Did you know …

Prince Albert II -Head State of Monaco- is an ardent supporter of the Olympic Movement. He is president of the Monegasque Olympic Committee and member of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ). In 2007, he visited the Beijing venue construction sites. “China has already contributed a lot to the Olympic Movement. I hope this will be not only a very successful Games ( Beijing 2008 ) but the one that embodies the spirit”, he said. Prince Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi likes all kinds of sports: rugby, soccer, handball, tennis, squash, golf and volleyball. He participated in bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics in Canada ( 1988 ), France ( 1992 ), Norway ( 1994 ), Japan ( 1998 ) and the United States ( 2002 ). H.S.H the Sovereign Prince Albert II was born on March 14, 1958 in Monaco.

The Principality of Monaco competed at the Summer Olympics for the first time at the 1920 Olympic Games in Belgium. It became the 25th member of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ).

The most popular sportspeople are: Sebastien Gatusso ( 100m, 200m, 4×100m /athletics ), Alexandra Coletti ( alpine skiing ), Christophe Verdino ( aquatics ), Jean Charles Seneca ( fencing), Francis Boisson ( shooting ), Brice Etes ( 800m / track & field ), Patrice Servelle ( bobsleigh ), Lahcen Essoussi ( 10,000m / athletics ), Jean-Luc Adomo (aquatics), Irene Tiendrebeogo ( high jump / track & field ), Joe Barrai ( shooting ), Irina Kazakova ( 10,000m / athletics ), Fabienne Pasetti ( shooting ), Jean Laurent Ravera ( swimming ), Sylvain Faure ( aquatics ), Olivier Jenot ( alpine skiing ), Jeremy Bottin ( bobsleigh ), Mustapha Tantan ( 10,000m / track and field ).

Monte Carlo ( Monaco ) hosted the FINA Water Polo European Cup in 1947. Final standings: 1.Italy, 2.Sweden, 3.Belgium.

The Principality of Monaco – it is the world’s second smallest country- did not participate at the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow ( USSR / Soviet Union ). Why? This European country boycotted the Games to protest the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.

The most popular sports in Monaco are soccer, tennis, judo, fencing, boxing, basketball, athletics, aquatics…

This European country hosted the 2nd IOC Session in 1927.

Sebastien Gattuso is one of the best sprinters of Monaco. Sebastien was the flag bearer of the Monegasque Olympic team at the 2004 Athens. He also participated at the 2007 World Track and Field Championships held in Osaka ( Japan ).

This European country sent 8 athletes to the 1984 Olympic Games in California ( USA ). It competed in five sports: athletics ( 1 ), fencing ( 1 ), wrestling( 1 ), shooting ( 4 ) and swimming ( 1 ).

The Monegasque Olympic Committee was founded in 1907.

Monte Carlo hosted the Fencing World Cup in 1950.

The Principality of Monaco was one of the 80 countries who participated at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin ( Italy ). Monaco’s debut in the Winter Games took place in 1984 in Sarajevo ( fomer Yugoslavia / currently Bosnia Herzegovina ).

This country won a bronze medal at the 1963 Mediterranean Games in Naples ( Italy ).

The 2007 Games of the Small States of Europe were held in Monaco ( Monaco ). For the second time, the Games were held in this European country. In total, around 1,200 athletes from 8 countries competed in 12 sports ( aquatics, athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, bowls, gymnastics, judo, sailing, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball ). It was the start of a new time in the history of the sport in Monaco. During an interview, Yvette Lambin-Bertin ( president of the Organizing Committee of the Games ) said, ” The idea for the Games of the Small States of Europe emerged during a meeting between the leaders of those countries in 1984 at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The following year, this new sporting event. Focused on friendship, fraternity and solidarity, was launched in San Marino. European countries with a population of below one million inhabitants recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) and the European Olympic Committees ( EOC ) take part in the event, i.e. eight nations: Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland. Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco and San Marino. Organized every two years, the second edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe was held in Monaco in 1987…”

Medal count

Ranking……….Gold…Silver…Bronze …Total

1.Cyprus……….36………33……..24…….93

2.Iceland……….31………23……..24…….78

3.Luxembourg…20………25……..36…….81

4.Monaco……….19………16……..17……52

5.Malta…………..4…………9……..17……30

6.Andorra……….4…………6……….7…….17

7.San Marino……4………..6……….6…….16

8.Liechtenstein…3………..5……….5…….13

As a lover of sports, the best part of attending the Olympics is the ability to see amateur athletes participate in events that I would never get a chance to see at home in North America. Many sports that take center stage at the Olympics are not shown on TV in Canada and the US and watching the Olympics is a fantastic way to expand my knowledge of some of these lesser-known sports.

I was surprised at how much I loved watching some of the events. Here is a list of five Olympic sports that I never would have expected to enjoy as much as I do.

Field Hockey

In Canada, field hockey is a sport usually played for about a week in gym class by the female students and the fact that both men and women play professionally worldwide is something that has been missed by us ice hockey-crazed Canadians. Played on a grass field that is a lot larger than an ice hockey rink. Actually, field and ice hockey have very little to do with each other besides a shared name. Field hockey (simply called ‘hockey’ in most countries that play it) is fast and the ball-handling skills of the athletes are impressive, especially during set plays and penalties.

Handball

This sport is popular in Europe but virtually non-existent in most of the rest of the world. I remember playing it in gym class as a child, but that’s about all I know about the game so when I attended handball at the Beijing Olympics I had no idea what to expect. The goal of the sport is simple: throw ball into goal. The game is high-scoring and fast-paced and the athletes who play this sport are tall, fit and most importantly, amazingly agile for their size. It is a hugely exciting sport with people flying through the air all over the place and I was happy to have discovered this sport.

Volleyball

Every kid grows up playing volleyball in school but that’s about as far as any interest in the sport usually goes. There’s almost no coverage of volleyball in North America and it seems to have been overshadowed by the more sexy version of beach volleyball. Well if you like beach volleyball then you will love the team version. There are six players on each team which makes for long, exciting rallies and some amazing saves. I was on the edge of my seat while watching volleyball and I didn’t even care who won.

Weightlifting

Like wrestling, weightlifting can be a bit slow, but it’s all about the buildup combined with a fast flurry of action that makes it exciting. The venue was small and you could practically see the beads of sweat forming on the athlete’s brow as they stepped up to attempt their lift. The amounts they were able to lift was amazing and it is even more impressive seeing it in person.

Wrestling

Wrestling as I know it involves monster-sized men with freak muscles jumping off of ropes and doing a lot of great acting. Fortunately, wrestling at the Olympics is nothing like this except maybe for the level of drama. The intensity is amazing and, while the sport itself can be a bit slow to watch at times, when the action happens it’s extremely exciting, especially if your country’s athlete is involved.

So if you find yourself at the Olympics in person or even if you’re just watching at home, make sure to branch out a bit from your usual favorite sports to see what else there is. I wasn’t disappointed and I’m sure you won’t be either!

Did you watch the Olympics and see that strange tape on Kerri Walsh’s shoulder? That tape had a lot of people, including myself, wondering what it was. It turns out it’s called Kinesio taping and the science behind it is very interesting.

This tape actually increases blood flow to the injured area instead of obstructing it like traditional taping does. The tape works by lifting the skin so that more blood flow goes to the injured area which reduces pain and speeds up recovery time.

The tape is water resistant and each application can be left on for three to five days. The tape comes in black, beige, pink and blue. It’s also 100% cotton and latex free.

This new science is changing the way that injuries are being treated. Kinesio tape provides just as much stabilization as the Norman athletic tape but doesn’t increase pain.

This practice is now used by most NBA teams and quickly moving into NFL and other sports such as beach volleyball. A great thing about the tape is that it’s not expensive and there are cheap books that explain how to apply the tape on each part of the body. You don’t need to be an athletic trainer to buy Kinesio tape and use it on the part of your body that is injured. You can also use it on areas that you don’t want to injure because it adds extra support. It is now available online and is getting great reviews from all that have used it.