Feeling Very Olympic

To steal a phrase from the movie, Cool Runnings, this past week has got me feeling very Olympic. So, In honor of the 2012 London Games I would like to share some of my favorite Summer Olympic memories:

-Bruce Jenner, taking a victory lap while waving an American flag, after he won the decathlon at the Montreal Games in 1976. It just gave me goose bumps for some odd reason.

-The Japanese gymnast, Shun Fujimoto, who in those same Montreal games, performed on the still rings with a broken leg at the knee. Not only did he perform almost flawlessly, but when he dismounted he endured indescribable pain when he landed. His gut wrenching performance propelled his team on to a gold medal.

- Mark Spitz, winning 7 gold medals in swimming at the Munich games in 1972. At the time, it was a record that seemed would last forever and would be impossible to break.

- Michael Phelps, when he outdid Spitz by winning 8 gold medals in swimming at the Beijing games, four years ago. It was one of those things you couldn’t help but watch and see if he could do it and do it he did.

- Kerri Strug, who despite a badly injured ankle, sticks the landing in the vault at the Atlanta Games in 1996 as Belaf Karolyi encouraged her, "Kerri, listen to me, you can do it." The result was a team gold medal for the USA and a stirring moment when Karolyi scooped up Strug in his arms and carried her up to the medal stand.

This brings me to three performances, that at least in my opinion best sum up the Olympics. So, let’s hand out some medals.

BRONZE: Talk about the ultimate David vs. Goliath story. At the Sydney Games in 2000, relative unknown, Rulon Gardner won the gold medal for the USA in Greco-Roman wrestling. Gardner, who before the Olympics had never won anything of significance now was facing the feared Olympic great, Alexander Karelin from the Soviet Union, who had won gold in the previous 3 Olympics. On top of that, the Russian champion had never lost in international competition in 13 years. I can still see the look of shock on the Russian’s face and the sheer look of elation on Gardner’s, when he won the gold medal match. It wasn’t so much that Gardner won, but that he had the courage to even try

SILVER: This is a story that I just stumbled upon, but reaffirms for me that there are still some people out there who care more about others than themselves. Lawrence Lemieux, a Canadian sailor competing in a yachting event in the Seoul Games in 1988 was in second place and poised to win a silver medal. It was then that he saw 2 sailors form a Singapore team who had capsized their boat and were in distress. He abandoned his race to save the injured competitors and subsequently arrived in 21st place. I love what he said about his heroism, "doesn't happen very often that anyone is put in that position, but you stop, you help.'' Although he did not medal, however, he was recognized by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) with the prestigious Coubertin Medal honoring his bravery and sacrifice. ''Only nine other individuals have received such an honor.

· GOLD: This particular moment still gets me all choked up. At the Barcelona Games in 1992, Derek Redmond of Great Britain was favored to win his 400 meter heat when tragedy struck. Midway through the race he tore a hamstring and fell in agony to the track. As he struggled through the excruciating pain to finish the race hopping along on one foot, his father entered the track and helped him complete the race, to a standing ovation from the crowd. Sometimes in life in matters more to finish the race rather than what place you finish. And to top it all off, it never hurts to be helped there by someone you love.

May this Olympics be full of feeling very Olympic moments like the ones above. And may we all realize, like the famous Olympic saying goes, “the most important thing is not to win but to take part.”

Swavel