I really got into the Olympics this year. It has always been something of a personal tradition. The opening ceremonies were very memorable with the finale to light the torch: Great finish! However, I think the chase by Phelps for 8 made this one especially worth watching. I was so fired up by the men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay. It was one for the ages. I found a great article on the race to give some perspective on the historic nature of the race. It is here. The best part was that the smack-talking Frenchman, Alain Bernard, got a nice plate of crow served up. Basically, he said that the French team came to ”smash” the Americans. Well, it didn’t work out that way this year; what a classic race!! The full race is here.
Regarding Phelps, it was great to follow the 8-gold saga. Probably, the more exciting finish was in the 100 meter butterfly race. Given today’s technology it really is possible (along with the 1/100 th photos) to believe a 0.01 margin of victory. That was a fantastic finish! The whole of the swimming part of the olympics really has given me a picture of how dominant the US is in swimming.
Great fun!
