If seeing all those toned bodies at this past summer’s London Games inspires you to go from spectator to contender, TIME has put together a list of equipment used in the Olympics and Paralympics. This way, even if you can’t compete like an elite athlete, you can at least look like one
Athletes
How the Paralympics Is Welcoming Back Intellectually Impaired Athletes 12 Years After Cheating Scandal
For the first time in 12 years, the intellectually impaired will be allowed to compete at the Paralympics. But thanks to the brazen cheating scandal that halted their participation, the athletes will have to work harder to prove …
Blind Faith: How Kenyan Paralympian Henry Wanyoike Triumphed
How Kenyan Paralympic hero Henry Wanyoike triumphed over despair, ran his way to glory—and got his life back
How the Olympics Can Help — or Hurt — An Athlete’s Business Career
For Olympic athletes who play their cards right, people’s fascination with the games can translate to opportunities in the business world that may not be available to mere mortals
Social Self Portraits: Olympic Athletes’ Best Photos From London 2012
Amazing photos from the track and the pool fill the pages of magazines and the front pages of newspapers every Olympics. But thanks to social media and some camera-happy athletes we’re now privy to some amazing behind-the-scenes …
For Olympic Women, the Pressure to Look Perfect Lingers
The elite athletes at the London Games give women a positive body-image message, experts say. But the Olympics are certainly not free from superficiality
The Sights and Sounds of the Olympics
With the London Games almost at an end, fans reflect upon inspirational moments and their favorite athletes
The Way We Were: 1948 London Olympians Look Back
Olympic medalists from the 1948 games in London remember their experiences in the post-war ‘austerity’ Olympics. Even with a tiny budget and a war-worn country, the athletes managed to have a good time.
Behind the Covers: Martin Schoeller’s Portraits of the 2012 U.S. Olympians
In his portrait series of gold-medal hopefuls for TIME’s 2012 Olympics special issue, Martin Schoeller shows three U.S. team members whose passion for sport isn’t contained by training center walls