Miho's favorites

Surprise , Jeffrey Buttle is not going to compete anymore. Even though he is not my favorite skater, he was always in my top skater’s list. Although I was guessing he may not compete until next Olympics... After winning at last worlds with two perfect performances, and achieved one of his goal (? ), it may be good time to retire for him. It was an amazing comeback from disappointed early last season. He also won Olympics bronze medal in 2006, and also worlds silver medal at 2005. Besides three time Canadian national champions. Even though he was unable to nail quad jump , it’s already great success.  Seems like Jeffrey doesn’t have desire to compete anymore. Maybe he already got what he wanted in FS competitions. And sounded like he is satisfied with his career and happy for his decision, so it’s good. Especially from next season, judging system was changed and will be benefit for clean quad, and minor points for unsuccessful quad jumps, he might get pressure to add clean quad...

There was an interesting article about people’s music taste and how it shows one’s personality. It was interesting for me to read about it because I always thought music taste may show people’s personality. According to the article, Fans of classical music and jazz are creative , Popular music lovers are hardworking , Heavy metal fans are gentle, shy and creative . This is the result of research by Professor Adrian North of Scotland's Heriot-Watt University who has been studying the links between people's personalities and their choice of music. Here is the article below : " LONDON (AFP) - Heavy metal fans and lovers of classical music have more in common than people think, according to research published Friday by a university in Edinburgh. Researchers found that both types of music attract creative people who are confident with themselves but at the same time can be shy. The three-year study on the links between personality and music taste was led by psychology...

I’ve just read the news about Zurich race ( Switzerland ) that was held on Friday. I’m so happy ! Jeremy won !!!! Yes ! Yes ! Yes ! According to the article, it says that “ Wariner, a former Arlington Lamar and Baylor standout, ran a strong bend to hold at bay Merritt, running lane three inside him, and kicked clear in the final straight to win in 43.82 , his fastest time of the season." “I had Merritt behind me to push me on,” Wariner said. “I ran a season best and I plan to improve on that in Brussels and Stuttgart. I want to end up as world number one at the end of the year. “ And Lashawn Merritt was 44.43 and finished in second. It sounds Jeremy’s easy win ! That’s the Jeremy Wariner I know. I’ve also shocked to read about the article in 4X400 relay in Olympics, Jeremy’s time was 43.23 which was almost same speed as Michael Johnson’s world record. Ray and I re-watched that men’s relay over and over, because Jeremy’s run as anchor in it was soooooo enjoyabl...

It’s always inspiring people who achieved their dream. In this Beijing Olympics, I have no doubt Michael Phelps is the most successful athlete who challenged 5 individual swimming competitions and won all of them and made world records, plus 3 team competitions relay, and received total of 8 gold medals. In the beginning , I was more thinking about my favorite subjects , gymnastics and track & field, and had no interest for swimming competitions. US broadcast showed mainly swimming most of the time and I wasn’t watching Phelps interviews at that time. But later, by chance I watched one of his interviews and found good impression about him seeing his talking. He is a very nice guy, nothing arrogant, snob against anyone, humble and humility. Later, I started checking his records and biography and was shocked to see his amazing success. Analyzing the key of successful people is one of my favorite things to do. There are always common things for successful people. Here ar...

It was so much fun to watch both men & women’s 400M X 4 relay ! After the disappointment from Jeremy’s loss in individual 400M competition, We were waiting for him coming in relay. I don’t know why, but Jeremy’s running is attractive and make me feel power and energy. He also looks cool. I love his sunglasses and shoes that are matching with US uniform. He is very unique for me, almost like an alien.  His body shape is beautiful , not too macho, and his shoulder is small compared with other runners. Many people say he is too skinny as a short distance runner. But I don’t think so. Until I found him, I’ve never recorded all the track & field , just enjoy the moment. Men’s 400m X 4 Final 1. U.S.A. ( 2.55. 39 ) LaShawn Merritt, Angelo Taylor, David Neville, Jeremy Wariner, 2. Bahama ( 2.58.03 ) 3. Russia ( 2.58.06 ) 4. Great Britain (2.58.81) 5. Belgium (2.59.37) 6. Australia (3.00.02) 7. Poland (3.00.32) 8. Jamaica (3.01.45) I was glad to see that Jeremy wa...

Okay, I watched men’s 400 m last night after seeing the result. It was heartbreaking to see Jeremy’s disappointed reaction... I thought he didn’t look like the same runner as in the past, he looked much slower than before in it. I couldn’t believe it.. What was wrong with him ? Just a month ago in Paris, he had crossed the finish line first, in an easy win over his chief rival LaShawn Merrit. But in the Olympics, seems like Jeremy brought his C game, not his A game. He said he did everything he could, and nothing left and was exhausted at the end. LaShawn beat him almost full second. Jeremy was with two other competitors . Usually he was far from any other competitors. I wonder Jeremy might not sleep well and might not eat much the day before the final ? It may be energy influence . Or psychological issue ? Michael Johnson also looked nervous before started. Seems like he has emotional connection with Jeremy, so when Jeremy lost, he looked panic and was asking what’s ...

Jeremy Wariner vs. LaShawn Merritt They also showed qualified for men’s 400m track & field on August 19. Oh… I really wanted Jeremy to win. But just after I woke up this morning, I saw some articles that says Lashawn won gold and Jeremy placed 2nd … Now I feel very disappointed .. Since this year, his rival Lashawn appeared and Jeremy was beaten by him twice this year, so many people are not expecting to Jeremy to win. But Jeremy beat him in Paris race a month ago. Jeremy was unbeatable until this year 2008, but seems like he had a muscle problem and his time was getting slower than before. Jeremy’s personal best time record is 43.45 and still holds the World Record as third best in the world. Top is still Michael Johnson’s 43.18 ( 1999 ), second is Harry Butch 43.29 (1988). LaShawn got 43.75 in this Beijing Olympics, sadly Jeremy’s time was 44.74. I’m wondering what happened to Jeremy ? And when I checked the lane for both of them, Lashawn was in 4 lane and Jeremy ...