It was only his second race after a year off from life-threatening injuries and infections. Tall, dark, muscular and handsome, Hay List strode with confidence off the track. His chiseled legs and torso were enveloped by a skintight bodysuit, turning heads with every step.

Hay List is a racehorse. And a few weeks ago, he returned to racing in a high-tech bodysuit designed by Australian company Hidez to help muscles recover after strenuous exercise. Horses from all over the world competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games will also be sporting the recovery suits during air travel to reduce stressful vibration and keep the skin cool. Horses will also wear them in the morning before workouts or competitions, and immediately after. The suits made a special runway debut in Melbourne, modeled by Hay List, conjuring images of ripped gym rats clad in Under Armour.

"No one has ever made an actual compression garment for animals before the Hidez recovery suit," says Matthew Spice, the suit's inventor. "We are stepping into other animals as we speak, and can only imagine where we can go with this technology."

Nastia Liukin is trying to get back into world champion shape, so what better inspiration than to watch the current NBA champion Dallas Mavericks?

"I'm a huge fan of the Mavs," says the 22-year-old gymnast, who lives in Big D. "Me and my dad are friends with Rick Carlisle. We try to go to as many games as we can when they're home."

After more than two years out of the gym, Liukin has her sights set on Olympic gold once again. She last competed at the 2009 Nationals, but took some time off to explore the possibilities that came with winning the 2008 Olympic individual all-around gold and four other medals in Beijing.

"It's hard to train seven hours a day and handle other obligations," she says. "I had to choose one or the other."

But since October, Liukin has been back in the gym full-time and has inspiration coming from thousands of fans, the Mavs and even Mary Lou Retton.

"She was so supportive," Liukin says of the famed gymnast. "Basically saying, 'all the power to you.' She's a household name. To be able to talk to her about coming back was awesome."

There really was no getting away from the sport for Liukin. Competing in London this summer was always in the back of her mind. And gymnastics is in her blood. Her father, Valeri, won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Her mother, Anna, was the 1987 World Clubs Champion in rhythmic gymnastics.

The family moved to the United States from Russia when Nastia was just 2 1/2 years old. They brought a lot of their traditions, including their language, which she was reluctant to hold onto at first.

The Duchess of Cambridge likes to play coy.

The former Kate Middleton was out promoting the Olympics on Thursday and stopped by for a little field hockey with the British women's team. But faced with the opportunity to take a couple shots, she under-promoted her skill.

"This is going to be so embarrassing," she said. "My brain thinks I can do all these wonderful things but my body just doesn’t play ball."

None of the journalists, team members or fans on hand at Olympic Park bought it though, considering how well known her resume is around her home country. Kate captained her field hockey team at Marlborough College, but pressed the point that she hadn't touched a stick in some time.

The Olympics are all about beating the odds, and few athletes have overcome more than one young woman from a war-torn nation.

Sadaf Rahimi will become the first female boxer to fight for Afghanistan in the Olympics. That's even more impressive when you consider her country doesn't exactly have a strong recent history of equal rights for women. During Taliban rule (1996-2001), women weren't allowed to work, leave the house without a male escort or have medical work done by a male doctor. That doesn't even include being forced to wear burqas that covered them from head to toe.

Rahimi wasn't allowed by the Taliban to play sports as a child. But she was inspired by an American boxing icon's daughter to enter the ring.

At the age of 14, Rahimi learned about Laila Ali, Muhammad Ali's daughter. "It made me realize a woman can do this," she told the London Guardian through an interpreter.

Now four years later, at age 18, Rahimi is well aware many in Afghanistan don't believe women should be boxing. "Many people think girls should stay at home," she told the Guardian. "My aunt was not happy at all that her niece should be doing this sport. Some people are not happy that I do this type of sport. They look at me badly."