I was thrilled to see a 38 year old woman (a Romanian) win the marathon, and soon after Dara Torres, one of the alternate covers of Time magazine from two weeks ago (the front cover had LeBron J@mes, she was on the second cover) win her second silver medal in these games.I can barely write, watching the 100m women's medley!! I wish the U.S. could win, particularly so that Dara Torres would get her first Olympic gold medal, but I think it's not going to happen (it didn't, Australia won, but they got silver).
I'm a tad critical of some of the comments that the NBC narrators made about Dara. They kept repeating that she was 41 years old. She had about four minutes between the medal ceremony for her silver medal and the beginning of the medley, and when she showed emotion upon receiving her medal one of them said that she shouldn't be doing that, that it was important to keep her focus. Why that? Why can't she be emotional and professional at the same time? (and she was, she was phenomenal in the race). Then, when she came out with the U.S. team, putting on her cap, they remarked -- she's chatting with them, "she's always so chatty" -- why does she have to be introspective like Phelps? Is "chatty" a negative quality? (I'm so riled up because I'm an extremely chatty person, as many of you have already noticed).
After the race the commentator said: "I can't get over it, DT was spectacular again" -- go and get over it already!
In the interview following the winning of the silver medal the interviewer remarked to Dara that her 2 year old daughter Tessa would not remember her wins in these games, and she asked what she'd like to tell Tessa about it: "I'll tell her 'you don't have to put an age limit to your dreams!' " Well said!!
The big question -- will Mich@el Phelps beat Spitz's record of 7 gold medals? Too bad it's a medley and he depends on others. Well, I'll wait until the race is over to publish this. This is a nerve racking! I'm taping for to Kelvin (yeah, we still have a VCR), who has been enjoying Phelps. WOW!!! They won! Glad I caught it on tape! 8 gold medals in one single Olympic. "This is just the kind of feat which may never be surpassed" "one of the greatest feats in Olympic history"... words from the NBC guys.
P.S. the weirdest thing has just happened (right before the men's medley)-- a Happy M3al commercial had a quirky Brazilian song as its background!! "Ela é minha menina" (it's two teams of boys in a soccer tournament, the losers get the meal and winner drops the trophy).
Oh, now, please don't ask me what I think of the coverage. For someone from another country like me, it's really really terrible. I don't get to see people from my country compete (only if they win gold, like last night on the 50m men's freestyle swimming!! YAY!!)
I totally agree, Lilian. I think they are only making these comments because she is a woman and she is in her 40s.
ReplyDeleteI read that in some sports, such as swimming, physical ability doesn't drop off much until the 50s. I think her physical stamina is not so amazing, because 41 isn't very old for a swimmer, but to keep that single-minded intense mental focus on athletic competition even while you're married and raising a baby is extremely unusual. Most people outgrow it, move onto another stage in their lives, but obviously a few can maintain that single-mindedness and win. Good for her.
ReplyDeleteIn non-professional athletic competition at a more local level, for example local 5K and 10K races, people are divided into age categories, and you OFTEN see that in the women's races, the older women have better times than younger ones. It's not unusual for women in their 40s to outperform the younger ones. The ones who keep competing into their 40s and 50s are probably more intense, maybe more competitive.