Radcliffe, Bolt and more...

Usain Bolt came with an outstanding performance in the 100m finals. With an official time of 9.69, he smashed his own world record by 3 seconds and did something no human being in history has ever done without tailwind aid--run the 100m in under 9.7 seconds. I don't believe that makes him the fastest man on earth, as many will say now. But it definitely makes him the fastest man on earth when running 100 meters.

The women's marathon aired this evening and I experienced a mix of emotions for Paula Radcliffe's performance. I wanted to see her run a strong and fast race but she just didn't have it in her. I was disappointed for her but at the same time, I felt extreme respect for her ability to not only attempt the marathon (how could she not, though, it is the Olympics), but to actually complete it. She should be proud, especially considering everything she's been through recently--from a broken femur to a spider bite to a typhoon. Her final time was (at current time) an unofficial 2:23:47, which is far from her personal best, but something that is still unmistakably amazing when considering her recent experiences.

I must mention Romania's 38-year-old Constantina Tomescu, who won the women's marathon with an unofficial time of 2:19:07, which I believe is a new Olympic Record for the event. She ran a strong race, and looked good all the way to the finish line. She even did numerous victory laps...where she got that energy, I couldn't tell you. But I imagine the run into the Bird's Nest and the roar of the crowd had something to do with it!


By the way, have you seen the Bird's Nest? It's very cool!

Gay Fails to Make it Out of Semifinal Heat

Okay, I was wrong. But it seems that Michael Johnson was probably right. And I must reiterate something. Bolt is a beast.

He JOGGED the semifinal race in 9.85, looking around casually, because he had time to do so. He made it look so easy. He actually looked like he was watching TV. The picture below is one of him NOT running...which looks about 75% more casual than I look when I'm doing a simple run around the neighborhood in the morning.

Gay's semifinal race was heartbreaking for me to watch. I felt only a part of his frustration and disappointment. He made no excuses for his performance (which is typical of the humble athlete) which wasn't good enough to qualify him for the final 100m race . But you have to wonder if his hamstring was fully healed. Is it possible that the false start was enough to throw his focus and concentration so much that it hindered his performance? Call me weak minded or easily distracted, but I think that would do it for me, especially in a high stress situation like that. And I don't think that it gets anymore high stress than the OLYMPICS!