• Michael Phelps conducts a swim lesson in Rio

    Antonio Lacerda / EPA

    Olympic record gold medal winner U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps adjusts his googles during his visit to the sport complex of the Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Oct. 30.

    Ricardo Moraes / Reuters

    U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps gives a swimming lesson to youths during a visit at the Alemao slum complex's Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, Oct. 30.

    Silvia Izquierdo / AP

    U.S. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps trains young swimmers at Olympic Village Carlos Castilho in the Complexo de Alemao slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Oct. 30.

    Silvia Izquierdo / AP

    U.S. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps high fives young swimmers after leading them in a workshop at the Olympic Village Carlos Castilho in Complexo de Alemao slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Oct. 30.

    Micahel Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, held a swimming workshop in the Clomplexo de Alemao slum of Rio de Janeiro today. He was visiting to Rio de Janeiro to promote the 2016 Olympic Games.

  • Pistorius sorry for timing of outburst at Paralympics -- but is brand 'destroyed'?

    Tal Cohen / EPA

    Oscar Pistorius of South Africa, left, and Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira of Brazil shake hands on the podium after the Men's 200-meter final during the London 2012 Paralympic Games on Sunday. Pistorius apologized Monday for the timing of his complaints about a rival's blades following his defeat in the final, but insisted that officials need to change the rules to prevent some runners from getting an unfair advantage.

    By Jamieson Lesko, NBC News

    Updated at 6:15 a.m. ET Tuesday: LONDON - “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius -- the unofficial face of the Paralympic Games -- was clearly still reeling Monday after losing a key race over the weekend.

    Pistorius issued an apology for “the timing” of his remarks, which in essence accused race winner Alan Fonteles Oliveira from Brazil of not playing fair. But the usually mild-mannered South African did not step back from his statement alleging that Sunday’s race was not run on an even playing field.

    On Tuesday, some in the British media speculated whether he had already tarnishing his image. "If Oscar had run the time he can run I don't think we'd be having the debate about the length of the blades or how tall an athlete should be on blades," Gareth A Davies of the Daily Telegraph said on the U.K.'s Channel 4 News.

    "I think his outburst kind of ruined in a sense, or destroyed the Pistorius brand," Davies said.

    "He's running faster backwards now than he runs forward, (isn't he) with his retractions," anchor Jonathan Edwards joked.

    The 200-meter final was the Paralympic race Pistorius had said he was looking forward to the most, and his shock at losing was palpable. Simply put, he was the one to beat. In Saturday’s qualifying heat, Pistorius had set a new world record. He’d won the gold in the 200 meter in Beijing.

    Doctor Gerry Versfeld, Oscar Pistorius' doctor, describes the decision to amputate the sprinter's legs when he was a boy.  NBC Sports' Mary Carillo reports for Rock Center.

    But then came Sunday night’s race, and his stunning loss.

    'Meet the Superhumans': Paralympians burst onto world stage

    “We are not running a fair race here. I can’t compete with Alan’s stride length,” said Pistorius, who made Olympic history this year as the first disabled athlete to run in the able-bodied games. Pistorius himself fought claims that carbon-fiber prosthetics are advantageous when compared to human legs.

    ‘Absolutely ridiculous’
    In front of a sold-out stadium Sunday night, the 24-year-old South African had a clear lead coming around the final bend. Then Brazil’s Oliveira surged in the final stretch, passed Pistorius, and won the race by .07 seconds.

    "I don't know how you can come back, watching the replay, from eight meters behind on the 100 to win. It's absolutely ridiculous," Pistorius told British broadcaster Channel 4 in a trackside interview.  

    South African runner Oscar Pistorius, who lost both his legs as a child, talks with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie about becoming the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics, and says it was "difficult" to hear people say his prosthetics give him an unfair advantage.

    His comments jarred with the fact that he has said that this year’s Paralympic Games have led spectators to “focus really on the ability” of the athletes, rather than “focusing on the disability.”

    Usually known for his modesty and good sportsmanship, Pistorius accused Oliveira of having an advantage by adjusting the length of his blades, thus giving the Brazilian a longer stride.

    "The [International Paralympic Committee] have their regulations. The regulations allow that athletes can make themselves unbelievably high. We've tried to address the issue with them in the weeks up to this and it's just been falling on deaf ears,” he said on Channel 4.

    Uncharacteristic outburst 
    Pistorius’ remarks reverberated through the sporting world. 

    Iraq vet: 'Now it's time to win' at Paralympics

    “I’m quite shocked the way Oscar had a bit of an outburst because it’s not in his character, so obviously he feels very strongly that the rules need to be addressed,” Olympic silver medalist sprinter Iwan Thomas said on Channel 4. “But as we sit here tonight the rules are as they are and [Oliveira’s] done nothing wrong.”

    Eddie Keogh / Reuters

    The blades of Brazil's Alan Oliveira (R) and South Africa's Oscar Pistorius are seen after the Men's 200m T44 classification at the Olympic Stadium during the London 2012 Paralympic Games on Sunday.

    Thomas did not hold out much hope that Olympic authorities would change their decision.

    “I don’t think they’re just going to suddenly tear up the rule book just because Oscar said something. Although he’s the king of the sport, rules are there and it probably takes a long process to get things looked at,” he said.

    Measured response
    Indeed, the International Paralympic Committee defended its rules by tweeting a photo showing the maximum heights allowed for individual athletes, and showing Pistorius at a height of 193.5cm and Oliveira at 185.4cm. 

    “There are rules in place with IPC Athletics whereby we measure the length of the blade prior to competition, check they're in proportion with the body and all of the athletes last night passed the test, so yes, he (Oliveira) was a legitimate winner,” IPC representative Craig  Spence said.

    Click here of The Science of Sport's findings on the race.

    Sorry for ‘timing’
    On Monday, Pistorius stuck by the essence of his post-race comments and did not step back from his complaint.

    He said in a statement:

    “I would never want to detract from another athlete's moment of triumph and I want to apologize for the timing of my comments after yesterday's race. I do believe that there is an issue here and I welcome the opportunity to discuss with the IPC [International Paralympic Committee] but I accept that raising these concerns immediately as I stepped off the track was wrong. That was Alan's moment and I would like to put on record the respect I have for him. I am a proud Paralympian and believe in the fairness of sport. I am happy to work with the IPC who obviously share these aims.”

    Meanwhile, Team South Africa and SASCOC (South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) issued a statement welcoming Pistorius' apology.

    Oscar Pistorius from South Africa became the first double amputee to compete in the games by running  the men's 400-meter race. He says that having the opportunity to represent his country in the Olympics "far surpassed" his expectations.

    "We note and welcome Oscar's apology for anything said in haste, and we obviously fully understand that he was emotionally upset immediately after such an important event here in London. We again congratulate Oscar on winning his silver medal on Sunday. As always we are fully supportive of all our athletes and will engage through the official channels from the National Paralympic Committee in South Africa to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on any concerns that Oscar may have."

    They’ll meet again
    Oliveira, who called Pistorius a “great athlete,” said he was saddened by the South African’s reactions.

    “I am just sad with the interview where he said my blades were too big” Oliveria said. “He was bothered by my time in the semi-finals and he wanted to get to me with his polemic but it did not work. For me he is a really great idol and to hear that from a great idol is difficult.”

    Pistorius and Oliveira are on course to meet again in round one of the 100 meters on Wednesday and round one of the 400 meters on Friday. Assuming they both make those finals, they will race again at the 100 meter final on Thursday and the 400 meter final on Saturday.

    More coverage of the London Paralympics from Britain's ITV News

    More world stories from NBC News:

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  • 'Meet the Superhumans': Paralympians burst onto world stage

    Channel 4 Paralympics - Meet the Superhumans from IWRF on Vimeo.

    By Jamieson Lesko, NBC News

    LONDON -- A battlefield explosion sends troops flying, a speeding car flips over on a highway, a "Murderball" player is knocked right out of his wheelchair, all set to a fierce Public Enemy soundtrack. 

    "Forget everything you thought you knew about strength. Forget everything you thought you knew about humans. It's time to do battle. Meet the Superhumans."

    That’s how British TV viewers are being introduced to this year’s Paralympic athletes by Channel 4, which is broadcasting the London 2012 Games. Its campaign is giving Superbowl ads a run for their money, going viral with more than 500,000 views on YouTube alone.

    The hard-hitting ad is designed to jolt the public into a state of awareness and awe of what many of these disabled athletes have had to deal with just to stay alive, let alone compete at an elite level. It highlights that the competitors have overcome disabilities and disasters most of us cannot begin to imagine or will ever have to face. And that was before they became world-class competitors.

    Transforming the despair of being paralyzed in battle into determination, Iraq War veteran Scott Winkler sets his sights on a medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

    More coverage of the London Paralympics from Britain's ITV News

    The campaign also aims to combat the impression that the Paralympics is essentially the "Olympics-lite." Among the sports the ad focuses on is wheelchair rugby -- which is so violent that it's been dubbed "Murderball." The sheer amount of full-force contact between players requires welders to be put on standby on the sideline to repair damaged wheelchairs.

    Some of the hottest tickets at the London Paralympics are for wheelchair rugby. The sport is so violent and fierce, that it has been dubbed "Murderball". ITN's Lewis Vaughan Jones met Team Great Britain's inspirational captain.

    The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation has championed the "Meet the Superhumans" campaign and comments posted on its Vimeo page illustrate the ad's power. "Now that's what I'm talking about, 'Thank you for letting me be myself.' Public Enemy never sounded better," one fan wrote. "It's a great soundtrack for our ... lives whether we're Olympians or not."

    Channel 4

    This ad campaign for Channel 4's Paralympic coverage has captured the imagination of many people in Britain.

    The event was founded 1948 to help rehabilitate injured British veterans returning from the Second World War, though many Americans remain unaware that it exists. (There's also a tendency to confuse it with the Special Olympics, which is unrelated. Paralympic athletes compete despite impairments including amputations, blindness, cerebral palsy and mobility disabilities.) However, there are signs that 2012 will be its breakout year.

    Retired U.S. Marine Angela Madsen once lived out of a locker at Disneyland. But the 52-year-old paraplegic turned her life around and has rowed across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. She's now competing for Team USA at the Paralympic Games in London. Madsen told her story to NBC's Jamieson Lesko.

    London-bound veterans push Paralympics back to battlefield roots

    The success of the London 2012 Olympic Games has sparked a spike in public interest in Britain. Ticket sales have wildly exceeded expectations, with organizers saying 2.3 million tickets have already been sold, which is more than any other Paralympic Games in history. There's a high demand for the 200,000 remaining tickets, which will be made available in batches online.

    Soccer superstar David Beckham is serving as an ambassador to the Games and Prince William and Kate Middleton are expected to attend Wednesday night's Opening Ceremony.

    Ahead of the London Paralympics, L.A. Galaxy midfielder David Beckham spent a day learning blind football from Team Great Britain.

    Team USA features 20 military veterans and active duty service members, including some wounded at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Among them is U.S. Army 82nd Airborne paratrooper Centra "Ce-Ce" Mazyck, who was paralyzed when her parachute got tangled with another in 2003. Doctors said she'd never walk again but Maczyk refused to listen. And she has proved them wrong.

    "I wasn't hearing it. In my heart, in my soul, I knew I could walk," Mazyck told NBC News. "To this day, I am walking."

    Centra "Ce-Ce" Mazyck, who was paralyzed during a parachute jump with the 82 Airborne in November 2003, will compete in the javelin at the London Paralympics. "This is my second chance," she tells NBC News' Jamieson Lesko.

    The South Carolina-based mother of one is now engaged to be married but admits shes also deeply "in love" with her javelin.

    'Very fortunate'
    U.S. Navy Lt. Bradley Snyder was blinded by a bomb while rushing to the aid of two fellow soldiers in Afghanistan.

    His training regimen had him swimming 4,000 yards a day at his local pool in Baltimore. He is due to compete on the one-year anniversary of his injury. 

    Slideshow: Blinded warrior has visions of gold

    Lt. Brad Snyder lost his sight in an IED explosion in Afghanistan last year. The Navy officer will once again represent the U.S., this time at the London 2012 Paralympics in September.

    Launch slideshow

    "I knew I was very fortunate to be in that hospital bed and not in a coffin in the ground," Snyder said. "I'm going to show people that I'm not going to let this beat me. I'm not going to let blindness build a brick wall around me. I am going to find a way forward."

    From darkness to gold: Blinded Navy swimmer set to race at Paralympics

    South African double amputee and sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who has been nicknamed the "Blade Runner," will compete in the Paralympics after making history by running in the 400-meter event at the Olympics.

    Pistorius is likely to face tough competition from Team USA, including a 25-year-old rocket scientist Jerome Singleton and the 22-year-old Blake Leeper.

    Pistorius, a double amputee born without fibulas in his legs, has trained hard to participate in the Olympics despite having to wear prosthetic legs. NBC's Mary Carillo reports.

    Pistorius, a four-time Paralympic gold medealist, will carry the flag for South Africa at Wednesday's Opening Ceremony. Coldplay will perform at the Closing Ceremony on September 9.

    "I believe these Games are going to change peoples' mindsets about disabilities," Pistorius told Reuters. "In the last two to three years I've seen a shift. For many years people have shunned disability, but I don't have anything in life I'm not able to do. I don't think of my disability, I think of my ability."

    Sixteen countries are competing for the first time. Among them, Haiti will make its debut with two athletes competing in track and field.

    This is the story of two paralympians from Haiti - a nation which is competing in the games for the first time. It's a country where disability is stigmatized and those who are disabled are shunned. ITV's Lewis Vaughan Jones reports on two pioneers who want to overcome prejudice and fill their nation with pride.

    British broadcaster Channel 4 will show 150 hours of programming and about 350 hours more online and across three temporary on-demand channel.

    The International Paralympic Committee predicts that, adding together viewers on each of the 11 days of competition, the total audience figure for the London Paralympics will reach 4 billion.

    It said that four years ago in Beijing, a total overall audience of around 3.8 billion in 80 countries watched the 2008 Paralympics - including a total of 1.4 billion viewings in China across 11 days, 670 million in Japan and 439 million in Germany. Calculating figures in that way means individual viewers are counted several times.

    More coverage of the London Paralympics from NBC News

    The daughter of the founder of the Paralympics told NBC News that the record-breaking ticket sales and interest in the London event would have made her father "immensely proud."

    Of all the events that will be showcased in the Paralympics, few are as intriguing as blind soccer. ITN's Lewis Vaughan Jones met Team Great Britain captain David Clarke who explained how it works.

    Eva Loeffler said Ludwig "Poppa" Guttmann – a neurologist who pioneered the rehabilitation of paralyzed Second World War service members at a hospital near London – would have been "extremely pleased" at how the Games had captured the public imagination.

    The 79-year-old said it was "very appropriate, in a way" that so many veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts were taking part in this year's event. "Helping the military wounded was where it all began, after all," she said.

    London 2012: Who were the real winners, losers?

    Guttman, who fled Germany in 1933 after being persecuted by Hitler's Nazi regime, challenged medical orthodoxy at Stoke Mandeville hospital, north–west of London, by encouraging patients to play sports rather than accept their paralysis.

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    The Agitos symbol of the Parlaympics has replaced the Olympic rings on London's iconic Tower Bridge.

    When London hosted the Summer Olympics in 1948, he created the Stoke Mandeville Games involving just 16 competitors. In the years that followed, he built his competition into the parallel Paralympic Games.

    This year's event will feature 4,200 athletes from 166 teams competing in 20 sports.

    Although Guttman died in 1980, Loeffler has continued his work, becoming a key figure in disabled sport – and has accepted an honorary role as mayor of the Paralympic Athletes' Village at the Olympic Park in East London.

    'Second-class citizens': Wheelchair user's fury at Paralympics over seating

    Lt. Brad Snyder, blinded by an IED explosion in Afghanistan, is now training for the London 2012 Paralympics.

    One of Guttman's dreams was that disabled athletes would ultimately compete alongside their able-bodied counterparts – a wish that came true last month with Pistorius' historic participation at the Olympics.

    "He would have regarded that as a great moment, I'm sure," Loeffler said.

    How to watch the Paralympics from the U.S.

    • The International Paralympic Committee will live stream more than 780 hours of events.
    • NBC Sports Network will air one-hour highlight shows on September 4, 5, 6, and 11. All NBC and NBC Sports Network Paralympic highlight shows and specials will re-air on Universal Sports Network and www.UniversalSports.com.
      Check your local listings for channel info.
    • NBC will broadcast a 90-minute special from 2-3:30 p.m. ET on September 16.
    • The United States Olympic Committee has created a YouTube channel dedicated to the Games.
    • The U.S. Paralympic Team will also provide in-depth coverage of Team USA on its website.

    Fahim Rahimi, is Afghanistan's only competitor at the Paralympics. He lost his leg in a land mine accident when he was just 12, but tonight the powerlifter is carrying the Afghan flag into the Olympic stadium. Jonathan Rugman, Britain's Channel 4 news reports.

    More London 2012 coverage from NBC News:

     

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    NBC News' Alastair Jamieson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  • Missy Franklin reveals movie cameo: 'I'm so excited'

    By Scott Stump

    After winning four Olympic gold medals in London, Missy Franklin has secured a coveted “internship.’’

    The 17-year-old swimming phenom from Colorado told Matt Lauer on TODAY Friday that she will make a cameo in the upcoming movie “The Internship,’’ starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. She will film the cameo in the next few months and the film is expected to be released next year, but Franklin's role remains top-secret.

    “I am so excited about it,’’ she said. “You’re going to have to wait and see.’’

    The five-time Olympic medalist began her senior year at Regis Jesuit High School last week, one day after making an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Another perk of her Olympic showing has been catching the attention of her favorite artist. Justin Bieber recently sent her a personalized care package.

    “He notices you!’’ Franklin joked about her new-found fame. “He sent me a huge care package, which was so awesome. I walk home and my mom is so cute. She took everything out and set it out on the table, and I had T-shirts and CDs and posters and all that stuff.’’

    Bieber is playing a concert in Denver in January, and Franklin is hoping to meet him in person.

    “My friend actually bought me tickets for my birthday, so we’re going to go, and I think we might be able to get backstage passes hopefully,’’ she said.

    In the midst of all the fun, Franklin is also mulling the serious issue of whether to turn professional. Throughout the Olympics, she professed a desire to remain an amateur so that she can compete in college, but still is weighing the decision now that lucrative sponsorship and endorsement offers have rolled in.

    “Right now we’ve definitely talked about it a little bit,’’ Franklin said. “I think we still want to talk about it more. As of right now, we’ve had college coaches coming to the house, and I will be taking my visits in the fall, and we’ll go from there.’’

    Franklin acknowledged concerns that deciding to go pro could look like she had gone back on her word.

    “It’s hard,’’ she said. “I’ve definitely put it out there that I do want to swim in college. It’s something that I want to do, and I don’t want people to think that’s not how I feel any more because it is. I still think that I would want to swim in college. I’ve always wanted to do it, whether I’ve said something or not about it, so hopefully I get the chance.’’

    One decision she has already made is to get the Olympic rings tattooed on her right hip, which she did last week.

    “It’s the only tattoo I’m ever going to get,'' she said. "I kind of grew up going to meets where I was watching kind of all my big role models have that tattoo, so I’ve always wanted it so bad.''

    In addition to her appearance on TODAY, Franklin, who is taking a month off from swimming post-Olympics, will participate in the Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the U.S. Open tennis tournament on Saturday in Queens. She may be playing doubles with a celebrity partner and anticipates looking like a fish out of water.

    “I’m apologizing right now to everyone that has to watch,’’ she joked.

    More:Ryan Lochte dishes on Vegas party with Prince Harry
    Jeah! Lochte to guest star on '90210'
    Missy Franklin tweets new Olympic tattoo
    Missy Franklin plans to have tattoo along with medals
    Missy Franklin's dilemma: Go pro or go to college?
    Missy Franklin: Amateur status 'still the plan right now'

     

     

  • Reports: Somali Olympic sprinter died when migrant boat sank

    Kerim Okten/ EPA file

    Somalian athlete Samia Yusuf Omar at at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

    By Ian Johnston, NBC News

    A woman from war-torn Somalia who rose to fame by running in the 200 meters at the Beijing Olympics drowned while trying to reach Europe ahead of the London 2012 Games, it has emerged.

    Samia Yusuf Omar died when a boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank in April, according to a report in Italian by the Pubblico blog and other Italian media.

    The BBC said the Italian media reports suggest Omar may have been hoping to find a coach in Europe who could help her reach the London Olympics.

    Somali track and field legend Abdi Bile, who was world champion in the 1500 meters in 1987, was quoted as comparing Omar’s fate with that of Somali-born British runner Mo Farah, who won two Olympic gold medals at the London Games.


    "We are happy for Mo -- he is our pride," he said, according to Pubblico. "But we will not forget Samia."

    There were few details about what happened to Omar, but BBC News said Somalia’s National Olympic Committee had confirmed she had died. NBC News was unable to reach the committee on the phone number listed on its website and an email was not immediately returned.

    Italy's Coast Guard rescues 80 migrants from an overcrowded boat stranded just off the coast of the southern island of Lampedusa. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    There were tributes to Omar from across the world on the comments section of a YouTube video of her race in Beijing.

    “Love, hope and peace from Barcelona Samia. Your still alive in ours hearts. RIP,” one user, frankiee78, said.

    Somali Olympic chief killed in Mogadishu suicide blast

    “Brave is the one who never give up ... Even being the last one on this heat, Samia was proud of being there for her country. Every time when a shooting star will shows in a Somalian sky, it will be Samia the one who is going to be running for her country.... RIP from Columbus, OH,” MrEmilito74 said.

    There were messages from people in the United States, Serbia, Mexico, Portugal, Uruguay and other countries.

    More world stories from NBC News:

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  • Missy Franklin tweets new Olympic tattoo

    @FranklinMissy / Twitter

    Swimmer Missy Franklin says that her new tattoo of the Olympic rings, a Team USA tradition, will be the only ink she ever gets.

    By Scott Stump

    In addition to the five Olympic medals she took home in London, swimming phenom Missy Franklin has added one other permanent reminder of her breakout performance.

    Following Team USA tradition after a successful Olympics, Franklin has gotten a tattoo of the Olympic rings. She tweeted a photo of  her new tat on her right hip on Thursday. “All inked up. AHH!’’ she wrote. “Can’t believe it! My one and only!”

     

    During the Olympics, Franklin told TODAY.com that she had planned on getting the traditional Olympic tattoo found on numerous U.S. athletes, and that it would be her first and last tattoo.

    "Getting a tattoo has never been something ever thought I would do, but this one just has so much meaning to it and it is really something that you have to earn,'' Franklin told TODAY.com. "Not a lot of people have the opportunity to get it, so I just feel like it’s an honor to get it.'' 

    The swimmer's father, Dick Franklin, had already approved of the tattoo before it officially was inked on to her hip.

    "This will be the only one, and she's earned it,'' he told TODAY.com while in London.

    Dick also joked that he might get his own tattoo.

    "Yeah, 'Missy's Dad,''' he said while pointing to his bicep.

    Franklin told TODAY.com that she had initially planned to get inked while she was still in London, a day before her father's Aug. 10 birthday. While her busy schedule didn't allow that, she eventually was able to find time after attending the Olympic Closing Ceremony on Sunday and making an appearance on "The Tonight Show" that aired Wednesday night.

    Franklin flew back to her home in Centennial, Colo., on Monday before jetting off for the "Tonight" spot, and on Thursday she began her senior year at Regis Jesuit High School -- with a permanent souvenir of what she did on her summer vacation.

    Read more:

    Missy Franklin plans to have tattoo along with medals

    Missy Franklin's dilemma: Go pro or go to college?

    Missy Franklin: Amateur status 'still the plan right now'

     

     

     

  • Missy Franklin's dilemma: Go pro or go to college?

    By Rebecca Dube, TODAY, TODAY Moms editor

    Missy Franklin swam into our hearts, and won four gold medals, at the London Olympics. What's next: College, or lucrative endorsement deals?

    Plenty of advertisers would love Missy to represent their products, and she could probably make millions on endorsements — but that would mean giving up her amateur eligibility and missing the chance to swim at the collegiate level.

    “Right now, I’m still very set on swimming in college, but my decision has become a lot harder," she told NBC's Miguel Almaguer on TODAY Thursday. "It has become extremely difficult — there are so many pros and so many cons to consider.”

    And she said she does fantasize about the cash. "Turning down this amount of money is unheard-of. I mean, it's absolutely absurd. It's an amazing opportunity."

    It's a dilemma many parents would love to have: Do you let your insanely talented child go for the endorsement deals, the major-league contract, the Broadway auditions — or do you insist they go to college first? Supermodel Beverly Johnson recently told TODAY.com that her "biggest fear" was that her daughter would start modeling and not finish school. (Of course, that's exactly what her daughter Anansa did, though she eventually went back and got her bachelor's and an MBA.)

    It's Missy's future, and it's her decision — and from what we saw during the Olympic games, she certainly seems to have a good head on her shoulders. But we're sure her parents will weigh in on the decision. What would you do? 

    Related stories:

    Video: Missy Franklin's mom: Missy is 'always happy'

    Daughter has Olympic dreams, but does mom?

    Watch out, Lochte, these cute kids are pool hungry too

    Slideshow: The most marketable Olympians 

  • Olympians return to all corners of the earth bruised, triumphant and laden with gold

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    Kim Hyeon-woo, front right, gold medalist in the Men's 66Kg Greco-Roman wrestling, sports a black eye as he poses with other athletes upon the South Korean national team's arrival in Incheon, west of Seoul on August 14, 2012.

    Paul Raats / EPA

    An aerial view made with the help of an Octocopter, a remote controlled helicopter, shows a ceremony for the Dutch Olympic contestants on a medal-shaped stage at the Stationsplein in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, on August 13, 2012.

    Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP - Getty Images

    Japanese women's volleyball captain Erika Araki, left, and her teammates are welcomed by wellwishers upon their return from the London 2012 Olympic Games at Narita airport, outside Tokyo, on August 14, 2012.

    Omar Sobhani / Reuters

    Taekwondo bronze medalist Rohullah Nikpai waves to the crowd during a procession for his homecoming in Kabul , Afghanistan, on August 14, 2012. Hundreds of jubilant Afghans packed the national stadium to welcome the nation's second Olympic medal winner.

    AFP - Getty Images

    Qatar's Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, center, son of the Emir of Qatar (and not an Olympic competitor, despite the medal), welcomes Nasser al-Attiyah, right, bronze medalist in the skeet men's final, and Mutaz Essa Barshim, left, bronze winner in the men's high jump, upon their arrival in Doha, Qatar on August 13, 2012.

    Alexander Nemenov / AFP - Getty Images

    Members of the Russian Olympic national team show their medals upon their arrival at Sheremetyevo international airport in Moscow on August 13, 2012.

    Paulo Whitaker / Reuters

    Brazil's volleyball player Adenizia Silva poses for a photograph with a fan in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 13, 2012. Brazil's women produced a dazzling comeback to win Olympic volleyball gold on Saturday, prompting a sneak preview of what life might be like in Rio de Janeiro in four years time.

    EPA

    Taoufik Makhloufi, left, who won the gold medal in the men's 1500m final, parades in a car upon his return to Algiers, Algeria, on August 13, 2012. Makhloufi is the only Algerian among the 39 participants in the London Olympics to win a medal.

    Vanderlei Almeida / AFP - Getty Images

    Rio de Janeiro's city mayor Eduardo Paes, left, and the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman, center, wave the Olympic flag upon arrival in Rio de Janeiro on August 13, 2012.

    Slideshow: Olympic Emotional Moments

    Click for more of the best images from the 2012 summer games in London.

    Launch slideshow

     

  • How'd he do that? Olympic sprinter breaks leg, keeps running

    Anja Niedringhaus / AP

    United States' Manteo Mitchell competes in a 4x400-meter relay heat during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London on Thursday. Manteo had half a lap to go in the first leg of the 4x400-meter relay preliminaries when he broke his leg, and was faced with a choice: keep running or stop and lose the race.

    By Lisa Flam

    He heard the break. He felt the pain. And he just wanted to lie down.

    But after he broke his leg during the semifinal round of the men’s Olympic 4 x 400 meter relay on Thursday, sprinter Manteo Mitchell kept on running, even though, he said, “It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.”

    “It’s impressive both because he’s dealing with pain as well as not having all of his parts in an optimal situation,” says Dr. Balu Natarajan, a sports medicine specialist in Chicago.

    He attributes Mitchell’s feat to a combination of the highly trained athlete’s fight-or-flight response to pain and the fact that the bone he broke in his lower left leg, the fibula, absorbs less shock and does less work than the other leg bones.

    “Part of it was that the fibula contributes less to weight bearing as opposed to the femur and tibia and part of it is that in that high-energy situation, he has enough adrenaline and endorphins kicking throughout his body that he’s feeling a lot less pain at that moment,” said Natarajan, who also serves on the medical team of the Chicago Marathon.

    Had the 25-year-old Mitchell broken his femur or tibia, it would have been nearly impossible for him to finish the race, he said. If a leg bone had to break, he was in a sense lucky it was the fibula.

    “If it’s a short enough distance and a high level enough athlete, even with a broken fibula, someone can finish the race,” Natarajan said.

    In a statement released through USA Track & Field, Mitchell said the roar of the crowd was so loud that nobody heard his “little war cry,” and he said he didn’t want to let his teammates down. Mitchell finished his heat in 46.1 seconds, only 1.5 seconds longer than the runner of the next leg; the U.S. qualified for the finals and finished in the fastest time ever run in the first round of the relay at the Olympics. On Friday, the U.S. team went on to win a silver medal, thanks in part to Mitchell's sacrifice.

    In a high-stakes event like the Olympics after years of training, athletes sometimes will stop at nothing, experts say.

    “There’s so much that’s tied into the psyche during a race like this, it really can override a lot of things we would feel outside of such a high energy situation,” Natarajan said. “If the same thing happened on training run and no one was around, he would very likely have stopped.”

    “Anybody who has trained for a particular event for four years, really they have one goal, and between that and the tremendous conditioning and excellent biomechanics, it’s really the perfect confluence of factors that might allow someone to overcome a break like this,” he said.

    Mitchell said he had slipped on the stairs a few days earlier, but had it checked out, felt fine and didn't think much of it. Mitchell’s strong finish in the race was a clear example of a top athlete’s ability to put mind over matter, says Frank Smoll, a professor of sport psychology at the University of Washington.

    “It’s a very good illustration of how highly motivated they are and their willingness to pursue and persist and play through pain, so that the importance of what they’re doing really outweighs the potential negative consequences, in this case, physical harm,” he said.

    “They’re highly dedicated athletes, they’re courageous, and they’re willing to, at their own self-sacrifice, give it their all,” Smoll said.

    The training Olympic athletes receive in "attention control," the ability to block out distractions like pain, helps them succeed, Smoll said, adding: “It’s not just the physical ability that makes the elite athletes but the mental preparation is what makes them excel.”

    The U.S. men's 4 x 400 relay team won a silver medal on Friday; Mitchell, who has been fitted with a boot and crutches, will receive a medal with the rest of the team.

    Related: 

  • Silver screen, gold medalists: Olympians pick top sports films

    Warner Bros. Pictures; Sarika Dani, NBC News

    Left, Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby"; right, boxing gold medal baby Claressa Shields, 17.

    By Sarika Dani and Ian Sager

    The London Games are winding down, and it's a long time until the 2014 Winter Olympics. But you don't have to wait that long to experience the thrill of victory again — there are plenty of inspiring and entertaining sports moments to be enjoyed through the magic of the movies. We asked Olympians from many disciplines to reveal their favorite sports films; here are the ones they put on their personal podiums.

    Claressa Shields, boxing

    The 17-year-old who won the first U.S. gold medal in women’s Olympic boxing names “Ali,” starring Will Smith as Muhammad Ali, and “Million Dollar Baby,” which won Hilary Swank a Best Actress Oscar as a boxer who beats the odds, among her favorite sports films. “They both have something to do with boxing and they are both good stories,” she told TODAY.com.

    Jamie Gray, shooting

    “‘Miracle’ is such an inspiration,” Gray told TODAY.com, referring to the 2004 film about the U.S. men's hockey team's remarkable gold medal win over the heavily favored Soviet team in the 1980 Winter Olympics. “I always watch before matches,” she added, but confessed that at the London Games, “I fell asleep.” (No harm done; Gray is bringing home the gold in the women's 50m rifle, 3 positions.)

    NBC, MGM

    Pole vaulter Jenn Suhr loves "Rocky IV."

    Jenn Suhr, track & field

    Suhr is a pole vaulter, so it's a bit of a surprise that her favorite sports film is a boxing movie: "Rocky IV." Why? “Because of the fight between Rocky and Ivan Drago!” she exclaimed. “Plus, our training center in Rochester, New York is called the Meat Cooler," she added. "It’s a big metal and steel building. It reminds us of the scenes from the movie.”

    Serena Williams, tennis

    The tennis superstar was one of the two Olympians TODAY.com spoke to whose favorite sports film is a comedy (the other was swimmer Matt Grevers, who chose "Cool Runnings," the John Candy film about a Jamaican Olympic bobsledding team). "Easy, it’s 'Talladega Nights'!" Williams said. For motivation, Williams turns to the inspiring (and fully trademarked) words of NASCAR legend Ricky Bobby, played by Will Ferrell: "If you ain’t first, you’re last."

    NBC, Buena Vista Pictures

    Aly Raisman, gymnastics

    Chalk up another vote for "Miracle": "It’s really inspiring and the captain of the team is from my hometown in Massachusetts.” So, does the multiple medal winner watch before every competition? "No, I’ve just watched it before so I like it a lot," she told TODAY.com. "I think it's a good movie."

    Marlen Esparza, boxing

    "Remember the Titans," the fact-inspired 2000 drama starring Denzel Washington as a football coach struggling with racial tensions on his team, is "super motivational," the Texas-born boxer told TODAY.com. In fact, she's lost count of how many times she's watched it; she lets it play "every time it comes on."

    NBC, Paramount Pictures

    Hurdler Dawn Harper credits Samuel L. Jackson as "Coach Carter" as a model for perseverance.

    Dawn Harper, track & field

    The silver medalist in the women's 100m hurdles chooses "Coach Carter," the 2005 Samuel L. Jackson drama, based on the true story of a high school basketball coach who benched his undefeated team for their low academic grades, and motivated them to success in the classroom as well as on the court. "It's about the perseverance," Harper told TODAY.com.

    Dremiel Byers, wrestling

    The Newark, N.J.-born grappler's instant choice was "Vision Quest," a 1985 drama starring Matthew Modine as a high school wrestler searching for meaning in his life. "Come on, I'm a wrestler," he told TODAY.com. But then he thought for a moment and added: "Actually, this is hard for me. I'm stuck between 'Vision Quest' and 'Prefontaine' (the 1997 story of long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine, played by Jared Leto). "But I'm a wrestler, so I'd have to say 'Vision Quest.'"

    Courtesy of Producers Distribution

    Silver medalist Leo Manzano (right) was fascinated by a documentary about Brazilian Formula One racer Ayrton Senna (left).

    Leo Manzano, track & field

    Manzano was fast enough to win the U.S. silver in the men's 1500 meters, so it's natural that he chose a film about speed: "Senna," a critically acclaimed British documentary about Brazilian Formula One race car driver Ayrton Senna. "I didn't know anything about F1," Manzano confessed. "Then (I) watched this movie and fell in love with it."

    Read more:

    What's on Olympians' lock screens?

    Athletes reveal their post-Olympic pig-out plans

    Very superstitious: Olympians woo lady luck with rituals

    Olympians flash their bling while going for gold

  • Usain Bolt wins Olympics 200 meters title, breaks Twitter record

    Eddie Keogh / Reuters

    Jamaica's Usain Bolt poses with his gold medal on the podium after winning the men's 200m event at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 9, 2012.

    By Peter Prengaman, Associated Press

    When Usain Bolt won the 200 meters, the Twitter world went nuts — so much so that the Jamaican speedster generated another kind of Olympic record.

    "Record alert!" Twitter said in a tweet. "@usainbolt sets a new Olympic Games conversation record with over 80,000 TPM for his 200m victory."

    TPM is Twitterspeak for tweets per minute.

    Bolt, who became the only man with two Olympic titles in the 200, has never been shy about his skills.

    His Twitter profile says he is "The most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen."

    Now he has a Twitter record of sorts to add to his "living legend" contention.

    More Digital Life:

    TODAY's Natalie Morales takes a look at funny images of U.S. gymnast McKayla Maroney's unimpressed face Photoshopped onto iconic images, such as the walk on the moon and the Wright Brothers' first flight.

     

  • Instead of gold, pin traders seek Olympic brass

    Sergei Grits / AP file

    Pin collectors chat next to Olympic Park in London, on July 25, 2012. Outside Westfield Mall, at the edge of the Olympic Park security zone, a dozen people set up shop to trade and sell pins from the 2012 games and Olympics past.

     

    By Catherine Treyz
    NBC News

    While athletes in London are set on winning Olympic gold, self-described “pinheads” are focused on collecting Olympic brass. Pin traders from across the globe have gathered in London -- not just to watch the international competition, but to find unique, sought-after pins.

    “Some people are fanatics,” said Don Bigsby, 72, of Schenectady, NY. Bigsby, a retired telephone engineer, is preside­nt and founder of the world’s largest Olympic pin and memorabilia club, the Olympin Collectors Club. “I’m well past that sort of thing.”

    Don Bigsby

    Complete with glass cases and informational captions, collector Don Bigsby has turned his house into an Olympic museum featuring pins, posters, and much more. This particular corner of his collection is designated to the Berlin 1936 and the London 1948 Games.

    Since 1980, Bigsby’s Olympic collection has grown from just pins to include programs, torches, tickets, medals and more. To accommodate all of this he has turned his house into a museum. In 1999, Bigsby spent $150,000 to build a two-floor, 1,700-square-foot addition to his 1,000-square-foot house to hold his memorabilia.  

    “[Because of pin collecting] I know more about the world than I ever learned in school," said Bigsby, who carries a book of flags with him to help him “chase pins” by national colors and symbols.

    At the Games, merchandise and memorabilia are in high demand. Sales at London 2012 shops, according to the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, have increased by 115 percent since the start of the Games. The Opening Ceremony pins have sold out.

    Although certain commercial pins are especially popular, true “pinheads” are not at the Games to buy or sell, but to trade. “Pin collectors, athletes, media people, etc. are really into pin trading, maybe more than ever before,” wrote Bigsby in an e-mail from London. “Every day, the ‘rules’ change for collectors. Where to trade, how many pins to wear ...”

    Don Bigsby

    Hungary's London 2012 athletes pin looks almost identical to Hungary's Berlin 1936 athletes badge, which was made by the Hungarian Mint and is highly-coveted because of its quality and beauty.

    This year, one pin in high demand among niche collectors is Hungary’s athletes pin. Made by the Hungarian Mint, this year’s pins look almost identical to Hungary’s athletes’ pins of the past.

    When a trade is finished, however, returns aren’t allowed.

    “It’s a deal. Move on. Find somebody else to trade with,” said Bigsby said.

    Athletes join in the fun

    Earlier this year, tennis player and gold medalist Serena Williams recently told USA Today that she has been an avid pin collector since Sydney 2000.  Shooter and three-time gold medalist Kim Rhode of Team USA makes her own pins and gives them away on Twitter. She tweeted, “To win a pin I’m going to ask trivia type questions while I’m here @Olympics and the person who responds first with the correct answer wins.” So far, Rhode has given away three.

    Rhode is one of many pin traders who have shared their hobby online. The London Pins website, for example, is dedicated to organizing information about all of this year’s pins. On Twitter, users have expressed their surprise about how popular the hobby is and how surprised they are that they have, too, become addicted. “I didn’t think it would happen but I’ve become obsessed with collecting pin badges #gamesmaker,” one person tweeted. 

    Pins are usually made of metals like brass, copper, and tin. It's the sentimental value, not the monetary value, that keeps “pinheads” trading and inspires more traders each Olympiad.

    “Pins really have no monetary value,” said Navid Khonsari, whose 2007 documentary Pindemonium provides a lens into the Olympic subculture of pin collecting.  “Pins are really a vehicle for people to really interact with one another.”

    Pin trading: where it all began

    Khonsari said most of the American pin traders got their start at Lake Placid in 1980 or in Los Angeles in 1984. Although pins have been a part of the Olympic tradition since the first modern games in Athens in 1896, the Summer and Winter Olympics in the 1980s marked a turning point in the demand for Olympic collectibles with special venues emerging for the purpose of trading and selling commemorative goods. According to Coca-Cola, one of 10 worldwide Olympic sponsors, 17 million pins were traded at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.

    Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters file

    Pin collector Johnny Ioannides of Greece waits outside the Olympic Village in Stratford in east London July 26, 2012.

    Bigsby, who was one of the three recipients of the International Olympic Committee’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Medal for Olympic Collecting this past June, began trading and collecting pins after attending the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. It was the year of the US men’s ice hockey team’s underdog victory against the Soviet Union and Eric Heiden’s record-setting five gold medals in men’s speedskating.

    “How could I not get hooked?” Bigsby said. “I love amateur sports and there I was in Lake Placid in the middle of it.”

    'It's amazing how it just takes over the Games'

    According to Maxine Chapman, marketing director at Coca-Cola, it's an unofficial rule that if you’re wearing more than one or two pins, you’re a trader. “A pin from the Olympics is so highly coveted,” said Chapman, who manages Olympic showcasing for international sponsor Coca-Cola. “It’s amazing how it just takes over the Games.”

    Since the 1988 Games in Calgary, Coca-Cola has opened pin trading centers at the Olympic Games. Khonsari filmed many of his interviews for Pindemonium at the Coca-Cola Pin Trading Center in Torino in 2006. This year’s pin trading centers are at two locations: London’s Olympic Park and Hyde Park. “The response has been very, very good,” said Chapman.

    One feature of this year’s trading centers is a giant map of the world where people tack pins they receive, encouraging Olympic fans to trade with the world.

    In an e-mail update from the Games, Bigsby wrote, “My daughter Calyn and I traded pins with two North Koreans, then three Iranians and had a great time chatting and gesturing a conversation. Made me wonder why everyone can't get along.”

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