J.Lo Triathls; Phelps Helps?

Okay, that's not J.Lo in the picture above. That's a completely gratuitous picture of some pretty Olympic swimming men. I think one of them is Michael Phelps, but I can't find the tree in that forest of pretty, pretty muscles.

So the "big" news is that Jennifer Lopez is in training for a half triathlon in Malibu later this year. She's doing it to get back in shape after having twins and gaining 50 pounds, but will also be raising money for a children's hospital. I guess when you're pushing 40 you can't be all about yourself anymore.

What I wanna know is, what role is the Olympics playing in all of this sudden athleticism? In spite of all the dramas, the tantrums, doping, rivalries, human rights violations, lip syncing, bad architecture, and racist attacks, everyone is STILL focused almost entirely on the amazing athleticism on display.

You'd think this is a no-brainer, and in years past, it might have been. But somehow, the same technology that allows us to watch every aspect of every sport in real-time, slow-mo, 3-D, also allows us to be distracted by ... absolutely everything but the athletic performance.

And with all the pressure to cheat (and given the scale of the doping problem, I'm surprised more people don't call it what it is: cheating) we're still entranced by the simple beauty, weirdness, and thrill of what the human body, with training and talent, can do. That's pretty cool.

So I want to know if the Olympics inspires people to take up sports ... and if perhaps even J.Lo was inspired this year. It seems like it would. But Americans have three national sports that season pretty much year round, and we're also the fattest, unfittest people on the planet, so the spectacle of athletic achievement in itself doesn't get asses off couches. Maybe it's the once-in-four-years, best in the world thing.

I wonder if there's a study somewhere (there must be) about any rise in sports participation in Olympic years. Does anyone know?

So, in answer to J.Lo's part of the question, the lady herself annoyed some SELF magazine readers (check out J.Lo's blog on SELF magazine's site) by comparing herself--even unfavorably--to Michael Phelps in this ABC interview. A more reasonable critique is: why should we find J.Lo inspirational when women--working mothers--compete in full triathlons all the time?