From Beijing: Day 3

So here's the big question. Was Tyson Gay able to fend off his Jamaican rivals, Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt? Was there a new world record in the 100m dash at National Stadium tonight? In other words, who won the 100 meter dash??? Well, read on if you want to know now. Otherwise, wait until tonight to watch it on NBC. In any case, you have fair warning about the "spoilers" coming. I guess that's the problem of having to air an event like the 100m dash during prime time in the US, when Beijing is 12 hours ahead of the East Coast.

Tonight should be an amazing night on television. Not only do you have the 100m dash, but Michael Phelps goes for gold medal number eight (and world record number seven) live. Also, Dara Torres will look to bring home gold in the 50m freestyle, and the women's 4x100m medley relay will look to take gold from the heavily favored Aussies.

If you live in a cave, you might want to know that swimmer Michael Phelps is completing one of the greatest feats in all of the history of sports. He's going for eight gold medals in a single Olympics, a feat never done before. What makes it more impressive is that he set world records in his first six events (and doubtless, the world record in the 4x100 medley relay will be broken too). He certainly has a knack for making it spectular, first with the 4x100m freestyle relay, which ended in a photo finish against the heavily-favored and smack-talking French, and second by outtouching Serbian Milorad Cavic by a single hundredth of a second in the 100m butterfly. The rest are simply new world records. He is quite possibly the greatest athlete we've ever seen. In any case, his 2008 Olympics end tomorrow morning in Beijing.

Now, what did happen in the 100m dash? Toward the beginning of the evening, they raced in the semifinals. Walter Dix easily made it through to the finals, as did all three Jamaicans (including world record holder Usain Bolt and former world record holder Asafa Powell). In the second heat, Tyson Gay came in fifth in his heat. Only the top four advance, and America's best hope in the 100m was dashed. After enduring shot put, javelin throwing, long jump qualifying rounds, and several preliminary races of varying lengths (including five heats of women's heptathlon 800m races), we came to the Olympics' marquee event, the 100m dash.

Usain Bolt started out fast--very fast, and was clearly in control of the entire race, and won easily. What made his victory so special was not how he won, but how fast he won: 9.69 seconds, a new world record. Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago won second, and American Walter Dix kept the Americans on the podium for the third straight Olympics.

Seeing the Bird's Nest Stadium was truly spectacular, especially at night (I finally got a picture put up of the stadium at night). In fact, the entire Olympic Green lit up at night is quite specacular. Indeed, the design can only truly be appreciated when seen in person.

I'm watching my battery life slowly disinigrate, and as I have three more days in Beijing, I must sign off for now. Good night from Beijing!