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Touchline • Issue 14 •
Features
06 A long way from the top
The psychology of high risk sports
09 Soccket
A different type of powerball
10 War Emblem
The strange case (and tastes) of
War Emblem
12 Anzhi Makhachkalare
A Force for Good or an Oligarch’s
Plaything?
18 Bradley Wiggins
The greatest British athlete of all
time?
24 How the mighty fall
Where next for Lance Armstrong?
27 Historic moment for historic
Augusta
FOCUS
4
Chinese traditional sports
16 The price of gold
20 Chinese team sports
Collective failure
SPECIAL
14 Sports shorts
22 Legal focus:
Can a bit hit on the field turn into
an even bigger hit in the
courtroom?
28 World sport news roundup
FROM THE EDITOR
As we come to the end of another year – they seem to go so fast these days – it is
a great time to reflect on the sporting highlights of 2012.
It has been an absolute cracker of a year with the London Olympic and Paralympic
Games being among the main events. Who would have thought that they would
have been such a resounding success when just a few weeks before the start there
was a lot of negativity from many people in Britain. Security debacles and transport
issues led to many people in the country declaring that they wished the games
were over before they had begun. But the complaining stopped as soon as the
Games arrived when everyone was caught up in the euphoria and spectacle of the
wonderful performances by the stars of the show. There were so many incredible
performances it would be wrong to single out any, but collectively they resulted in
a hugely memorable and successful Olympics. These were quickly followed by the
Paralympics, which really came of age in London with sell-out events throughout
the games and many truly magnificent performances by the athletes. Rio you have
a tough act to follow!
Just before the Olympics got under way the Euro 2012 championships took place,
with the majestic Spanish superstar team going on to secure a record 3 successive
major tournaments and two successive Euro championship wins with a magnificent
4-0 win over Italy. Still a relatively young team, it may be some time before any other
country can knock them off the number one spot.
With all of the other events going on you may be forgiven for forgetting that we also
had a Cricket World Cup with The West Indies becoming world cricket champions
in October. Then there was a nail biting finish in Formula 1 resulting in Sebastian
Vettel being crowned champion for the third time in a row.
Britain has had an exceptionally good year in sport; Andy Murray broke his Grand
Slam duck and went on to become Olympic champion, Bradley Wiggins was the
first ever Briton to win the Tour de France and Team GB exceeded all medal haul
expectations at the Olympics. The England cricket team were also, albeit briefly,
ranked world number one. On the negative, England’s performance at Euro 2012
was particularly mediocre.
Unfortunately 2012 will also be remembered for Lance Armstrong being named as a
cheat and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles; an event that not only brought
disgrace to him but raised question marks over the entire sport. So it is important
that the UCI continues to take whatever action is necessary to weed out the cheats
in cycling.
But overall, there have been so many good things to remember in 2012. Let’s hope
that the year ahead will bring yet more unforgettable sporting moments. Roll on
2013!
I wish you all a very happy holiday period and exciting and sports filled New Year.
Steve Boucher
touchline@sportscover.com
FOCUS ON
CHINESE
SPORTS
HOWTHE
MIGHTY FALL
LEGAL
FOCUS
ISSUE 14 • DECEMBER2012
THE JOURNALOFSPORT, LEISURE&RISK
WITHAN INTERNATIONALPERSPECTIVE
Plus
+ THE PRICE OF GOLD
WHERE NEXT FOR
+
FEATURES
+
SPORTS SHORTS
+
WORLD SPORT NEWS ROUNDUP
+ CHINESE TEAM SPORTS
LANCE ARMSTRONG?
+ TRADITIONAL SPORTS
CAN A BIG HIT ON THE
FIELD TURN INTO A BIGGER
HIT IN THE COURTROOM?