This is starting to get real, y'all. Rio. After years of hard work for thousands — often in the relative darkness of anonymity and training, or, worse, putting oneself through the pain and suffering of rehab — the Rio 2016 Games beckon.
Some things, though, don't change. Procrastinators gonna procrastinate. Packing for a long trip is never easy. But add to that variables ranging from an unfamiliar climate to, say, a little something like the world's attention on you, and you just might wind up with a particular strain of packing procrastination.
Seems Olympic gold medalist soccer star Alex Morgan was having a bit of a struggle getting her move on.
Defending Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton did Morgan one better by having a trophy tribute to his procrastination.
Kudos to Olympic gymnast Jake Dalton.
Started packing for the OLYMPICS! Crazy!
For some, the Games are already that much more real. Some are much more literally on their way to the Games. The U.S. Olympic Field Hockey Team earned one of the more creative and captivating send-offs you’ll ever see.
Team USA’s judokas cleaned up nicely, too.
Marti Malloy, Travis Stevens and Kayla Harrison had some fun, too.
Ummmm anyone know what's going on because I'm lost lol.
USA Diving is on the move, too, en route to a pre-Olympic camp in Atlanta.
Let them eat … steak? Thanks to Senior Vice President of USA Gymnastics Rhonda Faehn, we check in with medal favorites grabbing a bite at a team dinner.
USA Water Polo’s national teams also enjoyed gala gathering before taking off for the Games. A pool queue, if you will.
Few could have done it better, or in a more sartorially coordinated fashion, than defending Olympic wrestling champion Jordan Burroughs.
USA Swimming, which will get out of the blocks early in the Olympic schedule in Rio, already has its athletes in training camps. It’s second, in fact. Missy Franklin, who earned four golds in London, posted a pic featuring a few generations of Olympians in 30-year-old Amanda Weir (Athens and London Games) and teenagers Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel.
USA Basketball also has its star-studded cast, this one in Las Vegas, where Jabari Parker looked awfully good in slow-motion flight before camp wrapped up on Thursday.
Paralympic star and 2014 snowboard cross medalist Amy Purdy will be in Rio, too. Why? Looks like we’ll have to stay tuned. For now, enjoy the tip toe dance.
Broken bones. Open compound fractures. Severed tendons. Tears. Surgeries. Scars. Plates. Wires. Reconstructions. Stitches (without anesthesia). When we refer to what a career athlete goes through in pursuit of his or her Olympic dreams, we mean not only the stress of making ends meet or making Team USA, but there is also the very real physical toll taken in nearly every sport at its elite level. Olympian and Rio-bound BMX racer Alise Post admits she hates “to promote the fact that injuries are a part of sport,” but this honest video look — with Post, Taylor Phinney, Jillion Potter, Greg Louganis and Steele Johnson — will take you inside the competitive spirit of a competitor at the highest level. Plus, they get points for accessorizing with a mannequin.
The timing of an injury can be devastating. For gymnast John Orozco, who had made it through a very difficult road out of the London Games to qualify for Rio. Unfortunately, Rio was not meant to be for him, either. Though the honest emotions that often reveal themselves through social media, Orozco took to Instagram to try to sum up his emotions after the devastating news.
I'm beyond devastated to say that my road to Rio has come to an abrupt end. Last week during Olympic Team camp, I re-tore my ACL/meniscus. At this point of my life I'm reminded of one word that I learned from my favorite book (The Alchemist) "Maktub" which in Arabic means "It is written" (meant to be) and like the common theme of the book I truly believe the universe conspires to guide us to our destiny with what we perceive as coincidences, signs, and omens. It's clear to me now more than ever that my dreams of Olympic gold were never meant to be, but maybe I have a different purpose that has yet to reveal itself? I'm forever grateful for the opportunities gymnastics has given me in life, the amazing people I've met through my career in the sport, and the life lessons I've learned. I'm humbled by the unwavering love and support of my family, friends, coaches, USA medical staff, personal doctors, and fans. Tragedy seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life, but looking back on my career I wouldn't change a single thing.
Slowed somewhat by a knee injury, Sarah Hildebrandt may not have qualified to wrestle in the Olympic Games back in April, but she earned an entirely different brand of Team USA fame when she appeared in a lip sync and dance-tastic video that went viral this past week.
To refresh your memory, Hildebrandt, who had undergone surgery seven weeks ago, makes her Team USA video debut at the :21 mark.
Distance runner Bernard Lagat has an idea. The 41-year-old who recently qualified for Rio, his fifth Games, sets up a pretty good photo op with teenage track sensation Sydney McLaughlin.
@usatf, I want a picture w/ Sydney McLaughlin (16), 400m hurdles. The youngest T&F athlete to compete in the OG since '72 #Oldest&Youngest!
Swimming star Janet Evans may have won four gold medals (three at the 1988 Games in Seoul and another at the 1992 Games, along with a silver in Barcelona), but her greatest Olympic memory? That’s easy.
Sprinting star Michael Johnson, who won two of his four Olympic golds there in Atlanta, also holds this particular Opening Ceremony moment dear.
Captain of the Magnificent Seven, gymnast Amanda Borden, also shared a priceless pic full of golden winners.
Not only was Erin Jones prepping for New York City’s triathlon this week, but she was also caught up in the Pokémon Go craze while strolling around Colorado Springs, Colorado. Presumably, fiancé Logan Storie will have his eyes on the aisle when the two are married in three months.
One of the more gratifying opportunities as an Olympian comes from what Team USA athletes can do about making the days of those who could use a visit.
At one point on Thursday in Minneapolis, not far from Olympian Jessie Diggins’ hometown, the heat index reached 116 degrees. Diggins, though, had been keeping cool this past week with some of her fellow Nordic skiers on Alaska's Eagle Glacier.
Up, down and sideways. That might best describe three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Nathan Adrian’s look through the years. The sprint star will be headed to Rio as part of his third consecutive Olympic team.
For what seems like the first time in forever, Rio-bound triathlete Gwen Jorgensen did not win a triathlon. This time, there would be no historic comeback, as there was in Leeds not all that long ago. This time, fellow Rio-bound Team USA triathlete Katie Zaferes earned the top spot on a podium. What followed was pure class from both parties.
To say I am stoked would be an understatement, I am so excited to capture my first WTS win at #WTSHamburg. What an incredible atmosphere!