Olympic highs and lows

One of the most special feelings I had during the Olympics came right at the end. The closing ceremony was a memory. The torch had been passed to London. I finished my story in the press gallery of the stadium and was walking along the Olympic Green.

People were extraordinarily joyful. Thousands of couples and families milled outside, taking photos of one another. Some held up flashlights in the shape of Olympic torches or draped themselves in flags.

It was very multinational. For some reason, a guy was speaking in French over the loudspeaker system. I saw people sitting on the cleanly mown grass in common areas eating snacks as if such an activity were normal in Beijing. No signs to keep off the grass or worries about the usual animal or human filth in green areas.

It really was the first time I’d had a chance to take in the beauty of the Bird’s Nest at night with its glowing red underneath the silver girders. The water cube was also in full splendor, with patches of magenta moving gracefully along the translucent blue panels.

Everybody was extraordinarily relaxed. For the Chinese, the tensions were over. The country did well. Nothing major disrupted the Games. Foreign tourists were happy, all for various reasons. For a moment, the real meaning of the Olympics, the common quest of humans to take joy in sport, accomplishment and each other, seemed to descend on Beijing.
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Chinese athletes did extraordinarily well in individual sports in the Olympics.

But I must say what really grabbed my attention at the Games were two powerhouse countries of sport: Australia and Jamaica. Pound for pound, they are athletic champions without rival.

Jamaica, with its population of less than three million people, took six gold medals and 11 total medals. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt captured three world records. Despite admonishments from IOC chief Jacques Rogge to tone down his antics (see my story here and video here), Bolt would not be slowed.

For its part, you couldn’t walk a block around Beijing, at least where I hang out, without coming across an Aussie contingent of fans cheering on their athletes, who won 14 gold medals and 46 medals overall, coming in fifth among all nations.

I ran into my colleague Rowan Callick of The Australian newspaper at the beach volleyball venue one day, and he explained that one reason is the extraordinary support Australian taxpayers give for sport. No politician in Oz dares suggest taking money away from sports programs or recreation centers.
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One of the extraordinary moments, for me at least, was the chance to stand in what are called “mixed zones” at the different venues. These “mixed zones” are cordoned areas where athletes pass once the competition is over and can talk to journalists. At some venues, it was a mob scene, as when Bolt smashed the 100-meter dash record at the Bird’s Nest. At other times, it was utterly relaxed. I chatted up Natalie Cook, an Australian beach volleyball player, about how she felt about the weather and smog in Beijing, without having a whit of an idea who she was. Not till later did I find out she’s a bit of a legend.

I also was in a crowd of journalists around Paula Radcliffe, the world champion marathoner, as she talked about why she failed again to capture an Olympic medal. She broke down into tears twice in 10 minutes. And the journalists were clearly moved (I was, for sure). Here’s my story on that.
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On the final morning, Rogge, the IOC chief, offered a final press conference and was asked what was the most memorable moment of the Games were for him.

He brought up something I hadn’t been aware of because I’d had my head buried in other Olympics-related matters.

But at the shooting venue, it was déjà vu all over again for U.S. target shooter Matt Emmons.

As Rogge reminded us, Emmons was the guy who threw away a gold medal in Athens four years ago by shooting at the wrong target on the last of his 130 shots.

"This is something already very painful," Rogge said.

Well, Emmons did it again in Beijing. He shot brilliantly during the entire competition until the very end, when his rifle fired accidentally into the air, costing him another gold medal.

"Again leading and being very close to gold, he took his rifle, put his hand on the trigger and, for some reason, the trigger went off," Rogge said.

Rogge said he admired Emmons' resilience after again losing gold. Emmons vowed to be there in London 2012 to try to win gold for a third time.

“This is the true spirit of the Olympic Games. The Games is not only about winning, not only about being triumphant. It is about the struggle of every athlete every day to achieve his or her own limits and having this resilience,” Rogge said.

"Let's hope he does come back."

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On a final personal note, I mentioned a few months back that my youngest daughter would be participating in one of the Olympics ceremonies. We never knew whether it would be the opening or closing ceremony. She and some 150 of her classmates at Fangcaodi Elementary School were picked to sing the Greek national anthem, and there they were on the field during the closing ceremony.

From where I was sitting in the press section, I couldn't pick her out. But a good friend of ours who is a photographer for the AFP news agency (and who hadn't seen our daughter for eight years) recognized her and shot this photo.

I kept looking up at the big screen to see if her face would appear. It never did but we do have the photos.

One other thing: Unlike some singers at the opening and closing ceremonies, these kids weren't lip-synching. They actually had to learn the Greek words.

Comments

[lausanne]

Thanks for your Blog. As a Beijing citizen living in Switzerland, I always read something interesting from your articles. Yes, I still remembered you mentioned your daughter would be in the ceremony, she is so lovely! Although there are some disputes here sometimes, I believe you and your family like my country, my city and my people, hope you are enjoying your life in Beijing!

[A B]

Good coverage, interesting news, useful perspective, for your readers and Chinese alike.

[Helena Cobban]

Tim, thanks for this great essay. I believe you captured many important aspects of the Games here. You daughter looks cute! What amazing opportunities for her, to go to a regular Beijing elementary school and to sing the Greek national anthem at the Games. Wow! I wonder how she'll look back on these experiences when she's your age... Also, what will the world look like then, anyway?

[abc]

Western media show its ugly face by attacking lip-singing girl at Beijing Olympics.

They conveniently shrugg off or ignore fake music performance at Syndey olympics.

Why? White racism never die. They are more subtle now.

[Pffefer]

Well done China. Well done Jamaica. Well done Australia.

Well done Tim.

[Sparkle]

@abc
Don't get angry. To enjoy a happy life, you can simply choose to avoid the following things, smoke, drugs, FOX news and most important of all avoid Chinese Soccer team.

[A B]

What someone need to do is to shame the Chinese Soccer team into performing better by having their WAGs publically disown them!

WAGs is a british term...

[jane]

Beautifully written eye-witness account. THANKS! beatiful non-lip syncing daughter too.

[quni made]

Mr.McClatchy:

It seems that the quartet played at the inauguration in capital and the music the crowd at the Capitol and the TV audience heard was prerecorded !

This reminds the article you wrote about the lip-singing in China Olympic Opening ceremony.

I checked all you posts about the inarguration, nothing mentioned about the pre-recording.

Now I am really curious: Is this something new in your great country or they just learned from China ?

Please stop applying double standards on similar situation and at the same time,pretending you are non-bias journalist. In china, we call it " Zuo Biao Zi, Li pai fang".

Here is the link of your article:
http://washingtonbureau.typepad.com/china/2009/01/china-censors-obama.html