I love this. They have had some issues to be sure with uncooperative weather and malfuctioning zambonis and torch hydraulics and DEATH! But when it happens, it is some of the most beautiful expressions and extreme limits of the human body imaginable. In competition, emotions run the gamut from highest highs to lowest lows and in the Olympics, they are telescoped to planetary proportions. Two of my favorite events are the Downhill and the Halfpipe and yesterday had both, with Americans Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso – both stunningly beautiful ladies! – winning gold and silver and Shaun White proving once again that he is light-years higher and better than his competition while inventing and mastering new tricks at warp speed. Incredible. But wait, there’s more… Speed Skating, where Shani Davis, who four years ago became the first African-American to win a medal in the Winter Olympics (Think about that!), defended his title in the 1000. When watching Short Track Speed-Skating, I find myself constantly leaning to the left as they make their turns; it is one of the most intense 4-way races on razor edges at ripping speed. Most of the games involve speed and danger. Not so much for curling, which is a hilariously slow, yet still highly engrossing, game of precision sweeping.
My other favorite competition, moguls, was held earlier in the week and produced an American winner in Norwich, Vermonter Hannah Kearney. Men’s moguls won Canada it’s first gold on home soil when Alex Bilodeau beat ex-Canadian Internet spam king Dale Begg-Smith with blazing speed and perfectly executed flips and revolutions and a heartwarming tale about a brother with Cerebral Palsy.
I am getting very itchy to strap on some skis, for which I will fortunately have to wait only until Saturday morning when we will be in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The last time I attempted an aerial maneuver – a simple helicopter – I broke a rib, so I’m probably done with doing it myself, but I love to watch these competitors make everything look so smooth and easy on the precipice of disaster.
Posted inSports