The first day of swimming competition at the first ever Youth Olympic Games brought yet another first in the 2-boy/2-girl mixed 4x100m free relay. The boys and girls can swim in any order they wish, but China ended up with the first gold in the event with the “one boy, two girls, one boy” strategy (source).

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are being held in Singapore this year, and will follow a similar every-four-year winter and summer format as the Olympic Games. The YOG holds competitions in 26 sports, but unfortunately for aquatics, water polo and synchronized swimming were cut from the lineup (source).

So, mixed relays have officially been contested in a swimming event sanctioned by both FINA and the IOC, but water polo and synchronized swimming weren’t important enough to include in the Youth Olympic Games?

With the success of the boy/girl mixed free relays, the following events should be considered for future Youth Olympics: coaches relays, watermelon relays, wet t-shirt relays, and raft relays.

Listed among other manly articles, like “5 Best Dunkers In NBA History,” and “10 Best Middleweight MMA Fighters of All Time,” you’ll find a MadeMan article about the Most Entertaining Olympic Sporting Events. On the top of that list: Artistic gymnastics, figure skating, and diving.

Author, Lisa Devoto, provides some support: “While swimming is also an amazing Olympic sporting event to watch, diving really demonstrates the grace of the human body. Where swimming shows pure athleticism, diving shows pure grace” (source).

I’m glad the readers of MadeMan can enjoy artistic gymnastics, figure skating, and diving along with articles on the Bentley Supersports Convertible GTC, Pro Platinum Blondes on Chickipedia, and How To Bar Fight Like An MMA Fighter.

According to a release by the Associated Press, the London 2012 Olympic Aquatics Center now has water in the pool!

David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority (the public body responsible for developing and building the new venues and infrastructure for the Games) said “Water is now in the diving pool. It hasn’t leaked. So far so good” (source).

From what I can see in this London2012.com webcam photo, it looks like the water David Higgins is talking about could just be the rain. It seems a little preemptive to fill the diving well before finishing the buildings’ walls and floor!

Although Michael Phelps was a “fish out of water” during his appearance at the Winter Games in Vancouver, he was media-popular as ever! His appearance, which included plenty of promotional opportunities, did allow for Michael to mingle with his wintry Olympic counterparts and even catch a hockey game.

From the AP article by Beth Harris found via NBCOlympics.com:

“The chaos continued outside when Phelps climbed into a red bobsled at a photo opportunity across the street while the crowd pressed against a metal railing for a better view. He later presented a watch from his sponsor to Alexandre Bilodeau, who won Canada’s first gold medal of these games in moguls.” (source)

The bobsled photo op was reminiscent of the Michael Phelps And Massimiliano Rosolino Omega Watch Photo Op from last August – and although the sponsor is not named in the AP article, Phelps is rocking his bright orange 2009 Omega Seamaster Ploprof 1200M dive watch in the picture.

Phelps fans were in full force throughout Michael’s public appearances. One woman even held a sign that said “Will you sign my banana?” which had the piece of fruit attached. The AP article provided no word on whether or not the banana received the autograph, leaving us with an agonizing cliff-hanger: Did he sign her banana?

It wasn’t all schmoozing though, read the full AP article as it appears on NBCOlympics.com for Michael’s comments on his new cross-training program.

The Winter Olympics are in full swing in Vancouver, Canada. If you want to get the most out of watching the Winter Games, sign up to receive news and results straight from Team USA and the US Olympic Committee.

Although swimming and diving aren’t featured in the Winter Games, sports fans will still be interested to learn that you can now follow Team USA directly by subscribing to TeamUSA.org. Team USA will also use this e-mail list to send updates on the upcoming London 2012 Games.

Swimmers understand that traditionally non-revenue Olympic sports need our support. I’ve provided links in the sidebar to the right that will take you to the official Team USA donation website (support.teamusa.org) where you can learn about different ways to donate.

Bloggers, visit teamusanews.org for a social media press release that includes widgets and banners that you can use on your own site to promote Team USA.

It’s Tuesday, so of course I was watching The Biggest Loser on NBC when I saw an ad for the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. But the ad wasn’t what I expected. I looked up from my laptop to see Jason Lezak’s anchor leg in the Men’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

There’s nothing wrong with re-living a great American moment, but since this isn’t the first incident, I’m worried that the best marketing strategy for the Winter Olympics is: “Hey, remember how cool the Summer Olympics were? Watch the Winter Olympics!”

Maybe not everyone is as excited for figure skating as I am (my cat’s name is Sasha Cohen), but there has to be something universally appealing about the Winter Games. What about footage of snowboard halfpipe set to alternative rock music? That do anything for ya? How about downhill skiers flying around turns in slow motion with the AllState insurance guy narrating with a message of perseverance and hope? Getting excited?

Maybe swimming is just that much cooler than every winter sport.

See also: Michael Phelps Is Swimming To The Winter Olymipcs?

The Crawford Report, commissioned by the Australian federal government and released by businessman David Crawford, discusses the feasibility of funding Australian high performance sports. The controversial report is angering Olympic sports fans and the Australian Olympic Committee alike, because it dismisses the AOC’s call for additional funding leading up to the 2012 London Olympics.

The AOC has asked for an additional $100 million per year for the next 10 years to push Australia back into the ranks of “top five” for Olympic medal count. The Crawford Report says that “obtaining Olympic success has been expensive and that the money would be better spent on big professional sports and others that are part of the national pysche [sic]” (source).

What sports are part of the national psyche? According to the report: Swimming, tennis, cricket, cycling, the football codes, netball, golf, hockey, basketball, surfing and surf lifesaving. Why shouldn’t these sports have a claim on the “public purse”? Crawford continues to defend his position in the report by stating that widely popular sports lead to wider participation rates by Australians.

To play the devil’s advocate: how are less popular sports suppose to gain popularity without increased exposure and increased funding? Should these Olympic sports be left to die out due to a lack of accessibility?

Quoted in an article on TheAge.com.au:

“A livid AOC boss John Coates slammed the report as “disrespectful” and “insulting” to Australia’s Olympic achievements and to gold medal heroes in lower-profile sports such as diver Matthew Mitcham, kayaker Ken Wallace and pole vaulter Steve Hooker.”

By supporting Olympic sports, Australia gains national pride through accomplishment. Can you put a budget on national pride? On the other hand, you get more bang for your buck by supporting popular sports – if by bang you mean increased participation rates as opposed to gold medals.

According to this report, it looks like swimming is setting itself up for a budget increase since it is considered a popular sport in Australia. Unfortunately for diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, open water swimming, and triathlon, the report does not appear to swing in their favor.

Found via @aquaticsintl, according to an article on More Than The Games, the London 2012 Aquatic Centre’s 2800 ton roof was finally lowered into place after 8 months. Although plans for the roof were scaled down, the center is now expected to cost a total of £300m which is around 4 times more than the figure quoted in London’s winning Olympic bid.

From London2012.com, found @London2012team, the pictograms or event icons for each sport discipline have been revealed. This year there are two versions, a more classic silhouette, and a ‘dynamic’ version that is meant to bring the picture to life.

Inspired by the London Underground map, I think the dynamic versions of the pictograms look more like the 3-D drawings you look at with blue and red glasses.

BREAKING: A decisão é final! The decision is final! Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Summer Olympics.