Olympic moments

[Catweazle]

Some people might be surprised to hear it, but computers aren't everything!

Matter of fact, they've receded right into the background for the time being, with the Olympics well under way. And I'm thoroughly enjoying a break, and sitting back to watch some fine performances. So far, the 'magic moments' for me have come in the pool. After the controversy surrounding his inclusion in the 400m freestyle, Ian Thorpe's win was a magic moment indeed, and the relief was evident on his face as the well deserved win registered.

But I've tears in my own eyes after watching the performance of the 'matron of honour' of the australian swimming team, Petria Thomas, finally crack it for Gold in her final Olympics!

After spending the early part of her career swimming in the wake of 'Madame Butterfly' Susie O'Neill, and then undergoing the heartbreak of three shoulder reconstructions during the latter part of her career, to crack it for Gold in the 100m butterfly in her farewell performance is an absolutely awesome achievement.

'Tis the stuff of inspiration!

[img]http://abc.net.au/commonwealthgames/galleries/day8/images/Petria_Thomas.jpg[/img]

Add your own 'magic moments, please, and tell about the performances that have inspired you!

[red_evolve]

Greetings.
No magical moments in the olympics yet for me so far.
I'm anticipating for my favorite sports, badminton.
It's still in its early rounds, the last 64 and 32.

[alc6379]

I stinks for me here.

NBC is doing a terrible job of covering the olympics. I'm going to be missing all of my favorite sports, like Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Shooting, and some others, presumably because NBC doesn't deem them popular enough to air live.

C'mon NBC... you've got a bazillion cable channels-- use them for everyone to enjoy!

[Coach_Nate]

Hey alc,

I agree with you completely. NBC has done a horrible job - not only in the air times, but also on commentating. Being a gymnastics instructor myself, the announcers in that field were aweful. I just finished watching the tae kwon do a little while ago, and I've never watched it before, but the announcers for that sounded like "pro-wrestling" anouncers. It was kind of disturbing. I know that a bunch of other people on gymnastics message boards have got together and sent quite a bit of hate mail to NBC!

I'd hope to see someone else hosting/brodcasting next time.

[Mike Feury]

I agree, the US coverage was poor and the commentary dire in general over the two weeks. Is there an Olympics for Dummies we could send to NBC?

I got the biggest smile from seeing Merlene Ottey back again in the sprints at age 44--one of my all-time favorite athletes.

It was great to see Kathy Holmes finally fulfill her potential by winning the 800 & 1500 on the track in probably her last Olympics.

We may have seen the greatest runner of all time, El G from Morocco, also finally capture Olympic titles, the only things missing from his portfolio. It's good that now he can be judged on his achievements rather than on what was missing.

It was a pity the Russian gymnast didn't win the women's all-round in her third and also probably final Olympics, after the screw-up in Sydney. She remains the uncrowned Queen.

What about the 15yo swimmer from Hungary, took a medal in one race? He could be something in Beijing...

...

It was a pity the Russian gymnast didn't win the women's all-round in her third and also probably final Olympics, after the screw-up in Sydney. She remains the uncrowned Queen.
...

Mike,

Trust me - I'm from the sport... It was no pity. It does suck what happened in Sydney, but she was no queen in the sport. The third place was a fluke/gift. She shouldn't have placed that high.

my thoughts...

apparently I went retarded for a moment...
Svetlana took second place - sorry for the misprint

[MikeAR]

I always like it when people fall when doing gymnastics or trip when running, but other than that I'm no big fan of any olympic events.

[tcepser]

Hi all, im based in the UK and ive been really impressed with the BBC coverage. But so far no major memories. Apart from Paula Radcliffe pulling out! that was harsh. whilst im on about olympic memories. any1 remember that australian guy that was coming last in an ice skating race but every1 crashed so he won! think that was sydney! LOL!!!

[Catweazle]

Steven Bradbury in the Men's 1000 metre short track speed skating event at Salt Lake City, and it was Australia's first ever Gold Medal at a Winter Olympics.

My country, my pride, and my fond memory forevermore! :D

And chuckle we might, but it was also an incident that perhaps most typifies a particular facet of "the Olympic spirit". You ain't ever 'the best' if you ain't on your feet and trying ;)

[tcepser]

And i cant agree more! it was one of my most memorable and enjoyable experiences in the olympics so i salute you austrailians! Actually im off 2 look for a download of that on the net now. Thanks catweasle :D