Trials Update and Odd Olympic Events

This blog is about the selection process for the Olympic teams we hope to see win gold in Beijing this summer. For the four events we're going to, none of them have yet decided their full Olympic teams. We're a little over four months out from the opening ceremonies, and it may be surprising that we have relatively few people officially guaranteed a spot on the team, but it makes sense, because a lot can happen in a short period of time, and the United States wants to go to the Olympics with the team at its absolute peak. The second part is a listing of a few random Olympic games that we will not be watching, but which nonetheless caught my attention as interesting or odd.

Olympic Trials Update
For the swimming events, the Olympic trials will be held June 29 to July 6 in Omaha, Nebraska. For the athletic events, are held from June 27 to July 6 in Eugene, Oregon. Both will be huge events, coinciding nicely with the July 4 holiday weekend.

For the traithlon events, selection is slightly more complicated there are three events that will decide who goes to the Olympics:

• The Beijing ITU World Cup (completed last September), with Laura Bennett and Jarrod Shoemaker earning automatic bids
• The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will be on April 19, and the top finisher will earn an automatic bid
• The The 2008 USA Team Selection Event in Des Moines, Iowa, will be in June, and will help decide the third at-large member of the US Olympic team

For the rowing events, it becomes even more complicated. Events are divided into "Big Boats" and "Small Boats," and then qualified and unqualified boats. All 6 big boats qualified at the World Championships last year in Munich, Germany, and their crews will be announced by late June. All but three of the small boats qualified as well. The three that did not qualify have another chance this June in Poznan, Poland. In order to get there there will be a trial in West Windsor, New Jersey in May. Trials for crews are a slightly complicated process of several trials, including the World Cup and one or two trials in New Jersey. In any case, the US Olympic rowing team will be known by the end of June.

Weird Olympic Events
Imagine devoting your life to training for an event or sport that no one has heard of. Well, here, in this obscure blog, I will share the limelight with (fittingly) obscure Olympic events:

1. Racewalking: It comes in men's 20km, men's 50km, and women's 20km. You are required to walk the entire distance (i.e., one foot must be on the ground at all times). The top 20 (out of 30) times for these events are held by people from either Russia (or the Soviet Union, since one time was recorded in 1989) or China.
2. Triple Jump: This event is exactly as it sounds: you jump three times without a start, and you see how far you can get. It's also known as "Hop, Step, and Jump." The father of former Ohio State basketball star Mike Conley, Jr. was a standout in this event.
   
3. Steeplechase: This event is running through an obstacle course. Training begins at Vacation Bible School.
4. Modern Pentathlon: It used to be javelin throwing, discus throwing, sprinting, and the long jump. But that was ancient times and we've moved beyond that to swimming, fencing, pistol shooting, cross-country running, and swimming. How...modern...and civilized! It's supposed to be based on abilities needed by soldiers. Perhaps the IOC should consider Humvee driving, machine gun firing, supersonic jet flying, night vision goggling, and target choosing. Or to make it more cost effective, borrow a playbook from the Navy SEAL training program.
   
5. Windsurfing: One question. How do you win windsurfing?
   
6. Table Tennis: The names of several Olympic gold medalists: Ryu Seung-Min, Chen Qi, Ma Lin, Zhang Yining, Wang Nan (in Athens). The only non-Chinese/Korean to win Olympic gold in this "sport" is Jan-Ove Waldner of Sweden. The Chinese have won 16 out of 20 gold medals since its inception in 1988. Behold! The great Chinese dynasty of...Ping Pong! Too bad this wasn't an Olympic event when Forrest Gump was around.
   
7. Beach Volleyball: The only reason why this gets airtime are well-toned (and tanned) athletes in skimpy bathing suits. No one cares about the sport*.

So come August, NBC will be airing converage of high-flying gynmasts, Michael Phelps (assuredly in both his events and during the commericial breaks), high-speed track races, and perhaps a couple slightly more obscure events. Look for hints of the previous 7 events. It's doubtful many Americans will medal in those events, but August will be the closest these events get to having national attention.

*I realize some people do care about this sport, and I apologize to you for the gross generalization.