title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: He started the 2006–07 season against Watford, scoring a goal, his first away goal for United, to give United the lead. He was starting to reassert himself in the left-back role when he broke a metatarsal in a 1–0 defeat to Arsenal. After recovering and playing several games, he dislocated his shoulder in a Champions League win against Lille OSC, meaning he was unable to play for the rest of the season. He did, however, win his fourth Premier League winner's medal that season as United won the league for the first time since 2003.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: With Gabriel Heinze moving to Real Madrid, Silvestre was set to battle Evra for the starting left-back spot in the first eleven at Manchester United in the 2007–08 season. On 15 September, however, Silvestre was stretchered off with knee ligament damage that would rule him out for the rest of the season. On 24 September, Ferguson revealed that: "I'm sure Mikael will be back in March." He also said, "we had him operated on in France last week and it all went well. It was pleasing to see there was no further damage other than the cruciate ligament. That's a big bonus because sometimes there can be cartilage problems that also come along."


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: On 20 March, Silvestre made his comeback in the Manchester United reserves in a 4–1 win over Manchester City.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: On 9 April 2008, Silvestre made his first start for seven months in a Champions League quarter-final match versus Roma.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: A transfer to Bordeaux was mooted in the summer of 2008. However, it is believed that Silvestre turned the transfer down to see out the remaining year of his contract, and potentially receive a testimonial match at the end of the 2008–09 season. He received an offer to join Manchester City from manager Mark Hughes and was set to join them; however, during the medical examination, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger called to offer Silvestre a transfer to his club. Given the strong French presence at Arsenal, the rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City, and the fact that Manchester City were not yet a force in English football, Silvestre opted to join the London club.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: The transfer to Arsenal was completed for an undisclosed fee on 20 August 2008, with Silvestre signing a two-year contract. The transfer made Silvestre the first player to transfer directly between Manchester United and Arsenal since Viv Anderson (who moved in the opposite direction) in 1987, and the first player to move from United to Arsenal since Brian Kidd in 1974. He was given the number 18 shirt, last worn by Pascal Cygan.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Silvestre made his debut for the club in a 3–1 victory over Everton on 18 October 2008, his 250th game in English football. In his first Champions League game for Arsenal, against Turkish side Fenerbahçe, he scored an own goal as Arsenal won 5–2. His first Premiership goal for Arsenal came against Tottenham Hotspur on 29 October 2008. On 8 November 2008, Silvestre played his first game against former side Manchester United, in a fixture that Arsenal eventually won 2–1. Silvestre was as well part of the squad, where he played in the first leg, for Arsenal's 2009 Champions League semi final also against that of Manchester United.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: After the 2009–10 season, Silvestre was released by Arsenal and became a free agent. He reportedly had offers from Fulham and Kayserispor, but instead signed for Werder Bremen. He managed to score his first goal for Bremen, in a magnificent shot which Bremen won against Bundesliga Champions Borussia Dortmund 2–0. By the end of the season, he made 26 league appearances, scoring a single league goal. He was released at the end of the 2011–12 season. He was offered a trial at English club West Ham United in September 2012. In October 2012, Silvestre began training with his former club, Manchester United, in order to maintain his fitness in the hope of finding a new club. Since then, he received an offer from Indian club Dodsal F.C., with a view to joining them in time for their new season in January 2013.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Silvestre spent time on trial with MLS side Portland Timbers ahead of the 2013 MLS campaign, and then moved to trial with fellow Cascadia region MLS side Seattle Sounders FC. The Timbers obtained Silvestre's MLS discovery rights from the Sounders in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2014 MLS Supplemental Draft and a conditional 2015 draft pick. On 19 February 2013 it was announced that Silvestre had signed a two-year deal with Portland.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: On 2 May 2013 Silvestre tore his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a game against the New England Revolution. He missed the rest of the season. Silvestre subsequently had surgery to repair the damage. Despite his injury, Silvestre remained a vocal and engaged member of the team off the field and on social media.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: On 20 September 2014, Silvestre joined newly formed Indian Super League side Chennaiyin for four months and his signing was confirmed through Prashant Agarwal CEO of Kshatriya Sports, who confirmed that Silvestre signed the contract for the season for more than $500,000 (USD). He started in their first match on 15 October 2014, a 2–1 victory at FC Goa.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: At the end of the season, after playing 14 games for Chennaiyin, Silvestre announced that would be exploring options to extend his playing career in the Middle-East and if not, he would continue working on his coaching badges, meaning that his time at Chennaiyin was over.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Silvestre was previously a member of French junior team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. He earned his first senior cap for France on 27 February 2001 in a friendly against Germany that ended in a 1–0 win. He won the Confederations Cup both in 2001 and 2003 with France.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Silvestre also played one game in the French squad that made the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but has not played since the tournament. He was recalled by Raymond Domenech for the 19 November 2008 friendly against Uruguay, but was an unused substitute. Raymond Domenech said he was in contention for a place at the 2010 World Cup, but he did not get a place. Silvestre was in the squad for a friendly against Romania in 2011, but was an unused substitute.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: A versatile defender, Silvestre was capable of playing both as a left-sided full-back and as a centre-back. He was mainly known for his pace and stamina, although he also possessed good distribution and was known for being comfortable on the ball.


title: Mikaël Silvestre

text: Upon retiring, Silvestre took up a director of football role with former club Rennes in July 2015. He left by mutual consent on 22 December 2016. On 15 December 2021, backed by esports organisation Galaxy Racer, Silvestre launched Talent Lyfe, an agency to represent athletes and young talent in sports.


title: World One

text: World One is a , 76 floor skyscraper in Mumbai, India. As of 2022, it is the tallest completed building in India, though the currently under construction Piramal Aranya Arav at and the topped out Palais Royale at are both taller. It is on the site of the defunct Shrinivas Mill. The site also houses two other towers: World View and World Crest. The complex was developed by the Lodha Group.


title: World One

text: World One was being built at an estimated cost of over US $321 million. Construction began in 2011, and it was expected to be tall. As the developer failed to obtain approval from the Airports Authority of India for that height, the project was stalled for few years. Following the delay, the project was redesigned to the current height and completed.


title: World One

text: World One's architect is Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the structural engineer is Leslie E. Robertson Associates & MEP engineer is Buro Happold Engineers. The whole project i.e. The World Towers consists of three towers. There were two construction civil contractors involved: Arabian Construction Co. and Simplex (World One), Muscovite Group (World Crest, World View). Indian Millionaires also take part of this huge tower and some own a percentage.


title: World One

text: The Lodha Group purchased the site of the defunct Shrinivas Mill in Lower Parel, Mumbai from Shrinivas Cotton in 2005. In June 2010, "The Economic Times" reported that the Lodha Group had secured over from Singapore funds GIC and Temasek, and a property fund of mortgage giant HDFC, and intended to develop property on the Shrinivas Mill site. In 2010, the developer announced the project to construct the World One tower at the site of the defunct mill. The Lodha Group would also construct the World View tower and the World Crest tower, on the same site, as part of the project. World One initially faced opposition from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over security concerns related to the height of the building. World One was built at an estimated cost of over US$321 million. The interiors of the tower were designed by Giorgio Armani, and includes a swimming pool, gym and health club, cricket pitches and a pavilion. The 117-storey tower would have contained 290 apartments, some of which overlook the Arabian Sea.


title: World One

text: The contract to construct World One was awarded to a joint venture between UAE-based Arabian Construction Company and Simplex Infrastructure. Construction on World One began in 2011. By December 2014, about 75% of civil construction on the project had been completed. By June 2015, 70% of the tower was complete, with 83 floors having been built.


title: World One

text: Apartments at World One start at for a 3BHK. The Lodha Group opened bookings for apartments at World One on 29 November 2011. When the first round of bookings closed on 14 December 2014, Lodha had received worth of bookings, at an approximate rate of over – per sq ft. The tower is composed of 3 and 4 BHK apartments. Lodha began offering apartments at World One for sale in London in February 2015. The company hired London estate agent, Wetherell Estates, to market and sell homes in the tower. Lodha particularly hoped to target high net worth Indians living in Mayfair, London.


title: World One

text: HDFC Property Fund invested 500 crore to acquire a 10% stake in the World Towers project in 2010. The firm exited the project in October 2016, earning a return of triple their investment. In September 2016, Piramal Fund Management Pvt. Ltd invested 2,320 crore in the World Towers project.


title: World One

text: The developer failed to obtain approval from Airports Authority of India for height in 2010 and height in 2015, so as of 2018 World One still has approval for height only (approximately 76 floors). The project was redesigned for that height.


title: World One

text: Several construction projects in Mumbai by The Lodha Group currently face considerable public ire on grounds of questionable construction practices, public safety, and misrepresentation of the areas being sold to customers. The Lodha Group has tried to fight this through legal gag orders and defamation policies on digital platforms, but has found only limited success.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Sunset Boulevard is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. It is based on the 1950 film of the same title.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the fabled Los Angeles street. When young screenwriter Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees in him an opportunity to make her return to the big screen, with romance and tragedy to follow.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Opening first in London in 1993, the musical has had several long runs internationally and enjoyed extensive tours. However, it has been the subject of several legal battles and ultimately lost money due to its extraordinary running costs.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: From approximately 1952 to 1956, Gloria Swanson worked with actor Richard Stapley (aka Richard Wyler) and cabaret singer and pianist Dickson Hughes on a musical adaptation originally entitled "Starring Norma Desmond", then "Boulevard!" It ended on a happier note than the film, with Norma allowing Joe to leave and pursue a happy ending with Betty. Rights holder Paramount Pictures originally had given Swanson verbal permission to proceed with the musical, but there had been no formal legal arrangement. On 20 February 1957, Paramount executive Russell Holman wrote to Swanson asking her to cease work on the project because "it would be damaging for the property to be offered to the entertainment public in another form as a stage musical." In 1994, Hughes incorporated material from the production into "Swanson on Sunset", based on his and Stapley's experiences in writing "Boulevard!". A recording of the entire score, which had been housed in the Gloria Swanson archives at the University of Texas, was released on CD in 2008.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: In the early 1960s, Stephen Sondheim outlined a musical stage adaptation and went so far as to compose the first scene with librettist Burt Shevelove. A chance encounter with Billy Wilder at a cocktail party gave Sondheim the opportunity to introduce himself and ask the original film's co-screenwriter and director his opinion of the project (which was to star Jeanette MacDonald). "You can't write a musical about "Sunset Boulevard"," Wilder responded, "it has to be an opera. After all, it's about a dethroned queen". Sondheim immediately aborted his plans. A few years later, when he was invited by Hal Prince to write the score for a film remake starring Angela Lansbury as a fading musical comedian rather than a silent film star, Sondheim declined, citing his conversation with Wilder.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: When Lloyd Webber saw the film in the early 1970s, he was inspired to write what he pictured as the title song for a theatrical adaptation, fragments of which he instead incorporated into "Gumshoe". In 1976, after a conversation with Hal Prince, who had the theatrical rights to "Sunset", Lloyd Webber wrote "an idea for the moment when Norma Desmond returns to Paramount Studios"; Lloyd Webber did no further work on the play until after 1989's "Aspects of Love". At that point, Lloyd Webber "felt it was the subject [he] had to compose next", though by February 1990 he had announced plans to turn Really Useful Group private so he could "make movies rather than musicals."


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: In 1991, Lloyd Webber asked Amy Powers, a lawyer from New York with no professional lyric-writing experience, to write the lyrics for "Sunset Boulevard". Don Black was later brought in to work with Powers; the two wrote the version that was performed in 1991 at Lloyd Webber's Sydmonton Festival. This original version starred Ria Jones as Norma, and Michael Ball as Joe Gillis, directed by Andrew MacBean. While a complete story, it was still in the experimental stage and not ready for potential producers. A revised version, written by Black and Christopher Hampton had a complete performance at the 1992 Sydmonton Festival, now with Patti LuPone playing Norma, and Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis, again. directed by Andrew MacBean. This "met with great success". Lloyd Webber borrowed several of the tunes from his 1986 mini-musical "Cricket", written with Tim Rice, which had been performed at Windsor Castle and later at the 1986 Sydmonton Festival.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The place: A mansion on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, 5 a.m. A homicide has been reported. Joe Gillis sets the scene ("Prologue"), noting that "an old-time movie star is involved / Maybe the biggest star of all", and that, if you want to know the "real facts", "you've come to the right party."


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Flashback to... Hollywood, 1949 - where a down-on-his-luck screenwriter, Joe Gillis, is trying to hustle up some work at Paramount Studios ("Let's Have Lunch"). His appointment with a producer goes poorly when the executive rejects both Joe's proposed script and a loan to bring his car payments up to date. Joe does, however, meet Betty Schaefer, a pretty, young script editor who suggests they collaborate to rework one of his earlier screenplays ("Every Movie's a Circus"). As they chat, car repossession agents spot Joe, who quickly escapes.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: During the ensuing chase, Joe evades his pursuers by pulling in to the garage of a palatial but dilapidated mansion on Sunset Boulevard. Beckoned inside the house, Joe encounters Norma Desmond ("Surrender"), a star actress of the silent-film era. Taken aback, Joe comments, "You used to be in pictures; you used to be big," to which Norma retorts, "I "am" big – it's the pictures that got small!" ("With One Look")


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The gloomy estate is inhabited only by Norma and Max von Mayerling, her loyal butler and chauffeur. Although decades past her prime and mostly forgotten by the public, Norma is convinced she is as beautiful and popular as ever. Max perpetuates this illusion by shielding her from the realities of life out of the limelight and by writing her letters purportedly from still-devoted fans. Norma informs Joe that she plans to make her comeback with "Salome", a script she has written for Cecil B. DeMille to direct with her in the starring role as the teenage biblical temptress ("Salome"). Dubious but sensing opportunity, Joe accepts her offer to work on editing the script. Norma insists that Joe stay in her home while they collaborate on "Salome" ("The Greatest Star of All").


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Joe immediately realizes the script is incoherent, but because Norma won't allow a major rewrite, the revision drags on for months. During this time Joe is virtually imprisoned within the house, but he does break away to fulfill his commitment to Betty. Their working relationship blossoms into a romance that has her reconsidering her engagement to Joe's best friend, Artie Green ("Girl Meets Boy").


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Blind to Joe's opportunism, Norma lavishes him with gifts that include a wardrobe makeover and he becomes her kept man ("The Lady's Paying"). She declares her love for him and turns quite possessive ("The Perfect Year"); when he leaves her to attend Artie's New Year's Eve party ("This Time Next Year"), she is distraught and attempts suicide. As a conciliatory gesture, Joe reluctantly returns to work on "Salome".


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Joe is now living in luxury at Norma Desmond's mansion, for reasons he bluntly states are mercenary ("Sunset Boulevard"). A cryptic message from Paramount has Norma certain that DeMille is eager to discuss her script ("There's Been A Call"). She drops in on the set of his current film and is greeted warmly by former colleagues and the famed director himself, but he is non-committal about "Salome" ("As If We Never Said Goodbye"). Meanwhile, Max discovers the studio had called to ask about Norma's Isotta Fraschini, not her screenplay. However, a delusional Norma leaves the lot convinced she'll soon be back in front of the cameras and begins to prepare for the role ("Eternal Youth Is Worth a Little Suffering").


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Increasingly paranoid, Norma deduces that Joe and Betty are more than just friends ("Too Much in Love to Care"). She calls Betty to reveal Joe's secret life at the mansion, but he overhears and grabs the phone to tell Betty to come see for herself. Realizing their affair is doomed, Joe brusquely tells her he enjoys being Norma's pet and that she should go back to Artie. Betty departs, confused and brokenhearted, and Joe tells Norma he is leaving her and returning to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. He also bluntly informs her that "Salome" is an unfilmable script and her fans have long abandoned her. Furious and grief-stricken, Norma fatally shoots Joe three times as he storms out of the house.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Now completely insane, Norma mistakes the swarms of police and reporters who arrive for studio personnel. Imagining herself on the set of "Salome", she slowly descends her grand staircase and utters "And now, Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my close-up."


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The original West End production, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Bob Avian, with costumes from Anthony Powell, opened on 12 July 1993 at the Adelphi Theatre. The cast featured Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond, Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis, Meredith Braun as Betty Schaefer, and Daniel Benzali as Norma's ex-husband, Max.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Billy Wilder and his wife Audrey were joined by Nancy Olson, who had played Betty Schaefer in the original film, at the opening night performance. Of it, Wilder observed, "The best thing they did was leave the script alone," and of Patti LuPone he exclaimed, "She's a star from the moment she walks on stage".


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Reviews were mixed, according to the Associated Press (AP) review summary. That summary quoted, for example, the review by Michael Kuchwara for the AP: "Some reviewers felt Lloyd Webber took the sting out of a cynical tale. 'Wilder's bitter brew has been diluted,' wrote AP Drama Critic Michael Kuchwara. He added: 'When LuPone is off stage, the show sags.'" Frank Rich wrote "Much of the film's plot, dialogue and horror-movie mood are preserved, not to mention clips used to illustrate those sequences in which the faded silent-film star, Norma Desmond ...and her kept, young screenwriter, Joe Gillis, ... travel by car. The lyricist, Don Black ..., and the playwright, Christopher Hampton ..., smartly tailor their jokes to the original screenplay's style. At times, even Lloyd Webber gets into the Wilder swing. Both acts open with joltingly angry diatribes about Hollywood, part exposition-packed recitative and part song, in which the surprisingly dark, jazz-accented music, the most interesting I've yet encountered from this composer, meshes perfectly with the cynical lyrics. Anderson makes the sardonic Wilder voice an almost physical presence in Sunset Boulevard, but he is too often drowned out by both LuPone's Broadway belt and mechanical efforts of Lloyd Webber and his director, Trevor Nunn, to stamp the proven formulas of Phantom and Les Miz on even an intimate tale. At odd moments, the mammoth set advances like a glacier toward the audience or retreats, or, most dramatically, rises partly up into the flies, actors in tow."


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: With associate director Andrew MacBean, the show closed for three weeks, re-opening on 19 April 1994, revamped to follow the Los Angeles production, with a second official "opening". The revamped musical had a new song, "Every Movie's a Circus", a new set, and new stars, Betty Buckley and John Barrowman. Anita Louise Combe took over the role of Betty Schaeffer and, as a result of her performance, was invited to play the role in the original Canadian Premiere production in Toronto the following year. Michael Bauer, who had originally played DeMille, replaced Benzali as Max, a role he played until the end of the London run (and subsequently on the UK tour and in the BBC concert). Buckley and the production garnered rave reviews. David Lister of "The Independent", for example wrote: "The show looked an improvement on the one that got decidedly mixed reviews last summer."


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Betty Buckley went on to replace Glenn Close as Norma in the second year of the Broadway production. Elaine Paige, who had filled in when Buckley was ill in 1994, took over the part in the West End in May 1995 before joining the Broadway production for the end of its run between 1996 and 1997. Petula Clark filled in for Paige during her holiday in September/October 1995, before taking over the role in January 1996 when Paige departed for the United States. The last actress to play Norma in London was Rita Moreno, who filled in for a vacationing Clark in September and October 1996. John Barrowman played Joe until 1995, when he was replaced by Alexander Hanson. Graham Bickley played the role for the final year of the London run.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The American premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles, California, on 9 December 1993, with Close as Norma and Alan Campbell as Joe. Featured were George Hearn as Max and Judy Kuhn as Betty. Lloyd Webber had reworked both the book and score, tightening the production, better organising the orchestrations, and adding the song "Every Movie's a Circus". This new production was better received by the critics and was an instant success, running for 369 performances. The Los Angeles production also recorded a new cast album that is well regarded. It is also the only unabridged cast recording of the show, since the original London recording was trimmed by over thirty minutes.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: A controversy arose with this production after Faye Dunaway was hired to replace Glenn Close. Dunaway went into rehearsals with Rex Smith as Joe and Jon Cypher as Max. Tickets went on sale for Dunaway's engagement but shortly after rehearsals started the producers announced that Dunaway was unable to sing the role to their standards and the production would shut down when Close left. Dunaway "claims that when advance sales slumped, Sir Andrew decided to save money by sending the LA cast of Sunset Boulevard - based on the story of a clapped-out Hollywood actress - to Broadway, where it is due to open in November. " However, the "Los Angeles Times" reported that "The cancellation came despite advance ticket sales for the Los Angeles production 'way in excess of $4 million,' said Peter Brown, a spokesman for Lloyd Webber."


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Dunaway filed a lawsuit claiming her reputation had been damaged by the producer's claims. Dunaway's lawsuit was settled and the producers paid her a settlement but no other terms of the agreement have ever been disclosed.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The musical opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre on 17 November 1994 with Close, Campbell, and Hearn recreating their roles from the Los Angeles production and Alice Ripley joining the cast as Betty. Also in the cast were Alan Oppenheimer as Cecil B. DeMille and Vincent Tumeo making his Broadway debut as Artie Green. The production opened with the second-highest advance in the history of Broadway ticket sales at that time with advance sales of $37.5 million compared to $39 million for "Miss Saigon" in 1991 and on its second day, it set a single day sales record on Broadway of $1.4 million. It closed on March 22, 1997 after playing 977 performances. Billy Wilder was in attendance on opening night and was coaxed onstage by Close for the curtain call. In a season with only one other musical nominated for Best Musical, the production won several Tony Awards; Glenn Close, with only one other nominee as Best Actress in a musical, won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: "The New York Times" theatre critic Vincent Canby commented about the Tony Awards for this year: "Awards don't really tell you much when the competition is feeble or simply non-existent, as was the case the year that "Sunset Boulevard" won its Tony. Such prizes are for use in advertising and promotion and to impress the folks back home."


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Patti LuPone, who initially had been promised the Broadway run, sued Lloyd Webber and received a settlement reported to be $1 million. Frank Rich, in his book "The Hot Seat", noted that these lawsuits contributed to "Sunset Boulevard" setting the record for the most money lost by a theatrical endeavour in the history of the United States. According to "The New York Times", operating costs soared far beyond the budget, and the "Broadway production has earned back, at best, 80% of the initial $13 million". For example, during the week of 2 July 1995, "it cost $731,304 to run "Sunset Boulevard," including... advertising fees of $138,352 (which had been budgeted at $40,000 a week)." The road companies also generated large financial losses. Rich puts the final figure near or above US$20 million lost, making the show what he termed a "flop-hit", as it ran more than two years. The musical sold over a million tickets on Broadway.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The first national US tour in 1996 starring Linda Balgord ended in early 1997 after only a handful of venues due to exorbitant costs involved in transporting the set. Lloyd Webber called in director Susan H. Schulman to design a scaled-down production, with Petula Clark once again in the lead opposite Lewis Cleale as Joe. This production featured Anthony Powell's Tony Award nominated costumes, a slightly modified libretto by Schulman and Don Black and a new, more tour-friendly set by Derek McLane. The revised production, opening in Pittsburgh about a year after the closing of the original tour in Chicago, went on the road for almost two years, though it avoided the cities covered by the previous tour.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: In August 2001, a UK tour commenced in Plymouth starring Faith Brown as Norma, opposite Earl Carpenter as Joe. The production had a completely new set, much simpler than the original London set, although the overall production remained closer to the original staging than the revamped US national tour. Carpenter left midway through the tour and was replaced by Jeremy Finch, who had previously understudied the role. The tour finished in late 2002 in Manchester and met with both excellent reviews and respectable ticket sales.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Ria Jones, who originated the role of Norma Desmond in the 1991 Sydmonton Workshop and understudied Glenn Close in the 2016 West End revival, led a new production opening at Leicester's Curve Theatre on 16 September 2017 for a two-week run before embarking on a national tour around the United Kingdom. The tour, directed by Curve artistic by Nikolai Foster, transferred the musical into a Hollywood sound stage setting, designed by Colin Richmond, with acclaimed use of vintage archive film and projections designed by Douglas O'Connell.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: A German production of the musical opened 7 December 1995 at the newly built Rhein-Main Theater in Niedernhausen near Wiesbaden, starring Helen Schneider and Sue Mathys (matinees) as Norma and Uwe Kröger as Joe. A cast recording (with Schneider and Kröger) was released in 1996. The role of Norma was later played by Daniela Ziegler and Christina Grimandi, with Schneider and, for the last few months, Sue Mathys both returning to play the lead. The production closed in May 1998.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The original Canadian production opened in Toronto in 1995 with Diahann Carroll in the lead role. Her performance was also praised by critics, although the production closed sooner than expected. It also starred Rex Smith as Joe, Walter Charles as Max and Anita Louise Combe, who had played the role opposite Betty Buckley as Norma and John Barrowman as Joe the role in the London production, as Betty. The production later moved to Vancouver for the final few months of its run. A highlights recording of this production was released on CD.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: In October 1996, the original Australian production of the musical opened at Melbourne's newly restored Regent Theatre. The cast included Debra Byrne as Norma, Hugh Jackman as Joe, and Catherine Porter as Betty. Maria Mercedes starred as the alternate Norma, performing two of the eight shows each week. Amanda Harrison took over the role of Betty for the final months of the show's run. The production ran until 14 June 1997.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: A year-long Dutch tour commenced in the Netherlands on 10 October 2008, with Simone Kleinsma and Pia Douwes alternating as Norma and Antonie Kamerling as Joe, using the same modified libretto that was first used in the 2001 UK tour. Kleinsma went on to win the Best Actress Award for the role in the 2009 Dutch Musical Awards and also Best Actress for the Flemish Musical Prizes. An official cast album was released, with Kleinsma appearing on the main album and with a four track bonus CD of Pia Douwes singing Norma's main arias.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The Swedish premiere took place at the Värmlandsoperan in September 2009, to mostly positive reviews. The role of Norma was played by Maria Lundqvist. A second much more elaborate production opened in October 2010, at the Gothenburg Opera House, with Gunilla Backman (who previously understudied the role of Betty in the original German production) starring as Norma.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: A South African production starring Angela Kilian as Norma and Jonathan Roxmouth as Joe, was shown at the Pieter Toerien Theatre at Montecasino in Johannesburg from late August 2013 to mid October 2013 and at Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town from late October 2013 until early January 2014.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The Czech production with Hana Fialová and Katarína Hasprová in the role of Norma had its premiere in National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava. The premiere took place on 19 February 2015. The show closed in March 2017.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Another German production, starring Katharina Scherer as Norma, Philippe J. Kayser as Joe, Antonia Crames as Betty, and Stephan Vanecek as Max, opened to sold-out seats on 15 September 2017 and had its fourteenth and final performance on 8 October 2017 at the Tuchfabrik in Trier.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The Spanish premiere production opened 27 December 2017 at the Auditorio de Tenerife, directed by Jaime Azpilicueta and starring Paloma San Basilio as Norma Desmond, Gerónimo Rauch as Joe Gillis, Inma Mira as Betty Schaefer, and Gonzalo Montes as Max von Mayerling.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: An eight-week engagement of a minimalist production, in which the actors used musical instruments, enjoyed a good run at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury over the summer of 2008. Directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, the cast featured Kathryn Evans as Norma and Ben Goddard as Joe. A West End transfer of the Watermill production began on 4 December 2008 prior to an official opening 15 December at the Comedy Theatre, with Evans and Goddard reprising their roles, and Dave Willetts joining the cast as Max. The production received rave reviews and extended its run to September 2009. However, the production closed just after initially planned on 30 May 2009. It had originally been booking until 19 September 2009. There were plans for a UK Tour and also talks of bringing the show to Broadway


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Opening on 4 April 2016 English National Opera (ENO) presented a five-week 'semi-staged' run at the London Coliseum. Glenn Close reprised her role as Norma, making her West End debut, along with Michael Xavier as Joe, Siobhan Dillon as Betty and Fred Johanson as Max. Michael Linnit and Michael Grade for Gate Ventures PLC worked with ENO to present the show; Johnny Hon was the executive producer. It was announced on 25 October 2016 that the production will transfer to Broadway at the Palace Theatre in a limited engagement.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Glenn Close reprised her performance as Norma Desmond in a revival on Broadway. Featuring a 40-piece onstage orchestra and a relatively minimalist set, the production began performances at the Palace Theatre on 2 February 2017 before opening officially on 9 February for a limited run, with tickets on sale through 25 June 2017. The cast featured Michael Xavier as Joe Gillis, Siobhan Dillon as Betty Schaefer, and Fred Johanson as Max von Mayerling, all reprising their roles from the 2016 London ENO production. The 2017 Broadway revival was directed by Lonny Price.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: In 2004, the first regional production of "Sunset Boulevard" was staged in the round at the Marriott Theatre in Chicago for a limited period and starred Paula Scrofano as Norma. It was the first and only regional production to be licensed by the Really Useful Group (RUG) for the next six years. However, in the spring of 2010, the leasing rights were finally released to regional companies and numerous productions have been staged around the United States.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The Ogunquit Playhouse production ran from 28 July through 14 August 2010 and starred Stefanie Powers as Norma and Todd Gearhart as Joe. This was the first fully staged production in the U.S. in nearly a decade. The Ogunquit production was directed by Shaun Kerrison with choreography by Tom Kosis, featured costumes by Anthony Powell and an all new set designed exclusively for Ogunquit by Todd Ivins.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: The Arvada Center production ran from 14 September to 10 October 2010, in Denver, Colorado, the same city that launched the ill-fated first US tour in 1996. The show starred Ann Crumb as Norma and Kevin Earley as Joe. The production was directed by Rod A. Landsberry.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: In April 2004, Petula Clark reprised her role as Norma opposite Michael Ball in a concert production of the show that ran for two nights at the Cork Opera House in Ireland, which was later broadcast on BBC Radio 2. The cast also included Michael Bauer (Max), Emma Williams (Betty), Michael Xavier (Artie) and the BBC Concert Orchestra was conducted by Martin Yates.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Another two-day concert engagement took place in 2004 in Sydney by the Production Company; Judi Connelli starred as Norma, Michael Cormick played Joe and Anthony Warlow was Max. The Production Company staged a slightly more elaborate version of the concert for a week in Melbourne during 2005. Connelli again starred as Norma, and David Campbell took the role of Joe. The State Theatre was sold out for every performance.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Paramount Pictures and the Relevant Picture Company announced in 2005 that they were developing a film adaptation of the musical. In 2007, "The Daily Telegraph" reported that actresses considered for the role of Norma Desmond included Close, Paige, Meryl Streep, Liza Minnelli, and Barbra Streisand. In a 2008 interview, Andrew Lloyd Webber said that there were no plans for a film adaptation to be made in the near future, but remained hopeful that one would be made at some point. In 2011, Lloyd Webber indicated that he would have wanted Madonna to star in the film.


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: In a 2013 interview with Elaine Paige during her BBC Radio 2 show "Elaine Paige on Sunday", Lloyd Webber was asked about the progress of the film, to which he replied:


title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: In February 2019, it was announced that Rob Ashford had signed on to direct the film, with Close reprising her role as Norma Desmond and Tom MacRae penning the script, with production slated to begin on October of that year, but was then delayed to the fall of 2020. In an October 2020 interview, Close, along with her confirmation of co-producing the film alongside Lloyd Webber, said that she hoped filming would commence in early 2021, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the delay. In May 2021, Close stated in an interview that production was "very, very close" to beginning and that they were "ready to go", while also adding that Lloyd Webber was still working on new music for the film. However, in October 2021, Lloyd Webber announced that production had been stalled, stating, "I wish I could say it's going into production tomorrow morning, but it's not. Paramount has not wanted to go ahead with it. It's not for want of trying. Glenn Close has been absolutely doggedly trying to get it made." On May 2, 2022, at the 2022 Met Gala, Close revealed that "We're getting closer, believe it or not. We're getting closer," without disclosing any additional information.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Shanghai Disneyland (; Pinyin: "Shànghǎi díshìní lèyuán") is a theme park located in Chuansha New Town, Pudong, Shanghai, China, that is part of the Shanghai Disney Resort. The park is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Shanghai Shendi Group, through a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Shendi. Construction began on April 8, 2011. The park opened on June 16, 2016. The park operated in its first half-year with a visitor attendance of 5.60 million guests.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: The park covers an area of , costing 24.5 billion RMB, with Shendi holding 57% and Disney holding the remaining 43%. The park currently has seven themed areas: Mickey Avenue, Gardens of Imagination, Fantasyland, Treasure Cove, Adventure Isle, Tomorrowland, and Toy Story Land.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: The Chinese government approved the resort on November 4, 2009. The Walt Disney Company announced on November 5, 2010, that it had signed an agreement with Shanghai Shendi Group to build the resort and park in Shanghai, with a planned opening in 2015. On April 7, 2011, groundbreaking began at the Shanghai Disneyland Resort site. On June 29, 2013, construction on the Enchanted Storybook Castle began.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Major construction work started on April 8, 2011, targeting a 2016 spring opening. The resort was planned to cover an area of and it was expected to cost (). The project is financed by several large Chinese state-owned enterprises in Shanghai forming a joint venture with the Walt Disney Company. "The first-phase of the project will be to the South of Huanglou Area, an area in Chuansha Town, the southeast suburbs of Shanghai's Pudong area; the second phase will extend further southwest," an urban developer from Shanghai stated. DeSimone Consulting Engineers were the structural engineers behind the construction work.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: On March 8, 2013, the company announced that the park would open in late 2015. On February 2, 2015, the opening date was pushed back to early 2016. On January 12, 2016, the park's opening date was announced as June 16, 2016. The final opening date was June 16, 2016.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: The cost was initially estimated at 24.5 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) for the theme park and an additional 4.5 billion yuan (US$700 million). That rose to around US$5.5 billion before delays, which was partly due to more attractions opening to the public on the first day, which added US$800 million to the cost.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: In addition to the attractions and two hotels, a high-speed rail system is being built to get visitors to and from the site.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Disney owns 43% of the property, and the state-controlled Shanghai Shendi Group owns the remaining 57%.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Disney aired the live broadcast of the grand opening show on its Facebook and the Disney TV stations on the night of June 15, 2016. Bob Iger, then chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, was joined by nearly 3,000 distinguished guests and celebrities for a showcase of choreography, acrobatics, costumes, and technology on grand scale, with dazzling lights, Disney music, pageantry, special effects, and fireworks. The show featured world-renowned pianist Lang Lang, who performed a custom arrangement of the musical sensation “Let It Go” (from Disney's “Frozen“) and China's television and actress Sun Li took center stage. The historic event included the debut of an original song, “Ignite the Dreamer Within,” written especially for the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland. Acclaimed composer and conductor Tan Dun, widely known for his stirring scores for the films “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Hero,” led the Shanghai Symphony with an original composition of the new song.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: As the opening was met with rainy weather, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang told Iger that the rain is an auspicious sign of dollars and renminbi to come. Wang then read a brief message of congratulations from Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who said: “By adding to the classic Disney style a stroke of Chinese characteristics, and by blending international standards with best local practices, the resort demonstrates our commitment to cross-cultural cooperation.”


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Tickets for the park went on sale on March 28, 2016, with a two-tiered pricing scheme. On most days, day adult tickets will be , while child and elderly one-day tickets will cost , roughly 20% cheaper than Hong Kong Disneyland (which charges for a day adult ticket). During busier periods, including the first two weeks of the park's operation, adult day tickets will cost , while child and elderly tickets will cost . The park will be the first Disney park to feature tiered pricing.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: According to the International Business Times (IBT), the equivalent of park ticket pricing will cost about US$75 for adults and US$60 for children on holidays and weekends, and around US$60 for adults and US$45 for children on weekdays. IBT notes that "a two-day weekend ticket for two adults and one child comes close to China's average urban monthly wage."


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Opening day tickets sold out in a few hours after they had gone on sale at midnight, March 28. However, more tickets were put on sale several days before the official opening day.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the park (which was the first Disney park to close) temporarily closed from January 25, 2020, following the actions of Ocean Park Hong Kong and Hong Kong Disneyland Park. It remained closed the following three and a half months, reopening to guests on May 11, 2020, becoming the first of the Disney Parks to reopen. It reopened under strict rules that included, but was not limited to, social distancing, reduced capacity, temperature screenings, and mandatory face masks. Shanghai Disney Resort closed for a second time due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in China from March 21, 2022, through June 29, 2022. The resort reopened for the second time on June 30, 2022. On October 31, 2022, it was announced that the park would once again close indefinitely due to a surge in cases.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: It last closed on November 29, 2022, before reopening again on December 8 after China eased its "zero COVID" policy in response to protests.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Upon the company's promise that the Shanghai resort would be "authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese," Chinese architects and designers and teams of researchers were hired to find ways to incorporate Chinese cultural elements. Many usual Disney park features have been redesigned or are absent from Shanghai Disneyland to cater for Chinese visitors' preferences. The park does not feature a steam railroad surrounding the park's perimeter and has no earthen berm to obscure the outside world from guest view. As a replacement for a central-spoked/hub, the center of the park features a collection of Chinese zodiac gardens called the Gardens of Imagination. Main Street U.S.A. has given way to Mickey Avenue, which introduces Chinese visitors to Disney characters. Conventional-themed lands such as Adventureland are reimagined into Adventure Isle, and other lands, such as Frontierland, are omitted entirely. Several staple attractions, such as Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and It's a Small World, are excluded as Disney wanted to avoid criticism of cultural imperialism. Restaurant seating has been revised upwards after studies found that Chinese guests take longer over meals, and extensive picnic areas are better adapted to extended families with grandparents. Also, there is more live entertainment as many Chinese patrons prefer that to thrill rides.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: In regards to the layout of other Magic Kingdom parks, this park's layout is mirrored. Instead of being on the left side of main hub, Adventure Isle (Adventureland) is on the right side; while as Tomorrowland is now on the left side instead of the right. Fantasyland is located in the back behind the castle (Enchanted Storybook Castle).


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Mickey Avenue, the entrance of the park, is the park's equivalent to Main Street, U.S.A. The area is inspired by the personalities of Disney cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Chip 'n' Dale as well as Disney films, including ""Ratatouille"", "The Three Caballeros", and "Lady and the Tramp." Avenue M Arcade, the largest gift shop in the park, is modeled after the Carthay Circle Theater. The "Storytellers" statue, which depicts a young Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, is at the end of Mickey Avenue and in front of the Gardens of Imagination.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: The hub of the park, this land features seven Chinese gardens with each of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac represented by Disney characters. Attractions include Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Fantasia Carousel, and Marvel Super Heroes at Marvel Universe, a meet-and-greet pavilion featuring Marvel characters. Entertainment includes castle stage shows as well as the nightly "Ignite the Dream, A Nighttime Spectacular of Magic and Light." Mickey's Storybook Express, a parade with a musical soundtrack and colorful performers, runs on the longest parade route in a Disney park.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Fantasyland is the park's largest land themed to Disney animated films. The land features the Enchanted Storybook Castle, themed to Disney princesses. The castle is the largest in any Disney theme park and features the Royal Banquet Hall restaurant, a boutique, and Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, a boat ride around and under the castle that takes guests past scenes from films including "Tangled", "Aladdin", "Mulan", "Fantasia", "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast". Attractions include Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, , Alice's Curious Labyrinth, a walk-through hedge maze inspired by the 1951 and 2010 versions film adaptations, and the Hunny Pot Spin, a spinning Teacups-style ride themed to "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh".


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Treasure Cove is themed to an 18th-century Spanish harbor town located on a Caribbean island that has been captured by Captain Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean". The land's marquee attraction is , a dark ride based on the films. Guests, riding in magnetically propelled boats, travel past audio-animatronic and projected depictions of Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones as the two battle against each other in attempt to seize the cove's sunken riches.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: The land also is home to "Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular", a stunt show inspired by the films and Siren's Revenge, a shipwreck-themed three-story interactive play area set aboard a wrecked French galleon. Explorer Canoes are also located in this area.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Adventure Isle is the park's counterpart to Adventureland. Focused around a mysterious lost world full of hidden treasures, the land features Roaring Rapids, a river rapids ride through the land's towering Roaring Mountain and Soaring Over the Horizon, a hang gliding flight experience across the world. Additionally, the land features "Tarzan: Call of the Jungle", a live acrobatic stage show, and Camp Discovery.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Tomorrowland is the park's futuristic-themed land. Unlike the other Tomorrowlands, this version does not have Space Mountain and instead is home to TRON Lightcycle Power Run, an indoor "Tron"-themed roller coaster. Similarly, instead of an Astro Orbiter attraction, Shanghai's park includes a spinning Jet Packs ride. Other attractions include Star Wars Launch Bay, Stitch Encounter, and Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue, a variant of previous Buzz Lightyear dark rides.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: This "Toy Story" franchise-themed land, the park's first expansion, opened on April 26, 2018. The original plans for Shanghai Disneyland called for a "Toy Story" area with three rides, two restaurants, a show, and a gift shop. The Celebration Café, a restaurant that opened on opening day, was meant to be in "Toy Story" Land. Additionally, the nearby bathrooms are the same as the "Toy Story" Green Army Men attractions found at the other parks.


title: Shanghai Disneyland

text: Announced on January 22, 2019, an eighth themed land named City of Zootopia, based on the animated film "Zootopia", would be coming to the park. To be located beside Fantasyland, it will be the first Zootopia-themed area at any Disney park around the world. The new land will feature a major attraction with highly advanced technology to bring the movie to life. There will also be entertainment, merchandise, and F&B offerings.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Jean-Thenistor Pascal (born 28 October 1982) is a Haitian-born Canadian professional boxer. He held the WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title from 2019 to 2021, and previously the WBC, IBO, "Ring" magazine and lineal light-heavyweight titles between 2009 and 2011, and challenged once for the WBC super-middleweight title in 2008.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. When Pascal was four, his mother (a nurse) and older brother (Nicholson Poulard) had left Haiti and settled in Laval, Quebec, just outside Montreal. His father, a well-respected politician, remained in Haiti. Pascal played hockey and soccer, but after watching his older brother become the Quebec Boxing Champion in 1996, Pascal, at 13 years of age, started to visit boxing gym "Club Champions St-Michel" once or twice every week. His first trainer was Sylvain Gagnon, who considered Pascal to be very talented. According to an interview from May 2005, Pascal's idol was Roy Jones Jr.


title: Jean Pascal

text: He represented Canada as a middleweight at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002, against Paul Smith.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal made his professional debut in February 2005. After nine wins, Pascal won the Canada National and Quebec boxing Council (CQB) super-middleweight titles in a national bout against Martin Desjardins, winning in round seven. After two more fights, Pascal won the TAB (Trans America Boxing) title against Darnell Boone. Pascal boxed Lucas Green Arias in September 2006 at the Montreal Casino for the vacant WBC Latino title. Pascal sent Arias to the canvas with a flurry of punches in the sixth round. Arias got up for the final second of the round, but moments later slid off the stool in his corner, vigorously rubbing his head. He was unable to get up for the seventh round, making Pascal the winner. He was given oxygen in the ring and then was taken to the hospital on a stretcher. It was revealed that he suffered a subdural hematoma.


title: Jean Pascal

text: On 18 November 2006, Pascal defeated Jermain Mackey by unanimous decision to win the NABO super-middleweight title. Pascal then defeated Lafarrell Bunteng by unanimous decision on 10 March 2007, defending the NABO belt.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal defeated Christian Cruz by technical knockout in the tenth round to retain his NABO title and win the vacant NABA and NABF titles. This win solidified his reputation at the national level.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal successfully defended the NABO/NABF/NABA super-middleweight titles with a ten-round unanimous decision over Brian Norman in December 2007.


title: Jean Pascal

text: At 21-0, Pascal got his first world title shot when he was matched against British boxer Carl Froch for the vacant WBC super middleweight title on 6 December 2008 at the Trent FM Arena in Froch's hometown of Nottingham, England. Pascal held his own, with both men consistently tagging each other throughout the bout. However, Froch won a hard-fought, exciting contest which had many close rounds by a unanimous decision. The scorecards read 112-116, 111-117 and 110-118. Since the bout, Froch and Pascal have become friends on a personal level and have made a promise to face each other again in the future.


title: Jean Pascal

text: After the loss, Pascal fought Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas on 4 April 2009 and won the fight by knockout in the fifth round to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental super-middleweight title.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal then moved up in weight to the light-heavyweight division to challenge the WBC light-heavyweight champion Adrian Diaconu on 19 June 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Pascal won the bout and the title by a unanimous decision. About two months after the fight on 12 August 2009 the city of Laval honored Pascal.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal defended his WBC light-heavyweight title for the first time on 25 September 2009 against the WBC's mandatory challenger, aged Italian veteran Silvio Branco, retaining his title with a tenth round stoppage.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal's second title defense came on 11 December 2009 in a rematch against Adrian Diaconu. Just like the first fight against Diaconu, the fight ended in another win by decision. Throughout the fight Pascal seemed to be having problems with his right arm, starting around round five. However it did appear that his cutman, Russ Anber, was able to pop the shoulder back in before the start of round eleven. Five days after the fight on 16 December 2009 Pascal underwent arthroscopic surgery for his right shoulder. Doctors removed a bone chip and repaired the labrum in his shoulder.


title: Jean Pascal

text: In June 2010, Pascal re-signed a multi-million dollar contract with promoter Groupe Yvon Michel in which he was guaranteed $1,050,000 to defend his title against Chad Dawson, as well as another $1,500,000 guaranteed in the fight following Dawson, which happened to be Bernard Hopkins. The contract is the most lucrative ever given out to a boxer in Quebec boxing history. Pascal has become the first Canadian boxer to receive more than a million dollars for a fight in Canada.


title: Jean Pascal

text: For Pascal's third title defense, he fought Chad Dawson for Pascal's WBC light-heavyweight title, and the vacant "Lineal" & "The Ring" light-heavyweight titles. Pascal dominated the early action and worked well in the middle rounds but seemed to tire late and get frequently caught by the favored Dawson. Pascal won the fight by a technical decision part way through the eleventh round due to an accidental head butt that caused a major cut over Dawson's right eye and was stopped by the ring-side doctor. However Pascal easily won the fight according to the judges' scorecards with scores of 108–101 and 106–103.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Following Pascal's upset of Chad Dawson, 45-year-old Bernard Hopkins was soon named his next opponent for him to defend his WBC, "Lineal, and" "The Ring" light-heavyweight titles. Within the first 48 hours of tickets being on sale for Pascal/Hopkins, more than 15,000 tickets were sold. In preparation for the fight, Pascal spent forty days training in Miami.


title: Jean Pascal

text: The fight took place at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City on 18 December 2010. Pascal started strong in the fight, scoring two knockdowns in the first three rounds. One knockdown in the first round, which was disputed by Hopkins as an illegal blow to the back of the head and another knockdown in the third round. However, following the early rounds, the two fighters each held their own, only to have the fight end in a controversial majority draw.


title: Jean Pascal

text: At the end of 2010, "The Ring" magazine rated Pascal as the 14th best boxer in the world as part of their yearly Top One Hundred Boxers ranking. Pascal moved up fifty-one places on the list, compared to his 2009 ranking of 65. The jump in the rankings was directly attributed to Pascal's upset of Chad Dawson, since the list came out before Pascal fought Bernard Hopkins.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Following the controversial draw with Hopkins in December 2010, Hopkins expressed his frustration. Hopkins, who had refused to fight outside of the United States since 1994, felt there was a judging bias based on the fight being held in Quebec, Canada, as well as a discrimination of his age. Hopkins later criticized Pascal's performance, claiming that Pascal took more damage during the fight and that he clinched frequently. However, when Hopkins was asked about a potential rematch, he replaced most definitely only to claim that he was "too dangerous for anybody" and then went on to complain that GYM promotions was dragging the fight out to make him older so that he would lose.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal defended his performance by noting the two knockdowns he scored early in the fight and defending the legitimacy of the judges. Pascal then expressed that he was unsatisfied with the decision and preferred to have won the fight rather than settle with a draw. When asked about a potential rematch he responded by saying: "If he wants a rematch, anytime."


title: Jean Pascal

text: The rematch with Bernard Hopkins was held on 21 May 2011 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, broadcast on HBO World Championship Boxing.


title: Jean Pascal

text: The bout began with both fighters feeling each other out for the first few rounds. In the third round, Hopkins began to find success with the right hand and shook the knees of Pascal. In the fourth round, both fighters exchanged power shots frantically with Hopkins looking slightly wobbled at the end of the round. Later on, before the seventh round began, Hopkins began doing push-ups in the ring. In the ninth round, Pascal's glove touched the mat after a cupping shot and was ruled a slip. This occurred again in the tenth. The fight concluded with the judges scoring the bout, 112-116, 114-115 and 113-115 in favor of Hopkins.


title: Jean Pascal

text: After many months under the radar, Pascal was slated to fight Tavoris Cloud for the IBF light-heavyweight title on 11 August 2012, but a hand injury forced him to pull out of the fight. Pascal finally returned to the ring on 14 December 2012 against Aleksy Kuziemski. He won the fight via wide unanimous decision, receiving the scores: 100-88, 98-88 and 98-90, from the fights' judges.


title: Jean Pascal

text: It was announced that Jean Pascal would be fighting Lucian Bute on 25 May 2013, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec for Bute's NABF light heavyweight title and the vacant WBC Diamond championship. The fight was rescheduled for 18 January 2014 due to an injury that required surgery to remove bone fragments from Bute's left hand. Pascal ended up winning the fight by unanimous decision.


title: Jean Pascal

text: It was announced on 23 December 2014 that unified world champion Sergey Kovalev would defend his titles and fight Pascal on 14 March 2015 for the WBA, IBF and WBO world light heavyweight titles at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada live on HBO. Kovalev had just been named "Sports Illustrated"'s 2014 Fighter of the Year. Kovalev started the fight off aggressively as usual and took control of the fight earlier and eventually knocked Pascal down in the 3rd round. Pascal began to fight back and showed some signs of life in rounds 5 and 6, although Kovalev gained control of the fight again and began to hit Pascal with huge shots, wobbling him and in the 8th round the referee stopped the fight as he felt Pascal had taken too much punishment. Pascal felt the stoppage was unfair and demanded for a rematch. At the time of stoppage, Kovalev was leading 68-64 on all three judges' scorecards. CompuBox stats showed Kovalev landed 122 of 471 punches (26%) and Pascal connected on 68 of 200 (34%). The fight averaged 1.152 million viewers on HBO.


title: Jean Pascal

text: On 29 May, it was announced that Pascal would fight on the Kovalev vs. Mohammedi undercard at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Nevada on 25 July against undefeated Cuban prospect Yunieski Gonzalez (16-0, 12 KOs). The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds. Gonzalez took the fight to Pascal in an entertaining affair that went the full 10 round distance. He was cheered on by the fans and HBO also praised his performance, as he was looking to make a statement in the light heavyweight division. Gonzalez looked to have outfought and out-landed Pascal, hurting him on a couple of occasions. The three judges' scored the fight an identical 96-94 in favour of Pascal. Many observers ringside had Gonzalez winning, some with a wide margin. HBO's unofficial scorekeeper Harold Lederman scored the fight 97-93 for Gonzalez. ESPN had the fight wider at 98-92 for Gonzalez. Gonzalez cried in the ring after losing the bout, feeling he had won. The win helped Pascal earn a rematch with Kovalev. CompuBox stats shows that Gonzalez landed 163 of 632 punches thrown (26%), while Pascal was the more accurate puncher landing 154 of his 397 thrown (39%).


title: Jean Pascal

text: On 5 December 2015 it was announced that the rematch between Kovalev and Pascal was set, to take place on 30 January 2016 at the Bell Centre in Montreal on HBO. Pascal was pumped for the rematch stating it would turn out differently to the first fight, "I put him down in the eighth round in the first fight, but [the referee] called it a slip. But I promise you that Kovalev is going to have a full plate in the rematch. I'm going to have a full plate as well, but I have a new trainer [Hall of Famer Freddie Roach]. I'm going to teach him respect and to respect Canadian boxing fans."


title: Jean Pascal

text: In front of 9,866, Kovalev dominated the fight, both outpunching and outlanding Pascal by wide margins. Kovalev won when Pascal's trainer Freddie Roach refused to let his fighter continue after the seventh round. At the time of stoppage, the scorecards read 70-62 three times, in favour of Kovalev. Round 5 was scored 10-8 on all three judges cards without there having been a knockdown. Kovalev landed 31 of 73 punches in round 5 alone. After the round, Roach threatened to pull Pascal. According to compubox stats, Kovalev landed 165 of 412 punches (40%) and Pascal landed 30 of 108 blows (28%).


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal announced he would fight on 16 December 2016 against 33 year old journeyman Ricardo Marcelo Ramallo at the Cogeco Amphitheater in Trois-Rivières. Ramallo challenged for the vacant IBO International super middleweight title in 2015 in a losing attempt to Renold Quinlan. The fight took place at light heavyweight with Pascal weighing just over 181 pounds. Pascal stopped Ramallo in the 3rd round of their scheduled 10 round fight. In the opening rounds, Ramalo was connecting with his own shots from time to time, but did not have the same size, speed or the power of Pascal to do any further damage. Pascal knocked Ramallo down twice in the round 3 with the right hands to the head. Ramallo was hurt after the second knockdown. Although he seemed to have recovered, the referee stopped the fight rather than letting it go on.


title: Jean Pascal

text: On 15 April 2017 it was announced that Pascal could fight Colombian Eleider Álvarez (22-0, 11 KOs) for the WBC Silver light heavyweight title on the undercard of Stevenson's world title defense against Fonfara at the Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 3 June 2017. Álvarez was due to fight Stevenson next for the WBC world title, but took money to step aside. The event was scheduled to be shown live on Showtime and was confirmed on 21 April. Álvarez outboxed Pascal, winning a majority decision after 12 rounds. One judge scored the fight 114-114, whilst the other two scored it 117-111 and 116-112 in favour of Álvarez. Pascal suffered his third defeat in five fights. Álvarez controlled the fight with his superior jab, accuracy and general ring work. Pascal felt he had done enough to get the win and wanted a rematch with Álvarez.


title: Jean Pascal

text: On 30 October 2017 Warriors Boxing Promotions announced a Friday night boxing card presented by "Premier Boxing Champions" would take place 8 December at the Hialeah Park in Miami, Florida. It was confirmed that Pascal would main event the card against Egyptian contender Ahmed Elbiali (16-0, 13 KOs), with former world champion Chad Dawson appearing as chief support, however he pulled out of his fight. Pascal told Ringtv it would be his final fight. Pascal retired with a stoppage win in round 6. Elbiali had begun to fade and looked exhausted by round 6. Pascal landed a flurry of shots trapping Elbiali against the ropes. Referee Telis Assimenios then intervened after the towel was thrown in. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes and 6 seconds of the sixth round.


title: Jean Pascal

text: The Montreal Journal and TVA Sports reported on 7 May 2018 that Pascal, despite announcing his retirement in 2017, would return to the ring on the Adonis Stevenson vs. Badou Jack undercard on 19 May in Toronto. His trainer Stephan Larouche later confirmed Pascal would fight again on 29 June. On 9 May, it was announced that Pascal would fight 36 year old former mixed martial arts fighter and hockey enforcer Steve Bossé on 29 June 2018. The fight was postponed to take place on 20 July. Pascal weighed 193 pounds for the fight. In front of around 3,300 fans, Pascal dominated and stopped Bossé in round 8 of their scheduled 10 round bout. The win meant for the first time in 12 years, dating back to 2006 that Pascal recorded back-to-back stoppage wins. Bossé tried to apply pressure on Pascal but was dropped once in round 3. Pascal continued to land heavy shots eventually dropping Bosse down a second time in round 8. The referee decided to stop the fight. It was reported that Bossé had suffered an injury during training on his right bicep and also suffered a broken jaw during the fight. Pascal stated he would continue boxing as he had "other goals to achieve", however did not state if he would continue to fight at cruiserweight or drop back down to light heavyweight.


title: Jean Pascal

text: On 23 September, Groupe Yvon Michel announced that he had reached a deal for Pascal to fight Canadian cruiserweight champion Gary Kopas (10-11-2, 5 KOs) in Sydney, Nova Scotia on 9 November 2018 in a 12 round bout. The fight with Kopas was cancelled in early October after Sainvoyis Pascal, Jean's father, suffered a heart attack and died. Pascal needed time to attend the funeral. On 16 October, it was reported that Pascal was on the verge of returning to light heavyweight to challenge WBA champion Dmitry Bivol (14-0, 11 KOs) at the Etess Arena in Atlantic City on 24 November 2018. Bivol was initially in talks to make a defence against Joe Smith Jr., however Smith accepted a fight against IBF champion Artur Beterbiev in December instead. Later that same day, the fight was confirmed and would be televised by HBO. Pascal lost by wide unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the bout 119-109, 119-109, 117-111 in favor of Bivol.


title: Jean Pascal

text: On 3 August 2019, Pascal faced undefeated Marcus Browne at the Barclays Center in New York. Although Browne won the majority of the rounds, Pascal knocked Browne down a total of three times in the fight, once in the fourth round and twice in the seventh round. This gave Pascal a lead of 75-74 on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage in the middle of the eighth round, when the fight was halted due to a clash of heads. As a result, Pascal emerged victorious via unanimous technical decision, and became the new WBA interim light-heavyweight champion.


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal put his WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title on the line when he faced former two-division world champion Badou Jack on 28 December 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on the undercard of Gervonta Davis vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa. Jack was ranked #6 by the WBC and #11 by the WBA at light heavyweight. In what was a competitive, hard-fought fight, Pascal had the better start, winning the majority of the opening rounds and scoring a knockdown with a right hook in the fourth round. However, Jack found his way back into the fight, using his jab and body punches to render damage to his opponent and win rounds. In the final round, Jack returned the favor and dropped Pascal to the canvas with a overhand right and a flurry of right hooks. Despite Jack's success in the later stages of the fight, Pascal was deemed the winner by somewhat controversial split decision, with scores of 114-112, 114-112 in favor of Pascal, and 114-112 in favor of Jack. According to CompuBox, Pascal landed 155 of 556 punches thrown (28%) while Jack landed 244 of 632 punches thrown (39%).


title: Jean Pascal

text: Pascal and Badou Jack had originally been scheduled to face each other in a rematch of their 2019 fight on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul on 6 June 2021, but the rematch was canceled when it emerged on 28 May that Pascal had failed random Voluntary Anti-Doping Association-administered tests and had tested positive for three different banned PEDs: drostanolone, drostanolone metabolite and epitrenbolone. Pascal responded to the news, saying that he was "shocked and embarrassed". On 3 June, reports surfaced that Pascal had failed yet another drugs test, testing positive for a fourth banned substance, erythropoietin, also known as EPO.


title: Long-distance running

text: Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.


title: Long-distance running

text: Within endurance running comes two different types of respiration. The more prominent side that runners experience more frequently is aerobic respiration. This occurs when oxygen is present, and the body is able to utilize oxygen to help generate energy and muscle activity. On the other side, anaerobic respiration occurs when the body is deprived of oxygen, and this is common towards the final stretch of races when there is a drive to speed up to a greater intensity. Overall, both types of respiration are used by endurance runners quite often, but are very different from each other.


title: Long-distance running

text: Among mammals, humans are well adapted for running significant distances, and particularly so among primates. The capacity for endurance running is also found in migratory ungulates and a limited number of terrestrial carnivores, such as bears, dogs, wolves and hyenas.


title: Long-distance running

text: In modern human society, long-distance running has multiple purposes: people may engage in it for physical exercise, for recreation, as a means of travel, for economic reasons, or for cultural reasons. Long-distance running can also be used as a means to improve cardiovascular health. Running improves aerobic fitness by increasing the activity of enzymes and hormones that stimulate the muscles and the heart to work more efficiently. Endurance running is often a component of physical military training and has been so historically. Professional running is most commonly found in the field of sports, although in pre-industrial times foot messengers would run to deliver information to distant locations. Long-distance running as a form of tradition or ceremony is known among the Hopi and Tarahumara people, among others. Distance running can also serve as a bonding exercise for family, friends, colleagues, and has even been associated with nation-building. The social element of distance running has been linked with improved performance.


title: Long-distance running

text: In the sport of athletics, long-distance events are defined as races covering and above. The three most common types are track running, road running and cross country running, all of which are defined by their terrain – all-weather tracks, roads and natural terrain, respectively. Typical long-distance track races range from 3000 metres (1.87 miles) to 10,000 metres (6.2 miles), cross country races usually cover 5 to 12 km (3 to 7 miles), while road races can be significantly longer, reaching and beyond. In collegiate cross country races in the United States, men race 8,000 or 10,000 meters, depending on their division, whereas women race 6,000 meters. The Summer Olympics features four long-distance running events: the 3000 metres steeplechase (which also involves jumping over barriers and water), the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and marathon (42.195 kilometres, or 26 miles and 385 yards). Since the late 1980s, Kenyans, Moroccans, and Ethiopians have dominated in major international long-distance competitions. The high altitude of these countries has been proven to help these runners achieve more success. High altitude, combined with endurance training, can lead to an increase in red blood cells, allowing increased oxygen delivery via arteries. The majority of these East African successful runners come from three mountain districts that run along the Great Rift Valley.


title: Long-distance running

text: Anthropological observations of modern hunter-gatherer communities have provided accounts for long-distance running as a historic method for hunting among the San of the Kalahari, American Indians, and the Australian Aborigines. In this method, the hunter would run at a slow and steady pace between one hour and a few days, in an area where the animal has no place to hide. The animal, running in spurts, has to stop to pant in order to cool itself, but as the chase goes on it would not have enough time before it has to start running again, and after a while would collapse from exhaustion and heat. The body structure of a skeleton of a 12 years old Nariokatome boy is suggested to prove that early humans from 1.5 million years ago were eating more meat and less plants, and hunted by running down animals.


title: Long-distance running

text: With developments in agriculture and culture, long-distance running took more and more purposes other than hunting: religious ceremonies, delivering messages for military and political purposes, and sport.


title: Long-distance running

text: Running messengers are reported from early Sumer, were named "lasimu" as military men as well as the king's officials who disseminated documents throughout the kingdom by running. Ancient Greece was famous for its running messengers, who were named "hemerodromoi", meaning “day runners”. One of the most famous running messengers is Pheidippides, who according to the legend ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of the Greek over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. He collapsed and died as he delivered the message “we won”. While there are debates around the accuracy of this historical legend, whether Pheidippides actually ran from Marathon to Athens or between other cities, how far this was, and if he was the one to deliver the victory message, the marathon running event of 26.2 miles / 42.195 km is based on this legend.


title: Long-distance running

text: Humans are considered among the best distance runners among all running animals: game animals are faster over short distances, but they have less endurance than humans. Unlike other primates whose bodies are suited to walk on four legs or climb trees, the human body has evolved into upright walking and running around 2-3 million years ago. The human body can endure long-distance running through the following attributes:


title: Long-distance running

text: One distinction between upright walking and running is energy consumption during locomotion. While walking, humans use about half the energy needed to run.


title: Long-distance running

text: One's aerobic capacity or VOMax is the ability to maximally take up and consume oxygen during exhaustive exercise. Long-distance runners typically perform at around 75–85% of peak aerobic capacity, while short-distance runners perform at closer to 100% of peak.


title: Long-distance running

text: Aerobic capacity depends on the transportation of large amounts of blood to and from the lungs to reach all tissues. This in turn is dependent on having a high cardiac output, sufficient levels of hemoglobin in blood, and an optimal vascular system to distribute of blood. A 20 fold increase of local blood flow within skeletal muscle is necessary for endurance athletes, like marathon runners, to meet their muscles' oxygen demands at maximal exercise that are up to 50 times greater than at rest.


title: Long-distance running

text: Elite long-distance runners often have larger hearts and decreased resting heart rates that enable them to achieve greater aerobic capacities. Increased dimensions of the heart enable an individual to achieve a greater stroke volume. A concomitant decrease in stroke volume occurs with the initial increase in heart rate at the onset of exercise. Despite an increase in cardiac dimensions, a marathoner's aerobic capacity is confined to this capped and ever decreasing heart rate.


title: Long-distance running

text: The amount of oxygen that blood can carry depends on blood volume, which increases during a race, and the amount of hemoglobin in blood.


title: Long-distance running

text: Other physiological factors affecting a marathon runner's aerobic capacity include pulmonary diffusion, mitochondria enzyme activity, and capillary density.


title: Long-distance running

text: A long-distance runner's running economy is their steady state requirement for oxygen at specific speeds and helps explain differences in performance for runners with very similar aerobic capacities. This is often measured by the volume of oxygen consumed, either in liters or milliliters, per kilogram of body weight per minute (L/kg/min or mL/kg/min). the physiological basis for this was uncertain, but it seemed to depend on the cumulative years of running, and reaches a cap that longer individual training sessions cannot overcome.


title: Long-distance running

text: A long-distance runner's velocity at the lactate threshold is strongly correlated to their performance. Lactate threshold is the cross over point between predominantly aerobic energy usage and anaerobic energy usage and is considered a good indicator of the body's ability to efficiently process and transfer chemical energy into mechanical energy. For most runners, the aerobic zone doesn't begin until around 120 heart beats per minute. Lactate threshold training involves tempo workouts that are meant to build strength and speed, rather than improve the cardiovascular system's efficiency in absorbing and transporting oxygen. By running at your lactate threshold, your body will become more efficient at clearing lactic acid and reusing it to fuel your muscles. Uncertainty exists in regards to how lactate threshold affects endurance performance.


title: Long-distance running

text: In order to sustain high intensity running, a marathon runner must obtain sufficient glycogen stores. Glycogen can be found in the skeletal muscles or liver. With low levels of glycogen stores at the onset of the marathon, premature depletion of these stores can reduce performance or even prevent completion of the race. ATP production via aerobic pathways can further be limited by glycogen depletion. Free Fatty Acids serve as a sparing mechanism for glycogen stores. The artificial elevation of these fatty acids along with endurance training demonstrate a marathon runner's ability to sustain higher intensities for longer periods of time. The prolonged sustenance of running intensity is attributed to a high turnover rate of fatty acids that allows the runner to preserve glycogen stores later into the race.


title: Long-distance running

text: Long-distance runners generally practice carbohydrate loading in their training and race preparation.


title: Long-distance running

text: The maintenance of core body temperature is crucial to a marathon runner's performance and health. An inability to reduce rising core body temperature can lead to hyperthermia. In order to reduce bodily heat, the metabolically produced heat needs to be removed from the body via sweating, which in turn requires re-hydration to compensate for. Replacement of fluid is limited but can help keep the body's internal temperatures cooler. Fluid replacement is physiologically challenging during exercise of this intensity due to the inefficient emptying of the stomach. Partial fluid replacement can serve to avoid a marathon runner's body over heating but not enough to keep pace with the loss of fluid via sweat evaporation. Environmental factors can especially complicate heat regulation.


title: Long-distance running

text: "… an evolutionary perspective indicates that we did not evolve to run long distances at fast speeds on a regular basis. As a result, it is unlikely there was selection for the human body to cope with some of the extreme demands runners place on their bodies."


title: Long-distance running

text: The impact of long-distance running on human health is generally positive. Various organs and systems in the human body are improved: bone mineral density is increased, and cholesterol is lowered.


title: Long-distance running

text: However, beyond a certain point, negative consequences might occur. Older male runners (45-55) who run more than per week face reduced testosterone levels, although they are still in the normal range. Running a marathon lowers testosterone levels by 50% in men, and more than doubles cortisol levels for 24 hours. Low testosterone is thought to be a physiological adaptation to the sport, as excess muscle caused may be shed through lower testosterone, yielding a more efficient runner. Veteran, lifelong endurance athletes have been found to have more heart scarring than controls groups, but replication studies and larger studies should be done to firmly establish the link, which may or may not be causal. Some studies find that running more than per week yields no lower risk for all-cause mortality than non-runners, although these studies are in conflict with large studies that show longer lifespans for any increase in exercise volume.


title: Long-distance running

text: Elite-level long-distance running is associated with a 3 to 7 times higher risk of knee osteoarthritis later in life compared to non-runners.


title: Long-distance running

text: The effectiveness of shoe inserts has been contested. Memory foam and similar shoe inserts may be comfortable, but they can make foot muscles weaker in the long term. Running shoes with special features, or lack thereof in the case of minimalist designs, do not prevent injury. Rather, comfortable shoes and standard running styles are safer.


title: Long-distance running

text: Many sporting activities feature significant levels of running under prolonged periods of play, especially during ball sports like association football and rugby league. However, continuous endurance running is exclusively found in racing sports. Most of these are individual sports, although team and relay forms also exist.


title: Long-distance running

text: The most prominent long-distance running sports are grouped within the sport of athletics, where running competitions are held on strictly defined courses and the fastest runner to complete the distance wins. The foremost types are long-distance track running, road running and cross-country running. Both track and road races are usually timed, while cross country races are not always timed and typically only the placing is of importance. Other less popular variants such as fell running, trail running, mountain running and tower running combine the challenge of distance with a significant incline or change of elevation as part of the course.


title: Long-distance running

text: Multisport races frequently include endurance running. Triathlon, as defined by the International Triathlon Union, may feature running sections ranging from to the marathon distance (42.195 kilometres, or 26 miles and 385 yards), depending on the race type. The related sport of duathlon is a combination of cycling and distance running. Previous versions of the modern pentathlon incorporated a three or four kilometre (1.9–2.5 mi) run, but changes to the official rules in 2008 meant the running sections are now divided into three separate legs of one kilometre each (0.6 mi).


title: Long-distance running

text: Depending on the rules and terrain, navigation sports such as foot orienteering and rogaining may contain periods of endurance running within the competition. Variants of adventure racing may also combine navigational skills and endurance running in this manner.


title: Long-distance running

text: The history of long-distance track running events are tied into the track and field stadia where they are held. Oval circuits allow athletes to cover long distances in a confined area. Early tracks were usually on flattened earth or were simply marked areas of grass. The style of running tracks became refined during the 20th century: the oval running tracks were standardised to 400 metres in distance and cinder tracks were replaced by synthetic all-weather running track of asphalt and rubber from the mid-1960s onwards. It was not until the 1912 Stockholm Olympics that the standard long-distance track events of 5000 metres and 10,000 metres were introduced.


title: Long-distance running

text: Long-distance road running competitions are mainly conducted on courses of paved or tarmac roads, although major events often finish on the track of a main stadium. In addition to being a common recreational sport, the elite level of the sport – particularly marathon races – are one of the most popular aspects of athletics. Road racing events can be of virtually any distance, but the most common and well known are the marathon, half marathon and 10 km run.


title: Long-distance running

text: The sport of road running finds its roots in the activities of footmen: male servants who ran alongside the carriages of aristocrats around the 18th century, and who also ran errands over distances for their masters. Foot racing competitions evolved from wagers between aristocrats, who pitted their footman against that of another aristocrat in order to determine a winner. The sport became professionalised as footmen were hired specifically on their athletic ability and began to devote their lives to training for the gambling events. The amateur sports movement in the late 19th century marginalised competitions based on the professional, gambling model. The 1896 Summer Olympics saw the birth of the modern marathon and the event led to the growth of road running competitions through annual public events such as the Boston Marathon (first held in 1897) and the Lake Biwa Marathon and Fukuoka Marathons, which were established in the 1940s. The 1970s running boom in the United States made road running a common pastime and also increased its popularity at the elite level.


title: Long-distance running

text: The marathon is the only road running event featured at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics and the Summer Olympics, although there is also the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships held every two years. The marathon is also the only road running event featured at the IPC Athletics World Championships and the Summer Paralympics. The World Marathon Majors series includes the six most prestigious marathon competitions at the elite level – the Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Tokyo, and New York City marathons. The Tokyo Marathon was most recently added to the World Marathon Majors in 2012.


title: Long-distance running

text: Ekiden contests – which originated in Japan and remain common there – are a relay race variation on the marathon, being in contrast to the typically individual sport of road running.


title: Long-distance running

text: Cross country running is the most naturalistic form of long-distance running in athletics as competitions take place on open-air courses over surfaces such as grass, woodland trails, earth or mountains. In contrast to the relatively flat courses in track and road races, cross country usually incorporates obstacles such as muddy sections, logs and mounds of earth. As a result of these factors, weather can play an integral role in the racing conditions. Cross country is both an individual and team sport, as runners are judged on an individual basis and a points scoring method is used for teams. Competitions are typically races of or more which are usually held in autumn and winter. Cross country's most successful athletes often compete in long-distance track and road events as well.


title: Long-distance running

text: The history of the sport is linked with the game of paper chase, or hare and hounds, where a group of runners would cover long distances to chase a leading runner, who left a trail of paper to follow. The Crick Run in England in 1838 was the first recorded instance of an organised cross country competition. The sport gained popularity in British, then American schools in the 19th century and culminated in the creation of the first International Cross Country Championships in 1903. The annual IAAF World Cross Country Championships was inaugurated in 1973 and this remains the highest level of competition for the sport. A number of continental cross country competitions are held, with championships taking place in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America and South America. The sport has retained its status at the scholastic level, particularly in the United Kingdom and United States. At the professional level, the foremost competitions come under the banner of the IAAF Cross Country Permit Meetings.


title: Long-distance running

text: While cross country competitions are no longer held at the Olympics, having featured in the athletics programme from 1912 to 1924, it has been present as one of the events within the modern pentathlon competition since the 1912 Summer Olympics.


title: Long-distance running

text: Fell running, trail running and mountain running can all be considered variations on traditional cross country which incorporate significant uphill and/or downhill sections as an additional challenge to the course.


title: Long-distance running

text: The term adventure running is loosely defined and can be used to describe any form of long-distance running in a natural setting, regardless of the running surface. It may include river crossing, scrambling, snow, extreme high or low temperatures, and high altitudes. It has both competitive and non-competitive forms, the latter being for individual recreation or social experience. As a result, courses are often set in scenic locations and feature obstacles designed to give participants a sense of achievement. It bears similarities to running sections of adventure racing.


title: Long-distance running

text: A number of events, records and achievements exist for long-distance running, outside the context of track and field sports events. These include multiday races, ultramarathons, and long-distance races in extreme conditions or measuring hundreds or thousands of miles.


title: Long-distance running

text: Beyond these, records and stand-alone achievements, rather than regular events, exist for individuals who have achieved running goals of a unique nature, such as running across or around continents "(see lists of runners: America, Australia)" or running around the world.


title: String of Pearls (Indian Ocean)

text: The String of Pearls is a geopolitical hypothesis proposed by United States political researchers in 2004. The term refers to the network of Chinese military and commercial facilities and relationships along its sea lines of communication, which extend from the Chinese mainland to Port Sudan in the Horn of Africa. The sea lines run through several major maritime choke points such as the Strait of Mandeb, the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Lombok Strait as well as other strategic maritime centres in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Somalia.


title: String of Pearls (Indian Ocean)

text: Many commentators in India believe this plan, together with the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and other parts of China's Belt and Road Initiative under Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, is a threat to India's national security. Such a system would encircle India and threaten its power projection, trade, and potentially territorial integrity. Furthermore, China's support for India's traditional enemy of Pakistan and its Gwadar Port is viewed as a threat, compounded by fears that China may develop an overseas naval military base in Gwadar, which could allow China to conduct expeditionary warfare in the Indian Ocean Region. From the east, the deep-water port of Kyaukpyu is also viewed with a similar concern. The first comprehensive academic analyses of Chinese plan and its security implications for New Delhi was undertaken in February 2008 by an active-duty Indian naval officer. Antedating China's anti-piracy naval deployment in the Indian Ocean beginning in December 2008, and the ensuing acquisition of its first overseas military base in Djibouti in August 2017, his analysis predicting China's "permanent military presence" in the Indian Ocean is viewed by Indian policymakers as prescient. Accordingly, India has since been making moves of various types to counter the perceived threat.


title: String of Pearls (Indian Ocean)

text: The term as a geopolitical concept was first used in an internal US Department of Defense report, "Energy Futures in Asia" in 2005. The term is also widely used in India's geopolitical and foreign policy narratives to highlight India's concerns over massive Chinese Belt and Road Initiative projects across southern Asia. According to the EUISS, the formation of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (consisting of United States, India, Australia and Japan) is a direct result of China's assertive foreign and security policy in the Indo-Pacific region.