My Olympic Observations

Ahem! Don’t hear much talk lately about pollution at the Olympic games. Prior to their start, that’s about all you heard about. Some ignoramuses went so far as to argue that the games should be boycotted because they would otherwise endorse global warming, or some such nonsense. Well, the PM10 index that measures particulate matter with diameters smaller than 10 micrometers has been well under 100 (the nominal range considered safe) for the last several days with measurements of 20, 69, 30, 42 and 97. Combined with cool temperatures, intermittent rain and otherwise blue skies, the weather has been nearly perfect. Um, the gods of the Olympic pantheon must be looking favorably on their Chinese hosts.

Interesting how the medal count seems to be an indicator of the geopolitical influence of countries at different times during the past century. Who would have ever imagined when the games first began that China, then the “sick man of Asia” would eventually lead the games in total gold medals won, far exceeding the invincible USA.

These games have set the mark in terms of beauty of the venues and over all efficiency. I doubt that they will ever be surpassed. Congratulations to the Chinese people. My prediction is that come the next Olympiad in London in 2012 the Chinese will excel in track and field events in which they have lagged behind as millions upon millions of Chinese youth who have viewed the Olympics in their homeland will be inspired to lead their nation to ever greater athletic heights and accomplishments.

For those of us nostalgic for the old Soviet Union (I'm a devotee of kitsch) as of noon 8/22 the combined results of the teams from the former USSR are

Gold 35
Silver 40
Bronze 73
Total 148

This places them first in overall medal count ahead of the US and second in the gold metal count behind China and ahead of the US. Far from the glory days of the 1980 Moscow Olympics when the Soviets garnered 80 gold 69 silver and 46 bronze.

In a similar vein the Queen's medals (members of the Commonwealth Realm: The UK, Australia, Canada, Jamaica, The Bahamas and New Zealand) are 42 Gold 41 Silver and 41 bronze.

With all the hoopla surrounding the purported young age of some of the Chinese gymnasts, it must be remembered that Bela Karoly, one of the most vocal critics, was Nadia Comaneci's coach when she competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics at the ripe old age of 14.