Summer Olympics
Beijing 2008: The Super-Sized Olympics
True to China’s numbers, Beijing’s Olympic Games arrived and went out with a big bang. Both extravagant ceremonies served as bookends to competition where men and women, faced with the challenge to “go big or go home”, pushed themselves and redefined the modern Olympian.
Beijing’s Opening Ceremonies kicked-off the 29th Olympiad with a cast of more [...]
A look back at Your Six-Word Predictions
Before Li Ning soared above the Bird’s Nest to light the flame, I asked readers to submit their predictions for the Beijing Olympics in six words or less. Now that every last firework has exploded over Beijing and the Olympic flame has been extinguished, let’s take a look back.
“Michael Phelps Will Rule the World”
And he [...]
Bolt replaces Johnson as king of the 200
I gave up on my scrapbook shortly after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but Usain Bolt’s latest world record-shattering run has me remembering its most prized page.
The page is blank except for a large circle I drew in the center half-my-life ago, which marks the magic of a transferred handshake.
One night during the Atlanta Games, I [...]
Water polo is for the superhuman
Take Natalie Coughlin’s endurance and speed in the pool. Combine it with Kerri Walsh’s court vision and defense on the beach. Then add the arm of softball pitcher Jennie Finch. Drop six of those superstars in the pool, throw some caps on them, and you’d have a powerhouse team for water polo – one of [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )A Historic 24 Hours
I’m convinced Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt knew he would take gold and set a new world record in the 100 meters when he woke up on Saturday morning. He was that confident in his preparation. But as an Olympic fan, nothing could have prepared me for the history I would see him and others make [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 4 so far )Update: USA, China, Zimbabwe, and bronze for a Penn Stater
America’s favorite 23-year-old motorboat is the talk of the Olympic Green, at least among the English-speaking. But if you ask my new Chinese friends, they’re likely to break out into the Chinese equivalent of “Scoreboard! Scoreboard!” The locals are racking up the gold medals in everything from weightlifting to sync diving to a clean sweep [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 2 so far )Bringing the Beach to Beijing
While some Olympic sports require library-like silence (shooting), others are fairly formal (fencing), steeped in tradition (equestrian), and some are just boring (table tennis). Beach volleyball sits entirely on the other end of the scale. It’s like a frat party out there.
As soon as I stepped into the stadium on a gorgeous 85-degree day in [...]
Shooting gets exciting, U.S. woman wins bronze in shootout
When 21-year-old shooter Corey Cogdell finished picking orange clay targets out of the sky during a morning qualifying round today, she flipped open her shotgun, tossed an empty shell casing in the bin and hopped off the range looking cool and composed. Her coaches were waiting with smiles.
“Not bad for a girl,” teased one coach [...]
And the Chinese crowd goes wild
The stands during the opening ceremony felt hot enough to set the Bird’s Nest alight, but judging by the Chinese crowd’s participation, the heat never seemed to affect them very much. Their consistent enthusiasm made for a nice welcoming during what usually becomes a drawn out parade of athletes.
As more than ten thousand of [...]
Welcome to the ‘Athletes’ Games’
As I stood on the edge of the second level during last night’s Opening Ceremonies, drenched in sweat like I was back in high school cutting weight, I was reminded of why so much effort goes into gathering for the Summer Olympic Games for a few weeks every four years. No matter your background, when [...]
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