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Fort In Sport (Odd Sports & Sporting Incidents)

He really went bananas.

Tunisian footballer Nizar Issaoui has died from burns sustained in a protest against "police injustice", his family said, in which he set himself on fire.

He had appeared in a video posted online showing him shouting that he had been accused of terrorism by officers after a dispute with a fruit seller. In a separate post, he said he sentenced himself to "death by fire".

There were angry clashes at funeral of the 35-year-old on Friday in his home town of Haffouz, local media reported.

Issaoui had been accused of terrorism by police officers after he complained that he was unable to buy bananas for less than 10 dinars ($3.30; £2.66) a kilogram, double the price set by the government, reports say.

In a Facebook post, the footballer had written: "For a dispute with someone selling bananas at 10 dinars, I get accused of terrorism at the police station. Terrorism for a complaint about bananas... I have no more energy. Let the police state know that the sentence will be executed today."

Violence erupted at the footballer's funeral as demonstrators threw stones at police who fired tear gas.

He was a former player for the Tunisian top-flight side US Monastir and a father of four.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65284093
 
Seeing as she's an athlete I'll shoehorn it in here.

A Spanish extreme athlete has emerged from a cave after spending 500 days with no human contact, in what could be a world record.

When Beatriz Flamini entered the cave in Granada, Russia had not invaded Ukraine and the world was still in the grip of the Covid pandemic.
It was part of an experiment closely monitored by scientists.

"I'm still stuck on November 21, 2021. I don't know anything about the world," she said after exiting the cave.

Ms Flamini, 50, entered the cave aged 48. She spent her time in the 70m (230ft) deep cave exercising, drawing and knitting woolly hats. She got through 60 books and 1,000 litres of water, according to her support team.

She was monitored by a group of psychologists, researchers, speleologists - specialists in the study of caves - but none of the experts made contact with her.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65276888
 
Vid at link

Hot air balloon interrupts Sussex kids cricket match​

We've heard of rain or bad light stopping play, but never a hot air balloon. But that is exactly what happened during a cricket match in West Sussex.

Chiddingfold U10s were playing Blackheath U10s at Lurgashall, in Chichester, when the interruption occurred.

Jim Stather, who was watching the match and filmed the scene on Wednesday evening, said: “It came swooping over the roof tops and landed on the pitch whilst the children were playing cricket. I have never seen anything like this."

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-sussex-65646484
 
Stone mad.

From skimming pebbles on tiny lakes to becoming a world champion.

Yes, you read correctly... there is a world championship for stone-skimming. Many of us will remember trying beat our siblings with the perfect stone to skip across the water during trips to the beach or park.

But for Christina Bowen Bravery, that fun as a youngster on the lakes in Llangorse, Powys and in Plymouth, Devon soon became more than just a small, competitive family game.

The 43-year-old travels the country on the lookout for the perfect stone and now her beady eyes, determination and skill have made her the best woman in the world at not one, not two, but three championships across the UK.

"I never thought by the age of 39 I'd be a world champion," said Christina, who grew up in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire.

She said her passion for the craft started when she was about four years old on family trips to Plymouth.

"My dad showed me how to skim stones and I have a vague recollection of someone on the beach showing me how to hold the stone when I was very young… just trying to get that skim, trying to hit the mooring buoys further out. It was just that competitive spark in me to compete against myself to make it go further."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-64209738
 
It has now been satisfactorily established that Finns are as mad as the English.
 
Vid at link.

Watch: Snake invades Sri Lanka cricket match​

A large snake slithered onto a Lanka Premier League game in Colombo, Sri Lanka, bringing play to a halt.

The reptile, believed to be a non-venomous rat snake, was ushered off the grounds before the game between Galle Titans and Dambulla Aura resumed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-66373467
 
She self identifies as a sprinter.

Somali novice sprinter Nasra Abubakar Ali, who's faced ridicule online, says she was chosen to compete by her university association and was suffering from a sprained leg when she raced this week.

Ali was competing in the 100m at the World University Games in China on Wednesday. Brazil's Gabriela Silva Mourão won the race with a time of 11.58 seconds while Ali finished last on 21.81 seconds.

She defended her performance in a Facebook interview with journalist Munasar Mohamed, saying the backlash she's received is unfair and her efforts should be considered courageous:

"I was heavily criticised for my performance despite the fact that I was injured... I made an attempt. If I had succeeded, they would have cheered me," she added.

Since Wednesday's race, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation has been accused of abusing her power and defaming Somalia and suspended from her position.

The Association of Somali Universities said it had not appointed any athlete to compete in the event, a press release on its Facebook page said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world...ccf0a374185e67860b3cea&pinned_post_type=share
 
Mermaid swims the Channel.

Lindsey Cole in the channel
IMAGE SOURCE, LINDSEY COLE Image caption, Ms Cole said that the tide made it a 'demoralising' swim


A woman has successfully crossed the Bristol Channel in a mermaid's tail.

Lindsey Cole, from Bristol, swam 12 miles from Penarth to Clevedon in 6.5 hours on Wednesday morning, hoping to raise awareness of pollution.

"It was really hard," Ms Cole said. "The tide makes it quite a punishing swim."

She was greeted in Clevedon by her friends and the local swimming community.

"The end was good, but the swim itself was quite demoralising," Ms Cole said. "You have to swim in an S-shape due to the tide. But after the swim I got a Thai massage, some takeout and watched a film from the 1980s."

She added that she felt sore today but was happy about what she has achieved.

Ms Cole's children's book The Mermaid, the Otter and the Big Poo - written about a 200-mile swim she did in 2018 - will be published in September.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-66459458
 
Tear up a bill and you'll face the old bill.

Argentina has announced it will punish foreign football fans who burn or tear up bank notes while attending matches in the country.

The practice has become a common way for fans of clubs from elsewhere in South America to taunt home teams about the value of the Argentinian peso. The country has been in economic difficulty for years with soaring inflation.

Fans caught tearing up a peso bill will face up to 30 days in prison. Tearing up money as a provocation has been used in particular by fans of clubs from Brazil and Chile. Argentina's Agency for the Prevention of Violence in Sport said the practice violates existing laws that prohibit "incitement to quarrel" at a sporting event and "provocations that will disturb public order", local media reports. Offending fans will be detained by local law enforcement and their clubs may also be punished if the problem persists, the body said.

Argentina's annual inflation rate has risen steeply in recent years and early this year passed 100% for the first time since the end of the hyperinflation of the early 1990s. In June, it reached 115.6%, according to the country's statistics agency.

The country has also seen a dramatic fall in its exchange rate. In February, the central bank introduced a new 2,000-peso note after the value of the 1,000-peso note, previously the largest bill, fell to just $2.70 (£2.13) on the alternative markets.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-66470506
 
Bog snorkelling is good for you!

Julia Galvin
IMAGE SOURCE, PA MEDIA Image caption, Julia Galvin was second in her first championships in 1999, a year after being in hospital unable to walk


It's dark, dirty and more like an I'm A Celebrity Bushtucker Trial - but the World Bog Snorkelling Championships inspired one woman to walk again.

Yes, you heard me. It's a real event and gave Julia Galvin a goal to go from hospital bed to bog trench in a year.

People from around the world compete in a 120-yard snorkel in a muddy bog that's a Lonely Planet's top 50 must-do experience - and it's on this weekend.

Julia said the snorkelling festival in mid Wales "saved my life".

She was laid up in hospital unable to walk, aged 25, with a back problem and sciatica down both legs, needing a walking frame to get around and taking 16 tablets a day to ease her pain.

"My life wasn't really worth living and I was going have surgery on my back but doctors said I was on too many tablets to operate," Julia recalled.

"A friend of mine gave me the Guinness Book of Records and I saw this guy coming out of a bog in Wales.

"I live in a bog in Ireland and I was always warned against the dangers of a bog - so that picture opened my eyes and I wanted to do it."

Competitors from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, USA, China and South Africa have descended on Llanwrtyd Wells over the August Bank Holiday weekend since 1986.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-66537222
 
This is getting bizarre.


The mother of Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales has gone on a hunger strike because of the "inhuman hunt" against her son.

There has been widespread criticism of Rubiales, 46, after he kissed forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips following Spain's Women's World Cup final win.

His mother, Angeles Bejar, has now locked herself in a church in Motril.

She told Spanish news agency EFE the strike would continue "indefinite, day and night".

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66637880
 
hunck said:
Hmmm… amusing as it is, this would seem to have nothing to do with vegans. In the video he actually says it’s called hobby horsing. Where's the vegan connection?
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Yes, just wondering that myself, although I am aware vegans have issues with horse jumping ij terms of injuries and perceived cruelty
 
Stormkhan said:
Their serious expressions are the most entertaining.
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I know, they do take it very seriously!

Many people can't afford a real horse, and at least they're being creative, getting some physical exercise and socialising with other people, instead of sitting in front of a screen, which is what young people are always being told to do, I think it comes across as a very wholesome little hobby tbh :)
 
Oh, don't get me wrong.
Each to their own an' all that. I understand the expense involved. This is a competative sport for those who'd love to own a horse but doesn't have the resources to own one.
So ... if they could afford a horse, or stabling etc. then they'd look at the wooden doll between their thighs and say "Y'know what? I don't need the real thing."
 
Stormkhan said:
Oh, don't get me wrong.
Each to their own an' all that. I understand the expense involved. This is a competative sport for those who'd love to own a horse but doesn't have the resources to own one.
So ... if they could afford a horse, or stabling etc. then they'd look at the wooden doll between their thighs and say "Y'know what? I don't need the real thing."
Click to expand...
Interestingly, I think some people would chose the fake horses:)

Things like the dressage and jumping in hobbyhorse world would be a lot easier than real life, as you've only got yourself to worry about, not the horse with its own mind and likes and dislikes to contend with.

And, as most people know, real life horses are prone to be very expensive lawn ornaments due to lameness or back problems, plus they are very hard physical work.

I've always wanted a horse but, at 53, even if I won the lottery, I'd hesitate to buy a horse; the idea of having to get up at 6:30 am to break ice in water troughs isn't as appealing to me as it was when I was 17! Plus the roads are busier, so it's harder to find places to ride now. I've got SSO dressage and RDR2 to scratch that itch XD

But if I was younger, I could see myself getting into hobbyhorsing, some of the horses are seriously beautiful, they are like works of art, it must take so much time and skill to make them.
 
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Fluttermoth said:
Interestingly, I think some people would chose the fake horses:)

Things like the dressage and jumping in hobbyhorse world would be a lot easier than real life, as you've only got yourself to worry about, not the horse with its own mind and likes and dislikes to content with.

And, as most people know, real life horses are prone to be very expensive lawn ornaments due to lameness or back problems, plus they are very hard physical work.

I've always wanted a horse but, at 53, even if I won the lottery, I'd hesitate to buy a horse; the idea of having to get up at 6:30 am to break ice in water troughs isn't as appealing to me as it was when I was 17! Plus the roads are busier, so it's harder to find places to ride now. I've got SSO dressage and RDR2 to scratch that itch XD

But if I was younger, I could see myself getting into hobbyhorsing, some of the horses are seriously beautiful, they are like works of art, it must take so much time and skill to make them.
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I do like women in Jodhpurs though. Can you still wear those with a hobbyhorse?
 
England invented Rugby but they can;t play Rugby...what a pie of shit ...going to stick with the NRL.
 
Sabresonic said:
England invented Rugby but they can;t play Rugby...what a pie of shit ...going to stick with the NRL.
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Ah, but I do love a drop goal! I really, really do and that was an astonishing performance by the 14-man England team. The sending-off? Probably correct, but the Argentinian player could also very easily have seen red.

A few years ago, when we had a teenage German exchange student staying with us, she became very fond of George Ford. So I wrote to him via Bath Rugby, and a while later a signed picture of him turned up in the post. She was very chuffed.

That said, I love NRL - or the NSWRL as I knew it in Australia in 1988.

I come from the rugby union hotbed of Bath in England (for whom my great uncle played in the 1930s before he died in the Normandy landings) but I lived in Sydney in 1988 with a longtime Balmain Tigers fan, and I fell in love with rugby league then.
 
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