Thursday, January 29, 2009

There isn´t Grand Slam semifinal without Roger Federer

Roger Federer will play his 19th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal when he faces Andy Roddick at the Australian Open, equalling a Grand Slam singles record set more than 20 years ago by Martina Navrátilová.

The last Grand Slam in which Federer failed to reach at least the last four was at Roland Garros in 2004 when he lost a third round match in straight sets against Gustavo Kuerten.

Most consecutive semifinals in Grand Slams - Open Era
# Name Country Editions

19 Roger Federer SUI 2004 – 2009
19 Martina Navrátilová USA 1983 – 1988
15 Steffi Graf GER 1987 – 1990
11 Chris Evert USA 1984 – 1986
11 Martina Hingis SUI 1996 – 1999
10 Ivan Lendl CZE 1985 – 1988
9 Margaret Court AUS 1969 – 1971
9 Chris Evert USA 1981 – 1983
7 Chris Evert USA 1973 – 1974

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Roger Federer goes for 14th Grand Slam tournament

On Monday, 19 January, the tennis season traditionally starts with the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, the 2009 Australian Open. For the first time, Roger Federer will try to equal the all-time record of 14 Grand Slam wins which is held by Pete Sampras.

Last September, Roger Federer won his 13th career Grand Slam title at the 2008 US Open. Federer could win his fourth Australian Open Men’s Singles title, which would make him the joint second most successful player in the “Down Under” Grand Slam.

He would then only trail Roy Emerson, who won the Australian Open on six occasions between 1961 and 1967.

Most Grand Slam Titles Men’s Singles – All-time
# Name Nation AO RG WIM US Finals First win Last win

14 Pete Sampras USA 2 7 5 18 1990 2002
13 Roger Federer SUI 3 5 5 17 2003 2008
12 Roy Emerson AUS 6 2 2 2 15 1961 1967
11 Rod Laver AUS 3 2 4 2 17 1960 1969
11 Björn Borg SWE 6 5 16 1974 1981
10 Bill Tilden USA 3 7 15 1920 1930
8 Fred Perry GBR 1 1 3 3 10 1933 1936
8 Andre Agassi USA 4 1 1 2 15 1992 2003
8 Ivan Lendl TCH 2 3 3 19 1984 1990
8 Ken Rosewall AUS 4 2 2 16 1953 1972
8 Jimmy Connors USA 1 2 5 15 1974 1983

Most Australian Open Titles Men’s Singles – All-time
# Name Nation Years

6 Roy Emerson AUS 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967
4 Jack Crawford AUS 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935
4 Ken Rosewall AUS 1953, 1955, 1971, 1972
4 Andre Agassi USA 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003
3 Roger Federer SUI 2004, 2006, 2007
3 James Anderson AUS 1922, 1924, 1925
3 Adrian Quist AUS 1936, 1940, 1948
3 Rod Laver AUS 1960, 1962, 1969
3 Mats Wilander SWE 1983, 1984, 1988

Friday, January 9, 2009

Stephanie Rice is the Woman of the Year for 2008 according to Infostrada Sports

Stephanie Rice is Infostrada Sports’ Woman of the Year for 2008 as she crowned herself ‘Queen of the Olympics’. The Australian swimmer collected three gold medals and set world records in the 200m Individual Medley, 400m Individual Medley and 4x200m Freestyle Relay.

Rice was the most successful female athlete in Beijing winning three gold medals. She joined Petria Thomas (2004) and Shane Gould (1972) as Australian swimmers who were also ‘Queen of the Olympics’.

Rice broke her own world record in the 200m IM and bettered the 400m IM mark set by USA’s Katie Hoff in June 2008. At the World Championships in March 2008 she became the first female in 28 years to break the 200m IM and the 400m IM world records at a single meet.

Infostrada Sports’ Woman of the Year 2000 - 2008
Year Woman of the Year Nation

2008 Stephanie Rice (Swimming) AUS
2007 Anja Pärson (Alpine Skiing) SWE
2006 Cindy Klassen (Speed Skating) CAN
2005 Janica Kostelic (Alpine Skiing) CRO
2004 Kelly Holmes (Athletics) GBR
2003 Justine Henin (Tennis) BEL
2002 Serena Williams (Tennis) USA
2001 Jennifer Capriati (Tennis) USA
2000 Inge de Bruijn (Swimming) NED

Most successful female athletes at each Olympic Games (Queens of the Olympics) – since 1980
Edition Name Nation Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total

2008 Stephanie Rice AUS Swimming 3 0 0 3
2004 Petria Thomas AUS Swimming 3 1 0 4
2000 Inge de Bruijn NED Swimming 3 1 0 4
2000 Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel NED Cycling 3 1 0 4
1996 Amy Van Dyken USA Swimming 4 0 0 4
1992 Krisztina Egerszegi HUN Swimming 3 0 0 3
1992 Nicole Haislett USA Swimming 3 0 0 3
1988 Kristin Otto GDR Swimming 6 0 0 6
1984 Ecaterina Szabo ROU Gymnastics - Artistic 4 1 0 5
1980 Caren Metschuck GDR Swimming 3 1 0 4

Breaking 200m IM and 400m IM at same meet - Women
Date 200m IM 200 IM WR Name Nation 400 IM WR Date 400m IM Venue

13 Aug 2008 2:08.45 Stephanie Rice AUS 4:29.45 10 Aug 2008 Beijing, CHN
25 Mar 2008 2:08.92 Stephanie Rice AUS 4:31.46 22 Mar 2008 Sydney, AUS
24 May 1980 2:13.00 Petra Schneider GDR 4:38.44 27 May 1980 Magdeburg, GER
20 Aug 1978 2:14.07 Tracy Caulkins USA 4:40.83 23 Aug 1978 West Berlin, GER
10 Jun 1975 2:18.83 Ulrike Tauber GDR 4:52.20 07 Jun 1975 Wittenberg, GER
18 Aug 1974 2:18.97 Ulrike Tauber GDR 4:52.42 21 Aug 1974 Vienna, AUT
25 Aug 1968 2:23.5 Claudia Kolb USA 5:04.7 24 Aug 1968 Los Angeles, CA, USA
18 Aug 1967 2:25.0 Claudia Kolb USA 5:08.2 19 Aug 1967 Philadelphia, PA, USA
30 Jul 1967 2:26.1 Claudia Kolb USA 5:09.7 01 Aug 1967 Winnipeg, CAN
08 Jul 1967 2:27.5 Claudia Kolb USA 5:11.7 09 Jul 1967 Santa Clara, CA, USA

The last five world record improvements – Women’s 200m IM
Result Name Nation Date Venue

2:08.45 Stephanie Rice AUS 13 Aug 2008 Beijing, CHN
2:08.92 Stephanie Rice AUS 25 Mar 2008 Sydney, AUS
2:09.72 Wu Yanyuan CHN 17 Oct 1997 Shanghai, CHN
2:11.65 Lin Li CHN 30 Jul 1992 Barcelona, ESP
2:11.73 Ute Geweniger GDR 4 Jul 1981 Berlin, GDR

The last five world record improvements – Women’s 400m IM
Time Name NOC Date Venue
4:29.45 Stephanie Rice AUS 20 Aug 08 Beijing, CHN
4:31.12 Katie Hoff USA 29 Jun 2008 Omaha, USA
4:31.46 Stephanie Rice AUS 22 Mar 2008 Sydney, AUS
4:32.89 Katie Hoff USA 1 Apr 2007 Melbourne, AUS
4:33.59 Yana Klochkova UKR 16 Sep 2000 Sydney, AUS

The last five world record improvements - Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Time NOC Date Venue

7:44.31 AUS 14 Aug 2008 Beijing, CHN
7:50.09 USA 29 Mar 2007 Melbourne, AUS
7:50.82 GER 3 Aug 2006 Budapest, HUN
7:53.42 USA 18 Aug 2004 Athens, GRE
7:55.47 GDR 18 Aug 1987 Strasbourg, FRA

Friday, January 2, 2009

Usain Bolt named the Infostrada Sports’ Man of the Year 2008

Usain Bolt is Infostrada Sports’ Man of the Year for 2008, beating Michael Phelps into second place. In August 2008, Bolt won three gold medals at the Olympic Games, breaking the world record for each event in the process.

Bolt is the first man from the sport of Athletics to be named Infostrada Sports’ Man of the Year.
Bolt was the first male athlete since Carl Lewis to win at least three Olympic gold medals at a single Games.
He is also one of only nine men to win the 100 metres and 200 metres at the same Olympics and one of only four to add the 4x100m Relay gold to the sprint double.

Infostrada Sports’ Man of the Year 2000 - 2008
Year Man of the Year

2008 Usain Bolt (Athletics)
2007 Michael Phelps (Swimming)
2006 Roger Federer (Tennis)
2005 Tom Boonen (Cycling)
2004 Roger Federer (Tennis)
2003 Michael Schumacher (Formula One)
2002 Mario Cipollini (Cycling)
2001 Goran Ivanisevic (Tennis)
2000 Tiger Woods (Golf)

Male athletes winning at least three Gold medals in a single Olympics
Year Name NOC Gold Silver Bronze

2008 Usain BOLT JAM 3 0 0
1984 Carl LEWIS USA 4 0 0
1956 Bobby MORROW USA 3 0 0
1952 Emil ZATOPEK TCH 3 0 0
1936 Jesse OWENS USA 4 0 0
1924 Paavo NURMI FIN 5 0 0
1924 Ville RITOLA FIN 4 2 0
1912 Hannes KOLEHMAINEN FIN 3 1 0
1908 Melvin SHEPPARD USA 3 0 0
1904 James LIGHTBODY USA 3 1 0
1904 Harry HILLMAN USA 3 0 0
1904 Ray EWRY USA 3 0 0
1904 Archie HAHN USA 3 0 0
1900 Alvin KRAENZLEIN USA 4 0 0
1900 Ray EWRY USA 3 0 0

Winning gold in Olympic 100m and 200m
Year Name NOC

2008 Usain BOLT JAM
1984 Carl LEWIS USA
1972 Valeriy BORZOV URS
1956 Bobby MORROW USA
1936 Jesse OWENS USA
1932 Eddie TOLAN USA
1928 Percy WILLIAMS CAN
1912 Ralph CRAIG USA
1904 Archie HAHN USA
Bold indicates that they also won gold in the Men’s 4x100m

The last five world record improvements – Men’s 100m
Result Name Nation Date Location #

9.69 Usain BOLT JAM 16 Aug 2008 Beijing, CHN 19
9.72 Usain BOLT JAM 31 May 2008 New York, USA 18
9.74 Asafa POWELL JAM 09 Sep 2007 Rieti, ITA 17
9.77 Asafa POWELL JAM 14 Jun 2005 Athens, GRE 16
9.79 Maurice GREENE USA 16 Jun 1999 Athens, GRE 15

The last five world record improvements – Men’s 200m
Result Name NOC Date Location
19.30 Usain BOLT JAM 20 Aug 08 Beijing, CHN
19.32 Michael JOHNSON USA 01 Aug 96 Atlanta, GA, USA
19.66 Michael JOHNSON USA 23 Jun 96 Atlanta, GA, USA
19.72 Pietro MENNEA ITA 12 Sep 79 Mexico City, MEX
19.83 Tommie SMITH USA 16 Oct 68 Mexico City, MEX

The last five world record improvements – Men's 4x100m Relay
Result NOC Date Location
37.10 JAM 22 Aug 2008 Beijing, CHN
37.40 USA 08 Aug 1992 Barcelona, ESP
37.50 USA 01 Sep 1991 Tokyo, JPN
37.67 USA 07 Aug 1991 Zurich, SUI
37.79 FRA 01 Sep 1990 Split, YUG