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Ryan Giggs: Facts and Information

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Here are some interesting facts about Ryan Giggs.

Ryan Giggs is a football coach and former player. He is the most decorated player in English football history and has also been named Manchester United’s best ever player.

Giggs was born in Cardiff, Wales in November 1973. He enjoyed playing rugby league until the family moved to Manchester when Ryan was 6 years old.
He played for Salford Boys, leading them to victory in the 1987 Granada Schools Cup competition. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson visited Giggs’ house personally, as he was so impressed with his skill.
Ryan Giggs made his league debut playing for Manchester United against Everton in 1991. Giggs was only 17, the youngest ever member of United’s first team.
Giggs hosted his own television show during the 1990s about football skills, and also wrote a book based on the show. He has appeared in advertisements for watches, cologne, burgers and cable television.
He has scored more goals against Tottenham Hotspur than against any other team. He was the first player to score 100 premier League goals for Manchester United.
He has introduced ballet and yoga as part of his training routine, stating that yoga helps to give him strength and flexibility.
There is a portrait of Giggs in the National Library of Wales.
In 2006, Giggs became an ambassador for the charity UNICEF.
In April 2014, Giggs became the temporary player-manager of Manchester United. The following month he announced that he would not be playing football, so that he could focus on his management career. Following the appointment of Lois van Gaal as manager, Ryan Giggs took on the role of assistant manager.
Ryan Giggs’ awards include two young player of the year awards, the Golden Foot award, the goal of the season award and an OBE. In all, Giggs has received over 25 awards.
In total, as a Manchester United player, Giggs won 13 Premier League trophies, 4 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 2 Champion’s League trophies, 1 Cup Winner’s Cup, and 1 UEFA Super Cup.
He represented Wales 64 times, scoring 12 goals.
Giggs is only one a handful of players to have played in the Premier League at the age of 40.

Luis Suarez: Facts and Information

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Here are some fact about Luis Suarez.

His full name is Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz.
He was born on 24th January 1987 in Salto, Uruguay.

He has six brothers.
Before he was a footballer, he worked as a street sweeper.
He is married to Sfoia Balbi and they have children.
Luis Suarez joined Nacional in Uruguay when he was 14, making his first team debut in 2005, aged 18. He scored his first goal in September 2005, and went on to score 10 goals in total during the 2005-6 season.
At the age of 19, Suarez signed for Groningen in the Netherlands.
In the 2006-7 season, Suarez scored 10 goals for Groningen. He also learnt to speak Dutch.
Suarez was signed from Groningen by Ajax, and he scored on his debut. He finished the 2007-8 season with 17 goals.
He scored 22 goals for Ajax in the 2008-9 season, and he was voted the Ajax player of the year.
Suarez was named captain during the 2009-10 season. He finished the season with 35 league goals, and 49 goals in all competitions. He was voted Ajax player of the year for the second year in a row.
In total, Suarez scored 111 goals for Ajax.
In January 2011, Ajax accepted a £22.8 million offer from Liverpool FC.
He scored on his Liverpool debut, and he went on to score four goals in 13 games in the 2010-11 season.
He had a disappointing 2011-12 season (scoring only 11 league goals), but he was the second top scorer in the Premier League in 2012-13 (with 23 goals) and he scored 30 goals for Liverpool in all competitions. He was named Liverpool’s player of the season for the 2012-13 season.
He scored 31 league goals during the 2013-14 season, and he was named the PFA Player of the Year and won the Premier League Golden Boot for being the Premier League’s top scorer.
He has scored more than 35 goals for Uruguay, including 10 in 2011.
Although Luis Suarez is an exceptionally talented footballer, he has very poor disciplinary record. At the age of 16, he headbutted a referee in Uruguay, and in November 2010 he bit PSV’s Otman Bakkal (receiving a fine and a seven game suspension). In 2011 Suarez was accused of racially abusing Evra (Manchester United). Suarez was found guilty by the FA, and received a fine and an eight match ban. He was also forced to apologise for refusing to shake Evra’s hand during the next Liverpool vs Man Utd match, and he was banned for one match for making an obscene gesture to Fulham fans.
In April 2013, Suarez bit Branislav Ivanovic. He was charged with violent conduct and was banned for 10 games. During the 2014 World Cup, bit a player for a third time. He was captured on film biting the shoulder of Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini, and FIFA banned him for 9 international matches, and banned him from taking part in any football-related activities for four months.
In a 2012 interview, he said his hobbies were spending time with his children, and playing video games.

Tour de France Facts

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Here are some facts about the Tour de France.

The Tour de France is the world’s most famous cycling race. It has taken place every year since 1903, except for the periods during the two world wars.
The competition takes place over 3 weeks, covering 3,200 kilometres around France, including the Pyrenees and the Alps. In alternate years, the course is cycled clockwise and anti-clockwise.

The race is divided into about 20 stages or legs, with riders timed over each stage. The longest stage can be up to 240 km and stages sometimes take place in nearby countries.
The stage in the Pyrenees mountains is considered to be the most difficult. In the French Alps, the cyclists reach an altitude of almost 2,000 metres and often have to cope with snowstorms.
An estimated 3.5 billion people watch the Tour de France on TV every year, and the race is broadcast in almost 200 countries. About 2,000 journalists cover the race each year.
About 12 million people line the race route each year. The average spectator travels about 130 km to watch the race for about 6 hours.
The first Tour de France was won by the Italian rider Maurice Garin. The first British rider to win the race was Bradley Wiggins in 2012.
60 riders took part in the first Tour de France, and many were disqualified for cheating. Today, over 200 cyclists compete, each one belonging to a team.
Eddie Merckx has won 34 stages, more than anyone else. Merckx is also one of only 3 riders who have won the race 5 times and he was also named ‘King of the Mountains’ in 1969 and 1970.
The winner of each stage wears the yellow jersey, and the overall winner of the race is given the jersey. A green jersey is worn by the leader (and eventual winner) of the sprint competition.

Tom Daley: Facts About the Olympic Diver

James 1 Comment

Here are some facts about Tom Daley.

Tom Daley is an English diver, who represented Britain in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, as well as the 2010 Commonwealth Games. At 15, he was one of the youngest ever Olympic competitors.
He was born in May, 1994 in Plymouth and attended Plymouth College.

Daley said that he was bullied at school.
Daley’s speciality is the 10 metre platform event. He won the 10 metre event at the British Championships in 2008, becoming the youngest athlete to do so.
He studied Spanish, photography and maths A-levels, fitting them around his diving commitments. He also persuaded supermodel Kate Moss to pose for a portrait, as part of a GCSE school project.
Tom Daley won 2 gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in India. He also introduced a new dive earlier that same year, which was a back two-and-a-half somersault, two-and-a-half twists.
Tom Daley won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. During the competition he was distracted by camera flashes but was allowed to take his dive again.
In 2013, Daley appeared on Splash! the popular celebrity diving show. The programme received poor reviews but attracted a lot of viewers partly because of Daley’s appearance.
In February, 2014, the sports clothing company, Adidas, announced that Tom Daley would be one of their spokesmen. Daley will be promoting the company’s NEO brand of casual clothing, accessories and footwear.
Daley has won many awards as well as his Olympic medal. He has been voted BBC young sports personality of the year several times.
Daley has over 1.5 million followers on Twitter and is the most popular member of Team GB. His spoof on Sexy and I Know It has received over 2.4 million hits on YouTube.
On 2nd December 2013, Tom Daley released a YouTube video to tell his fans that he was gay and that he was currently in a relationship with a man.

Wimbledon: Facts About the Grand Slam Tennis Tournament

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Here are some facts about Wimbledon.

Wimbledon is the world’s oldest tennis tournament. Since 1877 it has been held annually at Wimbledon’s All England Tennis Club in London.

It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments (along with the French Open, the US Open and the Australian Open).
It is the only Grand Slam tournament to be played on grass – the original surface for tennis.
The first tournament in 1877 was won by Spencer Gore. He was watched by about two hundred people.
The most important court is called Centre Court. It had a retractable roof fitted in 2009.
The Number 2 court is sometimes called the ‘Graveyard of Champions’ as so many top players have lost there in the early rounds of the tournament. Players such as Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and John McEnroe have all lost matches on Court Number 2 that they were expected to win.
A massive television screen is located to the northern end of the Wimbledon grounds. Fans can sit and watch key matches on an area of lawn officially named Aorangi Terrace. The area has been nicknamed ‘Henman Hill’ and ‘Murray Mount’ to show support for Britain’s players.
The traditioanl Wimbledon colours are purple and dark green. Players are expected to wear white outfits – although some minor coloured details are allowed.
Members of the Royal Family often watch matches at Wimbledon. They are seated in the Royal Box.
Spectators traditionally snack on strawberries and cream when watching matches at Wimbledon.
In 2013 Andy Murray won his first Wimbledon title. He was the first British man to win the Singles event since Fred Perry in 1936.
Roger Federer and Pete Sampras have both won 7 Wimbledon Singles titles. In the Ladies event, Martina Navratilova won 9 titles.
Boris Becker won the Singles title in 1985 – he was only 17 years old.
The longest match ever played took place between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2010. It consisted of 5 sets and 183 games.
The tournament starts on the last week of June and ends in early July.
Former winners of the men’s singles event have included: Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Pat Cash, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Arthur Ashe and Rod Laver.
Former winners of the ladies’ singles event have included: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Jana Novotna, Martina Hingis, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Virginia Wade, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King.

Gareth Bale: Facts and Information

James 1 Comment

Here are some facts about Gareth Bale, the Welsh footballer.

Gareth Bale was born on 16th July 1989 in Cardiff, Wales.
His middle name is Frank.

His 6′ 1″ tall (1.86 metres).
His footballing hero was Ryan Giggs.
Gareth Bale made his professional debut at the age of 16 years and 275 days. He played for Southampton against Millwall.
Bale scored his first professional goal against Derby County on 6th August 2006.
Bale started off playing the left-back position, but he became a left-sided midfielder / winger as his career progressed.
He is fame for his pace, his crossing ability and the accuracy and power of his left-foot shots.
Bale made 45 appearences for Southampton, scoring five goals, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur on 25th May 2007.
On 20th October 2010, Bale recorded his first ever hat-trick, by scoring all of Tottenham’s goals against Inter Milan at the San Siro.
On Boxing Day 2012, Gareth Bale scored his first Premier League hat-trick.
Gareth Bale was named the PFA Player of the Year for the 2010/11 and 2012/13 seasons.
He finished the 2012/13 season with 26 total goals in all competitions.
On 1st September 2013, Gareth Bale signed for Real Madrid for a record transfer fee of £84.7 million. This eclipsed the previous record of £80 million that Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.
Gareth Bale has played more than 40 matches for Wales, scoring more than 10 goals.
Harry Redknapp, one of Gareth Bale’s managers at Tottenham, believes that Bale is in the same class as Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Gareth Bale lives with his long-time partner, Emma Rhys Jones. They have a daughter called Alba.

Roger Federer: Facts and Information

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Here are some facts about Roger Federer, one of the world’s greatest tennis players.

Roger Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland on 8th August 1981.
As a child, Federer played a range of sports, including: tennis, football, badminton and basketball.

Roger Federer was a successful junior tennis player. He won the junior Wimbledon event in 1998, and he made the final of the US Open junior tournament.
Roger Federer became a professional tennis player in 1998.
From 1998 – 2002, Federer showed much promise and had some success. He made the final of the Marseille Open in 2000, he defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001, and he won the Hamburg Masters in 2002. In 2002, Federer broke into the ATP top ten for the very first time.
Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title by beating Mark Philippoussis in the Wimbledon final in 2003.

He went on to dominate the sport, winning 17 Grand Slam titles.
Federer became world number one in 2004, and he has held that position for more than 300 weeks.
At the 2013 French Open, Federer set the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals reached (33).
Federer has won over 70 tournaments and won more than $70 million in prize money.
Roger Federer is right-handed, and he is famed for his fluid, graceful playing style.
Along with Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer was part of the ‘Big Four’ who dominated tennis in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
He married Mirka Vavrinec in 2009. Mirka was also a professional tennis player.
They have two children – identical twins called Myla Rose and Charlene – born on 23rd July 2009.
He is friends with many sportsmen, including Tiger Woods and Pete Sampras.

Mo Farah Facts

James 28 Comments

Here are some facts about Mo Farah, the British Olympic athlete.

Mo Farah was born in 1983 in Somalia, Africa.
In 2022, he revealed in a BBC interview that he was trafficked to the UK (brought to the UK illegally) when he was 8 or 9 and forced to work as a domestic servant.
His real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin, but he was given the fake name Mohamed Farah in order to enter the UK.
His father was killed when Mo Farah was just four years old. He was hit by a stray bullet during the conflict in Somalia.
Mo Farah travelled from Djibouti to the UK with a woman he had never met before. He was told he was going to be staying with relatives. But when he arrived at a flat in Hounslow, London, it was made clear to him that i he wanted to eat, he had to work.

From the age of 12, Mo went to Feltham Community College. The staff were told he was a Somalian refugee.
He spoke very little English when he first attended school, but he was very keen on sports.
Mo Farah confided in his PE teacher, Mr Watkinson, about his true identity and his situation. Mr Watkinson contacted social services, and Mo Farah was fostered by another Somali family.
Mr Watkinson also helped Mo Farah apply for British citizenship. This was granted in 2000.

I had no idea there was so many people who are going through exactly the same thing that I did. It just shows how lucky I was. What really saved me, what made me different, was that I could run.
Mo Farah in 2022

He wanted to play for Arsenal Football Club as a right-winger.
In 1996, Mo Farah finished ninth in the English school’s cross-country championship. He was only 13. He won the event the next year.
In 2006, Mo ran the 5000 metres in a time of 13 minutes 9:40 seconds. This was the second-fastest time by a British athlete.
On 19th August 2010, Farah ran the 5000 metres in 12:57:94. In doing so, he became the British record holder and the first British runner to break the 13-minute barrier.
At the 2011 World Championships, he won two medals – Gold in the 5000 m and Silver in the 10,000 m.
At the London Olympics in 2012, Farah won two Gold Medals. He won both the 10,000 m and 5000 m events.
At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Mo Farah won Gold Medals in both 5000 m and 10000 m.
He has been described by Brendan Foster as ‘Britain’s greatest ever athlete‘.
Mo Farah celebrates his victories by doing the ‘Mobot’ (a move devised by Clare Balding and James Corden during Mo’s appearance on the TV show A League of Their Own).

Farah is married to Tania Nell. They have three daughters – Rhianna, Aisha and Amani.
He has a home in Portland, Oregon (United States).
Apparently, Mo Farah’s left leg is more than 1 inch longer than his right leg.
Ryan Giggs and Muhammad Ali are among his sporting heroes.
In 2017, Mo Farah was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to athletics. He is now known as Sir Mo Farah.
In 2022, Mo Farah filmed a documentary with the BBC called The Real Mo Farah in which he talked about how he was people trafficked to England as a child.

23 Michael Jordan Facts

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Here are 23 facts about Michael Jordan, the basketball legend.

Michael Jordan was born on 17th February 1963 in Brooklyn, New York.
He is 6′ 6″ tall.

Michael moved from Brooklyn to North Carolina when he was very young, and he went to high school in Wilmington.
In high school he played baseball, football and basketball.
He received a basketball scholarship from the University of North Carolina and he made the winning shot against Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA Championship game. The Georgetown team featured Patrick Ewing.
Jordan entered the 1984 NBA Draft and was selected third by the Chicago Bulls. Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie were chosen in front of him.
Michael Jordan averaged 28.2 points per game in his rookie season and he was voted onto the All-Star team.
During the 1986-87 season, Michael Jordan averaged more than 37 points per game.
Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won three straight NBA Championships from 1990-91 to 1992-93. In this stretch, Jordan won two regular season MVP awards, and three straight NBA Finals MVP awards.
Jordan retired from basketball in October 1993 and signed a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox. He played for the Birmingham Barons in 1994.
He came out of retirement for the 1994-95 NBA season.
With Michael Jordan back in the line-up, the Chicago Bulls went on to win the NBA Championship in 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98.
In January 1999, Michael Jordan retired from the NBA, as a player, for the second time.
In 2000, Michael Jordan became the part-owner of the Washington Wizards NBA team. In 2001, Jordan came out of retirement again and played the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons for the Wizards.
Jordan was a member of the ‘Dream Team’, the US basketball team which competed at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, winning the gold medal. This team was made up of some of the greatest ever NBA players, including: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen.
In 2010, Jordan bought the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team.
Jordan played the shooting guard position.
He won five regular-season MVP awards, scored over 30,000 points, six NBA finals MVP awards, led the NBA in scoring for ten seasons, and he was an NBA All-Defensive First Team member nine times.
Jordan was known for his athletic ability and his vertical leap and was nicknamed ‘Air Jordan’ and ‘His Airness’.
Jordan starred alongside Bugs Bunny in the 1996 movie Space Jam.
He has five children.
Jordan wore the number 23.
Nike produce the Air Jordan shoe, which is still massively popular today.

Wayne Rooney Facts

James 1 Comment

Here are some facts about Wayne Rooney, the English footballer.

Wayne Rooney was born on 24th October 1985 in Croxteth, Liverpool, England.
He is 5′ 9″ tall (1.75 metres).

Rooney joined Everton’s youth team at the age of 9 in 1996, and he made his professional debut for them at the age of sixteen in 2002.
He scored 6 Premier League goals in the 2002/3 season for Everton and another 9 in the 2003/4 season.
Rooney signed for Manchester United in 2004. He was only 18 and the transfer fee was £25.6 million.
He made his debut for Manchester United on 28th September 2004 against Fenerbache in the Champions League. He scored a hat-trick and recorded an assist.
Since his debut for Man Utd, Rooney has scored more than 200 goals in all competitions.
In 2009/10 Rooney won the PFA Player of the Year award, and he has won numerous Premier League titles with Manchester United.
Rooney has represented England more than 80 times and he has scored more than 35 goals for his country. He captained England for the first time in 2012.
He has been sent off twice in an England shirt – just like David Beckham.
In September 2015, Rooney scored his 50th international goal, making him England’s all-time leading goalscorer. He broke Bobby Charlton’s long-standing record of 49 international goals.
Wayne Rooney is married to Coleen Rooney and they have two children, Kai and Klay.
Wayne’s brother, John Rooney, is also a footballer. He has played for Macclesfield, Barnsley, the New York Red Bulls and Bury.