Oh Yah Mon! The Jamaicans are having a real run @ the Olympics ~ Sprinting that is.
Now being called The World's Fastest Nation. These newcomers to the race line are an upstart, upset- because, traditionally runners work for years in a multitude of competitions & training to get to the Olympic elite status.
The free spirited, sweet seemingly loose and cool runners have just showed up for the competitions--
and they are showing up first at the finish line. Their post race dances of joy & happiness are just so much fun to watch.
I love it when there is an unexpected upset ~ an unlikely winner. This Jamaican runner was new on the running scene. He had a nice running style, but was in it with heart. It the end, he was almost skipping to the finish line- stodgy reporters asked Usain if he would have had an even higher new world record, had he stayed in the tight running form all the way to the finish line- he was jumping & dancing, celebrating his victory-- all he could say is *I'M HAPPY! I WON!!!*
He ran to where his family was & they had an exuberant group hug. No matter what questions the reporters asked... he just kept on exclaiming how happy he was. It was great.
Usain Bolt may need to change his first name to Lightnin'- Lightnin' Bolt,
Shelly Ann Fraser, age 21 had her glory moment. She had this look of trying to stay loose before the race, when you could otherwise see the tension & intensity on the faces of other runners.
After the race & a few moments to absorb the fact she'd just won gold, she just laid down on her back on the track.
Still for a moment, then kicked her feet in the air. She was beaming.
You get the feeling these runners did not have the high tech formal training & specialized fine tuning so many top athletes have access to.
There is always some controversy in the Olympics- Sunday night, it was the ladies gymnastics. Guess what media announcers-- there is no shame in taking home a Silver ~ or any colored medal- in fact just for reaching the level it takes to be in the Olympics. Please! This medal color drama/ saga is getting old. You won! Be Happy!
6 comments:
Fran, I am very proud of the olympics for the most of this year. All the countries has sent there best and I cheer for them all.
I have a hard time with the Amero-centric bent of the US reporters. So I find joy when some team comes out of nowhere- as the pundits read their scripts about who is the favored to win schpeal, the Latvians or Jamaicans just swoop by & win. It's great.
Not to say I am not happy when the US of A takes prizes... but this is an international event & I wish the anchor people & script writers got that more.
I love the little stories- the unexpected...and yes, all this america hype is putrifying....
okay..
now...
about the Jamica Wonders- they are sooooo amazing...and their shere Joy and how they love what they do...amazing....
( Bolt just won the 200 - Yahooooo)
Fran I so agree with you about the American reporters. Thats what makes the Jamacians reaction and answer so great. They can't do anything with all that joy and humbleness! And yea, what the hell is wrong with a silver or bronze? When the Serbian Cavic who swam with Michael Phelps in the 100 Butterfly and missed the gold by 1/100 of a second- they kept trying to get some sort of controversy out of him and all he would say is he was just happy to be there. IMO that was as good as a tie. It's all about the attitude and good sportsmanship.
there is so much pressure to bring home the gold, some athletes are crushed if they don't get the gold. the press feeds that notion.
Seriously... making it to be selected to represent your country means you are an advanced ahtlete, in a golden category of dedication & hard work. As far as I am concerned all that make it to the Olympics are "gold". for many countries, just hav=ing the skill and talent are not enogh- it is a struggle to physically get there- if you live in a remote country where the corporate sponsorships are far & few between. those athletes have already gone through a whole lot of trimuphs just to be there.
The difference between gold, silver & bronze can indeed be less than the time it takes to blink an eye, or one misstep or skip in a landing. Gold or not, podium or not these Olympians are all winners.
Maybe we can learn something from the Jamaicans & Latvians.
i liked an article i read recently about the olympic village and how the athletes were like kids getting their pictures taken with the 'celebrity' athletes :) kobe bryant had his picture taken with michael phelps and dara torres. like it or not, the olympics has been turned from the amateur sporting events they started out as- into a billion dollar industry. it is no different than anything else these days- except for the athletes themselves.
the smile on the jamacain track and field stars' faces tells the whole story. michael phelps' smile lit up the whole screen. i agree fran- sportsmanship and talent often get overlooked and we could all learn something from these folks.
Post a Comment