ThoughtGallery.org > Olympic Medalist Anthony Ervin in Conversation with Constantine Markides

Olympic Medalist Anthony Ervin in Conversation with Constantine Markides

Anthony Ervin is the fastest swimmer on the planet.

Ervin struck gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, making history by reclaiming the 50 free Olympic title he first won as a teenager at the 2000 Sydney Games. After his win in Sydney, Ervin retired from the sport, auctioning off his gold medal and donating the proceeds to the 2004 tsunami relief. He set off on a journey that was part spiritual quest, part self-destructive bender, involving Zen temples, motorcycles, tattoo parlors and rock ‘n’ roll. Through this journey, Ervin explored a slew of identity labels that had plied him his entire career: African-American yet passes for white, Jewish yet celebrates Christmas, a Tourette Syndrome diagnosis and his “rebel Olympian” image. In 2012, after being away from the sport for over a decade, Ervin resurfaced to not only make the US Olympic team but also swim faster than ever before. In Rio this year, his improbable and circuitous comeback was complete when he stunned the world: the oldest swimmer to win a gold in any individual race, he once again earned the title of fastest human in water. Join him for an intimate and personal discussion about it all, as Ervin and his co-author Constantine Markides discuss Ervin’s new memoir, Chasing Water: Elegy of an Olympian.











When: Thu., Feb. 9, 2017 at 8:00 pm
Where: The 92nd Street Y, New York
1395 Lexington Ave.
212-415-5500
Price: $32
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Anthony Ervin is the fastest swimmer on the planet.

Ervin struck gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, making history by reclaiming the 50 free Olympic title he first won as a teenager at the 2000 Sydney Games. After his win in Sydney, Ervin retired from the sport, auctioning off his gold medal and donating the proceeds to the 2004 tsunami relief. He set off on a journey that was part spiritual quest, part self-destructive bender, involving Zen temples, motorcycles, tattoo parlors and rock ‘n’ roll. Through this journey, Ervin explored a slew of identity labels that had plied him his entire career: African-American yet passes for white, Jewish yet celebrates Christmas, a Tourette Syndrome diagnosis and his “rebel Olympian” image. In 2012, after being away from the sport for over a decade, Ervin resurfaced to not only make the US Olympic team but also swim faster than ever before. In Rio this year, his improbable and circuitous comeback was complete when he stunned the world: the oldest swimmer to win a gold in any individual race, he once again earned the title of fastest human in water. Join him for an intimate and personal discussion about it all, as Ervin and his co-author Constantine Markides discuss Ervin’s new memoir, Chasing Water: Elegy of an Olympian.

Buy tickets/get more info now