Tag Archives: olympics

Michael Phelps… A Son and Brother First

Two down and six to go for U.S. swimming sensation Michael Phelps. Since the Summer Olympics got underway two days ago the swimming phenom demolished his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley to win the first of what he hopes will be an unprecedented eight golds in a single Olympics and then less than 24 hours later he swam the leadoff leg on the victorious U.S. 400 freestyle relay and collected gold yet again. No question the 23-year-old Maryland native defies nature, but it’s not his mastery of cutting through the water at record breaking speeds that inspired … Continue reading →

A Hamm-less Olympics—A Lesson in Humility

In the world of gymnastics Morgan and Paul Hamm are known for being fierce competitors. The twin brothers from Wisconsin are former world and Olympic champions and both are considered legends in the sport. However, you won’t be seeing either tumbling for gold in Beijing this week. Not because they didn’t qualify to compete, rather they will be watching the Games from their home just outside of Milwaukee because they possess a trait most of us could (and should) exercise more—humility. Three days ago a teary eyed Morgan Hamm officially announced that the bone spurs digging into his left leg … Continue reading →

Dara Torres: Super Olympian

What is it like to have been in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles or the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea? How about the 1992 Games in Barcelona or the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia? If you want to know, you can ask just one 2008 Beijing Olympian – 41 year old American swimmer Dara Torres. Dara will be the first swimmer to appear in five Olympic Games when she competes this week in Beijing in the 50 meter freestyle, the 4 x 100 medley relay, and the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. In her four previous Olympic … Continue reading →

TV Stars You’ll Be Seeing in Beijing

Hail, hail the gang’s all going. When the Olympic torch is lit in Beijing, China for the 2008 Summer Games next week the entire NBC News family will be there to bring it to you live. Seriously, NBC could rent out an entire hotel just to accommodate the A-listers who will be headlining coverage of the hotly anticipated athletic showdown. Brian Williams will be there, as will Tom Brokaw, Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry, Lester Holt, Richard Engels, Kevin Tibbles, and the Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore… and that’s just the bigwigs from the news department. Bob Costas and a … Continue reading →

Asthma May Be an Issue for Athletes in Beijing

Olympic athletes with exercise-induced asthma may face two problems at the Games in Beijing: competing in one of the most polluted cities in the world and finding an asthma medication that is allowed under anti-doping regulations. Talk about a double whammy! Over the last decade, Beijing has spent more than seventeen billion dollars on pollution clean-up. But the site of the Summer Games is still known as one of the worst cities in the world for air quality. During the Olympic Games, the city will be cutting the number of cars on the road — a good start, but it … Continue reading →

Living The Christian Life In The Public Eye.

Living the Christian life in today’s world is never easy. It is even harder for celebrities or sportsmen and sportswomen in the public eye. I’m sure this is true for Christian athletes training and preparing for the Olympic Games. One such person is Allyson Felix. Allyson is the daughter of an ordained minister. Being the child of a minister often puts extra pressures of their offspring as friends of ours can testify. People sometimes seem to judge those whose parents are in ministry more harshly. The pressure to decide it’s all too hard living the Christian life and competing must … Continue reading →

Wide World of Sports Host Jim McKay Dies

Posted on by

Jim McKay, long time host of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” died today at the age of 86 of natural causes. There was a period during the 70’s and 80’s when I was growing up that I never – NEVER – missed “Wide World of Sports.” I loved that show – regardless of what sport they were covering that particular day. Part of the likability of the show was due to Jim and his great sports casting. He hosted the show for 37 years. When you are a host of a popular show for that long, you have to be … Continue reading →

Fitness Week in Review for Week Ending May 31

Posted on by

Love these end of the week reviews where we can see what articles we talked about this week and catch you up on articles you may have missed. Is May really over? Can you imagine it? Let’s take a good look at what we did this week. Focus on the Olympics Our Focus on the Olympics series continued with looks at Ian Crocker, Eric Vendt, Jessica Hardy, Kate Ziegler, Brendan Hansen, Larsen Jensen, Margaret Hoelzer, Aaron Perisol, Jason Lezak, Ryan Lochte and Chip Peterson. If you haven’t had a chance to check out these athletes, they are definitely worth reading … Continue reading →

Focus on the Olympics: Margaret Hoelzer (2008 Swimming Hopeful)

Posted on by

Welcome to our Focus on the Olympics articles that introduces you to our Olympic athletes and hopefuls that will be competing in Beijing this summer. Margaret cites her mother as the most influential person in her life, as both role model and friend. Meet Margaret Hoelzer Margaret Josephine Hoelzer is the younger daughter of Hans Hoelzer and Elizabeth Livingston. Before swimming, Margaret tried soccer, gymnastics, track and softball. Her older sister, Martha, ran track at both the University of Alabama and University of North Carolina. She is currently working towards earning a graduate degree in sociology from Auburn, where she … Continue reading →

Focus on the Olympics: Jessica Hardy (2008 Swimming Hopeful)

Posted on by

Welcome to our Focus on the Olympics articles that introduces you to our Olympic athletes and hopefuls that will be competing in Beijing this summer. Jessica is a great girl who may be relatively new to the world of competitive swimming, but she comes by it honestly: her mother was a swimmer, too. Meet Jessica Hardy Jessica Hardy is the daughter of George Hardy, a chemical engineer, and Denise Robinson, a clinical social worker who was a former swimmer at Indiana State University. She has a younger sister, Amanda, who swims and plays water polo. Her grandfather, John Tourtellot, was … Continue reading →