7 days, 7 good news stories: a heroic victory in the Tour-de-France, a head wash for the bathing cap ignoramuses and a football club taking a stand against racism.
LISTICLE/10/13/2022
07

Days, 7 Good News: Ironman Finisher With Down Syndrome and Women in Saudi Arabia Secretly Rebelling by Pole Dancing

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We think so: Good news is needed every now and then. Especially from the world of sports. In our Good News we serve you seven news items every week that make our - and hopefully your - sports heart beat faster. Because the news is fun. Because they are trend-setting. Because they show new trends. Because they sprinkle a pinch of absurdity in a much too serious world. Or because they simply bring joy. The main thing is to be in a good mood - that's our motto in this news format. And we start right away with a soccer player who saves lives with his stem cells, the first Ironman finisher with Down syndrome and women in Saudi Arabia who secretly rebel by pole dancing.

01

Better Than Tiger Woods

Steep rise for Joo-Hyung Kim! The young golfer won his second PGA title in Las Vegas at the age of just 20. The last time only one other young golfer achieved such success was in 1996, when Tiger Woods won shortly before his 21st birthday. The South Korean Kim is thus even six months younger than his idol when he reached his milestone. Accordingly euphoric, he posted a photo with Woods and the caption "Dreams do come true".

02

Sensational Silver

This table tennis squad is a sensation: Actually, Dang Qiu, Benedikt Duda and Kay Stumper had only entered the World Championships in Chengdu as second choice for Germany after the German stars Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov had dropped out. No expert expected that the team of national coach Jörg Roßkopf would make it to the final against China. There it was a clear defeat, but as Roßkopf said: "This silver shines like gold. Awesome performance, guys!

03

Inclusion Inspiration

What an inspiration for people with disabilities all over the world: Chris Nikic was the first person with Down syndrome to complete the Ironman in Hawaii. It took the 23-year-old US American 16 hours, 31 minutes and 27 seconds to reach the finish line to the cheers of thousands of fans. He had fulfilled a dream, said Nikic. If you can do Hawaii, you can do "everything else" in life.

04

Stem Cells Instead of Stem Space

Footballers are always out because of injuries, but this footballer is out because he wants to save lives. Marcel Franke, a defender for second-division club Karlsruher SC, reported sick to his employer for a stem cell donation. The 29-year-old family man had already had himself typed some time ago. Recently, the call came that his stem cells were a "perfect match" for someone with the disease. "It's a good feeling to hopefully be able to save someone's life," Franke says.

05

The Clean Man of a Dirty Sport

Baseball has a celebrated cleanup hitter: Outfielder Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees just broke a 61-year-old home run record. What's special about Judge is that there's every indication that the 30-year-old is doing things by the book. That's because baseball's record lists still feature some better than the New Yorker. But those ahead of him have all been proven to have doped. We say: Stay clean, kid!

06

Self-Confidence Behind Closed Door

"It makes you happy, strengthens your body and self-confidence." These are the words of Nada, a pole dancer. Nothing special? Oh yes it is, because Nada practices the sport in Saudi Arabia, a country known for its human rights abuses and strictly Muslim. But now that a women's soccer team has finally been established for Saudi Arabia, there seems to be another ray of hope on the horizon, because at least behind the doors of the total of only three pole dance studios, women are allowed to love and appreciate their bodies with all their sensuality.

07

On Mushrooms Over the Waves

No more toxic plastic boards in the raging sea, soon the waves will be ridden on mushrooms. Peer Kohlmorgen of Morgenshapes has discovered the magic of mushroom mycelium to build eco-friendly surfboards. The mushroom boards are still at the beginning of their development journey, but they raise hopes that a bio-based alternative will soon be available. Not only does mushroom mycelium have similar attractive properties to plastic, but growing a mushroom board is environmentally friendly, flexible and takes just five days.

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