SPORTS
August 1, 2012 | Bill Shaikin
Michael Phelps shared his celebration with a pool and a world. He put his arm around the South African kid who had just beaten him in one of his signature races, guiding the protege through the medal protocol. He went out of his way to compliment a French sprinter on what he thought was one of the five best swims of all time. He gathered his relay teammates to thank them for their help, and to tell them he might be too choked up to sing the national anthem. And then he left the pool, with a giddy smile and the greatest collection of medals any Olympian has ever seen.
SPORTS
June 24, 2010 | By Lisa Dillman
How many times have we heard, over the years, the word "unassailable" in terms of sports records? It has gotten difficult, however, to hold off on adding the qualifier "seemingly unassailable" to all but the most otherworldly records. Still there are marks surely able to survive the test of time. (Well, seemingly able to survive). Add to that list the three-day, record-setting tennis match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon, the longest by far in the sport's history, both in terms of time (11 hours 5 minutes)
OPINION
July 30, 2009
Back when Nike was a goddess and not something to put on your feet, Olympic runners raced barefoot. What a difference a few millenniums make. Today's runners, with the rare exception of, say, a Zola Budd, wear shoes hyper-designed to cushion heel strike, improve toe-off and minimize flex, all in ultra-lightweight materials. That's not to mention the training regimens, physical therapists and bouncier tracks.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
June 5, 2009 | Gale Holland
Jackie Robinson played four sports at what was then Pasadena Junior College on his way to breaking major league baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Fifty years later, pitcher Barry Zito spent a year at Pierce College before transferring to USC, then joined the Oakland A's, where he won the Cy Young award in 2002.
SPORTS
March 23, 2008 | From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Alain Bernard broke the 100-meter freestyle record for the second time in as many days Saturday, clocking 47.50 seconds at the European swimming championships at Eindhoven, Netherlands, to win his first major title. In Friday's semifinals, the Frenchman swam 47.60 to shatter the world record that Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband set at the 2000 Sydney Games.
SPORTS
December 29, 2007 | Sam Farmer, Times Staff Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jim Kiick was born and raised in New Jersey and grew up a fan of the New York Giants. He later became a running back, and played on the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only modern-era NFL team to win every game in a season. So it's no surprise Kiick will be pulling harder than ever for the Giants tonight when they play the undefeated New England Patriots, who are one victory away from joining the Dolphins in the record book.