The enormous pressure on elite athletes to maintain a lean figure could ultimately change the demographics of who can compete at the Olympics.
That’s according to New York Times sports reporter Karen Crouse, who broke the news that figure skater Adam Rippon succumbed to an eating disorder to maintain his body shape.
“The more it is about appearance, you’re going to get kids in the sport that are younger and younger. You have teenagers whose metabolism is still pretty high and they don’t have these weight issues,” she told Cheddar. “Maybe we are going to see in the future far fewer elite skaters that are 28 years old like Adam.”
Rippon, who won a bronze medal in this year’s Games, revealed to Crouse that he subsisted for a time on a daily diet of three slices of bread with a dab of “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter” and a couple cups of coffee.
He thought the longer, thinner frame would be more aesthetically pleasing to the judges. But a broken foot last year changed his mind.
“He actually thinks that one of the reasons he suffered this injury was that he wasn’t getting enough calcium and other nutrients, and that made his bones brittle,” Crouse said. “He’s now eating much better and actually is ten pounds heavier than he was two years ago when he won that national title. And if you look at him, he has an enviable body.”
Since his injury, Rippon has been workin with a nutritionist with the United States Olympic Committee who’s helped him develop healthier eating habits.
Professional golfer Phil Mickelson issued an apology this week after facing backlash over comments he made in support of a golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia. The proposed golf league is called the Super Golf League and is funded by the Public Investment Fund, the financial arm of the Saudi government. Mickelson faced criticism after seeming to imply that he was willing to overlook the Middle Eastern country's human rights record in order to create a league that would rival the PGA Tour. David Salituro, PGA sportswriter for fansided.com, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Every few years, the Olympics roll around to prove that, yes, the world’s best athletes can jump farther, swim faster, and generally crush records that would’ve been impossible just a few decades ago. Take ski jumping - the world record has increased by well over 200 meters in fewer than 100 years. Responsible for this is a lot of intentional engineering of equipment and hills, but perhaps the biggest change is thanks to one act of human daring. Watch to find out how!
Add FIFA to the list of organizations announcing a break with Russia. The world soccer authority has suspended the nation from competing in the 2022 World Cup tournament, while the NHL also announced suspending business relations with Russia. Executive editor and senior writer at Sports Illustrated, Jon Wertheim, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rebukes. "I think a big element of this is, this is a way to really hit at Putin because we know how much this appearance of strength and the victory… often portrayed through sports, how much that means to him," he said. "This will bother him in a way that it might not bother other world leaders."
The Winter Olympics is slowly winding down with a lot of competition left. Boston Globe Reporter Nicole Yang, joined Cheddar to discuss more on what we can expect to see and some of the hiccups surrounding the games this year.
Rohit Ponnaiya, betting analysts for Covers.com, discusses the impact Juwan Howard's suspension will have on Michigan and dishes out his picks for Thursday's top college hoops contests.
Ryan Cochran-Siegl earned his silver medal 50 years after his mother won gold in the 1972 Olympic games. Coming in a close second in the men's Super-G, he was the first American skier to snag a medal at the Beijing games this year. J.D. Durkin sat down with Ryan to discuss the highlights from the games, his road to the Olympics, and how he's gearing up for his next shot at gold.
Ben Wittenstein, podcast host for Stadium, joins Cheddar Bets to break down his favorite win total bets for the last quarter of the NBA season. Ben also plays a round of Pick 6.
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