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sports

(Encyclopedia)sports, athletic games or tests of skill undertaken primarily for the diversion of those who take part or those who observe them. The range is great; usually, however, the term is restricted to any pl...

Pearson, David

(Encyclopedia)Pearson, David, 1934–, American auto racing driver, b. Spartanburg, S.C. In a 27-year National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing career (1960–86), the “Silver Fox” won a total of 105 Cup S...

Anquetil, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Anquetil, Jacques zhäk äNkətēlˈ [key], 1934–87, French bicycle racer, b. Mont-Saint-Aignan, Normandy. Beginning to race in 1951, he won the French amateur championship a year later. Anquetil wa...

Formula One

(Encyclopedia)Formula One (F1), type of racecar used in Grand Prix automobile racing. Capable of speeds exceeding 230 mph (370 kph), the technologically sophisticated F1 cars are low-slung, open-wheeled, single-sea...

Petty, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Petty, Richard, 1937–, American auto racing driver, b. Level Cross, N.C. The son of Lee Petty, a champion stock car race driver, he won a record 200 National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ra...

De Sica, Vittorio

(Encyclopedia)De Sica, Vittorio vēt-tôrˈyō də sēˈkə [key], 1901–74, Italian film director and actor. His Shoeshine (1946), The Bicycle Thief (1948), and Umberto D. (1952) are classics of postwar Italian n...

canoeing

(Encyclopedia)canoeing, sport of propelling a canoe through water. John MacGregor, an English barrister and founder of the Royal Canoe Club (est. 1865), is generally credited with being the initiator of modern spor...

sailing

(Encyclopedia)sailing, as a sport, the art of navigating a sailboat for recreational or competitive purposes. Although sailing as a means of transportation predates history, sport sailing—or yachting—seems to...

Wright brothers

(Encyclopedia)Wright brothers, American airplane inventors and aviation pioneers. Orville Wright 1871–1948, was born in Dayton, Ohio, and Wilbur Wright, 1867–1912, near New Castle, Ind. Their interest in aviati...

trotting races

(Encyclopedia)trotting races: see horse racing. ...