The Triumph: Who can forget the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City when Bob Beamon set a world record (that still stands) in the long jump? Or the 1976 Montreal performance by gymnast Nadia Comaneci – the first to receive a perfect score of 10? Or the historic performance by Jesse Owens in the 1936 Berlin Olympics – right there in front of Hitler?
The Defeat: Who can forget the 1972 controversial defeat of the U.S. basketball team by the Russians in Munich? Or the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics? Or how Jim Thorpe was wrongly stripped of his gold medals from the 1912 Olympics (only to have them restored 30 years after his death)?
The Tragedy: Who can forget the 1972 Munich Massacre, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by a Palestinian terrorist group that ultimately murdered 11 of them? Or the 1996 bombing of Olympic Park in Atlanta? Or the numerous positive doping tests in the 2004 Greece Olympics?
The Summer Olympics are full of memories. They are one of those rare events that the nation and the world watch with great interest. They are sometimes used politically, but mostly they are a venue to showcase the talents of each country, to show pride in each country and to encourage the competitive nature in all of us.
The Olympic Games have stood the test of time. Athletes have come and gone; world leaders have come and gone; even countries have come and gone – but the Olympics remain.
The first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. They were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 A.D. that all such “pagan cults” be banned.
The revival of the ancient Olympics attracted athletes from 14 nations, with the largest delegations coming from Greece, Germany, France and Great Britain. On April 6, 1896, American James Connolly won the triple jump to become the first Olympic champion in more than 1,500 years. Winners were awarded a silver medal and an olive branch. German Carl Schumann finished in the Top 5 events of three different sports.
The people of Athens greeted the games with great enthusiasm. Their support was rewarded when a Greek shepherd, Spyridon Louis, won the most popular event, the marathon.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics
Now the Summer Olympics are back. Beijing will host the Olympics from Aug. 9-24, and American athletes are prepared to stand on the podium and accept their medals with pride. This is the true test for athletes – it is the pinnacle of sporting events. Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, once said, “For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth.”
With the 2008 Games rapidly approaching, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) has been spending its time preparing. Nicole Saunches, spokeswoman for the USOC, explains, “The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be one of the most significant events of our generation, not only athletically, but culturally, socially, economically and environmentally.”
With so much at stake, concerns arise: terrorism, safety and the conditions in China. The safety of the athletes and visitors is one of the top priorities at these Olympic Games. “The Beijing Olympic Committee for the Olympic Games [BOCOG] has conveyed that safety and security is their No. 1 concern for the 2008 Olympics, and we are pleased with the measures they are taking,” says Saunches.
The athletes do not appear to be concerned about potential threats to their safety, either. Saunches says, “In speaking with our athletes, most seem to believe that it would be highly inappropriate and disrespectful to use the Games as a forum to make a political statement.”
The U.S. Olympic Committee will not provide additional security for American athletes. “The responsibility for providing security during the Games rests primarily with the Games Organizing Committee and law-enforcement authorities from the host country. We are quite comfortable with the security measures being implemented to make certain [that] athletes and guests from around the world are safe during the Games,” says Saunches.
The security in place should allow the United States’ Olympic team of approximately 600 athletes to do what they do best: compete and represent their country with pride and honor. “America’s athletes recognize just how challenging the competitive environment will be, and they are preparing with this in mind. We are confident they will rise to the competitive challenges in Beijing,” says Saunches.
- Several the U.S. athletes will have the opportunity to compete in new events:
- Swimming, 10K open-water swim (men and women)
- Athletics, 3,000-meter steeplechase (women)
- Cycling – BMX (men and women)
- Fencing – Team foil (women); Team sabre (men)
- Sailing – RS:X Windsurfer (men and women); Laser (men); Laser Radial (women); Finn, open
- Table tennis – Team competition
As the U.S. team arrives in Beijing, according to Saunches, the United States Olympic Committee has established four goals for the American athletes:
1. To compete to the best of their ability and reach their full potential as athletes
2. To conduct themselves in a manner that brings honor and pride to our country (both on and off the fields of play)
3. To celebrate the Olympic experience and enrich their understanding of other cultures
4. To compete drug-free – and Saunches says “We will do everything in our power to see that this happens.”
So, as you watch the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, be proud of the American athletes who are there. You should also know that you are just one of many who will be watching. Saunches explains, “The worldwide audience for the 2008 Olympic Games is expected to exceed 4 billion, which would be the largest audience ever to view the Olympic Games.”
In the United States, the 2008 Olympics will be televised by NBC. For complete viewing information, visit www.nbcolympics.com.
Transportation to Beijing from the United States
With the 2008 Olympics being held on the other side of the globe, there are logistical issues related to the transportation of materials and athletes. How does the USOC manage the transportation logistics for the U.S. team as it makes its trek across the globe?
Leslie Gamez, managing director of the International Games, explains that it is no easy task. “For the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we are shipping 18 sea containers from the USA to China,” says Gamez. It takes a couple of weeks to stage the container packing and loading, all of which is done in Colorado Springs, Colo. The containers had already been shipped at the time of this writing. “The containers left Colorado Springs in mid-May and we will gain access to them in early July in China,” explains Gamez.
But that shipment is only the beginning. “In addition to those 18 containers, there will be a few separate shipments that carry sport-specific goods and supplies,” says Gamez. These will include boats for rowing, sailing, canoeing and kayaking, among other items. “These shipments are from other locations, mainly from where the boat teams are doing their summer training. Sail boats and rowing boats will go on a container; canoes and kayaks will be sent air freight,” says Gamez.
There are special shipping requirements for some of the equipment as well. The United States, for example, will establish a training center in Beijing. Because of this, the USOC is shipping a number of items, including mats, boxing rings, fencing strips, swimming lane lines, weights and cardio equipment. “All of these items will be loaded into our containers,” says Gamez.
The equestrian teams have additional special needs – the need to transport horses. “Horses for the equestrian events will go in a cargo hold of an aircraft from Europe to Hong Kong,” says Gamez. Europe is the major shipping port for horses, and the U.S. equestrian teams have spent the summer training in Europe as they approach the Beijing Olympics.
Trucking will play a role in the transportation of Olympic equipment, too. “Schenker is the USOC sponsor and they will arrange for trucks to get the containers from our warehouse in Colorado Springs to a California port. From the port they will go on a cargo ship to China,” says Gamez. Any last-minute items will be shipped by air.
According to Gamez, the ballpark figure for the freight and shipping for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is $750,000.
Athletes and teams, for the most part, do not have to contribute to the shipping fees. “The USOC is responsible for the majority of our shipping expenses; however, the Organizing Committee offers a few freight grants for select items, like boats and horses. However, to fully utilize their grants, a country has to be willing to ship on the Organizing Committee’s terms, i.e., their dates and from their designated shipping points. This doesn’t always work with our timing or the competition and training schedules of our various teams,” explains Gamez. The International Olympic Committee does not help fund the expense of shipping – the U.S. Olympic Committee does it all.
The policy of the USOC is to cover the cost for equipment shipped for the sake of training or competing. Any other items the athletes want to ship might not fall under that category. As far as timing is concerned, some U.S. athletes began arriving in China as early as July 25.
So the trucking and other transportation industries, as usual, will play an integral part in the success of a major event. This doesn’t even include the equipment shipped by the broadcasting companies or other corporate entities.
The Fun Is Rooting for the Athletes
The most memorable events come from the performances of the athletes. The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing should be no different. But with approximately 600 U.S. athletes participating in the Olympics, whom specifically should you root for? It’s always more fun when you have one or two athletes in particular to support. Cheer for them all, but let’s watch and support these two athletes closely:
Deontay Wilder – Heavyweight Boxing
Talk about a newcomer to a sport – one of the real up-and-comers – Deontay Wilder is that person. At age 22, he will have been boxing for only three years in October 2008. Yet his lethal right, combined with his devastating left hook, has left many opponents seeing stars. What’s even more impressive than the right and left of Wilder is his contagious smile and his love for his daughter.
Wilder started boxing at a community college where he made the team. Unfortunately, after his first year he could no longer go to school because he needed to find work that would support his daughter. When Wilder speaks of his daughter you can feel the love and joy in the room, and you can see it in his larger-than-life smile. His daughter, the joy of his life, has Spina Bifida. “She is what motivates me and she is what inspires me. She is the real hero in my family and my heart,” says Wilder.
When Wilder started his boxing career he didn’t know much about it. “All I knew about boxing was what I had seen on TV,” he says. Even though he was new to fighting, he was not new to boxing. “I was one of those kids who – though I never sought out trouble – trouble seemed to always find me,” explains Wilder. The moment he began to spar he knew boxing was for him, he says.
He began by sparring with a professional heavyweight and within a few seconds that professional heavyweight was lying on the canvas. Wilder decided to box in a local tournament and won that rather easily. He won the open tournaments. He then won the national tournament, though no one expected him to have a chance – especially since that was only his 16th bout. Five bouts later – yes, only his 21st bout – Wilder made the Olympic team. “It took me one-and-a-half years to make the Olympic team from the time I started boxing. That is unprecedented,” says Wilder.
He says he is probably still the underdog at the Olympics, but that is OK with him. “I like the role of the underdog – it makes victory so much sweeter,” laughs Wilder. He believes he will come away with a medal.
Oh ... and remember the jobs he had to take in order to support his beautiful daughter? Well, one of those was driving a truck as a local beer-delivery driver. “Driving is a job I was proud to do,” says Wilder.
Allyson Felix – Track and Field
When it comes to the track-and-field portion of the Olympics, Allyson Felix remains in the front of the pack. As an American sprinter, Felix has made quite an impression amid her competition, achieving the silver medal in the 2004 Summer Olym-pics in Athens, Greece, for the 200-meter dash.
After obtaining multiple wins while setting records throughout her high school career – Felix broke the world record in the under-20 category for the 200-meter and won the 100-meter state title as a sophomore - she entered the professional ranks, becoming the first American track athlete to do so right out of high school.
Although Felix turned professional, she still attended the University of Southern California. However, upon signing a six-figure, six-year endorsement deal with Adidas in 2003, Felix was ineligible to compete in college events. Instead, she concentrated on intense training sessions with Pat Connolly, former Olympic runner, in preparation for the upcoming 2004 Olympics. After taking home the silver medal in 2004, experts began predicting that Felix would be one to watch in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. For more information on Felix's career plus her upcoming charity work, visit www.allysonfelix.com.
