Man oh man have I been grateful the Olympics have been this week. They have made the t.v watching more enjoyable. The talent, athleticism and devotion these athletes have to their sport amazes me. Micahel Phelps...what a phenomenon! Twenty two medals, eighteen of which are gold, is certainly some bragging rights! Gabby Reynolds, the adorable star gymnast, is such a pleasure to watch. She always has a smile on her face and looks like she is just a joy to be around in and out of the gym. But no one amazes me more than Oscar Pretorius, the double amputee from South Africa. I watched him race in the first round of qualifying for the 400 m run yesterday and today he will race again in the preliminaries. He is going down in history just by being the first double amputee to participate in the Olympics and hopefully he will leave with a medal...maybe even a gold!
My question is...does anyone "win" the Olympics? I watch the medal counts every night and it is obviously a battle for the most medals between USA and China, with Great Britain in a distant third. But what does that mean? All I know is it makes me proud to be a citizen of the United States of America. Not only are we winners, but we are humble and gracious. I think all of our athletes carry themselves well. When interviewed, they always thank their fans, their partents, and their nation and state how they hope they have represented their country well. To that, my answer is most definitely "YES!"