Philip Hersh

LONDON — It was a cool evening. The setting sun found a tiny hole in the clouds. The occasional sprinkle fell on Regent's Park, and tall grasses that looked as if they belonged on a Midwest prairie began to sway. Then you looked at the grass,...

LONDON — The Olympian without a country is not without a budget. Guor Marial shows up for an interview at the Olympic Village dressed in jeans and a polo shirt purchased from Target. He trains in old gear from Iowa State. He will run the marathon...

LONDON — How do you measure greatness? By two events that lasted fewer than 30 seconds combined? By one 10-part event that ground on for 25 hours over two days? About 45 minutes after Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the Olympic track title he thought was...

LONDON – Maybe it was all part of the act.  Maybe Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was putting us all on by calling himself a legend countless times after making history Thursday night, the way Ali did by calling himself the greatest.  Maybe Bolt pre-...

LONDON — Doug Logan's legacy from a brief and controversial two-year tenure as chief executive of USA Track and Field is a number. Thirty. It is the number attached to a project designed with the goal of winning 30 track and field medals at the...

LONDON --  Jake Herbert had to root for the man who beat him. The only chance for Northwestern's Herbert to wrestle for an Olympic medal in the 185-pound freestyle class Saturday was to have Azerbaijan's  Sharif Sharifov make the final. That is what...

LONDON — The one good thing about the ridiculous hours we worked at these Olympics was the late-night walks. The ones after 3 a.m. could also have been called early morning walks, but you get the idea. A London Olympic Park that had throbbed...

LONDON — In summing up London 2012, the temptation is to deliver a panegyric. Such a discourse, filled with lofty expressions of praise, would reflect the ancient roots of the 17-day festival that ended here Sunday. The praise also would reflect...

Silence is golden Shannon Owens Orlando Sentinel These days, silence holds just as much power — and maybe more — in sports than words. Perhaps that is why the International Olympic Committee president dug his feet in the ground against...

As my 16th Olympics as a reporter approaches, I am getting ready in a different way from the past. In all my previous OIympics, I have focused on one sport – figure skating in winter, track and field in summer.  In London, I will be a general...

OMAHA — Matt Grevers didn't have much time to celebrate his stunning Olympic trials victory in the 100-meter backstroke Wednesday night. Grevers had dinner with his fiancee, swimmer Annie Chandler, and his brother, Andrew, turned in before midnight...

OMAHA, Neb. — You get on the blocks for the start of the 200-meter individual medley at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, and you hear the meet announcer exclaim that the guys in the next two lanes have won a combined 77 world and Olympic medals....