his victory: “Two gold medals? Who would have thought that? It’s a dream, and everything worked out well. The crowd were amazing. They made an unbelievable noise.” – The Guardian

2. Ussain Bolt’s 100m Record

London 2012 saw Usain Bolt set a new record of 9.63 seconds for the 100m sprint. Bolt is now only the second man in the modern era of the sport to win two consecutive 100m Olympic finals the first was Carl Lewis in 1984 and 1988.

3. Jamaican Relay Team Set New Record

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake led their team to gold and a new world record in the men’s 4×100-meter relay final on the last second Saturday of the Olympics, bringing an intense end to the competition at the London Olympic Stadium. The Jamaican team, including, Bolt, Blake, Frater and Carter finished in 36.84, with Bolt drawing cheers as he ran the electrifying last leg.

“For me, it’s just a wonderful feeling to end on a high note,” he told the BBC with a big smile. “I knew it was possible, I wish we could have gone faster, but I guess it leaves room for improvement.” - The Telegraph

4. Chris Hoy’s Final Olympics

Having won gold on the first night of the track cycling in the men’s team sprint, Hoy’s triumph in the keirin was the perfect finale for Team GB. Hoy’s six golds take him past rowing great Sir Steve Redgrave’s five. And with a silver from Sydney 2000 as well, he equals Bradley Wiggins’s record total of seven medals. The 36-year-old Scot is sure he will not carry on for a fifth Games in 2016, but he is already assured of his status as track cycling’s greatest ever sprinter.

5. Jessica Ennis’ Heptathlon Gold

In one of the most iconic moments of the London 2012 Games, Ennis, considered by some as one of the faces of the Games, fulfilled her destiny with a series of outstanding personal bests that left her rivals helpless.

6. Murray’s Win at Wimbledon

Murray beat the Swiss world number one in straight sets, 6-2 6-1 6-4, on a raucous Centre Court. The 25-year-old is the first British man to win the Olympic tennis singles gold medal since Josiah Ritchie in 1908. Murray had never beaten Federer in a best-of-five-sets match and lost to him in this year’s Wimbledon final.

“It’s number one for me – the biggest win of my life,” said Murray. - BBC Sport

7. Phelps’ Final Gold Medal

Despite having admitted that he hadn’t trained as hard for the 2012 Olympics as he had in previous years, Phelps ended his Olympic career on a high, securing a jaw-dropping 22 medals for swimming over the years, 18 of which have been gold, making him the most decorated Olympian ever!

8. Bradley Wiggins Gold

The 32-year-old is now Britain’s most prolific Olympian, his gold medal taking his personal tally to seven, one ahead of Sir Steve Redgrave, and all that just 10 days after becoming the first brit to win the Tour De France!

9. U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Win

The U.S. women’s soccer team entered the London Olympics determined to win, after a heart-breaking loss to Japan in the 2011 Women’s World Cup Final. In a rematch, both teams met again to compete for the Olympic Gold. This time around the U.S. were the victors after a tight 2-1 victory played at London’s historic Wembley Stadium.

10. Sarah Attar’s 800m Standing Ovation

Sarah Attar finished last and more than a half-minute slower than her nearest competitor in the women’s 800 meters. Yet hundreds rose to give her a standing ovation as she crossed the finish line.

Are you interested in finding out more about scholarships for the sports mentioned in this post? All you have to do is register for your assessment and we could be helping you on your way to the USA!

Women’s Olympic Soccer Final

August 9, 2012 by Rosie

Tonight will see The USA play Japan in the women’s soccer final at the Olympics, a familiar setting for both teams, and a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final, where Japan beat the Americans in last minute penalty shoot-outs. Losing to Japan is something that, in the words of USA’s Abby Wambach, the American team have been living with since that moment, and is something that they use to drive and motivate the team.

The Final tonight will take place in front of a packed (anticipated) 90,000 strong crowd at Wembley Stadium, the largest crowd most of the Japanese and American players have ever played in front of, and potentially the largest crowd to watch the sport at the Olympics ever.

Japan won against the USA in last year's world cup final

But the rivalry between the teams isn’t as intense as you might expect, and the teams seem to share a mutual respect for each other. Speaking of tonight’s match, Wambach said -

“I’ve been hoping for this final, from the moment I stepped of the podium in Germany”

“We [USA and Japan] believe that we are the top 2 teams in the world and we believe our fans deserve to see a great final.”- Huffington Post

And both teams have great incentives to play for, with the USA determined to prove themselves as the world’s number 1 after last year’s World Cup defeat, and the opportunity for the Japanese team to become the first in the world to win a World Cup and the Olympics in consecutive years.

If you are interested in finding out more about womens soccer scholarships to the USA, all you have to do is register for your assessment and we could be helping you on your way to the USA!

10 Past and Present Olympic Sports You Didn’t Know Existed

July 31, 2012 by Rosie

Present

Race-Walking

Turns out watching some of the fastest walkers in the world can be strangely hypnotising!

BMX Cycling

The fast and furious sport of BMX makes only its second Olympic appearance at the London 2012 Games.

BMX (Bicycle Motocross) began to take off in the late 1960s in California, around the time that motocross became popular in the US. The motorised sport was the inspiration for the pedal-powered version – a breathtaking spectacle that’s since become popular all over the world.

Handball

Team handball was introduced as an Olympic sport for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but dropped after that, only to be resumed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, again on German territory. Women’s team handball competition was introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics. So handball is new to most of us, both on and off the court. But its arrival at the Games has certainly been greeted with enthusiasm. There wasn’t an empty seat in the 7,000-capacity Copper Box arena and people are starting to wonder why they haven’t seen much of the sport before.

As I understand it, the rules are as follows. People run up and down a five-a-side court, throw a medium-sized ball from side to side across the semi-circular penalty area for a while like a hot potato, and then fling it into a small goal with great force.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics involves team competitions where you can opt for a hoop, ball, clubs or rope, or ribbon. Think of it as synchronised swimming, but with juggling added…

Table Tennis

Table tennis competition has been in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988, with singles and doubles events for both men and women.Athletes from China have dominated the sport, winning a total of 41 medals in 24 events, including 20 gold medals.

Past

Solo Synchronised Swimming

Unsurprisingly, this seemingly contradictory sport earned little respect when it made its initial splash at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Despite the absurdity of staying in sync with yourself – though the event’s supporters claim that the synchronization is with the music — the event reappeared at the Seoul Games four years later and again at Barcelona in 1992. From there on out, the solo synchronized swim competition was folded into a team event and the sport has since risen in prominence, though men haven’t been allowed to compete in either Olympic discipline.

Firefighting

Maybe the oddest year for the Olympics was 1900 when the games were held in Paris. They coincided with Paris’ hosting of the World’s Fair.

A trial event that year that (surprisingly) didn’t make it to 1904 was firefighting. According to How Stuff Works, there wasn’t much documentation of the event, but buildings in Paris were set ablaze and medals were awarded to the firefighters who extinguished the flames the fastest.

Long Jump for Horses

While the long jump event has tested the athletic prowess of track and field stars from around the world, back in the Paris Games of 1900, horses were given the chance to show off how far they could leap. As part of the equestrian events, horse long jump only had one Olympics to make its mark and it failed to do so spectacularly. No one could accuse equestrian horses of not being athletic, yet the winning leap, from Belgium’s Constant van Langendonck atop the horse Extra Dry, measured only 6.10 meters. Not too shabby, until you consider the world record for long jump, by a human, is 8.95 meters.

Poodle-Clipping

Also in 1900, a man named Avril Lafoule was awarded the gold medal in the poodle-clipping event, also a trial competition. He was able to trim 17 dogs in 2 hours, more than any of his 127 competitors and in front of a crowd numbered 6,000.

Rope Climbing

The bane of physical education classes everywhere, the rope climb was actually an official event in the earliest modern Olympics–Athens, 1896. While competitors were originally judged on both speed and style, Olympian rope climbers competing in the 20th century merely had to race to the top. Arguably the most impressive win in the history of the event – which was taken off the program after the Los Angeles Olympics of 1932 – took place in St. Louis 1904, when U.S. gymnast George Eyser won gold despite having a wooden leg.

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