This Week in Olympic Sports: Lull in the Action

Laurent Dubrule/Reuters

Has it really been three and half weeks since the Olympics ended? With football season beginning and the Orioles in the midst of a unfathomable playoff run, I haven't really been able focus on my post-Olympics depression. The first few months after an Olympics are sort of weird. Sports like tennis and basketball transition seamlessly into the next stages of their respective season. The basketball world focuses on the start of the NBA season (!!!) and the tennis tour going straight into the pre-US Open hardcourt season. For the four year sports (track, gymnastics, equestrian etc), the situation is quite different. Many athletes take advantage of their new found relevance by going on long exhibition tours, venturing into the world of reality TV, or just finishing up their seasons. Did you know that Usain Bolt has run in meets since the Olympics? Bolt has competed at three IAAF Diamond League events since his gold medal runs in London. While the Jamaican's performances did get a smattering of US media coverage, it's obviously nothing like the treatment he received during the Olympics. Well, except for NBC, who showed his last race on tape delay this past weekend. When was the last time NBC didn't show a Usain Bolt race on tape delay? Am I right?? Anyway, Olympic things have been happening and (some of) you want to know about them! In that spirit, here's the first installment of, "THE WEEK IN OLYMPIC SPORTS." Cue some sort of music. How bout this, this or this

Gymnastics:

• The "Fierce Five" have been everywhere since the Olympics, appearing on the Today Show, multiple late night TV shows and the MTV Video Music Awards. They have even become the targets of paparazzi, with McKayla Maroney going so far as to hire a bodyguard to deter potential stalkers. The the Olympic team champs will soon be embarking on a ten week cross country tour called, "The Kellogs Tour of Gymnastics Champions." The tour will feature members of the USA men's and women's teams and other recognizable gymnastics faces such as Nastia Liukin. Now, it's confession time. I attended 2008's "World Tour of Gymnastics Superstars with noted gymnastics fan Pat Fong. We were sort of there to see gymnastics, but really there to see Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin in the flesh. We even had really good seats on the floor and even sang happy birthday to Nastia.  The exhibition was fairly impressive, with the gymnasts all performing their signature moves and routines. The tour stops in Washington DC on November 15th and I haven't ruled out going. The problem is, I don't see any music acts listed. Last time I was able to see noted MLS player-dater Jordan Pruitt and failed girl group KSM. Pruitt was good (she has talent and will apparently will be on this season of The Voice) and KSM was well, yikes. 

Track and Field:

• Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake continued their sprint dominance, both winning their last two post Olympic events. Bolt won the 200m in Lausanne, Switzerland in 19.58 and the same race in Zurich in 19.66. Blake ran a 100 meter personal best of 9.69 in Lausanne and won in Zurich in a time of 9.76. Needless to say, both guys are going to be tough to beat if they keep their current form. It will be very interesting to see if any US sprinter steps up to challenge them. All I'm gonna say is; watch out for Ryan Bailey.
• David Rudisha finally looked mortal in the 800 meters, losing to Eithiopian teen, Muhammed Aman in Zurich. Aman, who finished sixth in Beijing, ran a personal best to defeat Rudisha. The Kenyan should have just ended his season after his incredible run in London. I'm still excited about that race and it was like two and a half weeks ago.
• Dawn Harper, Carmelita Jeter and Sanya Richards-Ross have all picked up Diamond League wins since the Olympics. On the flip side, Allyson Felix and LoLo Jones have not competed since London.
• Aries Merritt destroyed Dayron Robles' 110-meter hurdles world record, running 12.80 at the Van Damme Memorial. 12.80 is a ridiculous time, and although Merritt claimed that many of sub-13 second times had multiple mistakes, I don't think even he thought the time would be that low when he finally put it all together. Lowering a world record by .07 seconds is a significant achievement, so congrats to Merritt, who is having arguably the greatest hurdle season ever. Watch the race here

Swimming: 

• Ryan Lochte's life since the Olympics has been pretty incredible to observe. Let's go through it.
• He partied in Vegas, including a race with royalty in a hotel pool.
• Signed on to make a cameo appearence on 90210.
• Was apparently considered for a spot on the next season of "The Bachelor" along with "Dancing with the Stars"
• Watched his sister apologize for an apparent racist rant, because that's what every Olympian has to deal with. 
• Said the word "Jeah" a lot.
• Other than Lochte's impromptu race with Prince Harry, there have been no important meets since the Olympics. So just enjoy Lochte's antics. Who knows what he'll do next

Soccer:

• The Olympics turned out to be the end of an era for the US Women's National Team. Pia Sundhage stepped down as head coach and signed a four-year deal to manage the Swedish national team. Sundhage ends here tenure with the USWNT a winning percentage of .890 and two Olympic titles. From all accounts, Sundhage was a classic players coach, hanging out with her players as if she was a teammate. It will be interesting to see who the US brings in to replace her. On Grantland's Men in Blazers podcast, co-host Roger Bennett said that US Soccer is trying to bring in an American woman to manage the team. Only one woman (April Heinrichs) has coached the national team in its 27 year history. 

That's pretty much it. Except for track and field and tennis, most Olympic sports end their seasons after the Olympics. This will force me to go into Winter Olympics mode pretty soon. I'm excited, aren't you?

516 days until Sochi