What is your favorite memory.The most amazing race I ever saw was the 200 Breaststroke in the 1968 Olympics. The only gold medal won by a Mexican at the Games Was by Felipe Munoz. Every time he breathed the crowd screamed MEXICO, I have never experienced such passion for a swimming event,(I only saw it on T.V. I can't imagine what it was like in person.)
Parents
Former Member
My favorite experience was a winter Olympics experience. My wife and I went to one event at the Salt Lake City Olympics, the women's 4 X 5 KM Nordic ski relay (Nordic skiing is the other great sport). The Russian women were a cinch to claim the gold, so we just wanted to see some really good skiers in person. The US had no real chance but the Canadian women had done well in World's recently, so we were going to cheer for them.
Then, a few minutes before the start, the announcer said that the Russians would not compete. Silence in the crowd. My wife & I both looked at each other and said DRUGS!
Well, the upshot is that neither the Americans nor the Canadians did particularly well that day & it's not really important who won.
What is important is what followed. The Russian women were found to have doped and finally, through the Court of Arbitration, were required to give up their medals.
A Canadian skier, Becky Scott, had crossed the line 3rd in the pursuit race earlier in the Olympics. As the Russian women have slowly had to give up their medals, Becky has gotten first the Bronze Medal (on the spot), then the Silver Medal and finally (just this summer) the Gold Medal. She's the first North American ever to have done so well in a Nordic skiing event (not counting Nordic combined) and the only Olympian to have ever held all three medals for the same event!
Sometimes I feel that a few dopers are sacrificed for the public to show that a sport is clean. The Russians were the best skiers there were at the time. Sometimes, there is justice and we were in the stands at the moment Justice tipped Her scales.
-- Mel
My favorite experience was a winter Olympics experience. My wife and I went to one event at the Salt Lake City Olympics, the women's 4 X 5 KM Nordic ski relay (Nordic skiing is the other great sport). The Russian women were a cinch to claim the gold, so we just wanted to see some really good skiers in person. The US had no real chance but the Canadian women had done well in World's recently, so we were going to cheer for them.
Then, a few minutes before the start, the announcer said that the Russians would not compete. Silence in the crowd. My wife & I both looked at each other and said DRUGS!
Well, the upshot is that neither the Americans nor the Canadians did particularly well that day & it's not really important who won.
What is important is what followed. The Russian women were found to have doped and finally, through the Court of Arbitration, were required to give up their medals.
A Canadian skier, Becky Scott, had crossed the line 3rd in the pursuit race earlier in the Olympics. As the Russian women have slowly had to give up their medals, Becky has gotten first the Bronze Medal (on the spot), then the Silver Medal and finally (just this summer) the Gold Medal. She's the first North American ever to have done so well in a Nordic skiing event (not counting Nordic combined) and the only Olympian to have ever held all three medals for the same event!
Sometimes I feel that a few dopers are sacrificed for the public to show that a sport is clean. The Russians were the best skiers there were at the time. Sometimes, there is justice and we were in the stands at the moment Justice tipped Her scales.
-- Mel
