Medal Detector's posts tagged Olympics

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• Gold medalist plans touching tribute

  August 06, 2012 by MarkAtMSN

  

  When world champion Dale Oen died while training in Arizona earlier this year, it hit the swimming world hard. Oen, a 26-year-old from Norway, was one of the favorites in both the 100-meter and 200-meter Olympic events.

  Oen was found unconscious in his hotel bathroom in April after suffering what was later discovered to be a heart attack. He was unaware that he had coronary heart disease at such a young age.

  Skip ahead to London four months later and take note of Hungary's Daniel Gyurta. The gold medalist, who set a world record in the 200-meter breaststroke, is making a major magnanimous gesture. He told reporters in Hungary he will make a copy of his gold medal and give it to Oen's family.

  "We became very good friends this year," Gyurta said. "I'm sure that he would have won the 100 here in London. This is the least I can do to pay respect to my friend."

  It's likely Oen would have done the same, if the story was reversed. Oen became a hero in Norway after dedicating his world championship win to the 77 people killed in last year's massacre by Anders Breivik.

  Photo by Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

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• Moon gets into the Olympic act

  August 04, 2012 by MarkAtMSN

  

  There are hundreds of amazing images in London during the 17 days of the Olympics. From the agony and ecstasy of the athletes, to the amazing architecture around every corner and the colorful fans and their outfits around Olympic Park, photography buffs are in heaven.

  Friday night saw another opportunity to polish the lenses and break out new memory sticks. Residents and visitors alike were treated to a never-before-seen sight after the sun went down: A full moon as the sixth ring of the Olympic logo that hangs from Tower Bridge.

  

  Images by Luke MacGregor/Reuters

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• Team GB leaders confident gold medal surge imminent

  July 31, 2012 by sawleyv

  

  A look at the medal count four days into the London Games would show host Great Britain has stumbled out of the gate, winning a meager four medals, none of them gold, which is good enough for 12th in the standings.

  It's an unquestionably disappointing start to the Olympics for the Brits, considering host nations typically see a noticeable uptick in their medal count. Four years ago in Beijing, the British took home a fourth-best 47 medals, 19 of which were gold.

  But as the wait for the country's first 2012 gold borders agonizing lengths, some of the top brass for Team GB seem confident that a lot more hardware -- specifically the golden kind -- is on the way.

  "We need to be patient and we’ll see that the medals, and gold medals, will follow," British Olympic Association president Lord Moynihan told The Metro.

  "The athletes remain confident," Team GB’s chef de mission Andy Hunt added. "There’s no sense at all among the team that we’re not delivering – we’re on plan."

  And they are right. The Brits have plenty of contenders remaining in the Games. Wimbledon runner-up Andy Murray remains alive in the men's tennis tournament. 2012 Tour de France champ Bradley Wiggins along with runner-up Chris Froome are top contenders in cycling. Louis Smith is also a gold-medal favorite in men's pommel horse. Of course, there's also the Team GB football, er, soccer team. Never count the Brits out of a sport they sired.

  And that's just a small sampling of who Team GB has left in the hunt.

  Photo: Getty Images

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• Greece's Ioulietta Boukouvala alleges she was bitten in judo loss

  July 30, 2012 by sawleyv

  

  The comparisons to Mike Tyson are too easy, but ah, hell: Following an unexpected opening-round defeat in the women's 57kg tournament on Monday, Greek judo competitor Ioulietta Boukouvala is crying foul by alleging her opponent channeled Mike Tyson and bit her during their match.

  Speaking to Greek reporters after her elimination, Boukouvala (pictured left) criticized match officials for not punishing Cuba's Yurileidys Lupetey Cobas after she allegedly bit Boukouvala on the hand.

  "Responsible for judging are the officials and the technical team of the Games," Boukouvala, 28, told reporters, per the AFP. "They must decide if she should have been penalized or disqualified from the match because she bit me."

  Instead, the decision held, and Lupetey Cobas was eliminated in the next round by Russia's Irina Zabludina. Boukouvala's first-round exit, meanwhile, goes down as a bit of an upset. She won gold at the World Grand Prix earlier this year and was also a European silver medalist in 2011.

  "I feel that injustice was done, that I was robbed," she added. "What can I say, I could be wrong. God will be my judge."

  This was Boukouvala's only event at the Olympics. She'll leave London empty-handed, or at least perhaps with a few bite marks.

  H/T Fourth-Place Medal

  Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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• Dawes, First Lady share bond, commitment to health

  July 27, 2012 by MarkAtMSN

   

   

  A common concern, mutual mentor and a few years’ patience lead Dominique Dawes to the moment Friday when she found herself, microphone in hand, interviewing First Lady Michelle Obama at the 2012 London Olympics.

  Dawes, holder of four Olympic medals (including a gold as part of the 1996 Magnificent Seven gymnastics team in Atlanta), knows pressure. And she was flawless as she bounced between questions and answers Friday morning at a training facility on the Olympic grounds.

  “I have been pushing for this interview for about two years now,” Dawes explained afterward. “I would pitch it to her press secretary and would be politely declined.

  “I guess it’s not that bad, though. I was watching Oprah the other day and she said it took her years to get an interview with the author of Harry Potter.”

  Dawes may have had a slight advantage over others when it came to getting onto the First Lady’s schedule. Aside from her duties as an analyst at FOXSports.com, she just happens to co-chair the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. She actively supports the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” program as well.

  Her history with the First Family goes back to before the president was even considering running for office. She credits three of her most important mentors—Janet Hill (Grant Hill’s mother) and Cliff and Adele Alexander (a prominent couple in Washington, DC)—for eventually helping form a bond between a gold medalist and a powerful political family. In a unique twist to the relationship, Dawes said she learned recently that Hill had mentored the First Lady as well.

  She knew an offer to help the president would be coming. Still, co-chairing the 16-member council is an honor she didn’t take lightly when approached.

  "I knew that I was being considered for the position and that I would be the co-chair,” she said. “I know a lot of the prior athletes who were on it. I knew I could make a big impact. But at the time I was in my early 30s and thinking about what things I would be committing my time to. I was only considering things that fit into my schedule.”

  Then a call came from a number she instantly knew was the White House.

  "I knew it was the White House because it was a 202 number," she said. “But it was just the area code. No other digits at all.”

  It seemed like the perfect fit. Not only did she already know the Obamas, she also had dedicated her life after retiring from gymnastics to motivating others. As a motivational speaker, she focuses on leadership, teamwork, health, fitness and wellness.

  "I’m very passionate about motivation,” she said. “It’s a lot of work to serve on this council. But I can have a big impact on the lives of children.”

  The First Lady shares her passion for fitness and nutrition, starting the “Let’s Move” initiative in response to the growing issue of childhood obesity.

  "(The Obamas) have resources,” Dawes said. “When she learned the number of families that have really limited resources for good health and nutrition, it really moved her,” Dawes explained.

  Video courtesy FOXSports.com

   

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• Let the Games begin!

  July 27, 2012 by MarkAtMSN

  

  It’s the middle of the night for many in the US, but here in London a
  day many have been waiting years for has been under way for hours.

  A few hours ago bells rang out from every corner of the city.
  Under cloudy skies, locals who were hurrying into Tube stations, police casting
  watchful eyes, tourists trying to find coffee—they all paused, as if inhaling
  before a giant burst of energy is let go.

  That’s the atmosphere here. While negative stories about
  these Olympics — London’s ability to host them, the weather, and the
  possibility of a disruption— tend to stand out in the headlines, that’s not the
  vibe on the streets. Yes, there’s a steady beat of military helicopters overhead
  at the Olympic Village, it looks odd to see police armed, and you think twice
  before cramming into a crowded underground train with hundreds of strangers.

  But all that appears in the background. In the foreground are people from every
  corner of the globe, smiling, snapping pictures of the amazing spectacle that
  has been created. Even locals, supposedly world famous for being down on everything, appear to love the attention their vibrant, colorful city is getting.

  Asked at a pub near our apartment last night whether they
  were ready for the Olympics to leave town, a handful of occupants at both
  nearby tables seemed puzzled by the question. They are having the summer of their lives here in London, I was told, and feel lucky to live here.

  Maybe it was the pints. Or the humidity from the Tube station. But I really did find it easy to agree to agree with them. As we were reminded in a meeting this morning by the executive managing editor at FOXSports.com, “We should pause and just think of how fortunate we are that we get to be here.”

  As I fight through the crowds on their way to the Olympic Village
  and get stopped at every conceivable checkpoint, I’m going to try to keep that
  in mind.

  Let the Games begin.

  Pictured: Crowds cheers as the Olympic Torch passes by on Thursday. (Miguel Medina/AFP/GettyImages)

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• Olympic field hockey venue has blue turf (Photo)

  July 26, 2012 by sawleyv

  

  Even if you don't know a single thing about field hockey, watching it at the Olympics this year might still conjure some aspects of familiarity if you're a college football fan.

  With the Olympic field hockey venue adopting a distinctive blue pitch, it's hard not to think of the iconic "Smurf Turf" that the Boise State football team has played on at Bronco Stadium for over 25 years.

  Located the Olympic Park, Riverbank Arena will play host to both men's and women's field hockey tournaments at the Games. Its blue turf is encircled by an equally vibrant pink out-of-bounds area. Blue and pink are two of the official colors of the London Olympics.

  As much as the pitch is an aesthetic spectacle, it's taking its share of lumps for its poor, unpredictable performance.

  "In France, we played on green turf, which was fast while blue turf was slow and bouncy," India coach Michael Nobbs told the Times of India. "I don't know why this turf has been introduced. I can only guess that blue being one of the Olympic colors, they have introduced it (in the London Olympics)." 

  Field hockey at the Olympics runs from Sunday through Aug. 4.

  Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports via US PRESSWIRE

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• Nine competitors already sent home from Olympics for using banned substances

  July 26, 2012 by David_Breitman

  

  Usually an athlete will get the opportunity to stand on a podium and hear the anthem played before the IOC makes him pee in a cup to figure out whether or not he legitimately earned that moment. It’s a time-honored tradition that allows the audience to see how effective steroids are while giving the disgraced participant something to deny for the next 60 years of his life.

  In 2012, however, Olympic drug agents have decided to get more proactive by testing competitors before they have a chance to defeat their drug-free opponents. Naturally, this has been devastating news for cheaters.

  According to reports, nine athletes were told that their services would no longer be required on Wednesday due to a series of drug, doping, and other chemically-induced alterations were discovered in their small plastic bottle.

  (Note: If you bet on Morocco’s Abderrahim Goumri to win the marathon, now might be a good time to call up Vegas and ask for your money back.)

  Perhaps the most notable rule bender comes from Greece (a country who spent the previous day expelling another one of their athletes for some tasteful racism she posted on Twitter), where world champion high jumper Dimitris Chondrokoukis tested positive for horse meds. (Although to be fair, he may have been holding them for a friend.)

  Not only is Chondrokoukis one of the more prominent track and field athletes in the games, but he also happens to be the son of Greek’s amateur sports director, a man who also serves as his coach. You can click here to see the eloquent letter he wrote to the IOC where he spends two paragraphs refusing to deny that his son cheated.

  With more tests presumably happening on Thursday, it’s not unreasonable to think that a few more beds may be opening up in the athlete’s village before the Opening Ceremonies. By the time Saturday rolls around it might just be Michael Phelps and a Turkish weightlifter sitting in the middle of London playing blackjack as they wait for someone to compete against.

  Photo: Artifacts Images/Digital Vision/Getty Images

   

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• Egypt knowingly gave its Olympic athletes counterfeit gear

  July 25, 2012 by sawleyv

  

  You know how you can go to some foreign countries and buy knockoff, counterfeit products of popular name brands for super cheap? The Egyptian Olympic team knows a thing or two about that.

  After discovering their official team-supplied "Nike" tracksuits and bags were Chinese knockoffs, Egyptian athletes were forced to pay over $300 out of their own pockets to replace the inauthentic merchandise. As translated by The Guardian, here's what synchronized swimmer Yomna Khallaf tweeted about the fake gear:

  "The bags for example have big nike logo in the front and the zippers are addidas [sic]. It's so frustrating that we had to pay extra 2000 [Egyptian] pounds to have other proper stuff to wear so that we can look okay not even good … We'd rather wear plain white or black shirts than this sh*tty stuff!"

  This was no oversight by the Egyptian Olympic Committee, which intentionally contracted the Chinese apparel company that provided the gear solely because it was cheap.

  "We signed with a Chinese distributor in light of Egypt’s economic situation,” EOC chairman Gen. Mahmoud Ahmed Ali told The AP, adding that the fake gear would be "sufficient."

  The EOC better hope this was worth it because apparently now Nike is raising hell.

  "Nike was recently made aware that the EOC chose a vendor for its athletes' training and village wear who is alleged to have supplied counterfeit footwear and apparel bearing the Nike trademarks," a Nike spokesman told The Guardian. "Nike is highly concerned that if these allegations are true, the athletes will have received products that do not meet Nike's quality standards. Nike's authorised distributor in Egypt has sent two official communications to the EOC on this issue and no response has been received."

  We cannot confirm if the Egyptian contingent's in-flight movie to London was a bootleg version of "The Dark Knight Rises" filmed on someone's camcorder.

  H/T Deadspin

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• Manchester United reportedly blocking its stars from Olympics

  May 12, 2012 by sawleyv

  

  Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already said this week that his striker Javier Hernandez won't be competing in the Olympics this summer for his native Mexico. But apparently he won't be the only Man U player blocked from competing in London.

  The English juggernaut has reportedly placed an embargo on its players after writing a letter to the English Football Association warning Great Britain coach Stuart Pearce not to select any of its over-age players. Men's soccer teams at the Olympics are under-23 squads but are permitted to have three players over the age limit.

  The lone player Man U is willing to concede from its blockade is 38-year-old midfielder Ryan Giggs, who as a Welsh international has never competed in a major international tournament. That would mean Man U stars Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney are restricted from being part of Team GB. However, it was already unlikely that Pearce would have called upon them. Ferdinand and Rooney are both standouts for England, which is set to compete in the Euro Cup in June, and Pearce has said he would not choose any English players who compete at Euros.

  In the past, FIFA allowed clubs to block all their players from competing in the Olympcs. Only recently did it relent in advance for the London games, making clubs leave their under-23 players available for Olympic duty (which sounds in tune to what David Stern reportedly wants to do with basketball).

  But, all in all, Man U definitely isn't the only club with this attitude. It's just doing what's in its best interests. And Mark Cuban is probably somewhere giving them a standing O for it.

  Bookmark Medal Detector for more on the Olympics from Larry Brown Sports and other Yardbarker bloggers.

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• Azerbaijan's wrestling team smells awful, uses Febreze (Video)

  May 12, 2012 by sawleyv

  In case you were dying for proof that Febreze could eliminate the grimiest of stenches, here is Azerbaijan's wrestling team dousing all of its equipment with the product after working up a massive sweat to make themselves extra musty.

  Blindfolded people were then brought in to see if they could decipher what they were smelling. That the people were making guesses such as "potpourri factory," "a field with a picnic" and "passionfruit" while their faces were nearly buried in shoes, head gear and wrestling leotards (sadly, no cups) makes this video extra delightful. Imagine their amusement when they took off their blindfolds to see they weren't in a field of flowers but rather a dingy gym with a bunch of sweaty, smelly wrestlers.

  As for the members of the Azerbaijani wrestling team, they've probably just been outed as the smelliest bros competing at Olympics this summer. Smelly, but hopefully at least stylish.

  H/T Deadspin

  Bookmark Medal Detector for more on the Olympics from Larry Brown Sports and other Yardbarker bloggers.

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• Michael Phelps credits Ray Lewis for motivation

  May 12, 2012 by sawleyv

  

  Burned out by the rigors it took to amass eight gold medals in Beijing in 2008, Michael Phelps wasn't sure if he'd have enough motivation to want to compete in another Olympic games.

  But, thankfully for swimming fans and Team USA's medal count, Phelps was able to rekindle his enthusiasm, and he says some of the credit for getting him over the hump belongs to a famous NFL player.

  "Someone who helped me find the passion back was Ray Lewis," Phelps said back in March. "He's been able to help me kind of just find me."

  Hardly a surprising compliment for the all-pro linebacker, whom Phelps, a native of Baltimore and a big Ravens fan, has become close with. In March, a video of Lewis giving a rousing pregame speech to the Stanford men's basketball team during its NIT championship run created a buzz around the Internet.

  "I love to watch him play. It sends chills up my spine," Phelps told The Baltimore Sun. "And his words are so powerful. It's what friends are for."

  Now the question remains if Phelps will have Lewis tag along to London to preach about being "pissed off for greatness" before big races.

  H/T Pro Football Talk

  Bookmark Medal Detector for more on the Olympics from Larry Brown Sports and other Yardbarker bloggers.

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• Michael Phelps says his 12,000-calorie diet is a 'myth'

  May 09, 2012 by sawleyv

  

  Four years ago in Beijing, when Michael Phelps wasn't amazing us with the preposterous things he was pulling off in a swimming pool, the stories about his compulsive eating habits were.

  His diet appeared to resemble that of a competitive eater rather than a record-breaking Olympian, and its ascendance from the sports world into pop culture lore all but signaled the diet's legendary status. And that's understandable. After all, Phelps was reportedly devouring a mind-boggling 12,000 calories per day.

  But now Phelps is saying all the reports about his diet, to borrow a line from Mark Twain, have been greatly exaggerated. The 14-time Olympic gold medalist appeared on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on Wednesday, and when Seacrest asked Phelps if he still had a mammoth diet, Phelps went into myth-busting mode.

  "I never ate that much," Phelps said. "It’s all a myth. I’ve never eaten that many calories. I wish. It’s just too much though. It would be impossible."

  This is probably a good thing. Anytime you're housing a pound of pasta and an entire pizza for dinner it can't be for the better. Although, we just wish Phelps could have cleared this up before we had to endure this lousy sketch from his episode of SNL.

  Hear Seacrest's full interview with Phelps here.

  Bookmark Medal Detector for more on the Olympics from Larry Brown Sports and other Yardbarker bloggers.

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• Hotel prices for London Olympics are getting ridiculous

  August 12, 2011 by RumorsandRants

  

  If you're planning to make the trip to London for the 2012 Olympic Games, be prepared to shell out a lot of dough to do it. Not only are tickets to the actual events ridiculously expensive, but hotels all over merry olde England are planning on jacking up rates as well.

  Anyone visiting London next summer should expect to pay up to 10 times the usual rate for a hotel room. Less than a year away from the opening ceremonies hotel owners have already started preparing for the impending surge of guests from abroad.

  The Economic Times claims that a night at London's Sheraton Park Tower would cost 209 pounds, or $338.79 right now. The price quoted for a stay next summer is 605 pounds ($980.70). A night at the W London would go for 290 pounds ($470.09) right now, but will cost 540 pounds ($875.34) next August. In an even more shocking example of price gouging, a night at the Berjaya Hotel (which normally goes for 89 to 199 pounds) will cost 999 pounds ($1,619.38) for every night of the Olympics.

  Even youth hostels are are getting into the act as the Youth Hostel Association's Earl's Court property will nearly double its rates from 15.65 pounds to 30.65 per night. Anyone else get the feeling those youth hostels are going to be hilariously overcrowded?

  This isn't something new. During the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, hotel rooms were also 10 times more expensive than usual. Many believe that helped contribute to a 30 percent decline in visitors to the city that year.

  Other towns in southern England have seized the opportunity provided by London's hotel prices. The county of Suffolk (70 miles from central London) has started a campaign to target Olympic tourists who can't afford the prices in the big city.

  London Mayor Boris Johnson is urging local hoteliers and business owners to refrain from gouging tourists and focus on providing "reasonable and fair trading terms" during the Games.

  At this point it doesn't seem like the big hotel chains are listening to the mayor. Hopefully something changes over the next year and London can truly provide an affordable experience for fans traveling to the Games.

  Bookmark Medal Detector for more on the Olympics from Rumors and Rants and other Yardbarker bloggers.

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• Lochte vs. Phelps could be the story of the London Olympics

  August 05, 2011 by RumorsandRants

  

  Remember that dude on the left in the picture above? His name is Michael Phelps. It's likely that the last time you heard from that goofy-looking guy was when The News of the World published a photo of him enjoying what we're sure was medically prescribed marijuana.

  Well, now he's back to swimming and at last week's world championships in Shanghai he showed that he's slowly gaining back the form that won him a record eight gold medals back in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. The problem is, the guy on the right of that picture will be in London next summer too.

  It has been three years since Phelps captivated the world by breaking Mark Spitz's record and taking home an unprecedented haul of gold medals. While the 14-time Olympic champion has taken it easy and really not pushed himself since then, Ryan Lochte has done the exact opposite. While he's known as a bit of a free spirit and is as unconventional as it gets outside of swimming, when Lochte gets in the pool he's a serious competitor.

  Lochte's star has been on the rise over the past year. After losing head-to-head to Phelps in the 200 and 400-meter individual medleys 20 straight times over seven years at major events, Lochte finally edged him out in the 200 IM at the U.S. Nationals last summer. Then, two weeks later at the Pan Pacific Games he won six gold medals. Many thought at that moment he had surpassed Phelps as the world's best swimmer.

  The 27-year-old Lochte is no stranger to the Olympics. He took home individual gold in the 200 backstroke at the Beijing Games, while adding a gold in the 4x200 relay, and bronze in both the 200 and 400 IMs. In 2004 at the Athens Olympics, Lochte won gold in the 4x200 relay and silver in the 200 IM. But "The Lochtenator" (can we please think of another nickname for him?) knows that next summer could be his chance to etch his name in the history books as Phelps has already done.

  Last week in Shanghai, Phelps and Lochte went head-to-head again, but this time Phelps was serious. After years of blowing off training sessions, the 26-year-old says he is once again focused. His goal is to be at his best in London next summer. Over the past eight months, Phelps has put down the golf clubs, shoved aside the distractions and put all his energy into preparing for what will likely be his final Olympics.

  If last week's events were any indication, the duel between Phelps and Lochte could be the story of the 2012 Olympics. Lochte and Phelps went head-to-head twice, and Lochte got the better of his friendly rival both times. He topped Phelps in the 200 free and set a world record in the 200 IM, which was the first record to be broken since high-tech bodysuits were banned in 2009. Overall Lochte left the competition with six medals, five of them gold (one bronze), while Phelps won four golds, two silvers and a bronze.

  Right now, Lochte is the man to beat in the swimming world, there's no doubt of that. But we all know what Phelps can do when he's properly motivated. As it stands, Lochte will likely enter eight events in London: the 100 and 200 backstrokes, the 200 and 400 IMs and the U.S.'s three relays. Phelps has not revealed how many events he will participate in, but he has said it will be fewer than eight.

  Next summer, with both men hopefully at their best, we might see the most captivating matchup at an Olympics since close friends and (UCLA track teammates) Rafer Johnson and C.K. Yang went toe-to-toe in the Decathlon at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

  I, for one, can't wait.

  Bookmark Medal Detector for more on the Olympics from Rumors and Rants and other Yardbarker bloggers.

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