In Search of the Human Spirit

The Democractic Party took center stage in American history this week.  They held their convention in Denver, Colorado in what was whispered to be an event riddled with tension between the Clinton and Obama camps.

In the end, it was all rumor.  Speeches were given, songs were sung, flags were waved.  In an act of grace, Hillary Clinton walked down the convention floor to the front of the New York delegation.  She put an end to the roll call that tallied up delegates and acclaimed Barack Obama the Democratic Party nominee.  It was a beautiful, if staged, moment.  Clinton proved herself to be of immense character and she will forever be a part of history as the first serious female candidate for President.

But this day was not to be Hillary Clinton’s for more history was at hand.  Barack Obama became the very first non-white non-male candidate for President of a major political party.  To think that Iowa a state that is about 95% white started the ball rolling when he won the state.  What an amazing race it’s been and the nomination is rightfully deserved.

Obama has proven that if you have excellent ideas, intelligence, and state your case to the American people, color doesn’t matter.  Time will tell if America is ready for Obama.  We at least know the Democratic voters are!  That it all happened on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” Speech made it even more special.  Martin Luther King Jr. must be looking down and feeling mighty proud right now.

What an amazing two weeks it has been!  There was much drama during these Olympics.  Michael Phelps accomplishing what he set out to do and the American relay teams missing their baton passes.  Some unexpected athletes took home gold and some happy souls were thrilled just to compete.

The games came to a close with London rolling out their urban dance number, an aged looking Jimmy Page, and some fun musical numbers.

China outdid itself with a fantastic show.  There was the usual emotion as flags were waved and torches squelched.   The memory tower was the highlight.  How they got all those people to act in unison was beyond comprehension.  It was beautiful though!

It was a fitting end to a wonderful presentation.  Despite the strain of political issues, smog, and other concerns, the games went well.  It’s all about the athletes afterall and the athletes put on an amazing display.

What is it about marathons that make me so darned emotion?  I am not even a fan of running (watching or doing it myself).  Yet everytime I watch the men and women’s marathon during the Olympics I get all teary eyed.

I was doing fine with the men’s marathon until the last few minutes when the runner who was vying for first started to slip back.  Soon he was lost out of sight.  I wanted to help him keep up.

When Samuel Wansiri entered the stadium I felt so happy for him.  He was the first Kenyan to win the marathon.  Then Jaouad Gharib of Morocco ran across the line.  Another first, I believe.

But I really got emotional when Merga Deriba of Ethiopia entered the stadium, clearly out of steam.  His teammate, Tsegay Kebede was gaining ground.  Deriba was getting slower and slower, then Kebede passed him.  Tears streamed down my face.  What heartbreak to come so far and then end up out of medal contention in the last 10 seconds.  I don’t even know who Deriba is.

So, what is it about the marathon that brings me to tears?  Does it happen to you too?  I think it must be that we all know what it’s like to work towards something, to struggle, to triumph, and to have it fall from our grasp just as it seems it’s ours.

To me the marathoners exemplify the Olympic spirit.  There are only so many who will win.  Yet, many show up at the starting line and many cross the finish line in 10th or 20th place.  They do it to show themselves they can.  They compete against themselves for their own personal best times.  That is enough.  Knowing they came to the Olympics, they competed, and they did the best they could is enough for the runners who know they will never medal.

Seeing the Kenyan, Moroccan, and Ethiopian on the medal podium was a proud moment.  Of course, I am happy when Americans win, but Americans will always win something.  These three may be the only athletes from their countries to take home medals.  They will be cheered and admired.  Because their successes are so rare, they become more special.

So,

If you watched swimming this weekend, you noticed that Dara Torres of the USA was the goodwill ambassador of the swimming venue.  During one of her races this weekend, she should some class and kindness.  One of the racers was missing.  Dara walked over to the officials to explain the situation and to make sure the race was held up until the woman returned.

At issue was her swimsuit.  It ripped, which seems to be common with the new swimsuits everyone is wearing.  Dara wanted to make sure everyone got to race, including the woman from Sweden.  When the swimmer returned, Dara greeted her.  And, then everything got serious.

In the interview afterward, she commented that while they are all competitors in the pool, they are friends outside the pool.  At 41, you could see a little bit of that “Mom” attitude in Dara.  She was just making sure everyone got their chance.

The only name you needed to know in the 100m hurdles was Lolo Jones.  She was the person to beat.  Then Lolo Jones hit the second to last hurdle, lost her footing, and stumbled across the finish line out of metal contention.

Another American cross the finish line first only she didn’t know it.  Dawn Harper ran across the finish line, looked up at the board, then yelled “What?” over and over and over.  Disbelieve was written all over her face.  It wasn’t until another American hurdler came over to tell her she had one the race that it started to sink in.

Harper still couldn’t grasp the magnitude of her win at the press conference for the gold medal winner.  She couldn’t talk and broke down in tears.

Doesn’t anyone else have this problem?  The Women’s Marathon makes me cry.

I watched most of the marathon on TV.  For hours we followed Constantina Tomescu as she took a larger and larger lead.  Behind her a group kept pace but at a distance.

Then they came up the city streets.  The Bird’s Nest Stadium was in sight.  Tomescu was the first to make the turn that took her down the road to the stadium.

When Tomescu entered the stadium, I tear rolled down my cheek.  I don’t even know who Tomescu is.  But, to run so far and then to finally make it to that last lap is such an achievement.

After Tomescu, a other runners came in.  After that grueling run, they then had to sprint the final lap to secure their spot on the podium.

But, I didn’t really break down until the woman who had the injury entered the stadium.  To see her running in pain just so she could get across the finish line was truly remarkable.

I don’t really know where they find the strength.  Most of the runners know they won’t be anywhere near the medal ceremony.  Yet, they get out their and run in the rain just for the glory of doing it.  I think that is the real Olympic spirit.

Did you see the women’s 100m sprint final?  Shelly-Ann Fraser of Jamaica blasted away the field and won her first major event.10.78 seconds at just 21 years of age.

I think more inspiring was the exuberant celebration afterwards.  Fraser skipped and pranced around the track laughing to herself.  She was overjoyed.

During her interview with an NBC reporter, she talked about the pride of Jamaica.  Then she burst out in a case of the giggles.  I found myself laughing with her.  She displayed a little bit of humility and genuine joy, rather than the arrogant cockiness that some of the male sprinters displayed.

The badminton I am familiar with is the backyard variety. A net set up in someone’s backyard. Team Middle Aged against Team Perky Youth. The birdie gets hit into trees, over fences, and more often than not gets stuck in someone’s racket.

Olympic badminton is a whole different bird game! This ain’t your backyard badminton. The gold medal match between Indonesia and China was really exciting. It was fast paced. I was amazed at how hard and fast they hit the birdie. It looked more like ping pong. They had several rallies where the birdie was hit 30-40 times in a row. Unbelievable!

It was fun to watch. I must admit I was happy to see Indonesia win, though I have no connections to the country. They hadn’t won a medal yet at these Olympics.  It’s nice to see each country get at least one. They played well and they deserved it.

These guys are tough competitors. So, it was really nice to see a show of sportsmanship and goodwill during the Men’s Indidvidual All Around competition.

Gymnasts were competing on their own without their team mates to cheer them on. Each took their turn at the apparatus. Then something odd happened. The other gymnasts cheered for them. When they finished their turn and bounded down the steps to the chairs, the other participants and coaches from every country patted them on the back and shook their hand in encouragement.

It’s refreshing to me to see such comraderie at such a high level of competition. It was nice to see.

In what may be one of the finest moments that NBC neglected to show a gymnast not considered medal worthy took the bronze medal in the Mens Individual All Around competition.

The cameras and commentary were focused on Yang Wei of China, Kohei Uchimura of Japan, Jonathan Horton of the USA, Alexander Artemov of the USA, and Sergey Khorokhordin of Russia. Though Yang Wei was near perfect, it was a disastrous night for many in the competition. The pommel horse chewed up one gymnast after another. Uchimura was having a terrible start to the competition, but he wasn’t the only one. Falls and slip ups were common this night.

That opened the door for a relatively unknown gymnast, Benoit Caranobe, of France. While his routines weren’t considered as death defying as the other gymnasts, he executed them well. He was in third place after the third round. Fell in ranking in the fourth round. But, major missteps by other gymnasts allowed him to sneak in for the bronze when it was all said and done.

He sat on the side with his coaches, tears streaming down his face. It almost seemed that he would need a medic as he was so shocked to be medal winner.

Too bad NBC missed it. Their focus on who they thought was the best made them pass over the Frenchman. It wasn’t until around the fourth round that they realized he was in medal contention. They missed out on some great drama–and so did we.