A Seton Hall student was featured in an NBC broadcast last week after seeking help from their consumer reports to avoid being scammed by a Facebook contest.

Sophomore Dana Spinks entered a contest on May 22 through a Facebook event advertising its main prize as a trip to the International Olympic Headquarters in Switzerland but encountered trouble once she was told that she won.

“I want to work for the Olympics in the future so the chance to win a trip to the International Olympic Headquarters in Switzerland was too good to pass up, even if it didn’t seem completely legitimate at the time,” Spinks said. “Did you know that the 23rd of June is Olympic Day?” The Facebook page sponsored by the International Olympic Committee stated. “Post text, photos, videos of yourself doing sport on the road to Olympic Day in this event page and you could win a trip to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland! BTW There are lots of other prizes to be won!”

Spinks said that in order to enter the contest she submitted a video of herself pole vaulting during a high school track meet to the main event page on May 22, but the contest did not end until June 23.

read more  http://www.thesetonian.com/news/seton-hall-student-avoids-facebook-scam-1.2646046

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Over the years, the back pages and business sections have been littered with headlines about the “Curse of Nike” or the “Curse of Adidas”, as star players came a cropper. During last year’s World Cup campaign, hundreds of articles and blogs gleefully pointed out how the stars of Nike’s epic “Write the Future” commercial had fallen by the wayside.

The Guardian commented: “Not only have all the superstars featured in the three-minute spot been shamefully ejected from the tournament, but inopportunely-cast Roger Federer also suffered a confounding loss at Wimbledon that many are accrediting to the curse”

The Nike “jinx” stretches right back to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, when the hot favourite pole-vaulter Sergei Bubka failed to win a medal after a Nike poster had bragged about his prospects: “Spanish air traffic control has been notified”.

British pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale has literally and figuratively come on leaps and bounds over the past ten months – and she’s adamant she won’t be falling flat on her face anytime soon.

The 19-year-old is arguably one of the success stories of UK Athletics this year, having shot herself from relative obscurity and into the domestic and international limelight.

Having only taken up pole vault in autumn 2008 and suffering from a foot injury in 2009, Bleasdale gave warning of the 2011 to come after grabbing world junior bronze in 2010.

But not even she expected to achieve what she has since then.

It began with the British indoor title in February, earning her a jump at the European Championships in Paris, before a leap of 4.70m in Germany in early July saw her break the British record.

The European under-23 title followed just two weeks later while British outdoor gold, in the same time span, assured her of a place on the plane to Daegu and the World Championships.

Bleasdale faltered in South Korea failing to record a jump as she struggled with peaking at two major championships in a year – but she insists she’ll be firing on all cylinders next summer

read more http://asia.eurosport.com/olympicgames/london-2012/2012/bleasdale-aiming-to-peak_sto2970604/story.shtml

TRACK AND FIELD

U.S. athletes to watch: USA Track and Field named a mix of rising prospects and experienced Olympic and world championship performers to its roster. Pole vaulter Jenn Suhr, who won the 2008 Olympic silver medal while known as Jennifer Stuczynski, continues her trek back to top form. Discus thrower Aretha Thurmond won Pan Am gold in 1999 and 2003. Others who competed at the world championships this summer: Michelle Carter (shot put), Amber Campbell (hammer throw), Maria Michta (20-kilometer walk), Gia Lewis-Smallwood (discus) and Inika McPherson (high jump). The men’s team includes two U.S. champions — Kibwe Johnson (hammer throw) and Jarred Rome (discus). And no, Usain Bolt won’t be competing for Jamaica.

Olympic ramifications: None. The composition of the U.S. Olympic team will be determined at the Olympic Trials next summer, and the number of athletes per event is determined by a set of time and distance standards

read more http://espn.go.com/espnw/more-sports/7094023/2/