The Week That Was: Lochte And Fiancee Expecting

Photo Courtesy: Ryan Lochte (Instagram)

This week saw two big stories emerge from Princeton University, in addition to a big announcement from Olympian Ryan Lochte. Look below for all of the biggest stories from the week in this edition of The Week That Was!

The Week That Was #5 – USOC And NBC Announce Olympic Channel

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Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

In a unique collaboration, the United States Olympic Committee and NBCUniversal announced the creation of the Olympic Channel, a new U.S. television network that will focus on Olympic programming year-round. The focus of the channel will be on American athletes and teams but will also feature Olympic focused programming from around the world. The channel will launch in the second half of 2017, acting as a complement to the current digital platform Olympic Channel that launched following the Closing Ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games. The specific date of the cable channel launch will be announced in the near future. In the meantime, additional Olympic content will be coming to NBCU platforms, which include NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Digital outlets, beginning with the coverage of the Team USA Winter Champion Series on December 17. You can learn more about the current digital platform version of the Olympic Channel on it’s website: olympicchannel.com.

The Week That Was #4 – Phelps, Oleksiak, Chalmers Receive Honors

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Photo Courtesy: Bryan Bedder (Getty Images for Sports Illustrated)

This week Olympic Champion Michael Phelps received yet another honor, this time at the 2016 Sport Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year gala at the Barclays Center in New York on Monday. The magazine was honoring basketball star LeBron James as the Sportsperson of the Year, but during the event Phelps was also celebrated as the greatest Olympian of all-time. Wife Nicole was in attendance and fellow Olympians Tom Dolan, Aly Raisman and Jackie Joyner-Kersee were on-hand to recognize Phelps. You can see a video of his acceptance speech here.

Also honored this week were 2016 Olympic Champions Penny Oleksiak and Kyle Chalmers. Both athletes earned gold medals in the 100 freestyle in Rio this summer. Oleksiak, who tied for gold with American Simone Manuel at this summer’s Games, was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy on Tuesday. That award honors the top Canadian athlete of the year, with the 16 year old Oleksiak beating out six other finalists from across her home country. Chalmers, the 18-year-old who became the first Australian male to win the 100 freestyle at the Olympic Games since Michael Wenden in 1968, was recognized twice at the AIS Sport Performance Awards in Sydney. The young freestyler took home the Male Athlete of the Year Award and Sporting Moment of the Year Award at the event. The awards are voted on nationally and are meant to celebrate the best Australian athletes from the year.

The Week That Was #3 – Princeton Women’s Coach Susan Teeter Announces Retirement

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

This week Susan Teeter, the Head Coach of the women’s swimming & diving team at Princeton University, announced that she will be retiring after spending 33 years with the Tigers. During her historic tenure at Princeton, Teeter has guided the Tigers to more than 220 meet victories, an impressive 17 Ivy League Championship Team Titles, and has coached 22 All-American honorees, including 13-time All-American Alicia Aemisegger ‘10. The coach was also honored with the College Swim Coaches Association “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2011 and has served as the President of the CSCAA since the spring of 2014. Teeter has been included on staff as part of nine different international swim teams, including serving on the Olympic Coaching staff in 2000 and as the head manager of the U.S. team in 1996. Teeter will continue to coach the Tigers through the 2016-2017 season while Princeton begins a national search for her replacement. You can read Teeter’s full retirement statement here.

The Week That Was #2 – Princeton Suspends Men’s Swimming & Diving Team

Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia

This week the Princeton men’s swimming and diving team was informed that their season has been suspended pending a final decision related to the discovery of several items produced from the team that expressed racist, misogynistic, and other offensive materials. Ford Family Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux Samaan and head men’s coach Rob Orr informed the team of the University’s decision. A press release from the Princeton Athletics Department indicates that the suspension was made following the discovery of several items, including specific content that was present on the University-sponsored men’s swimming and diving team listserv. The team is currently scheduled to compete in three remaining meets, including the famed Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet and the Ivy League Championships. Princeton is currently the reigning Ivy League Champions, a title they may not have the opportunity to defend pending a final decision on their season from the University. You can read the full press release from Princeton Athletics here.

The Week That Was #1 – Ryan Lochte And Fiancee Announce Pregnancy

Photo Courtesy: Ryan Lochte (Instagram)

The week’s biggest news came from Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte, who announced via Instagram on Wednesday that he and fiancee Kayla Reid are expecting a child. Lochte had previously announced his engagement to Reid back in October during his time competing on the ABC series Dancing with the Stars. Lochte won a gold medal as part of the 800 free relay and finished fifth in the 200 IM at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The swimmer is currently serving a 10-month suspension from competition following a well-publicized incident on the morning of August 14 after the conclusion of those Games. Interestingly, Lochte’s life since the incident has been similar to that of teammate Michael Phelps back in 2014, when the swimmer became engaged to now-wife Nicole Johnson following a stint in rehab following a DUI. The couple also famously welcomed their son, Boomer Phelps, after that engagement, shortly before the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Lochte had publicly stated following the Olympic Games that he intended to set his sights on qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, although it is unclear whether Lochte will continue training with SwimMAC in Charlotte or pursue a different training base.

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Thomas A. Small

7 years ago

Congratulations

Tony Watanabe

7 years ago

Doesn’t she have a name?