Spanish Football Stamps 2011

Out of all the sporting achievements by Spanish athletes in recent years, a special mention must be made to those accomplished by the Spanish National Football Team in 2008 and 2010, and the interest this sport arises in society. For this reason two five stamp souvenir sheets are issued on 19th Sep 2011 depicting the milestones in the history of the National Team from the introduction of football in Spain up until the 2010 World Championships Football was introduced from England into Spain, in the late 18th –early 19th century. However, the national team as we know it today, made its debut in 1920 in Brussels on occasion of the VII Olympiad.
From then on, and up till its success in the World Championship in 2010, almost a hundred years later, the history of the National Team has had its ups and downs in its sporting achievements. The milestones in its history are the historical goals by Zarra, Marcelino, Torres and Iniesta, and those players who have become true football symbols such as Pichichi, Zarra and Ricardo Zamora.Amongst its biggest triumphs are the UEFA Eurocup in 1964, the Olympics in 1992, the 2008 European Championship and the 2010 World Cup.The ten stamps depict both the relevant scenarios that have accompanied the greatest achievements and the characters in the history of the National Team looked upon as symbols of national football.

The Netherlands : FIFA World Cup 1994 Stamp

Slovenia Stamps : 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Medal Winnes

Post of Slovenia issued Commemorative stamps on 24 June 2010, which will pay tribute to two Slovene Olympic medal winners in Vancouver – Tina Maze and Petra Majdič. The two silver and bronze medals won by them represent the most remarkable achievement that Slovene sportswomen ever produced.

China : 2008 Beijing Olympic Venues

China Agricultural University Gymnasium :

The China Agricultural University Gymnasium (simplified Chinese: 中国农业大学体育馆; traditional Chinese: 中國農業大學體育館; pinyin: Zhōngguó Nóngyè Dàxué Tǐyùguǎn) is an indoor arena located on the campus of the China Agricultural University in Beijing. It hosted the wrestling events of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Gymnasium's rooftop has a staggered, stair-like design.

It covers an area of 23,950 square metres and has a capacity of 8,200 which will be reduced to 6000. It will also be turned into a sports complex for students of the China Agricultural University after the Olympic Games.

Construction started the first half of 2005 and was completed in July 2007.

Laoshan Mountain Bike Course :

The Laoshan Mountain Bike Course (simplified Chinese: 老山山地自行车场; traditional Chinese: 老山山地自行車場; pinyin: Lǎoshān Shāndì Zìxíngchē Chǎng) is a mountain bike cycling venue located in western Beijing, China adjacent to the Laoshan Velodrome. It began its renovation and expansion program in May 2006.

The course hosted the mountain bike competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The project involves a competition course of 4.6 kilometres in circumference, a fixed building with a floor space of 8,275 square metres, a temporary spectator stand that seats 2,000 and other temporary facilities for competitions.

The project was completed in the second half of 2007 and became a training base for the Chinese cycling team. It was also opened to the public after the 2008 Games.

Peking University Gymnasium:

Peking University Gymnasium (simplified Chinese: 北京大学体育馆; traditional Chinese: 北京大學體育館; pinyin: Běijīng Dàxué Tǐyùguǎn), nicknamed China's Spine (simplified Chinese: 中国脊; traditional Chinese: 中國脊; pinyin: Zhōngguó Jǐ), is an indoor arena located in the southeastern part of Peking University in Beijing, China.

The gymnasium was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics and hosted the table tennis events of the 2008 Summer Olympics and the Paralympics. The gymnasium is the first in the world specifically designed for table tennis.

The gymnasium has a floor space of 26,900 m², 6,000 permanent seats and 2,000 temporary seats. It was completed in August 2007.

National Indoor Stadium :

The Beijing National Indoor Stadium, also known as the National Indoor Stadium (simplified Chinese: 国家体育馆; traditional Chinese: 國家體育館; pinyin: Guójiā Tǐyùguǎn), is an indoor arena that is located in the Olympic Green in Beijing, China. The stadium was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is nicknamed the Fan (扇子, shānzi) due to its design resembling a traditional Chinese folding fan.

The stadium opened its doors on November 26, 2007 for the artistic Gymnastics test event.

At the 2008 Olympics, it hosted the Artistic Gymnastics, Trampolining, and Handball events. After the Olympics, the stadium can be used for sports competition, cultural and entertaining purposes, and will serve as a multi-functional exercise center for local residents.

The stadium has a capacity of 18,000 people.

National Aquatics Center :

The Beijing National Aquatics Center (simplified Chinese: 北京国家游泳中心; traditional Chinese: 北京國家游泳中心), also officially known as the National Aquatics Center, and colloquially known as the Water Cube (Chinese: 水立方), is an aquatics center that was built alongside Beijing National Stadium in the Olympic Green for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despite its nickname, the building is not an actual cube, but a cuboid (a rectangular box). Ground was broken on December 24, 2003, and the Center was completed and handed over for use on January 28, 2008. Swimmers at the Water Cube broke 25 world records during the 2008 Olympics.

After the Olympics, the building underwent a 200 million Yuan revamp to turn half of its interior into a water park. The building officially re-opened on August 8, 2010

Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center :

The Qingdao International Sailing Centre (simplified Chinese: 青岛奥林匹克帆船中心; traditional Chinese: 青島奧林匹克帆船中心; pinyin: Qīngdǎo Àolínpǐkè Fānchuán Zhōngxīn) is a sailing marina located on the former site of the Beihai Shipyard by Qingdao's Fushan Bay at Shandong Province in China. It was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing competitions. Wind conditions vary greatly from very light winds to +15knots. During the Olympic competitions, fog was also an occasional factor.

The venue hosted “Good Luck Beijing - 2006" and in May 2008, the IFDS Qingdao International Regatta, where Olympic and Paralympic sailors got a headstart on familiarizing themselves with the venue and weather conditions.

Slovenia : 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist



Primož Kozmus (born September 30, 1979 in Novo Mesto) is a Slovenian hammer thrower and the current Olympic champion. His gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2009 World Championships in Berlin made him the first ever Slovenian athlete to win both titles.
His personal best throw and Slovenian record is 82.58 metres, achieved in September 2009 in Celje, Slovenia.
On 8 October 2009, Kozmus unexpectedly announced his temporary retirement from athletics. On 25 October 2010, he announced his return. After moderate achievements in the 2011 season, Kozmus stated his goal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was to place in the top eight in the finals. Still, he won bronze with 79.39 m.