Every four years, a frenzied sports nation clamors to get the latest on its best athletes. NBC affiliates are on around the clock, web favorites are set to Olympic sports' homepages and DVRs are working overtime to catch the events that might slip between the cracks. Here at M&F, we're just as enthralled with the athleticism of it all as we are with the medal count.
In this month's issue, we profiled three athletes and their preparation for a shot at Olympic glory. Two of the three actually punched their tickets to Beijing. Javelin hurler Breaux Greer, the American record holder in his event, is now only days away from his third — and perhaps final — attempt at an Olympic medal. Kendrick Farris, who finished out of medal contention in the men's 85 kg (187-pound) weightlifting event, managed to set American records in the overall (362 kg) and the clean and jerk (202 kg).
>> Check out the full story on these athletes — and their training — in the September issue of M&F, on newsstands now.
And you may have noticed that our obsession with the Olympics has carried over onto the web. Last week, we profiled beach volleyballer Jake Gibb. This week, you can read up on what it's like to train for 10 different disciplines in Mark Thorpe's interview with star U.S. decathlete Bryan Clay.
If you're more of a visual person, you'll want to visit our video page. There, you'll find exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from our photo shoot with the Olympic hopefuls. But we also wanted to find out what it's like to actually train like an Olympian. M&F staff writer Jon Finkel tackled a Phelps-esque swim workout, and we've got the video to prove it. (SPOILER ALERT: He survived, but now thinks he needs to consume 10,000 calories a day to get by.) You can watch both of the videos at the link below.
