Olympics Marvel

The Olympics fever continues. I caught snippets of various events throughout the day and each race was gripping. I was totally blown away by the performance of the athletes. Where do all these super humans come from? All the lean taut bodies, every muscle precisely tensed and executed for their events, were drool-worthy enough. Adding on the nail-biting never-over-til-it-was-over close fights in many races, it was little wonder why I was glued to the live telecasts.

There was a sense of identification with the athletes especially if we indulged in those sports ourselves. Like how the swimmers powered through their freestyle laps, to conclude 1500m in 14min and the last tenth guy clocking in 15min - that was like 3x my speed! The sprinters blasting through their 100m, 200m, and other track events; Usain Bolt was a joy to watch, his effortless dash to a 100m gold medal with untied shoe laces, in an event he was not naturally built for; the 10km runs in a blazing 27min; the steeple chasers and hurdlers stretching over the hurdles and finishing 3000m much faster than I would without obstacles; the long distance road cycling where cyclists took the bends and turns courageously at high speed; the men's and women's triathletes finishing strongly in 1:48h & 1:58h - a time that I took to complete just my bike, proving once again that strong runners finish better; the beautiful Russian pole vaulter flipping over 5.05m, every ounce of muscle tightly wound like a spring, held in place with precision and control, the entire stadium went berzerk when she cleared the bar; gymnasts contorting their bodies in mid air, commanding every twist and turn at will; our Team Singapore table tennis strong fight in the semis and finals; and of course the legendary Michael Phelps' 8 gold wins. I could go on gaping in awe.

The most poignant moments were the medal presentation ceremony. Many athletes could not suppress a few tears as their national anthems were played. It had to be so, years of discipline and sacrifices cumulating in a podium finish. Even the mere presentation of Silver medals by Ng Ser Miang to our paddlers was enough to raise goosebumps on me. I could only imagine the immense pride and emotional roller-coaster the prize winners go through.

..... back to oogling and drooling over the athletes for another week.