dougal55
War Child
Hi!
With Athens 2004 Olympic Games now just 30 days away, I thought it would be cool to list some of my all time favourite memories, in no particular order. Ive loved watching the Olympics on TV ever since I saw David Wilkie from Great Britain win his gold in 1976. I think it was a crying shame that coverage for Atlanta 1996 and Salt Lake City 2002 were so shamelessly one sided to the Americans but apart from that, here are some memories and perhaps you have some to list here....
1. Daley Thompson - Twice Olympic Decathlon Champion. Man, I have fond memories of watching him on TV compete against the best at LA Games in 1984. It was very close contest after 7 events but eventually walked away with the gold with ease after dominating pole vault and 400m and, after eventual re-calculation, he equalled the world record at the time! Amazing athlete and I remember one photo which showed him standing at the end of 1500 metres surrounded by fallen guys at his feet which spoke volumes of his superiority and excellence as a decathlete.
2. Carl Lewis - Well, what can I say? Hes pretty amazing throughout his career especially equalling Jesse Owens feat of 4 gold medals at LA Games in 1984.
3. Derek Redmond, Great Britain - I know what you are thinking... you havent heard of his name but I have to tell you that he is one of the most courageous athletes I have ever seen. What did he do you ask? Well, for a start, he didnt win a medal but rather what he did one summer's day in Barcelona in 1992 (after quite a few operations on his injuries through the frustrating years) competing for a place in Men's 400m Final. Prior to the day, he did very very well leading up to the semi final so he was all set to qualify if he wins the heat or go second, something like that. So, when the gun went off, he ran great for a bit. Then suddenly, at 150 metres, he tore his hamstring and fell. At the sight of stretcher bearers coming over very quickly, he stood up and waved them away. He then did the most incredible thing, he limped down the lane all the way round the bend before his own father came down to help him. At about 10 metres before the finish, his father let him go and finish the race to a standing ovation of 65000 people inside the Olympic Stadium! Amazing, just amazing!
4. Steve Redgrave - Winning his 5th Gold Medal in a row at Sydney was brilliant when you consider that he was diagnosed with diabetes the year before which I thought would have reduced his chances but man, he did it again at the age of 38! Unbelievable!
5. Eric - God, I cant remember his second name but hes the guy who competed at Sydney in 2000. I think he came from Equatorial Guinea so he was given no chance but what he actually did then was the kind of story I would tell again and again. In one heat, he was competing against two other very low ranked swimmers but inexplicably those two swimmers were disqualified! So Eric was on his own. At the very start, he dived into the water and as soon as he came up to the surface, he swam rather too enthusiastically than what we were used to seeing and so he swam ever so agonisingly slow but, as he turned round for the last 50 metres, the 20000 strong Australian crowd all stood up and yelled at the poor swimmer to keep going. Man, he almost sank at one time but happily he managed to finish at well over a minute behind the fastest swimmer at the Games! For a while, he became a celebrity and was asked everywhere he went for an autograph! I guess he expounded the Jean De Coubertin thing about that its not the matter of winning but all about competing to the best of your ability though a wee bit too slow for any championships at all but hey he won the heat! LOL!
cheers mate
dougal
With Athens 2004 Olympic Games now just 30 days away, I thought it would be cool to list some of my all time favourite memories, in no particular order. Ive loved watching the Olympics on TV ever since I saw David Wilkie from Great Britain win his gold in 1976. I think it was a crying shame that coverage for Atlanta 1996 and Salt Lake City 2002 were so shamelessly one sided to the Americans but apart from that, here are some memories and perhaps you have some to list here....
1. Daley Thompson - Twice Olympic Decathlon Champion. Man, I have fond memories of watching him on TV compete against the best at LA Games in 1984. It was very close contest after 7 events but eventually walked away with the gold with ease after dominating pole vault and 400m and, after eventual re-calculation, he equalled the world record at the time! Amazing athlete and I remember one photo which showed him standing at the end of 1500 metres surrounded by fallen guys at his feet which spoke volumes of his superiority and excellence as a decathlete.
2. Carl Lewis - Well, what can I say? Hes pretty amazing throughout his career especially equalling Jesse Owens feat of 4 gold medals at LA Games in 1984.
3. Derek Redmond, Great Britain - I know what you are thinking... you havent heard of his name but I have to tell you that he is one of the most courageous athletes I have ever seen. What did he do you ask? Well, for a start, he didnt win a medal but rather what he did one summer's day in Barcelona in 1992 (after quite a few operations on his injuries through the frustrating years) competing for a place in Men's 400m Final. Prior to the day, he did very very well leading up to the semi final so he was all set to qualify if he wins the heat or go second, something like that. So, when the gun went off, he ran great for a bit. Then suddenly, at 150 metres, he tore his hamstring and fell. At the sight of stretcher bearers coming over very quickly, he stood up and waved them away. He then did the most incredible thing, he limped down the lane all the way round the bend before his own father came down to help him. At about 10 metres before the finish, his father let him go and finish the race to a standing ovation of 65000 people inside the Olympic Stadium! Amazing, just amazing!
4. Steve Redgrave - Winning his 5th Gold Medal in a row at Sydney was brilliant when you consider that he was diagnosed with diabetes the year before which I thought would have reduced his chances but man, he did it again at the age of 38! Unbelievable!
5. Eric - God, I cant remember his second name but hes the guy who competed at Sydney in 2000. I think he came from Equatorial Guinea so he was given no chance but what he actually did then was the kind of story I would tell again and again. In one heat, he was competing against two other very low ranked swimmers but inexplicably those two swimmers were disqualified! So Eric was on his own. At the very start, he dived into the water and as soon as he came up to the surface, he swam rather too enthusiastically than what we were used to seeing and so he swam ever so agonisingly slow but, as he turned round for the last 50 metres, the 20000 strong Australian crowd all stood up and yelled at the poor swimmer to keep going. Man, he almost sank at one time but happily he managed to finish at well over a minute behind the fastest swimmer at the Games! For a while, he became a celebrity and was asked everywhere he went for an autograph! I guess he expounded the Jean De Coubertin thing about that its not the matter of winning but all about competing to the best of your ability though a wee bit too slow for any championships at all but hey he won the heat! LOL!
cheers mate
dougal