LONDON GOSSIPS

 

Kylie Body slapped

Photo: Body Language has not sold as well as the Minogue camp had hoped

NOT even her first Grammy or a swag of TV appearances could help Kylie Minogue's new album in the US.Body Language has debuted at a disappointing No. 42. Her last album, Fever, entered the US chart at No. 3, on the back of her smash single Can't Get You Out of My Head, which went top 10 in the States.  But Kylie fans have pointed out that the album was released in an extremely busy chart week. Apart from boosted sales from other Grammy winners, the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy soundtrack was released, and there was the mega-selling Norah "Snora" Jones to contend with. And Body Language has been out for as long as three months in other countries, so many diehard fans would have bought imported copies already. Body Language has not performed well in Britain and Australia either.

 

Australia's golden girl passes

Photo: Strickland trackside at the 1948 Olympic Games in London

AUSTRALIA'S greatest Olympic track athlete Shirley Strickland has died aged 78. Strickland - who married and became Shirley de la Hunty - passed away suddenly at her Perth home on Monday. She won more Olympic athletics medals than any other Australian and became our first Golden Girl of the track - later to be joined by Betty Cuthbert and Marjorie Jackson. Her tally of seven Olympic medals - three of them gold - was recognised by the International Olympic Committee with its highest honour, the Olympic Order, in 2002. She also was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 1957 and an Order of Australia in 2001. Strickland's family asked that she be remembered as a woman with an unfailing commitment to her family, community and the environment. "She was a strong, independent thinker who lived life on her own terms and always was prepared to stand up for her beliefs," her family said yesterday. News of her death shocked fellow Olympians who paid tribute to the woman who won gold as a mother of two. Swimming legend Dawn Fraser said: "Shirley Strickland was a great athlete and ... she helped me quite considerably." Runner Ron Clarke described her as a determined spirit. "She was the most self-disciplined person I ever met," he said. Strickland made her Olympic debut in the 1948 London Games, winning silver in the 4x100m relay and bronze in the 100m and the 80m hurdles. Four years later she won her first Olympic gold in the 80m hurdles in Helsinki, where she again finished third in the 100m. But her crowning achievement was at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, when she successfully defended her 80m hurdles title -- the first woman to do so -- and also won gold in the 4x100m relay as a 31-year-old mother. She was the first woman athlete in history to win back-to-back Olympic finals. Her feats were all the more remarkable as she didn't take up the sport seriously until she was 22. Strickland taught mathematics for 23 years and became a university lecturer in physics, calculus, environmental science and history. AOC historian Harry Gordon once described her as "a pathfinder, the first in a line of Australian female track stars whose deeds have made a lasting impact on the Olympics". After her career as an athlete, she became involved in sports administration, taking up managerial positions with Australian teams at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and the 1976 Montreal Games. Another of Australia's Golden Girls, the Lithgow Flash, Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, who won gold in the 100m and 200m at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics said her feats were inspiring. Ms. Jackson-Nelson, who is now South Australian Governor, said Strickland showed great resolve to win her second 80m hurdles gold in 1956. "She didn't go to the Commonwealth Games in 1954 because she had a little baby boy," Ms Jackson-Nelson said. "It showed her great strength to come back and win consecutive gold medals in the 80m hurdles at the Melbourne Olympics." Ms. Jackson-Nelson said she had spent time with Strickland in the lead-up to the Sydney Olympics, promoting a series of six stamps commemorating Australian Olympic legends. Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates paid tribute to Strickland, describing her as a legend of the track and "one of our greatest-ever Olympians". Strickland is survived by four children and 15 grandchildren. -Steeve Gee