Now that July has passed in 2008, two things are for certain: several mid-summer crisis are bound to occur, and the Olympics are just around the corner. Whether or not it is logically appropriate to turn away from the world’s problems for a month in favor of athletic competition, the Olympics are going to take place regardless, and I for one, am going to enjoy them. Amongst the political circus engulfing the buildup to the games (Chinese pollution, civil rights policy, and censureship to name a few), many of the most intriguing athletic storylines of this year’s Olympics have been cast aside. In order to stir up more interest in this year’s games, which begin exactly a week from today, I have taken it upon myself to enlighten the uninformed viewer of what they should be viewing come 8.8.08:
USA Basketball - A competition the United States regularly dominated in the past came to a screeching halt in 2004 when the team failed to win the gold, taking the bronze in the Athens Olympics. Seem unfair to chastise a team for medalling at the Olympics? Few, if any, share this sentiment, as the overwhelming expectation for USA Basketball is victory in every competition due to the high profile names which the team is comprised of. This year’s team is led by Duke’s near legendary Coach K, and highlighted by Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard amongst others. If the US doesn’t take gold in China, expect backlash to be rampant.
100m Dash - With the record being set just over two months ago by the rising Jamaican star Usain Bolt, the field is absolutely stacked, and a great race, record breaking or not, is all but guaranteed. Featuring Bolt, former world record holder Asafa Powell, and American Tyson Gay, this race boasts the runners of the three fastest 100m times in the history of humanity. These runners are so fast, they would be arrested for running this fast (approaching 23 mph) in a school zone. Lasting less than ten seconds, you have no excuse to miss this race.
Michael Phelps - After winning a record-tying eight medals at Athens in 2004, six of them gold, Phelps has hardly slowed down, breaking several world records during the olympic trials. Did I mention in 2000 he was the youngest olympic athlete (age 15) since 1932, and broke a world record there? Phelps had a world record before he had his drivers license. Phelps is an incredible, once in a lifetime level athlete, who dominates his sport in the same way that Tiger Woods does his. When a swimmer is a household name, you know he’s something special. Do not take Phelps for granted, he may very well go down as one of the greatest ever to grace a pool.
Jennifer Stuczynski - American pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski (Stoo-Zin-Skee) is very quietly one of America’s greatest hopes for a gold medal in track and field, as she is the greatest threat to the current world record holder from Russia, Yelena Isinbayeva. In a meet on July 25th, both athletes made world record attempts, but missed, as Stuczynski finished second to Isinbayeva in London. This is a name you’ll want to remember, both for the athletic performance, and the bragging rights that you know how to pronounce the name of America’s finest pole vaulter.
110m Hurdles - With China expecting cult superstar Liu Xiang to defend his world rec- breaking news: Cuban Dayron Robles has recently (June 12) broken Xiang’s world record in the 110 meter hurdles. With his world record no more, Xiang is sure to turn in a phenomenal performance in front of his home crowd that has elevated him to such a level within Chinese culture to rival the likes of international superstar Yao Ming. Although Xiang is a phenomenal hurdler, he has lacked competition in recent years, thus making a challenge from Robles on the grandest stage of all all the more intriguing.
And of course, these are just the big stories as of now. Within the past week, Iraq has been denied entry into, and then readmitted to the Olympics. A huge portion of the marathon field is considering and/or threatening to drop out due to the unbearable running conditions. The medal count will be just as much of a political competition as ever, with a large possibility it will be more evident than ever before. In short, this edition of the Olympics is shaping up to be yet another venture into the paradoxical clash between international cooperation and sportsmanship, and the ruthless struggle for power and superiority over the fellow man. Stay tuned for developments; the Olympics will be broadcast on NBC, with several events also being streamed live on nbc.com.
Comments
I am pretty excited for this one. In researching another (unwritten) article I did a ton of swimming research, so I feel like a champ there. I don’t know (or care) about track and field, but tennis is going to be cool, as is baseball and table tennis. Oh, and Lebron, D-Wade, Kobe, and the rest of them are on the court at the same time… awesome.
Yeah, I didn’t want to write anything too comprehensive, because I didn’t know what other people were cooking up at the same time. I was thinking about going deep into track and field since I have some knowledge there, but I don’t think there’s much of an audience for a disection of the drama of each event.
Also, didn’t the Olympics cut baseball? I’m pretty sure there is no baseball at the 2008 Olympics, and that MLB has been fighting furiously to get it back into 2012. I know softball is still in, and team USA should take it, as in basketball.
A heads up Bill, this is probably gonna be my last article for a while; I leave for Stanford/Berkeley Monday, and I’ll write something up on the schools when I get back.
That’s cool.
There is baseball at the Olympics, but there aren’t any big names from the MLB playing in them. The most recognizable name from the US Olympic Team: RP Mike Koplove.