Author: rokur

The man who swims like a fish has the memory of an elephant. Michael Phelps never forgets. But until 2015, when he moved from Baltimore to Arizona to train with coach Bob Bowman, the most decorated Olympian of all time had never looked at all his medals together. “I could remember back to every single thought I had on the medal stand, after the race, every single one of them,” Phelps said in March. “I could remember my facial expression after getting third in 2004 in the 200 free. Every little tiny thing.” To most swimming fans, Phelps’ races are…

Ryan Lochte powered out to a big lead in the event he won four years ago at the London Olympics, his powerful arms churning through the water, looking very much like a lock for another trip to the games. Actually, he was trying to hide the pain. By the end, it was apparent to everyone. In a stunner on the very first night of the U.S. swimming trials, an ailing Lochte was denied a chance to defend his Olympic title in the 400-meter individual medley, finishing third Sunday behind a pair of college teammates who raced right by him on…

In Brazil, epicenter of the Zika virus, local authorities and organizers of the upcoming Olympic Games have been striving to assure the world that it’s safe for athletes and tourists. The World Health Organization has issued a series of guidelines for those traveling to Rio, but some worry warnings could stigmatize struggling communities. Special correspondent Lulu Garcia-Navarro of NPR reports. https://youtu.be/jutVdmItY4c

In the first of a three-part series on national swimmers, Singapore’s best Olympic medal hopeful Joseph Schooling opens up about his initial struggles in the United States, why beating childhood idol Michael Phelps meant nothing to him, and why he believes he is going to make history by becoming the first Singaporean to win an Olympic swimming gold. https://youtu.be/r7rVMeLrhZU

Katie Wood was last in the ocean when she was 2. The 21-year-old told a friend she wanted to swim in the ocean as part of her bucket list. An online fundraising effort made it all possible. Kristine Lazar reports. https://youtu.be/_mtf4KBjg_0

Former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan will file for an injunction against the Korea Olympic Committee on Thursday while he awaits a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling on a controversial doping suspension, his legal representative said. Park has already served an 18-month ban imposed by swimming’s world governing body FINA but is fighting to repeal a KOC regulation that imposed an additional three-year suspension, effectively ruling him out of the Rio Olympics. The KOC said last week it had turned down Park’s appeal to overturn the suspension, leaving the swimmer’s hopes of competing at Rio in the hands of…

Thomas Mlambo, host of sport @ 10 interviews Michelle Weber – Long distance swimmer, the only female athlete swimmer to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics. https://youtu.be/9siy9wxoFBs

The Kansas City Swim Academy will be well-represented over the weekend in Omaha at the United States Olympic swimming trials. https://youtu.be/QVkewAjSN54

Rio 2016 will be the 5th Olympic Games for Spyridon Gianniotis. The 10km distance is his most successful discipline and the Greeks hope for a medal for their athlete of the year 2012. https://youtu.be/tZ0LxxIsois

Six weeks before the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the laboratory that was set to handle drug testing at the Games has been suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency in a new escalation of world sport’s doping crisis. WADA — the global regulator of doping in sports that oversees some three dozen testing labs around the world — confirmed the suspension Friday, citing a “nonconformity” with international standards. The Rio de Janeiro lab had a disciplinary record. It was suspended in 2013 — a year before Brazil hosted soccer’s World Cup — and was reinstated…