Brian Clay Wins Decathlon – Becomes World’s Greatest Athlete
Brian Clay of the US won the gold medal in the 2008 Decathlon earning him the title of “the world’s greatest athlete”. Here is an interview with him on NBC’s Today show:
Saturday’s Coverage of the Beijing Olympics
I have obligations that prevent me from posting on Saturday, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging completely, so here’s what’s available for your viewing pleasure on Saturday.
During primetime Saturday night, you can watch men’s gymnastics qualifying rounds, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh doubtless trouncing a Latvian beach volleyball team, and gold medal rounds [...]
Lopez Lomong to serve as flag bearer for U.S. team at Beijing Opening Ceremony
Yesterday, I wrote a post about ten U.S. athletes to watch. One of those I mentioned was the Sudanese “lost boy” Lopez Lomong. Now the whole world will be watching Lopez, as he has been chosen by his fellow teammates to carry the U.S. flag at the Opening Ceremonies this Friday in Beijing. [...]
Ten U.S. Olympic Athletes to Watch in Beijing
All Olympic athletes are special, but we all know some are more exciting than others (who else was on the Olympic gymnastics team with Mary Lou Retton?). So, here are ten U.S. Olympic athletes that you should definitely watch.
1. Michael Phelps— Could potentially be one of the biggest stories of the China Olympics. [...]
Wii Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
If you just can’t wait for the Beijing Olympics, and you have a Wii, I highly recommend Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. We just picked up the game today. It was a “business expense” I played for a little while, and it was quite fun. It has Aquatics, [...]
Athletes prepare for running in smog at Beijing Olympics
I read this interesting article today about how runners are preparing for dealing with the poor air quality at the Olympics in China. Precautions include everything from breathing gear to arriving at the last possible moment. Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, who is asthmatic, won’t even be running the marathon, although he [...]
Neat story about Olympic athlete couple
This couple is trading Olympic rings for wedding rings— hopefully after he brings home a medal to join hers. Ian Waltz will be competing in discus at the China Olympics this summer. Stacy Dragila missed going to the Olympics but has already won a gold. They got engaged in February.
Paul Hamm drops out of Beijing Olympics
Citing concerns that his broken hand had not healed enough to allow him to defend his Olympic title, Paul Hamm announced that he was leaving the U.S. men’s Olympic gymnastics team. His twin, Morgan Hamm, will still compete. Paul Hamm will be replaced on the team by Raj Bhavsar.
Want to root for an underdog? Try Zimbabwe.
When Kirsty Coventry brought home medals in swimming in the 2004 Summer Olympics, she became the first athlete from Zimbabwe to medal in 25 years. Kirsty will be competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as well, and could well repeat her 2004 performance. However, no man from Zimbabwe has EVER won an Olympic [...]
Using the Olympics as a teaching opportunity
As a homeschooling Mom, I’m always on the lookout for educational opportunities. The Olympics provides a lot of them. From teaching your kids about other countries (including geography, popular activities, etc.) to educating them on current events (the Olympics, Tibet, etc.), you could spend every day from now until the end of the [...]
U.S. Olympic Swimmer Battling Cancer
When you’re getting ready for your first Olympics, you would think that would be the most important thing going on in your life. But that’s not the case for U.S. Olympic Swimmer Eric Shanteau. A week before the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Eric got a call from his doctors telling him that [...]
News from around the world about Olympic athletes
On this blog, we cover a lot about American Olympics athletes, but sometimes the stories from other countries are so interesting I just have to share.
In the sad category, Cuban cyclist Pedro Pablo Perez is in a coma following a car accident on Monday. He will miss the Olympics. The Beijing Olympics would [...]