Last week I posted my Canadian Memorable Moments. I thought I would watch more on the weekend, but I was away, found out the results and really, my enthusiasm waned (except for Adam van Koeverden's silver medal race which I did watch in its entirety with the interview and medal ceremony). He is an inspiration when he wins and when he doesn't. He was so eloquent in his interviews. He wore his heart on his sleeve. On his website, he said that a great friend told him "Our time in the valleys helps us truly appreciate the views from the mountain tops". If he had been told before the Games that he would come home with a silver medal, he would have been disappointed. Having had a horrendous first race (for him), he truly appreciated the silver medal (even if he would have preferred gold).
I found out he won silver before I saw his race (if I had been home, I might have woken up at 3:30am to watch it live). I felt so sad for him. Then I saw the race. He's leading by a lot. The commentators are saying he's going to win, then the others start catching him (I'm thankful that I know he won't win so I don't get overly excited or disappointed). Then the resuts come up. First to Australia. Second to Great Britain. His shoulders slump. I can see his disappointment (he later says he's scared he won't be on the podium and will want to go and hide somewhere). Then they remove Great Britain and put his name for silver.
His reaction?
(not my photo)
So great to see him happy with silver when the country expected double gold. Also so great to see the country (and media) so happy for him with silver. I will never forget the Toronto Star article written by Jim Proudfoot (I remember his name to this day) when Brian Orser won the silver medal in 1988. I remember him using the word loser (which prompted many letters including one from me). A quick google search found that he labeled it "the ugliest defeat in the history of skating in Canada" - I had forgotten that one. Too bad Orser didn't lose in pairs the day before (or didn't see Kurt Browning not win a medal in 3 Olympics). Kurt would love Brian's silver. And thankfully Canada loves Adam's silver.
So my pre-Olympic favourite athletes: Adam silver, Simon Whitfield silver, Alexandre Despatie silver. Is silver my new favourite colour?
OK, this is supposed to be about my international highlights...so here goes.
Michael Phelps winning 8. The one in particular that sticks out for me was when the French relay team were winning by a lot. I'm watching this thinking the U.S. is going to lose (I mean they are so far behind with less than 25 metres to go) and I think, wow, I can't believe the news highlights aren't mentioning that the dream of 8 is gone (I was watching it recorded and had been on the internet so saw some headlines). As I am thinking that, the U.S. gets closer and closer and I am thinking "No way". I can not believe that the French lost that race. The French anchor (very experienced and did a lot of trash talking before the race) swam too close to the line and basically pulled the American along in his wake. It was difficult to feel sorry for that guy (after his earlier comments).
I have to add that I wrote this last week. On the weekend, relatives from the U.S. were talking about this race and how the Americans came back so brilliantly in this race. I had meant to ask if the U.S. commentators mentioned the French "mistake". The Canadian commentators definitely focused on the French losing rather than the Americans winning. It just reminds me of how different people see different things.
Usain Bolt wins the 100m - smashing Donovan Bailey's 1996 world record by 0.15 seconds while slowing down in the last 10 metres. How fast can this guy really run? Then he breaks the record by 0.02 in the 200m (running all the way this time).
Again, I have to add the American/Canadian point of view. Our Canadian commentators were very pro-Bolt. Donovan Bailey is a mentor/friend of Usain Bolt and he was one of our analysts. If I remember what I heard on the weekend correctly, NBC's coverage focused on Bolt's lack of sportsmanship and focused on his showmanship. Again, interesting to see a different perspective.
The Jamaican women...1-2-2 (yes you read that correctly - gold and two silvers) in the 100m. What a close race. Amazing that such a small country can dominate the sprints like it did.
David Neville diving for the finish line head-first winning the bronze medal for a U.S.A. medal sweep in the 400m track final.
Getting the news from my neighbours that Roger Federer won the men's doubles. I missed most of the tennis this time around. I normally love tennis, but my lack of time meant that I didn't spend hours watching anything (except the triathlon). If Federer had been in the singles battling for a medal, I would have made the time for tennis. Wish I had realized he was battling for a doubles medal. I would have tried to catch some of it.
I understand that these are not the Olympic highlights. They are MY Olympic highlights. There are many sports (and certain days) that I did not watch, so hopefuly you'll share your highlights (and check out my Canadian Memorable Moments post for Eco's highlights in the comments ).
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