espnW

We are excited to share one of our favorite stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Ramona Shelburne

They've known for a while now this was coming. Or at least sensed it. This wasn't a forever relationship. They'd have to say goodbye.

U.S. women's soccer coach Pia Sundhage would go home to Sweden one day. She would move on and the U.S. national team would have to, too. This run they've been on together, this run that has resurrected the sport in this country and turned the players on this team into superstars and role models, it would end when the Swedish-born coach decided it was time to go home.

But when the day came Wednesday, star forward Abby Wambach was at a loss.
"We've been talking about it all day," Wambach said. "What can we do to show her?"

Show her what she had meant to them? To the sport? To the millions of fans across the country who joined in the magical Olympic gold-medal runs in 2008 and 2012 and a runner-up finish at the 2011 Women's World Cup?

Photo blog: Pia Sundhage and the USWNT

"We thought about it," Wambach said. "And we knew the best thing we could do was get her a win."

And oh-so-fittingly, the United States dominated a young Australian squad, scoring five unanswered goals to finish with an emphatic 6-2 victory in Sundhage's last game with the team.

Keep reading for more on Pia's goodbye.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar! This week, espnW discusses the worry many moms face when their sons want to play football.

By Jemele Hill

It is impossible to comprehend what Devon Walker's parents must have felt when they saw their son laying motionless on the football field. Imagine their helplessness and fear. Making matters worse, they weren't at the game in Oklahoma, but watching from home in Louisiana when the Tulane senior safety's helmet crashed into his teammate's as they both angled to tackle Tulsa's Willie Carter.

Walker suffered a broken neck, and while doctors have said that he was "alert and responsive" after a three-hour surgery to stabilize his spine, his prognosis remains uncertain.

Finding a kindred sports spirit

But Walker's parents weren't the only ones who watched Devon's situation unfold with anxiety and hopelessness. Thousands of miles away, Holly Robinson Peete's heart was full of empathy for a player and family she didn't know. "It was so intense," said Peete, a Hollywood actress who is married to former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete. "It was again another reminder that we have to pay attention to these dangers."

Street Clothes: Oakland's Marcel Reece passionate about cooking

But for Peete and other mothers who either saw Walker's injury or heard about it, this incident was more than just a reminder about how dangerous football can be. It brought to surface an internal struggle that mothers everywhere are coping with. Should I let my son play football?

Bengals' Thomas Howard tackles the interior

When Kurt Warner said he would rather his sons didn't play football, he drew a firestorm of criticism from former players, including ESPN NFL analyst Merril Hoge, who called Warner's comments "irresponsible." Warner later backtracked on his comments, but for football to continue to thrive, whether former players allow their kids to play doesn't necessarily matter. The key to football's survival is mothers.

Thousands of eyes are watching closely every time a player is injured. Many of those eyes belong to women, to mothers like Peete who have a huge say in whether their sons are among the next crop of football talent. "Eighty-five to 90 percent of the moms in my circle that have sons are digging their heels in and saying, 'I'm not going to let them do it,'" Peete said.

Keep reading for more.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Kathryn Bertine

While the world was dazzled by Olympic teen phenoms like gymnast Gabby Douglas and swimmer Missy Franklin during the London Games, a steady presence of "older" female athletes showed that athletic potential goes far beyond the high school years. In the sport of road cycling, Kristin Armstrong won her second Olympic gold medal in the time trial at the age of 39. In fact, the average age of the four members of the women's US Olympic road cycling team was 34. While there are always youthful standouts in any sport, it is safe to say that endurance sports like cycling often reward the older athlete.

"As a kid, I was a nonathlete and always the one picked last for gym class," Team Colavita's Moriah MacGregor, 38, said of her days growing up in Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon Territory. With no interest in sports as a child, it wasn't until her late 20s that MacGregor mounted a bike, after seeing the Canadian national championships nearby. The riders' speed and prowess touched a nerve in MacGregor. "They were so fast and so tactical . . . That race is what motivated me to take out a race license, and the next season, I did my first Category Four [beginner-level] race. I had a lot of work to do to build a base as I was starting from square one."

In 2007, MacGregor shifted her attention to cycling full time, and the results were rewarding. She had top-10 placings at many prestigious North American events, including the Tour de PEI, and caught the eye of the Canadian national team after capturing the bronze medal in her country's road race championship. From there, it was off to the Pan Am Championships and European races, where MacGregor helped vault her teammates — and her country — to victory in some top international competitions. In 2012, MacGregor brought her time trial and domestique skills to Team Colavita.

Defining Winning in a Whole New Way

Yet, as with most tactical sports, it wasn't just MacGregor's fitness that was key, but also the psychological skills that come with age. "There's a lot more to being a contributing member of a highly functional team than just the ability to perform," she said. "I think that having a bit more life experience probably helps . . . It's a coping benefit to have a bit more emotional maturity."

Recently retired cyclist Anne Samplonius, 44, who was with Team Now and Novartis for MS, agreed. "My training is different now — I must pay attention to rest, and rest hard, as my body takes longer to recover," Samplonius said. "But I also think that what I lost in the physical aspect, I have gained with experience. I may have slowed with age, but my experience, knowledge and savvy [have] lessened the gap to those who are much younger that I compete against, so I [was] able to still contribute to the team, be competitive, and even pull off a result here and there."

Allyson Felix: Life After London

Keep reading for more.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Sloane Stephens

It was an interesting first day of the US Open, to say the least. I had a nice practice with my South African friend Chanelle Scheepers, then had a fun autograph session at the American Express Experience. As first-round matches got under way and I finished my visit at AmEx, a massive downpour dropped on us. I mean buckets! We got pummeled. There was wind, rain, and leaves flying everywhere. It was pure chaos. All of us players escaped to the player lounge, but it couldn't hold everyone, so I decided to head back to my hotel. We got soaked again as we ran out to our transportation, but it was worth it.

Serena Mentors Sloane

Lunch was the best part of my day, because we had Korean barbecue at Miss Korea. Yummy! Really, I love Korean food; bulgogi and kimchi are my favorites. I know, I know, maybe it's not the most healthy thing to eat at a tournament, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

US Open Scene & Heard: Fan Experience

Keep reading for more.

We are excited to share one of our favorite stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Kate Fagan

After her first-round win at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last week, Venus Williams went back out that same night to hit more balls. For most players, that would not be a big deal. But practicing extra is something Williams hasn't been able to do — at least not nearly as often as she would like — since announcing at last year's U.S. Open that she suffers from Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease that produces joint stiffness and prolonged fatigue. Williams then stepped away from competitive tennis for seven months, and, since returning this past March, she has suffered some of the worst singles defeats of her career, most notably her listless first-round exit at Wimbledon, where she has won five of her seven Grand Slam titles.

Draw set up for Serena at U.S. Open

Yes, Williams won Wimbledon and Olympic gold doubles titles with her sister Serena. But, at age 32, Venus finds herself answering new questions, as tennis fans and pundits wonder whether we are watching one of the greatest players ever shrink before our eyes. After her straight-set Wimbledon defeat, there was talk that we might have seen her last singles match at the All England Club. And now, on the eve of the U.S. Open, which starts Monday in New York City, some are asking whether this could be her last hurrah there, too.

Not a chance.

"She has absolutely no plan of retiring anytime soon," said Mary Joe Fernandez, who coached the U.S. Olympic tennis team in London. "People believe when you turn 32 that you should be done, but Venus says, 'Why?' That was really refreshing for me to hear. I saw a different side of her in London, that she loves the game and doesn't want to stop playing. She was even talking about the next Olympics — four years from now."

Women's No. 1 ranking devalued

Fernandez asked Williams whether she would retire from singles and just play doubles. "She dismissed that idea out of hand," Fernandez said. "She is quite focused on playing singles." Which brings us back to Cincinnati and that postmatch practice session. Maybe it really was no big deal, just a momentary energy surge. Or maybe it was a sign that Williams is writing the opening page to a new script: How to Win with Sjogren's. "I'm doing a lot better than this time last year," Williams told reporters in Cincy, where she made it to the semifinals. "So much better than a couple of months ago, as well. I am learning to deal with everything a lot better."

Read on for more.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar! This week, espnW shares an excerpt from soccer star Hope Solo's new memoir, published earlier this week.

By Hope Solo

A hot-button topic the first week of the Olympics was Hope Solo's reaction on social media to Brandi Chastain's analysis of the match between the U.S. and Colombia. Solo writes about the experience in the epilogue of her new book, SOLO: A Memoir of Hope. Here is what ensued in the aftermath of Solo's tweets:

We knew France was good. But we knew we were better. Alex Morgan, with her lightning speed, kept getting behind France's defense. She got her second goal late in the game on a tap-in. We won 4 to 2, beating the best team in our preliminary group.

I was kind of pissed after the game when coach Pia Sundhage told reporters that the sun had been in my eyes on the first goal. Sure, there was glare. But I would never use the conditions as an excuse.

Solo Talks Gold Medal, Chastain Controversy

More annoying was the feedback I heard from home and from fans on Twitter about the way the game was being broadcast on television. NBC had hired Brandi Chastain to do the color commentary on our games. She had been relentlessly negative during our qualifying matches, nitpicking little details and criticizing Pia's strategy. I had tweeted back in January, "Hey brandi did you find anything positive in our game? Curious minds over here ..."

I'm not looking for a cheerleader — far from it. We're all soccer junkies, and we hear a lot of expert commentary while we travel the world. I want the best of the best for our games, and I just don't feel that Brandi is very good at articulating the game. I love that ESPN added Ian Darke to their team for our World Cup, and I like Arlo White on NBC, but I feel that our networks too often take the easy way out: "Oh, let's hire Brandi. She's a world champion who took off her shirt, and people know her name. It doesn't really matter if she's a good analyst or not."

Read on for more.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Jim Caple

I thought there was no crying in beach volleyball.

This is a sport of sand, bikinis, dance teams, sunscreen, music and laughter. But after completing a 12-year journey on a little stretch of Southern California-like beach imported to within sight and sound of Big Ben, Kerri Walsh Jennings was sobbing and hugging Misty May-Treanor as if she was never going to see her again.

Inside the Edge: Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh

She will, though. Just not on the sand of an Olympic venue with a pair of intimidated competitors on the other side of the net. Beach volleyball's best, most famous team went out the way it wanted to by winning its third gold medal on a sublime summer night at the Horse Guards Parade venue. "Our competitive journey is done and that's a big deal that just crushes me," Walsh Jennings said. "But the next stage is going to be so fun. We're going to be able to be girlfriends and just share each other's families and each other's lives."

"The first two gold medals it was more about volleyball," May Treanor said. "The friendship we had was there, but it was volleyball, volleyball, volleyball. This was so much more about the friendship, the togetherness, the journey — and volleyball was just a small part of it."

Take a Tour of the Oakley House

The two have never lost a match in Olympic play, going 21-0, and dropping only one set ("That pissed me off for a day and a half,'' Walsh Jennings joked). They won their gold by beating a familiar duo, Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross, in a U.S.-versus-U.S. finale. Under such a scenario, Prime Minister David Cameron, whose No. 10 Downing Street residence is literally across the street, must have really found the endless soundtrack of "Moves Like Jagger" and "Party Rock Anthem" extremely annoying. Or perhaps it was more irritating for him to hear "The Star-Spangled Banner" played during the medal ceremony when two American teams took the top two steps on the podium.

U.S. track team restores order

Kessy estimated the two teams have played each other "a gazillion times" over the years, though that statistic has yet to be confirmed by Elias. "We're definitely on the losing side of that battle," Kessy said. "But they are the best team of all time, so it doesn't feel too bad being second to them right now."

Read on for more.

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

espnW will offer exclusive and behind-the-scenes access to athletes from the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Follow their journeys at espnW.com.

By Annika Dries

The U.S. Olympic women's water polo team left the national training center in Los Alamitos, Calif. on Sunday to fly to London. Annika Dries gives us an inside look at what one of the squad's days were like during its last week of training in the States.

For more athlete blogs from the 2012 Olympic Games visit espnW's London Voices

6:00 a.m.: Wake up. Eat some oatmeal with a scoop of almond butter.

7:00 a.m.: First practice of the day: weights and conditioning. You need to be strong to play this sport. First, we lift weights until about 8:30 a.m., doing back squats, front squats, box jumps, pull ups . . . you name it. I grab a recovery bar to eat and head to the locker room to get my swimsuit on. We swim, do endless leg drills, and pass and shoot. It's conditioning for us to get used to playing even when we think we've got nothing left.

10:30 a.m.: Brunch. It's recovery meal time. I usually make an egg scramble with spinach, goat cheese, and red bell pepper. Or a turkey sandwich with avocado. I pair one of those with a fruit smoothie with some whey protein.

Crown Jules: Queen's English, Julie Foudy asks Olympic athletes to give their favorite phrase in their best Queen's English

11:00 a.m.: Relax time. Depending on the morning workout and what day of the week it is, I'll take a little nap, and watch a show or read. It's good to have a little break for our minds and bodies before the second practice.

12:45 p.m.: Coffee and snack time. Sometimes I'll go to Peet's and get an iced coffee to get ready for the second practice. It's good to grab a little something to eat about an hour before we get in the water, or else I won't last until 4:30!

Read on for the rest of Annika's day!

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Bonnie D. Ford

Allyson Felix will never feel as if she has run a perfect race, but, on the last day of June, under overcast skies at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., she came close. Felix powered through the curve in the 200-meter final, her signature event, overtaking her rivals in what is normally the weakest part of her race. By the time Felix hit the top of the straightaway, she was alone and it was all over. Her stride opened up. In full flight, she looked almost relaxed.

Watch how Allyson Felix keeps her edge

Felix is often restrained in celebration, but not this night. She hit the finish line smiling. She clapped, hopped up and down, turned and gave a little fist pump toward the stands. Her ledger in the event is practically unparalleled — Felix, 26, is a two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time world champion in the 200 — yet she had never run it as fast as she just had, in 21.69 seconds.

It was a remarkable performance not only because of the time Felix clocked and because the woman who finished second, 2011 world championship silver medalist Carmelita Jeter, had also run a personal best. The race came after months of flux that began this past August, when Felix, depleted from racing the 400 at worlds, was dethroned in the 200 and finished a listless third. It came after a spring of ups and downs in which Felix settled on attempting a different double, the 100/200, the one nobody expected.

And it came after a maddening weeklong waiting game triggered when Felix and training partner Jeneba Tarmoh finished in a dead heat for third in the 100 only to discover that U.S. track officials had no process in place to decide who should be selected for the Olympics.

Uncertainty still hovered over Felix and Tarmoh when they crouched in the blocks for the 200. Two days later, Tarmoh would controversially withdraw from the runoff proposed as a solution for the 100. But Felix, who has a knack for maintaining serenity in the vortex and who was well-sheltered by her advisers, had a clear mind before the gun went off.

Don't blame Tarmoh for no runoff

Everything she has done since last summer — returning to speed-based training, trying to refine her starts, rejecting the 200/400 double many assumed was the path of least resistance to Olympic medals — has been geared toward running the most flawless race possible, not in Eugene but in London.

The image that propels her is from four years ago in Beijing. A gap of 0.19 seconds, the difference between gold and silver, yawns chasmlike in her mind. Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown is on the other side of that abyss, just as she was in Athens. Again and again in freeze-frame, Felix sees her rival lean into the finish and spread her arms with joy.

"I feel like I can't escape it," Felix said, perched on a couch in a hotel lobby in Philadelphia this past April, a day after helping the U.S. women sweep two races in the Penn Relays. "I'm always thinking about that race, thinking about that final. So hopefully everything goes well up until then. "I definitely go back to that moment of getting second all the time. I don't think I ever really got over it. I think that I don't want to."

Keep reading for more on Allyson Felix's road to the 2012 Olympics.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Lindsay Berra

Muscle-up. Say it, and it just sounds hard. Learn what it is — an athlete must move from a hanging position below a set of gymnastics rings to a supported position above the rings, with straight arms — and it sounds even harder. Try it — do a pull-up to get your chest level with the rings, roll your torso through the rings into a dip position and then push your arms straight, and do this all about 10 feet off the ground — and your suspicions about its difficulty will be confirmed.

The muscle-up is one of the most challenging movements CrossFit athletes are expected to perform, and it strikes fear into the hearts of even the best of them. Iceland's Annie Thorisdottir won the 2011 CrossFit Games last July, then became an international star; you've seen her, with her trademark golden ponytail and Reebok high socks, flipping tires and squatting sandbags with Chad Ochocinco in that Reebok ZigTech commercial. Now, Thorisdottir is the odds-on favorite for the 2012 games, which will take place in Los Angeles this weekend. And her journey to the top of her sport began with a single muscle-up.

Ingrid Kantola: Survival of Fittest

Thorisdottir, whose last name appropriately translates to "Thor's daughter" — as in the hammer-wielding Norse god of thunder and lightning — arrived at the 2009 CrossFit Games in Aromas, CA, with just two months of CrossFit experience. She had been taking and teaching bootcamp classes at home in Reykjavik when a friend suggested she enter the Iceland CrossFit regional on a lark. She did, and she won, qualifying her for the games. In Aromas, the raw strength and body control Thorisdottir had acquired over her years as a competitive gymnast and pole vaulter had her in second place heading into the last of eight workouts. But in the middle of that final workout, competitors were required to complete 10 muscle-ups. Thorisdottir had never done even one. "We calculated that all I had to do was finish the final workout within the time limit, and I could keep second place," Thorisdottir recalled. "But I had never even tried a muscle-up before. I was insanely scared. I've never been that nervous in my life."

In the two hours leading up to the final workout, Thorisdottir practiced backstage as dozens of CrossFit coaches and athletes tried to teach her the technique she needed to conquer both the rings and her fear. She entered the arena for her workout and, buoyed by the support of her family and several thousand screaming fans who had fallen in love with "Iceland Annie," completed a single muscle-up, her first. "It wasn't pretty," Thorisdottir said. "But at least I got it." But because she didn't complete the workout, Thorisdottir dropped to 11th place. Still, it was an amazing finish for a young woman — she was 19 at the time — so new to CrossFit.

Recipe for cycling success:

Keep reading for more on CrossFit's reigning women's champ.