I really should have been sitting on the other side, but my brave, ok, ruthless, Slovakian teammate who did not have a ticket made her (our) way into this, cool area for swimming athletes and coaches. I did not complain... if anyone lives by the Slovak proverb: Kto sa hambi ma prazdne gamby, Mirka Bobkova does :))). We are totally going to try into the gymnastics gym tomorrow (sorry to rub it in Albert and Malaika :)
NOTE: Notice the growing number of pins on my pass/badge. I have a whole lot of cool countries now including Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore, Samoa, and others. Our deputy chief made a big mistake yesterday when he congratulated me on my nameday. I was quick enough to say: "No, dakujem. A ked uz mam tie meniny nedate mi este nejake extra odznaky?" He could not say no and I ended up with 5 extra pins to trade!!!
You can see the Olympic maskots dancing around the pool as athletes finish their warm up....
With a teamate (notice the difference in our biceps-her race is about 26.1 miles shorter than mine :) She is a 110m. hurdler.
Swimmers waiting to start 200m Freestyle. Mike Phelps is in lane 6...
It was increadible to see the lead Phelps had with one last turn to go...
One of the two world records I saw today....
During the men's 200m Freestyle medal ceremony (see the bottom middle of the picture and the big screen on top of it). I wish I had taken a photo two minutes before I took this one. Mike Phelps was actually stretching his hamstrings on the medal podium as they were starting to announce the results. I completely understand he had to focus on keeping lose for the upcoming semifinal, but can you imagine to be so good that you could even think about stretching before receiving your Olympic gold medal???
Before the start of another race...
During the medal ceremony for 100m backstroke in which yet another world record was broken. One also does not see two swimmers finishing in the exact same time to take the third place... (hence the four flags being raised).
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13 comments:
Does Kobe Bryant have to share a room?
Loving your blog, Zuzana!
I wonder. See, that is actually the coolest thing about being in the Olympic village. The more famous athletes get the looks and the photo requests, but essentially, everyone is being treated the same way. You have the same choice in food- you have to sign up for a massage like everyone else. Plus, I think most guys can just fall asleep. I wish I could be one of those people, but I don't do too well around too muh noise. Hopefully things will work out. It looks that quite a few athletes are leaving on the 15the so I am hopeful for my own room before the marathon, even if it's just two nights.
Hope things are well with you. Z
Um, so cool that you got to be there for this! And I love that you shared that Phelps was stretching before he received his gold medal! That's something they didn't show on TV here. :)
hi zuzana, it has been great to read your blog.
as you know there has been a lot of trouble in my home country, georgia. i was wondering if there are any georgian athletes that you might come in contact with, if you can give them big hello and tell them that georgian community is really cheering for them. it must be really difficult for them to be there while their own country is being invaded and is at war.
thank you and thinking of you.
tamrika
Colby would like you to please try and meet Michael Phelps. He talks about him breaking world records to everyone. He has had a hard time staying up late enough to see him race.
We just saw you on the local news, and Colby recognized you instantly. I have passed on your blog to several people who do not know you but would be interested. This has all been so interesting to read. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
-Karen
Colby would also like me to ask you if you have seen any of the syncronized diving.
-Karen
Good luck to you with your race! I saw you on the news back here in Utah and we will cheer you on. That cube looks really cool. I enjoy your journal and photos.
Fun blog Zuzana! I was watching the local (Utah) news and they mentioned it.
Have fun and be safe during the games!
Hi Zuz--
Well, it's midnight here and I stayed up late to catch you on the late news. So fun to see you on TV! I am v. proud of your pin collecting :). So cool about Michael Phelps. Your photos are great & the venues look amazing. You will be proud to know I am finishing my philosophy paper this week due to your inspiration. I figure since you are tearing it up at the Olympics, the least I can do is finish my dang paper. Mostly, I am glad to see you having so much fun after all of your hard work. I know few people who deserve it as much as you do.
PS Tamrika, if you're reading this, I saw you on the front page of the Trib. Another celebrity! Seriously, we have the Georgians in our thoughts & prayers.
Hi Zuzka,
I just saw you on the news. I hope the hot/steamy Beijing weather isn't getting to you too much. I can't believe how amazing it would be to see all those WR being smashed. Remember what I told you about trying to close your eyes for 20 minutes, I hope your sleeping improves. xoxo, A,M & Conradko
Zuzi, ahoj!!! Som neskutocne prekvapena ze ta tu nachadzam! Vygooglila som ta . lebo som dostala avizo ze si v Pekingu na hrach! Tak ti drzim palce, dzifce nase!Naj se ci dari!!! Som na teba pysna a aj troska zavidim (vdobrom samozrejme) ze to tam zazivas na vlastnej kozi!Tak dufam ze sa ti zadari a ze sa skoro uvidime! Denisa Šteruská (Petríkova) Banská BYstrica!!!!
So what does the proverb exactly mean. Kto is a nobrainer for a Russian - who. prazdni I think is "in vain". sa is a reflexive verb leftover (self) I think. Completely at a loss with hambi and gamby.
Yes, and your name day is indeed August 11. Did not know Slovaks had name days, but found a calculator online.
Hey Zuz,
I've been watching you on the news and now you're front page on the tribune! I posted you on the fridge (a place of honor in our home). Your story has inspired our whole family (teenage daughters included). You hung in there with all the pain you must have been feeling and finished. What a triumph! You made us all proud. Thanks for letting us feel apart of your Olympic experience. Enjoy a well deserved rest and the remainder of the time in Beijing with Alek.
Ellen
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