Olympics Outdoor Sports

Olympic athletes often don't get paid to do anything other than look good. In that vein, Attractive Olympians handicaps which athletes may rake in endorsement deals after the Olympics.

Adam van Koeverden won two canoeing medals -- gold in the 500-meter and bronze in the 1000m -- at the Athens Olympics in '04, surprising many sports fans who didn't even realize medals were awarded for canoeing (commonly known by the less woodsy-sounding term "flatwater racing"). As the Beijing Games near, he represents one of Canada's brightest medal hopes.

Van Koeverden was named Canada's Athlete of the Year in 2004, was the most dominant athlete in his sport in 2007, and -- just for good measure -- finished at the top of his class at McMaster University.

And oh yeah, he's considered attractive, if you're into that whole "ruggedly handsome college valedictorian world-class athlete" cliche. But how attractive? After the jump, weigh more evidence of his rippling biceps -- again, IF you like that kind of thing -- and have your voice heard in FanHouse's Attractive Olympian poll.

Awful, awful story. Shannon Bloomfield, a 12-year-old with aspirations to compete in the 2012 Olympics, died in a horse-riding accident in the UK yesterday.

From the Telegraph:

Shannon Bloomfield, 12, was taking part in an indoor jumping event when her mount fell on top of her.

She had almost completed the course when her horse, Poppy, failed to negotiate the penultimate fence.

It fell awkwardly, trapping the young rider, as horrified spectators looked on. Shannon was pronounced dead at hospital.

Bloomfield was described as "sports-mad" by her parents. The youngster competed in tetrathlons, an event which combines running, shooting, horse-riding and swimming.

This horrific accident will undoubtedly stir up arguments over children and their role in competitive, high-risk sports. Feel free to sound off with your take, below.
Sorry, No Photos

As noted previously on Fanhouse, the horrible smog conditions in Beijing are a huge concern for Olympic athletes participating in the games as well as spectators traveling from all around the world to enjoy the action in person. One of the solutions that the Chinese plan to implement during the games is to reduce traffic in the city by half.

[The Beijing News] said the city's vehicle fleet was expected to reach 3.3 million by August, meaning that roughly 1.65 million cars and trucks would be pulled off roads every day. The city will dedicate special lanes to Olympic traffic and increase public transportation with new shuttle buses to accommodate visitors and local residents, the article said.

Beijing officials have not yet publicly announced Olympic contingency measures, but the newspaper said the traffic plan had been completed.

One might think a little smog couldn't be all that harmful but some Olympic teams are taking extra precautions in order to keep their athletes as safe and healthy as possible. While some teams are planning to show up to the games as close to their events as possible, other teams are planning on training outside of the city where the air is less harsh.

Here's something I didn't know: Professional beach volleyball has become the nation's fastest-growing spectator sport.

I don't know for sure why it's the fastest-growing spectator sport in the United States, but I have a feeling that Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, the players in the picture, are a big reason. They're Olympic gold medalists and the two most popular players on the AVP tour.

So, if you're wondering what you're going to do with yourself between the end of the NBA season and the start of the NFL season, give the AVP a try. The AVP Charleston Open is on Sunday.

Hat tip: Fark.

I chose this photo of swimmers at a triathlon because it obscures everyone's faces. I don't know who these triathletes are, neither do you, and we don't know anything about their sexual orientation.

It's important that we establish that so we don't have any mix-ups like Outsports.com had with Swiss triathlete Sebastien Gacond. Outsports, a gay-oriented sports site, linked to a photo of Gacond. That's it. Outsports didn't say anything about him or imply in any way that he's gay, any more than it was implying anything about Alex Rodriguez and Tom Brady when it linked to photos about them.

But Gacond kinda freaked out, sending multiple requests to Outsports that they stop linking to his picture. One request said this:

"I would like to remove it because it's a gay website. I've got absolutely nothing against gay people and the gay community but I don't want my name and image to be link there as I'm not gay ... I've got a girlfriend!"

I wonder if A-Rod and Brady made similar requests. I've heard they have girlfriends, too.

Hat tip: Deadspin.