Sports

Swimming:How It Works:

Swimming is one of the world’s oldest sports. The most ancient and famous drawings depicting men swimming are found in the Kebir desert of Egypt and estimated to be about 6000 years old. Swimming is also referenced in many ancient texts, including the Bible, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Swimming was not a part of the ancient Olympic Games, but the Greeks were keen swimmers and held the activity in high regard.

Swimming was on the program of the first modern Olympic Games at Athens 1896 with just four events. As it would be at Paris 1900 and St. Louis 1904, the events were held in open water. A pool was used for the first time in Olympic competition at the London 1908 Games where a 100m outdoor pool was constructed inside the track at the White City Stadium. It was during these Games that representatives from eight European nations

met and formed the Fédération International de Natation Amateur (FINA) which remains the international governing body for all aquatics disciplines.

Tera Van Beilen

Women first competed in Olympic swimming competition at the 1912 Games in Stockholm. Paris 1924 marked the debut of the 50m pool, which remains the standard for Olympic swimming events. There are eight competition lanes, bordered by an open lane on either end. Open water swimming returned to the Olympic Games at Beijing 2008 with 10km marathon events for men and women. Swimming has been part of the Pan American Games program since the inaugural edition in 1951.

All pool events begin with preliminary heats. In 50m, 100m and 200m events the 16 fastest swimmers advance to the semifinals from which the eight fastest swimmers advance to the final. In events of 400m and longer there are no semifinals so the eight fastest swimmers (or relay teams) advance directly to the final. If there is a tie for

the last advancing placement, the swimmers involved are pitted in a head-to-head swim-off.

Brent Hayden;

Swimmers are seeded according to their qualifying times so that the fastest swimmers are in the centre lanes of the pool while the slowest swimmers are in the outer lanes. Any swimmer who starts before the starting signal is given will be disqualified. There is no warning false start. If the starting signal sounds before the disqualification is declared, the race will continue and the violating swimmers will be disqualified upon completion of the race. If the disqualification is declared before the starting signal sounds, then the remaining swimmers will be called back to start again.

Athlete (swimming):

Ashton Baumann

Facts:

Sport:

Swimming

Games:

Rio 2016

Born: January 5, 1993

Age: 23

Height: 191cm

Weight: 74kg

Birthplace: Southport, Australia

Home Province: Ontario

Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario

Biography:

Often he was told he

looks like his double Olympic gold medallist father, Ashton Baumann is set to become an Olympian himself after winning his specialty, the 200m breaststroke, at the 2016 Canadian Trials and cutting his personal best time by almost three seconds. The younger Baumann made his international debut at the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara where he made the final of the 200m

breaststroke. Two years later he made his FINA World Championship debut in Barcelona. But injuries began to take their toll on his progress. In 2013 he suffered two stress fractures in his ribs, including one before the world championships, as well as a stress fracture in his pubic bone while at the worlds, all from training. Out of the water for six months, he missed the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships in 2014. In early 2015 he suffered another injury, torn cartilage and a bruised bone in his left elbow, which kept him out of the Pan Am Games. Having considered “throwing in the towel” during those two years, he was only able to truly dedicate himself fully to swimming in the eight months leading up to the 2016 Trials. Despite living halfway across the world, Baumann and younger sister Tabitha are both proud to compete wearing the maple leaf because if it wasn’t for Canada, they wouldn’t be swimmers.

Getting to Know…

Family: Father Alex Baumann won gold medals in the 200m IM and 400m IM at Los Angeles 1984 and is now the Chief Executive of High Performance Sport New Zealand… Mother Tracy Baumann… Younger sister Tabitha represented Canada at the 2015 Pan Am Games… The family moved to Ottawa when he was 14 when his father was hired to lead Road to Excellence (then the summer version of Own the Podium)… Getting into the Sport: Started swimming in 2007 after moving to Ottawa just to be active… Had never been keen on it before but took it up seriously at age 15… Outside Interests: Attended the University of Alberta…

Notable International Results

Pan American Games: 2011 – 7th (200m breaststroke)

FINA World Championships: 2013 – 24th (200m breaststroke

Other Sport: Shooting

How It Works:

Shooting events are distinguished by the type of firearm or airgun, the type of target, whether moving or stationary, and the distance of the shooter from the target. A score from one to 10 is awarded for each shot, depending on its accuracy. In the final events, partial

points can be awarded for shots that are close to the target.

In all shotgun events the target is a spinning clay saucer catapulted into the air from a trap to simulate the flight of birds. The location of the shooter and the height and angle at which the target is released varies with the event. The top six competitors after the preliminary competition advance to the final round. Final standings are based on aggregate scores.

In all events, shooters take part in two rounds, the qualification and the final. The scores in each round are added together to give a total score, which determines the winners of the medals.

Athlete:

Lynda Kiejko

FACTS:

Games:

Rio 2016

Toronto 2015

Born: September 13, 1980

Age: 35

Height: 157cm

Weight: 51kg

Birthplace: Winchester, ON

Home Province: Alberta

Hometown: Calgary, AB

BIOGRAPHY:

Lynda Kiejko comes from a shooting family. Her late father Bill Hare competed

at the Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968 and Munich 1972 Olympic Games. Her

sister Dorothy Ludwig became an Olympian at London 2012 after competing

at the 2007 and 2011 Pan Am Games. They competed together at the 2010

and 2014 Commonwealth Games, creating a moment to remember in 2010

when the sisters won bronze in the 10m air pistol pair event. Kiejko also has

three Pan Am Games medals to her credit, winning double gold in the 10m air

pistol and 25m pistol at Toronto 2015 following her 10m air pistol bronze at

Santo Domingo 2003. She had started 2015 with a career-high result on the

ISSF World Cup circuit, finishing sixth in the 10m air pistol in Changwon. She

achieved a career highlight in 2014 when she won the national title in the 10m

air pistol just one month after giving birth. She also competed at her first ISSF

World Championship since 2006 and cracked the top-five in the 10m air pistol

at the Continental American Championships.

Getting to know…

Family: Parents Bill (deceased) and Fran Hare… Older brother John Hare…

Older sisters Lorna Idland and Dorothy Ludwig… Husband Kevin Kiejko…

Has had her best performances since daughter Olivia was born in July 2014…

Father Bill was a three-time Olympian (1964-72)… Sister Dorothy is a 2012

Olympian and her greatest competitor, motivator and supporter… Getting into

the Sport: Started shooting at age 11, following her father’s passion… Has

wanted to represent Canada since hearing her father’s stories of going to the

Olympics and the places he travelled for competition… Outside

Interests:Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2003; works as a Senior

Civil Engineer… Enjoys reading sport psychology books, biographies, and

fiction… Learns how to say ‘thank you’ in the language of the country she is

visiting… Volunteers at Central United Church… Odds and Ends: Listens to

music before competing to keep her from thinking too much… Always travels

with a loonie from her first major competition, the 2003 Pan Am Games…

Last Sport: table tennisHOW IT WORKS:

Table tennis was developed as an indoor version of lawn tennis after the latter

became popular during the 1880s. The first use of the name “table tennis”

appeared on a board and dice game by J.H. Singer of New York in 1887. The

earliest evidence of an action game of tennis played on a table was a set

made by David Foster and patented in England in 1890. It featured strung

rackets, a cloth-covered rubber ball, a wooden fence around the perimeter of

the table and large nets extending along both sides. One year later British

sporting goods manufacturer John Jaques released the game Gossima which

included a 30cm high net and a webbed wrapped cork ball along with drum-

style rackets. Neither Foster’s nor Jaques’ games caught on, due to the

ineffectiveness of the balls. The future of the game changed in 1900 when the

celluloid ball was introduced. Jaques revived his game and changed the name

to “ping pong”, which was derived from the sound of the ball bouncing off the

sheepskin or parchment drum-style rackets.

Eugene Zhen Wang

FACTS:

Sport:

Table Tennis

Games:

London 2012Rio 2016Toronto 2015

Born: November 13, 1985

Age: 30

Height: 174cm

Weight: 80kg

Birthplace: Shi Jiazhuang, China

Home Province: Ontario

Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario

BIOGRAPHY:

Canada’s current top-ranked table tennis player, Eugene Wang achieved a

career-high of 58th in the ITTF World Ranking list in November 2014. He had a

strong season in 2013, including a tournament victory at the US Open

Americas Challenge Series, which qualified him for the ITTF World Tour

Grand Finals in Dubai. Another highlight came in 2012 when he advanced to

the quarterfinals of the World Tour’s Slovenian Open but lost to Olympic gold

medallist Ma Long. Wang has set a career goal of breaking into the top 30 in

the world ranking. Wang made his Olympic debut at London 2012, just weeks

after he received his Canadian citizenship. Wang had the opportunity to

represent Canada once again in 2015, taking home two bronze medals from

the Pan American Games in Toronto. Wang currently plays professionally for

Jura Morez France and trains primarily at the Olympic Training Centre in

Saarbrucken, Germany.

Getting to know…

Family: Parents Hong Wei Wang and Hui Ying Wang… Moved to Canada in

2004 to extend his career and pursue his dreams… Getting into the

Sport:Started playing at age 6 after his mother set up a table to entertain

company and he was looking to have fun… Outside Interests: Enjoys soccer

and movies…Likes to travel in the offseason…

PART 2: PARAGRAPHI Think, based on the athletes descriptions,

These athletes worked hard playing their sport

And were playing their sport persistently as a child. Also for most of these athletes, their parents were good at their sport to.

Prayer:Oh god,

Help me succeed

In these upcoming games

And give my comrades

Health to compete

In these upcoming games

For so hard have we worked

To accomplish our goal.

AMEN