Well, here’s my list of awe-inspiring and touching moments from the Beijing Olympics.
- The opening ceremony was the most spectacular event engineered by man
- Michael Phelps – 8 gold medals
- Dara Torres won silver at 41 years old
- Matt Emmons missed the mark – he accidentally pulled the trigger, missed the entire target (much like 2004 in Athens when he shot the wrong target), and lost gold in the marathon shoot – his wife commiserated with him afterward
- South African swimmer Natalie du Toit finished 16th in the 10km open water race – she only has one leg
- German weightlifter Matthias Steiner promised his wife last year that he would fulfill their dream of Olympic victory – his wife, in her hospital room, then died from injuries sustained in a car crash – Steiner got gold!
- Samia Yusuf Omar, Somalian runner, came in last in the 200m dash – she had, by far, the slowest time of any of the competitors – but her story is pretty cool
- Hugh McCutcheon’s father-in-law was murdered and his mother assaulted by an attacker in Beijing – the men’s indoor volleyball team, for whom he is coach, later celebrated on top of the podium while McCutcheon was nearly overcome with emotion
- I nearly cried every time the Visa commercials came on with Morgan Freeman narrating
It’s over. Jackie Chan sang.
