I can't believe the Olympics are half way done already! It's been and amazing week with so many memorable moments. Leading into the games, the media hype machine was working overtime to promote Michael Phelps pursuit of Mark Spitz 36 year old record of 7 Gold medals in swimming. From my perspective, the 1972 Olympics in Munich were the first games I really watched from start to finish. The two big headlines where Mark Spitz in the first week and the Terrorist attack the second week. So I was cautiously optimistic about Phelps chances of tying, let alone breaking Spitz' record. Looking back over the week I would have to say that actual events surpassed the hype which is almost impossible in this era of the 24 hour news cycle. I was glued to my TV, not just for the finals, but the qualifying swims as well. There are three races in particular that stand out as seared into my memory forever. Each of the following events have links to the NBC Olympics web site video. You will need to download Silverlight, but the quality of the video is worth it.
The Men's Swimming 4 x 100 Swimming Relay was the second final of Michael's quest. Quite frankly after his opening leg the other swimmers had me convinced that he was already doomed to failure. Then and amazing anchor leg by Jason Lezak brought the USA men back from a non-medal finish to a solid gold world record. Amazing!
Second the Men's Swimming 100 Butterfly was the most exciting, swim race I've ever witnessed. The entire audience, me included thought that Michael had touched the wall second to a very strong Croatian swimmer. Only when the graphic flashed up on the screen did the world know that Phelps had won by the amazing margin of 0.01 second. Only video slowed down to 1/10,000 of a second was able to confirm the win.
Finally the Men's Swimming 4 x 100 Medley was the race that allowed Micheal Phelps to actually break Mark Spitz Olympic Record. The race technically didn't have much drama, if you are board with world records performances! The shear magnitude of the 8th gold metal was stunning.
The other week one highlight for me was gymnastics. The USA men entered the competition without their two best gymnasts, Paul Hamm and Morgan Hamm. As a result they were considered a long shot for a medal. The team came together and performed way over their heads. Almost as if they didn't know they didn't have a shot. At the end of the Men's Team Competition, our American men were standing on the third step of the podium, bronze medals draped around their necks. Great job guys!
The USA Women were favorites for team gold, but due to some injuries and a few critical mistakes they finished a distant Silver to the Chinese. This all changed in the Women's Gymnastics Individual All-Around when Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson take the gold and silver respectively. The outcome came down to the final event. The ladies were truly amazing.
I'm now looking forward to week two. It's going to be pretty tough to top what we've witnessed so far, but it's the Olympics and I know it will be amazing!
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