Universal Sports Network Announces New Original Series "Against the Tide" Featuring the Comeback Effort of Olympic Swimmer Ed Moses

Universal Sports Network announced today that it will debut a new original series titled "Against the Tide," which documents the comeback effort of Olympic medalist Ed Moses as he attempts to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The series debuts Wednesday, December 14, with the 30-minute episodes airing on five consecutive nights (December 14-18) at 9 p.m. ET. "Against the Tide" is the second original series produced by Universal Sports Network this year, coming on the heels of the critically acclaimed "Take a Seat: Sharing a Ride Across America."

"Against the Tide" will tell the story of Moses’ road to redemption as he attempts to make the Olympic team more than a decade after he captured the nation’s attention as a rising star at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where he won gold in 4x100m Medley Relay and a silver in the 100m breaststroke. Four years later, he failed to qualify for the Olympic Games in Athens at the U.S. Olympic trials. Devastated, Moses stopped swimming and fell out of the spotlight. Ten years removed from Sydney and six years removed from competitive swimming, the 31-year old is now competing against the clock, as well as much younger swimmers, as he strives to fulfill his dream. To find out more about "Against the Tide," please go to www.facebook.com/AgainstTheTideTVShow.

"This series offers a rare and intimate look inside the lives of swimmers training for the London Olympics," said David Michaels, executive producer of Universal Sports. "Part reality show, part documentary, ‘Against the Tide’ focuses on athletes reconciling the demands of intense training with leading normal lives. In my 30 years of profiling Olympic athletes, this series offers a unique perspective which hasn't been possible in the past."

"When I decided to make a comeback, I thought, why not document it, so I formed a partnership between my company, Mojo Marketing and Media and Universal Sports, to bring it to life," said Moses. "It has been an amazing first year swimming again, and I am really excited to show everyone a different side of Olympic sports that they have never seen before. The thrill of competing again has taken over my entire life!"

Moses will be joined in the series by fellow swimmers and training partners who are both friends and competitors, all vying for their own place at the Olympics. They include Azad Al-Barazi, breaststroker, who swims for Syria; Max Jaben, freestyle swimmer, who swims for Israel; and Mike Alexandrov, breaststroker who broke Ed Moses’ 100m breaststroke record and hopes to swim for Team USA after previously competing in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics for Bulgaria.

Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, is the premier multi-platform media destination for Olympic-related sports programming in the United States. Universal Sports is currently available over the air in 52 markets nationwide, including all of the nation’s top 10 media markets and 20 of the top 25, and on DIRECTV. Major world championship sports events aired on Universal Sports include track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons, figure skating, cycling and rugby. The network’s website, UniversalSports.com, delivers an immersive user experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through interviews and blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year-round. For more information, please visit UniversalSports.com.

For more information, contact: mbondi@universalsports.com

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