The 29th Olympiad...

I have admittedly watched more of the Olympics action than ever before, which is partially responsible for my lack of posting. For some interesting thoughts on the first half of the Olympics, I refer you to the incomparable Mel-Anon. Ken points out some of the same issues I have had with swimming coverage, especially with regard to the commentators extreme American bias. I also concur with Ken's assessment of the most pleasant story of the games thus far,

Usain Bolt: Best sprinting name in history, maybe the best sprinter in history. Bolt broke the world record in the 100-meter final Saturday night, and may have wholly shattered it had he not slowed up in the final 20 meters. And he has yet to run the 200, which is--gulp--his better race.

Bolt is just fun to watch.

I do have to break with Ken on giving an effective pass to the Chinese gymnasts age controversy, by claiming America has no basis for criticism given the Karolyi's dictatorial coaching style. I do believe that this story comes across like a whine, given it seems to be coming almost exclusively from American media sources and it really flared up after China edged out America in the team competition. I tend to believe these girls look significantly under 16, but hey in a country of 1.2 billion maybe you can find a lot of 75 pound athletic and strong girls... Of course, as long as the Olympic governing body chooses to use national passports for verification of age, this will likely be an issue. However, I believe there is a fairly clear distinction between extreme/hard training techniques and expectations and intentional disregard of established rules. To equate the two allows cheats to push off criticism through a relavistic out.


Additionally, race walking is not a sport.