Santorini

213’2024 (2024-07-31) – Wednesday

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

During the ongoing Summer Olympics in Paris, the fabulous Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström once more showed why she, still active, is already considered a legend in the history of swimming. She first became known to the general public in 2008, when she was 14 years old and won the European Championship (for adults) in 100 m butterfly. Maybe you remember that she won the same distance also at the Summer Olympic in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and, although still recovering from a broken elbow, also managed to win a silver medal in 50 m freestyle at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.

And now she has done it again! In Paris, her main goal was to compete in and hopefully win the 50 m freestyle. But since there are a couple of days between the freestyle events of 100 m and 50 m, she decided to also venture into the 100 m event. That final was held today and, of course, Sarah won! Let’s see what 50 m freestyle has in store for us!

Read more about Sarah in reference # 1 below, and also in my earlier posts, 241’2016 (2016-08-28) and 271’2021 (2021-09-28).

Update on 217’2024 (2024-08-04)

As I already anticipated above, Sarah Sjöström won her favorite distance, 50 m freestyle, easily. In the semifinal yesterday, she swam on 23,66 s, only 0,05 s slower than her own world record, 23,61 s from 2023. Today, it was yet another 0,05 s slower, but her result, 23,71 s, was well ahead of all the competitors. Double gold medal to Sarah in the Paris Olympics!

Sarah Sjöström receives her second gold medal during the Paris Olympics 2024. Photo taken on 217’2024 (2024-08-04) by Jonas Ekströmer/TT.

And also today, the Swedish table tennis player Truls Möregård tried his best to win the gold medal, but the Chinese player Fan Zhendong exhibited once more the Chinese superiority in this sport, in a final that really captured the audience. At the end of the fifth game, when Fan was close to conclude his victory, Truls pulled a very nice trick. He saved the ball when it almost hit the ground, returned it in such a way that it bounced on the Chinese half of the table and came back towards Truls’ side, impossible for Fan to reach it. Here are screenshots from the exact moments when Truls picks up the ball and when it is returning to the Swedish side. In reference #2 below, you can find the complete video capture of the feat.

Swedish table tennis player Truls Möregård surprises his opponent. the Chinese player Fan Zhendong, with a very nice trick during the final in Paris Olympics 2024, held on 217’2024 (2024-08-04).

Today’s header photo of the port of Santorini was taken on 194’2024 (2024-07-12) by my friend Anne Clementino during a visit to this Greek island, also named Thira by the locals. It is located in the South Aegean sea and is a very popular turist destination. Besides enjoying the outstanding weather conditions of the Mediterranean sea, they also go there for the Greek hospitality and the famous Greek cuisine. Thank you, Anne, for this marvellous view!

More about Santorini and its explosive past can be found in reference # 3 below.

That’s what I learned in school today!

Ref.:

1: Sarah Sjöström

2: Swedish silver-medalist Truls Möregårdh with a neat trick shot after the game was basically already lost

3: Santorini

*: What did you learn in school today?

2018-10-20 (Saturday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

Continuing the post from 2018-09-29, here are two more interesting British facts from the world of Sports:

Wimbledon surrenders to John Isner

The American tennis player John Isner is, among other things, well known for having participated in the two longest fifth sets in the history of the Wimbledon tournament. In 2010, he beat the Frenchman Nicholas Mahut after winning the fifth set by 70-68, after three calendar days and 8 h 11 min of playing time. Then in this year’s tournament, in the semifinals, he lost to the South African player Kevin Anderson by 26-24 in the fifth set.

But that is the end of such marathon games, because as of 2019, Wimbledon has decided to introduce a tie-breaker at 12-12 in the fifth set.

See also references # 1 and 2 below.

Scotswoman breaks record for touring the world on a bicycle

In Britain, there are not only wonder women in golf. The Scottish cyclist Jenny Graham just arrived in Berlin after having gone on a tour around the world. You may remember that in the Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty days, her compatriot Phileas Fogg made it, using trains and steamer ships on 80 days. Jenny did not totally get there, but nevertheless her record is an amazing 124  days! (Another Brit, Mark Beaumont, holds the male record, set in September 2017, with 78 days 14 h 14 min., thus beating Phileas Fogg.)

Jenny Graham

Jenny Graham stops for a selfie while passing the Russian city of Pskov, close to the borders with Estonia and Latvia. Courtesy of Jenny Graham/The Adventure Syndicate/PA.

See also references # 3, 4, and 5 below.

Donkey steps

On various occasions, I have referenced material from Sveriges Radio (the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation), and here is yet another one:

Yesterday, their correspondent at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Andreas Liljeheden, published a chronicle about the particular construction of the stair case between the two main buildings of the European Parliament. The following photo shows exactly that view.

EU steps

The court yard in the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, highlighting the donkey steps between the two main buildings. Photo taken by Andreas Liljeheden on 2018-10-18.

As you can see, the vertical displacement from one step to another is small, but the horizontal one is much greater, exactly 1,16 m according to Andreas’ measurement. This makes walking up and down the stairs a complicated task. He investigated the origins of that crazy stair case, and found that in some countries of the European continent, such as Austria and Germany, there is a tradition of using deeper steps, whereas the Belgians and Dutch normally, due to the higher population density, have to settle with a different project, with a higher vertical-to-horizontal ratio. Sweden is, as always, “lagom”, i.e. mid-way.

Here are two more photos of donkey steps, the first one being a close-up of the EU Parliament steps, and the second one a typical scene of donkeys climbing the steps in Fira, the capital of the island of Santorini in the Greek Aegean Sea.

Belgium&Greece

Two examples of donkey steps: To the left, a visitor to the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium (photo by Andreas Liljeheden, 2018-10-18). To the right, real donkeys in Fira, Santorini, Greece (photo by Liz Stark, 2016-04-06).

But why is Andreas emphasising this stair case? In no way, he implies that hard working politicians are donkeys, but he thinks it is a symbol for the difficulties encountered by the EU members. If you cannot have a unanimous decision on something by all its 28 member countries (soon to be 27?), then there has to be a compromise, such is life! Thanks Andreas for your valuable contribution!

See also reference #6 below.

That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Longest tennis match records

2: Call It the John Isner Rule: Wimbledon Plans to Add a Final-Set Tiebreaker

3: Scottish cyclist smashes round-the world record

4: Around the World in Eighty Days

5: Around the world in 78 days: British cyclist completes record-breaking ride

6: Åsnetrappor typiskt för EU: Ekots Andreas Liljeheden, Bryssel

*: What did you learn in school today ?