Two U.S. Olympic swimmers flew home from Brazil on Thursday after a local crowd jeered them, calling them "liars" and "fakes", and police accused them of fabricating a story about being robbed at gunpoint during the Rio Games. Their departure marked what the U.S. Olympic team hopes will be the closing stages of an incident that has embarrassed the host city, angered the police and government, unleashed a storm on social media, and dominated news coverage of South America's first Olympics. The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) issued an apology after the departure of Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, who were among four U.S. swimmers shown to have lied about being stopped by gunmen posing as police in the early hours of Sunday. "We apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence," USOC chief Scott Blackmun said in a statement. It confirmed police accusations, including that one of the swimmers … [Read more...] about U.S. says sorry as swimmers leave Brazil to jeers
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Olympics 2012: Live Report
That's the end of today's Olympic action. Join us for more live coverage tomorrow. We'll leave you with our PHOTO OF THE DAY: American superstar of the water Michael Phelps with his 19th Olympic medal -- an Olympic record -- after he followed a silver in the 200m butterfly with a team gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay. + Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time, winning a record 19th medal in the pool while China's swimming sensation Ye Shiwen grabbed her second gold of the Games. + In the gymnastics arena America took gold in the women's team final -- their first gold medal in the event since 1996. + Defending champions Germany won the equestrian three-day eventing, with Michael Jung then becoming the first rider to hold the European, world and Olympic individual titles. + China won their third diving gold in three events when world champions Chen Ruolin and Wang Hao clinched the women's 10m synchro platform. LIVE REPORT ENDS. 2255 GMT: Final score: … [Read more...] about Olympics 2012: Live Report
Faster swimmers paddle like a duck, kick like a dolphin
Olympic swimmers need to ignore their intuition when it comes to the best ways to propel themselves through the water to glory next week. Scientists have made several discoveries about the mechanics of swimming since the last summer Games four years ago, refuting some seemingly obvious assumptions. Take freestyle swimming. It seems that forming each hand into a tight cup maximizes the force it exerts on the water, while keeping the fingers apart produces a wimpier stroke. Not so, explains Adrian Bejan, professor of mechanical engineering at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Inspired by animal locomotion, he and colleagues analyzed the force that fingers and toes generate when pulled through the water. When the digits are separated by between one-fifth and two-fifths of their diameter, the force exerted is 50 percent greater than when they are pressed together with no spaces in between, Bejan and his team will report in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Theoretical Biology. The … [Read more...] about Faster swimmers paddle like a duck, kick like a dolphin
Made-in-China U.S. Olympic uniforms spark political row
Ralph Lauren's stylish uniforms for the U.S. Olympic team, complete with a jaunty beret, have sparked a political row because the red, white and blue outfits were made in China. Photo: REUTERS With U.S. unemployment hovering just above 8 percent, politicians have spoken out against the uniforms for the London Games, which start later this month, and six Democratic senators said they plan to introduce legislation requiring the ceremonial uniforms be produced in the United States. "At a time when too many Americans are looking for work and our manufacturers are closing factories, we need to do everything we can to keep jobs in America and not give the work of producing our iconic American uniforms for our Olympians to China," Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey said in a statement announcing the measure. The senators said they will introduce the "Team USA Made In America Act of 2012" next week. "I call on the USOC (U.S. Olympic Committee) to do the right thing for this … [Read more...] about Made-in-China U.S. Olympic uniforms spark political row
National swimming team gets trouble in USA
Three months ago, the Vietnamese national swimming team was praised to the sky for its great success at the Southeast Asian Games 2011. The team is now in a mess, in the unprecedentedly long training course (six months, starting from January) in the USA, for the most talented swimmers. The undercurrent at the national swimming team Vietnamese swimmers visit Mr. Dang Ho Tam, the Vietnamese American who has assisted the team from the beginning. One month ago, Vietnam’s top swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc cheerfully set himself a goal: breaking the A standard of Olympic in the US. But now, this goal has been far-away. The highly expected training course in the USA is a big failure. According information from sources in the US, Hoang Quy Phuoc has gained weight and his record has remarkably reduced. Swimmers were disappointed of the training conditions at Bolles, which is a private high school. Though the team has moved to a new place, inner conflicts have not been solved … [Read more...] about National swimming team gets trouble in USA