Hi everyone!

I told you I’d give you the links to my news clips from Beijing.

Beijing News Clips

Monday August 18, 2008

What an incredible weekend for this Olympics and
Olympic History! We witnessed the fastest man ever in
the world on land and in the pool. Usain Bolt broke
the world record in the 100m dash in track and Michael
Phelps, as everybody knows, became the greatest
Olympian of all time and easily the greatest swimmer
ever, by winning 8 gold medals in 7 world records.
Unbelievable!! And we got to say we saw it with our
own eyes. We can look back and remember that we saw
history being made.

Michael’s story began with a goal when he was 11 years
old. First he wanted to be the best 11-12 year old he
could, then the best 13-14 year old, then at 15 made
his 1st Olympics. I was with Michael on that team in
2000 and I never would have guessed that he would
accomplish all that he has. But he and his coach had
a dream and a goal and then they just worked really
hard for about 10 years. From age 13-23 Michael
worked harder than anybody else in the world and he
went on to do the most amazing feat the world has ever
seen. I read an article the other day about success.
It says that no matter who you are, no matter what
line of work: sports, medicine, businesss, one can
achieve greatness if they work very hard for about 10
years or 10,000 hours, regardless of talent! I think
that last phrase is cool because sometimes we think we
need more talent or genetic gifts to be better, but
it’s not true! Most of the time it’s just not giving
up. I’m so excited about where you and I will be 10
years from now as we keep reading and working hard!
We can be like Michael and set goals and work hard and
see our dreams come true also! (more…)

Saturday, August 16 2008

Can you believe it? I knew it could happen but
actually seeing it happen is something else. And to
do it with such drama and style is truly impressive.
Actually Michael only has 7 of the 8 gold medals that
he hopes to get. The 8th gold medal should come
tonight but it will be a very difficult race in the
4×100 medley relay with the Australians. I’m trusting
that he and the USA team have overcome so much already
that hopefully this last relay will work out fine. In
tying the record 7 golds in one Olympics Michael
already is a champion but to get one more would make
him the greatest ever!

What makes a champion? Is it someone who never loses
or is it more in how you hold yourself before and
after a race regardless of the result? I think it may
have more to do with the latter. Watching Michael
Phelps makes me wonder, what are the qualities of a
true champion? No doubt Michael’s domination of the
world in all his events followed by gracious and
humble interviews would be very close to the epitome
of a champion. But I also see signs of it when world
record holder Aaron Piersol was incredibly gracious
and positive while receiving the silver medal after
his teammate Ryan Lochte had broken the record and won
the gold. I saw it when Jason Lezak decided not to
give up on the end of the 4×100 free relay. I saw it
when Brendan Hansen congratulated his rival Kosuke
Kitajima from Japan broke his world record and Brendan
painfully got fourth. (more…)

Monday, August 11th, 2008

Today is the 3rd day of competition but I’m still
riding high from Sunday night’s relay win!!
That was the greatest race I’ve ever seen! Michael
Phelps swam harder than ever to lead us off then our
anchor leg Jason Lezak, despite facing incredible
odds, decided to not give up and amazingly touched out
the huge world record Frenchman! It just goes to show
you how powerful the decision can be to never give up.

Just think what can happen in your life when you go
all out to develop your body, spirit and of course,
your mind through reading!!! We were all so proud to
sing that National Anthem and see our flag raised!!

I think it’s important to note 2 things about the
medal ceremonies. One is the singing of the national
anthem and the other is proper flag etiquette.
Etiquette is a French word for proper actions or good
manners. It stems from the same origin as the word
ethics or how you do things. Winning a gold
medal for your country is very good time to showcase
your very best ethics or etiquette. You are
representing an entire country and every facial
gesture is showcased on global television! I think
it looks so good when an athlete smiles and sings the
anthem with pride and gratitude. I don’t know why
some athletes don’t smile and sing but if you every
find yourself winning the gold may I encourage you to
smile and sing. As a refresher, I have included the
words of our National Anthem:
(more…)

August 10th, 2008

Well after watching the first day of swimming, all I can say is Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer that has ever lived!! I know he only has the first of hopefully 8 gold medals that he hopes to get this week, but he certainly did it in style. To crush his own world record again for the 4th time in 4 years is incredible. To dominate the world competition in the decathlon of swimming, the 400 IM, is astounding. Okay, I just had to say that!

One of the fun things to see around the Olympics is the Mascots. Normally there is one but this time there is 5 mascots. These characters are called the “Friendlies” . They are designed to symbolize a close circle of friends and emulate the playfulness of children and are closely tied to the art and culture of China. They also match the 5 colors of the Olympic rings. Four of the characters are the most popular Chinese animals- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow, and the fifth one is the Olympic Flame.

When walking around the very hot and humid weather here one needs to get a drink. And the most popular drink in China is tea. Visiting a tea house in China, though, is a whole different experience. It’s used primarily for business meeting and special occasions but you have to drink the right tea at the right time. Green tea is prepared in the hot season for people to cool down, while black tea is enjoyed in the winter to warm up the body. In China, tea is regarded as one of the seven daily necessities, the others being-firewood, rice(of course), oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.

What do you think America’s daily necessities be? Mine would be cereal, books, Mexican food, time with my family, air conditioning, a nap, and the last one, yes, you guessed it…a pool!!! I would go crazy if I couldn’t get wet. What are your daily needs?

If you included the Olympic sponsors like McDonalds, Coke, Nike and a VISA credit card I know they would be happy about that. As much as we may not need to consume those products we do need them as corporate sponsors. The American athletes are not supported by the government like most countries. The US Oympic Committee takes the sponsors money and issues monthly stipends to the athletes to they can train. So it is actually private businesses and individuals who help send America’s best to the Games. In addition to donations from family and friends there have been some great companies who have helped me personally
train for the Olympics. You guessed it–one of the great sponsors is Mutual of Omaha! So Mutual of Omaha…thanks for making it possible for so many of our USA Swimmers to be the very best!

Who has helped you this year get better? Is there someone who drives you to school, workout or the library? Is there someone who has helped you become a better swimmer, student or reader? Be sure to thank that person today. Thanks for checking in and reading the blog.

So keep swimming and enjoying your summer! I can’t wait to write about the men’s 4 X 100 relay.

Come back for more…

Check out my Chinese 101 lesson.