Olympic open-water swimming: A little too much splash
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BEIJING -- Who knew the newbie event, the 10K open-water swim could be so explosive?
And we’re not just talking about the bruising physical battles in the water.
The post-game session -- well, post-race -- turned out to be highly charged. David Davies of Great Britain, who won a silver medal, got into it with an official afterward and tossed his water bottle at her, according to accounts.
In what may surely be a first, he wanted to speak with the media a bit longer, which led to the scuffle.
An aggressive female marshal attempted to pull him away from interviews, and Craig Lord of the Times of London reported Davies told her, ‘Just shut up.’
That charm offensive didn’t work, as you might expect. She didn’t back off and he apparently splashed water in her face.
One of the British officials said to Lord, jokingly, ‘He was just shaking a Champagne bottle, nothing more than that.’
Davies isn’t a stupid man. You have a so-called pushy marshal on one hand and the British media on the other.
Really, no contest at all.
-- Lisa Dillman
