Beijing 2008 Olympics

This is not the end and in-fact the beginning.

Watching the final moments of the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics reminded me of a time long ago now, the final moments of another Olympics that I watched in my youth. The joy, the celebration and the true spirit of the sport and the Olympics. It fueled my earliest goals in sport and in many ways gave me direction in life. Amongst the many lessons of sport is the role of preparation and to dedicate yourself to goals, to do, what you do, with all your might as a man of honor and integrity.

Hopefully through these Olympics and even through my coverage of sports that you rarely hear-of, you share my rather dated vision of the beauty of sport and the blessing to compete for your homeland. With that in mind, London awaits; July 27, 2012.

You have 1,431 days to prepare, to train hard, to sweat and toil and become the best you can be and just maybe, earn the right to represent your country is London.

London, are you ready?

With the Beijing Olympics now complete, I have to wonder how they will be remembered and whether there will be a general consensus on the favorite moment.

There will be some disparity of course and much will be decided on upon national allegiances but how will you remember it? Will you remember it for Michael Phelps surpassing Mark Spitz’s Munich 1972 triumph and becoming the most decorated gold-medal performer in the Olympics, American women triumphing over Brazil in Football, the stunning ease of Jamaica’s Usain Bolt being crowned as histories greatest sprinter, the United States return to dominance in Basketball or still the magnificent artistry and passion of Argentina on pitch in winning Men’s Football?

It’s a challenge for me to corner one particular moment and beyond those brilliant performances, as well as showing my sympathetic side a bit, the real joy of the Games is the spirit of competition. I’ll never quite forget watching the interview of Ian Millar, who after nine Olympics won his first medal and talked of “the angel” with him during his performance. That special “angel” being his dearly departed wife of nearly forty years who passed away this spring and his dedication of the medal to her. I can’t help set aside some time in the next four years to watch and see if his children are able to make the Canadian so they can compete with Dad in the London Games as they hope. It likely won’t get a great deal of international coverage but the legacy of forty plus years in Olympics is an extraordinary commentary of the Olympic spirit burning on. There are many others of course, the heartfelt story of Germany’s Matthias Steiner winning weightlifting Gold is certainly one, as the image of his beaming face holding the picture of his wife is impossible to forget. And still I feel an enormous appreciation of world-champion Shanaze Reade going for broke to win Gold and while coming up short, the nineteen year-old ‘Brit showed a sense of determination and guile rarely seen. I appreciate those who challenge destiny, put it all on the line and know champions get off the canvas in life. Shanaze bruised but not beaten, will pick herself up and return as a champion because that’s the mettle she’s made up.

Unfortunately one the last memories I wish was different had to do with media coverage which for the most part was horrible. The days of rotating through coverage has gone and broadcasts are fixated on time-slots and advertising space. It was maddening to see network television focus upon one sport for hours upon hours without ever switching coverage and virtually eliminating coverage of classical events. Field events steeped in Olympic history were barely, if at all covered and its a stunning commentary to say that these Games had less live coverage of many top sports than forty years ago. Unfortunately this was very obvious as nations that focus purely upon “sport” dominated competition but received little recognition in the media. Yet while these events fell victim to marketing and programming “experts”, none was more obvious that Mens Decathlon winner Bryan Clay. The “World’s Greatest Athlete” joined the ranks of luminaries such Jim Thorpe, Bob Mathias, Rafer Johnson, Bruce Jenner, Daley Thompson, Dan O’Brien and Roman Šebrle, yet barely was more than a human interest story. I’m shocked, no, dismayed to report that I believe I posted results well before a few short repeats of his performance were televised. For the record Bryan Clay is a hero that transcends sport and should be acknowledged not simply for his athleticism but the type of leader he is. Future Olympics and all broadcast contracts need to recognize this problem or we’ll see the scope of the Games narrow to those that are only deemed "marketable."

So what was your favorite moment?

Is it just me or does the media coverage on the Olympics seem a bit "light" compared to prior Games? Maybe I’m in the minority but I like sports and its seems that most of the coverage in the Beijing Games is focused upon a few particular events and the majority is cast aside. In actual fact, I find most of coverage insulting to athletes across the world and feel something needs to be said.

We live in a era where sports stream endlessly over the internet and as an example, you can flip-flop between roughly ten to twenty international Football ("Soccer") matches live today. Yet in these games, programming decisions have virtually been dropped as we sit in pre-ordained (ad-spots) slots without any movement from sport-to-sport. It seems hard to believe but the depth of coverage was superior thirty or forty years ago compared to these ones in many ways.

One of the things the IOC will need to put on its post-Games review is broadcast coverage which to this date is getting a failing grade. I understand that the explosion of broadcast rates have created this problem but if this is not handled correctly the majority of the sports in the Games will fall completely out of the public eye. I enjoy and appreciate virtually all sports but unfortunately at least seventy-five per-cent of the Games are excluded from most broadcast services and network programming is simply dreadful.

I’m not prepared to pass judgment on these Olympics yet although there has been an air of public malaise since the get-go. Whether it was the protests on human rights with China, the large swath of athletes who were positive of drug abuse or organizers’ deciding which child is the most physically attractive, the stench is thickening by the minute.

As investigation after investigation finds very solid evidence that China’s gold-medal winning gymnastics team were in-fact children, some the age of fourteen, the biggest message is what will this Olympics be remembered for? Has the Olympic spirit been long since put out and is the image of the Olympics as tarnished as the filthy Beijing skyline.

A number of years ago I was approached by “insiders” on how the Olympics will try to liven their audience up from the sleep. They knew full well at the time that in the early 1990’s, the classic Olympic sports weren’t going to grab the attention much less that broadcast revenue they so coveted. With this in-mind, they began to do a bit of “sprucing up”, putting a sexier image on the Winter Games with Snowboard Boarder Cross and turning beach volleyball into a excuse to have great female athletes compete in boy shorts while giving the men an element of respect. That message alone has me disgusted as they engrain sexual stereotyping that should have been expelled decades ago. However while I embrace the addition of new and exciting events but I trust they would follow the spirit of the Games and rise above, well, common street-corner Johnny marketing attempt and hold true to the real reason the Olympics exist.

As a professional with a trace of gray on the side and I like to think a level of maturity to match, its nauseating to see the Olympics forget the Olympic spirit. The Olympics have nothing to do with child athletes or teaching that rules are made to be circumvented. Enjoy your gold metals, their tarnished now and forever. As these Olympics move forward it is clear that the Olympic movement needs to address what these Games are truly about and sadly if things don’t shift shortly, it’ll be solely up to London to resurrect them.

(Photo Credit: Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

Per the Michael Bristow of BBC News, Beijing:

During the opening ceremonies little Lin Miaoke won the hearts of worldwide audience as she sang “Ode to the Motherland”. However, little Lin wasn’t actually singing, it was in-fact Yang Peiyi. Unfortunately the powers that be, didn’t allow Yang Peiyi sing because she isn’t “flawless.”

Musical director Chen Qigang said the organizers needed a girl with both a good image and voice:

“The reason for this is that we must put our country’s interest first,” he added.

“The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people.”

There is nothing that really needs to be said after that as every child’s smile has a special beauty to it.

Bodybuilding.com published two new articles today with Olympic Games-related content.

Check them out here:

The first is entitled "Boise Track Star Nick Symmonds Prepares For 2008 Olympics In Beijing!” and it’s about Nick Symmonds, one of Bodybuilding.com’s locals, having grown up in Boise, Idaho. Find out more as this humble but very skilled athlete talks about his journey to the ultimate in sporting competition, the Olympics!

The other is entitled “How To Get A Body Like A Male Gymnast - Floor Training & Development!” and how the Summer Olympics feature popular sports such as track, gymnastics, and swimming, all which require athleticism and strength. Get a look into the training of a gymnast and find out how many never even touch weights!

Enjoy! 

Get a little background on the cultural, traffic, political, and security situation in Beijing just days before the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

There are some great photos being shared on Flickr from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Check out this great nighttime photo of “The Bird’s Nest” (the Beijing Olympic Stadium), taken by myuibe:

And check out the air quality in Beijing…  Still looks a bit sketchy to me (photo by flibblesan).

And this nighttime photo of Tiananmen Square is simply gorgeous (photo by Andy in Beijing):

Disclaimer: These photos were not taken by me. They were shared by third-parties on Flickr, under Creative Commons licenses. For details on each photo’s license, see the photo’s home page on the Flickr website (by clicking on the photographer’s name).

But not in the USA!  Okay, I’m officially outraged, LOL.  This is crap.  (Time to bust out a proxy…)

Here’s an excerpt from an article yesterday on InformationWeek.com:

"The International Olympic Committee has launched a YouTube channel to broadcast clips from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games that will be accessible in most countries, but not in the United States.”

“The IOC announced Monday that a selection of clips will air in 77 countries — in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East — beginning Wednesday. Viewers can watch the clips on demand where digital video-on-demand rights have not been sold or acquired for exclusive airing. General Electric’s NBC conglomerate has secured the broadcast rights for the Olympics in the United States.”

“The IOC said that its broadcasting services would regularly provide updated content, including highlights, news, and daily clips during the 17 days the games are held. The content will be geo-blocked in each territory.”

Read the full article here:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/TV_theater/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209903442

Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics (XXIX Olympiad) coverage right here on Bodybuilding.com! 

Check out the Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games here:

http://en.beijing2008.cn/