Free Republic

LAKE PLACID, N.Y., Feb. 25, 2009 – Two Utah Army National Guard members won second- and third-place medals in the world championship bobsled competition at the Olympic Sports Complex here. Army Spc. Shauna Rohbock of the Utah National Guard, second from left, stands with the U.S. bobsled team at the bobsled world championships at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y., Feb 22, 2009. Rohbock and her teammate won a silver medal in the women's division. Courtesy photo by Todd Bissonette  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Spc. Shauna Rohbock and her teammate, Elana Meyers, won silver...

In response to a shift in polling numbers that saw his once huge lead evaporate in the wake of the nomination of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for the vice-presidency at the Republican National Convention, Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (Ill) appears to be seeking to “lower the bar.” “I think, that all things considered, a second place finish for the first Black presidential nominee running against a war hero would be a pretty darned good showing,” Obama suggested. “That’s a guaranteed a silver medal. And I’m still young. I can try again in four years.” The Illinois senator compared...

Peter Norman, the Australian sprinter who shared the medals podium with Tommie Smith and John Carlos while they gave their black power salutes at the 1968 Olympics, died Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 64. Athletics Australia chief executive Danny Corcoran announced his death. Norman won the silver medal in the 200 meters at the Mexico City Games. Smith set a world record in winning the gold medal and Carlos took the bronze, and their civil rights protest became a flash point of the Olympics. Smith and Carlos stood shoeless, each wearing a black glove on his raised, clenched...