Get your news fix on happenings outside the pool with the latest ‘Beyond the Lane Lines.’ With each edition, we collect personal stories, little known facts, and general items of interest from around the world. Read on and learn something new this week.
#1 Cate Campbell Ranked Among Australia’s Best
Australian news source Sporting News has ranked 8 swimmers among its list of the best female athletes currently competing across all of sport.
Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell, Ariarne Titmus, Minna Atherton, Kaylee McKeown, Emma McKeon, Kareena Lee and Kiah Melverton were all shortlisted to the site’s ranking, with a nod to each one’s accomplishments over their careers.
#2 Rikako Ikee Celebrates ‘Coming of Age Day’
Leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee was among those Japanese women celebrating Coming of Age Day on Monday, January 11th. The national holiday honors people reaching the legal start of adulthood at age 20.
The 2018 Asian Games MVP celebrated with a photo of herself in a kimono taken in September of 2020.
Ikee is set to make her 2021 calendar year racing debut later this month at the Kosuke Kitajima Cup.
#3 Former National-Level Swimmer Nominated For Singaporean Government Role
Former national-level swimmer Mark Chay Jung Jun is among nine new individuals selected as Singapore’s Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP).
38-year-old Jun represented Singapore at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games and earned multipole gold medals for the nation during his Southeast Asian Games campaigns. Jun is now director at the Global Esports Federation but is also a national para-athlete swimming coach at the Singapore Disability Sports Council. He also chairs the Singapore National Olympic Council Athlete’s Commission.
These new members were announced earlier this month, with the Office of the Clerk of Parliament selecting the nine new members from a group of 61 individuals who had submitted their names to be considered for the post from Oct 26 to Nov 23.
Per Singapore Today, the NMP scheme was introduced in 1990 to provide alternative non-partisan views in Parliament. Up to nine NMPs serve during each term, which lasts for two-and-a-half years.
#4 First College Athlete Makes Real Money From Likeness
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) volleyball player Chloe V. Mitchell of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan is believed to be the first college athlete to earn compensation from her likeness. This type of money-making concept was moved into NAIA legislation in October 2020.
Mitchell has gained recognition on social media for making do-it-yourself (DIY) videos in her she-shed behind her house. She already has more than 2 million TikTok followers but her fame has spun into other deals, including a $3,000 sponsorship with a beverage company called Smart Cups.
Freshman Mitchell said of her unique situation, “I was already committed to Aquinas College and meanwhile my coach at Aquinas had been following the whole thing. Then I started to get sponsors.
“But once summer was coming to a close and my fall freshman season was approaching, I was like, ’Oh my goodness, I may not be able to make these videos anymore because if I make money, it could jeopardize my eligibility as a college athlete.
“I believe that each athlete should be able to monetize their brand. It’s American,” says Mitchell. “And I’m grateful for the influence and the amount of followers I’ve garnered on TikTok, but even if that goes away. I’ll always be creating and doing DIYs. It’s just what I do.” (CNBC)
