Ryan Lochte Eats 10,000 Calories... In One Meal!

Ryan Lochte ate in one sitting what you probably ate total the last three days.

The 11-time Olympic medal-winning swimmer (including five golds) shared a photo on Twitter Monday afternoon, showcasing what he was about to eat for, what I presume was, lunch. He offered the caption: "#Streamlining in preparation for my 10,000 calories. Let’s see your best pose. @swimtoday #funnestsport." It was talked about today on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption (near the end of the show, which is how I found out about it; h/t).

As most of you in Charlotte probably know, Lochte moved to the Queen City last October to train with the renowned SwimMAC Carolina and its Team Elite, which is filled with several past Olympic champions and current and future contenders.

You're wondering how far above the recommended daily caloric intake Lochte is, right? Well, according to websites like WebMD and CalorieKing, someone of Lochte's demographic (male, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, 195 pounds, age 29--he turns 30 on August 3) who lives an active lifestyle, should consume about 3,000 calories a day to maintain his weight. Of course, he's extremely active as a world-class swimmer, so it should be expected that his caloric intake would be off the charts. Professional swimmers (i.e. Michael Phelps) are known to consume high amounts of calories to keep up with the extreme amounts they burn when rigorously training.

Lochte's rather active on the social scene as well. Two Saturdays ago I spotted him, and his good friend and fellow Olympic swimmer and Charlottean Cullen Jones, at Vault nightclub at the EpiCentre. He's also a regular at Oak Room in South End. That's why back in December, on my Dusk Till Dawn blog, I included him in my year-end list of "Biggest Moments in Charlotte’s Nightlife and Social Scene in 2013."

Play hard, work hard... or as Lochte would say, jeah!

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SwimMAC Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix - May 9-12

Many of the top male and female swimmers in the country will once again hit the pool in Charlotte this week for the 2013 SwimMAC Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix, taking place May 9-12 at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Uptown. Several USA Olympic swimmers are competing, including superstar Ryan Lochte (holder of 11 Olympic medals and new reality TV star), Rebecca Soni (six-time Olympic medalist and world record holder), Chloe Sutton (five-time U.S. national champion), and Charlotte's Cullen Jones (winner of a combined two gold and two silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics). The swim meets will also feature rising stars like Illinois high school senior Olivia Smoliga.

Chloe Sutton is pretty, fast. Credit: Tumblr 

Find the full list of swimmers scheduled to compete in each event on the Charlotte UltraSwim psych sheet.

Ryan Lochte is scheduled to swim in seven events here.

The Charlotte UltraSwim is the fifth of six stops in the 2012-13 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series. The video below highlights what the Charlotte event has meant to this city and the sport over the years, and it features a Q&A throughout with Charlotte-native and two-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Ricky Berens.

Online ticket sales for the Charlotte UltraSwim have ended but a limited number of tickets may be available for purchase at the will call booth at the event. Visit charlotteultraswim.com for complete details.

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When A Community Comes Together

I'm constantly reminded of how there are so many people in Charlotte who are working, volunteering, donating, and doing many great things to help address one of the most challenging issues of our time: how to provide a quality education and learning environment for all children.

I attended a luncheon not quite three weeks ago that the Charlotte Chamber put on at Ballantyne Hotel. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' new superintendent, Dr. Heath Morrison, was the guest speaker. Of the many memorable and encouraging remarks by Dr. Morrison (click here, here, here, here, and here for some of my then-live tweets), one of the things I concur with the most is when he said: I've never seen a business community so ready to roll up its sleeves to help education the way Charlotte does.

A shining example of that was the second annual Back to School Youth EmpowHERment Summit a few weeks ago, put on by T.I.M.E. (Taking Initiative Moving Efficiently), and led by Carrie Cook. I had the privilege of dropping in for the afternoon portion of the all-day event. Carrie rounded up sponsors, presenters, volunteers, entertainment, and more to present an impactful experience to 100 Charlotte girls in grades seventh through 12th. Carrie, since 2009, has worked as a regional liaison for U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, leading the Charlotte office and 14-county area, but it's the many hours of her personal time she devotes to the community, through events like the summit, that is most impressive.

Carrie Cook.

"I already had a passion for working with young girls, but something was saying to me to do more," Carrie says, regarding why she launched the Youth EmpowHERment Summit in 2011. "They need to see that there are a lot of positive, dynamic women in the Charlotte community that they can look to as role models. Because when they look on TV, their role models are [on] Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, and Real Housewives, and Basketball Wives. They need to see that there are women in the community who are roboticists, and engineers, and authors, and professors, nurses, and everything else we had on the panel... But more important than those occupations, these women are servant leaders."

Click here to see hundreds of photos from the Youth EmpowHERment Summit.
Photos by Jon Strayhorn/Media Arts Collective. 

Here are a few upcoming back-to-school events that further exemplify the great efforts by local volunteers, community leaders, and organizations. Please show your support.

Back to School Bash—New Life 91.9
Wednesday, August 22, 6:30-8 p.m. | Stumptown Park, 120 S. Trade St., Matthews
New Life 91.9 presents this event in support of A Child's Place, featuring a performance by contemporary Christian singer Chris August. Price of admission is school supplies for ACP, and you're encouraged to bring blankets and folding chairs to enjoy an evening in the park. Vendors will be selling food, and you're allowed to bring your own food and drinks (alcohol not permitted).

Back to School Bash—Prodigal Son Foundation
Saturday, August 25, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | Ray’s Splash Planet, 215 N. Sycamore St.
The Prodigal Son Foundation, in association with Glam23 PR & Events, is putting on this event for the third consecutive year. School supplies will be given away, while kids will also be treated to fun activities. The event will take place on the field, the gym, and inside the actual splash park. It’s free to the public, with the first 50 kids being allowed to swim for free between 10:30 a.m. and noon, and a $6 fee for anyone else inside the splash park. If you would like to sponsor or donate to this event, email lwray@prodigalsonfoundation.org or call 704-942-8381.

Cuttin' Class: Community Hair Cutting Day
Saturday, August 25, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | No Grease! Barbershop, 1531 Central Ave.
No Grease and The It Factor Media Group present this event twice a year as kids prepare to go back to school (the other is in January after the holiday break). Boys will be given free haircuts, and boys and girls will receive book bags and school supplies. NBA players will also be present to sign autographs, and complimentary refreshments will be served. RSVP at ff@theitfactormedia.com.

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Cullen Jones to Celebrate Olympic Day at Double Oaks

I found out about this event last night and wanted to spread the word about it. Plus, it happens to be a culmination of two figures I've written about previously.

Tomorrow, (Tuesday, June 21), from 12-2 p.m., Double Oaks Community Pool will celebrate Olympic Day. The event will feature Olympic gold-medal-winning swimmer Cullen Jones, who lives and trains in Charlotte with SwimMAC Carolina and also works with the USA Swimming Foundation’s Make A Splash Program to teach minorities around the country how to swim. The event schedule is as follows:

Double Oaks Community Pool, 1200 Newland Rd., Charlotte, 704-336-2653.

• 12-12:20 p.m.: Cullen participates in Q&A session with participants.
• 12:20-1 p.m.: Swim stroke clinic with participants. Park and Rec aquatics will assist.
• 1-1:30 p.m.: Fun relay races.
• 1:30-2 p.m.: Autographs session.

Cullen Jones leads a nationwide initiative to teach kids how to swim. Courtesy of newsone.com.

Olympic Day is an annual, worldwide celebration held on June 23, to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games. From June 17-26, 2011, communities across the United States will celebrate Olympic Day through educational programming and other activities, such as the event Double Oaks is holding on June 21. The celebration is an international effort to promote fitness and well-being in addition to Olympic ideals of fair play, perseverance, respect, and sportsmanship.

I've written about Cullen for Charlotte magazine and kept you updated on him periodically here on Grown People Talking. And coincidentally, two and a half years ago I wrote about Double Oaks for the December 2008 issue of Charlotte magazine, in a story titled "The $25 Million Hood." At the time, Double Oaks was one of Charlotte's poorest neighborhoods and was in the process of being torn down and redeveloped by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership. Over the past year, significant progress has been made, including two large housing units opening and dozens of families have moved in.

One of the new developments in Double Oaks. Courtesy of charlottemechanical.com.

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Cullen Jones vs. Josh Schneider in Charlotte Draws National Media Attention

There's a great article running in the sports section of Thursday's New York Times, "Tension Boils Over Between Sprint Rivals" (posted online today), about two swimmers going head to head tomorrow at the Charlotte UltraSwim for a spot on the U.S. team in this summer's FINA World Championships in Shanghai. Cullen Jones, who I've interviewed and written about before for magazines and this blog, is competing against his SwimMAC Carolina teammate Josh Schneider in a 50-meter freestyle swim-off on Thursday during the first day of the 27th Annual Charlotte UltraSwim, which takes place May 12-15 at Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Uptown.

                                                                                                 The New York Times.

This Charlotte event has become one of the most popular of the USA Swimming Grand Prix meets over the last few years, and it's once again attracting the biggest names in the sport: Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte, Charlotte native Ricky Berens, and several others. For more details, visit www.charlotteultraswim.com.

And you're in luck. WCNC channel 36, our local NBC affiliate, will air Jones and Schneider's swim-off live during their 6 p.m. newscast. The race, which will only last about 22 seconds but is uber important because it's the winner's path to the national team and 2012 Olympics, is scheduled to run at 6:20 p.m. You'll also be able to watch several of the competitions over the three days online on USA Swimming's Ustream channel.

Swimmers train harder than athletes from many other sports, but they don't often receive recognition outside of an Olympic year (2012 is highly anticipated for the U.S. because of what they did in 2008). So it's great to see Charlotte-based SwimMAC Carolina getting such well-deserved media coverage. The swim club puts on this annual event, and several of the swimmers competing this week are trained by the club and its legendary director David Marsh. Click here to read the article I wrote about him and SwimMAC in 2009 for Charlotte magazine.

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Berens's the 'Butt' of Jokes and News

CNN reporter Jeanne Moos is known for her humorous takes on news stories. And Charlotte swimmer Ricky Berens is the subject of her latest report, which I saw on air this morning.

Berens is one of three Charlotte swimmmers currently competing in the FINA World Championships in Rome. I blogged about their qualifying a couple of weeks ago ("3 Charlotte Swimmers to Compete In Rome"). On Sunday while preparing to swim in a qualifying heat of the 4x100-meter relay freestyle, Berens bent over and the back of his swimsuit tore. At the moment, he has the most famous butt in men's sports as news outlets and blogs have been running with the story--and running pics--of the incident.

Below is Moos's CNN recap of the event. Also, it should be noted that Berens's relay team qualified for the finals and won.

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3 Charlotte Swimmers to Compete In Rome

Ricky Berens, Mark Gangloff, and Cullen Jones are among the male swimmers who will represent the U.S. at the FINA World Championships (2009 World Aquatics Championships), being held July 17 to August 2 in Rome. The swimmers qualified after competing in the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis during the past week.

Berens is a Charlotte native who is a student and member of the swim team at the University of Texas. He grew up swimming for Charlotte-based swim club SwimMAC Carolinas. Gangloff and Jones are both professional swimmers who moved to Charlotte during the past couple of years to train at SwimMAC. Gangloff set an American record in the 100-meter breaststroke earlier this week. All three of the guys are Olympic gold medalists.

Ricky Berens, Mark Gangloff, and Cullen Jones will compete in the swimming world championships in Rome, which begin Friday.

In Rome, Berens will compete in the 400m and 800m freestyle relay, Gangloff in the 100m breaststroke, and Jones in the 50m freestyle. Among the 20 other swimmers on the USA men's team, they'll be joined by Michael Phelps, who qualified for the 100m, 200m fly, and 200m freestyle.

I've interviewed and written about Charlotte's great swimmers a few times during the past six months. You can read my articles online in the following publications:

-"Stroke of Genius" (profile of Cullen Jones in the July 09 issue of Charlotte magazine)

-"Michael Phelps Brings Attention to Charlotte Swim Club" (article in the May 13-19 edition of Creative Loafing)

-"Making a Splash" (in-depth look at SwimMAC in the February 09 issue of Charlotte magazine)

You can stay up to date with the competitions at www.swimnetwork.com.

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Michael Phelps In Charlotte; Read It In 'CL'

Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps will be competing in the Charlotte UltraSwim, which kicks off tomorrow and runs through Sunday. Phelps is scheduled to swim in five meets beginning Friday. He'll be joined by more than a dozen other past Olympians among hundreds of swimmers as SwimMAC Carolina hosts this annual event at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Uptown. Large crowds are expected to come see Phelps, who is swimming in his first official competition since being suspended for three months in February for bong-gate and his first since he won a record-breaking eight gold medals at last summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. Tickets are no longer being sold online, but you might be able to buy a limited number at the door.

You can read all about the Charlotte UltraSwim and Phelps's grand return to the sport in an article I wrote for this week's issue of Creative Loafing, "Blown Away."

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Michael Phelps Will Compete In Charlotte

Three weeks ago I blogged about the possibility of 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps competing in Charlotte after his three-month suspension for Bong-gate ends ("Michael Phelps' Suspension Could Be Good for Charlotte"). Well, it's now been confirmed. Phelps will compete in the Charlotte UltraSwim May 14-17. The annual event, now in its 25th year, is hosted by SwimMAC Carolina. Here's an excerpt from the press release I received yesterday.

According to Phelps' coach Bob Bowman, “Michael is focused on practicing and regaining the mental and physical momentum that he had achieved going into the Beijing Olympics. He is committed to a very demanding and rigorous training schedule as he prepares for upcoming meets and the FINA World Championships.”

Phelps will be joined by other 2008 USA Olympic team members and other gold medalists such as Charlotte’s own Mark Gangloff and Cullen Jones as well as Ryan Lochte. Mary DeScenza will look to keep expanding her lead as the highest scorer in the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series, having just earned five gold medals at the Missouri Grand Prix. Many more world class swimmers and national team members will be on deck to join these champions as well.

Click here for more on the Charlotte UltraSwim.

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Michael Phelps' Suspension Could Be Good for Charlotte

I was standing up for Michael Phelps because although he engaged in poor behavior by smoking weed at a college party ("Michael Phelps and My Alma Mater"), he made the right decision with the apologetic statement he released the day after his bong photo was published in a British tabloid. Initially it looked like Phelps would come out fairly unscathed after major sponsors stood by his side, but today not only did Kellogg drop his endorsement but the biggest blow came this evening when he was suspended by USA Swimming. The sport's national governing body has suspended him for three months. Bad news for Phelps; good news for Charlotte.

Phelps will still be allowed to train, but he won't be able to compete in any events for three months, during this all important time leading up to the World Swimming Championships in July in Rome, when other swimmers are getting in game shape. Whereas he had planned to compete in a Grand Prix meet in March in Austin, Texas, he now won't be eligible to compete in a Grand Prix meet until the Charlotte UltraSwim, which takes place here May 14-17. The increasingly popular USA Swimming sanctioned event is hosted each year by SwimMAC Carolina. You can read an article I wrote about SwimMAC in this month's issue of Charlotte magazine ("Making a Splash").

Phelps has competed at the Charlotte UltraSwim in several years past--he holds three meet records--but this was all before his triumphant eight gold medals at last summer's Olympics. If I was a betting man, I would have said he would've skipped over this year's Charlotte event. But now, I'm betting that he's not only going to come but he's going to have a chip on his shoulder from all of this controversy, having his good name tarnished, and having to train for three months without being able to compete, so much so that he's going to blow the other athletes out of the water. And if he comes to Charlotte, I would expect lots of media coverage from those wanting to catch a glimpse of what kind of condition and mindset he'll be in after the hiatus. Good for Charlotte.

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