One of my favorite times is happening right now. As one can tell by my physique, athletics are not one of my strong points. However, that changes when it comes to the Olympics. Then, I’m one of those hooting and hollering people everyone shakes their heads at. It reminds me of my Shih-Tzu, Mollie, a rescue, who doesn’t play with toys much because she was born and kept in a puppy mill before I got her. However, when Mollie sees someone throwing a ball for my German Shepherd, Sampson, she goes insane. She barks at him, rooting him on.
An example of my uncontained enthusiasm happened Sunday evening. I was watching the swimming, and the actual event was the 4x100 men’s freestyle relay. Having a swimming background, I love watching the sport. I remembered as a child watching Mark Spritz compete and, in the latter years, Michael Phelps.
I sat up in my chair, and as soon as the race started, I was yelling at the TV. There was a brief moment when the U.S. men lost their lead before quickly bouncing back. I’m not sure how effective my “coaching” style was in Tokyo, but it did great getting my dogs all worked up and my husband running out of the bedroom wondering what was all that noise. I unashamedly told him it was the Olympics and an important relay race. Of course, he looked at me like I was crazy and walked away.
In another swimming event, I saw the spirit of the Olympics play out. It was the women’s 400 meters freestyle race. Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus defeated the U.S. favorite, Katie Ledecky, in a very competitive race. Titmus credited Ledecky with making her a better swimmer. Titmus and Ledecky did not see each other as rivals, but as two competitors striving to be the best and pushing the other on to be the best. In fact, in the commentary during the race, I believe I heard the announcer say that seven out of the eight swimmers in the semi-finals had swam personal bests. To me, that is awesome; each one can proudly walk away and say they did their best.
Again, Wednesday night was a great night to watch as well. Bobby Finke for the U.S. surprised the world. He was swimming in the first finals ever in the Olympics for the men’s 800 meters freestyle, a feat that involves 16 laps of the pool. For the first 15 laps yes, I said 15 laps – he stayed in fifth place, but once he made that last turn, he exploded and outswam everyone to bring home the gold. It was an incredible race.
Another swimming race that really got me was the men’s 100 meters freestyle. Caeleb Dressel has already had a great Olympics, earning medals in relay races, but this was his first solo event. Dressel was slamming the water in his excitement when the U.S. men won the 4 x 100 men’s freestyle relay. However, it was a totally different Wednesday night when he won gold in the race. Instead, emotions took over, and the world saw a man who was humbled by the win. The watery eyes in the pool, the lack of control of those emotions during the interview and the watery eyes again on the podium show just how important and special the Olympics truly are.
I am equally excited about gymnastics. In fact, that is the one sport I would have loved to have competed in. I was told that when Olga Korbut, the former Soviet Union gymnast who competed in the 1972 Olympics, was doing her routine on the uneven bars, I was trying to copy her using my father’s legs. Of course, when the 1976 Olympics were happening, I was glued that year watching Nadia compete. To this day, I still don’t know the reason why my parents never put me in gymnastics. I was always fascinated by watching how those gymnasts fly. It is incredible and beautiful to watch them.
My heart breaks for Simone Biles. Due to the difficulties of her routines, I can understand Biles saying I can’t do this. I would rather see her step back than suffering a potentially serious injury. Yet, she was there to root on her team. Biles will remain the greatest gymnast of all time.
The Russian coach said that the U.S. women’s gymnastics team was 70% Simone Biles. I’ll admit, I’m quite happy to put him in his place by the U.S. winning the silver medal in the team competition, but I really loved it when Suni Lee won gold in the women’s All-Around competition.
I heard the viewing ratings have dropped this year significantly. I hate that for the athletes who have trained their entire lives for this moment. However, in light of different participants wanting to use the Olympic stage to protest, I can understand why there is a drop. People are tired of all the protests. We want to watch the athletes excel and see the country come together to celebrate victories for just a few moments in time.
There is still a week left, so yes, for me, I’m going to be watching as much as I can. Even in this day and age, nothing beats the true spirit of the Olympics. -
Susan Amundson is
news/features editor of The Columbian-Progress. She may be reached at (601) 736-2611 or
samundson@columbianprogress.com.
