Wednesday, May 16

Some Olympic Items to Whet Your Appetite

 

My tendency to over-commitment has shown itself over the past month and I apologize for not posting more regularly. Now that the school year is over, I hope to discipline myself to do some more regular writing.

 

I have been stockpiling articles and websites to share, so today I am going to point you towards several with an Olympic theme. We are less than three months away from the Games in London, so here are some things to whet your appetite …

 

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The Guardian out of the UK is running a series called “50 Stunning Olympic Moments.” It is definitely worth your time to read what they are listed (they have listed 1-30 so far) and to keep up with the list.

 

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"Below us on the cinder path were 11 wretched women, 5 of whom dropped out before the finish, while 5 collapsed after reaching the tape."

 

That was the story in the New York Evening Post after the women’s 800 meter race in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. Because of that story, and other reports of the race, women were not allowed to run more than 200 meters until the 1960 Games. But were the reports from Amsterdam true? You can read the rest of the story here.

 

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This article lists the writer’s favorite movies about the Olympics. As I started thinking about it, I found it hard to come up with many movies with an Olympic theme. My favorite Olympic movie is – by far – Chariots of Fire. My other top five (in no particular order) would be: Miracle, Cool Runnings, Prefontaine, and One Day in September.

 

What movies am I missing? What would be on your list?

 

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The Bleacher Report has a couple of posts that are interesting. The first is “Five Athletes Who Will Disappoint” and the second is “Six Olympic Teasers for the Casual Track and Field Fan”.

 

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The New York Times recently ran a nice feature on decathlete Ashton Eaton. He, along with 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Bryan Clay and 2009 and 2011 World Champion Trey Hardee, give the US a chance at sweeping all three Olympic decathlon medals in 2012.