The first decade of the 2000s, in particular, gave us some of the most recognizable faces of the Olympic Games, many of whom have moved on to further pursuits. From Usain Bolt and Yelena Isinbayeva to Shaun White and Michael Phelps, here's what these legendary (and not always for their sporting prowess) athletes look like today.
Whatever Happened To These Iconic Olympians?
These elite athletes were involved in a variety of summer and winter sports, from figure skating and gymnastics to tennis and basketball. Some of these individuals broke records based on their age or race. Others were already popular champions who dominated their chosen sports seemingly without blinking an eye. The Olympics represent hard work, determination, and skill. Only the best of the best compete. And almost always, there's a story behind their successes and travails that endears them...
We see them on TV displaying their athletic abilities during the Olympic Games, but that is not the only place we can find Olympians. Outside of the international sporting affair, Olympians have other jobs too. Most of that includes playing (or working) full time in their respective sporting fields. Some of them do speaking events or make regular appearances on television shows for commentary, and the luckier ones can make money off sponsorship deals and endorsements, per E Online And of course, there are those who do coaching for other up-and-coming athletes headed to the big games. For the most part, however, a lot of Olympians earn money when a company decides to back them in using them to promote a product, in exchange for the athlete being contracted to do so.
When it comes to the fastest of the fast, only one person can hold the title, and as of now, Bolt is generally considered the fastest man alive, according to CNBC. He's a sprinter, so don't expect him to be winning many marathons, but in those short, explosive competitions, Bolt's the best. He currently holds the world record in two different sprinting events, which he set in 2009 at the World Championships in Germany's capital. Coming in at an insane 9.58 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 19.19 seconds in the 200-meter, he set the sprinting bar ridiculously high, and it might be a very long time before someone comes along and beats those scores.
A worryingly large number of former Olympians have been charged with or convicted of crimes so disturbing — usually involving children — that we won't be covering them in this article. But don't worry, there are still plenty that trained their whole life for the honor of representing their country on the international stage, were applauded by millions, and then turned around and squandered all of that goodwill by being absolutely terrible.
There was a time when Mark Spitz was the name to beat not only in most swimming competitions but also when it came to gold medals. As Swimming World Magazine tells it, Spitz won the most gold medals in one sport at a single Olympics, with seven wins. It wasn't until Michael Phelps beat that record with eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In fact, Spitz didn't simply win seven golds in the 1972 Munich Olympics, he set seven world records that would hold strong for 36 years. His feats were truly nothing the world had ever seen before, and even though he has relinquished the aforementioned record, he's perfectly fine with it, telling CNN, "The bottom line is, records are made to be broken."
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