Author: rokur

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 chats with fans via his Facebook page after signing a deal with Mark Zuckerberg’s company, according to The Wall Street Journal. Phelps gets paid $200,000 and is one of nearly 140 video creators who have signed deals to create live videos for the social network’s newest feature,…

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 alcohol and suicidal thoughts. Phelps cemented his place as an Olympic legend two years before checking into rehab in October 2014. He should have been on top of the world at the time, but instead he was drifting – drinking heavily and struggling to find…

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 Azzurri colours” and said they “represent our country’s pride”. Pellegrini said “I hope to realise even bigger dreams in Rio”. Read Ansa https://youtu.be/YUC6gERj36A

Our John Chapman was given a backstage tour of the Olympic Swim Trials. https://youtu.be/iLnMyJqIFGQ https://youtu.be/irdAwJ2RZ5Y

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 being scaled up for real-life trials off the Japanese coast at the end of next year. If all goes well, full-scale deployment of a 100km-long version will take place in the “great Pacific garbage patch” between California and Hawaii in 2020. […] The snake-like ocean…

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 assistant executive director. “Chuck always talks about standing on the 10-meter tower on the last night and looking down and seeing that we were kind of busting at the seams. And that’s sort of happened.” What was off there in the distance, had officials been…

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. https://youtu.be/1Zp9VR5yJjI

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 when he finished fourth in the open water 10K at the FINA World Championships. “A year is a really long time to go without having an intermediate goal along the way,” Ryan said. You would think an open water swimmer would train in a year-round…

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 only for six people was at risk of capsizing, with 20 desperate passengers huddled on board. Mardini, her sister and one other woman took to the water and pushed the boat until it reached the shore, saving the lives of everyone. “Only four out of…

Former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner received a 6 month jail sentence for sexually assaulting a fellow female student because the judge deemed the trial itself as enough of a punishment, according to new reports. The presiding judge of Santa Clara County, Aaron Persky, concluded what many are calling a “slap on the wrist” as sufficient because media attention and legal proceedings were already stressful and disciplinary for Turner. The ex-Stanford swimmer blamed the university’s “party culture” and the pervasive temptations from booze that permeate social life on campus, according to a letter he sent to the judge prior to the sentencing Turner has not admitted that…