An Olympic History

So for lack of any important news, I thought I'd discuss a brief history of the Olympics. It's a tradition that dates back over 2500 years, though certainly not in its present form. Thus, without further ado, I present: "An Olympic History."

The Ancient Olympics
The birth of the Olympiad was in Olympia, Greece, in the year 776 B.C.E. (forgive the political correctness). Depending on which myth you subscribe to, the origin of the Olympics was when Heracles (or Hercules) won a race at Olympia. Because of his athletic prowess, he decreed that the games should be held every four years. And they were--for nearly 1200 years--until it was stamped out by overzealous Christian rulers in the late Roman Empire. In any case, some of the events featured were running (several different lengths and styles), boxing, wrestling, and pentathlon (wrestling, a short sprint, long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw). It is interesting to note that while all 5 of the events remain in the Olympics, none of them are included in the modern pentathlon (the running race is now 3 miles, as opposed to about 200 yards...the only clear resemblance.

Rebirth
In 1896, less then 250 athletes from around the world gathered in Athens, Greece for the Games of the I Olympiad. Winners were given a silver medal and an olive branch. The United States won 11 gold medals, the most of any country. Events featured included swimming (in the open sea), gymnastics, wrestling, and cycling.

Four years later, in Paris 1900, women were allowed to compete for the first time. Some odd events in that games included pigeon shooting (imagine how that would go over today!), equestrian long jump, and a swimming obstacle course. The Games of the III Olympiad were the first to be featured in the United States, as they were held in St. Louis, and they were also the first to feature gold, silver, and bronze medals for first, second, and third places. The United States won 79 gold medals (the second-place countries--Germany, Canada, and Cuba--had 4 gold medals each), partly due to the fact that less than half of the events featured non-Americans.

The 1908 games in London featured winter events, though it would be 1924 (in Chamonix, France) that there would officially be a Winter Olympics. The 1916 Games were to be held in Berlin, Germany. Unfortunately, the first of two World Wars put the Olympics on the back burner, and this Olympiad was canceled. It was for the 1928 Amsterdam games that the Olympic flame was first lit, though it was Hitler's 1936 Berlin games that first featured a torch relay. For that reason, some feel that the dubious origins of that Olympic tradition merits its removal.

The 1932 Games were held in the height of the Great Depression in Los Angeles. Two demonstration sports, lacrosse and American football, were played here, though obviously, they have not continued. An interesting story about these games is that the Brazilian national team had 69 members who tried to compete. However, Brazil was so devastated from the Depression that they sent their athletes on barges with 25 tons of coffee to sell to ports as they went. They made only $24, far less than the $1 head tax for someone entering the United States. The Brazilian consulate in San Francisco, in a last-ditch effort, sent a check to Los Angeles originally worth about $45, but because the Brazilian currency was so devalued, it was only worth $17 by the time it reached Los Angeles. In any case, the check bounced, and only 24 Brazilian athletes were able to compete.

The 1940 Games (to be held in Tokyo and later, Helsinki) and the 1944 Games (to be held in London) were both canceled as a result of World War II in Europe. The 1936 Games had been tainted with the Nazi ideology, as Hitler and his party were trying to prove his idea of a master race. That Olympiad was also the same one that the African-American Jesse Owens won four gold medals with Adolph Hitler in attendance.

The Olympics During the Cold War
The first post World War II Olympiad was held in London in 1948. Four years later, a country from the USSR appeared in the Games, and Isarel also made its Olympic debut (they had been fighting a war of independence during the 1948 Games). The 1960 Games featured CBS broadcasting the events in the United States from Rome for a sum of $394,000. Four years later, when the Games were in Tokyo, the events broadcast were the first to be broadcast over the Pacific, as it used a geostationary satelite.

The 1972 Games in Munich was overshadowed by the tragedy that happened. 11 Israeli athetes were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists. An attempt to extract the hostages failed, and all 11 Israelis were killed. 5 of the 8 Palestianian terrorist were killed, and 2 others were later reportedly killed by the Mossad. The other remains alive and in hiding to this day. This also happened to be the year that Mark Spitz won his seven gold medals--a feat that will certainly be in jeopardy this year in Beijing.

The 1976, 1980, and 1984 Games were all marked by boycotts. Taiwan boycotted the 1976 Games in Montreal because Canada recognized mainland China as a country. The 1980 Games in Moscow were boycotted by the United States and its allies as result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviets retaliated in 1984 by boycotting the Los Angeles games, though with much less success (Romania, part of the Soviet bloc, competed, and Communist People's Republic of China competed for the first time). 1984 was the first time that Dara Torres, a member of the 2008 United States Olympic Team, competed at the Olympics.

I suppose it's hard to believe that I was born during the Cold War, but since I was born before the Berlin Wall fell and before the breakup of the Soviet Union, the 1988 Games in Seoul (ending less than two weeks before I was born) still qualify as an Olympiad during the Cold War. It was the largest contingent of countries in Olympic history (160), and featured much less of the boycotts that had stained the previous three Olympiads.

Olympics in Recent Times
The 1992 Barcelona Games featured the United States "Dream Team" in basketball: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Larry Bird. Obviously, they brought home the gold medal. The 1996 Games in Atlanta are the first that I remember, so for me, these events are less history and more experience (if indeed there is a difference). In any case, the past three Olympics, 2000 in Sydney, and 2004 in Athens, all have moments that are etched on our memories: Kerri Strug's one foot landing, Michael Johnson's sweep of the 200 and 400, Ian Thorpe of Australia and his impressive two golds in one night, Michael Phelps' eight medals, Paul Hamm's victory in the men's gymnastics all-around (a first for the Americans), etc.

One can hope--and even expect--that the Beijing Olympics this year will be no less spectacular than any of its predecessors. The modern Olympics have been played for over a century now, and yet it has lost none of its spectacle. In fact, it has vaulted from humbled beginnings in Paris to the grand world stage it now is.

The Olympic Trials in Review

So here's a list of my top 10 events that occurred at this year's Olympic Trials:

1. Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff: Each had five chances to make it to Beijing. Each succeeded in all 5. Phelps will go for 8 golds (including three relays), and leaves Omaha undefeated in all his races. Hoffwill compete for 6 golds, and is the "female Phelps".
   
2. Dara Torres: at 41, setting an American record and qualifying in 2 events as the oldest swimmer to make the US Olympic team
   
3. Tyson Gay (1): He ran the fastest (wind-aided) 100m dash in history at 9.68 seconds
4. Brendan Hansen: A month ago, Hansen was the world record in the 200m breastroke until Kosuke Kitajima took it away. Hansen wound up 4th in this event, and will have one shot at Olympic gold in the 100
   
5. Tyson Gay (2): Unfortunately, the world champion in the 200m dash isn't going to be competing for a medal in that event, since he fell during the quarterfinals of the 200m dash and strained his hamstring
   
6. Cullen Jones: is the first fully African-American to make the US Olympic Team in a long white-dominated sport. Perhaps we'll see the first African-American president this year too.
   
7. Aaron Piersol: The Texan backstroker set one world record and tied another in his two events to lock up those two events in Beijing. There's no doubt
   
8. Jeremy Wariner: Heavily favored to win, he placed second in the finals of the 400m dash. He will, however, make the Olympic team and look to break Michael Johnson's record in that race.
   
9. Gary Hall, Jr.: One of the most interesting swimming figures, missed the Olympics completely after not placing in the top two in the 5om freestyle.
   
10. Elaine Breeden: For me, this is easily the biggest event (and so a good one to end on), since she qualified in both the 100m and 200m butterfly

I'm biased, and lots of other great stuff happened. Both the Track and Field and the Swimming teams for the United States look very strong headed to Beijing, and despite a couple setbacks, we should do very well in the premier sports of the Games. It's going to be awesome!

The final weekend of Olympic Trials

Well, here are a few notes regarding the Olympic Trials. First, if you've missed it all week, it's going to be shown live tonight on NBC from 5pm to 6pm (Track and Field) and from 8pm to 9pm (Swimming). Tonight will feature the finals of the men's 50m freestyle, the finals of the men's 100m butterfly (Michael Phelps' last race of the trials), the semifinals of the women's 50m freestyle, the finals of the women's 200m backstroke and the finals of the women's 800 freestyle.

Last night was quite a spectacle at Trials. Michael Phelps set the world record in the finals of the men's 200m IM, with Ryan Lochte swimming a close second less than a half hour after getting out-touched at the wall by Aaron Piersol in the 200m backstroke. "Out-touched" is perhaps a misnomer, since Piersol beat Lochte by 0.02 seconds. Piersol tied the world record in that event--the world record also held by Ryan Lochte. Dara Torres took second place in the women's 100m freestyle. It will be her fifth Olympics, which is incredible to begin with. However, it's even more incredible when you consider that she's skipped two Olympics since her first Olympics in 1984 (the 1996 games in Atlanta and the 2004 games in Athens). She is 41 years old (with a 2-year-old daughter as well). The word "supermom" takes a whole new meaning.

It's been a fantastic week watching the Olympic Trials (especially for me!), and it looks like the United States will bring a very strong contingent of athletes to Beijing in swimming, led by the versatile swimmers Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Katie Hoff, and Natalie Coughlin.

In other (non-Olympic) sports news, the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, met in the ladies' finals of Wimbledon, with Venus winning the first two sets to claim the match and her fifth win at Wimbledon. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play tomorrow for the gentlemen's title. Also, the Tour de France starts today.

Anyway, I may have one more post about Olympic Trials, but in the next month before the Olympics start, I'll try to keep this blog updated with interesting tidbits about the Olympics, Beijing, and the United States Olympic Team.

UPDATE Tyson Gay, the defending world champion in the 200m dash, will not be going to Beijing in that event. He went down running in the quarterfinals of that event after suffering what looks to be a severe cramp. He has already qualified in the 100m dash, but the severity of the injury is not known, and it's possible he might not make it to Beijing. However, at this point, that doesn't look likely.

Day 5 at the Olympic Trials

Well, tonight is the fifth night of the Olympic trials, and the night that Elaine will try to secure her second spot on the United States Olympic team. Standing in her way will be Mary Descensa, Kathleen Hersey, and Kim Vandenburg, all very capable swimmers. I'll be updating this blog throughout the evening, so stay tuned. Elaine's event will be broadcast live on USA, or you can watch it online. This link will have the video posted at 8pm eastern.

As a recap, earlier today Michael Phelps placed second overall in the prelims of the 200 IM, an event that he holds the world record in. Rebecca Soni recorded the top time in the 200m breastroke, and 3-time Olympian Amanda Beard placed third. The semifinals for both events will be tonight, and the finals tomorrow night. The finals for the 100m freestyle will also be tonight, as will the finals for the men's 200m breastroke, featuring Brendan Hansen, who will try to take back Kosuke Kitajima's month-old world record. In any case, tonight should be a good night for swimming!

UPDATE Congratulations to Elaine Breeden!! She won the 200m butterfly, and will be heading to Beijing in three events--both the 100m and 200m butterfly as well as the 4x100 medley relay. In other updates, Lochte and Piersol look to be going strong for the 200 backstroke tomorrow night. Lochte is also going against Phelps in the 200 IM, both of whom easily won their semifinal heats. Cullen Jones, the first African-American to hold a world record, qualified for the 4x100 freestyle relay. Dara Torres moved to the finals with one of the top times in the 100m freestyle with her old school underwater technique. The shocker of the night was Brendan Hansen, the world record holder a month ago in the 200m breastroke, missing out on the Olympics in that event. Assuredly, the Japanese are celebrating, as Hansen is the biggest threat to Kitajima bringing home gold in the 200m breaststroke.

In any case, it looks like we've got a swimming schedule chock full of great events, from the semifinals of the men's 200m IM, the finals of the men's 100m freestyle, the finals of the women's 200m butterfly, and the 4x200 women's freestyle relay. It looks like it'll be a great trip!!!

Day 4 of the Olympic Trials

Well, we've seen a solid start to the morning prelims in Omaha. In the men's 100m freestyle, one of the toughest events of the competition, Jason Lezak set the American record in his heat. Garrett Weber-Gale followed in the next heat by resetting the American record. In the next and final heat, Michael Phelps was 0.14 seconds away from Weber-Gale's record. Quite a start! Phelps' coach said that he won't be swimming in the semifinals tonight in order to focus on the finals of the 200m butterfly.

The next race, the prelims of the women's 200m butterfly, saw a very fast set of results, as the cutoff for the semifinals was at 2:12:58. Elaine Breeden had the fastest time of the field with 2:07:72, besting Tanya Chrisman's second place time by a full 1.26 seconds. To view the prelims of future events, go here. Tonight the semifinals of this event will be broadcast simultaneously on USA and online. I'll try to post the link to the live video feed as soon as it's up. In addition to finals in the men's 200 butterfly, the semifinals of the women's 200 butterfly, Brendan Hansen will swim in the semifinals of the 200 breastroke, with the finals Thursday night.

UPDATE This page should have a link to the live video of the Olympic Trials, starting at 8pm eastern.

UPDATE 2 This page takes you straight to the video feed from Omaha. Go Elaine!

UPDATE 3 Elaine Breeden lowered the personal best she set this morning by recording a 2:07:33 in the second semifinal of the 200m butterfly. She'll take the top seed in tomorrow evening's final. Congrats, Elaine, and good luck tomorrow night!!