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Germany
Exciting sporting facts
The Past
From walking-machines to cycle-racing
The German Baron Karl von Drais is said to have invented
the bicycle. In 1817, he constructed a 'walking machine'
called 'Draisienne'. It had a wooden frame with a seat
and two wheels. The rider would push his or her feet
against the ground to make the machine go forward -
like running a race on wheels. On 12 July, 1817, Karl
von Drais managed to cover the 14.4 kilometre distance
between Mannheim and Schwetzingen in just under one
hour. In those days, that was a record - the mail coach
needed four hours for the same distance. As a result,
Draisienne races became highly popular.
Although Drais was the most famous inventor of walking
machines, he was by no means the first. Similar vehicles
had been built before: in 1760 by the German Michael
Kassler, in 1784 by the Austrian mechanic Ignaz Trexler,
and in 1790 by the Frenchman de Sivrac. It was also
in France that the technical development of the bicycle
was taken furthest. Cycle-racing became hugely popular
when Ernst Sachs invented the free-wheel hub in 1910.
From France and Germany, the sport soon spread to many
other countries.
The Incredible
Extraordinary records
Dizzy heights
In the year 2000, an 11-year-old girl became 'the world's
best beer crate climber'. Rabia Pio from Essen set the
world record, coming first out of more than 2,500 pupils.
On 3 September, 2000, Rabia climbed a 12.60 metre high
tower constructed out of 63 ordinary beer crates, which
had simply been stacked on top of each other. Rabia
was secured by a rope, which was fastened to a crane,
but she climbed the crate tower without any help. Her
achievement was entered into the 2002 Guinness Book
of Records.
The wrong way round!
Christian Adam, from Dithmarschen in northern Germany,
holds the world record in 'cycling backwards'. In 2002,
he covered a distance of 113.3 kilometres in only 6
hours. On top of that, Adam is the world-record holder
in 'cycling backwards while simultaneously playing the
violin'! He managed a distance of 60.45 kilometres in
5 hours and 9 minutes.
International sporting events 2004
22 - 28 March: World Figure Skating Championships,
Dortmund
31 May - 6 June: 'Deutschland Tour' (cycle-race)
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Things to do
Fisherman, fisherman, say which flag is up today
How to play
One child is the 'fisherman'.
The other children stand opposite him or her and shout:
"Fisherman, fisherman, say which flag is up today!"
The fisherman then tells them the colour of the flag,
e.g. "The blue one!"
All children wearing something blue are allowed to run
over to the fisherman. The others have to watch out
- the fisherman is trying to catch them!
Known elsewhere as:
In Sweden, the game is called "Under hökens
vingar kom!", which means: "Come under the
wings of the hawk!" Swedish children play it in
exactly the same way. In each round, the hawk calls
out the colour that is allowed to come under his wings.
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