Stephanie Rice

Stephanie Rice is an Australian swimmer. She currently holds the world record in the 200 m and 400 m individual medley as of August 13, 2008, and won three gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.Rice is trained by Michael Bohl from the St Peters Western Swimming Club in Brisbane.

Rice was the gold medalist in the 200 metres Individual Medley at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia where she defeated Olympians Brooke Hanson and Lara Carroll to claim the gold medal in the event in a time of 2:12.90, a personal best by 1.19 sec. She also won the 400m individual medley.

At the 2007 Melbourne World Championships she won a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley in a time of 2 minutes 11.42 seconds, breaking the previous Australian record by a second. American Katie Hoff won the gold in 2:10.13, with Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe in second place. Rice once again placed third, earning her second bronze medal in the 400m individual medley final. In a new personal best time Rice finished in 4:41.19, taking .54 sec off her previous best.

Rice continued her strong performance, setting a new personal best time in the 400m individual medley at an Italian meet in June 2007. Rice went a 4:40.79, edging closer to the elusive 4:40 barrier in the event. At the 2007 Japanese Open Championships, Rice smashed her personal best time in the 400m individual medley and finally cracked the 4:40 barrier. In placing second to Zimbabwean champion Kirsty Coventry, Rice set a new Australian and Commonwealth record of 4:37.18—a personal best by 3.61 secAt the 2008 Australian Olympic trials, Rice broke the world record in the 400 m individual medley. Rice stopped the clock at 4 minutes 31.46 seconds, 1.43 seconds off American Katie Hoff's mark of 4:32.89. On June 29, 2008, at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Hoff retook the world record from Rice with a time of 4:31.12. Rice claimed her second world record of the meet, when she broke the 200 m individual medley world record, clocking 2 minutes 8.92 seconds to slash almost a full second off the previous record held by China's Wu Yanyan.



At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Rice won her first-ever Olympic medal, Australia's first gold medal of the games and its 400th summer Olympic medal, winning the 400m individual medley in a time of 4 minutes 29.45 seconds. In the process she reclaimed the world record from Hoff bettering the mark by 1.67 seconds, thus becoming the first woman to break the 4:30 in the event, (Kirsty Coventry also went under 4:30 in taking the silver). Her second gold medal of the games came on August 13 in the 200m individual medley with a new world record time of 2 minutes 8.34 seconds. Rice prevailed after being neck and neck with Coventry, who also went under the old world record. On August 14 she won her third gold medal as part of the 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay team.


In her Olympic debut, Stephanie Rice shattered the world record in the 400m IM to win gold in 4:29.45. Rice took nearly two seconds off the previous record, which was held by Katie Hoff, who finished third. Rice held off a late challenge from Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, who also finished well under the old mark to earn silver. The two dueled again in the 200m IM, with Rice touching first for her second gold medal and second world record. Rice then won her third gold, tying the Australian record for most golds in a single Games, on the 4x200m freestyle relay, setting her third world record.

First, she broke the 400m IM record by taking six seconds off her previous personal best. Three days later, she broke the 200m IM record, which had been from 1997 and was the second-oldest on the books. Both swims were unexpected for Rice, who took bronze in both races at the 2007 Worlds. "It was a mammoth shock," she said.


Rice said she was inspired when her then-boyfriend Eamon Sullivan broke Alexander Popov's eight-year-old mark in the 50m free, even though she wasn't there to see it. Rice had gone home after the heats and found out about the record via text message from Sullivan. But she said the record made her realize that anything was possible -- and even made her a little jealous. But Rice had her own record less than a month later.


Rice recalls making the trip to Sydney in 2000 with her mom to watch swimming at the Olympics. At 10 years old, Rice admits she was "way off the pace," but says she was in awe of all the swimmers and dreamt of one day being there herself. Now that she's going, Rice is excited for the opportunity to experience all that comes along with the Olympics.

The latest gossip is that Rice is dating fellow swimmer Micheal Phelps.

Blog::
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My day Today!

Today was indeed my day!
My mood was in upbeat today.It was a simple and a calm one.Nothing special happened.I woke up really late around 10,then called my brother wanted to wish him good morning.He was really surprised when I called him.He said it was afternoon for him already.Then to all those usual gallows ,I had my morning bath and breakfast.You should say it as lunch as I had it around 12.Then I cleaned up my house and did all household.
Then I was online surfing and chatting with my friends.After that my mum came home and I was watching Snehithiyey movie which is a very nice one.
After that in the evening I asked out my dad whether we can go out.But he was very tired so we did not.I was searching for a Raksha bandhan gift for my brother in the e- shopping after that.Then I had my dinner with my parents.
Now before going to my night sleep writing my today's blog.This was how I spent my day.But whatever it was a peaceful and happy day. It is nice to be at home and take rest.
For now good night and sweet dreams!!!!!!!!!!

Gone are the days!!!

Gone are the days!!!


When

The school reopened in June,
And we settled in our new desks and
benches!


When we queued up in book depot,
And got our new books and notes!


When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays,
Yet managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.

We learnt writing with slates and pencils, and
Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips!


When we began drawing with crayons and evolved to
Color pencils and finally sketch pens!


When we started calculating
first with tables and then with
Clarke's tables and advanced to
Calculators and computers!


When we chased one another in the
corridors in Intervals, and returned to the classrooms
Drenched in sweat!


When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,
Playgrounds, under the trees and even in cycle sheds!


When all the colors in the world,
Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays!


When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons!


When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,
And Neckties and socks rolled into balls!


When few played "kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,
While others simply played "book cricket" in the
Confines of classroom!


Of fights but no conspiracies,
Of Competitions but seldom jealousy!


When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks!


When few rushed at 3:45 to
"Conquer" window seats in our School bus!
While few others had "Big Fun", "peppermint" ,
"kulfi", " milk ice !" and "sharbat !" at 4o Clock!

Gone are the days
Of Sports Day,
and the annual School Day ,
And the one-month long
preparations for them.


Gone are the days
Of the stressful Quarterly,
Half Yearly and Annual Exams, And the most
enjoyed holidays after them!


Gone are the days
Of tenth and twelfth standards, when
We Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests!

Gone are the days
we had a crush on a guy/gal
And proposed him/her
And hid behind the pillars of school to give him/her a christmas card

We learnt,

We enjoyed,

We played,

We won,

We lost,

We laughed,

We cried,

We fought,

We thought.

With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more!


Gone are the days
When we used to talk for hours with our friends!
Now we don't have time to say a 'Hi'!


Gone are the days
When we played games on the road!
Now we
Code on the road with laptop!


Gone are the days
When we saw stars
Shining at Night!
Now we see stars when our code doesn't Work!


Gone are the days
When we sat to chat with Friends on grounds!
Now we chat in chat rooms.....!


Gone are the days
Where we studied just to pass!
Now we study to save our job!

Gone are the days
Where we had no money in our pockets and still fun filled on our hearts!!
Now we have the atm as well as credit card but with an empty heart!!

Gone are the days
Where we shouted on the road!
Now we don't shout even at home

Gone are the days
Where we got lectures from all!
Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....!!

Gone are the days
But not the memories, which will be
Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever and
Ever and ever and ever .....

Gone are the Days…. But still there are lot more Days to come in our Life!!

NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE ,

DONT FORGET TO

LIVE THE LIFE THAT STILL

EXISTS….

Abhinav Bhindra Makes India Proud!

At last we have got our individual gold.The greatest moment for any indian.Thanks to Abhinav Bhindra for giving us this moment.

Abhinav Bindra won India's first ever individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men's 10 metres air rifle event.

Bindra was fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and even hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last visit to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who dropped to bronze with a poor final shot of 9.7.

That allowed China's Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to pass him on his final shot and win the silver medal.

"It's just great," Bindra said just before climbing on to the podium.

Zhu suffered a late lapse in concentration in the qualification earlier on Monday morning when he had to rush his final shots to make the time limit, thus dropping to second place behind Hakkinen ahead of the final.

He was close to tears and said: "I was under tremendous pressure and at times I felt really agitated. But I tried my best."

India's last Olympic gold medal was from hockey at the 1980 Moscow Olympics . Bindra's feat betters the silver medal effort of double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at the Athens Games in 2004.

Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and former shooter who was present at the range, was stricken with nerves as the competition reached its climax.

"I haven't prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he shot a 10.8. It couldn't have got better," he said.

Bindra won the 2006 World championships and finished seventh in Athens four years ago.

Abhinav Bindra is an Indian shooter specializing in the 10 m Air Rifle event. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and first gold medal since 1980 for India by winning the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event.

Abhinav Bindra was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games. He won six gold medals at various international meets in 2001. In the 10 m Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he broke the Olympic record but failed to win a medal. He is a recipient of the Arjuna award in 2001 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 2001-2002. Abhinav Bindra's potential talent was first spotted by his first coach Lt. Col. J.S. Dhillon.

Apart from being a shooter, Abhinav Bindra holds an M.B.A. (Masters in Business Administration). He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, a PC games peripherals distributor based in Chandigarh

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Ponniyin Selvan

The first ever novel I read in Tamil is Ponniyin Selvan written by Kalki Krishnamoorthy one of the famous tamil novelist.His narration and his simple style inspired me. Ponniyin Selvan revolves around the great king Raja Raja cholan.This tells about his youth and about the murder of his brother Aditya Karikalan.The hero of the novel is Vandiyathevan who is the friend of Aditya Karikalan.

He sets out to the Chola land to deliver a message to the King and the Princess from the Crown Prince Aditya Karikalan. The story shuttles between Vandiyathevan's travels in Chola country and the young Prince Arulmozhivarman's travels in Srilanka. The narrative deals with attempts by his sister Kundavai to bring back Arulmozhi establish political peace in a land seemingly getting besot with unrest and signs of civil war, plotted by vassals and petty chieftains.

Parantaka Chola was succeeded by his second son Gandaraditya as the first son Rajaditya had died in a battle. At the time of Gandaraditya's death, his son Maduranthaka was a child and hence Gandaraditya’s brother Arinjaya ascended the throne. After Arinjaya’s death, his son Parantaka II, Sundara Chola was coronated. He had two sons, Aditya Karikalan and Arulmozhi Varman and a daughter Kundavai.

When the story starts, the emperor Sundara Chola is ill and bedridden. Aditya Karikalan is the general of the Northern Command and lived in Kanchi and Arulmozhivarman is in Sri Lanka in battle and their sister Kundavai Piratti lived in Chola royal household at Pazhayarai.

The story is set in motion, when rumor starts that there is a conspiracy against Sundara Chola and his sons. One person who gets a glimpse of the Pandya conspirators is a warrior of the Vana clan Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan. Even though the book is titled Ponniyin Selvan, the hero of the book is Vandiyathevan, a friend of Aditya Karikalan.

It is through Vandiyathevan that we meet most of the characters in the novel such as Arulmozhivarman, the prince whom all the people loved and Periya Pazhavetturayar, the chancellor who married Nandini when he was sixty. During his youth Aditya Karikalan had fallen in love with Nandini, but she turned vengeful after Aditya Karikalan killed Veerapadyan and vowed to destroy the Chola dynasty. We also meet Kundavai Devi, who after hearing the news of the conspiracy sends Vandiyathevan to Sri Lanka to give a message to Arulmozhivarman to come back immediately.

Besides these, there are other characters like Maduranthaka Thevar, the son of Gandaraditya and Anirudha Brahmarayar, Sundara Cholar’s Prime Minister and the man who has eyes and ears everywhere. But the most wonderful character in the book is Brahmarayar’s spy Azhwarkadiyan Nambi, a Vaishnavite, who roams around the country challenging Saivaites for debates. He collects information for the Prime Minister and is always around Vandiyathevan, rescuing him during trouble.

There are some lovely women too, like Vanathi, the Kodumbalur princess who is in love with Arulmozhi; Poonkuzhali, the boat woman who rows the future king to Lanka; Mandakini, the deaf and dumb step mother and Rakkammal, the wife of a boatman who supports the Pandya conspirators. Most memorable among these is Nandini, whose beauty is said to have the power to influence any man.

With Poonkuzhali's help, Vandiyathevan reaches Sri Lanka and meets Arulmozhivarman and becomes his close friend. In Lanka, Arulmozhivarman realizes that his father had spent some time in an island near Lanka and had been with a girl born deaf and dumb. He meets her and realizes from her drawing that she and his father have had two children. Who are those children and do they have the right to the throne? Later one day in Thirupurambayam forest Vandiyathevan sees Nandini and the Pandya conspirators place a small boy on a throne and take a vow in front of him. Who is this boy and what right does he have to the throne? This is the kind of suspense that is maintained throughout the novel.

While coming back from Lanka, Arulmozhivarman is caught in a cyclone and goes missing. Rumor spreads that he is dead, but he survives and stays at Choodamani Viharam, a Buddhist monastery in Nagapattinam. Then slowly the dispersed family starts assembling. The conspirators meanwhile choose one day in which both the king and both of his sons would be assassinated.

Will the conspirators succeed in killing Sundara Chola and crowning Madhuranthaka as the king or will Arulmozhivarman get crowned the king? That is one of the major question upon which the story revolves.And it ends in a dramatic climax in the fifth part of the book where the truth about Maduranthaka Chola is revealed. This story has everything to make a wonderful novel of all time

Link::
http://www.tamilnation.org/literature/kalki/pm278c.pdf