Every wonder what kind of fuel Michael Phelps burns while powering his way to all those gold medals and world records? Ever wonder why he looks more like a marine mammal than a human being?
Warning: Do not try this at home. The Michael Phelps Dolphin Diet only works if are currently swimming about 5 miles per day at world class speed.
The poignant tales of two athletes who became grist for the Chinese sports mill, weightlifter Chen Yanqing and iconic basketball superstar, Yao Ming.… Read the rest
Not to be overlooked in all the Hoelzer hullabaloo is another remarkable Alabama athlete, Deontay Wilder.
He’s the U.S. heavyweight boxer who hails from Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Roll Tide!). His is one of those classic Olympic stories that always has Eyegal reaching for the Kleenix; one moment he’s working at Red Lobster and driving a Budweiser truck to help support his young daughter born with spina bifida, and in the next, he’s gunning for gold in Beijing.
THT’s Mark McCarter is johnny-on-the-spot per usual with a nice profile, and Alabama Public Radio has done a good piece as well.
Deontay got off to a good start today winning his first match, and at 6’7” with a body covered in tattoos, he’s having the time of his life in Beijing–people think he’s LeBron James.… Read the rest
I sang along with the national anthem. Natalie and I both were singing. We both were singing softly, because I don’t know that either of us is a very good singer.
–Huntsville swimmer Margaret Hoelzer after taking the bronze in the 100 meter backstroke
Marge, if you take the gold in the 200 meter backstroke and they play that song just for you, we expect you to belt it out, girl!… Read the rest
Seven-year-old Yang Peiyi takes one in the teeth, so to speak, for Team Red.
Sheez, and I thought Americans were the only ones hung up over the whole Barbie doll thing.… Read the rest
Huntsville’s Margaret Hoelzer finished third in the finals of the women’s 100 meter backstroke competition today, capturing her first Olympic medal.
Well done, Marge. All of Alabama, even the Roll Tide types, are rejoicing.
Now it’s on to the 200 meter backstroke later this week (she’s the current world record holder) where she will be the favorite.… Read the rest
Huntsville’s Margaret “You Can’t Holz ‘er Back” Hoelzer kept her cards close to her chest yesterday and cagily made her way into tonight’s 100 meter backstroke final (9:23 pm Central).
This is not her best race (she is one of the favorites and the current world record-holder in the 200 meter back, however), so gold-medaling is still somewhat of a longshot, especially with teammate Natalie Coughlin and Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry in the race too.
Speaking of Coventry, she set a new world’s record in her heat last night, and there’s an interesting side story developing there. Even though Hoelzer and Coventry raced side-by-side last night, there seemed to be little of the usual inter-lane congratulations between the two after the heat was over.… Read the rest
The Americans? We will smash them.
–Alain Bernard, French Olympic Swim Team
Hey Alain, don’t look now, but you just got caught and passed on the anchor leg by a 32-year-old American.
Pard-one my jingoism, but Le Crow is a dish best served cold.
Bon appetit.
Ah yes, the ol’ missing first paragraph is back:
My Olympic dream died sometime around 1978. The reality was that I could barely crack the top 10 of an average high school cross country race, so there was little hope of me ever mounting the winner’s platform and hearing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in my lifetime.
And here’s the rest.
BONUS:
Here’s some footage of me running the last lap in that charity fundraiser at Harding University in 1983.
And here I am today with my Sunday morning running buddies, “Team Wannabe” (that’s actual speed, not slow-mo).
Old Olympic dreams never die–they just go slower.… Read the rest
I’m taking time out from our regular Olympic programming for a special bulletin to my Abilene readers. Please be on the lookout for this man:
He was last spotted headed west “on the road to Abilene” with his wife Janet and a van full of kids. But don’t worry, he’s not dangerous; he’s just a little wordy sometimes.
You see, Doug is headed there to fulfill a lifetime dream of teaching in the journalism department at his alma mater, Abilene Christian University. For years, he’s been working at The Huntsville Times and writing a regular column “Soul Food,” which he also turned into a book, How Jesus Ended Up in the Food Court: Seventy-seven Devotional Thoughts You Never Thought About Before.… Read the rest
I was out soccering last night with Numbers Two and Three and their teams in the opening tournament of the year, so I haven’t caught much of the opening ceremonies yet. Scrolling through the 4-plus hours of recording on my DVR and hitting the highlights is on my to-do list today, after more soccer matches, mowing the lawn, my weekly elliptical trainer workout at the gym…phew, I should get a gold medal for doing all that.
Number One, who was watching at home, called during the soccer matches and said it all seemed a little “creepy,” in a “if 1.3 billion people are capable of putting on this kind of show, what else are they capable of doing?”… Read the rest
From “Lost Boy” of Sudan to American standard-bearer–Lopez Lomong.
When we are good, we can be very, very good…
UPDATE: Here’s the one I’ve been waiting for. I totally dig the Ralph Lauren throwback threads. An obvious nod to Chariots of Fire.
How bad is the SMOG in BEIJING? THT‘s Mark McCarter weighs in (in between gags).
Pass me my respirator and the Visine, please.
For Jim Ryun, his Olympic dream of winning a gold medal went unfulfilled. He failed to qualify for the 1500 meter final in 1964 (he was still in high school, though) and then finished second to Kip Keino in the high altitude air at Mexico City in 1968.
But the most bitter disappointment came in 1972 when he was tripped by another runner in a qualifying heat. Although the judges ruled that he was fouled, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), for reasons still not understood, didn’t reinstate him. Dream over.
Still, an Olympic Silver Medal, a world record in the mile and a high school mile record (3:55.3) set in 1965 that stood for 36 years–not too shabby if you ask me.… Read the rest
Okay, so I didn’t really look like Jim Ryun, even though I tried to, and I sure wasn’t as fast as he was.
What did I look like back in 1978 at the so-called “peak” of my running career? Behold:
The ectomorph in the middle is me. I think I may have weighed 130 lbs back then…sopping wet. The blond Adonis on the right who looks like he should be giving massages to rich, middle-aged women at Club Med is Lindsey. Coach Earl “Dude, where’s my car?” F. is on the left.
Now before all you ladies go getting too worked up over Lindsey, I should point out that he never beat me in a race, and we all know how important that is later in life.… Read the rest
