watching the olympics

despite some of the tragic mishaps and negativity surrounding the the opening ceremony, i still love the Olympics... i love it when different people from different parts of the world come together and be the best they could possibly be. everyday ought to be an Olympic-like day!!! everywhere!!! i love the spirit and inspiration that the athletes embody. one of the few sports i am very passionate about is artistic gymnastics (and figure-skating in the Winter Olympics). seeing all the amazing movements and acrobatic tumbles along with such ballerina-like grace never fails to make me awestruck with admiration. it's simply incredible. even in the men's routines... which can at times get to the point of "silly strong" as the nbc tv commentator exclaimed.

so while i couldn't find myself in Beijing, i made an effort to turn on the telly... and watched USA women's team lose their nerves and gold medal to China, even though they were all incredibly amazing. i admit liking the routines performed by the US team a lot more, but i guess they probably felt the same. too bad for nerves... it's just too bad. if there's anything i've learnt while doing gymnastics in school is that confidence is something that takes years to build and an infinitesimal of a second to bash... and any injury is no joy. the training is utterly brutal, and it really really helps to have a very encouraging and inspiring coach, supporting family and friends to get you to where you might potentially be.

too bad for me, i missed the live broadcast of the all-around competition that i was so looking forward to... watching the replay online made me teary... it's wonderful to see all that hard work paid off for the gymnasts, and what a wonderful Olympic experience for Nastia Liukin and Shaun Johnston... they are both so brilliantly amazing! wow.

it never fails to amaze me what the human mind and body could achieve... and this night as i watched Michel Phelps scrap a win with a mere 0.01s in the 100m butterfly swim... one might even add that technological achievement is just as remarkable...