As I’ve mentioned before, I have many happy memories of watching the Games at home and with that comes a bit of an attachment to certain athletes. Most of them are Americans, since it’s quite normal to root for your home country 😉 But in a few cases with non-American athletes, either their story or, to be honest, their good looks caught my attention!
Gymnastics always provides some drama at the Games. In 1996, along with the rest of the world, I watched the US Women’s Team make history by winning a team gold. The Magnificent 7 (above, l to r: Amanda Borden, Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow, Jaycie Phelps, Dominique Moceanu, Kerri Strug, & Shannon Miller) will always be remembered when we look back at Games past, and rightly so!
Another gymnast I will never forget is the man I like to call Mr. Personality. The media liked to call him Sexy Alexei 🙂 Russia’s Alexei Nemov won 12 medals over the course of two Olympic Games. But, it was seeing him in the inaugural gymnastics champions gala in Atlanta that won me over. In addition to being an amazing gymnast, the man likes to entertain and he’s good at it. 🙂
When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time in my grandparents’ pool and I would swim short laps as fast as I could, pretending I was racing for gold, like Janet Evans (above right) and Dara Torres (above left). Those two women set fire to the pool! By the end of Janet Evans’ career, she held seven world records, five Olympic medals (including four gold), and 45 U.S. national titles. And Dara Torres began her Olympic career in 1984 and has only just retired this year at the age of 45 – that’s 28 years of swimming, winning 12 medals over the course of five different Games!
1996 in Atlanta was when I really got crazy excited about the Games. They were being held in the US. There was Olympic merch everywhere, it seemed. And we got a lot more of a preview of the Games – the big match ups. One big battle in the pool would be the race for the title of “Fastest Man in the Pool” and it would come down to American Gary Hall Jr. and Russian Aleksandr Popov. Hall came across as super arrogant to me, and Popov looked cute. Besides, he was the reigning Olympic champion. He didn’t disappoint, shutting down Hall and defending both of his golds. A month later, I remember reading in the paper that he had been stabbed in Moscow and was recovering from his wounds. A year later, he defended his titles at the swimming world championships. He really is a dedicated athlete and Olympian. Popov is now a member of the IOC.
In Sydney, there was a good-looking and tall Aussie fish boy. And he definitely played on the home field advantage. He is Ian Thorpe. What can I say, he’s hot. 🙂 He was the Michael Phelps before Michael Phelps, if you will. Young talent attracting all sorts of attention. He was the most successful athlete at the Sydney Games and has the most gold medals of any Australian.
But Thorpey wasn’t the only swimmer to catch my attention in Sydney. South Africa’s Terence Parkin won my support for a different reason – he’s deaf. Now, I don’t know if you’re familiar with Olympic Swimming, but the starting cues are all auditory. You’d think that puts Terence at a disadvantage, but he was allowed a starting light. He refused to let his disability keep him from competing. And he won a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke. He is an epic Olympian 🙂
I know my list not at all well-rounded. Two sports. This is why I want to hear from you! Looking back at past Olympic Games, who did you love cheering for?
La Voce Vivace 