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?
Grace-I did watch the Olympics. I watched a few minutes of volleyball, swimming, and gymnastics if they were on. Mostly I watched soccer. I watched mostly the U.S. women's team because the men's team did not qualify. I watched most of the games with my dad and brother, whom, as I do, play and love soccer. We watched the U.S. team make it to the Gold Medal Match and win 2-1 against Japan. I thought they were bragging throughout the Olympics (when they scored they did the Shoe Shiner)but I was still happy to see them when the gold. I thought it was funny when that one girl punched Abby Wambach in the eye. If i could be in any event, it would be soccer since it is my favorite sport.
ReplyDeleteTomas-i was having my eyes glued to the TV watching olympics. i even got a headache at the end of each week.i mostly watched swiiming and track and field because those are my most favorite sports in the olympics. surprisisngly i only watched the finals in basketball. i wonder if there would be a huge difference if the harlem globetrotters played. i thecnically saw like 1% of gymastics thogh because im just not that interested in gymastics than swiming and track and field. if i was forced to play an olympic sport or else the british would kill me slowly i would play maybe track and field because im preety fast and i would dtink at swiming.
DeleteTomas- too bad for you justin i got a cool looking guy as ym icon. im glad i didnt get my khan acadamy icon.(mr fuzzles)
DeleteWes-Mr. Fuzzles?
DeleteThomas-I watched a little bit of the Olympics because most of the time I wasn't at my house. I Watched swimming and running because that was what was on at night. My dad also got me to watch some of the soccer matches after the Olympics online. If I could compete in any event I would compete in either basketball or soccer because those are my two favorite sports.
ReplyDeleteNathaniel- Of course I watched the Olympics! I watched swimming, gymnastics, and track & field. Swimming is really fun and I do it as a sport myself. The gymnasts make gymnastics look easy when it's actually really hard. I also like track & field because it's cool to see who the fastest runners in the world are. I would compete in swimming, because it's one of the few sports I have a real talent in. I also love Michael Phelps!
ReplyDeleteNathaniel- I also watched soccer, and was rooting for Brazil!
Delete:)
Reed-I watched the Olympics. I was very interested in swimming, basketball, and track. But mostly i watched track and felid. I watched this because i like to see both men and women beacuse i like to see the people run over 20 miles and hour four a long time. I also watched swimming a lot and seeing Michel Phelips become the most decorated Olympian ever. In basketball i watched the U.S.A team dominate the compotion. I also heard that they might add lacrosse to the Olympics i think that it would be fun to watch a native american sport to be a event in the Olmypics. If i could be in any event i would chose ping pong. I think that ping pong me and petie would dominate the field.
ReplyDeleteP.S. in watched the fab five dominate also
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ReplyDeleteJustin- I watched the olympics. I watched pretty much whatever was on T.V. at that time. The events I really watched were basketball, track and field, and diving. In basketball i watched Lebron, Durant, and Kobe dominate in pretty much all of their games to win a second consecutive gold medal. I watched Usuain Bolt have an easier time then the basketball team striking gold in every event he competed in. The 100m, 4x100, 200m, and the 4x200. I just watched diving because I thought it was cool to see those people jump from 30 feet and act like it's no big deal, cause i hate heights. But the Chinese pretty much dominated in diving. If I could compete in any event it would basketball because that's the the sport that I love and I'm pretty good at it too.
ReplyDeleteJustin- Why is my profile picture a teddy bear?????
Deleteand btw i did watch Michael Phelps too.
DeleteNatalie- I did watch the Olympics. What I watched most was track & field and volleyball. Volleyball was really interesting this year, as Misty-May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings pretty much dominated the competition. It ended up being an American team versus an American team in the gold medal match which was very interesting. Misty and Kerri ended up winning it all. I also watched track & field. I was mostly watching the American woman sprinters(Carmelita Jeter, T'erea Brown, Allyson Felix and Lolo Jones)and Usain Bolt from Jamaica, who people are now calling The Fastest Man in the World which I thought was a fitting title as he won gold in both the 100m and the 200m. Archery was amazing to watch as well. The competitors made a bullseye almost every shot!I would compete in Archery because I have actually done Archery before and the sport is fun and challenging to compete in.
ReplyDeleteNikita- I did watch the Olympics. What I watched most was swimming, gymnastics, diving, and part of the men's volleyball. I watched swimming and diving because I swim and know a lot of the famous athletes and the not so famous athletes that competed, so it was almost mandatory for me to see the swimming events. Diving, especially the synchronized, was a really interesting and cool looking thing to watch. Gymnastics was also a really interesting thing to watch considering the Fab Five dominated it all. And then men's volleyball was on when I turned on the TV so I watched it and found it pretty cool. If I could compete in an Olympic event it would swimming because I swim a lot and there are a lot of great swimming role models to look up to.
ReplyDeleteKeelie: No I didn't watch the Olympics. I only caught glimpses of it if I walked through the T.V. room. I'm very disappointed to say that, though. Its not that i didn't want too, I just didn't get the time or I didn't feel like watching T.V. If I could compete in any Olympic sport, I would choose boxing because I think I would be good at it.
ReplyDeletecool.
DeleteI did watch the Olympics and they were awesome!(as always)! I spent most of the two weeks sitting on the couch screaming at the tv and cheering on the USA and that was a lot of fun. I watched mainly gymnastics, volleyball, swimming, archery(I don't know why) and water polo. if i had to compete in the olympics for anything it would probably rhythmic gymnastics because a) its the funniest one to watch and b) its probably the easiest to win. i would also want to play soccer and maybe tennis to work on my tennis grunt but that would be all. GO USA!!!!!
ReplyDeletesorry that was me patrick!
Deleteby the way who choose the pic good choice
Deletei cant figure out how to choose the pic
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DeleteAndoni- I couldn't watch too much of the Olympics because I was on vacation at the same time. But whenever i turned the T.V. on the only thing that would be on was swimming and gymnastics. One time i turned it on and saw the U.S. men's basketball team destroying. I wish i could have seen some of the other events to get an equal mix of all the events. I saw Micheal Phelps's last event of his Olympic career. I also think that baseball should be made an Olympic event. [Sorry, I know that wasn't a question] If i could compete in any Olympic event i would chose basketball. Only because the U.S often wins and i could get a gold medal.
ReplyDeleteI agree baseball would be fun to watch.
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Deletewow okay then
DeleteMegan- I loved watching the Olympics. It was about the only show I watched for 2 1/2 weeks. I mostly tuned into swimming and some track and field that was on. Missy Franklin is my hero and I want to just like her went I'm older!!! Phelps was pretty cool, and I was happy for his accomplishments. To be honest, I was cheering for Ryan Lotche the whole way! I mainly saw swimming because that is my main sport and I love to swim. I would definitely compete in it and hopefully will when I am older. The only other sport I would probably chose would be biking. I love Kristin Armstrong. She is such an inspiration to me. I can't wait for the Paralympics, though! They all are so tough!
ReplyDeleteLily- I loved watching the Olympics! I mostly watched swimming, track and field, and gymnastics! Watching Michael Phelps win gold and being the most decorated Olympian was really cool!! Gymnastics was really fun to watch too! Gabby Douglas is such a great athlete,and a insperation to everybody! Watching Usain Bolt also gave me the insperation to never give up and work hard at everything I do! If I could be in any event I would want to be in womens basketball! Basketball is one of my favorite sports and I love the game! I personaly think that lacrosse should become an Olympic sport, and if it does i would love to be on the USA team!
ReplyDeletejustin- seriously u put urs on at 11:30?
DeleteMegan- Seriously Liliy?!! What were you doing last night?! U crazy gurl
DeleteI know it was late but i went to a football game to watch my brother and i got back really late!!! hahaha
DeletePetie-I thought that the Olympics are AWESOME!! It is so fun to watch all the Olympians do stuff that I didn't even think was possible. I especially loved watching the USA basketball team CRUSH. Go USA!! I thought that the swimming was great. Watching Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and all the other swimming Olympians was awesome. It almost looked like they were a motorboat. If I were to compete in any event I would have to compete in the trampolining because you can bounce so high!! I personally think that Lacrosse should be in the Olympics Because its really starting to grow and it would be a lot of fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteRyan- I did watch the Olympics. I watched a little bit of everything, but mostly diving because it looked the coolest. I also really liked the kayaking and tennis. If I could do an Olympic sport I would do tennis because it’s my favorite.
ReplyDeleteRylie- I did watch the Olympics. I watched the women's rowing. It was amazing, those women were so strong. It only took about a minute to get across that big stretch of water. I watched the Olympic's because my parents were watching it... I don't think i would like to compete in the Olympics. I would rather be a judge, in the gymnastics, becuase I am very picky at their routines and such. It would be also very fun!
ReplyDeleteWOAH, RAINBOW SKATE-BOARDS
DeleteBailie- I did watch some of the Olympics. It was only a little bit of the swimming, gymnastics, and diving. I watched it because I was bored and it was the only thing my mom would allow me to watch at the time. If I could compete in any event in the Olympics I would probably be boxing like my sister. This is because I would work hard to beat her and she would make winning even more fun.
ReplyDeleteRaquel- I ended up watching the olympics this year, with my family. I like watching track and field,diving and swimming.I chose to watch the olympics this year because each year they get more interesting and ispirational. Its fun to see each competer from all different places in the world come together as the best to do what they love the most in life. If I were in the olympics I would compete in gymnastics because I would feel like I'm on top of the world doing all these cool flips and stuff. Though all of this requires hard work I would be willing to do so for the fun of competing with others. I look forward to the olympics to come.
ReplyDeleteLauryn- I did watch the Olympics this year. How could I not? Everywhere I went the Olympics were on. I watched mainly diving, swimming, gymnastics,and track and field. I watched diving and gymnastics because I love seeing people do flips. Watching swimming made me curious how deep the pool was. If I were to be in that event I would drownd. My favorite stroke that they did would be the butterfly. I watched track and field mainly because it amazed me how fast that they could run. Just staring at there legs made me dizzy. I would never compete in that event because i hate running! If i were to compete in the olympics I would choose gymnastics. I have ben in gymnastics for three years in the past and I also did classes during the summer. Gymnastics also is the event that relates the most to dance, that is why I would feel most comfortable in that event. The Summer olympics were amazing this year and I can't wait for the Winter Olympics.
ReplyDeleteLiam- I did not watch practically any of the summer olympics. I guess I was caught up in other stuff like swim team preparing for the city championship, and playing endless hours of Minecraft. As I mentioned before i am on swim-team, so If I was to compete in any event, it would most definitely be swimming. The stroke i would do yould be either Freestyle, or Backstorke. I am good at the Butterfly, so if they needed me to compete in a relay I could do Butterfly. The only stroke I can't do is the Breaststroke. My feet just can't flex that way. Everytime I do Breaststroke I always Get DQ'd. So to sum up this paragraph, I did not watch the Olympics, and If I did compete in the PLympics I would compete in Swimming.
ReplyDeleteSYDNEY!- I watched the Olympics alot! In fact it became a habit for our family to sit down at dinner time in the living room and watch the Olympics until we were done eating! I mostly watched Gymnastics (boys and girls), Beach Volleyball,swimming, and track and field. It was mainly on at the time that I would watch and those are my most favorites so I try to get the times correct! If I could compete in any event it would be gymnastics because I have the flexibility because I am a dancer. I am looking forward to the Winter Olympics is Russia a lot!!!!
ReplyDeleteLiza- I did watch the Olympics. They where pretty dang cool, this year anyway. I watched archery because I love the fact that humans still use a bow and arrow. I really enjoyed watching swimming because swimming is 1 thing I really like. Most of all I watched gymnastics. It was awesome to see Abby win a gold on beam. I like knowing she is the first African American to win gold in beam. That is so cool. If I had to compete, I would compete in swimming or track and field. I would do swimming because I'm a pretty good swimmer. Track and Field because I am somewhat good at running.
ReplyDeleteHayley:I did watch the Olympics. I watched the USA girls dominate on the soccer field. I also watched the fierce five in gymnastics. I watched more synchronized diving then I ever want to watch AGAIN. I also watched Misty May and Kerri Walsh dominate in beach volleyball. I also watched Micheal Phelps become the most decorated Olympian. Ia also watched track and field. If i could I would compete in Soccer because it is my favorite sort in the Olympics right now. If lacrosse was in it I would say lacrosse.
ReplyDeleteAdriana-I watched the olympics alot this year!!!!! I watched swimming, basketball,gymnastics,track and field,diving, volleyball, and a little bit of the wrestling.But i mostly paid attention to swimming, watching Micheal Phelps become the most decorated olympian, gymnastics watching gabby douglas win the gold for all around gymnastics: my idol!!!!!, and the u.s.a girls b ball team win gold, yet again. If i could compete in any events i would choose b ball cause i enjoy the game and im also pretty good at it and, gymnastics cause i am very limber and wouldnt it be awesome to be doin backflips on the way to class or somethin?!?!?
ReplyDeleteAnd like lily said i think that lacrosse should become an olympic sport.
DeleteLuke-I did watch the Olympics. When I did, I was at Lake Chilan at the time. I saw Ryan Lochte win the swimming relay and almost beat Michael Phelps' record. I watched beach volleyball where there are only two people on either side. I watched women's 10m platform dive where they would do amazing tricks they dive vertically in the water. I also watched the 100m dash where people sprint as fast as they can to the goal as well as the hurtle run which has the same concept but there are hurtles in front of them that they have to jump over. If i could choose to be in any Olympic event, it would be the marathon because i have good stamina.
ReplyDeleteJohn- Yeah i watched the olympics. I watched a lot of events, first off i watched the usa gymnastics team and the fab five win yhe gold,i watched the usa swim team and michael phelps dominate,i watched track and the fatest man in the world Usane bolt represent his country Jamaica and i also watched the new dream with Lebron and Kobe as captains take home the gold in basketball and for the usa. I would be in basketball because it's one of my favorite sports and it would be cool to represent my country as a basketball player.
ReplyDeleteJohn- Yeah i watched the olmpics this year. I watched a lot of events first off i watched the fab five and usa olympic girls gymastics team win the gold,i watched the usa swim team boys and girls dominate in swimming,i watched track and the fastest man in the world Usane Bolt represent his country Jamaica,i watched the usa grils soccer team get the gold against Japan withe victory 2 to 1and i watched the new dram team as Lebron and Kobe as captain beat spain to take home the gold.I would be in basketball because it's one of my favorite sports and it would be cool to represent my country in a sport that i like a lot.
ReplyDeleteAubrie-Yes i did watch the Olympics. I watched gymnastics, swimming, diving, running, and almost all the individual sports. I watched the synchronized diving. I thought that it was really amazing how two people could do the same thing at the exact same time. I very happy to see the United States do so well in competing against different parts of the world.I loved to see all of the smiling faces stand on the podium and receive a medal from the Olympics. If I were to compete in the Olympics compete in gymnastics because I love to do cartwheels and hand stands and I also would be able to have fun while I am working hard.
ReplyDeleteWes-Yes, I did watch the Olympics. I mean, it was on the news so it was pretty hard to ignore.I watched the Olympics because I really wanted to see how China did:). I watched a lot of gymnastics, soccer, diving, and a little bit of tennis. I would want to do basketball because of how much I love the sport.
ReplyDeleteP.S I was finally able to log in.
DeleteNate- No, I did not watch the Olympics. I was doing other things that I found more entertaining. The Olympics are really just not my thing. If I could do a sport in the Olympics it would be Ping-Pong. It doesn't require that you be insanely fit, just that you are dedicated and practice a lot.
ReplyDeleteNo; it has been the same stuff for roughly 1,788 years (including the pause where christianity believed it was influencing paganism. And i spent most of my summer with my friend Colton.
ReplyDeletePole Vault; i have always love the feeling where you are going reasonably fast then you fly into the air, like cliff jumping.
Nekane-i watched some but not all. if i could do a sport in the olympics it would be vollyball.because i love volly ball and love playing the sport.
ReplyDeletei didnt watch many besause it kinda makes me board watching the olympics so ya.
DeleteTodd- Yes I did watch the Olympics, it was all that was on at our house and was the only thing that we talked about! If I could be in the Olympics I would be in trap shooting because I love to shoot and I am very good at it.
ReplyDeleteClaire-Yes I watched the Olympics. THey were awesome. I watched the gymnastics and the swimming and saw little bits of almost every single event. I also watched the beginning and ending ceremony. If were in the olympics, I would do gymnastics because that is my favorite event to watch because they do flips and cartweels.
ReplyDelete