Just a couple of videos I watched tonight that were worth sharing. You can't embed them; you've got to go to the NBC site and attest that you've got some local cable service before they'll let you watch. If you're outside the US and want to cheat, just say zip code 94518, Concord California, Comcast, and your local market is SF, and you should be allowed in.
Anyone following the Olympics has heard endlessly about Michael Phelps quest to win 8 golds in this games, which would break Mark Spitz's record of 7 from about 36 years ago. (They're calling Phelps' golds the "Great Haul of China." Yes, you may groan.) Phelps has already shattered the
lifetime gold medal total, with one event to go this year and firm plans to keep training and compete in 2012. Sure, the most career medals is sport-dependent; you've got to be a sprinter, a swimmer, or a gymnast to have a shot at it since you can pick up 4 or 5 per games in those sports. (The all time record of 18 total is by a female gymnast.) So sure, some sports have a chance to win multiple medals, but it's not like it's easy to be the best sprinter, swimmer, or gymnast in the world. Much less to do it twice, four years apart. Or thrice, eight years apart. You don't see too many Olympic champions in such sports past the age of about 25. Or 20, when it comes to female gymnastics these days. Or 14, when it comes to
the Chinese female gymnasts.
On the other hand, there are some sports that are finesse and precision based, and don't require the speed and strength only available from 20 year old lungs and legs. Check out
this Hungarian fencer. He won medals in 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960. Seven golds total, and if there had been Olympics in 1940 or 1944, his total would surely have been higher. I don't think we'll see Michael Phelps churning out 200m butterfly world records in his 50s. (Then again, a female US swimmer
qualified first for the women's 50m freestyle, and she's 41.)
Phelps has come out on top in two amazing races thus far.
The
mens 100m freestyle relay was widely-called the best relay race in the history of the Olympics. Phelps led off and the US team was in the lead after the second swimmer, but the third guy was slower and the 4th French swimmer was a rocket for the first 50m, and had damn near a body length lead. The annoying, screaming, jingoistic US announcer said, "The US should hold on for silver." with about 30m to go, since the French anchor swimmer was so far ahead. And then it started to look like he was dragging an anchor, his big lead shrank remarkably, and the US swimmer, Jason Lesak, just Jaws'ed him over the last half length of the pool and out a victory for the team by .08 seconds. Thus keeping alive Phelps' chances of setting the all time Olympic record of golds in a single games. You can not watch the last 30 seconds of the race without saying, "No way. No way!" as the huge lead fades and the crowd roars.
Phelps'
seventh gold came in an even closer race in the 100m butterfly, and one with perhaps an even more amazing finish. I just watched this one about five times, and I'm still not sure how he caught up. The Serbian swimmer was a good half body length ahead with about 25m to go, and he was swimming well. He didn't choke it away like the Frenchman in the freestyle relay. He was well ahead with just a meter to go! But he took his last stroke and glided for the wall, while Phelps took another full butterfly stroke and in the process of whipping his arms around he covered the last arm's length faster than the Serbian swimmer covered the last hand's length, and Phelps won by .01 seconds.
It looked like he lost. There was no way he won. Until they showed the super slow motion overhead camera, and you could see that yeah, he actually did it. How he didn't break his hands hitting the concrete wall of the pool at that speed, I don't know, but he just wanted it more than the Serbian guy, who had the lead and should have, by all rights, won it.
In non-video news, I was surprised to see that the Olympics is dropping women's softball after these games. Actually, I think I was surprised to see that women's softball was an Olympic sport at all, but it won't be after this month's festivities conclude. Some research informed me that softball was introduced in 1996, so this is only the 4th Games for it, and it looks like the American domination of it has spelled its doom. The US women lost a few games in the preliminary rounds in 1996, but still won the Gold. They went undefeated in 2000, and have really found their stride since then. In 2004 they won every game and outscored their opponents by a total of 51-1.
So far this time they're 5-0, and have won by scores of 11-0, 3-0, 7-0, 8-1, and 7-0. That's 36-1, if you're wondering, with 3 games yet to play.
I want to feel sorry for them losing their sport, but ehh... If
this sort of article is the best partisans can do to persuade me, I'm not shedding any tears. The big news in it is that the international softball federation is working to encourage people to play the game worldwide. They sent $2m total to 91 countries the last few years, to spread the game! Yes, that's two million dollars. To 91 countries. Over several years. Meanwhile there are probably 50 US universities that spend that much per year on their women's softball program.
If a sport isn't truly international, and one country always dominates it, I'm okay with it not being in the Olympics. There are plenty of odd sports in the Winter Olympics that are utterly unknown in most of the world (as is snow, which is why the Summer Olympics are such a bigger deal than the Winter), but so long as Norway, Sweden, Finland, and a few other Viking-esque countries are fighting furiously for the 10kg curling gold medal, that's cool. In retrospect, the US women would have been wiser to claim monthly issues and sit a few starters the last couple of times 'round. Would it have killed them to drop a couple of 3-2's to Japan and China in the preliminary rounds? I think not, and if they had they might still be underhand fast pitching and sliding into second in shorts in 2012 in Moscow, or wherever the hell the Olympics are next time.
Just to show I'm not only watching/following sports that the US wins (it's actually hard to find other ones with exciting finishes, since only the ones the US wins get written up on US sports sites, and I don't care enough to search widely, or sit through hours of odd sporting events through the online feeds),
check out the men's archery gold medal match. It features a Ukranian against a Korean, and try not to read the caption on the page if you click to it, since it's got an amazing surprise finish, with a choke by one guy and a clutch shot by the other. And since it's not a sport that was shown on US TV, there's no narration or interruption at all, which is nice after enduring that screaming idiot during the swimming. I'd much rather watch the direct camera feed from the arena, with the huge block of Korean fans chanting boisterous and well-rehearsed patriotic anthems between rounds.
Finally, speaking of things I'd much rather watch... hoofah. I defy any heterosexual male to make it through
this 1:13 of beach volleyball cheerleaders without your mouth sagging agape. Eight hot girls in matching bikinis and swiveling hips = sensory overload. They put the overly-costumed, grossly-cosmetic'ed, usually butter-faced cheerleaders you see at most pro sporting events to shame.
Labels: olympics, sports
