September 2008 Archives

Last night Liverpool hosted a gala dinner which signalled the end of the 10-day World Firefighter Games.
Merseyside fared particularly well in the Games, picking up a number of medals for a variety of events and the England team, which had the biggest team of any of the competing nations, overall secured over 400 medals. (A full set of results and a medal table is available online on the Echo website - www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
As well as the official goodbye, last night was the also the official handover to the event's next hosts -
South Korea.
Merseyside's chief fire officer symbolically handed over the flag of the World Firefighter Games to Cllr Ki-il Kwon, representing Daegu in South Korea, which is hosting the Games in 2010.
Athletes, dignitaries, volunteers and event organisers joined together for the event which was a fitting end to a spectacular Games and highlighted all that is great and good about Liverpool - the people, the architecture, the culture, the nightlife and, of course, the competitiveness.
A job well done.

I went to the Combat Finals at the Echo Arena last night and what a fantastic night it was.
It showcased the martial arts including judo and karate as well as boxing and wrestling.
The highlight for me was the arm wrestling title bout between Monster Mike Todd and The Swedish Scorpion Johan Lindholm - who knew that arm wrestling could be so exciting?
I was literally on the edge of my seat and nearly hoarse shouting for the 'Scorpion' who threatened to shockingly overturn the current world champ.
The finish was nailbiting as Todd just managed to hold on and retain the title. It was also nice to see two ladies taking part in the event - both accomplished and title-holders - but I suspect female arm wrestling isn't something that has ever seen the light of day on regular TV channels.
The event also produced some real winners.
Earlier on in the day Lauren McCormack, a firefighter from Allerton, beat off her competitor from Tyne and Wear to take gold in the 60kg women's boxing - a great achievement for Lauren who has been training for months.

After a great six days of sporting activity the World Firefighter Games is nearly at a close.
But what a fantastic last weekend it was.
I dropped in at Otterspool Promenade on Saturday to see the start of the Chiefs Challenge.
The London Fire Brigade parachute team did an aerial display to start the race and luckily the rain held off long enough for the runners - and riders - to make their way along the five mile course to the Echo Arena - and raise tens of thousands of pounds along the way.
The winner was Dave Robinson who managed to run the course in an impressive 25 minutes.
Also at the Arena on Saturday were the qualifying heats of the tug-of-war, the darts and the arm wrestling.
It was fantastic to see the support from the crowds for Merseyside's A and B tug-of-war teams.
The A-Team - under the coaching of Assistant chief fire officer Bill Evans eventually took Gold and the B Team took an impressive bronze. Congratulations to both teams - and their coaches - for a job well done.
On Sunday was the final of the Toughest Firefighter Alive.
Despite the driving rain people still came out to support the final few contestants over the course.
This year looked a real toughie of a competition with Austrian Herbert Krenn and Swede Daniel Hallgren taking joint honours. The team from the Czech Republic also stole the show by sweeping the medals board in the age category - and winning the team title.
Event co-organiser Mike O'Mahoney, from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service took silver in his age category (40-44) an impressive result following his gold medal in the rowing on day one of the Games.
Ben Walker, 28, and James McCabe, 50, from Tyne and Wear fire service were also British winners in the TFA 30 and under and 50 and under categories. Ben also took silver in the judo despite breaking a bone in his foot in his first bout.
Both guys were sent best wishes for the Games by Newcastle manager - and former Liverpool FC player - Kevin Keegan.