glorious Olympics

B and I have been watching the Olympics and it's just amazing to see all the atheletes from around the world strut their stuff and kick butt!


Last weekend we watched Usain Bolt of Jamaica make history as he broke the world record of 9.7 seconds in the 100m sprint. His time: 9.69! Ang bilis talaga niya tumakbo! He is also a fantastic showman. Nagsayaw pa talaga at umikot sa buong stadium after he won. Asteeg!

Then on Monday we watched the men's 3,000m steeplechase final. It was so fun to watch dahil may tubig sa isang hurdle. We were also very amazed at how these men can jump the hurdles. Parang ang dali lang sa kanila ano? Kenya's Brimin Kiprop Kipruto won the gold, while his teammate Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong won bronze. France's Mahiedine Mekhissi-B. won silver.


On the same night, we watched the women's pole vault final. Ang astig ng mga babaeng kalahok dito. It's amazing how they can grab that pole and use it to jump. Galing! Russia's Elena Isinbaeva won gold while the American Jennifer Stuczynski earned silver. Apparently may intriga pang namagitan sa dalawa dahil sa trash talk na binitiwan ni Stuczynski before the competition.


Last night we were able to catch the women's balance beam final. Shawn Johnson of the US won the gold while Nastia Liukin won silver. China's Cheng Fei won bronze. We watched Shawn and Nastia on the beam and they were really graceful and beautiful. It was art. Sayang we were not able to watch Cheng Fei's performance.

We also saw the men's high bar final. China's Zou Kai won gold, while Jonathan Horton of the US won silver. The bronze went to Germany's Fabian Hambuechen. Hambuchen and Zou's performance were both awesome but I was really impressed by Horton.

Kasi earlier in the competition, Epke Zonderland of The Netherlands fell from the bar while doing his routine, which started off really, really well. Sayang nga eh. After that, the two Japanese atheletes who followed him seemed to hold back. Ang bababa nga ng scores dahil ang baba ng difficulty. Pero si Horton, he gave it his all. He took risks and threw in stunts that the others were too scared to do.

Sabi nga ni Dawn Fraser, isang Australian swimmer, "the Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself." And I agree with her. These atheletes give us lessons that are more than just the usual "live well, eat healthy and exercise." They show us what it means to rise above challenges and the importance of always doing your best and focusing on what you have to do.