Organizers brace for social-media nightmares sure to come_美文

Organizers brace for social-media nightmares sure to come

US hurdler Lolo Jones, for instance, is huge on Twitter thanks to a mix of funny comments, interaction with her 168,500-plus followers and juicy announcements - such as her revelation that she is a virgin.

"Sports fans are behaving in a new way - they are increasingly using social media to follow sport," said Charlotte Lesage, spokeswoman for Synthesio, a social media monitoring firm.

"It brings a certain proximity to and intimacy with the athlete."

But the very public medium has its flipside and athletes have already blundered.

Australian swimmers Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk have been slapped with a one-month social media ban by their country's delegation after they posted photos of themselves posing with guns while training in the United States.

The pair will be sent home right after their events at the Games, with the Australian Olympic Committee ruling "their conduct brought themselves into disrepute".

Swimming star Michael Phelps also caused a stir when he criticized the new Olympics swimming cap on his social media account.

US hurdler Kerron Clement, meanwhile, got more than he bargained for when his tweet complaining that it took hours to get to his London living quarters from the airport went viral.

"Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee," he complained on July 16.

Darryl Seibel, spokesman for Team GB, conceded that communication blunders may be made during the Games, adding that while athletes had for the first time been briefed about social media, they had not been given do's and dont's.