Wednesday Olympic Gallery: Phelps, swimming, diving, volleyball, handball and more
The gymnast whose career record for most Olympic medals was broken by Michael Phelps says she doesn’t mind that the American swimmer has surpassed her mark.
Larisa Latynina, who won 18 medals in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics while competing for the Soviet Union, was at the Aquatics Centre in London on Tuesday to watch Phelps, and she says she was happy for him.
“I saw him swim, and I saw my record swim away,” she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
“He’s very talented — no doubt about that,” the 77-year-old added.
Latynina competed in an era when gymnastics was more about femininity and maturity, rather than teenage acrobatics, which has dominated the sport for decades.
It’s not unusual for gymnasts today to retire at 18, while Latynina made her debut in international competiton at the age of 19. She won her last medal at the 1964 Games in Tokyo when she was nearly 30 — unusually old for gymnasts.
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Olympians can eat McDonalds for free inside the athletes village, but most try hard to avoid the temptation.
American swimmers Ricky Berens and Conor Dwyer couldn’t help themselves, though, after winning gold in the men’s 4×200 relay.
“It was pretty bad,” Dwyer said. “A couple quarter pounders, McFlurries, fries.”
Berens tweeted a picture of their feast, which included Big Macs.
“We eat so healthy all the time, so I felt pretty gross after that,” Berens said.
“I still feel bad this morning,” added Dwyer.
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A policy from the Syrian Olympians in London: Don’t talk about the war back home.
“We never talk about this,” says Bayan Jumah, a swimmer from Aleppo, a city wrecked with violence during one of the most important battles of a 17-month uprising against the government of President Bashar Assad.
Assad is urging his armed forces to step up the fight against rebels in Aleppo and the U.N. reported a significant escalation in the civil war with the military using warplanes to fire on opposition fighters.
Jumah says she is in touch with her family and worries about them just “a little bit, but not so much.” She spoke after competing in the 100-meter freestyle at the London Games Wednesday.
United States’ Michael Phelps poses with his gold medal for the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The United State’s Seth Kelsey looks on during his match against Estonia’s Nikolai Novosjolov in the men’s individual epee fencing competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London.(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Ireland’s John Joe Nevin, left fights Kazakhstan’s Kanat Abutalipov during a bantamweight 56-kg preliminary boxing match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
India’s Deepika Kumari shoots during an elimination round of the individual archery competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Australia’s Rachel Bugg and Loudy Wiggins compete during the Women’s Synchronized 10 Meter Platform Diving final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Grant Goldschmit, left, from South Africa looks on as his teammate Freedom Chiya, right, reaches fro a ball during the Beach Volleyball match against Poland at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Gold medalist Kristin Armstrong, of the United States, smiles after winning the women’s individual time trial event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
China’s Yuan Jing shoots during qualifiers for the women’s 25-meter pistol event, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A member of Canada’s team jumps into the water after the medal ceremony for the men’s rowing eight in Eton Dorney, near Windsor, England, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. Canada won a silver medal. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Canada’s Marie-Eve Beauchemin-Nadeau reacts following a lift during the women’s 69-kg, group B, weightlifting competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
France’s Camille Ayglon, left, is challenged by Sweden’s Linnea Torstensson, right, during their women’s handball preliminary match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Argentina’s Maria Belen Perez Maurice, left, competes with Italy’s Gioia Marzocca during the women’s individual sabre fencing competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London.(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
From left, United States’ Michael Phelps, United States’ Conor Dwyer, United States’ Ricky Berens and United States’ Ryan Lochte pose with their gold medals for the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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