10 Reasons You Should Cheer For Tugba Karademir At The Vancouver Olympics

Now that friends and family know that I am cheering for and supporting a 48 year old freestyle skier from Argentina, a 45 year old skeleton racer from Japan and an Ethiopian cross country skier (not to mention a women's skeleton racer from New Zealand even though she unfortunately failed to qualify) at the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics, they take me a little more seriously when I explain that I'm also supporting an ice skater from Turkey. Here are 10 reasons why you should consider cheering for Tugba Karademir at the Vancouver Olympic games:

10. She had an opportunity to make if financially easier on herself and family, but decided that representing her home country was more important.



9. It's always more fun to cheer for the underdog.

8. The smile



7. She has her sights set on a top ten finish which she believes is possible if she performs 2 clean routines.

6. How many other ice skaters are also studying for an honours degree in Biotechnology?

5. It's much more fun to be a trend setter than a trend follower.

4. Talent beyond figure skating.

3. While other ice skaters are treated like rock stars, she's happy to try and teach her country more about the sport of figure skating.

2. How can you not support an ice skater that claims she's happier on the ice than anywhere else?

And the number one reason that you should be rooting for Tugba Karademir at the Vancouver Olympics is:

1. Just watch

10 Reasons Everybody Should Cheer For Kazuhiro Koshi At The Vancouver Olympics

When I tell people that one of the athletes I am cheering for and supporting at the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics is a 45 year old skeleton racer from Japan, their first reaction is that I must be joking. When they find out that I'm not, they wonder why I would support such an obscure athlete. Here are 10 reasons why you should consider cheering on Kazuhiro Koshi at the Vancouver Olympic games:

10. How many other middle age men have photos taken of them that look this cool?



9. It's always more fun to cheer for the underdog.

8. The Japanese dragon helmet



7. When there is no snow, skeleton racers practice on cement.

6. How can you not cheer for someone that proclaims to the press, "I'll show you all what an old man can do — you wait!"

5. He's a fantastic example of what your father (husband / self) can accomplish instead of sitting on the couch drinking beer while watching TV.

4. At age 45, his goal is to come back with the gold.

3. Sliding down a half-tube of ice at 75 to 80 miles an hour...

2. approximately 4 inches above the ice...

And the number one reason that you should be rooting for Kazuhiro Koshi at the Vancouver Olympics is:

1. face first.

10 Reasons To Cheer On Robel Teklemariam At The Olympics

When I tell people that I am cheering on and supporting a 35 year old cross country skier from Ethiopia at the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics, their first reaction is that they think I'm making up a story. When they find out that I'm not, they wonder why I would support such an obscure athlete. Here are 10 reasons why you should consider cheering on Robel Teklemariam at the Vancouver Olympic games:

10. It's always more fun to root for the underdog.

9. Because it's always good to know some Olympic trivia that nobody else in the room does.

8. You have to love an Olympic athlete who states one of his goals is "making sure I am not the last Ethiopian to compete in the Winter Olympics."

7. When you carry in the Ethiopian flag to any of the Olympic parties you attend, you know that everyone will want to talk with you.

6. The hair.



5. How can you not want to support an athlete that is not competing for himself, but for the next generation of kids who he hopes to inspire.

4. With national colors like that, there will be no problem distinguishing him from the other cross country racers.

3. Nobody will ever claim that you are a trend follower again.

2. Because he still competes even though he has to carry his equipment on his own and travel by train to make it to the races.



And the number one reason you should be supporting Robel Teklemariam at the Olympics is:

1. Because you won't only be cheering for one athlete, but you'll be cheering for an entire nation.

Tugba Karademir 2010 European Figure Skating Championship Free Program Video

Tugba Karademir Finishes 12th in European Championships

At the end of the free program Tugba Karademir finished in 12th place in the European Figure Skating Championships with a total of 82.54 points.

Tugba said that she believed she represented Turkey the best that she could. Her next destination is Vancouver for the Olympics where she hopes to place well. Tugba received a score of 35.74 for technical merit, and a score of 46.80 for artistic merit for a total of 82.54 points and a 12th place finish.

Translated from NTV Sports

Skating for the Love of It and Country: Tugba Karademir

In many Asian countries, ice skaters are treated as rock stars. When you come from Turkey, it's a challenge to find any sponsors, let alone find adequate coaches and training time. Those are some of the difficulties that 24 year old Tugba Karademir has had to overcome as she became the first winter skating Olympian for Turkey.

To keep her dream alive, her and her parents made the difficult choice to move to Canada to find better training and more ice time. When the Canadians asked Tugba to represent them, she declined preferring to represent her native Turkey:




Tubga finished in 21st place out of 24 at the 2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games and hopes to greatly improve on that result in Vancouver. She has already qualified so we'll see her competing in February. You can follow her blog and also become a fan on facebook to support her efforts and dreams.

Sliding Down A Sheet Of Ice At 45 Years: Kazuhiro Koshi's Olympic Dream

Proving that age isn't the limit that we assume it is when it comes to the Olympics, Kazuhiro Koshi, the "resolute samurai" is aiming to qualify at the skeleton at the age of 45 (I'm nearly his age and I can barely get myself out of bed in the morning without injuring myself). Here is his story:



When Kazu began his skeleton career after the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics where he failed to qualify for bobsled, he managed to do so despite the fact that there were no skeleton coaches or athletes in Japan at the time. He's persevered despite numerous setbacks including job changes and losses -- obstacles that would have made most people quit long ago.

Kazu is currently competing in World Cup races in an attempt to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics. Follow his blog and support his effort to make it to another Olympic games. How can you not want to support a 45 year old that is willing to slide down a sheet of ice face first because he loves it so much?

One Olympic Dream Ends Prematurely: Katharine Eustace Fails To Qualify

Katharine Eustace, the 34 year old New Zealander who was hoping to participate in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games, came up a little short on her dream. Although she had the best finish of the year with a 5th place finish, it wasn't enough to qualify her for the Olympics.

Despite this setback, Katherine's story is still motivational and worth a view as a model of how the journey is just as important as the goal:



Although she's not going to the Olympics, she finds herself ranked 26th in the world, her highest ranking ever. While we are greatly disappointed that we won't be seeing Katharine in Vancouver competing, we know that we will see a lot of her in the years to come in the sport of women's skeleton.