Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Concentrate on the High Point

Warning: Scrolling down this post or clicking on the link contained herein may result in eye strain, involuntary interjections, and potential termination of employment. Not Safe For Work.

I am shocked...

Every Olympic Games we read about how unfair it is that some countries support their athletes financially much more generously than others. There's usually some whining about how the Brits win so many medals in Sailing because the sailors receive support from the National Lottery when anyone with eyes to see would realize that Brits are just genetically superior when it comes to sailing.

Anyway I am shocked...

According to The Sun (the authoritative source on such matters) the female Laser Radial sailor from Germany, Petra Niemann, raised money for her campaign by posing nude for the German edition of Playboy. This is a terrible example to young women sailors around the world and I sincerely hope that no other female sailors follow Petra's example. It just isn't cricket.



Petra sounds like an extremely smart young woman. The Sun quotes her as saying, "I work extra hard with my psychologist. He advised me to concentrate on the high point of the year above everything else."

That's the way to approach the Olympics... concentrate on the high point... let's see no more of these tacky nude photos.

I am shocked.

14 comments:

Polyphony said...

Good lord, T-man...more mammifery? *I'm* shocked.

Anonymous said...

What is this, Blogosphere sweeps week?

First you blog about nubile young women in lycra, now this.

This is nothing more than a, well, thinly clothed attempt to drive traffic to your blog.

Hard-typing bloggers like Edward are out there scouring the world's sailing venues for legitimate sailing content, and here you are wallowing in the gutter.

Honestly, how many of your readers do you think will actually look at...

Anonymous said...

I don't know what your problem is o'docker. Here I am writing high quality posts about such topics as the sociological impact of Mrs Funk's gold medal win and the ethics of Olympic fund-raising, and you accuse me of "wallowing in the gutter". I can't help it if I have to expose the shameful fund-raising tactics of the German competitor by providing photographic evidence of her tactics. That's just good journalism and I will continue to speak truth to power and shed light on these matters until they pry the mouse from my cold dead fingers.

PS Who is this Edward person? Does he have any good pictures on his blog?

Anonymous said...

...uh, sorry, journalism stuff?

I was just looking at the pictures.

And yes, thank you, Edward has some excellent sailing photography on his site. Where else can you find a 20-minute video of a real sailor eating salt water taffy?

Joe said...

Wow, Laser sailors really do have more fun. You would never see a Force 5 sailor looking so healthy.

Drwatershed said...

Given the lack of TV and print coverage of sailing, poor Anna Tunnicliffe may have to resort to these tactics to make a living. After winning her gold she was only mentioned in a short article on the very back page of the olympic section of USA Today. Following 8 pages of other olympic sports most of which (except gymnastics) did not bring home gold for the USA. Wouldn't surprise me if Anna will go back to her parents homeland and sail for the British next olympics where they actually cover sailing on TV... Hopefully someone will pick up Anna for some endorsements, not that any of us old lechers would object if she chose another route. Those shocking photos keep our hearts going.

Anonymous said...

Anna made the front page of the Miami Herald, at least. I've been driving around Miami with my Laser on top of my car all week, secretly hoping some random layperson will see the boat and the Laser Girls Kick Ass! bumper sticker and think I'm Anna Tunnicliffe. It would be a cheap thrill.

Drwatershed said...

Myabe the Toledo blade covered it too here in Ohio (Since she learned to sail just outside of Toledo) but not anywhere else I saw. She should have bee sitting up there with Bob Costas just like the gymnasts.....

Tillerman said...

Spread the word 181839. All joking apart I do hope that Anna's success means that there will be even more women (of all ages) taking up Laser/Laser Radial sailing in the US in the next couple of years.

Pat said...

As any grammarian or language scholar could tell you, it's best to read Der Playboy auf Deutsch because the variety of articles definitely is three times greater.

Pat said...

Naturlich, sie wollen den worter haben... natrually, you now would like to have the words...

3. Petra Niemann

>> Disziplin: Segeln

>> wird 1978 in Berlin geboren und beginnt im Alter von acht Jahren mit dem Segeln. Seit 2005 kämpft sie in der Laser-Klasse, gewinnt 2006 die Kieler Woche und belegt bei den Weltmeisterschaften 2006 den zweiten und 2007 den dritten Platz.

>> „Das Gespür für Wind“
Die Seglerin Petra Niemann hat schon bei Schnee und Hagel trainiert. Dafür will sie nun bei den Spielen auf der Sonnenseite stehen. Nein, Seglerinnen sind nicht von Natur aus Sonnygirls. Von wegen Strand, Sonne und ein wenig über seichte Wellen schippern.

Wer es als Leistungssportlerin so weit bringt, dass in diesem Sommer die Olympischen Spiele von Peking auf dem Wettkampfkalender stehen, hat hart gearbeitet und sich gequält:
„Ich bin schon bei Schnee, Regen, Graupel und Hagel gesegelt“, sagt Petra Niemann.

„An Land steht Kraft- und Konditionstraining auf dem Plan, und alles, was wir auf dem Wasser tun, ist genauestens einstudiert.“ Aber Segeln auf allerhöchstem Niveau erfordert – außer Fleiß und Plackerei – eine profane, aber entscheidende Fähigkeit:
„Du musst den Wind lesen können.“

In Peking will die schöne Berlinerin nun auf das Siegertreppchen. Ein Ziel, das sie fast aufgegeben hätte:
Eine Sehnenscheidenentzündung zwang die Sportlerin 2007 zu einer mehrmonatigen Wettkampfpause.

Eine Zeit, die an Nerven und Willenskraft zehrte, sie dachte schon an ein Ende der Karriere. Jetzt ist sie zurück und der Vorruhestand kein Thema mehr. Insgeheim hat sie sogar schon einmal über das mögliche Siegermenü nachgedacht:

„In China habe ich noch nie schlechte Erfahrungen mit dem Essen gemacht“, weiß Petra Niemann zu berichten. „Ich zeige immer auf das Essen, das gut aussieht – und hoffe, dass es am Ende kein Hund oder Affe war.“

Tillerman said...

Hmmm. Is that last paragraph really about not eating dogs or monkeys in China? How politically incorrect of Playboy. Now I'm really shocked.

Anonymous said...

That poor girl has no visible means of support !

bonnie said...

Great. And now we've got the kayak lady following along.

Brandi and her strategically placed soccer balls come off downright cute next to this. Yeesh.

Post a Comment