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Hobbit goes for the rings...in Sydney - Lord of the Rings news - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

September 12, 2000 at 05:38:03

The legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien may debut at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games when a New Zealand athlete with the nickname of 'Hobbit' makes her appearance despite her dashed hopes for a role in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings'.

Helen Townsend will most likely bid farewell to international softball competition after the Olympic games.

In an interview with Stuff writer Tony Smith, Townsend says a teammate nicknamed her "Hobbit" despite the fact she was tall (or perhaps as a reverse joke) when she was just a teenager.

Townsend curiously shares the surname of the actor (Stuart Townsend) who was originally cast as Aragorn in Peter Jackson's movies, but then replaced by Viggo Mortensen. Hopefully the New Zealand athlete will fare better in the upcoming games than the actor did in the movie production.