As each day passes, I’m starting to believe that these Olympics in London are the best we’ve seen thus far in the 21st Century. Now granted, we’ve only had four Olympic Games since the new century began, but I believe without question that the 2012 Games are the best, ranking above Athens, Sydney, and Beijing.
Day 9
What wasn’t the best was how McKayla Maroney handled her silver medal win on the women’s vault. While I haven’t been able to find any good video, I can tell those of you who didn’t see it live that Maroney’s reaction and lack of good sportsmanship was embarrassing. She not only was pouting worse than Suri Cruise, but stared daggers at Romania’s Sandra Izbasa, who beat her out for gold. Izbasa had to reach out to Maroney to offer the traditional “good sport hug” following the competition. Maroney was not keen to return the embrace. Listen, McKayla. I understand you were disappointed. But you screwed up. You fell on your bottom. It’s not like you didn’t medal at all. You got a silver! How many people (me included), would give anything to have had a chance to be an Olympian? Show a little more appreciation and class. Here’s a small slide show of McKayla’s reaction to her silver medal:
I spent the remainder of Sunday enjoying more track and field. Thank God for the live feed online, because NBC only showed about 1/4 of the actual competition. They say that lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice. Maybe Jamaica’s Usain Bolt wasn’t racing in Beijing again, but he was running in the 100 meters again. And just as he did four years ago, he blew away the rest of the field, making the race appear effortless, leaving me wondering how much faster he could actually go if pressed to do so. In the past I’ve doubted Usain Bolt’s world records and Olympic medals. Perhaps though, he really is just that darn good and that darn fast, a freak of nature, if I can say so, in the most complimentary way.
Andy Murray is, quite possibly, the poster child for the saying “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” With the weight of Great Britain on him, after so many years of trying to win at home on the grass, of trying to win a major tournament, Murray did it! He did it! How fantastic is it for Great Britain to not only have won four gold medals on Saturday, but to have won at Wimbledon for another gold medal? Fantastic doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Day 10
No matter what your opinion is of synchronized swimming, I highly encourage you to watch this routine by Russia’s Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina. No wonder they are the world’s best!
Growing up, I only associated violence and conflict with Grenada. It’s nice to now be able to associate something more positive with this tiny island nation: A gold medal from Kirani James. James’ sportsmanship impressed me when during the semi-final heat he exchanged bibs with South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius. How proud the “Island of Spice” must be!
Finally, if you didn’t see Felix Sanchez’s gold medal ceremony, then you must. The runner was overcome with emotion as his national anthem played following his win in the 400 meters. Yet again, I love seeing the impact that such an experience has on some of these athletes. This is what it’s all about.
Faster, Higher, Stronger.
The Olympic Fanatic 