All Sports All The Time

[rgray222]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
If chess is a sport, so is speedcubing.

Speedcubers are participants in speed contests to see who is fastest to solve a randomly scrambled Rubik's Cube. It's a BIG thing, with a huge social media following, especially in China, India, and the Philippines.

There's even the WCA, the World Cube Association, the governing body which organizes the championships and validates the world record attempts.

I think it really is a sport, as what's required to be a champion is a combo of (a) lightning-fast thought and (b) lightning-fast fingers. The kids who excel in this are coached by their parents (because there's huge prize money, as well as the chance to be a celebrity), and their skill is something to be amazed at.

Here's the running list over the years of the various record times for solving a standard 3x3 Rubik's Cube. All the times are in seconds.

• 1982: 22.95, Minh Thai (USA)
• 2003: 16.71. Dan Knights (USA)
• 2004: 15.07, 13.92, and 12.11, Shotaro Makisumi (USA)
• 2005: 11.75, Jean Pons (France)
• 2007: 9.55, Edouard Chambon (France)
• 2008: 7.08, Erik Akkersdijk (Netherlands)
• 2010: 6.77, 6.24, and 5.66, Feliks Zemdegs (Australia)
• 2011: 5.55, Mats Valk (Netherlands)
• 2015: 5.25, Collin Burns (USA)
• 2016: 4.74, Mats Valk (Netherlands)
• 2017: 4.69, Patrick Ponce (USA)
• 2018: 3.47, Yusheng Du (China)
• 2023: 3.13, Max Park (USA)
• 2025: 3.08, Yiheng Wang (China)
• 2025: 3.05, Xuanyi Geng (China).

So that's a fraction over 3 seconds for a tiny kid to solve a scrambled Rubik's Cube.

Many experts doubted the 3-second barrier could ever be broken, as this was surely just too fast for the human brain and human fingers. Like the 4-minute mile, the 2-hour marathon, or the 9.75-second 100 meters, it seemed impossible tor humans to go faster still.

But watch this. The skill and speed on display is hard to believe — and there's a remarkable unexpected twist [] 13 minutes into the video which staggers the whole speedcubing world and makes history.

The last 5 minutes of the video is a technical twist-by-twist analysis of the record solution — which I didn't even try to understand. Up to that point, the video is a whole bunch of highly exciting fun.


The Kid Who Shouldn’t Have Broken Sub-3

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qFBTX3heDF4

What a great video, international intrigue in cubing. Who would have known.

I recently listened to a podcast with Steven Bartlett. He said he runs almost 10K on a treadmill almost every day. One time, he was staying at a hotel in New York City, and the treadmill didn’t have a screen showing how far he had run. Usually, he stops around 10K because he starts to feel tired and his muscles ache. So, he decided to just run until he felt that way, thinking that would be about 10K. He didn’t look at the clock; he was just going by how his body felt.

As soon as he got off the treadmill, someone told him that it actually records the distance you run, but you have to press a button to see it. Turns out, he had run 23 kilometres, not 10. He quickly realized that he had set an artificial goal of 10K and his mind and body were reacting to that artificial limit. Once we remove these artificial limits like the 10K limit, or the 3-second cube obstacle, the sky's the limit.

[jc71]

That's amazing! When I was a kid I thought I was doing well at completing it in less than a minute. However, look at how quickly a machine does it and it shows you what we are up against with certain types of tasks going forwards. Actual thinking though, for those of us who still value that skill, might still be something we have an advantage with. I don't yet believe these AIs are actually thinking, but I remain open-minded.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=UR-YOm6Ew4k

[Johnnycomelately]

The kids are alright: ADRENALINE KIDS edition, mountain biking.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/must-w...itational.html

L = 30:38.


40 of the World's Best Freeriders, Two Mountains | Zink Invitational 2026

Natural Selection Tour and Z I N K

Aug 18, 2026


The Zink Invitational is an annual invite-only freeride mountain bike event held across two locations near Reno, Nevada, including Cam Zink's property. Big mountain lines, massive jumps, and all-around riding across DH bikes, freeride bikes, and slopestyle setups. There are no outside judges: the riders score each other. Professional freeriders, moto athletes, and the next generation of up-and-comers all session the same terrain side by side. This is the 2026 edition, hosted in partnership with Natural Selection Tour.

Featuring Cam Zink, Cam McCaul, Carson Storch, Dennis Enarson, Vicki Golden, Hannah Bergemann, Cody Wilkins, Jaxson Riddle, DJ Brandt, Tom Isted, Chelsea Kimball, and Talus Turk, plus the full 40-rider roster below.

.
.
.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=LbJiQuGM4EU

[Tintin]

Amy Hunt

Britain's new rising sprint star achieves what no other athlete has done in European Athletics championships since their inauguration winning 4 gold medals, which she had stated from the outset was her aim. Massive well done

A former Cambridge University English Literature graduate with a healthy love for the movie 'Gladiator' who can be heard at the end of her 200m race saying: "Are you not entertained?"

100m Gold - individual event



200m Gold - individual event


Women's 4 x 100m Relay gold - team event: post race interview


Mixed 4 x 100m Relay gold - team event


Fabulous stuff.


(Having difficulty getting hold of the full Women's 4 x 100m race as a download which they won by a huge distance)

Probably only UK users will be able to view the BBC coverage of this one linked here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletic...s/ce8llyzyj27o

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Tintin (here)
(Having difficulty getting hold of the full Women's 4 x 100m race

Here it is. The race starts at the 4 minute mark:

Women's 4×100 m relay 2026 European Athletics Championships

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=0n_1TI-bZl4

[Tintin]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Tintin (here)
(Having difficulty getting hold of the full Women's 4 x 100m race

Here it is. The race starts at the 4 minute mark:

Women's 4×100 m relay 2026 European Athletics Championships

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=0n_1TI-bZl4

Thankyou!

[grapevine]

Cheese Rolling

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=VckBixF-H-A

You'll see from the short above that cheese rolling is a very dangerous sport - ambulances wait at the bottom of the hill, but the group below decided to tackle it in a more considered fashion, using parkour. Don't worry about the flying man btw, who joined everyone at the pub afterwards.

Using Parkour to WIN Gloucester Cheese Rolling

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=FUNEjzi_AS4

Very entertaining video watching the prep and practice, but if you can't wait to see how Travis Verky does, the race begins at 16:46.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
If chess is a sport, so is speedcubing.

Speedcubers are participants in speed contests to see who is fastest to solve a randomly scrambled Rubik's Cube. It's a BIG thing, with a huge social media following, especially in China, India, and the Philippines.

The Kid Who Shouldn’t Have Broken Sub-3

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qFBTX3heDF4

The cubes they're using look a lot 'looser' or fluid than the ones I remember. They were stiff and creaky and I don't think it would've been possible to crank them even half a dozen times in three seconds, let alone solve the darn thing. But I'm no expert. My Rubik's Cube career began at the start of the school summer holidays 1981 and ended when they ended a few weeks later. I managed to solve three sides before getting bored. My Dad, I recall, had better luck, he was obsessed with it. But we didn't have a book of solutions, and knew nothing of strategy or theory. It was pure trial and error. In those days the cube was just a fleeting novelty, and very far from a "sport".

These Chinese kids are amazing. It blows my mind that the clocks they use are calibrated to a thousandth of a second. I do wonder if there's slightly more to their incredible skills than raw speed and mental processing power. It almost seems...supernatural.

[onawah]

(Shocking details of a race car accident at an event held in China, about which the CCP lied and tried to cover up. )

Posted by onawah (here)
BREAKING - Embarrassed on the World Stage - China Can't Recover From This - Episode #332
The China Show
398K subscribers
Live Streamed 9/7/26
Started streaming 21 minutes ago

"GT3 race in Shanghai on September 5th exposed China's incompetency"

GT3 race in Shanghai on September 5th exposed China's incompetency

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5j7VmyChRgQ

[Ewan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
Dear Friends, I'm guessing that like me you may know little or nothing about Kickboxing, and have never heard of Mona Kimura. But trust me, you gotta watch this.

She's adorably cute, and doesn't look very strong: she's 5 foot 5 and weighs just 115 lbs.

But she started karate before she could tie her shoes, and her parents coached her to stand absolutely still on one leg for minutes on end. The result is that she kicks like Achilles throwing a spear, with her opponents barely able to get near her. Her lightning-fast speed, accuracy and balance might have made Muhammad Ali jealous. It's quite something to see.

First, take a look at this, just 30 seconds.

https://avalonlibrary.net/Bill/Mona_Kimura.mp4

Mona just won her 5th fight at some point yesterday on the 12th though it was a close affair.
The girl she was fighting favoured kicks also but they were nothing like Mona's.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WE0OCxEm-Gw

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Ewan (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
Dear Friends, I'm guessing that like me you may know little or nothing about Kickboxing, and have never heard of Mona Kimura. But trust me, you gotta watch this.

She's adorably cute, and doesn't look very strong: she's 5 foot 5 and weighs just 115 lbs.

But she started karate before she could tie her shoes, and her parents coached her to stand absolutely still on one leg for minutes on end. The result is that she kicks like Achilles throwing a spear, with her opponents barely able to get near her. Her lightning-fast speed, accuracy and balance might have made Muhammad Ali jealous. It's quite something to see.

First, take a look at this, just 30 seconds.

https://avalonlibrary.net/Bill/Mona_Kimura.mp4



If you're inspired to see more, this 9 minute video is all about her career, starting when she was a tiny little girl.

They Laughed at Mona Kimura… Until the Brutal KOs Started

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=DqA1q4oXGzc

Mona just won her 5th fight at some point yesterday on the 12th though it was a close affair.
The girl she was fighting favoured kicks also but they were nothing like Mona's.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WE0OCxEm-Gw

~~~

Wonderful! Thanks so much for catching this. I was having a good day already, but this was the icing on the cake.


That was clearly Mona's closest fight yet, and it went to an extra "tie-breaking" fourth round to seal the judges' decision. If you happen to find a version with an English commentary (even just the highlights), please do post it as an update.

[grapevine]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WWJHHjmx_2g

@Rusmiester
9 days ago
For anyone wondering: This is Cory Carignan (#13) of Minot State vs Minnesota Duluth, Sept. 5, 2019. After dropping the kickoff into his own end zone, he somehow escaped the tackles and went 104 yards for a TD! His teammates formed a brilliant convoy of blockers, including #21 Ali Mohamed, who absolutely flattened Minnesota Duluth’s #11 Austin Kurylo with the huge final block, with #23 Aaron Wood also racing downfield with the play. It was Minot State’s only TD in a 52–7 loss and became SportsCenter’s #1 play. One of the craziest kick returns ever.

Posting the second clip for fun and the comments that came with it, just one of which "She's amazing. Hasn't missed a wave in five straight hours": although if this is what surfing does for the bod then maybe we've been wasting our time at the gym all these years.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ynrbn-BRIRg

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Ewan (here)
Mona just won her 5th fight at some point yesterday on the 12th though it was a close affair.
The girl she was fighting favoured kicks also but they were nothing like Mona's.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WE0OCxEm-Gw

~~~

Wonderful! Thanks so much for catching this. I was having a good day already, but this was the icing on the cake.


That was clearly Mona's closest fight yet, and it went to an extra "tie-breaking" fourth round to seal the judges' decision. If you happen to find a version with an English commentary (even just the highlights), please do post it as an update.

I've yet to find a really good English-language commentary on the fight. (Among the all the clickbait and AI slop, OMG!) But the thousands of comments everywhere seem to agree on this summary:

• Marine Nicol is a highly experienced former world champion. Everyone knew this would be Mona's toughest fight.

• Mona won fair and square by a unanimous judges' 3-0 decision. Every fighter in any combat sport will have a difficult fight sometimes — but a win is a win.

• Mona showed her own experience by changing her strategy in the final fourth round. That's what really made the difference. (However, many who watched the fight closely and replayed it in slow motion thought that Mona had really already won the first 3 rounds 2-1.)

• Mona gave a post-fight interview (which I've not found or seen) in which she apologized to her fans and followers for what she felt was not at all her best performance. Many have admired her for that.

• She also revealed that a few weeks before the fight she was weighing 134 lbs, way above the 115 lbs flyweight upper limit. So she had to go on a crash diet to lose 20 lbs to reach the required low weight — and was likely weakened and dehydrated even before the fight began.

• Everyone agrees that with the right coaching and mentoring (which she surely has all around her), she has plenty to learn from this and will only get stronger still.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
Mona gave a post-fight interview (which I've not found or seen) in which she apologized to her fans and followers for what she felt was not at all her best performance. Many have admired her for that.

Here it is — or at least one interview (maybe there are others?), and/or part of it.

This is why everyone admired her honesty and humility so much. I wonder if anyone who's just won a tough fight in any combat sport, still undefeated, has ever given an interview like this.



Mona Tells Us Why She Is Disappointed - In English

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=BMOPPosCtTk

The video description:

~~~

This is Mona Kimura without the highlight-reel version. A fighter reflecting honestly on a victory that didn't feel like a victory.

Mona Kimura won her fifth professional fight at K-1 WORLD MAX 2026 in Tokyo — but she walked away deeply disappointed with her performance.

After defeating France’s Marine Nicol by decision in the extension round, Mona gave a remarkably honest post-fight interview. She explains what went wrong, why she struggled to get her offense started, and how Nicol’s unusual kicking style and distance management disrupted her game plan.

Mona admits that she could hear her corner but couldn't execute the instructions, and even says: “I can’t even score myself.”

She also explains why she expected Nicol to come forward more, why her boxing-based strategy never fully developed, and what she believes she needs to improve before her next fight.

Most importantly, Mona recognizes that this was only her fifth professional fight — and that becoming a champion is much harder than she previously realized.

[Ewan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
Mona gave a post-fight interview (which I've not found or seen) in which she apologized to her fans and followers for what she felt was not at all her best performance. Many have admired her for that.

Here it is — or at least one interview (maybe there are others?), and/or part of it.

This is why everyone admired her honesty and humility so much. I wonder if anyone who's just won a tough fight in any combat sport, still undefeated, has ever given an interview like this.



Mona Tells Us Why She Is Disappointed - In English

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=BMOPPosCtTk

The video description:

~~~

This is Mona Kimura without the highlight-reel version. A fighter reflecting honestly on a victory that didn't feel like a victory.

Mona Kimura won her fifth professional fight at K-1 WORLD MAX 2026 in Tokyo — but she walked away deeply disappointed with her performance.

After defeating France’s Marine Nicol by decision in the extension round, Mona gave a remarkably honest post-fight interview. She explains what went wrong, why she struggled to get her offense started, and how Nicol’s unusual kicking style and distance management disrupted her game plan.

Mona admits that she could hear her corner but couldn't execute the instructions, and even says: “I can’t even score myself.”

She also explains why she expected Nicol to come forward more, why her boxing-based strategy never fully developed, and what she believes she needs to improve before her next fight.

Most importantly, Mona recognizes that this was only her fifth professional fight — and that becoming a champion is much harder than she previously realized.

Remarkable honesty and reflection, I believe overall it will be a positive for both her development and future mental strength. I never realised her opponent had been a former champion.