A few thoughts, now that the Olympics are over, for what they're worth.
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First, as great as a certain American swimmer was (I refuse to name him because I want to be the only web site on the Internet that doesn't actually name him), for me, Usain Bolt was the most impressive athlete of the games. Swimmer Guy is obviously the best swimmer ever, but at least one of his races was really close. Bolt, on the other hand, went up against the best of the world in his events, and absolutely blew them away. Maybe it's because I'm a runner and not a swimmer, but I was stunned.
I mean, check out this video. Unbelievable.
Seriously, this guy earned whatever bragging and showboating he does.
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What's the deal with Olympians biting their medals? I've seen a bunch of pictures of them doing this:
I actually looked it up online, to see if this was some kind of tradition. I found a few possible answers: there's the old tradition of biting a gold coin to see if it's real gold (seems a little disrespectful to the Olympic organizers); there's a symbolic "tasting victory" kind of thing going on; I also read that the European photographers kept shouting at the athletes "Kiss it! Bite it!" (I wish I was making that up.) Given the photos of Rafa Nadal biting his Wimbeldon trophy earlier this summer, I think the weird European photographer theory might hold.
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Finally, among the most important stories of the games that you might have missed:
Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands won the gold medal for the 10K (that's 6.2 miles) open water swim. He was treated for Leukemia 8 years ago.
Dick Fosbury, inventor of the "Fosbury Flop" method of getting over the bar in the high jump, was diagnosed with Lymphoma is March. He's doing well, and was in Beijing for the 40th anniversary of The Flop.
Eric Shanteau, an American swimmer, delayed treatment for testicular cancer until after the Olympics. He competed in the 200M breaststroke. He didn't medal, but he did finish in a personal best time.
Those are the best stories, aren't they?
Hi Bob -
ReplyDeleteKaren, Emily and I were in Canada last week at her family's cottage in New Brunswick. Nicole boycotted due to soccer boot camp and practice.
I think I may have mentioned that the cottage is on Lake Oromocto, the largest lake in NB. Even thought it's big, it's not very developed, so we usually spend our time relaxinig ( as much as I can) by swimming, kayaking or teaching the kids how to play cards. I even finished the Ben Franklin biography that I started last summer whem we were up there. Very interesting, but my conclusion is that the legend of Ben Franklin far surpasses his real contributions. I mean, where would our country be if he didn't invent the glass armonica?
About the Olympics. We only get 2 channels out in the wilderness, and one, CBC, covered the olympics almost no-stop. The only problem was that they only covered the Canadian olympians. Sad because outside of equestrian, a few divers and some rowers, nost of the Canadia olympians finsihed horribly. I would have liked to have seen Swimmer guy win his eighth medal, but since the Canucks got blown out in the ealry rounds - guess what - NO Coverage.
The most entertaining part of the broadcasts was watching the losers get interviewed and hold back their urge to slap the hell out of the interviewers when they asked such deep questions as " So, how did you feel about your 8th place finsh today?"
Can't wait for Vancouver 2010. If the US Hockey team makes the medal rounds, I douobt they'll show it for non stop Curling action.
We got back Friday, and my good friend Mr Kidney Stone decided to stop and pay a visit yesterday moring. You know it's bad when you set the alarm to remind you when you can take some more pain med. My urologist has suggeted that I stop drinking beer as it may contribute to the production of stones.
I'm looking for a new doctor.
Bolt was almost too good. Take that any way you want to.
I'm going to my room to scream now.
Mike
Hey Mike.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the stones. It does sound like you need a new doctor. I encounter a lot of that alternative-medicine-don't-think-beer-can-cure-you type quackery on the Internet myself. Run the other way -- fast.
And don't you say bad things about my hero Bolt. I'll start talking trash about the Canadian Curling team if you do.