Journalism major Lindsay Kimble ’13, a digital writer and reporter for the celebrity news outlet, spoke with American swimmers Conor Dwyer and Maya Dirado, highlighting a variety of topics, including Dirado’s decision to retire.
The School of Communications graduate spoke to the Olympic medalists – who earned a combined six medals in Rio – during a Facebook Live chat, which originally aired on Aug. 23 on the celebrity news outlet’s social media platform. Following the informal interview, Kimble also wrote an online story for People.com, titled “McDonald’s Binges and Downtime with the Final Five: Swimmers Maya DiRado and Conor Dwyer Share Behind-the-Scenes Olympics Moments.”
The two American swimmers shined in Rio with DiRado taking gold in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay and 200m backstroke, silver in the 400m individual medley, and bronze in the 200m individual medley. Dwyer also captured gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 200m men’s individual freestyle.
Kimble, a journalism major at Elon, and the Olympians discussed a variety of topics during the live 12-minute interview, including mingling with other Olympic athletes, the food in the Olympic village and Dirado’s decision to step away from competitive swimming.
“I’m really going to retire, it feels very good to say that and think about new things,” said the 23-year-old DiRado in the interview. “But this is so much fun and I could not have asked for a better Olympics.”
Before becoming a digital writer for People in March, Kimble worked as a freelance writer for the celebrity news organization. While at Elon, she served as a senior reporter and copy editor at The Pendulum.