Only A Prelude

Wow, the last few week have been amazing! Not that I have done anything special. But to watch those athletes competing one another at the Olympic Trials was amazing. It began with gymnastics. There was one gymnast that everyone would expect to win the gold medal just like Carly Patterson did 4 years ago. And there were a couple of oldies who had to face disappointing results 4 years ago. And they should be on their way to the first Olympics and possible medals. But only 6 of those training at the training center in Texas will get to go to Beijing this summer. For many of those, this is the only chance. After all the training and practices that they have to go through even to get to this point, they all deserve a bunch of respects.

Then, at the Track and Field trials, there was a 16 year-old girl who made the final in 1500m. She also set a high school American record and is on her way to Poland to compete at the Junior Worlds. The crowd loved her chanting 'Come to Oregon, Come to Oregon!!' Personally, I hope she will go somewhere else. But it's up to her to decide. Or she may not compete at college level like Allyson Felix. Lots of congrats to Breaux, Dwight, Lisa, Trevell for all the success that they have had in their career regardless of the results of the trials.

In the swimming trials, again a 15 year-old girl made the team. In the same event that Katie Hoff competed when she was 15 4 years ago. Not to mention, she is the youngest one on the team. On the other hand, this 41 year-old woman not only made the team but won 2 events, in one of which she set an American record. It's almost impossible to think that someone can compete at that level at the age of 41 and she is at her best that age. The most of the top swimmers are teenagers or in their early 20s. This is just amazing. How in the world did she do that?!

And the conclusion of this amazing week full of sports was the Wimbledon final. That went far beyond my expectation. I expected it to be somewhat competitive and fun. But that was undescribable! What a match they played. Amazing shot after shot after shot from crazy position.

Sporting events are wonderful. But there are always someone who lose their once in a life time chance. In Track and Field, top 3 goes to Beijing with Olympic A standard time. In swimming, top 2 advance. There is no free pass even for the athletes who have an American record. If they are not on top of their game and lose, they are done. There is no second chance. This makes it even more dramatic.

After all this great moments and performances, this is only a prelude. You can expect the even better when top athletes from all over the world gather in Beijing on August 8, 2008. More than once I dreamed about being an Olympian. Now that dream is shattered. But I'd love to be a part of it sometime, maybe as a member of the medical team.