List of Extreme Sports

The list of extreme sports is pretty long and there are many other sports in the 'extreme' category than the bungee jumping and skydiving. Check out the article below to get 'extreme' about these sports!

The adrenalin rush which comes with jumping in mid air from a plane and staying in that position is unbeatable. That is something which gives you an instant high and you feel nothing else than a big 'WOW' ! I did it! Jumping in mid air from a plane is a part of sports called extreme sports.

Extreme sports are those which involve a high level of imminent danger and are counter-cultural. These are generally interspersed with immense physical exertion and highly specialized gear and dare devil stunts. In case you are game for some adrenalin pumping action, here we go! Coming up is a list of extreme sports!

Extreme Sports Games

Bungee Jumping
This is one of the most popular extreme sports the world over. Bungee jumping is an activity which involves jumping from a tall structure, wherein the person is tied to a large elastic chord. A crane, a building or a bridge can be that structure. What happens is when the person jumps, the cord which is tied stretches and the jumper flies upwards again and the cord snaps back. This leads the jumper to oscillate up and down till the energy is dissipated.

Base Jumping
It refers to jumping with a parachute from stationary objects. Written as BASE sometimes, it is a short form of B-buildings, A-antennas, S-spans (bridge) and E-earth - alluding to cliffs.

Ski Jumping
This is a sport where the skiers travel down an in run using a take of ramp (the jump) in an attempt to fly as far as possible. It is predominantly a winter sport.

Sky Diving
Sky diving , as the words suggests, refers to jumping from a plane and then performing breathtaking acrobatics in mid air or free fall, before the parachute is popped open. Again, this falls into the category of most widely known extreme sports.

Sky flying
It has a person wearing a wing suit, shaping the human body into an airfoil, that can create a lift.

Gliding
An aircraft which is not powered, called as glider is used for this activity by pilots. These gliders use rising air for gaining altitude. A variations of this is hang gliding and paragliding, where the basic technique which leads to the flight is the same. In the history of extreme sports, gliding has a very prominent place.

That was the list of extreme sports to be done mid air, or are air sports. The 'extremities' do not stop here! There is more to come, so hang on! We still have to conquer the land and water! Following are the extreme sports which are water oriented.

Scuba Diving
Scuba was originally an acronym for self contained underwater breathing apparatus. Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving where a scuba set is used by the diver for commercial, industrial or even for recreational purpose. Read more on scuba diving accessories.

Snorkeling
Swim fins and a diving mask is used to do snorkeling. Again, this is a very well known activity where the diver goes underwater to observe marine life.

Wake Boarding
Riding a wake board on the water is called wake boarding. The rider is towed behind a motorboat, having a speed between 18 and 25 miles per hour. It is a mix of water skiing, surfing techniques and snowboarding.

Surfing
One of the most popular water sports, surfing is one of the prominent members of the list of water sports. Person surfs or moves along the face of a breaking ocean wave. It is sort of skateboarding on waves.

Barefoot water Skiing
It is a nothing but water skiing, but the only difference is that the person behind the motor boat does not have skis. The person is barefooted here, which makes it necessary for the skier to travel faster than the speed involved in regular water skiing. Read more on top ten extreme sports.

Open Water Swimming
This sport simply refers to swimming in outdoor and natural water bodies like oceans, rivers, lakes and bays.

The last and final category in the list of extreme sports is the land sports. Coming up!

Mountain Biking
A very common amongst extreme sports, mountain biking means riding cycles off the road, with the help of specially adapted mountain bikes. It mostly has cyclists riding mostly on rough terrain.

Skateboarding
It is a major sport when it comes to extreme sports. Skateboarding is a sport where the skateboarder performs tricks with the help of a skateboard.

Speed Skiing
Skiing downhill in a straight axis as fast as one can is in short what is speed skiing. Interestingly, one of the fastest non-motorized sports on land is speed skiing. Read on snow skiing as well.

Adventure Racing
Things get really tough and exhilarating here. Adventure racing is a combination of a couple or more disciplines of endurance. This includes orienteering and navigation or either of the 2, cross country running, mountain biking, paddling, climbing and other similar activities.

Parkour
It is basically the art of running or moving along a route in an attempt to negotiate with the obstacles in the way. This has to be in the most efficient way possible, however, they should be as if the person is in an emergency. The objects and structures around you and your body is the only resource you have to move from a spot to another. It is a latest addition to the list of extreme sports and a great one at that!

Indoor Climbing
Indoor climbing is fast gaining reputation as an indoor cousin of rock climbing. However, the environment here is more controlled than original rock climbing.

Extreme Motocross
It is done using a motorcycle or an all terrain vehicle, on enclosed off road circuits. It is a form of racing, primarily. The word motocross is derived from French.

The list of extreme sports does not stop here. Apart from these there is speed biking, ice skating, extreme skiing, high wire, kayaking, whitewater or river rafting, windsurfing, aggressive in line speed skating, snowboarding, street luge and few others.

Now before this article goes to an extreme, as far as words are concerned, I end my treatise here! This is where I sign off!
By Medha Godbole
Published: 1/18/2010

5 Golden Rules of Betting on Football (Soccer)

Football betting rule number one.

Find the best value odds for the bet. Online bookmakers are in fierce competition with one another for attracting business. Each type of betting market is priced differently. Imagine departments within a supermarket, the cat food may be cheaper in one but the bananas cheaper in another. Some bookmaker will price goal bets more keenly than a bookmaker who tries to attract business to a straight win market.

A high street bookmaker will charge a margin of roughly 10% on a typical football match. The best odds can be found in what are called the subline markets; corner betting, goal betting, and bookings points betting. Fierce competition for online bookmakers have reduced these margins significantly for those wishing to compare odds.

Asian handicap betting is another route to getting better odds. Although more complicated, Asian Handicap betting eliminates betting on a draw result. So there are only two outcomes to bet on. This type of betting is better for straight win or lose markets.

Football betting rule number 2

After identifying a bet, and finding the best odds it is important to stake correctly. If a bet is a long shot but the odds offer really good value a relatively small stake is advised, compare this to a bet with a more certain outcome. A larger stake might be more appropriate as the chance of winning is greater. What do we mean by value? Imagine an experiment. A coin is tossed a thousand times. Heads should 'come in' the same number of times as tails; a 50/50 chance. The true price (chance) of getting a head or tail would be 1/1 (fractional odds in the UK) or 2 (decimal odds in Europe). A value bet would result if the bookmaker priced a bet where they pay back anything more than what is staked if you win.

Where value is consistently found in the choice of bets and the best odds are found each time, profits should be made. Any staking plan, however, should allow for one of life's facts: that bets will lose. If the loses are limited by correct staking this will not deter from successful bets.

Football betting rule number 3

Use multiple bets because they are fun, but, don't bother with massive accumulators. However, the chance of winning big money from small stakes can be very exciting. A bit like the pools in that respect. For multiple betting stick with doubles only to ensure long term profits. The more selections chosen on a multiple bet the lower the chance of winning so it's not worth consistently placing large accumulators.

Football betting rule number 4

Learn a little about the team and the event. Is the team playing home or away. The effect of the home team advantage is well documented. Home team advantage can have effect on corners won, goals scored or conceded, and bookings points. Is that match a local derby. These can produce lots of bookings points and high corner numbers. Check injury news to see if key players are in place. A injured striker or captain suspended can have a big effect on the odds. However, this effect is less with top flight football teams due the breadth and depth of talent in the squad. This can also produce opportunities. If a big team usually has a strong squad but multiple key players are out or the second choice is not performing well then value can be found.

Football betting rule number 5

Rule number 5 is a bit of a cheat as there are two rules in one here. First, select the betting market carefully. It was mentioned earlier that the best markets are smaller subline markets. Perhaps the ones that are not as popular producing odds that attract more people to the bet. Be weary of halftime/fulltime, correct score and first goal scorer markets as they tend to have higher profit margins.

Secondly bend the rules in your favour. After following rule 1, which is to find the best odds, for new accounts bookmakers will offer a sign up bonus. For example, a no lose first bet or free first bets. Many offer ongoing free bets to existing customers as well, which can boost results.

Lastly, not so much a rule but just an idea, betting as early as possible can produce great results. Bet on the football team to win the tournament or to get relegated. A team who's fortunes are changing where the odds don't yet suggest they have a chance. Tell tail signs of a team that could make a come back are a new manager, coach or the signing of a star striker. To increase chance of winning consider using an each way bet that will pay out if the team comes first or second. In fact, the team doesn't even need to stand a chance of actually winning the tournament. To profit from this kind of bet the football team's chance of coming higher in the league must increase. This as the effect of shortening the odds. A corresponding lay bet can be placed on a betting exchange so as to guarantee a profit no matter the outcome.

To round up, football provides lots of interesting betting markets offered by bookmakers. It's a great sport to bet on because the sports itself is so rewarding. By following this set of rules football betting can also be more rewarding. The key is to compare betting odds when choosing which football bet to place, finding value, by knowing the sport and choosing the best betting markets. If betting for a hobby don't forget to choose a good staking plan.

Pain and the Sports Enthusiast—How to Get Back in the Game

Love the sport, but hate the pain? For pain and the sports enthusiast, you are not alone. According to the National Institute of Health, in a two year period adults age 25 and over sustained nearly 2.3 million sports and recreational injuries. Here are some ways you can get back in the game following a sports injury.Love the sport, but hate the pain?

For pain and the sports enthusiast, you are not alone. According to the National Institute of Health, in a two year period adults age 25 and over sustained nearly 2.3 million sports and recreational injuries – including 370,000 in recreational sports; 331,000 by exercising; 276,000 by playing basketball; 231,000 by bike riding and another 205,000 by playing baseball/softball. Add the sports of tennis, squash/handball, golf, gymnastics, boating, climbing/extreme sports, football, soccer, boxing, running, weight training, skiing, even polo, and you’ll understand the concern.

What are these injuries?

Knee injuries are by far the most common sports injury. Severe knee injuries can be to the meniscus cartilage that absorbs the shock between the thigh (femur) and lower leg bones (tibia and fibula) or to the cartilage that allows bones to smoothly glide. Injuries to the four ligaments that support the knee include the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), the medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL).

Herniated discs cause pain, numbness, weakness or tingling in the low back (lumbar region), neck (cervical region), or mid spine (thoracic region). Pain is caused when the inner core of a disk bulges or ruptures and extrudes back into the spinal canal, putting pressure on the underlying nerve root.

Shin splints, often seen in runners, cause pain along the large bone in the front of the leg (tibia), and may radiate pain to either side of the leg and down to the foot and ankle.

Achilles Tendon Injuries are painful and debilitating tears or rupture of the tendon that connects the calf muscle to the back of the heel, and can be caused by a chronic weakening of the tendon (tendonitis).

Shoulder injuries include the rotator cuff, muscles that govern the rotation of the shoulder, commonly occurring in racket sports.

Elbow injuries, sometimes referred to as tennis or golf elbow, can be caused by hyperextension of a joint, entrapment of nerves, inflammation of a tendon, or ligament sprains.

While we commonly think of fractures as sudden damage, stress fractures are caused by continual stress over time, such as with repetitive impact sports such as running, jumping or gymnastics.

What are the symptoms of a sports injury?

Symptoms of a sports injury include tenderness and swelling, inability to move through a range of motion, pain or pain that amplifies with weight bearing, muscle spasms, loss of strength, tender or painful places or joints, instability or inability to move the joint with accompanying swelling, bruising or inflammation.

Here are some ways you can get back in the game following a sports injury.

Get a complete diagnosis. Undiagnosed ailments and untreated inflammation can lead to chronic pain.

Visit a pain specialist. Board Certified Pain Management Anesthesiologists diagnose the causes of pain and through specific injection procedures provide minimally invasive non-narcotic treatment.

Epiduroscopy is the insertion of a fiber optic filament through a needle connected to a television monitor to visualize the inside of the spinal canal, spinal cord and spinal nerves. This procedure provides accurate diagnosis, accomplishing precise injections, cutting of epidural adhesions and scar tissue and the removal of toxins liberated by injured discs.

Injured or painful facet joints can be injected with steroids and patients can be treated with Radiofrequency rhyzotomies. These Radiofrequency procedures numb the facet joints and eliminate the patient's pain for approximately one year.

Injured and herniated discs can be treated with an IDET (Intradiscal Electrothermal Treatment) procedure and a Percutaneous discectomy. A special wire electrode is inserted through a needle into a disc and directed to the affected area of the disc herniation. Once in place, the electrode is heated with Radiofrequency or designed to create an electromagnetic or plasma field. This causes cauterization and vaporization of the disc, proliferation and tightening of the protein matrix of the disc, shrinking of small herniations and disc denervation or numbing. The final effect of this process is the relief of pain and the creation of more support collagen within the disc.

Get back in the game following a sports injury. Board Certified Pain Management physicians diagnose the sources of pain and provide pain relief through minimally invasive techniques.

Want more information about pain management and what to expect in your first pain management visit? http://www.helpain.com

At Palm Beach Spine & Pain Institute, Board-Certified physicians are dedicated to stopping pain. They specialize in performing innovative, minimally invasive techniques and procedures that eliminate pain at its source. The goal is to allow patients to return to a normal activity level — minus the pain.

Palm Beach Spine & Pain Institute is located at 2290 10th Avenue North, Suite 600, Lake Worth, FL 33461, centrally located near Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Boca Raton and Ft. Lauderdale, FL Founders are Board Certified Specialists in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Management, Lawrence Gorfine, M.D. and Douglas MacLear, D.O.

Leslie McKerns, McKerns Development writes for professionals, including about issues in the medical profession. http://www.freewebs.com/mckernsdevelopment/

Keywords: sports related injury, sports injury doctor, pain management clinic, sports injury therapy, injury in sports, sports injury clinic, sports knee injury, assessment injury, sports injury treatment, common sports injury, examination imaging injury, sports injury ankle, back injury sports, sports injury relief, sports injury report, injury physician sports, pain management, sports pain treatment, herniated disc, knee injury treatment
By Leslie McKerns

Incite Motivation and Watch Your Team Soar To New Heights

Tired of watching your team members start a training program, only to beg out after a few weeks? Find out how to get that special spark that gets your team fired up and race-ready for the long-haul.There she goes again. Your neighbor who sneezes out 10Ks in her sleep is training for her third marathon at 5am on a Sunday morning. What drives her? And why can't you get your team members to embrace fitness with the same tenacity and focus? Possibly, what motivates your marathon-mom-next-door is quite different from what motivates your team members. That is normal. The key to keeping your troop on track is in helping them discover what intrinsically motivates them, then leveraging that to your advantage, and theirs.

Intrinsic Motivation in a Nutshell

What is intrinsic motivation? Psychologically speaking, "motivation" is something that happens within a person, not something done to a person. It refers to the internal dynamics of behavior – not the external stimuli. As fitness professionals/instructors, we can arouse motivation, but we can’t motivate – only the individual can motivate from within.

Intrinsic Motivation = Success

I’ll use fictional member Sally to explain. Sally decided to join a training club to train for a half-marathon. She has very little experience with exercise and admits to being an inconsistent exerciser. When asked what motivates her, she responds, "My husband said my jeans looked two sizes too small." Ouch.

Sally is reacting from an external stimulus (her husband). Getting her to stick with the training program for 10 or 12 weeks is going to be challenging because she joined for reasons other than her own desire – a desire from within. As a result, her motivation will be difficult to sustain.

Imaginary member Tina, on the other hand, represents the reverse scenario. Tina was active before kids, but since having children she is less consistent and hopes joining a training team will get her back on track. When asked what motivated her to join, she says, "My father had a heart attack at age 45 and I’m afraid I will suffer the same fate unless I take action now." She also wants to set a healthy example for her two small children. She knows regular exercise is the answer.

A-ha! Tina has chosen to participate for intrinsic (internal) reasons. Tina has a significant advantage over Sally because her internal belief system supports her goals and actions, constantly reinforcing her reasons for exercising (long-term health, to be a role-model).

IM or EM: Three Steps to Finding Out

1. At the beginning of the season, ask your members to write all of their reasons for joining your team. Whether you choose to do this the old fashioned way with paper, or via email, the point is to get them thinking about why they want to exercise. Some common examples include: wanting to lose weight, improve long-term health, the need for a challenge, to look better, increased energy, and to gain confidence in one’s own abilities.

2. Next, ask them to write any negative feelings they associate with exercising (anxiety, fear, guilt, frustration).

3. Finally, help them make associations between their motivation, feelings, and subsequent behavior. For example, Sally’s motivation is her husband’s comment (external motivation); her feeling will likely be anxiety and/or frustration, possibly even anger; her subsequent behavior may be to quit. Use the steps outlined below to help her find an alternate form of motivation that will lead to lasting changes.

7 Tips for Igniting Intrinsic Motivation

1. Set meaningful goals in the present, personal-tense that are time-sensitive and realistic. Provide feedback during the course of the season and/or offer small rewards, such as certificates of achievement or trophies.

2. Stimulate cognitive curiosity by relaying the benefits of physical activity. Tell them what happens to their bodies when they are training and provide informative materials about the many benefits of exercise.

3. Make clear cause-and-effect relationships between what they are doing and what happens in real life. For example: within weeks of beginning and maintaining an exercise program, physiological changes begin to take place, such as a decrease in resting heart rate, improvement in delivery of nutrients to working muscles, and reduced feelings of anxiety and stress.

4. Enable members to believe that their work will lead to profound changes. Success stories and testimonials can be powerful motivators.

5. Make learning a game. Send members on a scavenger-hunt for information about a particular topic, such as cardiovascular endurance, basal metabolic rate, or glycogen depletion.

6.Teach them how to imagine success. Visualization is a powerful tool for those with low self-efficacy. Repeatedly imagining crossing the finish line will go a long way toward building confidence.

7. Start the season with a simple and safe field test, such as the Cooper 12-minute walk/run test, then retest at the end of the season. Comparing results to prior performances and/or showing them how they compare to other women in their age group can motivate members who have a competitive spirit.

As a coach and a leader, you have a tremendous opportunity to help your team members remove limitations, learn, and achieve their goals. Uncovering what drives them (or doesn’t) will go a long way toward helping them make a life-long habit of physical activity. By Diane Raymond

Soccer Warm Up Drills

Soccer players have soccer warm up drills as a part of their training regime. These are important for the players to get into the groove. Pitch in to know more.Warming up your body, before any intense physical activity - be it a sport or a gym workout is imperative. Doing the warm up helps loosen the stiff muscles and joints. It also imparts a certain flexibility to the limbs which prevents injuries. In short, it gets a player into the playing mode. Nevertheless, talking of warm ups, warm up drills are an essential part of players playing contact sports, especially, like soccer, American football, hockey and so on. In the text to come though there would be an elucidation about soccer warm up drills. So, just hang in there! Read more on soccer training.

Good Soccer Warm Up Drills

Drill #1
This is a very easy one, which can be included in professional as well as youth soccer warm up drills. In this drill, all the players get hold of a ball and then they hold it slightly away from their bodies. At the same time, they make an attempt to hit the ball with their knees and not their feet. This is done by them for around 30 seconds and they are expected to use alternate knees. Fantastic for quads, these are chiefly responsible for imparting power to the knee lifts of the players. Moreover, the hamstring muscles and the groin area too would be given a good stretch with this warm up drill.

Drill #2
The players here are asked by the coach to form a circle of around 20 yards and a cone will be placed in the circle. Each player then has to ensure that he is arm's width away from the players on his either sides. The coach then asks the players to jog in together upto the cone and then jog backwards till the outer edge of the circle. The coach can vary the runs to the center and back in the form of high knees, sidestepping, heel flicks hopping, lunges and so on. Read more on soccer exercises.

Drill #3
Okay, this can be tough and can also prove to be those fun soccer warm up drills. How? Let us check it out. Akin to tennis, the aim of this drill is to play the ball between 2 teams, which can have players from 1 to 4 per team. A barrier will be set to act as the net wherein the ball would be played back and forth between the 2 sides. The catch is not to let the ball touch the ground, hence the players can juggle, pass or do anything as far as the ball crosses the net. Touch control, passing in the air are improved by this drill.

Drill #4
Okay, this is for the future Maradonas and Gerrards! You can consider this amongst soccer warm up drills for kids. First the square sections have to be marked out using cones, measuring 10 meter by 10 meter. The players or rather the children are then divided in teams of 6 players where 3 are attackers and 3 are defenders. The job of the attackers is to concentrate on the ball and keep the possession and the defenders have to intercept the ball. After 2 minutes, the coach will whistle and the roles will be exchanged. The drill will continue for 8 minutes. This is one of the best soccer warm up drills for kids. Read more on soccer conditioning drills and workout.

Drill #5
A combination of multiple exercises and soccer moves again makes for a fantastic soccer warm up. It is more suited when you talk about soccer warm up drills for youth. A coach for this particular drill can have a makeshift obstacle course. That will involve setting up various stations which need the players to inculcate and develop skills in a good, structured routine. For instance, juggling for some time, dribbling through cones, sprinting, jumping for headers, push ups, etc. A relay race can also be done in the same manner and to add fun to it, 2 teams can compete with each other.

Last but not the least, the coach can even have indoor soccer warm up drills, which might include spot jogging, spot ball juggling or practicing headers and so on. Read more on indoor soccer drills.

All in all, these soccer warm up drills give a certain agility and improve skills of the players. It also makes them mentally prepared and focused on the practice session at hand. Therefore, now we know why are these so crucial!

This is where I go off the pitch and blow the whistle!
By Medha Godbole
Published: 4/27/2010

Golf Swing Mechanics

Golf swing mechanics are a tricky thing to understand. Check out the article below to know about the mechanics of a golf swing.The swing of the golf club decides the fate of the likes of Phil Mickelson and others of the same fraternity on the golf course. If the swing and the whole mechanism of the swing goes wrong, it could spell doom for the golfer. Thus, it is essential for a wanna be golfer to be clear about the complicated yet necessary golf swing mechanics. In case you are in that league, you wouldn't want to miss this stuff about golf swing!

Mechanics of a Golf Swing

Setting the Swing Up
To begin with, if a player's spine is rotated or tilted from the target at the point of address, the player needs to have his weight uniformly balanced between his right and left foot specifically with middle and long irons. In addition to that the weight has to be felt as evenly balanced between the player's heels and toes. That comes to roughly the balls of the player's feet.

Backswing Top
Now this is a very important aspect of basic golf swing mechanics. Moving ahead further though, while the player pivots on top of the back swing, the weight is shifted in the inner part of the back foot. A player will feel roughly 75% percent of his weight on the back foot and 25% on front foot. The trick is that the weight should never shift from the outside of back foot. Read more on golf swing tips.

Making the Impact
With regards to golf swing mechanics, at the time a player is ready for the proper impact, roughly, 75% of his weight has to be shifted on the front foot. The head of the player has to be ideally behind the ball and his hips have to shift ahead around 4 inches beyond the starting position. This leads to increasing the spine tilt twice as much.

The End
When the follow through is coming to an end, the player's maximum weight, almost 90% of it has to be on the outer part of the front foot. Read more on improve your golf swing.

When it comes to proper golf swing mechanics, the above steps are really crucial. These apart, here are a few principles which are the fundamental to golf swing mechanics.

Fundamental Pointers

Point #1
Alignment is absolutely invariable if you want to hit the target bang on. The ball should be hit dead at the center making the alignment even more important.

Point #2
The stance is very very important for getting those golf swing mechanics right. It should be as comfortable as which will allow a player to turn his body in the most effortless way. A player has to find the center of gravity by pushing his backside out. For that, visualizing one's spine as an axis and finding the center of gravity is really helpful. Read more on golf swing basics.

Point #3
A player always has to keep his eyes on the target, needless to say. Even though this is common sense, this factor is sometimes sidelined by the players.

Point #4
Finally, a player has to be patient and calm and not let his nerves take charge of him. Being patient is imperative in golf and focusing on your target is even more important. The player has to be in the moment and not think about what went wrong in the last swing. The emphasis has to be on the present and how can the golf swing at hand would be done in the best possible way. Read more on golf swing speed.

Point #5
Associating the words 'sweep' with woods and 'pinch' for irons can also prove to be helpful to improve golf swing mechanics. This is not exactly irrelevant as irons are used to pinch the ball of the ground and woods are used for swinging the ball off the tee.

Eventually, keeping it simple and focusing on hitting the ball well with a good swing is what matters, initially. That is because then the deeper you go into golf swing mechanics, the complicated it would get. That will help a player concentrate on the details which cannot be compromised, without a player being really stressed out. Read more on proper golf swing.

This is where I tee off and say Adios! All the best!
By Medha Godbole
Published: 5/18/2010

Two Gored to Death in Spanish Bull-run

Two Spanish men were gored to death by fighting bulls yesterday during the bull-run at the local fiestas in Ampuero, a town 30 miles east of the northern port city of Santander. Eleven other people were injured in the traditional Ampuero bull-run - similar to the San Fermin festivals of...Two Spanish men were gored to death by fighting bulls yesterday during the bull-run at the local fiestas in Ampuero, a town 30 miles east of the northern port city of Santander.

Eleven other people were injured in the traditional Ampuero bull-run - similar to the San Fermin festivals of Pamplona - as the bulls rampaged up and down streets closed for the event.

Four of the injured remained in a serious condition in hospital yesterday as the practice of running before bulls, which has spread to towns across Spain, came under the spotlight.

Ampuero's mayor ordered the fiestas closed after the death of Raimundo Rabre Hernando, 48, and Daniel Torres Santiesteban, 47.

The older man bled to death on the way to hospital after a bull's horn pierced his jugular vein, medical sources said. The other died a few hours later in the operating theatre of the local hospital.

The run through the town's streets to the bullring is meant to take a few minutes, but lasted for 25 minutes after the bulls split up, turned around and created havoc among the local runners and visitors.

At least one of those killed was a spectator, who was dragged off the barriers marking the course when a bull caught him by the trouser leg.

"One of the bulls went along the barriers, going for everything he could see," a resident told the Tele 5 television channel.

Pools of blood on the tarmac of Ampuero's streets marked the spots where the bulls found their victims.

Fermin Mier Laguillo, a spokesman for the regional government, blamed the deaths on the introduction of fully grown, half-tonne bulls to the fiestas.

"Normally, this run is done with young bulls, but on this occasion fully grown bulls were used, with this unfortunate effect," Mr Laguillo told the Associated Press news agency.
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 9/12/2004