The Best of the Best

The Olympics started and it’s been a distraction. I think it’s distracting for more people than just me – I’ve noticed a minor slump in sales, especially in the UK where they’re being hosted. It’ll even out over time, I’m sure. I’m not writing this to whine about sales though, I’m pondering the Olympics and what they’ve come to mean (to me, at least).

Just this morning I had to log on to www.nbcolympics.com in order to watch one of my favorite sports: weight lifting. They don’t seem interested in televising it, which I find very disappointing. Instead we get to watch dozens of people ride bicycles around in circles in the rain. No thanks. I’ve never been much for bicycling, sorry to say. Anyhow, the weightlifting from this morning was the B group of women’s snatch and clean and jerk events, in the 53kg weight class (117 pounds). It’s safe to classify these girls as petite or scrawny, depending on their height. In spite of that, there were some damned impressive lifts that took place. My personal favorite, Julia Rohdes from Germany, had an 85kg snatch and a 108kg clean and jerk (193kg total, 4th place overall so far). For my fellow Americans that means she lifted 187lbs and 238 pounds from the ground to above her head. That’s a clean and jerk over twice her body weight! As another point of reference I’ve done a far less skillful clean and jerk of up to 235 pounds once in my life. I don’t train the movement but nonetheless this tiny woman was able to lift more weight than I could AND she only took 4th place. And she’s cute – yet more proof that lifting weights does not make women bulky, fat, ugly, or otherwise scary.

There was another woman from Venezuela with a really long name that irritated me. She made a lot of noise and did a lot of shouting while she psyched herself up to lift. Nothing wrong with that, it just bugged me. In spite of that, when she got under the weight I found myself pulling for her, just like I did every other lifter that was competing. I can’t help it, I’ve competed in far smaller venues (powerlifting, not Olympic lifting) I know how hard it is and I know what it feels like to achieve a hard lift when it really matters.

I’m anxious to watch more of the weightlifting to see what happens. The super heavy weights are able to lift some amazing weights but to be honest most of those guys and gals don’t impress me as much. Oh they still impress me, but I admire the people in the lighter classes below SHW more because they have to balance maintaining their weight while optimizing their strength.

Are there drugs for these people doing practically super-human things? Hell yes there are. Sure, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) tests for drug use but the athletes have ways of getting around that. Also these drugs won’t make the average person able to achieve the same things. It takes a person with the right mix of genetics and dedication to make these feats of strength, skill, strategy, and balance possible. They deserve a lot more than just a footnote in the history of the Olympics, in my opinion.

And what commentary on the Olympics would be complete without discussing Michael Phelps. Personally, I was pleased to see him take 4th place in his first event. I’ll admit, I’ve been suckered by the media into being irritated with his attitude and lack of training discipline. Seeing Lochte take the gold made it that much better for me. That brings into question how I view the Olympics from a patriotic point of view.

Of course I want the USA to win every event, plain and simple. Then when I watch them and see how individuals are performing. In individual events, I tend to favor the competitor who’s got the best attitude and puts the most heart into it. A team event, like volleyball or basketball, I stick more by my country, but for the individual sports I’m much more inclined to rooting for the people that I feel deserve it.

Speaking of volleyball, that first round team USA win in the women’s volleyball was nerve wracking! Korea’s Kim something-something is lethal! Great game though, and how awesome is it that the US has a player named Destiny Hooker? There, I’ve mixed enough immaturity in now, I’m off for some family time and hopefully later on today working on chapter 7 of Vitalis – Resurrection!

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