When we entered the stadium, the women's discus throw was underway. This is an unique sport, though hard to view the competitors from our distant seats. The crowd roared everytime the Chinese athlete took her turn. An interesting feature of the discuss was that they used remote controlled cars to carry the discs back from the field to the launch pad. Though a bit of an oddity, the discus turned out to be exciting because an American won the gold medal and we got to see the medal ceremony and sing along to the national anthem.
Shortly after we sat down, one of our colleagues pointed out that the woman sitting in front of us was a gold medal winner. We took our picture with her, but I actually do not know who she is or what she won. Sorry !
The other events we watched over the course of the night were Men's long jump, men's 800m, men's 3000m steeplechase, women's 800m, and women's 400m hurdles. The highlights of the evening, however, were the women's pole vault and the men's 400m hurdles.
The excitement of the pole vault and the 400 hurdles events came near the end of the night. The triumph of the evening for us Americans was the men's 400 meter hurdles where the U.S. won gold, silver, and bronze - a clean sweep. I was glad I bought the American flag earlier in the day at the super center. We had so much fun watching the three men in blue fly over the hurdles and pass us with a clear lead over the rest of the pack. Unfortunately, the medal ceremony was planned for the next day, so we did not see them stand on the podium. However, the three of them took their victory run together around the stadium with American flags around their shoulders. It was magnificent.
The pole vault took place for more than an hour while the races were being run on the track around them. The favorite and world champion in the pole vault is a Russian woman named Elena Isinbayeva. She was having a good night and had little trouble staying ahead of her rivals from the U.S. and Poland. Her closest rival, American Jennifer Stuczynski, topped out at 4.65 meters. The excitement came when Isinbayeva went on to jump at 4.90 meters to set and olympic record and then jumped at 5.05 to set a new world record. It took three attempts to land the world record vault and the excitement and drama grew with each attempt. It was fun to see the crowd cheer her on and let out a roar when she cleared the bar on her last attempt.
I called home to Peoria just after the mens hurdles and talked to the kids, Katheen's mother Margie, and Kathleen. All during the phone call, the pole vaulting cheers were building. In between the cheers, Juliana and Joseph only wanted to tell me about Michael Phelps' 8th gold medal. They were excited to hear that I was inside the bird's nest. I wanted them to be excited about the American hurdlers and the pole vault but they kept asking if I had seen Michael Phelps yet. I wonder if the rest of the the American atheletes might also already be tired of hearing about Phelps.
Shortly after we sat down, one of our colleagues pointed out that the woman sitting in front of us was a gold medal winner. We took our picture with her, but I actually do not know who she is or what she won. Sorry !
The other events we watched over the course of the night were Men's long jump, men's 800m, men's 3000m steeplechase, women's 800m, and women's 400m hurdles. The highlights of the evening, however, were the women's pole vault and the men's 400m hurdles.
The excitement of the pole vault and the 400 hurdles events came near the end of the night. The triumph of the evening for us Americans was the men's 400 meter hurdles where the U.S. won gold, silver, and bronze - a clean sweep. I was glad I bought the American flag earlier in the day at the super center. We had so much fun watching the three men in blue fly over the hurdles and pass us with a clear lead over the rest of the pack. Unfortunately, the medal ceremony was planned for the next day, so we did not see them stand on the podium. However, the three of them took their victory run together around the stadium with American flags around their shoulders. It was magnificent.
The pole vault took place for more than an hour while the races were being run on the track around them. The favorite and world champion in the pole vault is a Russian woman named Elena Isinbayeva. She was having a good night and had little trouble staying ahead of her rivals from the U.S. and Poland. Her closest rival, American Jennifer Stuczynski, topped out at 4.65 meters. The excitement came when Isinbayeva went on to jump at 4.90 meters to set and olympic record and then jumped at 5.05 to set a new world record. It took three attempts to land the world record vault and the excitement and drama grew with each attempt. It was fun to see the crowd cheer her on and let out a roar when she cleared the bar on her last attempt.
I called home to Peoria just after the mens hurdles and talked to the kids, Katheen's mother Margie, and Kathleen. All during the phone call, the pole vaulting cheers were building. In between the cheers, Juliana and Joseph only wanted to tell me about Michael Phelps' 8th gold medal. They were excited to hear that I was inside the bird's nest. I wanted them to be excited about the American hurdlers and the pole vault but they kept asking if I had seen Michael Phelps yet. I wonder if the rest of the the American atheletes might also already be tired of hearing about Phelps.
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