To be honest, you never really know what's around the corner at the Olympics. Remember the 400-meter dash semifinals in Barcelona, 1992? Derek Redmond was representing Britain. He had qualified for the '88 Olympics, but he had to pull out because of problems with his Achilles tendon. He had suffered through countless surgeries to make a comeback, and his time had finally come. It was a pretty remarkable story—so who knows how many people were heartbroken when he tore his right hamstring just 100 meters into the race.
He tried to get up and crumpled to the ground. All he could do was crawl. It was an excruciating thing to watch—mostly because the poor guy wasn't even going to get a chance to cross the finish line.
But then…he did.
In one of the more emotional moments most of us have probably seen in the last few years, Redmond's father jumped from the stands, walked to his son, embraced him, and together they crossed the line to wild applause.
You just never know what you'll see at the Games. Your safest bet is to Tivo the whole thing. But there are some stories already brewing for you to keep an eye on (a hearty "thank you" to Time magazine for their special issue [August 4, 2008] on the athletes):
- Consider swimmer Dara Torres. She's 41. 41. And she's favored. In fact, she set records in her qualifying rounds. So feel free to tell your kids that 41 is the new 21.
- Or how about sprinter Asafa Powell. The Jamaican man is the son of pastors who is a hero among his people because he is fiercely loyal to his country—to the point of practicing on a run-down, ratty grass track.
- Want an underdog? How about Zou Shiming, a Chinese boxer who was written off long ago because he was "too short-armed" for boxing?
- There's a bit of controversy swirling about Sara Khoshjamal. She's the first Iranian woman to qualify for the Games—and she's chosen to compete without a headscarf.
- British marathoner Paula Radcliffe has failed to get gold three Games straight. Will she break the losing streak?
- Billy Joe Saunders is a boxer from Britain who feels he's fighting for "the pride of his gypsy heritage."
- We have 41-year-olds. We also have a 14-year-old: Tom Daley, a British diver. He's 5 foot 1 and weighs just a little over 100 pounds.
- German gymnast Oxana Chusovitina has a son who continues to battle leukemia.
- When Bryan Clay's parents got a divorce, he opted for a more rebellious reaction. He feels the decathlon put him back in place. We'll see if it wins him gold for the U.S.
- U.S. swimmer Eric Shanteau is battling testicular cancer.
- Ali Adnan survived an attack from forces associated with al-Qaeda. He's representing Iraq in the archery competition.
- Canadian gymnast Kyle Shewfelt broke both his legs last summer. He's trained tenaciously to get to the Games. Will all the painful training pay off?
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Posted by Brian Lowery at 5:00 PM on August 4, 2008
