The Massage Message: September 10th, 2008
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News: Massage and Bodywork at the Olympics
Michael Phelps

“I have been getting two massages a day and ice baths.”

Lolo Jones

“A businessman needs a laptop. Athletes need massages and the right diet.”

Dara Torres

“…and the two proceeded to massage Torres’s shoulders and legs with their …

By: Isabella Bravo
Issue date: 8/25/08 Section: News
After three minutes of massage, she bolted for the finish.
You might not be able to keep up with Olympic marathon runner and U student Zuzana Tomas in a race, but friends, family and fellow Utes have been able to follow her experiences in Beijing by reading her blog.
Tomas, a doctoral student in linguistics, competed August 17 as a marathon runner on the Slovak women’s track and field team. She finished 67th with a time of 2:49:39.

…the recovery comes from massages between bouts and after them to relax the muscles and body.
BEIJING: Shy, unassuming and almost self-effacing and yet very confident, is how one can describe wrestler Sushil Kumar, who till 15 minutes before he won the bronze medal was not on the minds of the Indian media.
Having lost his opening bout in the morning, Sushil had been dismissed by large sections of the media as having been ‘ousted’, ‘eliminated’ and more.

4:06 PM, August 23, 2008
For two heaving weeks, you could sense a planet cringing over the prospect that its Godzilla Olympic nation, the Bahamas, would get more than one medal and put the old chokehold on the vital Medals Per Capita proceedings.
Australia turned up in Beijing muscular as ever. Armenia surfaced and spent five days at No. 1. New Zealand had banner Beijing Games and menaced. Here came Slovenia, of course. Jamaica became a blur on the track and a Zeus in the standings. The Bahamas surfaced with …

It seems that nowadays it’s very unusual to hear of a serious athlete who doesn’t employ massage as part of their training regimen and recovery strategy. Indeed, if the budget permits, any Olympic athlete today will receive massage therapy at least once or twice per week – or some (like Michael Phelps) even twice a day! Here’s a list of quotes by or about various athletes from the Beijing Games about massage and bodywork.
Michael Phelps
I have been getting two massages a day and ice baths.
Read more…

She massaged me for ten minutes before the game against Spain and it was the best game of the tournament
By Sophie Hardach
BEIJING (Reuters) – Happy elves, Viking rituals and a back rub from the first lady are powering Iceland’s handballers on their way to what could be a first Olympic gold for their frosty island.
Iceland’s handballers usually struggle to attract 500 spectators when they play at home. But their formidable performance has fired up the entire nation of 300,000 people — when they played against Spain in the semi-finals, …

By DUSTIN DOW • Gannett News Service • August 22, 2008
A midnight meal of Kobe beef, following a massage and an ice bath Thursday night, helped refresh his body for what turned out to be the most crucial part of the competition on Friday morning.
BEIJING — Bryan Clay can sleep now, and he can dream about being the Olympic decathlon champion. When he wakes up, it will still be true.
Sleep deprived and exhausted, Clay, who is coached by Carson High School graduate Kevin Reid, persevered to win the …

Kartar Singhji gave me the massage in between bouts.
Agencies
BEIJING, Aug 21: No mobiles and no milling crowds around. Just a few mediamen, asking him about the ‘Day After’. And he himself came to the Media Centre to meet ~ in his own words ~ “the people who have promoted me all these days”.

Greg Baum | August 23, 2008
He had taken until Thursday to recover, spending some time in ice-baths and on the massage table…
CHINA is a land of epic walks. The biggest was The Long March in 1934, a tactical military retreat of 12,500 kilometres in more than a year that led eventually to the ascent of Mao Zedong to the premiership of China.

Mending U.S. soccer star sees prediction come true for team
She undergoes daily massage therapy in an attempt to improve circulation and strengthen her leg muscles…
August 22, 2008

BEIJING — Abby Wambach watched Thursday’s Olympic women’s soccer game on a big-screen television at a restaurant in Alexandria Bay, in northern New York, where she is vacationing with her family.
And although she was 7,000 miles away, the Rochester native felt as if she were on that field in China.

Posted By François Foisy, Journal de Montréal
Posted 19 hours ago
Despatie had been B.C. massage therapist Jennifer Pendray’s most regular patient since his arrival in China.
BEIJING – A few days before he took Olympic silver, Alexandre Despatie wasn’t sure he’d be competing in the Games at all.

OLYMPICS BMX CYCLING
King also said the team would probably go through a light workout and massage today…
Californian Mike Day, expected to be BMX cycling’s first Olympic champion, has to wait until Friday. The delay gives fellow U.S. rider Kyle Bennett more time to recover from his shoulder injury.
By Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 21, 2008
BEIJING — Mike Day’s coronation as BMX cycling’s first Olympic champion, which seemed so certain a day earlier, was put on hold after rain canceled today’s semifinals and finals at the Laoshan Cycling …

Managing the pain with massages and a special tape that is said to increase blood flow…
By JIMMY GOLEN – 13 hours ago
BEIJING (AP) — Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won their second consecutive gold medal in beach volleyball, playing through a steady rain to beat Wang Jie and Tian Jia of China 21-18, 21-18. Walsh and May-Treanor, who did not lose a single set in Beijing, extended their winning streak to 108 matches in a row.

Reuters | Wednesday August 20 2008
…she had spent every night after racing at the Games on the treatment table undergoing acupuncture and massage for muscle strains.
By Justin Palmer
QINGDAO, Aug 20 (Reuters) – Windsurfer Yin Jian won China’s first Olympic sailing gold medal on Wednesday, hailing it as the ultimate reward for years of battling constant injuries and spending long periods training away from home.
“When the flag was being raised I was thinking about the hardship I have gone through for this gold medal,” the 29-year-old Yin told reporters.

By TONY SMITH – Fairfax Media | Thursday, 21 August 2008
I zone out, I lie down on the massage table, put my headphones on, close my eyes and basically am a zombie for 50 minutes.
Nick Willis slapped his face and legs so hard they turned red as he stood on the Bird’s Nest Stadium start line.
He’d had his “back cracked” by his chiropractor, listened to mood music on his iPod and had his regular pre-race prayer with his brother and assistant-coach Stephen.
It was all part of his plan to …

Jessica Halloran | August 21, 2008 | Photo: Steve Christo
Anne decided to work seven days a week to ensure her daughter had the money to afford things such as massages and physiotherapy.
SHE was a gutsy little kid who could not hurdle when a Little Athletics coach, Sharon Hannan, first saw her at the Townsville track. Sally McLellan was sprinting her heart out, but would stop dead at the hurdles and then will her little legs over the barrier.

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff | August 20, 2008
Richards will work with her massage therapist to resolve the hamstring problem before the US competes in the 4 x 400-meter relay qualifying Friday.
BEIJING – Lolo Jones was the picture of anguish when her right lead leg smashed into the penultimate hurdle in the women’s 100-meter hurdle final. After the gold medal favorite finished seventh, she shouted her frustration, then collapsed to the track while US hurdler Dawn Harper celebrated her unexpected win in a personal-best 12.54 seconds. …

TRACK AND FIELD
Former Arroyo Grande High and Cal Poly star won her first gold medal at an international event Monday, but her golden run has just begun
By Patrick S. Pemberton
I made sure that I had good rest and had massage and ice bath treatments
Gold medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton, right, and silver medalist Yerelys Barrios of Cuba celebrate after the women’s discus finals at Bird’s Nest on Monday.
While Stephanie Brown Trafton has achieved the ultimate in Olympic competition, she’s not content with just one gold medal.

Aug 20 2008 | by Delme Parfitt, Western Mail
As part of my recovery process since the 1500m final, I’ve had plenty of physio, massages, sleep and grub…
DAVID DAVIES has spoken of his determination to get in on the Great Britain medal-winning party in Beijing by bouncing back in the 10km open water event.

Wednesday, August 20 (updated 5:23 am)
She self-prescribed a lot of rest, massage, mental preparation and hydration
BEIJING — Shalane Flanagan wants the folks back home in Chapel Hill to know she can’t wait to get back and celebrate her Olympic triumph with them and see a few North Carolina Tar Heels football games.