Saturday, August 11, 2012

Record breaking events galore!

Okay, I agree that we've posted a paucity of "wow" photos this trip. But, to give a little perspective, we're in venues with 100,000 - 10,000 people and a LOT of activity. To give you an idea, heres a run down on the Thursday night athletics. It was a bevy of record breaking events. The men and women are simultaneously competing in the decathlon and the individual events that make up the sport, while medal ceremonies are being conducted. Focusing is a real adult ADD challenge!

Not to mention that most of these Olympians are there breaking SPEED records..... You try catching Usaine Bolt's season best 200-meter run, handily winning another gold, with the two other Jamaican teammates taking silver and bronze! Nearly 100,000 of us stood and cheered.

Fastest man in the world? Bolt's charisma certainly gets him press, but Kenya's Rudisha set a new world record that same night for his 800-meter distance. Hey, I can barely run to the end of the block to catch the mailman, so what do I know about running speed?

While javelins were flying, US won the gold and silver men's decathlon medals, with Cuba winning bronze. As all the decathlon competitors took a congratulatory lap, the men's triple jumpers led us in stadium wide claps as they completed their event. US Christian Taylor won that event, with a world record jump distance, followed closely in points by a US silver.

The women were right there with them. Kenya won the 800 meter and the US just missed bronze. Javelins continued to fly, while the races continued. We stood no less than four times that night to sing the American anthem. I think we've finally agreed on all the words!

So, with so much going on, the option was to focus on the field, not the camera. The image here is the queen as interpreted in a jellybean mosaic (seriously) and some of the 2012 Olympic mascots that are making a hit with the younger set.

We're possibly setting a record for most events seen. Steve's superb logistics, fired by his London tube ap, has been faultless!



No comments: