Kobe Bryant is a wanted man — online, that is. Bryant surged to the top of the Lycos 50 most-searched-for athletes ranking following the news on Sept. 1 that sexual assault charges against the Los Angeles Lakers guard had been dropped. It brought Bryant back to a top spot that had been filled for two weeks by Olympian Amanda Beard during the Aug. 13-29 Summer Olympics.
The Lycos Network tracks its online users’ search queries, which form the basis of the weekly Lycos 50 report.
Beard was not alone during the Olympics in being on the minds of Internet surfers. A look at the weekly searches leading up to, during and following the Games shows the front-of-mind awareness held during the Olympics by the athletes in Athens.
| Week ended Sept. 11 |
| Rank | Athlete |
| 1 | Kobe Bryant |
| 2 | Anna Kournikova |
| 3 | Amy Acuff |
| 4 | Amanda Beard |
| 5 | Serena Williams |
| 6 | Maria Sharapova |
| 7 | Michael Phelps |
| 8 | Ian Thorpe |
| 9 | Carly Patterson |
| 10 | Michael Jordan |
| |
| Week ended Sept. 4 |
| Rank | Athlete |
| 1 | Kobe Bryant |
| 2 | Amy Acuff |
| 3 | Amanda Beard |
| 4 | Ian Thorpe |
| 5 | Trish Stratus |
| 6 | Anna Kournikova |
| 7 | Serena Williams |
| 8 | Misty May |
| 9 | Carly Patterson |
| 10 | Michael Phelps |
| |
| Week ended Aug. 28 |
| Rank | Athlete |
| 1 | Amanda Beard |
| 2 | Amy Acuff |
| 3 | Misty May |
| 4 | Michael Phelps |
| 5 | Carly Patterson |
| 6 | Anna Kournikova |
| 7 | Svetlana Khorkina |
| 8 | Ian Thorpe |
| 9 | Paul Hamm |
| 10 | Jennie Finch |
| |
| Week ended Aug. 21 |
| Rank | Athlete |
| 1 | Amanda Beard |
| 2 | Svetlana Khorkina |
| 3 | Amy Acuff |
| 4 | Carly Patterson |
| 5 | Anna Kournikova |
| 6 | Kobe Bryant |
| 7 | Michael Phelps |
| 8 | Trish Stratus |
| 9 | Jennie Finch |
| 10 | Ian Thorpe |
| |
| Week ended Aug. 14 |
| Rank | Athlete |
| 1 | Kobe Bryant |
| 2 | Anastasia Myskina |
| 3 | Anna Kournikova |
| 4 | Jennie Finch |
| 5 | Torrie Wilson |
| 6 | Maria Sharapova |
| 7 | Trish Stratus |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 9 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 10 | Amy Acuff |
| |
| Week ended Aug. 7 |
| Rank | Athlete |
| 1 | Kobe Bryant |
| 2 | Anna Kournikova |
| 3 | Maria Sharapova |
| 4 | Torrie Wilson |
| 5 | Trish Stratus |
| 6 | Stacy Keibler |
| 7 | Lance Armstrong |
| 8 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 9 | Serena Williams |
| 10 | David Beckham |
| |
| Week ended July 31 |
| Rank | Athlete |
| 1 | Kobe Bryant |
| 2 | Anna Kournikova |
| 3 | Maria Sharapova |
| 4 | Torrie Wilson |
| 5 | Trish Stratus |
| 6 | Lance Armstrong |
| 7 | Serena Williams |
| 8 | Mike Tyson |
| 9 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 10 | Michael Jordan |
| |
| Week ended July 24 |
| Rank | Athlete |
| 1 | Maria Sharapova |
| 2 | Anna Kournikova |
| 3 | Kobe Bryant |
| 4 | Trish Stratus |
| 5 | Lance Armstrong |
| 6 | Torrie Wilson |
| 7 | Serena Williams |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 9 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 10 | David Beckham |
