Month: June 2016
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Michael Phelps gets paid $200K to use Facebook Live
An Olympian has not only hit gold in the swimming pool. He’s also sitting on a gold mine provided to him by the world’s biggest social network. Michael Phelps, who holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals with 18, has picked up a side gig as a media personality. Phelps hosts periodic live video…
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Michael Phelps Talks Suicidal Thoughts, 2016 Rio Olympics
It’s been nearly two years since 22-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps finished a 45-day stint in rehab following his second DUI arrest. Now, with those dark days in his rearview mirror and his fifth and likely final Olympics right around the corner in Rio, the greatest swimmer of all time is opening up to ESPN The Magazine about his past struggles with…
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Italian president Mattarella hands flags to Olympic flag-bearers Pellegrini and Caironi
President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday handed the Italian flag to Italy’s flag-bearers for the Rio Olympics and Paralympics, respectively swimmer Federica Pellegrini and sprinter Martina Caironi, at a ceremony at the presidential place featuring the two teams. Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) President Giovanni Malagò told Mattarella “the athletes will do their utmost to honour the…
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U.S. Olympic Swim Trials Backstage Tour
Our John Chapman was given a backstage tour of the Olympic Swim Trials.
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Dutch prototype clean-up boom brings Pacific plastics solution a step closer
A bid to clear the Pacific of its plastic debris has moved a step closer with the launch of the biggest prototype clean-up boom yet by the Dutch environment minister at a port in The Hague. On Thursday the 100m-long barrier will be towed 20km out to sea for a year of sensor-monitored tests, before…
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U.S. Swim Trials attendance to go over 200,000 for the first time
The 4,400-seat IU Natatorium in Indianapolis had sold out long before the meets in 1996 and 2000, and the potential of the event needed to be studied hard by Executive Director Chuck Wielgus and USA Swimming. “We kind of knew it was time,†said Mike Unger, the event director in 2000 and now USA Swimming…
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Diving from the Roof of the Copenhagen Opera House | Cliff Diving World Series 2016
After finishing an uncharacteristic fourth in the opening round of the 2016 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Texas two weeks earlier, defending champion Gary Hunt showed his rivals that he’s still the man to beat if they want to win this year’s title.
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Olympic swimmer: Michigan has ‘best training, coaching’
The Olympic trials for swimming start next week, but former University of Michigan standout Sean Ryan won’t be stressing about them — he already clinched his spot on Team USA. In fact, he will have been an Olympian for more than year before he actually competes in the Rio games. He qualified in July 2015…
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Olympic refugee team: swimming heroine comes to Rio 2016 after saving 20 lives
As the Syrian War intensified in 2014, Mardini and her sister left their home in Damascus, travelling to Beirut, Istanbul and finally Izmir in Turkey, where they embarked on their journey across the Mediterranean to the Greek island of Lesbos. During the sea crossing, the motor on their dinghy suddenly stopped. The tiny vessel meant…