Under Armour announces regional fitness challenge Test of Will

Triple Pte Ltd, the exclusive distributor for U.S. high performance sportswear label Under Armour in Southeast Asia, announces a Southeast Asia-wide fitness challenge in celebration of human performance, functional fitness and the training lifestyle. An elite event that is accessible to everyone with the will to train, the Under Armour Test of Will 2016 is a distinctively modern and uniquely urban fitness challenge for the growing community of advanced athletes, high achievers and fitness aspirants across Southeast Asia with a drive for competition.

Kicking off in Singapore, national heats will be staggered over the month of April in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Built around a series of challenges that assesses pure, functional fitness through callisthenic motion using only body weight and simple gear, each Test of Will competitor will have to complete a 4-minute circuit testing his or her balance, speed, agility and power.

The circuit challenge comprises of four sets of exercises: burpees, squats, dumbbell presses and pull-ups (inclined pull-ups for women). For every exercise, each competitor will have to complete the maximum number of reps they can achieve within 60 seconds. The highest scoring two women and the highest scoring two men of the national heats from each respective country will win a trip to Singapore to compete in the Under Armour Test of Will Grand Final held at Gardens by the Bay on 28 May 2016.

The Grand Final will see contestants battle it out over a series of challenges in a specially built 14-metre Tower. Each level of the Tower will contain a fitness zone with callisthenic exercises that will test mental and physical strength, endurance, determination and will. The highest overall point leader in each category wins.

The overall winner will receive an Under Armour sponsorship package for 12 months. In addition, the winners in the male and female categories will be featured in leading health and fitness magazines Men’s Health Singapore and SHAPE Singapore.

The launch of Test of Will creates a platform that is authentic, resonant and engaging for people who are passionate about fitness.

 For more information or to register, please visit http://testofwill.tripleready.com. ADVT.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Bruce Jenner involved in car crash, one person dead

Former Olympic athlete and TV celebrity Bruce Jenner (aka the stepfather of the Kardashians) was involved in a massive car crash in California. According to celebrity website TMZ, the accident happened on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu around noon Saturday. Four vehicles were damaged when Jenner reportedly rear ended a white Lexus LS sedan with his Cadillac Escalade SUV. The Lexus was coming to a stop at a red light when Jenner’s car hit the sedan. The Lexus then hit a Prius and ran into oncoming traffic, and crashed into a Hummer. The driver of the Lexus died and seven others were injured.

Jenner was towing a all-terrain vehicle at that time and was reportedly being chased by as many as five paparazzi. Jenner told the police that he had not been drinking and passed a field sobriety test. He was taken into custody.

source: motioncars.inquirer.net

Pistorius trial delayed over legal aide illness

PRETORIA, South Africa — The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius has been delayed until April 7 because one of the legal experts who will assist the judge in reaching a verdict is sick, abruptly ending expectations Friday that the double-amputee athlete was about to testify on his fatal shooting of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge Thokozile Masipa announced the delay in court on the day Pistorius’ defense lawyers were due to begin presenting their case after four weeks of prosecution-led testimony and a two-day adjournment.

“One of my assessors is not well, so this court is not properly constituted,” Masipa said. “I suggest that we postpone this matter until the seventh of April.”

Masipa has two assessors who sit on either side of her in the Pretoria courtroom. South Africa does not have a jury system, and Masipa will deliver a verdict with help from the two assessors, who have limited roles in the day-to-day court proceedings but are there to help Masipa reach a decision.

Pistorius faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder for killing Steenkamp, and also could be sent to prison for years if convicted of murder without premeditation or negligent killing.

Pistorius says he shot Steenkamp by accident, mistaking her for an intruder in his home and opening fire through a closed toilet door in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013. Prosecutors say he killed her after a Valentine’s Day argument. The world-famous athlete pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and also not guilty to three other firearm-related counts.

After prosecutors wrapped up their case against the Olympian this week, one of the defense lawyers said Pistorius would likely testify.

Legal experts say Pistorius, 27, is expected to testify because he has admitted killing Steenkamp, 29, and must explain to the court why so it can take his version into account. It’s common in South Africa for the defendant to be the first person the defense calls, the experts said, unless there are exceptional reasons why another witness should testify ahead of him.

When Pistorius testifies he would also open himself up to cross-examination and likely uncomfortable questions from chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Jesse Owens’ Olympic medal up for auction

LAGUNA NIGEL, California — One of the four Olympic gold medals won by track and field star Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Games is for sale in an online auction that runs from through Dec. 7

The medal recalls both the Nazi propaganda myths that Owens busted with his world record-setting 100-yard dash, and the American segregation that he came home to when he returned to the U.S. after the Games.

SCP Auctions partner Dan Imler says that “almost singlehandedly, Owens obliterated Hitler’s plans.”

Owens won gold in the 100- and 200-meters, the 400 relay and the long jump.

His daughter — Marlene Owens Rankin — says that when he returned from the Berlin Games, he struggled to provide for his family with limited job options due to segregation.

The medal comes from the estate of Robinson’s widow.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Michael Phelps's Last Olympics Will Be 'Emotional,' Says Mom

When all's said and done next month, Michael Phelps might be the most-decorated athlete in Olympic history.

But no matter the outcome, saying goodbye to the pool won't be easy for the retiring Olympic athlete – nor his family.









"It'll be a big moment," his mom Debbie, 61, a middle school principal outside Baltimore, Md., recently told PEOPLE. "I'll pull out my box of [tissues], because it's going to be emotional."

Recently Phelps confirmed that this would be his fourth and final Olympic Games.

After qualifying for eight events in the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, he's opted to swim seven: the 200 and 400 individual medley, the 100 and 200 butterfly, and all three relays.

"It's so much smarter for me to do that," Phelps told the Associated Press July 2 after scratching on the 200-meter freestyle. "We're not trying to recreate what happened in Beijing. It just makes more sense."

What happened in Beijing, of course, was magic – Phelps made history by winning eight medals, the most of any athlete in a single Olympic Games, besting American swimmer Mark Spitz's record seven in 1972.

Phelps at 27

So what can fans of the most exciting swimmer in U.S. Olympic history expect this time around?

"Maturity," says Debbie of her son, who turned 27 during trials. "He's an old man now!"

He's also grown up a lot.

After his record-making turn in 2008, the young swimmer's life transformed, and for a while, Phelps was making headlines more often for partying than his performance in the pool. But the mistakes helped him grow.

"Michael's always been a role model," says Debbie, who was recently in New York City speaking on behalf of The Century Council to promote Ask, Listen, Learn, an alcohol education program geared towards middle school-aged kids and their parents.

"I've heard Michael talk about his successes, and when he fell on his face," she says. "We all go through life lessons; it's about how you embrace them and go from there."

Difficult for Mom

For Debbie – who, with her two older daughters Hilary, 34, and Whitney, 32, has become famous for tearfully cheering on her son from the bleachers at the Games – watching Phelps step down from the podium that final time will be especially hard.

Starting when Whitney was 7, the single mom was shuttling her kids to and from twice-a-day practices, sacrificing holidays and vacations so they could pursue their Olympic dreams.

"It's not just the end of Michael swimming, but the end of a 25-year era that the Phelps family has been involved with," Hilary tells PEOPLE. "And it's culminating with Michael essentially being the greatest Olympian of all time – so there's a nice bow on it!"

"It's just about capturing memories. This whole year has been about that," adds Debbie. "All these lasts are bundling up."

source: people.com