Who’s Lovin’ Life … In Beijing?
By C.G. Morelli
Love of Sports Correspondent
Nothing fascinates me more about the Olympics than the brittle hopes on which every athlete from every competing country places their efforts.
What I mean is, the chances of winning a medal in your event, let alone a gold medal, are so fleeting that getting struck by lightning while wearing a rubber suit seems like a much more likely outcome.
What’s even more amazing is how much time and effort these athletes put into becoming an Olympian in the first place. Without monster paychecks or six-figure endorsements, most of these very normal people put their very normal lives on hold for years at a time to train at a shot to be named the world’s greatest in their sport.
And though you’d have to find it logical that the best athlete takes home the gold in every Olympic event, I’m here to tell you that’s not always the case. Sometimes it’s just the athlete who arrives at the Games and finds that somehow, quite inexplicably, things just seem to be going their way.
Let’s take a look at which athletes have seen things suddenly sway in their favor over the first weekend of Olympic action. I’m sure it’ll help us find the answers to a most enduring question … who’s lovin’ life in Beijing?
Who’s Lovin’ Life
Lopez Lomong, United States
Less than two years ago, a bright ray of sunlight wasn’t exactly shining down on Lopez Lomong as he endured a war-ravaged daily life, dodging bullets while training in his native Sudan. But things have changed for him in a big way. He fled to the United States as a refugee and escaped what would’ve been nothing short than a tragic waste of immense talent. He made the U.S. Olympic track team in the 1,500 meters and then was given the ultimate honor. Only 13 months after officially becoming a United States citizen, the man found himself leading the entire American team into Beijing as the flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies. Mr. Lomong, things are already going your way in Beijing, and you haven’t even raced yet!
U.S. Men’s 4x100 Freestyle Swim Team
Just a day after Alain Bernard, team anchor of the heavily favored French relay team, told reporters they’d crush the Americans, Michael Phelps and the crew hocked up a little brie-flavored lugey and spat one right in Frenchie’s eye. The Americans shattered the world record by four seconds, with a time of 3:08.24, much of it whittled away in stunning come-from-behind fashion by anchor Jason Lezak. Lezak’s final lap was epic, upending Bernard himself, who couldn’t hold off the American, despite leading by what seemed like an eternity with just half a length to go. After one of the most exciting swim relays in the sport’s history, the U.S. men have to be thinking things will continue to go their way in Beijing.
Katerina Emmons, Czech Republic
Who doesn’t love a lady with a fully loaded air rifle in hand? I’ll bet the farm you won’t hear any negative responses to this question from anyone in Praha, CR. Not after Emmons opened the overall medal count by setting an Olympic record in the women’s 10-metre air rifle event, with 503.5 points. Her gold was the first medal won by any Olympian in Beijing.
Mariel Zagunis, United States
Zagunis opened up the U.S. gold medal count in Beijing by whipping out something very long and very sharp. That’s right, you guessed it … a saber fencing foil. Now, I know people in this country aren’t exactly tripping over each other to get through the gate at the next national saber fencing event, but after becoming the first American to strike gold in China this summer, Zagunis and her teammates can only hope that changes. Those two teammates of hers just happened to finish second and third in the very same event!
Abhinar Bindra, India
OK, so some of the major events have yet to take place in Beijing. That’s all the more reason to really soak in the glory of Olympic Air Rifle. That’s especially true when you bring Bindra into the mix. He became the first Indian athlete ever to win an individual gold medal when he drilled a clutch 10.8 (out of a possible 10.9) score on the final shot of the men’s 10 meter air rifle. The come-from-behind, wing-and-a-prayer shot stunned the heavy favorite, Zhu Qinan of China. Something tells me when Bindra’s plane lands in Bombay next weekend, he’s certain to notice how his entire nation will be flocking his way.
USA Men’s Basketball
LeBron and the gang just shut down and shut up the hosts by rudely trouncing on China 101-70 in their opening performance. The Americans played lock down defense on Yao Ming and made Yi Jianlian look like he should consider taking up another sport altogether. By simply playing up to their pre-Olympic hype, Team USA is silencing the doubters early. And boy, if their first game is any kind of barometer, it sure seems like they’ll continue to storm through the remainder of the tournament.
Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, United States
The U.S. reigning duo of volleyball supremacy is at it again. Walsh and May-Treanor opened up their gold medal defense by soundly crushing Mika Teru Saiki and Chiaki Kusuhara of Japan, 21-12 and 21-15. Of course, it’s no secret things have been going the way of Kerri and Misty for quite some time now. The opening win runs their Olympic unbeaten streak to an unprecedented eight matches.
Who’s Hatin’ Life
USA Cyclists
Told by their trainer to wear protective masks to combat China’s horrific air pollution, the American Cycling Team did nothing short of make complete asses of themselves upon landing in Beijing to open the Olympics. But things really got worse when U.S. Olympic officials basically forced them to publicly apologize to the Chinese government for what they saw as making light of a serious issue. The funny thing? Chinese officials said they were never actually offended by the masks in the first place. Can you say “awkward,” boys and girls?
BOCOG Officials
Just about every kind of crew you can think of has been hard at work in China’s largest city, trying to put a temporary cover on the steaming dung heap that is Beijing. What’s amazing is they’ve done an admirable job jumping through the hoops left out there by the rest of the world. What shows you things really aren’t going their way, however, is the sudden emergence of knife-wielding maniacs at local tourist sites. Seriously, people, you can do a lot, but it’s hard to defend suicidal crazy.
Gary Russell, Jr., United States
Basically considered a lock to medal in boxing’s 119-pound weight class, Russell was forced to pull out of Olympic competition at the last minute. Bottom line, things just aren’t going your way when you’re found face down in your hotel room after aggressively trying to cut poundage before an official weigh-in. Your heart has to go out to a world class athlete whose lifetime of brutal training ends in such disappointment. Hopefully, things will turn around for Russell once he gets stateside and he can start what many believe can be a very promising pro career.
(Be sure to read more of Morelli’s work over at http://www.cgmorelli.com.)
OTHER TOP STORIES
--The Huddle: College FB’s Best Offensive Linemen
--TLOS Preview: #19 Texas Tech
--Top 20 Touchdown Celebrations
--Top 10 Most Memorable Olympic Moments
--The Monday Mixtape - Olympic Edition
Comments
Post a Comment