41.   Yes, he has studied and imitated the arm movements of American Mike Conley, the reigning world champion.

42.   With three spots in Nagano available, it seemed highly unlikely that the USFSA committee would deny an Olympic team berth to the reigning world champion.

43.   Pakistan is the reigning world champion.

44.   Peters said his side played a superb game against the reigning world champion on Sunday after a shaky start.

45.   Plushenko is the reigning world champion, and has won all but one Olympic-eligible competition the past two seasons.

46.   Aamodt, the reigning combined world champion, finished eighth in both downhills in Wengen last year, but went out in the first leg of the slalom.

47.   Another season, another chance for reigning world champion Valentino Rossi to solidify his position as the dominant force in motorcycle racing.

48.   As the reigning world champion, she went to the Lake Placid Games as the gold-medal favorite.

49.   Bayliss is the reigning world champion with Ducati in the Superbike championship.

50.   By contrast, Lioubov Sheremeta, Anna Mirgorodskaia and reigning world champion Podkopayeva all vaulted flawlessly to keep Ukraine in third place.