This past week allowed for a pretty significant change as well—a complete shift in the reputation of the world’s greatest Olympian, Michael Phelps.

Following his 2008 campaign that yielded 8 gold medals, the Baltimore native lacked motivation.  He admits that for about two months, he didn’t care about swimming and let go a bit, gaining around 20 pounds and losing the menacing figure that vaulted him atop the podium so many times before.

It was this same mentality that would produce a candid photo of Phelps using a bong in January of 2009 and lead the public to question even more if this “champion,” who was never a very charismatic interviewer and now dabbled in casually “testing his swimming lungs,” was really worthy of all the hero worship.

The scruff sort of became a symbol of Phelps’s fall from greatness.

To add insult to brain cell injury, Ryan Lochte, a former standout at the University of Florida who won two gold and two bronze medals in Beijing, was now stealing Phelps’s thunder in the swimming world.

The reason for Phelps’s imminent dethroning was work ethic—while Phelps was being called out as a slacker by friends, family and even long-time coach Bob Bowman, the public was becoming giddy watching YouTube videos of Ryan Lochte flipping massive truck tires and swimming against the resistance of giant bungee cords.

In the summer of 2011, the theory proved to be correct, as Lochte won five golds at the World Championships in Shanghai to Phelps’s four, but more impressively defeated him in the 200 individual medley, a race which Phelps simply didn’t lose in his performances as a more fit swimmer.

Reputations once again held as the lights turned on in London and the 400 individual medley ended with Lochte atop the podium, and an “unprepared, out of shape” Phelps in a pressroom trying to explain how fourth was even possible.

Then things started to change.

On Sunday night, Lochte was handed a body-length lead over France’s Yannick Agnel in the 4X100 freestyle relay but couldn’t convert, earning his team a silver medal.  Lochte was visibly upset following the race and his confidence would never recover.

Monday brought Phelps’s first loss in the 200-meter butterfly in over a decade, but silver was certainly better than Lochte’s failure to medal in a loaded 200-meter freestyle final.

On Thursday, Phelps erased all the speculation of his fall from grace, beating Lochte in a highly publicized 200-meter individual medley final.

The greatest Olympian who ever lived would end his Olympics with four gold medals and two silver medals to bring his career total to 22; many speculate this medal record will never be broken.

Lochte finished with two gold medals (one individual), two silvers and a bronze—hardly the Olympic resume of a man who accepted praise as Michael Phelps’s successor.

Retiring after his final swim, it was amazing to see some of the personal transformations Phelps has made.

Rr…rrr….rob the jewelry store and tell ‘em give me the gold. Thanks, Nelly.

Humble, relaxed and nostalgic were three words we never thought we’d use to describe him in interviews, but sure enough, Phelps articulately told Andrea Kremer of NBC how excited he was just to be competing and that he was thrilled he was going to be able to pass the torch of Olympic greatness onto such a talented group of young American swimmers.

Public perception of Lochte, on the other hand, has worsened over the last week; failing to make good on Phelpsian promises, sporting a $25,000 patriotic grill and frequently maintaining close encounters of an un-bloggable kind in the Olympic Village were all reports of Lochte that made us realize just how unique the redefined Michael Phelps is.

After the huge transformation this week has allowed us to witness, it’s only fitting that 2016 will find Phelps retired with his same Olympic record, while the promiscuous Lochte will once again be pursuing Olympic greatness in the lively city of Rio de Janeiro…cough.

If there is one Canadian Summer Olympian I have ever looked up to the most in my entire life it would be triathlete, Simon Whitfield. He was my inspiration after his silver medal win at Beijing 2008 Games to push and strive for more as I represented Team Canada in the 2009 Maccabiah Games Triathlon in Israel. Since his Gold medal in Sydney 2000 he has inspired all Triathletes in the country to make it big! Although my dreams ended short, @SimonWhitfield‘s is not over! He lead the entire country into the stadium on July 27th during the opening ceremonies carrying the flag for Canada and will undoubtably strike the podium one last time during his final Olympics on Race day, August the 7th! Simon, count me in on being in front of my television with Canadian flag screaming GO GO GO!! Everyone be sure to follow him and send him you’re good luck’s, love, and support via Twitter and don’t forget to hashtag #OlympicHeroes! Learn more about @SimonWhitfield by watching the video below!

I believe the Lightweight Men’s Four won Silver in a fantastically fought Race over at Eton Dorney to start the day off with a bang.

GB Shooter Peter Robert Russell Wilson wins GOLD in Double trap coached by Prince Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai’s Royal Family. I hope that the funding will continue after all the issues British Shooting had to go through after Beijing 2008.

Tim Baillie/Etienne Scott  & David Florence/Richard Hounslow win GOLD & Silver in Canoe Slalom C2 first ever C2 medals, beating the best C2 Crew in history from Slovakia, even though they believed the course was a bit easy.

David Cameron was seen locked in talks, with Vladimir Putin (Judo Black Belt) while watching, US Judoka Kayla Harrison wins GOLD against our Girl Gemma Gibbons. Russia got GOLD in the Men’s under 100kg division, a little smile spread across the Premier’s face.

Andrew Murray was a double winner today, singles in straight sets and likewise in the Mixed D’s with Miss Robson…. There is a GOLD here somewhere….

Welcome to the Pleasure-dome (Oops, Velodrome)

The UCI have been given full information from Team GB Cycling, including The Secret Squirrel Club, Rubber Suits (banned after Beijing) and what these “Hot Pants” courtesy of TeamGB’s quaintly named “The Marginal Gains Team” really are for. We don’t want any complaints after the malarkey we had after Beijing. So the first day in the Velodrome gave us, GB Gold’s, World Records, 2 Relegations, a dubious crash and a “Knight of the Realm” in tears…again. Jess Varnish & Victoria Pendleton were relegated by the Cycling Commissaries, for passing to early, bloody 15m Rule… Do not worry the Chinese followed, giving the German’s GOLD and the BBC a lesson in German Diction!

In the Team Sprint Sir Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny & 19 yr old Philip Hines win GOLD

Do the Maths – WR 42.747 + WR 42.600 = GOLD

In the Team Pursuit Ed Clancy, Stephen Burke, Geraint Thomas, Peter Kennaugh are so fast they knock 8/10^th of a second off the World Record and qualify for the Finals.

WR 3.52,499 = Finals

Over in the Gymnastics, The Flying Squirrel, 16 yrs old, Gabby Douglas, wooed the crowds with a GOLD medal performance for the USA. GB finishes 13^th & 24th.

GB Boxer Anthony Ogogo beat Ukrainian World Champion after a count back and what can only be called a Lucky Dip.

Ben Ainslie ramps up the stress in the Finn Class Sailing, after a Dane & Dutchmen try to “Press Gang” our Brit. Ben spoke out about such ungentlemanly conduct, their methods and won’t stand for such skullduggery on the Open Seas around Weymouth. Many choice words were exchanged.

Finn Classer’s beware, “Don’t make Ben Angry, you won’t like Ben Angry”

“The Duel in the Pool” went to Phelps, after some last minutes tips from the US President, GB swimmers all did well, but not with metallic reward, Becky’s 800m Freestyle is tomorrow night (Day 7)

US Men’s Dream Team hit 156 points to 73 from Nigeria to set an Olympic points record. GB nearly caused a shock, but finally lost by a point to Spain’s NBA All-stars. Putin arrived at the Basketball to see Russia behind with 2 seconds left, the 3 Pointer to win, took the roof off the Arena and a another smile to Vlad’s face…

Vezzali wins Gold again that is nine Medals for the Italian Swords-tress

Post Boxes going Gold all over the Great British Isles… check out our GB Hero’s on a Royal Mail Stamp.

Some rules are made to make life difficult for dominant Nations including, Table Tennis again China, Cycling against Great Britain and Swimming against Australia.

Who is next?

Please check out: Australia, Suck it Up, Gold’s will come

www.tourofbritain.com starts in September… Get on your Bike

Later

Rich

Sir Chris Hoy

Hoy at the parade in London to celebrate the achievements of British competitors at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Christopher Andrew Hoy
Nickname	The Real McHoy[1]
Born	23 March 1976 (age 36) Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Weight	92 kg (200 lb; 14.5 st)[2]
Team information
Current team	Sky Track Cycling
Discipline	Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Amateur team(s)
1984–1986 1986–1991 1992–1993 1994–2001 2001–2003 2004 2005–2007	Scotia BMX GT Factory BMX Team Dunedin CC City of Edinburgh RC Team Athena Team Persil Team Wolfson Microelectronics / Miller
Professional team(s)
2008–	Team Sky+ HD
Medal record[show]

Sir Christopher Andrew “Chris” Hoy, MBE (born 23 March 1976 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish track cyclist representing Great Britain and Scotland. He is a multiple world champion and five-time Olympic Games gold medal winner. With his three gold medals in Beijing 2008, Hoy became Scotland’s most successful Olympian,^[3] the first Briton to win three gold medals in a single Olympic games since Henry Taylor, in 1908, and the second most successful Olympic cyclist and British Olympian of all time, after Bradley Wiggins.

Education and early life

Hoy was educated at George Watson’s College, a Scottish independent school in Edinburgh,^[4] followed by the University of St Andrews in 1996. He subsequently transferred to the University of Edinburgh, from where he graduated B.Sc. (Hons.) in Applied Sports Science in 1999.

Hoy was inspired to cycle at age six by the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.^[5] Before track cycling, Hoy raced BMX between the ages of 7 and 14 and was ranked second in Britain, fifth in Europe, and ninth in the world. He received sponsorship from Slazenger and Kwik-Fit, and was competing in Europe and the U.S. Hoy also rowed for the Scottish junior team, coming second in the 1993 British championship with Grant Florence in the coxless pairs. He played rugby as part of his school’s team.^[6]

Hoy joined his first cycling club, Dunedin C.C., in 1992, and began concentrating on track cycling in 1994, when he joined the City of Edinburgh Racing Club.^[6]

Achievements

Hoy at the 2008 World Championships in Manchester

1999–2007 career

The Kilo and the Team Sprint

Hoy’s main events were the 1 km Time Trial, known as the Kilo, and the Team Sprint. It was in the Team Sprint that he collected his first World Championship medal, a Silver in 1999. This event involved the three riders, a simultaneous standing start, completing three laps of the 250 m track, with one rider taking the front for each lap and then dropping out. Hoy usually rides as the third man in this event, completing the closing lap. Regular team mates in the Team Sprint over the years have included Craig Maclean, Ross Edgar, Jamie Staff, Jason Queally, Matthew Crampton and Jason Kenny. The team’s first World Title came in 2002, in the Ballerup Velodrome, Copenhagen. Hoy also won the Kilo title the same year beating Arnaud Tournant by 1/1000 of a second. A medal has been achieved in the Team Sprint each year since at the World Championships, including a further Gold in 2005. The team’s regular opponents in recent years have been the French team.

Hoy was also the world’s best 1 km Time Trial rider for a number of years, before ceasing to ride the event when it was removed from the Olympic programme after the 2004 games. This is a raw power sprinting event, which involves the rider covering one kilometre (four laps) as fast as possible from a standing start. His first World Title came in this event in 2002, followed by further titles in 2004, 2006 and 2007. He won the event at the 2004 Olympics, his first Olympic title.

Post-2004 Olympics

Following the decision to remove the Kilo from the Olympic programme after the 2004 games, Hoy sought to develop in other events.^[7] The first of these was the Keirin. This event involves between six and eight riders following a small motorbike (the Derny) around the 250m track for 5.5 laps, as the bike slowly builds up the speed. The bike pulls off with 2.5 laps to go and it is an all out fight for the line. Hoy had previously competed at the Keirin in various events but one of his first major successes was at the Manchester round of the World Cup Classics Series in 2007, shortly before the World Championships. His victory in this event carried forward into the World Championships and he came home first to take the title, ahead of team mate Ross Edgar.

This was a milestone for Hoy as it showed he was developing from just a pure power sprinter, in events like the Kilo and Team Sprint, into also being one of the best in the world at more tactical sprinting events like the Keirin^[8] and the Sprint.

2007 world record attempt

On May 12th 2007, Hoy attempted the world record for the kilometre. He fell 0.005 seconds short, clocking 58.880. He set a record for the 500m flying start at 24.758 seconds, over a second less than the 25.850 set by Arnaud Duble. Hoy set the sea-level kilometre record of 1 minute 0.711 seconds by winning the Olympics in Athens in 2004. The outright record of 58.875 seconds is held by Arnaud Tournant (France), set during 2001 at altitude in La Paz, Bolivia, where Hoy also attempted to break the record. Only 3 sub-60sec kilos have ever been ridden, Hoy recorded two of these over two days in La Paz.^[9]

Hoy’s main achievement is his development in the individual sprint event considered to be the blue riband event of track cycling.^[10] Kilo riders like Hoy have historically not fared as well at this event, as they were less experienced in the tactical elements required for the sprint. Previously, Hoy had competed in the sprint at various World Cup events and Revolution meetings in Manchester, but it was not one of his main events and he did not compete in it at the World Championships or the Olympics. In the semi finals Hoy defeated Italian veteran Roberto Chiappa 2–0, to set up a meeting in the final against France’s Kevin Sireau. Sireau was the World Cup Classics points winner for the season and had defeated Hoy 2–0 in their previous meeting only a few weeks earlier. However with the vocal Manchester crowd behind him Hoy was not to be denied victory and he completed the win 2–0, the first British man to win the sprint title in 52 years since Reg Harris.

2008 Olympics

Hoy started the year by winning the sprint and the Keirin and collecting team sprint silver in the World Championships held on home soil in Manchester.

Hoy became the first British Olympian for 100 years to claim three golds at one games at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. This came when he won the men’s keirin, the men’s team sprint and also the men’s individual sprint.^[11]

The three man team sprint squad included Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Jamie Staff. Jason Kenny replaced Ross Edgar just before the games. They defeated the French by a clear margin, despite the French team’s previous dominance of the event.

The keirin was Hoy’s second gold medal of the 2008 games, when he came home clear winner ahead of team mate Ross Edgar.

Hoy reached the final round of the individual sprint without a glitch, where his opponent turned out to be his young team mate, Jason Kenny. Kenny was a junior world champion who had achieved a number of high placings. Hoy used his greater experience to defeat Kenny, completing his hat trick of Olympic titles.

2008/09 track season

Hoy did not race at the first major event of the 2008/09 season, the World Cup Classics Event in Manchester on 31 October – 2 November. He instead made an appearance to sign autographs and commentate with the BBC. He made his return to racing in the UK at the Revolution 22 event in Manchester in December. He received a standing ovation from the Manchester faithful at the start of the event when he was introduced to the crowd.^[12] At this event Hoy won both the Sprint and Keirin competitions, defeating likes of Jason Kenny, Jamie Staff, Ross Edgar, Matthew Crampton and Teun Mulder along the way. Hoy competed in the World Cup Classics series’ final event in Copenhagen, Denmark in February, helping his team to a gold medal in the team sprint event. However, he crashed out during the men’s Keirin final and was forced to miss the final day of competition, including the men’s sprint. Although at first, his injury seemed minor, he returned to Manchester where, following a scan, he was diagnosed with a serious de-gloving injury which finished his season and kept him off his bike for almost 3 months.^[13] He was unable to compete as planned at the Revolution 24 event in Manchester the following weekend, he did however make an appearance at the event. He has had to pull out of the World Championships in Poland at the end of March, where he would have attempted to win 2 World titles, because of the hip injury.^[14]

2009/10 track season

Hoy started the 09/10 track season at the National Cycling Centre, Manchester at the British National Championships where he took only his second (and third) ever individual national titles. He took gold medals in the Keirin, Sprint and was part of the Team Sprint Team representing team SKY along with Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny. Two weeks later, he raced in round one of the UCI World Cup at the same venue and took gold in the Mens Keirin. He then went into day 2 of the competition and took gold in the sprint event, beating fellow Brit Matthew Crampton in the final 2–0. A third World Cup gold came in the Team Sprint on the Sunday. Having ridden and won 12 events over the weekend, he withdrew from the International Japanese Keirin which was consequently won by team mate Matt Crampton. At the 2010 UCI World Championships, Hoy was beaten in the quarter final of the men’s sprint event by his German opponent, Robert Förstemann, who won after making an attack from the start line. He was part of the GB men’s team sprint that took the bronze. In the Keirin event, Hoy won the gold medal, despite crashing in the heats, to take his tenth world title.^[15]

2010/11 track season

Hoy lost in the first round of the men’s sprint at the European Championships to Ireland’s Felix English. At the Manchester World Cup event in February 2011, Hoy lost in the semi-finals to Jason Kenny.^[16] Hoy took the match sprint title at the British National Championships in October 2011.^[17]

2011/12 track season

At the 2012 World Cup event held in the new London Velodrome, Hoy won three medals. He won gold in the keirin and bronze in the team sprint, before winning gold in the Men’s Sprint, losing just one race in four rounds. ^[18]

Honours

Hoy was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) “for services to cycling” in the 2005 New Year Honours.^[19]

On 26 November 2008, Hoy was named as Sportsman of the Year by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Great Britain, winning a ballot of its membership ahead of Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie.

On 14 December 2008, Hoy was also named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He finished ahead of Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington. Hoy became the second cyclist ever to win the award after Tommy Simpson in 1965.^[20]

Hoy was knighted in the 2009 New Year Honours “for services to Sport”.^[21]

In June 2009, Hoy was inducted to the University of Edinburgh‘s Sports Hall of Fame.^[22]

Train operating company SouthEastern named a high-speed Class 395 train after him.^{[citation needed]}

The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, is named in his honour.

Honorary degrees

• 2005 — Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Edinburgh
• 2009 — Honorary Doctor of Science, University of St Andrews^[23]

2012 Olympics

Hoy is an ambassador for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the Scottish National Velodrome being built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is to be named in his honour.^[11] Sir Chris Hoy heads Britain’s cycling team for London Olympics 2012.^[24] He was also chosen to carry the flag for Great Britain at the opening ceremony of the London Games. He also claimed a new world record in the mens team sprint finals.

Personal life

Hoy is married to Lady Sarra Kemp, a lawyer from Edinburgh.^[25] They were engaged on 11 April 2009. They were married on 17 April 2010 at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh.^[26] They now live in Salford, Greater Manchester, close to the National Cycling Centre’s velodrome.^[27] He supports his hometown football team Heart of Midlothian.

Bibliography

Hoy is the subject of a book by Richard Moore, Heroes, Villains and Velodromes: Chris Hoy and Britain’s Track Cycling Revolution, published in June 2008 by Harper Collins. (ISBN 9780007265312)

Hoy’s autobiography, Chris Hoy: the Autobiography, was published by Harper Collins in October 2009. (ISBN 9780007311316)

Medal history

See also

• Scotland at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
• Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ~1 Corinthians 9:24

It’s Olympics time! You can bet my husband and I have enjoyed watching much of the coverage of the Olympics each evening. I love the suspense and drama of the international competition. One of the most thrilling dramas happened in the swimming pool as a follow up to leftover drama from the Beijing 2008 Olympics. In 2008, the American men stunned the French in the 4x100m freestyle relay as Jason Lezak overtook Alain Bernard just as they touched the wall. It was an unbelievable comeback, one of the most memorable and exciting moments in Olympic history.

Naturally, with such a memory lingering, the stage was set for London’s 4x100m free to be a grudge match. The only complicating factor was that neither the USA nor France were actually supposed to win—the Australians were the team to beat this year. But four years of waiting for revenge can be a powerful motivator … in the end, the Australians were never even close to winning the gold. The Americans held a significant, if not insurmountable, lead at the end of the third leg. But in a familiar, yet opposite, twist of fate, the Frenchman Yannick Agnel chased down American Ryan Lochte and touched the wall a fraction of a second ahead.

Ryan Lochte is an amazing swimmer. And he has the career medal count to prove it. But in that one race, on that one night, he did not finish well. His experience reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

When I was a 20-something single, I attended a group for young singles led by three older married couples. I distinctly remember an occasion when one of the married couples shared some of their own story and the husband, his face serious, solemn, even a little downcast, said something to the effect of: “Sooner or later, every one of you will reach a point where you will want to give up. You will want to turn away from God and forsake your faith. You will wonder whether it is worth it to remain faithful to Him. Life will be so heavy, so hard, so painful, so perplexing, that you will question everything you’ve ever stood for and you will want to quit. I’m telling you now, when that moment comes, don’t quit. Don’t give up. Don’t turn away. It is worth it. Press on.” At the time, the statement seemed a little depressing, but all these years later, I still remember it, which was his aim. His point was that if we aren’t overly surprised by such discouragements, if we realize that difficult trials will come in this life, and if we predetermine to press on in the face of adversity, we’ll be more likely to overcome by the grace of God. There is no question that our Redeemer will have sufficient strength waiting for us when the trials arrive, the question is whether our resolve will lay hold of that available strength.

Recognizing that trials will come doesn’t mean living with a fatalistic, pessimistic attitude. It doesn’t mean we are overcome with fear and despair expecting bad things to come around every bend. Nor does it mean that we shouldn’t fully enjoy the sweet moments of life, or allow them to be overshadowed by the reality that harder times will come. It does, however, mean that we establish our trust in Christ so securely that we are prepared to lean on Him no matter what comes. What Ryan Lochte sometimes feels on a physical level, we can expect on an emotional, mental, or spiritual level: our lungs burning, our shoulders aching, and our legs tiring to the point that we are unsure whether they can propel us through one more kick. When such moments arise, may we say as the Apostle Paul did, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

The lone Canadian pugilist at the Beijing Games, Adam Trupish, amassed just one point in a blowout loss in his first fight. Canada’s first fight in 2012 had a slightly different script.

On Sunday, welterweight Custio Clayton squared off against Oscar Molina Casillas from Mexico.

Casillas is the man who beat Clayton at the Pan-Am Games. At the Olympics it was a different story.

Clayton fought smart and effectively to defeat the Mexican 12-8, avenging the Pan-Am Games loss and, more important, finding his way into the round of 16 at the Olympic Games.

Clayton will face Australia in his second-round matchup on Friday.

On Wednesday evening, Canada’s second male boxer, Simon Kean, battled Tony Victor James from France in the super heavyweight division.

It was a close fight and Kean had to overcome falling behind early. In the end Kean won the decision after a 16-16 count back.

Kean is now one win away from the medal round and will fight in the quarter-finals on Monday against Kazakhstan.

Still to compete is Canada’s first female Olympic boxer, Mary Spencer, who will also be in action on Monday. Spencer received a bye into the second round and she is still not sure who her opponent will be.

In 2008, Team Canada barely landed a punch. In 2012, Canada’s small boxing team is off to a terrific start. One can only hope the three build off their momentum to get deeper into the tournament. One thing is for sure, the two men who have fought so far have already exceeded expectations.

Keep checking back with Ringside Report.

Follow me on Twitter @LevJackson or email me at lev-jackson[at]hotmail.com

I think the Olympics are great. I especially like the opening ceremony.

Actually, the opening ceremony is pretty much the only thing I like. I find the athletic events dull. (Over the past few days I have watched bits of volleyball, and cycling, and swimming, and I cannot stifle my yawns.)

But the opening ceremonies – yowzah! They are an opportunity for the host country to tell a story about itself. We all remember the powerfully choreographed opening of the Beijing Olympics, with 2008 drummers in sync with one another, and later the adorable children from all over China, in ethnic costumes. (I vaguely recall that one of the children was lip-synching a song, but let us not speak of that.) I also recall the Vancouver Olympics, with a sort of rippling pool of light in which we saw Native American images, and a huge bear, and fiddlers, and – well, all kinds of things.

The London ceremony was huge, and sloppy, and very endearing. We knew in advance that it was going to be the “English countryside,” and snippy commentators were predicting sheep and cottages. Well, we did in fact get sheep and cottages. We also got the countryside (literally) rolled away. We got the World-Tree ripped from the top of Glastonbury Tor. We got Blake’s “dark Satanic mills” growing out of the floor. We got suffragettes, and the Jarrow Marchers, and Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Danny Boyle, the director of “Slumdog Millionaire,” did a wonderful thing: he tried his very best to include everything. And I think he may well have succeeded. (I think he put up a posterboard: “What is the UK?” And he, and everyone, put up notes, for days and days. And he included everything that everyone suggested.)

We got music, and weather reports, and Sir Edward Elgar’s “Nimrod,” and “Jerusalem.” We got J. K. Rowling. We got Tim Berners-Lee. We got the Stones, and Cruella de Ville. We got Paul McCartney! We got the Sex Pistols. We got the Queen (the actual Queen!) and her corgis, with Daniel Craig as James Bond. We got allusions to Austin Powers and J. R. R. Tolkien. We got Kenneth Branagh as Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

We got an elaborate salute to the UK’s National Health Service, right in front of Mitt and Ann Romney, and I would have loved to ask them how they enjoyed it.

The Beijing ceremony in 2008 was about unity and power. The London ceremony was about diversity. The choreography – dear God! – was elaborate in the extreme, but it seemed almost random: groups of marchers drifting together, marching through one another’s ranks, and separating again.

One of the Financial Times commentators last weekend said, nicely: “The parts that didn’t work highlighted the parts that did.” Exactly right. The rock-and-roll section was a little long, and maybe Rowan Atkinson / Mister Bean was a little over-the-top, but it all worked. (A lot of people on Tumblr seem to think that the Olympic cauldron, which only came together in the last moments of the ceremony, was the Eye of Sauron. I don’t think so. But – who knows?)

Sadly, I had to watch this ceremony on American television, on NBC. Matt Lauer (whom I thought was smarter than this) treated it as the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, and  giggled and talked through the whole thing. Bob Costas (to whom I am used by now, after many Olympics) thinks he has to do color commentary through the whole thing. My Tumblr idol, wellthatsjustgreat, wrote some wonderfully scathing commentary on Messrs. Lauer and Costas, which I encourage you to read. In effect, they almost ruined the thing, especially the Parade of Nations. (Well, NBC helped; they decided that we didn’t need to see whole chunks of the ceremony, and dumped in a fatuous interview with Michael Phelps. Also, I am told by a correspondent in the UK that the BBC coverage was even worse.)

I have the ceremony on the DVR. I have already watched bits over again. I still haven’t gotten all of the British-culture references. I probably never will.

It was wonderful, nonetheless.

(And now I have to go back and watch the Vancouver ceremony from 2010, because I still don’t have all of that one figured out either.)

David Rudisha during an interview at JKIA before flying out to London..Looking on is coach Julius Kirwa (Photo/David Ndolo- The Star Newspaper)

Dressed up in a black suit and white shirt David Lekuta Rudisha walked through the veranda from the hostel heading to have the final meal at the restaurant before flying out to London. It is a million dollar walk of excellent spirit; relaxed, smiling and does a high five with me. He slows down for the cameras before picking his phone and walking past us with the look of “did you get the best shots?” That is Team Kenya’s Captain David Rudisha, he oozes confidences- a good recipe for the Kenyan team to the Olympics. A confident walk of a man who holds five of the ten fastest times in 800m. He could not grand us an interview at their residential camp, understandably so, the time was running out, after dinner they left for the airport at around 8pm.

“Finally they day is here,” I offered “leaving for London for the Olympics, your first.” He looks at Coach Julius Kirwa and back at me and says:-“We are excited as a team that the time has  come now, we are leaving the country to London, we have had a very good training in Kasarani, we are ready to go there and fight the battle.”

David Lekuta Rudisha sprints to win the men 800m finals at Nyayo stadium (Photo- David Ndolo – The Star)

Bagging 800m gold

“But it seems like it is going to be easy battle for you being the 800m world champion and world record holder over the same distance?” I said.

Rudisha’s answer is weighty, it is of a man who the entire nation is sure of bagging the 800m Olympics gold and in no doubt can lower Norway’s Vebjorn Rodal 1996 Olympics record of 1:42.58 seconds. Rudisha’s WR is 1:41.01 seconds. This man is just unstoppable but reckons it won’t be that easy, after all the Olympics is never easy.

“It has puts more pressure on me but I am happy that this year has been well and successful because I have had no problem since I started the season, and my shape right now is good, there is no doubt about that ,I  expect good result.”

Star-studded team

David is ranked 1^st on the top ten all-time athletes on the men’s 800m, Kenya takes 3 spots out of 10. The man from Kilgoris has had a steadfast career since 2006 with each major championship from the juniors registering the first position. Such is the man a team needs for to put on the armband coupled with his cool nature. He captains a star-studded team of the double world champion, defending Olympics champions, world junior champion; each athlete in his team is a champion.

“It is great and such an honor, am happy to given I was picked the captain, the team is cooperative, we haven’t had a problem so far and had a very smooth training in the camp,” Rudisha assured.

Bolt vs. Rudisha will be the fastest man in history with imposing 100m and 200m world records verses the dominating 800m world record holder. (Photo/Jellotub.com)

Racing against Bolt

At the summer games, he is going to give a go to the 4 x 400 relays, a race he is likely to come up against the world fastest man in 100M and 200M, Usain Bolt. The Jamaican indicated that he could be running the 4 x 400m relay as well. Rudisha is very much excited with the relays opportunity not because he will face up Bolt but because he will be following in the footsteps of his father Daniel Rudisha who won silver at the 1968 Olympics as part of the Kenyan 4 × 400 m relay team. This will be an explosive race if at all the two face off – the fastest man in history with imposing 100m and 200m world records  verses the dominating 800m world record holder. It is the distance that separates them.

“It is going to be very exciting, because we have never raced before that, many are waiting to see maybe if we will be in the relays finals. I do 800 while he does 100,200 races; we are meeting in the end of the competition in the 4×400 which is just going to fun, as well as my father ran the 4×4 relays in 1968 Olympics and they won a silver medal, so am doing that also because of him,” Rudisha said with a bright smile on his face.

Stretching it off, David Rudisha at Kasarani Stadium after training (David Ndolo – The Star Newspaper)

Wining silverware

Rudisha leads a team that carries the hope of entire nation at the London Olympics, a team whose prospects of winning more silverware than in the 2008 Beijing is very likely. In Beijing Kenya garnered 14 medals –  6 gold,  4 silver and 4 bronze to emerge the top African country at the Olympics.

“About 40 Kenyans will be and we are going to work hard and do our best, just pray for us, cheers us and we will do our best.”

And off he went with his thumb up and wearing on a smile.

In other aqua news:  US swimmer Dana Vollmer established a new world record and won gold in the women’s 100 meter butterfly.  Vollmer competed against previous record-setter Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, who finished fourth.  French swimmer Camille Muffat took home a gold medal in a heated swim against USA’s Allison Schmitt in the women’s 400 meter freestyle.  US swimmers Matt Grevers and Nick Thoman both qualified for the 100 meter backstroke final, but the battle to watch will be between Grevers and French swimmer Camille Lacourt, whose semi-final times were separated by less than four tenths of a second.

In the last final of the night, the 4 x 100 relay, the French swimming team of four barely defeated the Americans to claim gold.  The heavy favorite in the event was the fourth-place-finishing Australia.  Beyond the waters of the Olympic pool, American gymnast Gabby Douglas, a charismatic competitor with an amazing story of persevearance, wore a vibrant smile.  Douglas earned the highest score for the American women on the uneven bars and delivered solid performances on the vault and balance beam, while delivering a shaky floor program.

Despite her floor exercise, Douglas qualified for the all-around finals, upsetting fellow USA gymnast Jordyn Wieber, who failed to qualify for the all-around finals (because of the two per country rule), despite being the reigning world champion.  Wieber’s fate was sealed by the solid floor routine by Aly Raisman, who joins Douglas in the finals.  Though, Weiber will still help Team USA compete for the women’s final and compete in the floor exercise final, it doesn’t make her exclusion any less controversial.

Wieber will find herself likely in the top five all-around gymnasts competing in London, yet because of the “two per country rule,” she’ll not be able to compete in the top 24, knocked out of the final by a mere 0.233 points.  Hearbreak that has many calling for a change in the rules because as one commentator put it, “the twenty-four best all-around gymnasts will not be competing in the all-around final.”

Speaking of all-around finals and gymnastics, casual fans of the sport can’t help but wonder where 2008 Olympians Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson are in 2012.  Those of you that remember know that Liukin was the all-around gold medalist and collected five Olympic medals in Beijing 2008 – tieing Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller for most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast in a single Olympic games.  Beside Liukin was Johnson, the all-around silver medalist.  Both athletes competed in the Olympic trials, so why aren’t they competing parts of Team USA?

Liukin had the unfortunate circumstance, or literal fall from grace, if you will.  During the three-day process to qualify for London 2012, Liukin fell several times and scored low, bringing her gymnastic career to a screeching halt.  Like Liukin, Johnson’s gymnastic career ended this year as well due to nagging knee issues stemming from a previous injury – a torn ACL in 2010.  Unfortunately for Team USA, its media darlings of 2008 are names of the past, but their absence gives rise to a new crop of talent poised for competition.

Overall, another exciting and nail-biting night of Olympic competition as records were broken, gold medals were earned, and new stars continued to shine.

-Bobby-james

Even before the festivities had ended, commentators were wondering how London could even hope to equal, let alone top the China show. So, smartly, London didn’t even try. Instead, they handed the responsibility to Danny Boyle, director of cinema’s paean to Bollywood – Slumdog Millionaire. Mr. Boyle created a show that was quirky, funny and fully reflective of British sensibility.  Where Beijing was Michael Bey, London was Merchant Ivory. Where Beijing was magnificent spectacle, London was self deprecating humor.  Where Beijing was a look at the future, London was an acknowledgment of the past.

Admittedly, some of the ceremony may have been lost on the world, had it not been for the overly helpful NBC commentators who spoke throughout the ceremony, like that irritating know it all teenager behind you in the movies. So obscure were some of the images that a Spanish commentator was moved to ask if the British were the same species as the rest of the Human race. These things puzzled viewers who weren’t British – the giant baby, Mr. Bean, the dancing doctors and nurses celebrating the National Health Service (can you imagine a future US Olympics making Obamacare its centerpiece?)

Whereas Beijing dazzled the senses with bombastic, over the top set pieces, London relied on story telling and its rich history of popular music. You may have a hundred thousand performers dancing in lockstep, London seemed to say, but you don’t have David Bowie, or the Clash, or Paul McCartney. Beijing was an assault on the senses, London was an appeal to the human affinity for narrative.

Which is not to say that one was better or worse than the other, rather that the experiences were just…different, and triggered responses in other parts of the human psyche. Which did you prefer?  I suppose it depends  if you were in the mood for a Hollywood blockbuster or a small Indie release.

On Saturday night, Lochte finally stepped out of Phelps’ shadow and left the 14-time-gold-medalist in his. Lochte became a household name as he took gold in the 400 IM, blowing away the field, including Phelps.

It was stunning race to America and the world. But why is this such a surprise?

Ryan Lochte finally beat Michael Phelps in an Olympic race last night.

When Lochte beat Phelps last night it was nothing new. He has been doing it for years. From the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships to the 2011 World Championships to the 2012 US Olympic Trials, Lochte has more head-to-head victories over Phelps, and if you’re keeping score, it’s not that close.

Phelps, who had been working tirelessly up until Beijing in 2008, stepped away from swimming to enjoy his success, and deservedly so. He appeared on countless daytime shows, partied hard, and did just about everything you would expect accompanied worldwide fame.

Lochte though dove right back into the pool following the 2008 Olympics. Day in and day out, he did whatever it took to become better. He flipped 650-pound tires for a warm up, gave up fast food entirely, and amped up his weight training. Lochte honed in on the same maniac-like work ethic that once drove Phelps to unprecedented heights.

After Beijing, Phelps lost that drive, through no fault of his own. He had reached the pinnacle of the sport and become one of the greatest swimmers of all time. Even Phelps admitted that he had reached all his goals and wanted to approach London with a more carefree mindset.

Still it was odd to see Phelps look so human last night. For years, no matter the challenge or the deficit, he never came up short.

I guess we learned that even Michael Phelps doesn’t have superpowers..

In the 200m Butterfly in Beijing, his googles flooded with water and he was forced to swim half the race blind. No matter, he still won gold. In the 100m Butterfly in Beijing, Phelps trailed the entire race and had virtually no chance with 10m left. But Phelps, in typical fashion, somehow touched ahead of Serbia’s Milorad Cavic by the slimmest of margins, one one-hundredth of a second.

That immortality Phelps took so long to build was shed away by Lochte in just over four minutes yesterday. It was even a surreal moment for Phelps. When NBC asked him what happened after the race, he continually stared off to the side, lost for words and lost all together.

For Phelps’, his 2012 Olympics performance will always fall short in our eyes because he can’t deliver the same magic he did in 2004 and 2008. How could he? He pulled off seemingly impossible feats and made it look routine, almost machine-like.

He’ll still win races and take a handful of gold medals home from London, but it won’t be the same. Phelps’ moment, and time, have passed.

As Lochte said, “It’s (my) time.”

Let’s start with Canada finally getting a medal on the board courtesty Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel in three-metre synchronized springboard diving. Finishing third behind China and the United States, Abel helped partner Heymans dove into Olympic history by becoming the first female athlete to win four medals in consecutive Games. The bronze medal was also the first of Abel’s young career, which is expected to be first of many.

Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel pose with their bronze medals on the podium. (Source: zimbio.com)

Today’s finals were jammed packed with many notable races, none more so than the world records that went down in the women’s 100 Butterfly and men’s 100 Breastroke by USA’s Dana Vollmer and South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh. The more records that get broken, the better, I say, so we can get rid of all those high-tech suit asterisks.

As for the Canadian presence, there were a number of home-grown athletes competing in semi-finals and finals today, including an unprecedented swim-off for Tera Van Beilen to earn a spot in the 100 Breastroke final. Charles Francis swam in the 100 Backstroke semi-final, Julia Wilkinson and Sinead Russell in the 100 Backstroke semi, and Brittany MacLean in the 400 Freestyle final. Unfortunately, they all came up short but no doubt exciting to see some progress for the program in the pool.

The most exciting race of the day, hands down, was the 4×100 Freestyle Relay that had some dramatic turn of events before beginning. USA’s Ryan Lochte, who was not scheduled to swim this race, was added last-minute as the anchor leg behind Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps and Cullen Jones. He had already swam in the 200 Freestyle semi-final prior to the relay.

What was supposed to be a three-team race between USA, Australia and France turned out completely different. With a USA lead heading into the anchor leg, highlighted by a powerful second leg by Phelps, Lochte was run down by France’s Yannick Agnel to win gold. This was nothing short of redemption from Beijing in 2008 when it was Jason Lezak for the Americans stealing gold from right out under the French.

Coming in third for the bronze medal were the Russians, which meant that long-time favourite Australia was shut-out from a medal in a relay race that they had put a lot of work into. These Olympic Games are proving, if anything, that being a favourite is certainly no guarantee of success. (See: Jordyn Wieber missing the all-around individual final in gymnastics.)

The silver medal marked USA’s fourth pool medal of the day and the first silver of Phelps’ storied Olympic career. In consolation, Phelps looked miles better swimming in today’s final than he did yesterday, which should be nothing short of encouraging for the man who is still chasing history.

On a final note, the Canadian women’s gymnastics team had some great news after performing well enough in the qualification round to advance to the team final. This marks the first time in Canadian history that a gymnastics team heads to the final. The fivesome of Brittany Rogers, Victoria Moors, Dominique Pegg, Ellie Black and Kristina Vaculik could not contain their excitement upon seeing the board and expressed much gratitude for the support of the country.

Certainly not a bad day for Canada as a whole, eh.

He helped lead the U.S. gymnastics team to the top of the rankings in  a qualification round. The U.S. posted a team total of 274.342,  putting it ahaed of Russia with 272.595 and Great Britain with 272.420.