Naomi Osaka maybe isn’t the No.1 tennis player in the world anymore, but she recently got an even more lucrative title. According to Forbes magazine, Osaka is now the highest-earning female athlete in the world.

Forbes estimates that Osaka earned around $37.4 million in the past 12 months from tournament prizes, endorsement deals, and other appearances. With this kind of money in the bank, the 22-year-old Japanese managed to top the legendary Serena Williams, who netted $36 million during the same period. She also cracked the overall list of highest-earning athletes, sitting at No. 29.

In each of the previous four years, Williams ranked first on the list of highest-earning female athletes each time.

Naomi Osaka overtook the No.1 position with a combination of tennis-generated incomes and lucrative sponsorship deals. Osaka had much success on the court in the last two years, winning US Open and Australian Open titles while ranking high on other tournaments. Additionally, she became the face for a number of high-profile brands, like Procter & Gamble, All Nippon Airways, and Nissin.

The post Naomi Osaka Tops Serena Williams as Highest-Earning Female Athlete appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Kansas City Chiefs’ wideout Tyreek Hill might use his astonishing speed to compete in another sport besides football. Hill recently said that he would like to compete at the Olympic Games one day as a track and field athlete.

Back when he was in high school, Hill ran 100m in 9.98secs and competed in track and field competitions before deciding to focus on football. After he already established himself as one of the best WRs in the game, the 25-year-old speedster would now like to prove himself in another sport.

“Hopefully after the season, if I’m healthy and my mind is still in the right place, I really want to try and like try to qualify for some Olympic teams,” said Hill in a recent chat with reporters.

Although he didn’t run 40-yard dash at the combine, Hill is widely regarded as the fastest player in the league at the moment.

“Maybe get a few guys off the team and see if we can put a relay together, and show these track guys that football guys, we used to do this back in high school, man, we still got it, you know?,” he added.

Hill wouldn’t be the first NFL player to take part in the Olympics. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Jeff Demps participated at London Olympics in 2012 as a member of the United States’ 4x100m relay team while former Detroit Lions RB Jahvid Best ran 100m at the 2016 Olympics.

Before taking a shot at Olympic Gold, Tyreek Hill will first look to add a Super Bowl ring to the list of his achievements. Hill and Chiefs will play in the Super Bowl LIV against San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Hill finished the 2019 NFL regular season with 860 and seven touchdowns, despite only playing 12 games. He was also selected to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl.

The post Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill Wants to Compete in the Olympics appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The annual Boston Marathon took place on Monday morning in Massachusetts without a hitch.

Under relatively warm weather and while enjoying good weather, Lawrence Degono and Worknesh Degefa took home the men’s and women’s crown, respectively.

Both of the winning runners come from the country of Kenya.

Degefa, who won the women’s race, absolutely dominated. She pulled away from the rest of her competition and ran without anyone of her gender near her for the majority of the race.

She finished with a 2 hour, 23 minutes, and 30 second race time. It was a bit of a surprise win, considering that it was the runner’s first major marathon victory.

The men’s race, on the other hand, was more dramatic. Cherono finished with a time of 02:07:57, just ahead of Lelosa Desisa. Cherono had to outsprint his Ethiopian rival in the final stretch in order to take home the gold medal.

It was the Kenyan’s first victory at the Boston Marathon, the world’s most famous long distance running event.

The post Lawrence Cherono, Worknesh Degefa Win Boston Marathon appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Usain Bolt is giving up on his dream of becoming a soccer player. And not only that, he is quitting sports altogether.

After retiring from athletics, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist decided to shift his focus to soccer, training with several European clubs and even making several appearance for Australian side Central Coast Mariners in team’s friendly games in which he scored twice.

Despite this, Mariners opted against giving Bolt guaranteed deal, while the 32-year-old refused the opportunity to play in Malta for Valletta. Now it looks like he is ready to admit defeat.

“It was fun while it lasted,” – said Bolt. “I don’t want to say it wasn’t dealt with properly, but I think we went about it not the way we should … You live and you learn. It was a good experience, I really enjoyed just being in a team.”

He also said that the sports life is over for him and that he will focus on being a businessman.

“I’m just doing many different things … the sports life is over, so I’m now moving into different businesses. I have a lot of things in the pipeline, so as I say, I’m just dabbling in everything and trying to be a business man now.” – he added.

The post Usain Bolt Gives Up on His Dream of Becoming a Professional Soccer Player appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Ethiopia’s Lesisa Desisa won the New York City Marathon on Sunday in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 59 seconds, finishing just a few steps ahead of first and second runners-up. World Record holder Mary Keitany won the women’s race in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 48 seconds, her fourth victory in New York.

28-year-old Desisa surged ahead of compatriot Shura Kitata and defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya to win the 42-kilometer race for the first time. This year’s marathon had 50,000 runners who had to go past New York’s five boroughs in a cool, breezy morning in front of thousands of fans.

For 36-year-old Keitany, Sunday’s marathon was her sixth appearance in New York and her fourth win in five years. Her previous wins were 2016, 2015 and 2014. This year, the Kenyan emerged the winner after running far ahead of second place compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot and third place American, Shalane Flanagan.

Keitany had no company after she reached Manhattan and maintained the same pace until the finish line. While the top two spots were taken by Kenyans, the following ten positions were filled by a roster of American athletes who tried but couldn’t catch pace with the winner.

Keitany emerged second place to Flanagan last year but won the 2016 race by a mile ahead of her competitors.

The post New York City Marathon: Lesisa Desisa Wins Men’s Race, Mary Keitany Wins Women Marathon appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Olympic gold winner Eliud Kipchoge has broken the world marathon record, clocking the BMW Berlin race in 2 hours, 1 minute and 39 seconds on Sunday.

The Kenyan defended his title by breaking a world record set by compatriot Dennis Kimetto in 2014 by 1 minute and 18 seconds. It was the sixth time the marathon record had been broken.

“I lack words to describe this day,” the 33-year-old said after winning the race. “They say you miss two times, but you can’t miss the third time.”

Amos Kipruto and Wilson Kipsang clinched the second and third position to sweep a Kenyan 1-2-3 finish.

Speaking after winning the Berlin race, Kipchoge expressed his happiness for breaking the record and said he was hopeful he was going to defend his title successfully. “I had great belief that I could achieve this feat and running a sub 2 hours two minutes was simply amazing.”

Gladys Cherono won the women race, setting a new record in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 11 seconds. The 35-year-old Kenyan was followed by Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga and Tirunesh Dibaba.

Canada’s Brent Lakatos won the men’s wheelchair race while Manuela Schar set a new record in the women’s wheelchair category.

44,389 runners from 133 countries participated in the BMW Berlin marathon as per the event’s organizers.

The post Eliud Kipchoge Breaks World Record at the Berlin Marathon appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Floyd Mayweather lived up to his nickname “The Money,” claiming the top spot on the Forbes list of world’s highest-paid athletes for 2018. This is the fourth time in the last seven years that the 41 -year-old retired boxer has been named the world’s highest-paid athlete.

Mayweather earned $285 million between June 2017 and June 2018, with $275 million coming from his highly publicized boxing match with UFC’s star Conor McGregor. The rest of his $10 million came from paid appearances, memorabilia and endorsements with brands like Hublot and Tequila Avion.

Soccer superstar and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi claimed the second spot on the list, earning a total of $111 million. He earned $84 million from salary and various bonuses, while also collecting $27 million from endorsement deals with Gatorade, Pepsi, and Adidas.

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was the world’s highest-paid athlete in the previous two years but slipped to the third spot in 2018. Ronaldo earned $108 million, with $61 million coming from salary and bonuses and $47 coming from his numerous endorsements including deals with Nike, Herbalife, and EA Sports.

Floyd Mayweather didn’t only cash in nicely but also helped Conor McGregor to collect a hefty paycheck and secure a spot on Forbes list of world’s highest-paid athletes for 2018. McGregor earned estimated $85 million from the match against Mayweather while collecting additional $14 million from other endeavors, bringing his total earnings to $99 million.

Another soccer star, Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, closes out the top five with estimated earnings of $90 million.

Check out the top 10 world’s highest-paid athletes for 2018 below.

1. Floyd Mayweather – $285 million
2. Lionel Messi – $111 million
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – $108 million
4. Conor McGregor – $99 million
5. Neymar – $90 million
6. LeBron James – $85.5 million
7. Roger Federer – $77.2 million
8. Stephen Curry – $76.9 million
9. Matt Ryan – $67.3 million
10. Matthew Stafford – $59.5 million

The post Floyd Mayweather Leading the List of World’s Highest-Paid Athletes appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Lefties are quite rare and only comprise of around 10 percent of the human population. There are currently just under 140 left-handed pitchers in Major League Baseball making up nearly 40 percent of active pitchers.

This means game-changing left-handed pitchers are quite highly sought after. The following legendary left-handers are the reason why!

The post The Greatest Left-Handed Pitchers Ever In The Big Leagues appeared first on SportzBonanza.

We live in an age where if a person doesn’t know how to do something, all they have to do is Google it or look up a tutorial on YouTube and voila, they’re an instant expert!

You would think that there are limits to how far a YouTube education can get you, but apparently, even Olympians have resorted to watching YouTube videos to improve their performance.

Instagram

Enter Julius Yego, a 27-year-old athlete that is now a World Champion and planning on doing even better going forward. What’s Yego’s sport of choice? “I have passion for javelin throw, I think somewhere in my blood is written javelin,” Yego shared with reporters.

Julius Yego’s Inspiring Story

In his school years, Yego was a natural with the javelin. He set many records and had dreams of competing, but a lack of financial resources stood between him and his goals. Yego qualified for the World Junior Championships in Poland, but sadly, he was unable to attend and compete due to a lack of funds.

Yego shared that it was so frustrating being unable to attend the Championships in Poland because he “had worked so hard,” and he commented that it was one of the biggest regrets of his life.

Despite disappointments, Yego remained undeterred in reaching his goals. Coaching was expensive, but watching some of the best javelin throwers in the world on YouTube was completely free.

Coach Of The Year: YouTube

Instagram

“They wanted to interview my coach to know what I did before the competitions, the championships. By then seriously I didn’t have a coach. I didn’t go with a coach,” he said. “Then they asked me, ‘Who is your coach,’ and then I told them, ‘YouTube.'”

Looking Forward To Rio

As Yego continues to prepare for the Olympic Games in Rio, he has reason to be very confident. He finished first in the African Championships in 2014 as well as the 2015 World Championships. He’s come a long way from finishing 12th at the 2012 Olympics!

When asked if he’s changed his coach, he replied, “For me, the main challenge is training without a coach most of my time. The coach I am with is staying in Finland. I’m not able to pay for him to come and stay with me because that is so expensive.”

Despite numerous challenges, especially financial, Yego’s passion, dedication, and ingenuity have propelled him towards success. He would never undermine the value he acquired from his YouTube training, but he envisions a better future for his son.

Instagram

“He’s going to be very good, he said. “Maybe better than me. He will not struggle to have a coach.”

The post The Secret To This Olympic Star’s Success? Lots Of YouTube appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It is fair to say that under normal circumstances a man who rose to the pinnacle of his sport, won the most famous event in that sport seven times consecutively, and did so whilst beating cancer, would normally be held up as an absolute role model for others in life.

Lance Armstrong’s story, however, was not that simple.

Flickr

The Early Years

Armstrong started his career as a triathlete. It wasn’t until he turned 21 in 1992 that he moved into professional cycling. He had some minor success up until 1996 when he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal form of testicular cancer.

He took two years off from the sport while he fought and beat his cancer. He also founded the “Lance Armstrong Foundation” to assist other cancer survivors.

Hitting His Stride

Flickr

On his return to cycling, Lance joined the US Postal/Discovery team and met with astonishing success. He won seven back-to-back Tour de France titles between 1998 and 2005. He picked up a bronze medal in the Olympics. Then he retired from the sport for a second time at the end of 2005.

So far, so good but controversy was waiting around the corner.

Doping Allegations

Wikipedia

“The Sunday Times has confirmed to Mr. Armstrong that it never intended to accuse him of being guilty of taking any performance-enhancing drugs and sincerely apologized for any such impression.”

The allegations of Lance Armstrong using performance enhancing drugs were rampant during his career, but as The Sunday Times found in 2004, you can’t print rumor as fact.

From 1999 onward, Armstrong shrugged off allegations of doping at every turn and then in 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency found him guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs after all.

Armstrong would go on to admit that the allegations held some truth and refused to fight any of them in the public eye. This cost him $75 million in a single day when all of his sponsors dropped him simultaneously.

Does It Matter That Much?

Flickr

Jeremy Dorn told Bleacher Report that while Armstrong’s doping is indeed wrong, there were other more important matters to consider such as the work Armstrong’s charity had done, arguing: “no matter what you think about him, can we all agree that $500 million donated to charity for cancer research is inherently a good thing?”

Bob Denton, a cancer survivor agrees: “Really, compared to the life and death issues of cancer that Lance has embraced, cheating in the Tour is small potatoes.”

Caden Brody, also a cancer survivor, does not, saying: “We cannot deny he raised a lot of awareness and money for cancer. As a survivor, I commend that. Unfortunately, he undid everything, in many ways, by his sociopathic need to bully, win, play mind games, and he used cancer as a cloak to cover his sins. If he’d confessed ages ago in true remorse? We’re a pretty forgiving people. But this is a forced, ‘I still want to compete in something so I better apologize’ thing.”

Human Failings, Superhuman Achievements

Flickr

It’s probably fair to say that “Lance Armstrong the drug cheat” is hard to draw inspiration from. It is also fair to say that the man who beat cancer, won seven Tour De France titles and raised ha;f a billion dollars for good causes is more than just a drug cheat.

It is ultimately for the individual to decide whether to admire him or not. We are all human and we have all succumbed to temptation at some point in our lives; might it be best to remember Armstrong for the good he did rather than his human failings?

The post Should We Still Consider Lance Armstrong An Inspiration? appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Naomi Osaka maybe isn’t the No.1 tennis player in the world anymore, but she recently got an even more lucrative title. According to Forbes magazine, Osaka is now the highest-earning female athlete in the world.

Forbes estimates that Osaka earned around $37.4 million in the past 12 months from tournament prizes, endorsement deals, and other appearances. With this kind of money in the bank, the 22-year-old Japanese managed to top the legendary Serena Williams, who netted $36 million during the same period. She also cracked the overall list of highest-earning athletes, sitting at No. 29.

In each of the previous four years, Williams ranked first on the list of highest-earning female athletes each time.

Naomi Osaka overtook the No.1 position with a combination of tennis-generated incomes and lucrative sponsorship deals. Osaka had much success on the court in the last two years, winning US Open and Australian Open titles while ranking high on other tournaments. Additionally, she became the face for a number of high-profile brands, like Procter & Gamble, All Nippon Airways, and Nissin.

The post Naomi Osaka Tops Serena Williams as Highest-Earning Female Athlete appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Kansas City Chiefs’ wideout Tyreek Hill might use his astonishing speed to compete in another sport besides football. Hill recently said that he would like to compete at the Olympic Games one day as a track and field athlete.

Back when he was in high school, Hill ran 100m in 9.98secs and competed in track and field competitions before deciding to focus on football. After he already established himself as one of the best WRs in the game, the 25-year-old speedster would now like to prove himself in another sport.

“Hopefully after the season, if I’m healthy and my mind is still in the right place, I really want to try and like try to qualify for some Olympic teams,” said Hill in a recent chat with reporters.

Although he didn’t run 40-yard dash at the combine, Hill is widely regarded as the fastest player in the league at the moment.

“Maybe get a few guys off the team and see if we can put a relay together, and show these track guys that football guys, we used to do this back in high school, man, we still got it, you know?,” he added.

Hill wouldn’t be the first NFL player to take part in the Olympics. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Jeff Demps participated at London Olympics in 2012 as a member of the United States’ 4x100m relay team while former Detroit Lions RB Jahvid Best ran 100m at the 2016 Olympics.

Before taking a shot at Olympic Gold, Tyreek Hill will first look to add a Super Bowl ring to the list of his achievements. Hill and Chiefs will play in the Super Bowl LIV against San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Hill finished the 2019 NFL regular season with 860 and seven touchdowns, despite only playing 12 games. He was also selected to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl.

The post Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill Wants to Compete in the Olympics appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The annual Boston Marathon took place on Monday morning in Massachusetts without a hitch.

Under relatively warm weather and while enjoying good weather, Lawrence Degono and Worknesh Degefa took home the men’s and women’s crown, respectively.

Both of the winning runners come from the country of Kenya.

Degefa, who won the women’s race, absolutely dominated. She pulled away from the rest of her competition and ran without anyone of her gender near her for the majority of the race.

She finished with a 2 hour, 23 minutes, and 30 second race time. It was a bit of a surprise win, considering that it was the runner’s first major marathon victory.

The men’s race, on the other hand, was more dramatic. Cherono finished with a time of 02:07:57, just ahead of Lelosa Desisa. Cherono had to outsprint his Ethiopian rival in the final stretch in order to take home the gold medal.

It was the Kenyan’s first victory at the Boston Marathon, the world’s most famous long distance running event.

The post Lawrence Cherono, Worknesh Degefa Win Boston Marathon appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Usain Bolt is giving up on his dream of becoming a soccer player. And not only that, he is quitting sports altogether.

After retiring from athletics, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist decided to shift his focus to soccer, training with several European clubs and even making several appearance for Australian side Central Coast Mariners in team’s friendly games in which he scored twice.

Despite this, Mariners opted against giving Bolt guaranteed deal, while the 32-year-old refused the opportunity to play in Malta for Valletta. Now it looks like he is ready to admit defeat.

“It was fun while it lasted,” – said Bolt. “I don’t want to say it wasn’t dealt with properly, but I think we went about it not the way we should … You live and you learn. It was a good experience, I really enjoyed just being in a team.”

He also said that the sports life is over for him and that he will focus on being a businessman.

“I’m just doing many different things … the sports life is over, so I’m now moving into different businesses. I have a lot of things in the pipeline, so as I say, I’m just dabbling in everything and trying to be a business man now.” – he added.

The post Usain Bolt Gives Up on His Dream of Becoming a Professional Soccer Player appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Ethiopia’s Lesisa Desisa won the New York City Marathon on Sunday in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 59 seconds, finishing just a few steps ahead of first and second runners-up. World Record holder Mary Keitany won the women’s race in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 48 seconds, her fourth victory in New York.

28-year-old Desisa surged ahead of compatriot Shura Kitata and defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya to win the 42-kilometer race for the first time. This year’s marathon had 50,000 runners who had to go past New York’s five boroughs in a cool, breezy morning in front of thousands of fans.

For 36-year-old Keitany, Sunday’s marathon was her sixth appearance in New York and her fourth win in five years. Her previous wins were 2016, 2015 and 2014. This year, the Kenyan emerged the winner after running far ahead of second place compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot and third place American, Shalane Flanagan.

Keitany had no company after she reached Manhattan and maintained the same pace until the finish line. While the top two spots were taken by Kenyans, the following ten positions were filled by a roster of American athletes who tried but couldn’t catch pace with the winner.

Keitany emerged second place to Flanagan last year but won the 2016 race by a mile ahead of her competitors.

The post New York City Marathon: Lesisa Desisa Wins Men’s Race, Mary Keitany Wins Women Marathon appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Olympic gold winner Eliud Kipchoge has broken the world marathon record, clocking the BMW Berlin race in 2 hours, 1 minute and 39 seconds on Sunday.

The Kenyan defended his title by breaking a world record set by compatriot Dennis Kimetto in 2014 by 1 minute and 18 seconds. It was the sixth time the marathon record had been broken.

“I lack words to describe this day,” the 33-year-old said after winning the race. “They say you miss two times, but you can’t miss the third time.”

Amos Kipruto and Wilson Kipsang clinched the second and third position to sweep a Kenyan 1-2-3 finish.

Speaking after winning the Berlin race, Kipchoge expressed his happiness for breaking the record and said he was hopeful he was going to defend his title successfully. “I had great belief that I could achieve this feat and running a sub 2 hours two minutes was simply amazing.”

Gladys Cherono won the women race, setting a new record in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 11 seconds. The 35-year-old Kenyan was followed by Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga and Tirunesh Dibaba.

Canada’s Brent Lakatos won the men’s wheelchair race while Manuela Schar set a new record in the women’s wheelchair category.

44,389 runners from 133 countries participated in the BMW Berlin marathon as per the event’s organizers.

The post Eliud Kipchoge Breaks World Record at the Berlin Marathon appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Floyd Mayweather lived up to his nickname “The Money,” claiming the top spot on the Forbes list of world’s highest-paid athletes for 2018. This is the fourth time in the last seven years that the 41 -year-old retired boxer has been named the world’s highest-paid athlete.

Mayweather earned $285 million between June 2017 and June 2018, with $275 million coming from his highly publicized boxing match with UFC’s star Conor McGregor. The rest of his $10 million came from paid appearances, memorabilia and endorsements with brands like Hublot and Tequila Avion.

Soccer superstar and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi claimed the second spot on the list, earning a total of $111 million. He earned $84 million from salary and various bonuses, while also collecting $27 million from endorsement deals with Gatorade, Pepsi, and Adidas.

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was the world’s highest-paid athlete in the previous two years but slipped to the third spot in 2018. Ronaldo earned $108 million, with $61 million coming from salary and bonuses and $47 coming from his numerous endorsements including deals with Nike, Herbalife, and EA Sports.

Floyd Mayweather didn’t only cash in nicely but also helped Conor McGregor to collect a hefty paycheck and secure a spot on Forbes list of world’s highest-paid athletes for 2018. McGregor earned estimated $85 million from the match against Mayweather while collecting additional $14 million from other endeavors, bringing his total earnings to $99 million.

Another soccer star, Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, closes out the top five with estimated earnings of $90 million.

Check out the top 10 world’s highest-paid athletes for 2018 below.

1. Floyd Mayweather – $285 million
2. Lionel Messi – $111 million
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – $108 million
4. Conor McGregor – $99 million
5. Neymar – $90 million
6. LeBron James – $85.5 million
7. Roger Federer – $77.2 million
8. Stephen Curry – $76.9 million
9. Matt Ryan – $67.3 million
10. Matthew Stafford – $59.5 million

The post Floyd Mayweather Leading the List of World’s Highest-Paid Athletes appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Lefties are quite rare and only comprise of around 10 percent of the human population. There are currently just under 140 left-handed pitchers in Major League Baseball making up nearly 40 percent of active pitchers.

This means game-changing left-handed pitchers are quite highly sought after. The following legendary left-handers are the reason why!

The post The Greatest Left-Handed Pitchers Ever In The Big Leagues appeared first on SportzBonanza.

We live in an age where if a person doesn’t know how to do something, all they have to do is Google it or look up a tutorial on YouTube and voila, they’re an instant expert!

You would think that there are limits to how far a YouTube education can get you, but apparently, even Olympians have resorted to watching YouTube videos to improve their performance.

Instagram

Enter Julius Yego, a 27-year-old athlete that is now a World Champion and planning on doing even better going forward. What’s Yego’s sport of choice? “I have passion for javelin throw, I think somewhere in my blood is written javelin,” Yego shared with reporters.

Julius Yego’s Inspiring Story

In his school years, Yego was a natural with the javelin. He set many records and had dreams of competing, but a lack of financial resources stood between him and his goals. Yego qualified for the World Junior Championships in Poland, but sadly, he was unable to attend and compete due to a lack of funds.

Yego shared that it was so frustrating being unable to attend the Championships in Poland because he “had worked so hard,” and he commented that it was one of the biggest regrets of his life.

Despite disappointments, Yego remained undeterred in reaching his goals. Coaching was expensive, but watching some of the best javelin throwers in the world on YouTube was completely free.

Coach Of The Year: YouTube

Instagram

“They wanted to interview my coach to know what I did before the competitions, the championships. By then seriously I didn’t have a coach. I didn’t go with a coach,” he said. “Then they asked me, ‘Who is your coach,’ and then I told them, ‘YouTube.'”

Looking Forward To Rio

As Yego continues to prepare for the Olympic Games in Rio, he has reason to be very confident. He finished first in the African Championships in 2014 as well as the 2015 World Championships. He’s come a long way from finishing 12th at the 2012 Olympics!

When asked if he’s changed his coach, he replied, “For me, the main challenge is training without a coach most of my time. The coach I am with is staying in Finland. I’m not able to pay for him to come and stay with me because that is so expensive.”

Despite numerous challenges, especially financial, Yego’s passion, dedication, and ingenuity have propelled him towards success. He would never undermine the value he acquired from his YouTube training, but he envisions a better future for his son.

Instagram

“He’s going to be very good, he said. “Maybe better than me. He will not struggle to have a coach.”

The post The Secret To This Olympic Star’s Success? Lots Of YouTube appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It is fair to say that under normal circumstances a man who rose to the pinnacle of his sport, won the most famous event in that sport seven times consecutively, and did so whilst beating cancer, would normally be held up as an absolute role model for others in life.

Lance Armstrong’s story, however, was not that simple.

Flickr

The Early Years

Armstrong started his career as a triathlete. It wasn’t until he turned 21 in 1992 that he moved into professional cycling. He had some minor success up until 1996 when he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal form of testicular cancer.

He took two years off from the sport while he fought and beat his cancer. He also founded the “Lance Armstrong Foundation” to assist other cancer survivors.

Hitting His Stride

Flickr

On his return to cycling, Lance joined the US Postal/Discovery team and met with astonishing success. He won seven back-to-back Tour de France titles between 1998 and 2005. He picked up a bronze medal in the Olympics. Then he retired from the sport for a second time at the end of 2005.

So far, so good but controversy was waiting around the corner.

Doping Allegations

Wikipedia

“The Sunday Times has confirmed to Mr. Armstrong that it never intended to accuse him of being guilty of taking any performance-enhancing drugs and sincerely apologized for any such impression.”

The allegations of Lance Armstrong using performance enhancing drugs were rampant during his career, but as The Sunday Times found in 2004, you can’t print rumor as fact.

From 1999 onward, Armstrong shrugged off allegations of doping at every turn and then in 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency found him guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs after all.

Armstrong would go on to admit that the allegations held some truth and refused to fight any of them in the public eye. This cost him $75 million in a single day when all of his sponsors dropped him simultaneously.

Does It Matter That Much?

Flickr

Jeremy Dorn told Bleacher Report that while Armstrong’s doping is indeed wrong, there were other more important matters to consider such as the work Armstrong’s charity had done, arguing: “no matter what you think about him, can we all agree that $500 million donated to charity for cancer research is inherently a good thing?”

Bob Denton, a cancer survivor agrees: “Really, compared to the life and death issues of cancer that Lance has embraced, cheating in the Tour is small potatoes.”

Caden Brody, also a cancer survivor, does not, saying: “We cannot deny he raised a lot of awareness and money for cancer. As a survivor, I commend that. Unfortunately, he undid everything, in many ways, by his sociopathic need to bully, win, play mind games, and he used cancer as a cloak to cover his sins. If he’d confessed ages ago in true remorse? We’re a pretty forgiving people. But this is a forced, ‘I still want to compete in something so I better apologize’ thing.”

Human Failings, Superhuman Achievements

Flickr

It’s probably fair to say that “Lance Armstrong the drug cheat” is hard to draw inspiration from. It is also fair to say that the man who beat cancer, won seven Tour De France titles and raised ha;f a billion dollars for good causes is more than just a drug cheat.

It is ultimately for the individual to decide whether to admire him or not. We are all human and we have all succumbed to temptation at some point in our lives; might it be best to remember Armstrong for the good he did rather than his human failings?

The post Should We Still Consider Lance Armstrong An Inspiration? appeared first on SportzBonanza.