The modern Olympics games were held in 1896 in Athens,
Greece. At that time it was the largest
sporting event to date. 14 nations sent
241 athletes to participate which did not include women.
The 2012 London Games had 193 nations and 11 territories
participating, sending 10,860 athletes.
This year each nation participating sent at least one woman to
compete. In the United States, women
won 52% of our gold medals. The growth
of the games as well as its ethnic and gender diversity is astonishing.
While I can appreciate the competition and enjoy watching a
spirited contest, it is the stories of the obstacles facing the athletes and
their character which impresses me most.
My list of the most notable stories includes:
Michael Phelps: The
four additional gold medals with the two silver makes him the most decorated
Olympian of all time with 18 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals.
Missy Franklin: The
high school swimmer from Colorado who refused to move to stay at her school and
continue to work with her coach. She
refused to sign with any sponsors in order to remain eligible to swim for her
high school.
Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings – 3 time Olympic
champions at the age of 35 and 34, considered the greatest beach volleyball
team of all time. In the last three Olympics
they lost 1 set.
Kayla Harrison: First
American to win gold in Judo.
Oscar Pistorius:
South African sprinter who is also the first double amputee to compete
in the Olympics.
There are numerous other stories of athletes from all over the
world who overcame adversity in order to reach their potential. Their stories are inspiring to all of us who continue
to strive to meet capabilities.
Did you watch the Olympics?
If you did not, why? If so, what
did you watch and why? If you could compete
in any event, what would it be and why?
Ryan- I did watch the olymipics this year. I always like to see how well the U.S. will do,and i also like to see how other countries do.I watch the swimming because i herd that Micheal Philps was going to set another record, but he did not set that record sadly.Hes still got 22 medals which i would be very proud to won that many meadls. If there would be a event it would probaly tennis becase its one my favorite sport to play.
ReplyDeleteMatea=^)I did watch the olympics this year. I watched swiming, runing, diving,gymnastics,ping pong, some tennis, and not much archery. I know there is more but I can't rember right now.i would like to do gymnastics, but i am not flexable. So swiming, but i am not that fast.Runing is also another thing that i would like to do. Those sports would be fun to play in the olympics. I am glad that the U.S.A got the most gold medals during the olypics. The olympics were fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteSena! Allmost every day that the olympics were on I was watching them with my step-dad. I mainly watched track, volleyball (Misty and Kerri) Swimming, and gymnastics! If I could compete in any event it would be gymnastics. It is so amazing and fun. If I was good at it I feel like it would be tons more fun! If it was realistic I would compete in volleyball because that is my most natural talent. I <3 the Olympics!
ReplyDeleteJacob_I did watch the Olympics. I watched them because they are fun to watch. It is the best athletes going their hardest against the other best athletes in the world. I watched b ball, gymnastics, swimming, running, rowing, long distance swimming, mountain biking, road biking, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, handball, BMX biking, and track and field. I watched basically whatever was on. If I could compete in any event I would compete in Basketball because Basketball is my favorite sport and i am good at it (more than any of the other sports. It would also be fun to mountain bike.
ReplyDeleteAaron- i did watch the olympics because i like to watch the u.s. and other countries compete. i watched swimming, b ball, soccer, water polo. if i was to do a sport i would do either b ball or soccer or water polo or swimming. because these sound very fun
ReplyDeleteKordell Seidler- Yes i watched the olympics. I mainly watched basketball and swimming. The reason I watched basketball was because it was suppose to be the new dream team and the reason i watched swimming was because i wanted to see Michael Philps break the record for most golds in olympics. If i can compete in the olympics it would be basketball because basketball is my favorite sport.
ReplyDeleteOzzy Worrell- I did watch the Olimpics a bit. I watched Horse Crosscountry and tresas becouse I actually ride horses, I watched track couse I actually do track, and bike racing couse of Kristin Armstrong(a native to boise Idaho where I presantly live). If I had to choose an event to partisapate in I would choose Triple jump in track couse I really like Triple Jump.
ReplyDeleteOzzy_ P.S I watched some archery becouse of hunger games. Maby I would do that if I knew how to hit the middle with a standerd bow.
ReplyDeleteAmaia- Yes I did watch the Olympics. I watched diving, volleyball, gymnastics, men's basketball, rowing, ribbon twirling, track and field, womens tennis, and swimming. I watched all of these sports, because I love the Olympics and try to watch as much of it as I can. If I could compete in any event I would compete in swimming, because I love the water and there are lots of chances to win medals.
ReplyDeleteEmma Grant_ Yes i did watch the Olympics. I mainly watched swimming, diving, soccer, gymnastics, volleyball, and track and field. Gymnastics would be fun to do, but being realistic I would probably do either soccer or volleyball, because they both have very good teams and I like both sports.
ReplyDeleteCaleigh- I did watch the Olympics. I mostly watched swimming, gymnastics, running, and rowing because i think those sports are intesting and they have to be graceful for these sports! If I were to do any olympic sport it would probaly be biking because i love to bike! just not bmx biking thats scary! haha
ReplyDeleteConor - I did watch the Olympics. The events I watched were swimming,track, diving, beach volley ball, and basketball. My favorite event to watch was swimming because of Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin. I wanted to see if Michael Phelps would have the most medals and Missy Franklin was really inspiring. If I competed in an event it would be swimming because it would be fun to compete against Michael Phelps.
ReplyDeleteRaphie-This year I did watch the Olympics, I was lucky enough to watch a little bit of everything, from water polo to handball. I watch the Olympics because it is a great example of good sportsmanship, and is a really cool thing to watch. All of those elite athletes in the same competitions, if I were able to compete in any event I would compete in either Freestyle or Greco-Roman wrestling. I would compete in one of those two sports because out of all the Olympic sports those are my two favorites.
ReplyDeleteJackie- I did watch the Olympics! I watched so much women's soccer and gymnastics. I love watching the Olympics because it pulls every country's finest athletes to compete and be recognized for the greatness. If I were able to compete in any event I would want to be a rhythmic gymnast. I love the music and the skill requires so that would most certainly be my pick. I loved watching the Olympics and I can't wait to watch the winter Olympics coming up in a few years!
ReplyDeleteCatie-I watched the Olympics a ton this summer. I watched soccer, beach volleyball, diving, swimming, volleyball, basketball, handball, water polo, trampoline, gymnastics, track and field, and many others. I love watching as many events as I can because the Olympics only happen every four years. If I could compete in any event, it would be soccer. I would love to be a part of a team that good.
ReplyDeleteKatie- I watched the Olympics a lot this summer. i watched both opening and closing ceremonies which were interesting. The events I watched were gymnastics, swimming, and running. I watched these events, because I think they're just fun to watch. If, I could compete in any event, it would be gymnastics, because I think t would be fun to do all of those cool tricks.
ReplyDeleterobert -Yes I watched, the olympics, Mostly cause I'm fascinated by their willpower to get outside. Also cause they have a power level of over 9000! lol Rage! (/*o*)/ _ _I__I_ , Sorry I'm trying to make people laugh that read my post cause they have the time,I watched almost every event, except for archery the one I actually wanted to watch, if I could compete in an event they would have to make it indoors, and add something with a keyboard or controller (lawl just kidding prolly archery, And I don't know why, prolly cause I like bows Insert cookie here --> (#)<(-_-) Konichiwa!
ReplyDeleteTaylor:D - I watched swimming, diving, gymnastics, rowing, track and field, and tennis. I watched these events because they are very interesting and it is really fun to see which country wins what. I would compete in archery because I really love it and I'm pretty good at it.
ReplyDeleteAbby- Yes i watched the Olympics, because it only comes every four years and I love watching the top players of the world compete. I mostly watched soccer, basketball and diving because one I love soccer and basketball, and second I wanted to see Ryan Lochte beat Michael Phelps. And if i could compete in any events it would be soccer because its my favorite sport and I would love to be on the same team as Hope Solo, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan.
ReplyDeleteEmma- Yes, I did watch the olympics because I love to watch people compete in all of the different events and it is only on every 4 years. I loved every event. Each of them were exciting to watch. It is amazing to think of all of the training the competitors do for something they love. If I could compete in any event I would choose soccer, gymnastics or swimming. I would choose soccer because I have played in that sport my entire life and it is my favorite sport, I would choose gymnastics because you get to show off a bunch of amazing tricks which would be so cool to be able to do and because there are many different events in one event that you get to perform in, and then swimming would be fun because of the tremendous amount of excersize and strength you get from it and I love to be in the water.
ReplyDeleteDan- yeeeeepppp i did watch the olympics. i watched every sport even synchronized swimming. but the sports i mostly focused on were basketball swimming tennis track gymnastics volleyball soccer and water polo. i watched these sports because they are some of my favorite sports and every single sport is fun in the olympics even if its table tennis. if i could compete in an event it would be basketball cause i am good at it and its fun,it would be swimming because it is fun being in water or maybe track because I'm fast or bmx because its fun doing tricks and racing on bikes. i would also do ping pong because I'm amazing at it or water polo because thats a fun sport too. it would also be fun competing against the best athletes in the world. its sucks that its over
ReplyDeleteGabi- Yes i did watch the olympics this summer. I love watching them because these people are the best athletets in America and they are competing for our country. It also only happens every four years. I watched the gymnastics, swimming, track and field, diving, water polo, volleyball, soccer, and basketball. I watched these events because they were the ones that just happened to be on, and I love to watch all the events so it didnt really matter what was on. If I could compete in any event it woud probely be gymnastics because I love how talented and athletic they are and they can do really cool tricks. Or I would want to do basketball because it is one of my favorite sports that I play.
ReplyDeleteVince-Yes, of course i watched the olympics, who dosent. i watched basically every event. i watched mens diving, mens ribbon, mens synchronized swimming and etc................. i think that it kinda sucks that the olympics are only every four years. i wish they were every year. if i could be in an event i would be in mans diving, mens ribbon, mens synchronized swimming or mens gymnastics. the reason i would be in one of those events is because that is what i have been desiring to do ever sense i was a young little munchkin.
ReplyDeletebelle- yes of course i watched the olympics! i watch almost everything. my favorites are trampoline, gymnastics and swimming so i would want to do one of those. i think it would be really fun to represent my countrey as the best and also know that your hard work payed off
ReplyDelete(&*%^CODY^%*&) i did not really watch the olympics because my brother was coming home but i did watch a little of the girls gymnastics and mens wrestling.If i could ever compete in an event i would pick gymnastics because it would be awsome if i could do a backflip anytime i want.
ReplyDeleteNatalia- I watched the olympics. i watched swimming, diving,running, and gymnastics. I would want to do gymnastics but im not sure how well i would do. Its my favorite to watch and it looks fun to do.
ReplyDeleteAlli~ I watched a few events, not many though. I watched the woman's gymnastics, and a little bit of the swimming and woman's water polo. If I could compete in any event I would probably compete in gymnastics because it looks like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteStephanie- I watched a lot of the Olympics! I wathced vollyball, gymnastics, swimming events, diving events, track events, and basket ball. I love the olympics and wish they were on more often. If I was to be in an Olympic event it would be gymnastics because I think being able to do flips and uneven bars would be fun and exciting!
ReplyDeletecaptain mm(peter)=Ya i watched the olimpics why woulden't I watch them. I watched water polo, swimming, ping pong, gymnastics, tennis, horse riding,trampoline,diving sincronised diving, sincronised swimming, vollyball, running, soccer and basketball. I watched the olimpics because that just what we do every year. Its addicting to because once you watch 1 event you have to watch more. I would probally do trampoline, because you do all sorts of flips, spins, and ariels.
ReplyDeleteDillon- I watched a little of the olympics but not a lot because me were in the process of moving from Hammett to Boise. the thing that i did watch were track and field, shooting, and gymnastics. I watched these events because they were the only things when i was watching. If i could compete in any event i would compete in shooting because i love to shoot guns.
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