Tag: sport

World Cup quarter-finals 2018

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The World Cup 2018 tournament has been dramatic.  I have seen some brilliant football and some awful football.  I have watched high-ranking world-class teams crash out of the tournament during the group stages and three agonising penalty shootouts. As a sport lover and a huge football fan, it´s simply impossible to describe the illogical emotions that you go through when you watch and will your team to perform to the very best of their ability.  It´s a raw emotion, that  brings out the very best, and the very worst in people.

In general, I´m crazy about watching football because you get lost in the moment, cognitive reasoning is thrown out of the window, nothing outside of the pitch matters, and for a brief moment, you allow yourself to believe that anything is possible.  Come on England, I believe.

World Cup 2018 is just around the corner!

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The World Cup 2018 is just around the corner, and I have ants in my pants to get hooked on this world tournament.

I am excited to see the world´s top male football athletes push themselves to their physical and mental limits; I am excited to see individual talent working together as a team to achieve a collective dream; I am excited to support a tournament that has the potential to break racial, religious and cultural discrimination, and, I am excited to learn more about Russia. But, I will not forget the long list of human rights abuses that have been committed under Putin´s governance. So, do get excited with me and support your teams with pride, grace and dignity, but, say no to racism,  xenophobia and discrimination.

How Argentina´s blind soccer team became champions

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With warmth and respect, Gonzalo Vilariño tells the captivating story of Argentina’s blind soccer team — and how a sincere belief in themselves and their capabilities transformed the players from humble beginnings into two-time World Champions. “You have to get out there and play every game in this beautiful tournament that we call life,” Vilariño says. (In Spanish with English subtitles)

Jogging

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joggingOne of my New Year’s resolutions is to get in shape by jogging. The problem is, I really can´t stand running, so I need some advice. What should I do to feel more motivated?

For example:

  1. Should I sign up for a race?
  2. Should I start running after attractive people?
  3. Ought I to get a jogging buddy? Help!

Paralympics: prepare to be inspired

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paralympicsThe 2016 Rio Paralympics have already begun and if you are not inspired by these amazing athletes then, undoubtedly, you  are as dead as a dodo!

Once again I’m glued to the TV and although, generally speaking, it’s definitely more rewarding to do sport than to watch sport, not watching some of the Paralympic events would be a major error in judgement.

If you want to follow the games and improve your level of English at the sane time,  I’d highly recommend following the BBC coverage.

Team GB, Team Spain and Team O’Carroll have medals!

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ocarroll olympics 2016Unfortunately, the Rio 2016 Olympics started under a fog of controversial issues: the doping allegations against the Russian Olympic team, the spread of the life-threatening Zika virus, a political scandal and an economic slump.  On the contrary, the traditional O’Carroll Olympic Games started with our favourite summer drinks: chilled white wine, and Pimms and lemonade.  The weather was glorious and the battle to stand on the podium with a gold medal was fierce.   I won gold at croquet but unfortunately was disqualified in my other event. So, none of my family are athletes, but thankfully, all of us are good sports and amazingly talented at being childish and stupid!

Enjoy the real Olympics!

Talking about working out is definitely a no go zone!

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work out

Despite the fact, that many people can spend hours and hours talking about football, it has to be said, that nobody is interested in hearing about your workout.

For example, despite the fact that I’m naturally a couch potato with a sweet tooth, I do try to work out at my local gym 5 times a week. My workout usually consists of  some cardiovascular stuff (cycling or running on a treadmill) some free weights and some pilates. Over the last few weeks I have been working out harder than usual and I was so over the moon with my efforts that I emailed some close friends in the UK to tell them all about physical achievements. Imagine my surprise when I received this photo and one sentence that said: ”Don’t bother me telling me about your sweat, what about the eye candy?”

Seriously, some of my friends are skin deep and they are about as profound as a limp lettuce leaf!