Olympic Athletes Are ‘Shagging Like Crazy’

For two weeks, our attention was turned to the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest to watch the best athletes in the world compete in the Olympics. Each night, it was a couple hours of swimming or volleyball and then off to bed we went. It never dawned on us though what the Olympians themselves do after hours. Turns out, they do each other.

This information comes courtesy of Matthew Syed, a one-time Olympian-turned-commentator who regales those of us unable to be at the games with tales of medal-worthy horndoggery among the athletes. Syed tells the New York Post:

“Olympic athletes have to display an unnatural - and, it has to be said, wholly unhealthy - level of self-discipline in the build-up to big competitions. How else is this going to manifest itself than with a volcanic release of pent-up hedonism?. . .[It was] a common sight to see recently knocked-out athletes gorging on Magnums and McDonald’s, swilling alcohol and, of course, shagging like crazy.”

Basically, it sounds a lot like college, but with a lower percentage of body fat and no hacky-sackers. The romance du jour is between Michael Phelps and Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice, who were spotted sucking face last week after apparently false rumors circulated that he was getting it on with swimmer Amanda Beard and/or model Lily Donaldson.

(more…)

Maybe Michael Phelps should stick to promoting beer pong. “Experts” are complaining that Michael Phelps’ endorsement of Frosted Flakes sends the wrong message to children. According to nutritionist Rebecca Solomon, “I would not consider Frosted Flakes the food of an Olympian. I would rather see him promoting Fiber One. I would rather see him promoting oatmeal. I would even rather see him promoting Cheerios.” Tell you what, Ms. Solomon. Why don’t you win yourself eight gold medals in one year and then tell Michael Phelps what you consider the food of an Olympian. Michael Phelps isn’t going to tell the obese children of America to eat their Fiber One. He’s going to eat a bowl of Frosted Flakes, swim a lap before you can say “three times the sugar than in Wheaties,” and give Tony The Tiger a high-five! Vitamin packed Frosted Flakes bring out the tiger in Michael Phelps! And you! [NY Daily News]

[Photo: Getty Images, Kellogg's]

Last night, the Olympics reminded us that gymnasts are as close to superhuman as athletes get. Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Koko Tsurumi (Japan), Gabriela Dragoi (Romania), and Anna Pavlova (Russia) continuously defied both gravity and mortality as their heads came within inches of smacking the beam. While you’d assume the images after the jump precede a crash, nine out of 10 (the exception being when Tsurumi fell) were seconds before a solid landing. Prepare to be awed. [Photos: Getty Images]

(more…)

When Leryn Franco glided into the Beijing National Stadium during the Olympic Opening Ceremony, the world’s collective head turned and its collective jaw dropped. No one knew the identity of the phenomenally beautiful athlete, and so the media went into overdrive to find out. Turns out that Leryn Franco is a 26-year-old Paraguayan javelin thrower, and (no duh!) a model. A runner-up in the 2006 Miss Paraguay competition, Leryn supposedly uses modeling to help subsidize her althletic endeavors. She was also in the 2004 Olympics.

Yesterday, Leryn finished second-to-last in the javelin qualifying round with a throw that was 12 meters short of her personal best. This makes her the Most Talked About Olympic Athlete Who Failed To Qualify For An Event.

P.S. As evidenced by the photos below, we clearly messed up by not including Leryn in our Top 10 Hottest Hotties of the 2008 Olympics.

26-year-old Olympic athlete and model Leryn Franco. (Photo: Splash News Online)

26-year-old Olympic athlete and model Leryn Franco. (Photo: Splash News Online)

26-year-old Olympic athlete and model Leryn Franco. (Photo: Splash News Online)

Leryn Franco of Paraguay at the the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Aug. 19, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

Leryn Franco of Paraguay competes in the Women's Javelin Qualifying Round at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Aug. 19, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

Leryn Franco of Paraguay competes in the Women's Javelin Qualifying Round at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Aug. 19, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

26-year-old Olympic athlete and model Leryn Franco. (Photo: Splash News Online)

26-year-old Olympic athlete and model Leryn Franco. (Photo: Splash News Online)

[Top photo: Splash News Online and Getty Images]

American viewers of the women’s Olympic uneven bar finals yesterday were treated to some great performances. All-around gold medal winner Nastia Liukin (pictured far left) turned in a first-place routine that stunned the crowd and, numerically, should have won her the gold - she and Chinese gymnast He Kexin (center) both scored 16.725.

But due to an Olympic rule that took effect after the Athens games, ultimately Liukin was denied the gold because one judge, Australia’s Helen Colagiuri, scored her routine three-tenths of a point lower than He’s. Liukin has remained gracious despite the disappointment, saying: “Scoring is scoring, and that’s our sport. … That’s what we’ve been going through our whole lives and we just have to accept that.”

But after watching her near-flawless routine, it leaves us wondering, what gives, Helen Colagiuri? [Photo: Getty Images]

Jennifer Lopez either has a great sense of humor or a completely diluted view of the world. According to a source from Good Morning American, it’s the latter. J.Lo, who talked about training for the 22nd Annual Malibu Triathlon during an appearance on the morning show yesterday, supposedly felt her athletic triumph was more newsworthy than “that swimmer,” eight-time gold medalist Michael Phelps.

The on-set source said, “She couldn’t come up with Phelps’ name, and then she yammered on about how she was the one training for a triathlon just six months after giving birth, and how that was the big story right now, not ‘the swimmer.’”

(more…)

Talk about bringing home the gold! Beijing’s eight-time gold medalist, Michael Phelps, is rumored to be seeing two golden ladies: U.S. Swimmer Amanda Beard and British Fashion model Lily Donaldson. Donaldson is a top model and replaced Kate Moss as one of the faces for Burberry. He really can’t lose with either lady. In addition to being a world-class swimmer, Amanda has appeared on the sexy pages of Playboy. Before the 2004 Olympics, the charismatic 23-year-old said, “I haven’t got a girlfriend and I can’t do the kind of things all my friends are doing as college students.”

If the rumors are true (when would he have fit them both in?), then Phelps is making up for lost time. [Photos: Getty Images]

Related Content: Top 10 Hotties Of The 2008 Olympics

American gymnast Nastia Liukin shows off one of her gold medal winning moves last night in Beijing, China. [Photo: Getty Image]

Every gymnast - with their hair scrunchies and tiny, compact bodies - looks like a little kid, but some on the Chinese team might actually be just hitting puberty. Buzz is brewing that three members of the gold medal-winning group might be under the age of sixteen - the cutoff for gymnasts in the Olympics. Jiang Yuyuan, Yang Yilin and He Kexin are all currently under scrutiny in the press, and The Huffington Post has  published documents seem to show at least one of them, He Kexin, is just fourteen years old. But what we here at Scandalist want to know is: Do you really need documents to determine that these kids are under sixteen? The girls as basically flaunting the proof. Let’s run it down for you:

• Sparkly, star-shaped hair clips.
• Candy-colored blue and pink eye shadow.
• Sparkly hair spray coating their tiny heads.
• In conclusion: sparkles.

Don’t believe us? Pour over the pics below. They’re babies, we tell you. Babies! Babies draped in gold medals!

Yuyuan Jiang of China competes on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics event at the National Indoor Stadium on Day 7 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

Chinese gymnast He Kexin wears her gold medal for the uneven bars during the first Doha Gymnastics World Cup at the Aspire Academy in the Qatari capital of Doha on March 5, 2008. (KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

[Photos: Getty Images]

Currently, the most important man in America is not Barack Obama, John McCain or Spencer Pratt - it is Michael Phelps, the beefy Olympic swimmer with giant ears that rival only his shoulder muscles in size. The entire country has tuned in to watch him pocket gold medals in Beijing, and his talent is obviously undeniable. Not to mention, he’s kinda hot in that attainable famous dude, sorta way. But is he also a pro at hurling ping pong balls into cups of keg beer? We came across this pic on a blog today that supposedly captures Phelps getting ready to conquer a serious round of beer pong. Not that he’s not allowed - the dude is 23-years old, and he already has a DUI under his belt that resulted in 18 months probation when he was 19-years old. It’s nice to know that Phelps may be involved in something even wilder than shaving all his body hair.

The pic has since been taken down, but we got it above. Does that look like the gold medal champ to you?