Latest news with #Owens
Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Restarting the start: To shave milliseconds, India's fastest man Animesh Kujur fine-tunes technique, one step at a time
Animesh Kujur has been on a record-breaking run. He was part of the team that breached the 4x100m national mark. He broke the 200m national record twice. Then, earlier this month, he shattered the 100m mark too. But Kujur, the 22-year-old sprinter, knows the importance of getting faster than he already is. So, he and his coach Martin Owens shifted base to Europe last month, where he trained and competed. The plan worked. In Geneva last month, Animesh ran the 200m in 20.27 seconds, the fastest-ever time by an Indian in the race. However, it didn't make it to the record books because of a wind assistance of +2.3 m/s. Days later, in Athens, he broke the national record, clocking 10.18s. It was his first international 100m race. As much as these runs have been fast, in an Indian context, it was a fifth-place finish that gave him a proper insight as to where he actually stands. At the Under-23 race of the Monaco Diamond League, Animesh lined up alongside Australian teen sensation Gout Gout, who is being compared to a young Usain Bolt. Animesh clocked 20.55m and finished fourth; Gout Gout won with 20.10 in a race with a strong headwind. Animesh's coach Owens said the race gave them a lot to ponder. 'It is going to be a gradual improvement for him, and we need to be patient with that. When I saw the splits from the Monaco DL race, Gout Gout was quicker every 10 metres. He started well and accelerated till 40 metres, kept his pace uniform and then after 130m raced to his victory. This is something we have to work on. I want Animesh to be quicker every 10m section he crosses,' Owens said. To bridge this gap, the coach-athlete duo moved their base to the Swiss Olympic Medical Centre in the quaint village of Magglingen, where Europe's elite athletes train. And they began right from the start, under the watchful eyes of Bobsleigh strength and conditioning coach Chris Wolley. The first thing Animesh worked on during his time with Wolley was the first two strides he took and the placement of the starting blocks. Measuring 6 feet and two inches, relatively tall for a sprinter like Bolt, a good start has not been his strong suit. The starting blocks for a sprinter are like a launchpad for a rocket. He has made a major change, too. 'I have changed the angle of the blocks; it is angled a little towards the inward track, and this results in me getting off much better,' Animesh said. Wolley also helped him to improve his start. 'He (Wolley) worked on my body mechanics, which resulted in giving me a better, more explosive start,' Animesh added. A post shared by INDIAN ATHLETES | Indian Sports (@ Explaining the importance of the first two strides, Owens said, 'The initial strides set him up for a better race. The first couple of strides aren't always as fast as they can be, but they are better mechanically for setting him up for the race. So, we have worked on those first two strides,' Owens said. Animesh also had other areas to improve, like trying to reduce the tightening of the hamstrings and lower back, which can reduce speed. 'When I came here, Chris assessed me first. He asked me to do multiple exercises in different positions and took note of where the problem lies. His assessment said that my hamstrings and lower back are tight while running, which leads to a poor start and acceleration,' Animesh said. Wolley focused on movement patterns and exercises to loosen him up, like dynamic hamstring leg swings and cat-cow stretch. 'This helps in activating the hamstring dynamically,' Animesh explained. 'I did these exercises continuously for one week. After one week, I could see the difference in my start. There were subtle improvements of 0.1 and 0.05 seconds,' Animesh said. The equipment at the Swiss Olympic centre further helped Animesh to gauge his progress, technically speaking, in both 200m and 100m. 'We were spoiled for choice here in Magglingen with machines like 1080 sprint and Kaiser gears. The 1080 machine helped him with resistance (like running against a pulling force) and assistance (like being pulled forward) running training. It offered detailed feedback on each step to us, leading to further, more insightful improvement,' the sprinter added. Animesh holds the national record in both 100m (10.18s) and 200m (20.32s). But 200m has been the favourite event of the sprinter from Chhattisgarh since the beginning. 'I just do the 100m for explosive starts because if I implement the 100m start in the 200m, it immediately improves my timing,' he quipped. While both 100m and 200m are counted as sprints, the technical difference between the execution of both races is huge. Explaining what the difference is, Animesh said, 'The basic difference is that 100m is all about power while 200m is all about speed and endurance. Since I run 200m, 100m is very easy for me as compared to the 100m sprinters. I can easily maintain my shape and endure the finish. In 200m, the last 20m is extremely difficult.' A post shared by RF Youth Sports (@rfyouthsports) 200m has a very important element of the curve. In 100m, the athletes start and finish in a straight line, while in 200m, they start from a curve and finish in a straight line. 'The bend is extremely crucial in 200m, but as far as I'm concerned, if there is a good start, the bend doesn't matter much. Anyway, I prefer the fourth or fifth lanes because they give me the scope to take advantage of my height and overtake the field,' Animesh said. Coach Owens wants him to keep running in both the sprint events. 'The 100m helps him in getting explosive starts for the 200m while the endurance of the 200m helps him finish better in the 100m race,' Owens said while emphasising the link between the two races. Animesh's next stop is the World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, this week. But he has set his sights on bigger targets. 'I have improved from last year, and the season is still in front of me. My target is to qualify for the World Championships and achieve a direct qualification,' Animesh said. 200m NR: 20.40s at Federation Cup, Kochi 4*100m NR: 38.69s at National Open Relay, Chandigarh 200m NR: 20.32s at Asian Athletics Championships, Korea 200m fastest timing: 20.27s at Geneva Athletics 100m NR: 10.18s at Dromia International Sprint, Athens
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Is Brigitte Macron wise to sue a right-wing podcaster over crackpot claims she was born a man?
Last January the public was given a rare insight into what Mr Justice Michael Twomey described as 'millionaire' court costs. It went public only because the defendant was arguing that the plaintiff would be unable to pay the likely eye-watering costs if the latter lost the case. In short, the losing party could face an overall bill of between €1 million and €2 million, said the judge, who remarked in passing that the Taoiseach's salary of about €230,000 covers his work for an entire 12 months. Anyone contemplating legal action might consider the American satirist Ambrose Bierce's definition of litigation: a machine that you go into as a pig and come out as a sausage. In the US, defamation juries play with the kind of numbers that would make lawyers here blanch. In E Jean Carroll's defamation case against Donald Trump (following an earlier judgment that found him liable for sexually abusing her) the jury awarded her $83.3 million , which he is appealing. READ MORE But the really big ones are rarely just about numbers. Many fervently pray for the day that Trump and Rupert Murdoch face off in court over the Wall Street Journal's report about Trump's 'secret' birthday message for Epstein, but the number are almost irrelevant; it's about discovery. It's only partly about the numbers in the Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron v Candace Owens US defamation lawsuit, in that a punitive jury could bankrupt Owens. Owens, a right-wing podcaster and commentator, is married to the son of a wealthy Tory peer. With about 11 million followers between X and YouTube alone, it's no mystery why multiple platforms continue to carry her heinous, cracked conspiracy theories about the Macrons; it's a whale of a money-spinner. American right-wing podcaster Candace Owens. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte Macron, filed a defamation suit last week against Owens, who claimed Brigitte Macron is actually a man. Photograph: Rebecca Noble/The New York Times The 219-page lawsuit drills separately into each of the eight podcast episodes from her Becoming Brigitte series aired this year. Those episodes can (still) be found on multiple platforms, which means that tens of millions are still thrilling to her claims that Brigitte Macron was born a man and stole her (still living) brother's identity; that she fathered her children with an imaginary woman; that her husband is her incestuous son or nephew; that the couple are part 'of a very small group of elite oligarchs who routinely practice homosexuality and paedophilia, believe in Baphomet [a satanic figure] and worship a transgender deity'. Though given verifiable evidence disproving the claims, she doubled down with the podcast series and accompanying X posts. With news of the lawsuit, her followers have pivoted. Once overnight experts in epidemiology, crypto and elite paedophile gangs operating out of pizza parlours, they are now bringing such expertise to advising Owens on defamation law; counselling that the first amendment is her best protection, and that surely calling a person transgender is not considered an insult among the DEI libtards so where's the harm? Some just want a chromosome test already. Many who question the Macrons' decision to sue rightly fear Bierce's sausage machine. Some murmur darkly about the Streisand effect (where efforts to minimise or hide information only serve to escalate it). Or they shrug that them's the breaks of a public life, as if the couple were too dim to have considered the implications. Brigitte Macron and relatives have already been through Bierce's machine. Their French defamation suit against the original conspiracy theorists ended badly this month when an appeals court overturned a ruling ordering the defendants to pay damages, on the basis that their false claims about Macron had been made in 'good faith'. Perhaps the answer to the question 'why now?' lies in pages 91 and 92 of the US suit where Owens – 'egging on the Macrons' – said in a video last February: 'Where's your lawsuit? Where's your lawsuit, Brigitte?' The taunt was picked up by Joe Rogan , often described as the most popular podcaster in the world, who agreed that Brigitte Macron was indeed a man and then said: '[Owens] would be getting sued right now instead of trying to bribe her. Instead of trying to give her money to shut the f**k up, they would sue her.' The Macrons deny offering her any type of bribe or money. On the face of it, court days featuring the glamour, wealth and power of the Macrons v Owens promise rare entertainment for the masses. Yet there is something poignant about plaintiffs feeling compelled to include a birth announcement of a baby girl and family photographs of Brigitte as a child, of her first communion and of her first wedding in 1974 to prove the truth of her existence as a daughter, wife and mother. The Macrons have been subjected to 'a campaign of global humiliation', says the suit. 'It is invasive, dehumanising and deeply unjust'. Owens, a mother of four, is unmoved. She continues to double down on her repulsive narrative while, in a classic Maga act of projection, portraying herself as a victim of media defamation and implying that her life is under threat. Why a US podcaster would target a couple in a country her fans would be unable to find on a map is another question. Whether she is acting alone may be the stuff of another conspiracy theory – but as the woman herself proves hour after hour, anything is possible.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Candace Owens says ‘they'll fake kill' Brigitte Macron rather than go through discovery in defamation lawsuit
Candace Owens has doubled down on her baseless conspiracy theory that the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron was 'born a man,' which prompted a defamation lawsuit against the far-right provocateur over the 'demonstrably false' claims she's made throughout her 'transvestigation.' Taking it even further on Monday, the MAGA podcaster predicted that Brigitte Macron 's death would be faked before the case reached the discovery phase, claiming that the hypothetical staged killing of Macron would shut down all discussion 'about her being a man anymore.' Following months of Owens' false claims that 'Brigitte Macron is a man' and 'he transitioned' secretly decades ago, which have seen the anti-trans podcaster promote a byzantine and debunked conspiracy theory, the Macrons filed a 219-page defamation complaint last week. According to the lawsuit, Owens has engaged in a 'relentless and unjustified smear campaign' that has 'caused tremendous damage to the Macrons,' adding that her 'tranvestigation' podcast series was designed to feed a 'frenzied fan base' in 'pursuit of fame' and profit. 'Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history — twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade,' the complaint declares. 'The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale. Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications. It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust.' The 22-count complaint, which was filed in the Superior Court of Delaware, seeks punitive damages against Owens and her media companies. Brigitte Macron had already been awarded damages last year when two far-right influencers also accused her of being a transgender woman. The Independent has reached out to lawyers for the Macrons for comment on Owens' latest claims. Having said she'd 'stake my entire professional reputation on' the bogus claim about the Macrons, Owens reacted to the lawsuit by saying she'd been sued by the 'first lady man' of France. 'I am fully prepared to take on this battle,' she proclaimed on her podcast last week. 'On behalf of the entire world, I will see you in court.' During her latest episode on Monday, Owens assured her audience that she didn't need financial help yet and that she believes the case itself will just fade away because Brigitte Macron would stage her death in order to avoid the 'truth' from coming out. "You know, I always want to be, if I ever come to and I say, I'm putting up a GoFundMe and I need the money, I want to make sure I really need the money, you know, and right now, we're obviously looking and talking with lawyers,' she said in response to a viewer question. 'We do not really need the money at this moment. It's very early on.' At the same time, she stated that lawsuits of this nature can be very invasive and expensive, but that it was the Macrons – and not her – who would blink first and find a way to drop the lawsuit. 'But I know that the process is supposed to be the pain, that they want to drag this out,' she asserted. 'I can't see them wanting to make it to discovery. I just don't see that happening.' Owens continued: 'I think they'll fake kill Brigitte first. They'll be like, 'Oh, Brigitte passed away from stress because of what Candace did. Oh, nobody can talk about her being a man anymore because Brigitte's gone.'' After floating the idea of a 'fake' death in order to avoid going through discovery and depositions, saying this would be the 'more likely' scenario, Owens then admitted she had no idea that any of this would actually occur. 'I don't know, but that's my instinct anyway,' she added.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
WWE superstar left with 'terrible' injury after move went wrong on Netflix show
New Netflix series shows physical cost for WWE Superstars A WWE superstar admitted he was left in 'terrible' condition physically after a move went wrong on Netflix show. New docuseries Unreal, now streaming on the platform is revealing some rarely seen insight into the making of the wrestling company. According to its synopsis, fans are invited for the first time ever, to step into the WWE writer's room and outside the ring among other places with their favourite WWE Superstars. Cameras take viewers where the drama is just as intense offstage as it is under the spotlight across this unique five-part series showing behind the scenes like never before. This includes showing what really happened when a move didn't go as planned during the most recent Royal Rumble. WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes took on challenger Kevin Owens in a ladder match. It was a brutal confrontation which left Owens bloody faced. However neither superstar walked away unscathed. At some point in the match, Owens powerbombs Rhodes onto a ladder but footage from behind the scenes in the docuseries reveals it didn't go as intended. As Rhodes returns backstage following the conclusion of the match, Owens quickly asks his opponent if he is OK. He says: "Are you OK, buddy? I'm so sorry about the bomb. Because I wanted the ladder to be so that you could just go straight, 'cause I can't see where I put you. But you put it the other way, so I kinda had to walk with you, and I didn't wanna put you too far, so then they looked like sh**. You ate it right on your neck. Are you okay?" Footage from the match shows that Rhodes landed unexpectedly with such force that he sprung upwards into a standing position. He tells Owens: "I bounced into the nether realm on the suplex...I was blown away where I landed." A producer then asks Rhodes how he is 'physically' to which he admits: "Terrible. But I'm not gonna bi*** and moan, and my legs work, my spine is not hurt, my neck is not hurt and I don't have a concussion. So those are my prerequisites for not complaining. So no complaints from me." It is not the only real-world injury documented by the series as it also shows how Rhea Ripley made her comeback to win the Women's World Championship on Raw's Netflix debut. A year previously Rhea, real name Demi Bennett describes when her 'whole year changed' during a backstage altercation with her rival Live Morgan. Morgan is shown attacking Rhea in the hallways and throwing her into the wall. However, this lead to a serious injury for Ripley, so much so she dropped her persona. Ripley says: "I have a third-grade AC sprain. I full on broke character as well in that scene. My collarbone and my shoulder blade got ripped apart, She had to kick me into the second wall, but my shoulder was already stuffed up, so I'm like , holding my arm. "But then Liv gets on top of me and starts punching me in the bad shoulder and I was like 'Somebody please get her off me'. She explains to the camera that she for now opted to not have surgery required to fix the injury. That is because it would double her recovery time from three months to six months, which she didn't want to do. Paul Levesque, otherwise known as Triple H is then seen comforting her and telling her to keep her chin up.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Netflix's WWE Unreal shows scenes never aired before including move banned for decade
Netflix docuseries reveals some of the WWE's recent secrets during a title match New Netflix docuseries WWE Unreal has revealed scenes that were not originally aired during the original live broadcast of one its wrestling events. This included the use of a move which has been banned for a decade. A new docuseries debuting on the streamer today, titled Unreal gives fans a rare insight into what really goes on behind the scenes, to make a show for the WWE. This includes a first ever peek behind the door of the writer's room where former superstars including Paul Levesque, formerly Triple H in the ring and now Head of Content for the company make the big decisions. Previously, Levesque has explained that WWE often thinks of its storylines in seasons, with its biggest often utilised during the Road to Wrestlemania. Earlier this year, the Wrestling giant made its debut on Netflix after a bumper deal was agreed between the companies. In the five-part series, the second episode shows just how creative they can be. This included how they portrayed the rivalry between then undisputed champion Cody Rhodes and his new rival Kevin Owens. They put together a scene between the wrestlers out of the ring and away from their own television cameras ahead of the show. Cody explains: "Triple H had this idea for Kevin to beat me up outside my tour bus off camera. We're gonna hope fans capture it and, of course, the did." This was a trick that the creative team seemingly repeated. After a Smackdown Saturday main event in December last year, when the cameras had apparently stopped rolling for the live broadcast, the show actually kept going. Included in this moment, was Kevin Owens, using a move that is generally banned and has been for more than a decade in the industry because of how dangerous it is - the piledriver. Bruce Prichard, WWE Executive Director explains: "The piledriver for so long was just a move that internally we had banned from using just because of the danger it does present." Cody Rhodes adds: "Pulling out a piledriver is something that has been so taboo and not done in WWE for a decade. It was a very good call." One reason explained in the writer's room for doing this is to keep fans talking about the show after it has finished airing on TV and leading all the way up to the next episode. It is no surprise that this was done shortly before WWE's Netflix debut and while it was still being broadcast on NBC in America. Following the conclusion of that match during Smackdown, the team had Cody Rhodes celebrating his win, with the commentary team thanking the audience for tuning in. However, Triple H then sends word for Kevin to 'knock him on his ass and then just piledrive him'. Owens does just that, as many fans film the moment on their fans and post it on social media. To add to the drama, Owens stands on Cody Rhodes as he is stretchered off then Triple H appears himself to confront Owens, after being the one to deliver all his instructions. Owens and Triple H then reconcile backstage and congratulate each other on their performances.
