Monday, August 18, 2008

A Fantastic Day

It was absolutely and fantastic day. I would have to say I only have 3 complaints from today - 1) My battery died in my camera this morning and I had to go back to my apartment to get my spare, which also died (fortunately at the end of the night), 2) the concessions available at Olympic Venues is not much to brag about, and 3) Sara, my love, my best friend, my wife, was not here to enjoy it with me... Other than that, a perfect day...

The day was sunny and bright, making a perfect backdrop for pictures. Low humidity and a slight breeze made the temperature comfortable and pleasant as well...

Spent a couple of hours exploring the Olympic Forest. It's much bigger than I thought and I only got to see about half of it. I will have only one other opportunity to see the rest, but that will be the day before I leave China and might have other things to do, so I might not make back. It will be worth the effort to see the rest, though, if I can make it.

Caught, just by chance, a parade going through Olympic Park, much like the daily parades than pass through Disneyland...


I attended my second Olympic event today, in the Bird's Nest (China's National Stadium). It was electrifying. The crowd was so enthusiastic and energetic, especially when a Chinese athlete was up to compete.




I got to see several events this evening:

  • Women's Discus Finals - USA's Stephanie Brown-Trafton won the Gold Medal on her first throw; I got chills and felt very honored to be in another country, experiencing something like the Olympics, surounded by tens fo thousands of foreigners, and rising to the US National Anthem

  • Women's Pole Vault Finals - USA'a Jennifer Stuczynski won the Silver Medal

  • Women's 100m Hurdle Semi-Finals - USA's Lolo Jones, Dawn Harper, and Damu Cherry all qulaified for the finals

  • Men's 200m Quarter-Finals - USA's Walter Dix and Wallace Spearman qualified for the Semi-Finals

  • Men's Long-Jump Finals - no US athletes in that competetion

  • Women's 400m Hurdle Semi-Finals - USA's Sheena Tosta and tiffany Ross-Williams qualified for the finals

  • Men's 3000m Steeplechase Finals - USA's Anthony Famiglietti finished 13th out of 15

  • Women's 800m Finals - no US athletes in that competition

  • 5 Medal Ceremonies from previous competitions

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