What a joy this past week has been viewing the Olympic Games every single evening - and even some early mornings at 5 a.m. when I couldn't sleep. So, instead of pacing around my apartment until my leg cramps were gone, I simply punched in the Olympic Games from that exotic sounding place called Beijing. It didn't matter whether it was wrestling, baseball, track and field or a wonderful game of volleyball being slammed out on a wet, sandy court in a pouring rain by those astounding ladies from the USA (they won!) - it was exhilarating entertainment and I have loved every single minute of it.
And how can I write about the 2008 Olympics and not speak of Michael Phelps? By winning eight gold medals, this astonishing young man has become not only the champion Olympian of all the ages but the sweetheart/hero of the world which is greatly in need of Olympians in all shapes, sizes and ages. And Sasha Artemev - who? you are asking. Sasha was the second alternate on the injury-plagued USA men's gymnastic squad and it was his sizzling, leg-scissoring performance on the pommel horse that boosted the United States into a Bronze Medal - this, when the US team was not even expected to reach the finals. His performance took my breath away. And then we have those young, young USA lady gymnasts waltzing away with the gold and the silver. How proud I am of them. And then the icing on the cake: Nastia Liukin won the gold all-around and the silver on the balance beam with Shawn Johnson winning the gold on this event. WOW!
I could go on - there are countless stories of wins and heartbreaks - I found myself deeply involved no matter the country. These (mostly) young folks had trained for years and this was their moment on the world stage and I applauded every single one of them. As I said before, for me, it has been a joyous week and I don't care a wit that I have let some things slide as I indulged in viewing the wondrous events in far off Beijing.
In closing, I would like to remind all those seniors who have trained with OATS and whose lives have been changed for the better by the Internet, that they are also Olympians. One of the definitions of an Olympian given by Webster's is having "superior attainments" and you all have those just by being a contributing senior member of society. You also qualify because you have braved the Internet with OATS and finished a winner. So congratulations, shake out those legs, polish those canes, oil up the wheel chairs and start preparing for the 2012 Olympics to be held in London. See you there.
