As I was watching the XXX Summer Olympics currently held in London from my recapped shows from my DVR I couldn't deny the fact that there are very touching stories that real intrigued me. There are some few that I wanted to really high light here in my blog.
Firstly, the fall of my swimming hero Kosuke Kitajima who won gold medals back to back in 100m and 200m breast stroke in 2004 and 2008. He failed to defend both titles in London on his third Olympic. I was crashed about it since to me he is my best athlete in swimming and really had brought Japan to the heights of swimming. Despite he didn't won it he is still the best to me. I believe this is his last Olympic and he will retire after this but I know he is very active in his foundation and I admire him for doing it so well.
The other story that touched me was the story of Erick Barrondo a walkathon miler from Guatemela who won silver in the 50 km walkathon race in this London Olympic. His story was a very rare one because he won the very first Olympic medal for his Central American nation. He dedicated his win to the eradication of guns and violence in his native country and encourage the youths of his country to engage in sports rather than violence. It was a very touching dedication he had made.
Another poignant story to me was the retirement of Michael Phelps who bowed out for retirement after this London Olympics leaving a great mark in Olympic history as the Best Athlete of All Times and the one who win most medals and also in gold medals. He left a legacy that will probably be never matched and he is an epitome of a true sports.
One of the best story that touches me was the story of Oscar Pistorius a disabled athlete from South Africa who despite being an amputee received so much attention before this Olympic had started because he is the first 400m runner who will run with steel blade prosthesis and was an object of protest because of this kind of advantage. But the science proved that his blades is not a factor.
When I saw him at the semifinals running on the 400m race with the abled bodied athletes he did his best and had finished last. To him his dream of running with the abled bodied athletes in the Olympics was a dream come true and he was an inspiration to every one especially the players as well as the spectators.
Another touching scenario during the 400m semifinals was the exchange of name tags of Kirani James of Grenada and Oscar Pistorius. It was a very touching gesture of Kirani James and I admire his sportsmanship as well as cordiality with the fallen disabled athlete.
Later on in the finals Kirani James of Grenada, a 19-year-old representative of the spice island, had captured the gold medal and was been very humble about his winning. He also won the first gold medal and the first Olympic medal for his island nation who also celebrated for his winning after they watched him run in the television.
A 19-year-old boy bringing honor for his nation in the Olympics as well as showing compassion in his sports as he exchanged name tags with Oscar Pistorius during the semifinal run was a great class act for him. He was a true Olympian at that.
One of the most interesting story that I have seen was the winner of the 10,000m run which was usually dominated by the Ethiopians and the Kenyans. Now the winners were the partnership of a little less known British guy named Mo Farah who took the gold medal and his training American partner named Galen Rupp who sweep the silver respectively. They were trained under the umbrella of a Spanish coach and was successful in taking the two medals during this Olympic.
The poignant story was that amidst the rousing cheers of the British crowd inside the stadium Mo Farah and Galen Rupp rushed to the finish line defeating the long years monopoly of the Ethiopians and the Kenyans in this event. One of the Royalties who witnessed the event was Prince William and Kate Middleton whom the former was seen jumping up and down after Mo Farah got to the finish line.
During the awarding ceremony what was touching was that the two friends shared the podium for their victory under the tutelage of the same coach. It was a very touching ceremony and I was crying watching it from the television.
Another touching story was the win of Usain Bolt in the 100m race which he equalled the record of the great Carl Lewis winning back to back gold in the 100m race and still will make a mark in the 200m race in the following days. He just exemplifies the best characteristics of the fastest runner in the planet as well as he had grabbed the most hyped athlete for this Olympics.
Another poignant story that touched me was the performance of the two athlete from Dominican Republic. Felix Sanchez had won the gold medal in the 400m hurdles for his country Dominican Republic at the age 35. He defies age against winning the gold medal twice in this sport, one in 2004 in Athens and one right now in LOndon. He had proved that age has nothing to do with garnering or winning the gold in this very grueling sports of hurdles.
On the other hand the story of his 18-year-old compatriot Leguelin Santos was also a compelling story. Small but quick he easily ease out in the second spot winning the silver medal in the 400m race trailing against Kirani James and had brought the second Olympic medal for his country Dominican Republic. With his rivalry with Kirani there will be more stories about them in the near future.
The last story that I will leave in this blog was the story of the Chinese track star in the 110m hurdles. Liu Xiang had not only suffered the embarrassment from his 2008 Beijing Olympics failure but his fall in the 110m hurdles qualifying in London was very heartbreaking and also very touching. I twitched and had cried at the same time.
He fell when he jump at the first hurdle and was grimacing a lot. It was found out that he had torn his Achilles tendon again and probably will retire after this. Despite his rise in his sports proving in Daugue, Korea during the World Chanpionships he promised to be back in the Olympics but apparently it ended his career.
After the fall he almost turned his back by skipping towards the locker room but he turn around and went back to the track hopping with one leg towards the finish line and stopped at the last hurdle of his lane and kissed the hurdle for the last time signaling his end and his retirement then he went back to the sides and continued hopping.
He was picked up by his rivals and was assisted towards the finish line and to the stands to rest and get attended by the medics. It was a very touching scene I have witnessed on TV and was the greatest class act I've ever seen in the Olympics.
Well, too bad the games in the Olympics will be over in a week and there might be probably more poignant stories coming to our way but so far these are the most poignant ones that I can remember off and will be remembered as I open my blog. Hope you are touched too with these stories as it touched me so much.
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