Brit Breaks Butterfly Record

Fear not, dear reader, I have returned. After a prolonged absence due to a sporting injury of my own I am now able to type once more... and it transpires that there has been no dearth of strange sporting occurrences during my recovery.

Butterfly is not always the stroke of choice for swimmers, many of whom prefer the gentler action of front crawl, back crawl or breaststroke. However, according to the BBC, Dr Julie Bradshaw has racked up her 20th world record swimming butterfly around Manhattan Island in New York.

The Loughborough-based lady had attempted the feat before, in 2004, but a thunder storm put pay to it. This time, however, the time seemed to fly-by as she became the fastest woman to achieve the feat using this stroke, with a time of nine hours, 28 minutes and 37 seconds.

It isn’t the first time that Bradshaw, who raised money Rainbows Children’s Hospice in Loughborough, has made a splash in the swimming world. In 2006 she was awarded an MBE for services to swimming and charity fundraising.

Reaching new heights

A Chilean thrill-seeker has taken his base-jumping to new heights by riding his motorcycle off a 3,300ft cliff in the Andes. According to Sky News, Julio Munoz rode the bike off a ramp at full-speed and then let go of it before more than 3,000ft of freefall. Munoz eventually deployed his parachute at just 200ft from the ground but remarkably landed safely. Sky reports that three years of planning and $100,000 went into the stunt in the Loma Rabona region. The paratrooper said he feels ‘really comfortable’ in the air and that this was an ‘everyday thing’ for him. The extraordinary feat was captured by 12 cameras and can be seen at:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Chilean-Julio-Munoz-Rides-His-Motorcycle-Off-Andes-Cliff-In-Staggering-3000ft-Base-Jump/Article/201105115986549?lpos=Strange_News_First_Strange_News__Article_Teaser_Region__0&lid=ARTICLE_15986549_Chilean_Julio_Munoz_Rides_His_Motorcycle_Off_Andes_Cliff_In_Staggering_3%2C000ft_Base_Jump

McIlroy's having one of those weeks...

Rory McIlroy has continued his losing streak this week following his disastrous collapse at the US Masters. The BBC reports that McIlroy has ‘mislaid’ his clubs… or rather his airline has. In a week that could not be said to be the best of his life, the 21-year old faced a common problem: lost baggage. On arrival in Kuala Lumpar McIlroy’s airline informed him that his precious golf-clubs had been ‘mislaid in transit’ and that it might be some days before he is reunited with the cargo.

Following the loss of his four shot lead at the weekend the tournament in Malaysia was always going to be tough. The Northern Irishman must feel as if all is ranged against him with this latest blow but his calm and collected reaction to events has put him a fairway up in this writer’s estimation. He told waiting reporters of the latest calamity to befall him and followed it up with ‘it’s just one of those things.’ Having won me over to Team McIlroy I’m hoping that bad things don’t come in threes!

Climbing into the record books

Alain Robert, a climber who has been nicknamed Spiderman for his building scaling ability, has climbed the world’s tallest building. According to the BBC Roberts climbed the 828 m Burj Khalifa building in Dubai in six hours. The 48-year-old has climbed to fame having scaled more than 70 skyscrapers across the world, most without a harness. The latest gravity-defying feat was achieved with a safety rope in place but reports suggest that he did not fall back on his safety option at any point during the climb. The precautions were an unusual part of a Robert climb as the Frenchman normally turns up at dawn and begins his ascent without permission or equipment. Some sky-scraper owners consider his antics the height of rudeness rope the police in to meet him on his descent from several buildings. In spite of, or perhaps because of, his lawlessness Robert’s fan base is steadily rising.

Entry fee grates on nerves

The annual cheese rolling event at Cooper’s Hill has been cancelled after threats and abuse. According to the Metro the announcement of an entry fee angered some would-be contenders who took it upon themselves to spit at, verbally bash and threaten the organisers. The competition normally sees contestants chasing a rolling Double Gloucester cheese down a hill. Last year’s competition was also cancelled after a record number of spectators turned up to the 2009 event – far more than could be catered for. One can only hope that the would-be cheese rollers will mature in the next year and allow organisers to charge their £20 entry fee in peace.

Water way to break a record!

Water-skiing is not as easy as it looks, and certainly not as easy as Mexican Fernando Reina Iglesias makes it look. Anyone who has tried the sport will know that keeping your arms straight in counter-intuitive and standing up can be a long and arduous process. However, Sky news reports that the “businessman and lawmaker” for the Partido Verde Ecologista has broken a world record in his home town of Acapulco. Iglesias who hit 153mph on his second attempt did the water “skiing” without the aid of skis! The barefoot record breaker was towed by a helicopter beating the long-standing 135mph record of Scott Pellaton, set in 1989.

Vickers sees red

UK football has been hit by a flurry of disputed red cards in recent weeks. A disagreement over Robin van Persie’s sending off against Barcelona saw Arsene Wenger face disciplinary action (and gave Arsenal fans a scapegoat to pin the blame on if reports in the Mirror are to be believed.) In the Rangers v. Celtic clash El-Hadji Diouf was said to have received two red cards after he refused to leave the pitch immediately. (According to the Telegraph the Scottish Premier League has since refuted the claims)

We all love to have a good whine about an unfair sending off, after all our beloved team couldn’t possibly be responsible for losing the match/league/cup/plot! However few of us have as much to complain about as Dorchester fans after their player-manager, Ashley Vickers, was sent off last week.

Sky News reports that in a tie between non-league Dorchester and Havant and Waterlooville, a man dashed across the pitch, scantily clad in a Borat mankini and a black wig. As the streaker evaded the stewards and continued to prance around on the pitch, Vickers saw red and decided to put a stop to the shenanigans. In a move more at home on the rugby pitch he tackled the man and handed him over to stewards. The referee promptly whipped out his red card for Vickers’ “violent conduct”. The shocked player had to leave the pitch in the 70th minute. Two of his enraged teammates quickly followed and Havant and Waterlooville scored twice in the last 20 minutes to win the match 3-1.