there is no question we witnessed greatness. the historic. the confident. the freakishly tall sprinter, usain "king carl watch out" bolt busted on the olympic scene in the 100. world record. (he broke his own). he had time to look around, pound his chest and write a poem to his equally proud mother. two tenths of a second. two... tenths of a second. really? who does that? my memories from that night are him repeatedly saying, "i'm just happy." truth.
the 200 hundred. the same zeal. the same passion. the same speed. our wonderful nbc announcers "had done the math" and his spilts should be good enough but was his mind ready? in his normally playful self, bolt was cutting up, actin' a fool before the meet and then, the silence. a wave of seriousness struck usain and he was ready. the gun. great start. off the turn. yards away. two tenths of a second. world record. this time, i think he would agree, he had to push the end a bit to break michael johnson's illusive 200 record.
4 x 100 relay- crushed. all the jamaicans needed were to take the opposite path of their american counterparts and pass the baton around the track. they did. with the style and grace of the reggae beat; the jamaican team crushed the "unbreakable" 1980 record. everyone knew they could do it but as their women's side showed, there are no guarantees in relays. hats off gentlemen and extra hat tipped to the anchor, mr. powell. he has served his country with the quiet power of a champion. cheers to all of you.
there is a rumor following great britain's taunting anchor in the 4 x 400 meter relay. bolt who was long raised as a 400 runner (a true prototype for that) and with any fire that the brits may have instilled in him would be ready for a passioned fight. could bolt come back for a fourth olympic gold. time will tell and all i know is i would not want a ticked off usain bolt walking me down on a relay.
we'll see if there is indeed a part four to one of my favorite series of posts to write.
you could see it on his face, "i'm holding this pace. hey is that the reigning world champion? hey, is that my fellow german that always beats me? hey, i'm going to do this." truly a race of a life time for jan frodeno. give the site a look-over. the sponsors and "erfolge" may be a bit boring and in german, but the olympic slide show is quite moving.
as a beginner triathlete, i was thoroughly impressed with the entire field. each leg, was completed with only slight variations in times and great composure was held on all of the athletes faces. the slight differences in each of the events represented slight differences in training, mental strength, the athlete's diet 2 days ago, and who ends up running or cycling beside them to push them or pull them along. in frodeno's case all of these were what he needed. he tapered correctly, trained his butt off, and found the top group for the cycling and running to push him through and draft off of.
hats off to you jan frodeno. this race was indeed your biggest swim, biggest bike and without a doubt greatest run (the last 300 meter sprint simply amazing) of your life. enjoy your gold medal and i look forward to seeing your success in the years to come.
Just finished watching the ESPYs...definitely a solid award show. Makes you laugh, think, and get hype as you remember your favorite moments in sports.
Have we seen a year in sports like 2008? Definitely the year of the underdog. Every category seemed to have teams or individuals that were in the dumps last year, stuntin serious!
Couldn't stand to see T.O give the Giants an award but it was all love.
Ray Allen definitely had the line of the night. After winning best team on stage at the Nokia Theatre, he cooly proclaims, "Another win in LA"
Michael Strahan is truly winning. Retire a champ, win bout 3 ESPYS, and have the former Mrs. Murphy on your arm. Kudos to you good sir. Please give A-Rod some notes as he is about 25 years late if he thinks it is cool to holla at Madonna.
