CNBC Reporter: Marathon Champ Isn't Real American: Meb Keflezighi, a 34-year-old runner who emigrated to San Diego, Calif., in 1987 from war-ridden Eritrea, became the first American to win the New York Marathon since 1982. Keflezighi, who became a U.S. citizen in 1998, also medaled for the country at the 2004 Olympics. But he's only "technically American," CNBC reporter Darren Rovell blogged on Monday. "He is an American citizen thanks to taking a test and living in our country. Nothing against Keflezighi, but he's like a ringer who you hire to work a couple hours at your office so that you can win the executive softball league."

posted by rcade to olympics at 01:05 PM - 28 comments

Rio De Janeiro Awarded 2016 Olympics: The 2016 Summer Olympics have been awarded to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- the first time the games will be held in South America. The other cities in the running were Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo.

posted by rcade to olympics at 01:09 PM - 48 comments

Canada Protects Home Advantage at Olympics : Count the American speedskater Catherine Raney among the athletes, coaches and officials of several sports surprised by Canada's approach to hosting the Winter Games in February. Raney, who spent more than 7 years living in Canada and training with the Canadian national team, was told after the 2006 Olympics that the Canadians did not want foreign athletes training with them leading to the 2010 Games in Vancouver. She and many other foreign athletes had expected to spend quite a bit of time practicing at the Olympic sites, but have been granted only minimal access. "They're playing nasty," said Raney, now living and training in Utah. "I think every one of us would love to prove to them that what they did wasn't right, and we're ready to show it on the ice." A decades-old open-access agreement between the luge teams of the United States and Canada has come undone. Americans said that most Canadian athletes took 60 to 100 extra practice runs in Utah before the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Canada offered the United States 18 this time, in a trade for 18 Canadian runs at this year's world championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Americans refused. "It just doesn't seem like it's in the Olympic spirit," said Derek Parra, who won gold and silver speedskating medals for the United States in 2002 and now coaches the team. "It's un-Olympic." Among Parra's charges is Raney, who remains close friends with Canadians whom she will race against in February. She might have provided the sharpest rebuke to her neighbors to the north. "It's Un-Canadian," Raney said, laughing. "Isn't it?"

posted by tommytrump to olympics at 09:08 PM - 9 comments

When Second Place is Newsworthy: Tyson Gay ran the second fastest 100m time ever at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix meet on Sunday. Considering the dominance of Usain Bolt since Beijing, an American Record at 9.69s (same time as Bolt's WR gold medal win in Beijing) is worth posing the question: Are his competitors as far behind Bolt as we seem to think? Gay's performance on Sunday might suggest otherwise.

posted by Spitztengle to olympics at 11:39 PM - 4 comments

Source: Caster Semenya is a Hermaphrodite: Sex tests carried out on champion South African sprinter Caster Semenya show that she is a hermaphrodite with internal testes and no womb or ovaries, an unnamed source told The Times newspaper of London. One source who did go on the record, IAAF General Secretary Pierre Weiss, said, "It is clear that she is a woman but maybe not 100 percent." As many as 1 in 1,500 births is a person with "atypical genitalia" requiring a medical expert in sex differentiation, according to the Intersex Society of North America.

posted by rcade to olympics at 06:31 PM - 19 comments

Kenyan Runners Break Oldest World Record: Kenyan runners William Biwott, Gideon Gathimba, Geoffrey Rono and Augustine Choge set a time of 14 minutes 36.23 seconds in the 4x1500 meter relay Friday in Brussels, breaking the oldest official IAAF world record. The previous mark of 4:38.8 was set by West Germans in 1977. "The record earned every adult member of the crowd a free beer," writes David Powell. "No wonder they were cheering."

posted by rcade to olympics at 06:17 PM - 5 comments

American Shot-Putter Killed by Prowler: David Laut, an American shot-putter who earned a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, was shot and killed after confronting prowlers in his yard late Thursday night in Oxnard, Calif.

posted by rcade to olympics at 11:07 AM - 1 comment

Renee Richards Questions Caster Semenya's Eligibility to Compete: If South African sprinter Caster Semenya's body produces an abnormal amount of male characteristics, she should not be allowed to compete against women, pioneer transsexual athlete Renee Richards told CBS Sports. "If she has this body that's fueled or developed under the influence of testosterone, she has a different body than the runner she's running against," Richards said. "They're going to have to put together some kind of a guideline. Some kind of a numbering system to say, 'This is a person who should be allowed to compete as a woman ... and this is a person who should unfortunately not be allowed to compete as a woman.'"

posted by rcade to olympics at 11:23 AM - 48 comments

Wrestling Champ Free On Bail In Pittsburgh But Can't Go Home: In an exclusive interview Wednesday, Olympic gold medalist and professional wrestling champion Kurt Angle said his live-in girlfriend got him arrested on an alleged violation of a protection-from-abuse order after the two had broken up.

posted by BornIcon to olympics at 07:56 AM - 26 comments

South African Runner Faces Accusation She's a Man, Baby: After running the fastest time in the world in the 800 meters at the African Athletic Championships earlier this year, South African runner Caster Semenya is facing persistent speculation that she's a man. "We understand that people will ask questions because she looks like a man," said her coach Michael Seme. "But I can give you the telephone numbers of her room-mates in Berlin. They have already seen her naked in the showers and she has nothing to hide." The Age in Australia is reporting that physical and genetic tests have been conducted and her eligibility to race is in doubt.

posted by rcade to olympics at 12:06 PM - 41 comments

For Winter Games in Vancouver, Ice Isn’t So Easy : Ice appears such a simple concoction — water turned really cold. This time of year, its favored role is usually the one it plays at the bottom of a glass. But ice is a year-round, lifelong science for the people hired by the Vancouver Organizing Committee to produce complex forms of it for the Winter Olympics, coming in February. Beyond the usual challenges in constructing ice surfaces to meet the needs of different sports in different arenas, Vancouver’s location presents a twist, with its combination of sea-level elevation and high humidity, unique among Winter Olympic host cities. Consider the challenge facing Tracy Seitz, who will make ice for competitors in bobsled, luge and skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre. The serpentine track, nearly a mile long, starts at an elevation of 3,080 feet and drops to 2,582 feet. In February, it sometimes snows at the top and rains at the bottom. Occasionally, the opposite occurs.

posted by tommytrump to olympics at 01:29 PM - 9 comments

Women's boxing set for 2012 Olympics, golf and rugby sevens for 2016: The big losers of the IOC's executive board meeting: squash, once again stiffed because of its limited US presence and supposed unbroadcastability, and baseball and softball, having been axed for 2008. Golf is included, presumably, to get Tiger to the Olympics, though as Brian Cazeneuve suggests, it's hard to see the top players treating it with the same respect as the Majors... or bunking down in the athletes' village.

posted by etagloh to olympics at 10:55 AM - 18 comments

Another Swimmer's Suit Splits Open at World Championships: American Olympic swimmer Ricky Berens became less aerodynamic at the World Championships when his swimsuit split open in the back. Warning: Links contains male dorsal nudity. Parental discretion advised.

posted by rcade to olympics at 12:19 PM - 8 comments

German Swimmer Stuns Michael Phelps: German swimmer Paul Biedermann handed Michael Phelps a loss in the 200-meter freestyle Tuesday — his first defeat in a major individual race since 2005. "The suits make a difference," said Biedermann, who wore a Arena X-Glide. "I hope there will be a time when I can beat Michael Phelps without these suits."

posted by rcade to olympics at 07:20 PM - 3 comments

Japanese Marathoner Retires at Age 81: Japanese marathon runner Keizo Yamada, who represented his country at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and won the 1953 Boston Marathon, is retiring from the sport. "I'm not getting any younger," he said. Yamada, shown here in 2009, ran the Boston event every year from 1995 to 2009.

posted by rcade to olympics at 01:02 PM - 1 comment

US Skier Cody Marshall Critically Injured in Escalator Fall: U.S. Alpine skier Cody Marshall has a head injury after falling about 20 feet while sliding from an escalator railing around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday in Park City, Utah. Marshall, 26, apparently was sliding down the railing of the out-of-order escalator when he fell backward, police said. Marshall was living there to train for the 2010 Olympics, as are his brother and sister.

posted by rcade to olympics at 09:20 PM - 8 comments

Women Lose Battle to Ski Jump in Winter Olympics: A Canadian province's Supreme Court ruled Friday it doesn't have the authority to force the International Olympic Committee to offer women's ski jumping at the next Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Fifteen female ski jumpers went to court, contending their exclusion violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "All these little girls coming up, a lot of their dreams are crashing," said Katie Willis, a plaintiff who may now quit the sport. The web site Let Women Jump states that women's ski jumping is "the only activity in the Olympic Winter Games that does not allow women to compete."

posted by rcade to olympics at 12:36 PM - 3 comments

Michael Phelps Torches World Record in 100-Meter Butterfly: Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist and former recreational marijuana user Michael Phelps broke the world record in the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. national swimming championships Thursday. Phelps swam the two-lap final in 50.22, smoking Ian Crocker's mark of 50.40 set at the 2005 world championships. Phelps continues to burn through the record books, holding individual world records in the 100 and 200 flys, 200 and 400 individual medleys, and the 200 free.

posted by rcade to olympics at 10:42 AM - 6 comments

U.S. Figure Skating Champ Arrested on Meth Charges: Former U.S. figure skating champion Nicole Bobek has been arrested on the charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Bobek, 31, won the U.S. title in 1995, placed third in the World Championships the same year and finished 17th in the 1998 Winter Olympics. Bobek then and now. Abrazos no drogas!

posted by rcade to olympics at 03:47 PM - 7 comments

Michael Phelps' Endorsement Career Has Not Gone to Pot: A new Subway ad with swimmer Michael Phelps and spokesman Jared Fogle shows where Phelps goes when he gets the munchies -- and helps prove that his endorsement career is going swimmingly in spite of the photos last fall of him smoking a bong. "Yes, Kellogg declined to re-up with Phelps, but tellingly, other endorsement deals remained intact: Speedo, Omega, Subway and Mazda China," writes Dan Neil in the LA Times. "Subway didn't hesitate to stand by its man (though it did postpone the current ad campaign six months to let the agita die down). Mazda required Phelps to record a minute-long mea culpa directed at the people of China -- mortifying but harmless. In June, Phelps inked a deal with H2O Audio, maker of high-end waterproof headphones."

posted by rcade to olympics at 10:39 AM - 5 comments

Olympic Swimmer Disqualified When Her Swimsuit Bursts Open: Italian Olympic swimmer Flavia Zoccari was disqualified from the finals of a Mediterranean Games event when her Jaked J01 swimsuit split open in the back. Warning: This link contains female dorsal nudity. Parental discretion advised.

posted by rcade to olympics at 02:42 PM - 12 comments

Onion: Gymnast Put to Sleep After Breaking Leg: In an entirely fake video segment produced by The Onion, the fake parents of real gymnast Shawn Johnson described how she suffered a fake leg injury and had to be euthanized. Note: This story is fake. "At this time there will be no comment from Shawn or her parents about the video," her real publicist responded.

posted by rcade to olympics at 03:00 PM - 40 comments

Jamaica's Champs: The nursery of World and Olympic champions like Don Quarrie and Usain Bolt. Asafa Powell, not so much.

posted by owlhouse to olympics at 03:06 AM - 1 comment

Tabloid Catches Michael Phelps Smoking a Bong: Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps was photographed taking a bong hit at a college party in South Carolina, the British tabloid News of the World reported Sunday. "He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool," an unnamed source told the paper. "He was the gold medal winner of bong hits." A Phelps marketing rep, Clifford Bloxham, offered Phelps to the tabloid as a columnist for three years if it killed the photo. Instead, it quoted him: "It's seeing if something potentially very negative for Michael could turn into something very positive for the News of the World."

posted by rcade to olympics at 11:11 AM - 54 comments

U.S Olympian gives silver to race opponent: A member of the U.S. Olympic track team, who was awarded the silver medal in the 200 meters, gave his medal to the man who finished second but was disqualified.

posted by jjzucal to olympics at 08:33 PM - 5 comments

Physicists Measure Time Cost of Usian Bolt's Celebration: Four physicists have submitted a new research paper, "Velocity dispersions in a cluster of stars: How fast could Usain Bolt have run?", that attempts to determine how much faster he would have finished his world-record 100 meter sprint at the Olympics if he didn't showboat at the end. Their conclusion: 0.14 seconds.

posted by rcade to olympics at 11:18 AM - 11 comments

Video: Olympic Taekwondo Competitor Kicks Referee in Head: Angel Matos, a Cuban taekwondo competitor, kicked the referee in the face after being disqualified at the Olympics. The competitor and his coach are likely to be banned for life. See the video

posted by TheQatarian to olympics at 01:18 PM - 25 comments

Olympic Photos: Birds Nest panorama Water Cube panorama Opening Ceremony in 1 Minute Interactive Medal Count Map

posted by geekyguy to olympics at 12:42 PM - 5 comments

When is enough "enough"?: Hoping to put a definitive end to a simmering controversy, China was asked to provide additional documents that prove that five of the six team members were old enough to compete at these games. Although they had already provided these documents several times before, due to a website claim that the Chinese gymnasts were underage, the inquiry persists. Sour grapes for the Americans? Many international commentators think so.

posted by knowsalittle to olympics at 10:37 PM - 35 comments

Island Breeze: The dominance of Caribbean (Jamaican) Sprinters: Coming from a Caribbean person, I wish there were more stories like this that highlight that, apart from the American and Jamaican sprinters,almost everyone else in the final fields for the men and women 100m and 200m finals were also Caribbean runners (Netherlands Antilles, Cayman Islands, St. Kitts, Bahamas, Trindad & Tobago, etc)

posted by habitz to olympics at 01:14 PM - 2 comments

US softball team denied gold; Ueno dominant: Losing for the first time since 2000, the U.S. softball team was denied a chance for a fourth straight gold medal Thursday, beaten 3-1 by Japan. Yukiko Ueno, Japan's remarkably resilient right-hander, shut down the Americans and handed them their first loss since Sept. 21, 2000 at the Sydney Games.

posted by knowsalittle to olympics at 10:15 AM - 9 comments

To lift a nation: In every little corner of the Olympics, you'll find something that means everything to somebody. It's what keeps the flame burning, that every country here has something to wait for, something to hang on. Sit with an Indian watching his country's best woman play badminton, Go to Heineken House, the Olympic version of the Spirit of Edmonton suite at Grey Cup, and you'll see the Dutch celebrate a cycling medal the way a Brazilian celebrates soccer. Yesterday it was Latvia's turn.

posted by tommytrump to olympics at 06:57 AM - 2 comments

Equestrians' silver touch: In his eight previous Olympic appearances, Perth Ont., equestrian Ian Millar had his wife Lynn by his side to help ride the highs and deal with the lows of his sport. Millar finally got an Olympic medal in his ninth try, a bittersweet highlight of his decorated career because it came without his wife by his side. She died of cancer earlier this year.

posted by tommytrump to olympics at 12:08 AM - 1 comment

Bolt wins Olympic 100m and breaks the world record: Michael Johnson can't believe what he's watching. The best bit? He didn't even bother to tie both of his shoelaces.

posted by JJ to olympics at 03:54 AM - 15 comments

I was robbed: : James Blake knocked out of Olympic final by Fernando Gonzalez, complains about contested point.

posted by lil_brown_bat to olympics at 12:22 PM - 9 comments

Liukin wins gold, Johnson silver in gymnastics : BEIJING - Nastia Liukin won the gold medal in women's gymnastics Friday, beating teammate and friend Shawn Johnson. Liukin, whose father was a double gold medalist for the Soviet Union 20 years ago, finished with 63.325 points, more than a half-point ahead of Johnson, the reigning world champion. Johnson finished with 62.725. Yang Yilin of China won the bronze medal.

posted by knowsalittle to olympics at 01:51 AM - 20 comments

Spanish Racism Toward China?: In anticipation for the Olympics in Beijing, the Spanish basketball team took a picture for an advertisement a courier company had carried in a major Spanish newspaper. In the picture, all the players pulled the sides of their eyes, making the well known "slant eyed" look that mocks Asians' most recognizable feature.

posted by BornIcon to olympics at 11:57 AM - 21 comments

Spitz spits fit: US swim legend Mark Spitz won't be on hand in Beijing if Michael Phelps breaks his record of seven gold medals at a single Olympics because, he says, no one bothered to invite him. Should he be reacting this way, or is he simply overreacting?

posted by Kendall to olympics at 12:34 AM - 15 comments

Gold, patriotism and revenge spur on the Games : For most Olympians the question of motivation is a simple one -- it is all about the glory of gold. "The medal around my neck was my motivation," said Britain's Rebecca Adlington simply after winning swimming gold in the 400 meters freestyle on Monday and it is the most commonly cited driving force.

posted by knowsalittle to olympics at 10:41 PM - 4 comments

Jason Lezak's Unbelievable Freestyle Relay Swim: The final leg of the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay may be the most stunning achievement thus far in the Summer Olympics. American Jason Lezak entered the pool a half-second behind Alain Bernard of France, who had said earlier that they would "smash" the Americans. Only 46.06 seconds later, Lezak touched 0.08 seconds before Bernard to claim the gold -- the fastest anchor leg ever by 0.73 seconds. See the video.

posted by rcade to olympics at 07:05 PM - 19 comments