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Chronicle
Two-time Olympic champion in pole vaulting, world record holder Elena Isinbaeva was recognized as the best athlete of the year in Europe. On Saturday in Amsterdam, where the European Athletics Convention took place, Isinbayeva was awarded the traditional Waterford Crystal prize. The athlete received this award for her outstanding achievements this season, the main one of which was her victory at the Olympic Games in Beijing with a new world record of 5.05 m.
“This award crowns all my efforts and suffering during training and competing in 2008. It’s nice when your work is appreciated, but the support of the fans is especially important to me. When, before my record attempt in Beijing, the stands chanted: “Russia! Russia! Lena, come on! - it helped a lot. I am extremely grateful to all Russians for their support,” Isinbayeva said. Let us remind you that Isinbayeva also claims to be the best athlete in the world.
Pankina won the World Cup
The final Open Water Swimming Grand Prix ended in Mexico. Following the results of nine stages, Russian Natalya Pankina won the overall standings, gaining 110 points. Germany's Stefanie Biller was second (99 points), Spain's Esther Nunez was third (85 points). Let us remind you that Pankina won four starts in Argentina and Canada. She was second at the stage in Italy and third in Canada. Among the men, the overall ranking was won by Bulgarian Petar Stoychev (126 points), second by Australian Brendan Capell (89 points), and third by Frenchman Stephane Gomez (84 points). Russians Yuri Kudinov and Daniil Serebrennikov settled in 10th (28 points) and 11th places (25 points).
Nadal will finish the season ranked number one in the world
Spaniard Rafael Nadal, despite losing in the semifinals of the Masters series tournament in Madrid to Frenchman Gilles Simon (6:3, 5:7, 6:7), secured the title of first world racket at the end of the year ahead of schedule. The 22-year-old athlete topped the world rankings in August, displacing Swiss Roger Federer, who held the title of best tennis player in the world for a record 237 weeks, from the top spot. Nadal became the first left-hander since 1984 to finish the season at No. 1 in the rankings. Before him, only the legendary American John McEnroe succeeded in this. This season, the native of Mallorca won two Grand Slam tournaments - Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the Olympic Games in Beijing. “One of my goals this year was to become world No. 1, and it’s important to me that I was able to achieve that,” Nadal said. “To finish the season in first place in the rankings is a very special feeling.”
Yzerman became manager of the Canadian Olympic team
Hockey. NHL. Regular season. "Dallas" -- "Colorado" -- 4:5, "Montreal" -- "Phoenix" -- 4:1 -- A. Markov "M" (0+2), "Ottawa" --- "Boston" -- 2:4, "Pittsburgh" -- "Toronto" -- 4:1 -- Malkin "P" (4+0), "Washington" -- "New Jersey" -- 3:4 B - - Semin "B" (2+0), S. Fedorov "B" (0+1), Ovechkin "B" (0+1), "Atlanta" -- "Buffalo" -- 3:2 B -- Kovalchuk "A" "(1+0), "Florida" -- "Islanders" -- 2:0, "Detroit" -- "Rangers" -- 5:4 OT -- Datsyuk "D" (0+1), Kalinin "R" "(0+1), "Tampa Bay" -- "Minnesota" -- 0:1 B, "Nashville" -- "Columbus" -- 6:3, "St. Louis" -- "Chicago" -- 4:3 B, “Edmonton” – “Calgary” – 3:2, “San Jose” – “Philadelphia” – 5:4 OT. Steve Yzerman has been officially named general manager of Team Canada for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Currently, the legendary hockey player is the vice president of Detroit.