Strollerderby : Dara Torres

Succumbing to the Olympics Sap

Jen Chaney — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:27:00 GMT

I'll admit it. I cry easily when confronted with schmaltz. I weep while watching commercials. I sometimes tear up during movies I know are terrible. And since I've become a mother, I have found myself even more susceptible to emotional outbursts when my heartstrings get tugged.

That's why my tear ducts were in overdrive during the Olympics, an event that seeks to unite everyone in the world by forcing all of us to reach for a tissue at the same time. Slate.com instituted a Sap-o-Meter to track the level of sentimentality oozing from NBC's coverage of this great athletic event. Assuming the weekend didn't skew the numbers, the sappiest day of the Olympics occurred on Sunday, Aug. 16, when commentators mentioned moms A LOT (it always comes back to the mothers, doesn't it?) and gymnast Alicia Sacramone got a little weepy after falling not once, but twice, while attempting to help the U.S. women's team win gold.

Some of the moments that made me teary:

--When gymnast Shawn Johnson's parents wept and embraced after their daughter won the gold medal on balance beam. Honestly, could kind of cry again just thinking about it.

--Seeing poor Haley Ishimatsu, a U.S. diver who did not qualify for the finals, try to regain her composure during an interview when she was clearly devastated by her elimination.

--The moment when another diver, the retiring Laura Wilkinson -- who did not medal in Beijing -- got all verklempt while reflecting on her athletic career.

--Almost every minute that involved Michael Phelps, his mother or the total class act that is Dara Torres.

--Seeing Placido Domingo (seemingly) lip synch during the closing ceremonies. But that made me cry for a different reason.

So which Olympic highlight turned you into a weepy wuss? Go ahead. It's okay to admit it.

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Why the puppy games are better than the Olympics

Brett Singer — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

OK, that's not true. But if you haven't seen this dopey show on Animal Planet, you're missing out on something very cute.

Here are a few highlights:

1. Commentary: "It's going to be tough to impress the judges." True – because they're goldfish. "This is like a chess match." Indeed – if chess opponents gnawed on the pieces and sniffed each others' butts. Bob Costas doesn't get lines like these.

2. No controversy: As far as we know, the opening ceremonies were real, no protesters, journalists or grandmothers were arrested, and no one is complaining about the puppy's potentially sexist costumes.

3. Who won? Who cares?: They're, you know, dogs. They have no idea where they are or what they're doing. You can still cheer for your favorite breed (the Cocker Spaniel is really cute) but at the end of the day, it's all up to the judges… who are goldfish.

4. Two words: Waterbowl Cam.

Not sure if they're going to air this again or not, if so, I highly recommend watching it. There are a bunch of video clips on Discovery.com; here's one of the Gymnastics event.

source/image: Animal Planet

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Nastia Liukin's mom watches from the stands (video)

Brett Singer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Apparently Nastia Liukin's mother, Anna Kotchneva Liukin, has a hard time watching her gold-medal winning daughter compete. According to the NBC commentators, she spent some of the recent Beijing events shopping. This time, though, she stuck it out, but not without some difficulty. They didn't mention it, but I don't think she knows the guy she's sitting next to, despite the fact that she almost ends up in his lap.

My kids aren't terribly athletic (at least not yet) so I don't know what it's like to see your offspring in an intense competition, and the Olympics are as big as it gets for gymnasts. Anna knows from being on that big stage: she was a champion gymnast herself. Not sure if that makes it harder or easier to see your kid out there; judging from this video, I'd say it must be pretty tough.

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IOC orders investigation of Chinese Gymnast's age

Brett Singer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:54:00 GMT

He Kexin won a gold medal in the uneven bars and also contributed to the Chinese beating out the U.S. in the team gymnastics event. She looks really really young, and there have been questions about her age for awhile now. The IOC has begun to formally investigate whether or not, "Chinese authorities covered up the true age of their gold-medal winning gymnastics star because she was too young to compete," because of, "'discrepancies' that have come to light about the age of He Kexin." You kind of have to wonder what took them so long, but apparently someone, described as an "American hacker" by the U.K.-based Times Online, has uncovered documents that offer proof that Kexin is too young.

Watching the games, the judging also seemed biased, although that's more subjective. Still, I'm pretty sure I saw a member of the Chinese team fall in one event and not get any deduction, whereas an American who had a similar fall lost points. Béla Károlyi told Bob Costas that, "The lack of competence of certain judges is obvious," and it was tough to disagree.

Károlyi's wife Marta has attacked the age issue the way her gymnasts attacked their events, and while I think she went a little overboard, I agree that the whole thing is very suspicious.

Would the Chinese government lie about an athlete's age in order to gain a competitive advantage? And if so, what happens? The medals get stripped, but should they be banned from the Olympics for a time after that?

So – how old do you think she looks? 14? 16? Do I hear 12?

Source/image: TimesOnline

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SunnyChanel — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:08:00 GMT

I have trouble walking up a flight of stairs let alone running a marathon, doing a Korbut flip, or even swimming just one lap. Motherhood has made me exhausted, both physically and mentally. So I am totally in awe of the twenty, yes twenty, American Olympians who are mothers that are participating in this years games. There’s been much written about Dana Torres starting to train four months after her daughter was born and of softball pitcher Jennie Finch who played an expo five months after her kid was born. I could hardly tie my own shoes let alone show atheletic feats of greatness.

As featured on the Today show this morning, many of the moms brought along with kids to share in the Olympic magic, finding time like Lisa Leslie and her 14 month old to search out a local Beijing park to have a little bit of mother daughter bonding time between basketball practices. It’s all about finding balance says Leslie, giving her daughter 100% when she’s with her and her sport 100% when she’s playing. And one athlete said that sleep is just something you learn to live without. For all their work, training and endurance. These women are all gold medal winners in my book. Now I go join a gym, I have no excuse now do I?

Bela Karolyi likes to kill things

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:00:00 GMT

When Béla Károlyi isn't training world-class gymnasts or telling Bob Costas that, "The lack of competence of certain judges [in this year's Olympic Games] is obvious," he likes to go…hunting.

When I googled Károlyi in an attempt to get the spelling of his name correct, this page was the fourth result. After seeing him comment, often mercilessly, on the various Olympic gymnastic events, I'm going to say that I'm not exactly shocked that one of his leisure activities is hunting big game.

I'm not going to say anything else about this, since, you know, I don't want to get shot.

Images/Source: bigbexotics.com

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Other Old Olympians

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Dara Torres is 41, and Oksana Chusovitina is 33 (and saved her son from leukemia), but they aren't even close to the oldest Olympic athletes in history, or even this year. Most aren't in the more physically strenuous events, but competing in anything at their age is pretty impressive.

* Iain Murray is on the Australian Olympic sailing team, and at age 50 is making his Olympic debut. Murray is Australia's oldest Olympian; Andrew Palfrey, a teammate, is 41 and also competing in his first Olympics.

* Luan Jujie was 50 years old in 1984 when she won a Gold medal in fencing for Canada.

* Susan Nattrass is 57 and currently in Beijing on the Canadian shooting team. In 1976, she became the first woman shooter to compete in the Olympics.

* Hiroshi Hoketsu, a Japanese equestrian, made his Olympic debut in 1964 and is now back for a second time – at age 67.

* Oscar Swahn (Shooting) competed in his last Olympics in 1920 at the age of – are you ready for this? – 72. (He was planning to go in 1924 but he got sick. Wimp.) Over his career, Swahn won three gold medals, two bronze, and a silver in 1920, making him the oldest Olympic medallist ever. Fun fact: his son competed with him in 1908, 1912 and 1920.

For more, see NBCOlympics.com

Image/Source: nbcolympics.com

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33 year old mom wins silver medal, saves son from leukemia

Brett Singer — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Dara Torres is an inspiration to many, competing in the Olympics at age 41, and winning. But I think the story of Oksana Chusovitina, a German gymnast, might be even more inspiring.

Here's the deal: Oksana is from Uzbekistan. Her son was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 3. There were no beds for him in her home country. Because of her gymnastics ability, she was able to move to Germany and join their team, while also getting her little boy the treatment he needed.

He seems to be doing better now, and to make the story even better, she just won a silver medal. She's also 33 years old in a sport where 22 is considered really old. Congratulations to her, and to her son.

Source/image: Detroit Free Press

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Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Brett Singer — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Back in the year 2000, Dara "Superwoman" Torres was at a swimming camp in California. Two sisters, Sandra and Danielle Fong, were fascinated by her, and the medal she had just won at the Santa Clara International Invitational. So she did what anyone would do: she gave them her medal.

OK, that's not what everyone would do. But it is what Dara did. And now, eight years later, both of the Fong sisters will be competing in the Olympics, although not in swimming. 18-year-old Sandra Fong is on the U.S. shooting team. Danielle Fong, 17, has cerebral palsy and will shoot for the U.S. at the Paralympics in September.

Torres, in case you didn't know, just won a Silver medal – at the age of 41. So yeah, we like her.

Image/source: nytimes.com

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Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Amy Kuras — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:02:00 GMT

I'll admit it – I have a huge, full-on girlcrush on Dara Torres. She's 41 years old, people, has a body most women half her age would envy, shows both really great sportsmanship (congratulating other swimmers with a big smile, asking the ref to delay the start of qualifying heats so a Swedish swimmer could switch out her ripped suit for a good one) and a tough competitive spirit, and oh yes, is the mom of a two-year-old.

Admittedly, she has significant financial resources – this June story in the New York Times magazine pegs her training costs at around $100,000 per year – and has won only one individual medal, the silver in the 50 meter freestyle she picked up last night.

But I find her enormously inspiring, that someone could come back from childbirth and be not just as good as she once was, but better. I think all of us who’ve struggled a little bit to find our new identities after having children can find some inspiration in that.

I also love that she shows mothers can be healthily competitive, and not just over the stupid stuff we can allow ourselves to get bogged down in like who has the nicest strller or the cutest haircut or the most stylishly attired kid. Most women are smarter than that, and athletes like Torres show how much smarter.

As for me? I am about as unathletic as a person can be (seriously, I once needed stitches from banging my head on a barbell) and the only medals I get are of the "participant" variety. But when I hop on a treadmill at the Y tomorrow, I'll be thinking about her and hoping someday I can kick one-tenth the ass.