Swimmer's Daily

  • “In this day and age, there’s one pretty important rule that anybody in the public eye should think about: Don’t lie,” said Joe Favorito, a sports marketing expert and professor at Columbia. “We live in a world where everything is going to be exposed. Brands are always looking for honest and authentic representatives because there’s so much competition. There are so many Olympic athletes who you can choose from. You don’t need any nonsense.”

  • Some of Rio’s champions share their breakfast choice, good luck charms, and winning mindset.

  • The International Olympic Committee has set up a disciplinary commission to investigate the incident involving Ryan Lochte and three of his U.S. swimming teammates at a Rio de Janeiro gas station.

    IOC spokesman Mark Adams told The Associated Press the panel was formed Friday to look into the behavior of Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen.

    Adams had no other immediate details.

    IOC disciplinary commissions have the power to issue sanctions, but it is an entity separate from the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Swimming and FINA, the international governing body for swimming.
    See ESPN

    https://youtu.be/zoasm5DIr-A

  • Gunnar Bentz, one of the four U.S. swimmers caught up in the gas station scandal in Rio, has released a statement through the University of Georgia detailing the events of the night in question. Parts of Bentz’s account stand at odds with the alleged robbery story told by teammate Ryan Lochte.

    Read NBC and full statement on georgiadogs.com

    https://youtu.be/_41vkKJKHbw

    Aug. 19, 2016
    Statement by University of Georgia Swimmer Gunnar Bentz

    “I want to offer a sincere apology to the United States Olympic Committee, USA Swimming, the extraordinary women and men of Team USA, and the University of Georgia. Being a member of the Olympic Swimming Team was an honor and a dream come true. The accomplishments of my teammates were awe-inspiring and I’m so pleased I got to see them up close. I regret this situation has drawn attention away from the Olympics, which have been hosted so incredibly well by Brazil and its citizens.

    “While I am anxious to put this matter behind me and rejoin my Georgia teammates in classes, practices and competitions, I feel compelled to stress several key points.

    1. I was never a suspect in the case from the beginning (Brazilian law enforcement officials saw me only as a witness).
    2. I never made a false statement to anyone at any time.

    “I also want to be forthright about the details of what transpired last Sunday. What follows is consistent with the account I gave to the Brazilian authorities when I was interviewed for the first and only time on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro:

    “After attending an event with several swimmers from different nations, I left in a taxicab along with U.S. swimmers Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Lochte around 6 a.m. On the way back to the Olympic Village, we pulled into a convenience store to use the restroom. There was no restroom inside, so we foolishly relieved ourselves on the backside of the building behind some bushes. There was a locked door out back and I did not witness anyone breaking it open. I am unsure why, but while we were in that area, Ryan pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall. I then suggested to everyone that we needed to leave the area and we returned to the taxi.

    “Two men, whom I believe to have been security guards, then instructed us to exit the vehicle. No guns were drawn during this exchange, but we did see a gun tucked into one of the guard’s waistband. As Jimmy and Jack were walking away from the vehicle, the first security guard held up a badge to me and drew his handgun. I yelled to them to come back toward us and they complied. Then the second guard drew his weapon and both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk.
    “Again, I cannot speak to his actions, but Ryan stood up and began to yell at the guards. After Jack and I both tugged at him in an attempt to get him to sit back down, Ryan and the security guards had a heated verbal exchange, but no physical contact was made.

    “A man that I believe to be a customer approached us and offered to help as he spoke both English and Portuguese. Understandably, we were frightened and confused during this time. Through the interpreter, one of the guards said that we needed to pay them in order to leave. I gave them what I had in my wallet, which was a $20 bill, and Jimmy gave them 100 Reals, which is about $50 in total. They lowered the guns and I used hand gestures to ask if it was okay to leave and they said yes. We walked about a block down the street and hailed another taxi to return to the Village.

    “Videos of this situation have been emerging the last several days. However, I am confident that some video angles have not been shown that would further substantiate my account. I also believe some scenes have been skipped over. Additionally, I would like to stress that our original taxi was not pulled over; the only occupants of the taxi were the four of us and the driver; and to my knowledge, there was no damage done to the door or the inside of the restroom.

    “I am so thankful for the love and support of my family, my friends and my teammates during this time. Without question, I am taking away a valuable life lesson from this situation. In everything I do, I am representing my family, my country and my school. I will not take that responsibility lightly.”

    — Gunnar Bentz, Aug. 19, 2016

  • Jimmy Feigen, a U.S. Olympic swimmer apparently connected to the scandal involving Ryan Lochte, has reportedly agreed to donate $11,000 to a charity in Brazil in return for being allowed to leave the country. Two other swimmers, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz, have already been allowed to return to the United States. The USOC is apologizing to Brazil, saying surveillance video confirms that Lochte’s story of being robbed in Rio was fabricated. NBC’s Keir Simmons reports for TODAY from Rio.

  • It’s a marriage that is literally 24/7. One of swimming’s biggest stars of Rio 2016 is coached by her husband and it’s a relationship that prompted much debate as she stormed to three gold medals.

    Many have questioned whether it’s possible to navigate the complications involved in a dynamic involving athlete and coach as well as wife and husband. Katinka Hosszu, though, wouldn’t have things any other way.

    “It’s amazing to share it [success] with someone that you really love,” Katinka told CNN’s Don Riddell, as she reflected on her marriage and partnership with husband and coach Shane Tusup. “So it’s been really special for us.”

    See CNN

  • The Paralympic Games will take place as planned next month, but face major budget cuts, the International Paralympic Committee has announced.

    The cuts will be made to venues, the workforce and transport.

    Delayed travel grants will now be paid to athletes, but 10 countries may struggle to get teams to Rio.

    “Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstances like this,” said IPC president Sir Philip Craven.

    With 19 days to the start of the Games, the IPC says Rio’s organising committee has not raised enough money to fund the Paralympics.

    This is due to Brazil’s struggling economy and the fact that only 12% of available tickets have so far been sold for the Games, which start on 7 September.

    It meant organisers were three weeks late in paying 8m euros (£7m) of travel grants to help athletes get to Rio.

    But Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes has secured an additional £36m of funding and £24m in sponsorship from state-run companies after an injunction was lifted that had blocked further state aid for the Games.

    What’s being cut?

    • Downsizing of Rio 2016’s workforce for the Paralympics
    • Changes to the transport services for athletes and their teams
    • The closure of a number of venue media centres
    • Moving events to other venues to enable Deodoro Park to be dismantled, allowing the other venues to have dedicated transport hubs
    • Security forces currently in place for the Olympics will remain for the Paralympics.

     

    Craven added: “These cuts are on top of the ones we, together with the International Olympic Committee, have already made in the last 12 months and are likely to impact nearly every stakeholder attending the Games.”

    Organisers were meant to pay travel grants to all 165 participating countries by the end of July. The grants, paid to national Paralympic bodies, cover the travel costs for athletes and officials.

    Read BBC and Paralympic.org

    https://youtu.be/1mPu7hcfG58

  • The 71-year-old, who temporarily stood down as president of the Olympics Council of Ireland (OCI) after his arrest on Wednesday, is now being detained at the Bangu 10 facility in West Rio de Janeiro.

    Fellow Irishman Kevin Mallon (36) is currently being detained at the adjoining Bangu 8 in the same complex.

    Mr Hickey was wheeled from a hospital in Rio de Janeiro last night and taken by car to a police station to be quizzed about the accusations.

    After four hours, he hid in the back of a car as he was taken to be medically examined once more before being finally brought to a detention facility pending further investigations.

    Mr Hickey stood aside temporarily as Olympics Council of Ireland (OCI) president after his arrest in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

    The alleged ticket scam came to light after fellow Irishman Kevin James Mallon (36) was arrested on the day of the opening ceremony.

    Mr Hickey is potentially facing three charges of facilitating ticket touting, formation of a cartel and ambush or illicit marketing. Brazilian detectives say the offences carry a sentence of up to seven years in prison.

    Last night, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that it had stopped Mr Hickey’s daily expenses of €800 a day, paid to him every day he was in Rio. But IOC officials condemned Rio police for allowing a TV crew to accompany them as a naked Hickey was arrested in a hotel, describing it as “theatre”.

    IOC member Dick Pound said: “It makes it look like all sports administrators are corrupt. They’re not.”

    Read Belfast Telegraph

    https://youtu.be/Agqw3gLsDz8