More Olympic Coverage

Well, Michael Phelps did it. He passed the previous Mark Spitz record from 1972 by obtaining 8 gold medals in one Olympics to Spitz's 7, setting 7 world records in the process. I must admit that I felt disappointed in NBC's coverage of the medal ceremony for Phelps' 8th gold. Since it was a relay event (4X100m), couldn't the camera pan over to Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, and Jason Lezak during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" instead of staying on Phelps the entire time? Phelps knew that he wouldn't have been there if it had not been for the incredible performances of his three teammates. Didn't someone tell NBC about that? Phelps mentioned during one interview that he received 10,000 messages on Facebook! Talk about being popular. Phelps seems like a well-balance person. I liked his quote after his final medal: "If you dream as big as you can dream, anything is possible."

Dara Torres showed herself to be a class act when she helped a fellow swimmer at the beginning of her final individual race. The swimmer's suit had ripped, and Torres went over to tell an official about it and calmed the other swimmers down as they waited. She won two silvers on her last day of competition, the oldest female swimmer ever to medal at an Olympics. She said she would tell her two-year-old daughter not "to put an age limit on her dreams." Well stated from a gracious human being.

I loved watching the U.S. woman eight rowing team as they won the first gold for the U.S. since 1984. During the medal ceremony all eight were singing the national anthem as it played. Call me sappy, but that was an emotional moment for me.

Angelo Taylor, Kerron Clement, and Bershawn Jackson swept the 400m hurdles for the U.S. Taylor thanked God for the opportunity, and Clement and Jackson said it was a blessing to win. All three seem to have their feet planted squarely on the ground in a place where many egos seem to be working overtime. I must mention the coach of the silver medalist in the women's pole vault. He reprimanded Jenn Stuczynski for her second-place finish, making it seem as if it were more about him than her. I felt so sorry for her.

And poor Nastia Liukens had to settle for the silver medal in the gymnastic uneven bars. She had tied with China's He Kexin for first place at 16.725, and a convoluted tiebreaking system gave Kexin the edge. I read the procedure online, and it seems quite arbitrary and somewhat unfair. Just don't ask Bela Karolyi about it. He said, "That makes no sense. They said they improved the scoring system. Look at this." His wife, Martha, the head coach of the U.S. gymnastics squad, had no comment. Liukens was gracious enough because she realized it wasn't Kexin's fault, but she looked as if she had just had the wind knocked out of her.

Still more to come.

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