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via www.usatoday.com: Rulon Gardner, Olympic wrestling champion and contestant on the NBC reality show, "The Biggest Loser," confirmed to USA TODAY on Thursday a report on www.themat.com that he is considering a comeback for the 2012 London Olympics.
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA (I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming)
via www.usatoday.com: U.S. swimmer Jessica Hardy, barred from the 2008 Olympics after taking a contaminated supplement that led to a positive doping test, has been cleared to compete at next year's London Games, according to her lawyer, Howard Jacobs.
"I want to be there and I want to medal and I just want to make myself proud," Hardy told USA TODAY, regarding her London Olympic goals.
GMM: Jessica Hardy's positive drug test, the result of a contaminated supplement, was a tragic event, but you wouldn't know it if you met her.
Publicly, Jessica remained positive throughout her ordeal, though she did have some dark struggles. With the help of friends, family, and a psychologist, she worked through it all. More than anything, Jessica recovered emotionally by training and competing. Simply put, she proved herself in the pool. Jessica won international gold medals and broke world records, and she smiled a beautiful smile that spoke volumes about her resolve.
The tragedy of 2008 was equally ours, the swimming fans. We were denied seeing Jessica's performance in Beijing, one that promised to be spectacular. We'll get it back in London 2012. Jessica will be a sentimental favorite. I, for one, will be cheering a little louder for her.
Jessica's a great tweeter. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER HERE.
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA (I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming)
Apolo Anton Ohno is out and about, everywhere. The most decorated US Winter Olympian, an 8-time medalist, is pitching for seven different corporate partners, selling his own weigh-loss supplements, and, rather methodically, managing to stay in the public's eye non-stop. That's not an easy thing to do when the Olympic competition's over and NBC turns off their cameras.
Ohno's next gig, or one of his many next gigs: the New York City Marathon, November 6th, a smart move on Ohno's part.
The annual NYC Marathon attracts tens of thousands of applicants (this year over 140,000 applied to run) and has an economic impact of over $300,000,000 on The Big Apple. In other words, the NYC Marathon is a tent-pole event and cash-cow, with a formidable marketing budget... Why the hell am I writing about this? In April? (Answer: marketing manipulation.)
If you're an Olympic athlete and/or agent, watch Ohno Incorporated in action. Watch and learn. Ohno is diligently building a personal brand that will net him tens of millions over his lifetime... Sure, we all can't be 8-time Olympic medalists, but many have hardware and a passion to stay involved in the Olympic Movement. Following Ohno's biz moves, you could create your own brand in your community. Click here and start by studying his calendar of gigs and self-generated media on his website.
Here's Ohno's Olympic manager and entertainment manager.
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA (I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming)
FINA, swimming's international governing body, cancels open-water race in Mexico because of poor water quality. It was FINA's sports medicine committee that triggered the cancelation of the event, May 7th, in Sumidero Canyon.
The race, 9.3 miles, was the fifth event on the Grand Prix series.
Six months after the tragic death of Fran Crippen in the United Arab Emirates, FINA is finally stepping up their safe-guards. Critics have been vocal about FINA's bureaucratic lethargy. Open-water insiders claim FINA's been more concerned with public relations than actually making athletes safe. Perhaps this cancelation is a sign that the tide is turning. What do you think?
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA (I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming)
via www.straitstimes.com: LONDON - THE DEMAND for tickets to see the London 2012 Olympic Games 'hit the roof' as sports fans scrambled to get seats in the final hours before Tuesday's deadline. The six-week window to apply for the 6.6 million tickets available to the public closes at 11.59pm (10.59pm GMT) on Tuesday.
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA
(I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming)
via www.govolsxtra.com: Longtime University of Tennessee assistant men’s swim coach Joe Hendee died Sunday after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 50.
“I’ve met a lot of people in my life and he’s the best man I’ve met,” UT head swim coach John Trembley said. “He would give you the shirt off his back. He was always there for the swimmers, the divers and their families.”
GMM: Coach Hendee stood over me (and hundreds of other University Tennessee swimmers) during practice. You could always count on him. He knew your stroke-rate, split-times and every other detail you depend on day-in and day-out when you're an elite swimmer. Joe's service was the details, which went far beyond the pool and included that all-important ingredient; emotional support.
John Trembley's (JT) quote above sums up Joe's service to the sport. My heart aches for JT. Aside from Joe's family, I think JT hurts, and has hurt throughout the past year, more than anyone…
COACHING HISTORY: JT and Joe worked in concert at every level, during practice, mid-season competitions, and the big show; NCAAs, trials competitions and international meets.
I remember one NCAA Championship when JT loaded-up several Tennessee swimmers with an unfathomable schedule of events. The mere thought of swimming race after race for three days scared me and my teammates. We shared several events, 200 fly, 500 and 200 free. Back then, you had to swim the 4x200 free relay twice, prelims and finals, which meant racing the 200 free four times in one day, flat-out.
JT gave the marching orders--race-plan coupled with inspiration--while Joe nursed us all through our doubts and fears, usually while giving us our pre and post race massages. Joe was our positive re-enforcement, the confident voice over our shoulders, Remember, you'll have easy speed going out. Control it through that third 50, build it focusing on holding your water, then give it everything you've got coming home.
We made it through that second day of NCAAs, those four painful 200 frees, because of Joe's support... No one performs at the elite level on their own.
You grow-up so much during your college swimming career, particularly on those tough days you doubt you'll make it through. Joe's contribution was a lesson in sacrifice. He gave he everything he could, every ounce of himself, so you could succeed... Years after you've hung-up your suit, it's Joe's voice hear when you're talking to young swimmers, striving to give them some shred of wisdom, understanding, and, if you're lucky, inspiration. Joe's voice is also the one I think of as a parent, trying to balance tough-love with compassion.
Joe will be missed, but he will always be present in our hearts. His good work lives on in hundreds of swimmer's lives.
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA (I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming)
via www.denverpost.com: U.S. figure skaters had their time clocks broken, not to mention their hearts, when the tsunami hit Japan last month, then forced the World Championships from Tokyo to Moscow.
GMM: Rachael Flatt, pictured above, will compete at her 3rd world championships. On the men's side, Ryan Bradley, going to his 3rd third worlds also, will not compete against 2010 Olympic stars, Evan Lysacek, Evan Plushenko and Johnny Weir. They are all "resting" this year, saving their performances for the future. FOR THE FULL REPORT:Figure skating world championships are wide-open - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_17920796##ixzz1KXBip4Xu
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA
(I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimminng)
via www2.kusports.com: Olympic bronze medalist/Kansas Relays fan favorite Bershawn “Batman” Jackson — who missed KU’s spring carnival last year — returned in a blaze of glory Saturday.
Sporting a new Batman tattoo on his upper back, the 5-foot-8, 160-pound dynamo breezed to his sixth Relays 400 hurdles title.
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA
(I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming)
via www.foxnews.com: Summer doesn’t officially start until June 21, but so far this year, there have already been 37 drowning and 38 near-drowning incidents reported across the country.
GMM: Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of accidential death for kids. Donate a swimming lesson to a family in need. Donate to one of our MAKE A SPLASH LOCAL PARTNERS across the United States.
I had a chance to catch-up with Rowdy on the MAKE A SPLASH TOUR (to schools across the country). He filled me in on GOLDEN GOGGLES, the MAKE A SPLASH TOUR and more.
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA (I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming)
via www.guardian.co.uk: Sega has announced Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the latest in the hugely successful series of multi-sport tie-ins starring the two legendary gaming mascots. The first title in the series to name a specific Olympic location is being developed for the Wii and 3DS at Sega Japan and a release date is expected to be revealed later in the year.
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA (I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming
Ryan Lochte, now the world's greatest swimmer, has been building his brand and business since Beijing. Recently, major media outlets have been profiling his success in the market.
Lochte, raised by a mother and father who are respected coaches in the swimming world, has been, understandably, generous. What's most revealing is that a swimmer, aside from Michael Phelps, has risen to the level of buying cars and high-end watches as gifts. In sum, Lochte's doing well.
Lochte's brand, defined as the easy-going nice-guy, always in-style, gels with lifestyle consumers and the entire swimming market. I've seen him host a charity dinner with donors, all over the age of 60, and leave them wanting more. I've also seen him conduct a swimming clinic with kids, little kids (not an easy gig, considering the level of enthusiasm you must maintain), and they absolutely loved him.
Lochte's greatest asset: he listens. He's never on autopilot with his growing fan-base. Lochte listens and reacts to everyone in an authentic way.
Lochte has partnered with speedo, usa swimming and gatorade. I expect he'll add more big partners between now and London 2012 (provided his training schedule allows it). My wife and I were fortunate enough to work with Lochte earlier this year on a SwimOutlet video. When more big brands learn what we learned (how much fun he is to work with), they'll be beating down his door. In fact...I'm pretty sure they already are.
Here's the SwimOutlet video my wife and I produced:
GOLD MEDAL MEDIA (I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming.)
via www.thepostgame.com: Coaches loved Fran Crippen for quite a number of reasons. He was always on time, almost always in a good mood. He was vocal, he was motivating, he was enthusiastic. He was attentive and responded exceptionally well to a challenge. But perhaps the most remarkable thing about Fran was not just his willingness to suffer but an actual desire to do so. He bought into the benefits of suffering. He thought there was something inherently good in punishing parts of his body that most mortals don’t know exist. Tough didn’t quite cut it – we were all tough, to varying degrees above normal – and it wasn’t simply that he had an enormous capacity to hurt himself. It was that Fran saw something spiritually beneficial to suffering in the water. He believed in pushing past pain -- "Tired is not a word in my vocabulary," he used to joke, not really joking -- to discover what lay beyond it.
PLEACE READ THE REST OF THIS GREAT BLOG FROM IAN PRICHARD (at Yahoo Sports). Prichard, a six-time NCAA All-American swimmer (UVa '04), writes, teaches, works and lives in Ventura, California. Email him at Ian.Prichard@gmail.com.
(I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming.)
“They [Thorpe and Phelps] are both massive global names. If they get on the blocks together then for me it will be the biggest event of the games,” Mark Foster told City A.M.
Foster--a.k.a. the Silver Fox, underwear model extraordinaire, and the man who carried the British flag in the 2008 Beijing opening ceremonies--is a well respected analyst in the Olympic world.
Foster's no fool. He understands Olympic media and the hype they fuel.
Phelps v Thorpe is an easy ticket to sell. It's the 14-time gold medalist versus the 5-time gold medalist in a bitter rematch.
PHELPS v THORPE HISTORY: Phelps, at the Athens Olympic Games, courageously faced-off with Thorpe in the 200 meters freestyle. The tender-aged Phelps, only 19 years old at the time, was being heralded as the new Olympic hope, the only man who could best Mark Spitz's 1972 peformance (7 gold medals). Thorpe, the reigning king at the time, scoffed, he can't do it, not with so much great competition in every event.
Phelps lost to Thorpe, capturing bronze in the 200 free, but Phelps did capture eight Olympic medals in Athens, six of them gold.
Four years later, in Beijing, Phelps told the Herald Sun, an Aussie media giant, he (Phelps) had used Thorpe's doubts about whether he could equal - or better - Spitz's historic 1972 tally as fuel for his Olympic campaign.
(Herald Sun photo, fanning the flames.)
In Beijing a rather portly Thorpe watched sheepishly from the stands as Phelps went eight-for-eight becoming the greatest Olympian in history.
FOSTER'S POINT: BOLT'S RUNNING ALONE
Foster explained to City A.M., “Everyone wants to see Usain Bolt. I want to see Usain Bolt too but it’s kind of a case of ‘how fast can Usain Bolt go?’ whereas those two (Phelps and Thorpe) on the block against each other is going to be a real scrap. I want to see competitive races when I watch sport; I don’t like seeing a demonstration, I want to see a race between the biggest names.”
A-men, Mr. Foster...couldn't have said it better myself.
(I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming.)
(I swam, I swim, and as a swimmer I love swimming.)
