STEINER OLYMPICS JOURNAL: Last thoughts about the Olympics as we leave China
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by Terry Steiner
FRIDAY MORNING - AUGUST 22, 2008
HEJ! (Swedish Hello)
As we prepare to leave Beijing it is time to reflect a bit on the experience. First of all let it be known that The Peoples Republic of China has done a TREMENDOUS job of hosting The Olympic Games. The people here have been very hospitable and gracious, and are going out of there way to help people out.
The Beijing Olympics compared to Athens Olympics. This will go down as one of the best run Olympics in History. I know a lot of problems are probably handled behind the scenes like in most business, but from a coaches perspective this was very well run and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has kept the athletes at the for front. The have made it very easy on the athletes, coaches and teams. Everything ran on time. There was never an issue with buses running late or buses being stuck in traffic BOCOG thought of all the little things to help make it a great experience.
The Volunteers - What needs to be said. They gave at least 3 weeks of their life working long hours to be a part of the games. The Olympic Games would not work without these gracious volunteers. They were ALWAYS polite and KIND and went the extra mile everytime. The Chinese people are very caring and kind people. They were great ambassadors for there Great Country. Last night a volunteer was getting of duty and went out of her way to accomodate us. For two hours she sat and talked to us about the Chinese Culture and never once thought twice about her time - she just wanted us to appreciate and learn the culture.
The proximity of the Venues/Village were a lot better than Athens. I realize each city will be different but everything seemed pretty close and easy to get to. Again, the transportation was very organized.
The Wrestling Venue was first class. From the seating to the mats, to the locker rooms, sauna, warm-up area all areas were very well thought out and very well maintained during the competition. The organization of the tournament as well ran very smooth. It was well spaced, the competition did not seem rushed or long. It was very predictable.
Life in the Village right now starting to loosen up. Most athletes are starting to finish up with the Games, so everyone seems to be relaxing more, hanging out, laughing and congregating all over the place. It is like one big tailgate. Everyone is having a good time. You see a lot of people dressed up at night going out and having a good time. Others in the Games / recreation area. Others in the cafeteria - it is kind of the hangout place. It just seems very calm right now. Everyone may not be satisfied but it seems that everyone is appreciating the greatness of the games.
I just want to talk a little bit about the overall competition of the wrestling at the games. We had the opportunity to experience greatness on 2 ends of the spectrum. Borveisa Satiev was crowned with his 3 Olympic Title and Young Henry Cejudo was crowned with his 1st - I think the question is - How Many world and Olympic Titles can Henry win? It was great to see both of them. Also, Yoshida and Icho have now won 2 titles - What are their future plans?
China Facts
1- We figured it out to put your kid through college in China would cost you about $2,000 US Dollars - to put you kid through college in the states will cost you about $80,000 for tuition and fees. ????
2- In China when writing your name your write your family name first and your given names second.
3- In China they are now opening 1 new Power Plant each week.
4- Shanghai will have 2,000 new sky scrapers in the next 10 years.
5- 50,000 pedestrian deaths each year in Beijing
It has been a great trip - Not only the Olympic Games but Beijing and the people of China.
Next up for the women's program is the 2008 World Championships in Tokyo. We start a camp on September 1st and have the World Team Trials on the September 20th.
Thank You all for being a great audience. We are at the airport leaving Beijing right now!
Over and Out!
GODKVÄLL (Swedish Good Evening)
MONDAY - AUGUST 18, 2008
Bon Jour!
Well, competition is over for the USA Women's Wrestling Team and it was a day to enjoy the sites of the city of Beijing. I'm really thinking about the past few days and the future of the program.
I was thinking a lot about the four Olympians as well as our National Team Members and what we are all striving for and trying to accomplish. The Olympic Medal is so precious. So few ever get to enjoy that feeling of accomplishment of being at the top of what you do.
I thought about the 4 Olympians and I also thought about Randi Miller and her performance last night. What that Olympic Medal means to all of us and what that OLYMPIC MEDAL means to Randi Miller. Although I cannot speak for Randi, I will try to speak from a coaches point of view or at least this coaches point of view.
The Olympics bring out a keen awareness and appreciation in all of us whether it is you watching at home or me watching matside. It is such a wonderful feeling in seeing a job well done. Randi Miller's performance last night was brilliant from this coaches perspective, she knew what she had to do and she did it with passion, purpose, enthusiasm, and pride. When you put that together with a prepared athlete who is willingto punish themselves to get the job done you have GREATNESS.
The point I'm really trying to get to is this. Randi Miller has had those successful traits for as long as I've known her. She didn't just get them last night. But now, because of a MEDAL performance, she will have a different air about her. People will look at her differently. Everyone she comes in contact will walk away feeling a little bit better about possibilities and hope or at least enthusiastic in living their lives to a higher standard.
Randi will have influence on people she has never even thought about. I say this because during the Olympic Games we all feel a certain sense of pride and accomplishment as we all live vicariously through these elite individuals. We feel their pain in loss, we experience ther exhilaration in winning but, most of all, I think it makes us re-evaluate the good in all of us. We all feel the hope and pride in living life; we all feel pain, sorrow, and joy. We are all humans with the same possibilities of greatness in each of us.
I ask this, did the Medal make Randi Miller great? Or Did Randi Miller, and her fight for excellence, make the medal great? Because of the medal, you know her, respect her, and appreciate her. But did the medal really do it? I don't think so. Like I've said before, Randi has had these traits for a long time. She didn't need a medal to prove it, and shouldn't have needed a medal for us to notice and appreciate her.
Excellence is everywhere, around most corners, and behind most doors. Don't wait four more years to let that excitement for life and the human spirit to come around again. It is always around, in people next door, at work, at the gym, our kids, our parents, and our friends. It is OUR job to make EVERYDAY a MEDAL day. Bring that joy, awareness, and appreciation forward in everything we do.
Thank You Clarissa Chun, Marcie Van Dusen, Randi Miller, and Ali Bernard for inspiring us all!
Tomorrow, Men's freestyle starts! We wish the entire team and coaching staff the best of luck!
Bon Soir!
Over and Out!
SUNDAY EVENING - AUGUST 17, 2008
FINAL RESULTS - DAY 2
USA has a new Olympic Bronze Medalist - RANDI MILLER
Both Ali Bernard and Clarissa Chun Lost in the BRONZE MEDAL Matches.
Randi beat a real veteran in Dugrenier from Canada in the Bronze Medal Match. I thought she wrestled a close to perfect match - she won in typical Randi Miller fashion. She pressured Dugrenier the entire match and in the end all of her work payed off.
I'm proud of the WAY we wrestled the last two days. I'm only dissapointed in the results. These Coaches and Athletes have worked too hard to walk away with only one medal.
I give credit to our coaches, Olympic Coach - Tadaaki Hatta, our Personal Coaches - Keith Wilson, Levi Weikel- Magden, Coach Leo McGee, and Roger Alves. Also our National Coaches Izzy Izboinikov, and at Northern Michigan, Shannyn Gillespie and Tony DeAnda. Also our Sports Performance Team at the USOC, Ron Tirpak our director of Video, and Billy Wood our State Women's Director have put so much time in behind the scenes.
I give credit to our Team Leader Stan Zeamer for all that he does. I also give credit to all of our training partners and National Team for being the "Team behind the Team." They have done a great job of preparing these girls for competition. I want to say thank you to all of the clubs and to USA Wrestling for giving us the resources we need to be successful.
Most of all, I want to say Thank the four Olympians for putting in the work and putting their trust in the coaching staff. We need to feed off of Randi's success and move forward.
RANDI MILLER - OLYMPIC MEDALIST - that sounds very good to me.
The people involved in the USA Women's Program can all take pride in what was accomplished here in Beijing. UNIITED and TOGETHER, WE ALL WIN!
Over and Out!
AUGUST 17, 2008 AFTER THE 1ST SESSION
63 kg
1st Round
Randi Miller over Egypt by fall
2nd Round
Randi Miller over Oostupchuck (UKR)
0-2, 2-0, 4-0
1/4 Final
Icho (JPN) over Randi Miller by fall in the 2nd period
72kg
1st Round
Ali Bernard over (NGR)
1/4 Final
Wang (CHN) over Bernard
5-3, 7-2
Both Icho (JPN) and Wang (CHN) made the final so they pulled us back into the fight for a bronze.
63 KG - Randi will face Zamula of (AZE) and if she wins that match she will be in the BRONZE MEDAL Match against Dugrenier (CAN)
72 KG - Ali will face Fransson (SWE) and if she wins this she will face Hamaguchi (JPN) in the BRONZE MEDAL Match
I thought we stepped on the mat with confidence today but we made some mistakes that cost us the matches. You cannot make that many mistakes and win a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games. Tonight is a big night for us, we need to wrestle tonight with emotion. You come to the Games to win it. No we are in the fight for a medal. I guarantee our opponents will be charged up tonight and wrestling with emotion. In the next few hours, we need to make sure we are in the right frame of mind. Tonight the BRONZE MEDAL FIGHT is about EMOTION.
Over and Out!
SATURDAY EVENING - AUGUST 16, 2008
Hello from the Village!
The Competition just finished. Clarissa Chun Lost in the BRONZE MEDAL Match to Merlini (UKR)
I thought Clarissa wrestled a great tournament but those few mental lapses cost us a medal. Marcie simply wasn't on today. I feel for these two athletes because I know the have put in a lot of work, when they do that you want to see them leave with rewards.
The final results today are as follows:
48 KG
GOLD - Carol Huyhn (CAN)
SILVER - Icho (JPN)
BRONZE - Stadnyk (AZE)
BRONZE - Merlini (UKR)
55 KG
GOLD - Yoshida (JPN)
SILVER - Li (CHN)
BRONZE - Verbeek (CAN)
BRONZE - Renteria (COL)
Tomorrow - we begin at 9:30 am w/ 63 kg & 72 kg
Randi Miller will have Egypt first round. Randi will have to win 4 matches to get to the finals.
Ali Bernard will have Nigeria first round and will have to win 3 matches to get to the finals.
Keep Your Heads Up - We need your positive energy tomorrow. We still have a lot of wrestling ahead of us tomorrow.
We need to wrestle with great intensity the entire match tomorrow. No lapses.
Over and Out!
AUGUST 16, 2008
Hello from the competition venue. We just finished the first session for 48 kg and 55 kg. Here are the results.
48 kg
1st Round
Chun over Matsson (SWE), 2-1, 3-1
2nd Round
Chun over Bobryrmm (FRA).4-1, 2-1
Semi-Final
Icho (JAP) over Chun, 1-0, 0-3, 1-1
Clarissa has wrestled a good tournament but in all three matches she let up after she had the lead. She was able to come back from that in the first two matches but against Icho we had the lead, 1-0 in the third period and we let up for a second and got driven out of bounds. Tonight in the bronze medal match we will face the winner between China and Ukraine. In this match, it is much the same. We need to be on the offense the entire match, mental breaks. Clarissa has so much ability, motion, and varied attacks. We just have to make sure we use it our gifts.
55 kg
1st Round
Van Dusen over Synyshyn (UKR), 1-2, 1-1, 7-0
Renteria (COL) over Van Dusen, 7-2, 5-3
Marcie started a little slow against Ukraine but was able to get her offense going in the third period. In the first two periods we rushed things again but we weren't penetrating. In the match against Renteria again started a little slow and we reaching for shots, and rushed things a bit. I cannot fault the effort it just wasn't clean wrestling today. Renteria was beaten in the Semifinal and we were put out of the competition.
It was a frustrating morning. We got going early but it just didn't happen. I feel for these kids, the put so much into this, you want to see them leave with rewards. Clarissa has a big match tonight. We need to refocus and get a medal around her neck.
Randi and Ali weigh-in today at 3:15 pm. They will start competition tomorrow at 9:30 am.
Over and Out!
AUGUST 15, 2008
GEIA SAS! (Greek - Hello)
KALIMERA! (Greek - Good Morning)
Weigh-In Day 48 kg and 55 kg
- The girls have weighed-in and the brackets are set. Clarissa Chun will face Matsson from Sweden first round and Marcie Van Dusen will face Synyshyn from Ukraine in the first round - They must win 3 matches each tomorrow morning to make it to the Gold Medal Matches, tomorrow evening. You can go to: www.themat.com - for the full bracket. This is USA Wrestling's Official website.
Like I have stated before, It is our belief that when an athlete makes a U.S. Team, they are prepared and ready to medal. Tomorrow, we must step on the mat with an aggresive, attacking mindset. If we do that we can wrestle with anybody.
Did You Know? China Fun Facts
- Ice Cream was invented in China around the second century B.C. When the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture in snow.
- Animals Native to China: Pandas, tigers, dolphins, monkeys, alligators, reindeer, yaks, and snow leopards
- The Great Wall is 4,000 Miles Long and was begun in 231 B.C.
- China has 20% of the world population. Yes, that means 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. I don't know about you but that is mind blowing to think about.
- Although China spans over 4,000 miles, the entire country observes one time, Standard China Time.
- Beijing, the capital city, has more than 15 Million People.
- In 1990 McDonalds Opens it first restaurant in China. In 2008 McDonalds opened its 1,000 restaurant in China.
- As of 1980, a family in China can have only one child. Before this time, it was ok to have more than one child. There are exceptions to the rule:
1- A husband and a wife that both come from families in which, they were the only child, can have more than one child. The main reason for this is so that the burden of taking care of 4 grandparents and 2 parents is not left to one person.
2- Families from rural China can have more than one child but the children must be more than 5 years apart in age.
- A family that choses not to have children is called "Ding Ke". This is for the same reasons people do not have children in the U.S. and around the world; careers, financial reasons, family and so on.
- One of the differences, in China, than in the USA, is that the grandparents take care of the grandchildren while they are young maybe until they are done with High Middle School (High School). The country is very family oriented.
- Before 2002, a college student either had to be married before he/she started college or they had to wait until they were finished with college. Now, it is fine to be married during college studies.
- The educational system in China is similar to that of the USA but there are differences.
-1) There is no Home Schooling in China
-2) School is free through primary school (grades 1-6), and middle school (grades 7-9). Once a student reaches high middle school (high school - grades 10-12) they must pay a fee of about 100 RMB per year. 4 years of College cost about 4,000 RMB per year. 3 years to get a masters cost about 4,000 per year but the government will give every student about 200 to 300 RMB per month to help pay for these costs. 3 years to get a doctorate will cost about 4,000 RMB but again every student will get a check from the government of maybe 500 to 600 RMB to help pay for the costs.
China definitely wants people to get a great education. So it invests in its young people and keeps the costs low.
- Here is a staggering figure - 40% of Chinese Students that go to College, will go to college abroad.
It is time to do some video before we get going tomorrow.
Over and Out!
ANTIO! (Greek - Good Bye)
AUGUST 13, 2008
Ayn Ya Haseo - this is how it sounds - if you Say Hello in KoreanHello
Village Life:
The Olympic Village has laundry service for everyone staying in the village. You drop off your bag in either one of two bags that either wash lights or darks and they match it with your credential, 12 Hours later you pick it up. The service is open from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. Today they lost Randi's bag. Hopefully tomorrow they find it. The service has been very reliable.
Breakfast at the village gives you a lot of choices: Eggs, Bacon, French Toast or Pancakes, Oatmeal, Fruit of all kinds, Breads, Deli Meats, Vegetables, Sushi, Cold Cereals, Cheeses. The coffee is a little weak but the tea is good. They do a great job for feeding this many people.
The USA Men's Basketball Team has other issues, although I'm sure they are used to it. They practice at BNU like the rest of the US Teams do. Today after our workout all kinds of people and cameras were behind fences at BNU trying to get a glimpse of this team. I guess we all have our own issues.
Did you Know?- China Fun Facts:
1- Taxi cab drivers cannot eat garlic or onion at lunch and dinner and must wear yellow shirts and ties.
2- If you were a baby in China you wear a bottom less outfit, so that they do noy have to wear diapers. It is like a diaperless outfit.
3- Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way on the streets in China.
4- Jia Yo - this means "add oil" it is what they yell in the stands to "Keep Going - Let's Go, Let's Go.
5- The word on the street has it that China puts salt crystals into the clouds to induce rain. They may do this for a number of reasons: More Moisture, Clean the air, and even wash things off. If it is true, it is kind of scary that we are starting to try and play God so to speak.
Today was a little warmer in the city. The humidity started to rise up again along with the heat. It was a little haze in the sky. It is hard to tell if it is heat haze or smog or dust but it definitely was not the clearest day.
This morning we had a good morning. Marcie and Chun were off the mats and Randi and Ali were on the mats. We tried to get a couple good starts in - The butterfies are starting to fly - the girls are starting to get in the competition mode.
This afternoon Marcie was on the mat - Coach Izzy put her through a workout with her training partner Amy Borgnini. By the way, Amy has done a fabulous job. The rest of the coaches and girls played a game outside along with Stan and Chris our Athletic Trainer. It is a great way for the girls to get a workout in and still keep it light. They had a great time.
Our 2008 World Team Coaches Keith Wilson and Levi Wiekel-Magden sure have a way to keep thing light and right now that is what we need. We need to first realize that we are fortunate to be in these positions, understand that to get the most out of ourselves we have to love what we are doing. Today, I think everyone had that feeling.
Tomorrow morning, Clarissa Chun will be on the mats. Ali, Randi, and Marcie will be off the mats. Tomorrow evening we will have a light workout, just to make sure we are around each other and keep our weights in check.
One of the attractions to foreigners here is going to the "Silk Market." If you thought you had high pressure sales from purchasing your last used car, guess again. These girls are relentless. It gets to the point you don't even want to make eye contact. They are actually pulling you into there shops to purchase - if they get you in you are going to have to do some fast talking to get out. The silk market has everything from shoes, to bags, to pillows. It is a situation were you barter with them for a price. I think all sales people should go through here for a day, I'm sure a lot could be learned.
The Greco Team had a rough day today. Tomorrow Vering, Wheeler and Byers step on to the Olympic Mats. We wish them all the best!
I believe that's it for now. Go Team USA!
Dos Fidanya! Good Bye in Russian
Over and Out!
AUGUST 12, 2008
Tsa - shung - ha (this is not the correct spelling but it sounds like this) This is how you say GOOD MORNING in Mandarin. Mandarin is the dialect spoken in Beijing.
Tsa - Shung - Ha
We had workout this morning at 10:00 am. At our workout, watching was a young women by the name, Jenna Stuczynski, remember the name! She is the # 2 Ranked Pole Vaulter in the world. She is a huge wrestling fan. Her personal coach is a former wrestler, NY State Champion in 1986, but wrestling is still a passion of his. He trains her with the wrestling menality. Jenna will compete on the 16th and 18th, watch for her, cheer for her, and send her some positive energy. She is a wonderful young lady.
Some interesting Olympic Facts:
1- The Olympic Motto: "Citius, Altius, Fortius" is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Braver," but is universally accepted to mean "Swifter, Higher, Stronger."
2- The Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in the Games is not to winbut to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
3 - The Olympic Rings: The Olympic Symbol - five inter locked rings - representsthe union of the five original major continents (Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Europe) and the meeting of the athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games. The Five colors of the rings from left to right are Blue, Black, and Red across the top, and Yellow and Green along the bottom. The colors of the rings are thought to have been chosen because at least one of these colors can be found in the flag of every nation.
4- The Olympic Mascots: The Olympic Mascot first appeared in the 1972 Munich Games. The Olympic Mascot, however, successful, disappears with the end of the Games it personifies. It is meant to be friendly and appealing, especially to the young and is a visual identity with the Games.
Today - was a good day. Like I said earlier we had one workout this morning and the athletes had time in the afternoon to do as they wished. A couple got in another workout and others rested. Tomorrow is a morning workout as a group and then we will again be one our own in the evening.
Spenser Mango wrestled today Greco and was 1 & 1. Tomorrow Dietchler and Dantzler wrestle, we wish them the very best. The rest of the Greco Team weighs in tomorrow.
I had the chance to watch the Freestyle team workout today. They look ready to go! There is a lot of potential for success on this team. We wish all of the athletes and coaches great success!
The Women's Team seems to be pretty relaxed, everyone is starting to get their weight in line. It is just calm. Butterflies are starting in the stomachs we are getting close to competition time. I know I have said it before but I want to thank everyone in the Women's Wrestling Community for all of your help and support in getting this program going. We are looking forward to many years of success.
I think that is all for now.
Yuan - Shung - Ha (again it sounds like this, not spelled like this) it means GOOD NIGHT in Mandarin.
AUGUST 11, 2008
Como esta?
I hope you are all doing well. Everything here is great. The weather held up again a little over cast and scattered showers but it was again a cooler day. Still humid but very tolerable.
The sky has been grey but the rain actually cleaned the air a bit. When I woke up today I could actually see the mountains to the north of the city. Remember Beijing sits in a basin so this is also the reason everything gets trapped. Also, a lot of the pollution/Dust in the air comes from dust from winds blowing in from the northwest.
I do no see much effect with people around the village. Most people are excersizing and working out outside. At the village, there is an outdoor running path through part of the village and it is full. Some are leisure runners like myself and some runners in training. But I have not seen anyone outside with masks on. I think the air has been pretty favorable. Like I said the other day China has put in something like 16 Billion Dollars into cleaning up. One thing worth mentioning though is that you hardly ever see a bird.
The food at the village is good. Like I said before the cafeteria is open 24/7. The building where we eat seats 5,000 people. They have all kinds of choices from fruits, vegetables, cheeses, nuts, different breads, probably 15 Different entrees. It is impressive.
At BNU (Beijing Normal University) the home of The USOC's High Performance Center (Olympic Training Center Overseas) the food is fabulous! They feed all coaches, training partners and Olympic Athletes if they desire to stay and hangout after a training session. To my understanding, the USOC has hired chefs out of New York along with their staff to feed the American team. It is top notch from food, to service, to presentation.
It is a normal site to sit in the cafeteria at BNU listening to athletes from all sports congregate and cheer on American team members. The atmosphere in the cafeteria is great. They have about 6 or so TVs on the walls it is s fun atmosphere. Every where you look you see athletes surrounding a TV interested in what is going on.
The City of Beijing and The People's Republic of China have let everything out for this event. Every where you turn there are Olympic Banners Lining Streets, Lining Railings, hanging on buildings, billboards. You name it, they have one it. Also they have really greened the place up frower beds, flower pots, trees and shubs everywhere. The have a lot of green. The countries PRIDE is everywhere. Flags on a lot of cars and bikes.
Today, I found out some interesting facts about The People's Republic of China.
1- China spent 300 Million Dollars on Opening Ceremonies. Just as a reference, Athens spent 36 Million on Opening Ceremonies in 2004.
2- China has 100 Million more Men than Women coming into their 20's. Many men will not find a female counterpart in China.
3- China has a policy of 1 child for each couple unless you get an exemption from the government. If you do not get an exemption and have more than one child, you can have everything taken away from you.
4- Also, in China, you can have only one dog and it can only be 16 inches high or less unless you have an exemption
5- China has a population of 1.4 Billion People. In the next 10 years, they have a plan to move 300 Million people from rural China (poverty) to the urban areas. That is about 1/5 of their population and that is like moving every single person in the USA.
Let's talk about our athletes a little bit. We had a good workout today. We left for BNU at about 9:30 am from the village. At BNU, we went through a short intense workout with the girls for about an hour. Then the had some time to do more cardio or sauna if they wanted to. After Lunch, they had massages scheduled with the USOC Sports Medicine Staff.
We met back up again at about 4:30 to play a game for about an hour - just a way to get a little running and agility in but stay light and keep smiles on there faces - a little way to hide the work.
Coach Izzy arrived tonight from the states he has been with the Jr World Team in Turkey at the Junior World Championships - where they finished 3rd as a team and had one Champion in Adaline Grey and 2 more medalists. Congrats to all of the team members and all of the coaches.
The thing that we all need to understand is that to build an Olympic/World Champion, it takes a community of coaches, athletes and support staff. Everyone is in on it. We are going to be the best women's wrestling country in the world because we are all working towards the same goal TOGETHER!
Tomorrow - we will again have a morning workout with the team - after that we start to do our own thing to rest, relax and make weight. Tomorrow the Greco Roman competition starts and Spencer Mango will lead TEAM USA out of the blocks. Good Luck to Coach Fraser and The Team!
Over and Out!
AUGUST 10, 2008
Goodaye Mates!
I hope its Jolly Goodaye in America!
It has been a goodaye here in Beijing. It was a relaxing day, the girls were on there own. Even the HEAT took a break today as it rained most of the day with thunder and lightning storms.
I spent some time this evening at the Asics VIP Warehouse. Although it was a long cab ride, Stan Zeamer and I learned a little about the history of the company.
ASICS started out in Japan with a basket ballshoe in 1949. The company was founded be the late Mr. Onitsuka. Onitsuka San was a very clever guy obviously. Well it turns out Tadaaki Hatta's father (our USA WOMAN'S OLYMPIC COACH) approached Onitsuka San to develop and market a wrestling shoe. Hatta San & Onitsuka San developed a wrestling shoe that was ahead of its time. The shoe was made with Nylon instead of the old heavy wet leather that was worn around the world. The Nylon Shoe was a hit in Japan and treasured around the world.
USA Coach Bill Farrell was friends with Hatta San and the two of them brought the shoe to the USA. Today, in the wrestling market ASICS controls about 70% of the wrestling market. I thought you might like the history on Onitsuka Tiger / ASICS Company. Onitsuka passed on last March and the company is now run by his son-in-law.
Bill Farrell still owns and operates the USA distributorship, named "TW Promotions." This is a quick version, some of it maybe a little different, I did not hear this from Onitsuka San or Hatta San or Mr Farrell. But I thought it was an interesting.
A couple other interesting facts about The Olympic Games:
1- 16,000 Marriages took place in China on 8-8-08. The was the beginning of the Olympic Games. The number 8 is a lucky number in Chinese Culture.
2- An estimated 1 Billion people will watch the basketall game between China and USA. The game is going on now.
We are looking forward to tomorrow it is one day closer to dreams coming true. Tomorrow we will have a mat practice on the morning and a lighter practice in the afternoon on or off the mat depending on the athlete.
Also, tomorrow, Spenser Mango - the Men's Greco - 55kg, weighs-in. We are excited to get going! He will compete on Tuesday.
Jim Scherr wrote a letter to the American athletes after the opening ceremony. The last part of this I will leave you with.
With a nation behind us
With a world before us
And within us all...
Amazing Awaits
Goodaye Mates!
AUGUST 9,2008
Hello Again from Beijing!
I hope you all had the chance to see the Opening Ceremony last night on TV. As you have seen, The Chinese people spared no expense putting these Games together. It was Truly Amazing!
I was asked by a reporter what I thought about the Opening Ceremony! It is really hard to put into words. It was a lot of things:
It was Grand - it is amazing how many volunteers there are to help at the Games and not just Chinese people but people from around the globe. It is also amazing how all of these efforts are coordinated to make everything run smoothly. It is also amazing how language is only a barrier if you let it be. A smile and a thank you everyone understands and appreciates.
It was inspirational. You see so many people together that arestriving for something better. Not just in the arena of competition but the arena of life. There is so much positive energy in the air it is hard not to be uplifted.
It was Uniting - It is so good to see everyone smiling having a good time whether you were male or female, black or white, Catholic, Protestant or Islamic. Everyone enjoyed the event, and what makes it great is that everyone is taking part. Everyone is together.
It gives us hope for a better tomorrow - not just in the sporting world but around the globe not matter what your place. It shows that if we look at our similarities we are all of the same mold. We have the choice everyday, each one of us, to look at whatever it is we want, it is our choice to focus on the good or bad. No body is perfect!
It makes us realize that the secret to life is in the struggle. We cannot wish away our moments here on earth. We only have so many moments. Enjoy the Journey - Good and Bad.
Today for the Team was a good day. We arrived at BNU to workout at 10:00 am. Chun and Van Dusen were in the Weight room and Miller and Bernard were on the mats. Then at 4:00 pm we switched it up. I felt we able to get more out of the girls this way. I thought all of the athletes did a great job of getting back to the task at hand. The mats were slippery, the heat was swealtering but the intesity, fight and focus was good. That is what we are looking for.
After the morning workout, we stayed at BNU with the support team and hung out. Everyone did there own thing. I was on the computer most of the time. Some took naps others played games.
It was a relaxing day. The Greco-Roman and Men's Freestyle Team were on the mats today as well. Everyone looks focused on their needs.
It is great to see all in the room at the same time and not differentiating between style and genders. I think there is a great respect for each other among all involved. We are TEAM USA!
Tomorrow - the girls are on their own. We have been on the mats everyday lately and I felt we needed a day to just relax and get our mind and body in check. As athletes and coaches, we tend to think that more is always better but at this point in the game we need to back off and trust in our preparations and get our mind and body ready to fight. To do that we need some calm before the storm! Tomorrow will be a day like that. The Support team will come to The Olympic Village on day passes.
Monday we will be back on the mats at 10:00 am - We are really looking for the quality and intensity, nothing is excessive.
I think that is it for now. It is time to catch the bus back to The Olympic Village. Enjoy the Games.
Over and Out!
AUGUST 8, 2008
Nin Hao, Hello, Hola, dobre-utra, ohiogozimas,
I'M FROM EARTH! I know you are too, but this is a statement on one of the popular shirts that is being worn around the Village. The Beijing Olympic motto is "ONE WORLD ONE DREAM"
Tonight if you are watching you will see a magnificent site. Put everything aside - tonight we will truly be ONE WORLD. United and together either, here, watching on TV, or in spirit - tonight we will focus on our similarities and not our differences and that is what sport should do - bring us together and unite us. In sport there is no room for politics.
It is August 8. 8-8-08 - The opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The air is filled with excitement and anticipation. We are all Honored, Humbled, and Proud to be here and be a part of such a magnificent occasion.
- Jacques Rogge, IOC President is in town.
- 104 Heads of State will be in attendance for opening ceremonies.
- Tickets to the opening are being sold for $10,000 US Dollars.
- The Peoples Republic of China will have an athlete delegation of 639 competing in the Games
- The USA will have an athlete delegation of 596.
It is Truly Amazing!
The Olympic Games represent so many great things - Three of the founding Values of the Games are EXCELLENCE, FRIENDSHIP, AND RESPECT.
EXCELLENCE. Obviously, the athletes are living this everyday in their fight for perfection. They learn a lot about themselves and about others. What you really learn is the importance of the other 2 founding values.
FRIENDSHIP. I think in a strive for excellence you find a lot out about you - you learn to appreciate you and others for who they/we are. Mr. Jacques Rogge has challenged everyone to go out of our way to make friends from other countries and other sports. ONE WORLD ONE DREAM.
RESPECT. Those in sport also learn to appreciate the journey. We learn to appreciate hard work, sacrafice, discipline and each new day. You must have respect for yourself and others in sport. Respect is essential for success. You must respect all but fear none. You must respect similarities and differences alike.
Today, we had a workout at 10:00 am. We were on the mat - a few of the girls had some issues that needed to be tended to so Dr. Hines went along with to the workout to make sure we were covered. Chris Schreor and Dr. Hines are our Medical staff assigned to women's wrestling. These small things help a lot.
We drilled about 20 minutes of task drills (teams drills) - then we wrestled live for 4 different periods, a total of about 12 minutes - then we had 20 Minutes of individual drlls.
I think after Opening Ceremony we will finally settle in. We still look a little off, but I expect on Saturday and Sunday it will be better.
Tomorrow, we will do more individual work. Clarissa and Marcie will be in the weight room in the morning and Randi and Ali will be on the mats. In the afternoon we will switch it up and Clarissa and Marcie will be on the mats, Ali will be in the weight room and Randi will be back on the mats.
Well it is time to get ready for Opening Ceremonies. Be Proud of these athletes; they are happy and proud to represent all of you.
We started out on buses to the fencing arena. In the fencing arena, Jim Scherr (USOC Boss) and Peter Ueberoth (chairman of the USOC) addressed the American Delegation.
Then we were all visited by both President Bush and The First Lady, Laura Bush and also Janet Bush, their daughter and lastly but not least Former President Bush. George W. Bush addressed the athletes and then the spent about an hour meeting and greeting each team. Former President Bush has a great sense of humor he always has a smile and is very sincere. We had a picture with him.
Also the Men's Basketball Team was a hit a lot of picture were taken and they we very open and seemed to be having a great time. I had the chance to Meet Coach K, in case you don't know he is Duke's coach and is a very humble and down to earth individual. It is not hard to see why he has been so successful. Good Guys do finish first. Also. I was impressed how all the Mega Stars like Kobe and Lebron went through the entire ceremony.
As I right this part of the blog we are sitting in the Gymnastic Stadium waiting to go into "The Birds Nest." We are the 140th country to go out. We are sitting by the Men's and Women's Water Polo Team. I'm picking up some tips - we play water polo at times for a cross-training workout.
So far it has been a great experience. Former President Bush is like the wise old grandfather, very comfortable and relaxed and just makes everyone feel good.
Well the ceremony is over I hope you get to watch it. It was great. We are now on a bus back to thw village. It is about 1:00 am here in Beijing.
The time is now for our girls. I think they had a great night and are excited to start.
Talk to you all later
Thank You - Shea Shea!
AUGUST 7, 2008
Nee How or Hello in Chinese!
Did you know that China has 1/5 of the worlds population with 1.3 Billion people. Amazing!
Today - I woke up at about 6:00 am. I thought I might sleep longer but I guess it takes a few days to acclimate.
Let me tell you a little bit about The Beijing Olympic Village. It has enough room for 16,000 people, it will hold all 205 countries that are competing in the Games. There are also Olympic Villages in the cities of Hong Kong & Quindao which are 2 main host cities for sports in the games.
The village is divided into three parts: 1) The International Zone, The Resident Zone and the Operations Zone. The village includes a cafeteria, a barber shop/salon, a tea/coffee shop, a fire station, a post Office, a library, a clinic, a fitness center, 4 internet cafes, a swimming pool (many ponds), a running trail, tennis courts, and sand volleyball courts. It has a transportation system that includes 24 electric buses that go around in and out of the village. It also has a laundry service for EVERYONE - and you get it back in 12 hours.
The Dorm or apartments are very nice. Everything is new and clean. The whole village is made of 6 and 9 floor structures. It sits right outside the Olympic Green ( the venue area) it also sits as a gated community. It is already presold to Chinese people who will take ownership after The Olympic Games and The ParaOlympic Games on September 20. It sits on the north side of Bejing.
The cafeteria holds 5,000 people. It is open 24 hours per day. It many sections: seating, fruits, cheeses, and salad, desserts, International cuisine, Mediterrenian cuisine, Asian cuisine, Coffee and drinks, McDonald's (yes, McDonald's). It is pretty amazing. I hope we make weight - I can see me chasing miller out of there a few times this week.
The Olympians, Stan Zeamer and myself then went for a workout at 9:00 am in thr fitness center. Everyone did cardio and lifting again - tonight at 6:00 pm we will get back on the mats.
I really enjoyed working out. I just love watching and learning from different cultures - we tend to think we know better but I think you can learn a lot from the rest of the world if you just keep an open mind. I'm going to spend an afternoon in the fitness center looking at other cultures routines and excersizes before we get into competition.
We came back to the dorms and got ready for the press conference - we had to leave the village at 12:00 noon for that. I showered and hand washed my workout gear.
In our room, Stan, I and eventually Tadaaki will be staying. We have been listening to Natasha Bedingfield on the IPOD
The workout partners and personal coaches went to The GREAT WALL today with the Greco Team while we were at the press conference. We will meet back up with them tonight for a workout. Stan and I had a great lunch talking about the development of women's wrestling at lunch. Stan is a brilliant business man and we are lucky to have him in our corner and as a team leader.
The press conference went well. I thought the girls did a great job. There were a lot of questions about Japan and Yoshida. I think our girls are ready and are not going to take back seat to anyone. We feel whoever is on a US Team has what it takes to win here.
At the press conference all of the athletes and the coaches sat at a front table with Gary Abbott directing the Press with questions. It went well.
After the conference we ran into Roger Federer and Randi chased him down to try to get a picture but his onterage protected him. So Randi wasn't so lucky, but it was funny watching our team run after him.
I haven't seen too many of our foreign competitors, only Spain's delegation (2 athletes and coach Francisco Barrera) and the Italian Team Leader and also Tomyama, the Japanese Team Leader, the Sweden Coaches and Venezuela. But the village is full.
Oh, by the way my (Raven's) IPOD went out (just in case! My birthday is coming up).
Our workout went OK. It took us a while to get there. We missed the bus it leaves on the half hour every hour all day. It was our first time so we rode in a van with some media, sports Tv from Spain. We finally got back on the mats. We looked a little bit sluggish but we need to expect that for a day or two.
The team behind the team had a good time today at the Great Wall but they too looked tired. We just got back from BNU - Beijing Normal University the home of USOC's Training Center.
And speakingof the GREAT WALL - I think the trip is getting to me now and I'm hitting the Great Wall. I need to go to sleep.
Shea Shea or Thank You - in the Chinese Mandarin Language
Over and Out!
AUGUST 6, 2008
Hello from Beijing! What a great day. We left San Jose State at about 7:15 am this morning. It took us about a 45 minute bus ride to the San Francisco airport. We were treated like royalty. We went to our own lines at check-in and security.
The plane was full of Olympic delegation. Some notables on our flight were Venus and Serena Williams and Lindsey Davenport. Also on our flight was Bob Bowlsby the AD at Stanford and his wife. When I was in school at Iowa, Bob was the AD in Iowa City. The flight crew was very hospitable to the entire delegation. Like I said most on the trip had something to do with the Olympics.
We also met up with the rest of our crew our training parnters and personal coaches met us in San francisco. The all had an early flight. I had a seat in the last row, 62 I was in the aisle, not a bad seat except I noticed everyone congregates in that area waiting to go to the bathroom. I don't know if I was tired or gassed out.
Any ways it was 12 hours - or a few movies and a few meals and we arrived today at about 2:00 PM. The New Beijing Airport is being billed as the largest building under one roof in the world. It is pretty amazing. So far everything here is amazing. At the airport, the official delegation went to the village with the exception of Coach Hatta - his credential starts in a few days. The rest of the group will stay at Beijing Normal University. This is the location of The USOC's "High Performance Center" it is like a US Olympic Training Center in Beijing.
The village is just Amazing! It is electric, full of culture, tradition and diversity. You can't look ten feet and not see someone from another country. This is truly what I love about this job - mixing with people from all over the world. Once we settled in and unpacked, the USOC had an orientation Meeting letting us know the USOC Services availabe at the village. The USOC is doing everything they can to let the athletes and coaches stay focused on our job - winning medals - and the have people in place to do all of the grunt work. It is what makes us different.
After the meeting, we went to the village fitness center for a short workout and sauna session. It is a full blown health club, set up in a semi-permanent structure with all of the amenities for the Games. The dining hall is about the size of 3-4 football fields with anything you can imagine open 24 hours a day.
Tomorrow we will wake-up at about 8:00 am and get another cardio- lfting workout - at 12:00 pm we will leave the village to the press center for our team's press conference. This is open to all media outlets around the world. We then will have until 5:30 pm to relax and enjoy the atmpsphere before we workout again, on the mats at 6:00 pm.
The training partners and personal coaches will visit the Great Wall tomorrow during our Press day and join us for a workout tomorrow night.
It doesn't look like the Today Show thing is going to happen tomorrow, but maybe later in the games.
Well it is about 11:00 pm - I'm bushed and still need to eat a bit so I will talk to you all later.
We are all very excited to be here and I know the girls are goimg to represent us well.
Over and Out!
AUGUST 4, 2008
Hello Again! We are 11 hours away from the Flight to Bejing! I thought i would fill you all in on what todays happenings were before I shut my computer of until we get to Beijing!
Today was a full day again, The Girls had there Athlete ambassador Program with the USOC from 9 - 11 am. The Coaches watched Video this morning on the opponents from Japan. Tadaaki had some interesting footage from a Japanese TV Show.
I don't know if many of you know Tadaaki, so I will fill you in on him just a bit. Tadaaki Hatta was born and raised in Japan. When he was college age his father sent him to the USA for an education and to learn more about Wrestling. Tadaaki's Father was the FATHER of WRESTLING in JAPAN. So you can see why it is a big deal for the Japanese people why he isan Olympic Coach for TEAM USA. It doesn't sit well with the Japanese people.
So we watched some documentaries on Japanese women's wrestling including Saori Yoshida / Marcie Van Dusen's match at the 2008 World Cup where Marcie beat Yoshida! This may not be a big deal to some of you but understand that Yoshida has not been beaten in Sr Level International Competition. So in a nut shell the Japanese people are concerned about what Tadaaki is doing with this team.
After lunch - we had a little time to relax. We had a workout planned for 2:00 pm - it turned out some of the Men's Freestyle Team was in by that time so we had about a 40 minute game of Butt Ball!
Again, if you do not know what butt ball is - it is basically, Ultimate Football played with whatever kind of Ball (sometimes all there is, is toilet paper wrapped in Tape - Hence the Name). Today was my shirt taped up in a ball. After the co-ed game of Butt Ball, the girls put in about 40 minutes of good drilling Working on their own individual areas. They all seemed relaxed. Also, a local TV station was doing a story on Chinese Americans on the USA Team. Chun has a Chinese and Japanese blood line so they did a story on her today after Practice
HEJ! (Swedish Hello)
As we prepare to leave Beijing it is time to reflect a bit on the experience. First of all let it be known that The Peoples Republic of China has done a TREMENDOUS job of hosting The Olympic Games. The people here have been very hospitable and gracious, and are going out of there way to help people out.
The Beijing Olympics compared to Athens Olympics. This will go down as one of the best run Olympics in History. I know a lot of problems are probably handled behind the scenes like in most business, but from a coaches perspective this was very well run and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has kept the athletes at the for front. The have made it very easy on the athletes, coaches and teams. Everything ran on time. There was never an issue with buses running late or buses being stuck in traffic BOCOG thought of all the little things to help make it a great experience.
The Volunteers - What needs to be said. They gave at least 3 weeks of their life working long hours to be a part of the games. The Olympic Games would not work without these gracious volunteers. They were ALWAYS polite and KIND and went the extra mile everytime. The Chinese people are very caring and kind people. They were great ambassadors for there Great Country. Last night a volunteer was getting of duty and went out of her way to accomodate us. For two hours she sat and talked to us about the Chinese Culture and never once thought twice about her time - she just wanted us to appreciate and learn the culture.
The proximity of the Venues/Village were a lot better than Athens. I realize each city will be different but everything seemed pretty close and easy to get to. Again, the transportation was very organized.
The Wrestling Venue was first class. From the seating to the mats, to the locker rooms, sauna, warm-up area all areas were very well thought out and very well maintained during the competition. The organization of the tournament as well ran very smooth. It was well spaced, the competition did not seem rushed or long. It was very predictable.
Life in the Village right now starting to loosen up. Most athletes are starting to finish up with the Games, so everyone seems to be relaxing more, hanging out, laughing and congregating all over the place. It is like one big tailgate. Everyone is having a good time. You see a lot of people dressed up at night going out and having a good time. Others in the Games / recreation area. Others in the cafeteria - it is kind of the hangout place. It just seems very calm right now. Everyone may not be satisfied but it seems that everyone is appreciating the greatness of the games.
I just want to talk a little bit about the overall competition of the wrestling at the games. We had the opportunity to experience greatness on 2 ends of the spectrum. Borveisa Satiev was crowned with his 3 Olympic Title and Young Henry Cejudo was crowned with his 1st - I think the question is - How Many world and Olympic Titles can Henry win? It was great to see both of them. Also, Yoshida and Icho have now won 2 titles - What are their future plans?
China Facts
1- We figured it out to put your kid through college in China would cost you about $2,000 US Dollars - to put you kid through college in the states will cost you about $80,000 for tuition and fees. ????
2- In China when writing your name your write your family name first and your given names second.
3- In China they are now opening 1 new Power Plant each week.
4- Shanghai will have 2,000 new sky scrapers in the next 10 years.
5- 50,000 pedestrian deaths each year in Beijing
It has been a great trip - Not only the Olympic Games but Beijing and the people of China.
Next up for the women's program is the 2008 World Championships in Tokyo. We start a camp on September 1st and have the World Team Trials on the September 20th.
Thank You all for being a great audience. We are at the airport leaving Beijing right now!
Over and Out!
GODKVÄLL (Swedish Good Evening)
MONDAY - AUGUST 18, 2008
Bon Jour!
Well, competition is over for the USA Women's Wrestling Team and it was a day to enjoy the sites of the city of Beijing. I'm really thinking about the past few days and the future of the program.
I was thinking a lot about the four Olympians as well as our National Team Members and what we are all striving for and trying to accomplish. The Olympic Medal is so precious. So few ever get to enjoy that feeling of accomplishment of being at the top of what you do.
I thought about the 4 Olympians and I also thought about Randi Miller and her performance last night. What that Olympic Medal means to all of us and what that OLYMPIC MEDAL means to Randi Miller. Although I cannot speak for Randi, I will try to speak from a coaches point of view or at least this coaches point of view.
The Olympics bring out a keen awareness and appreciation in all of us whether it is you watching at home or me watching matside. It is such a wonderful feeling in seeing a job well done. Randi Miller's performance last night was brilliant from this coaches perspective, she knew what she had to do and she did it with passion, purpose, enthusiasm, and pride. When you put that together with a prepared athlete who is willingto punish themselves to get the job done you have GREATNESS.
The point I'm really trying to get to is this. Randi Miller has had those successful traits for as long as I've known her. She didn't just get them last night. But now, because of a MEDAL performance, she will have a different air about her. People will look at her differently. Everyone she comes in contact will walk away feeling a little bit better about possibilities and hope or at least enthusiastic in living their lives to a higher standard.
Randi will have influence on people she has never even thought about. I say this because during the Olympic Games we all feel a certain sense of pride and accomplishment as we all live vicariously through these elite individuals. We feel their pain in loss, we experience ther exhilaration in winning but, most of all, I think it makes us re-evaluate the good in all of us. We all feel the hope and pride in living life; we all feel pain, sorrow, and joy. We are all humans with the same possibilities of greatness in each of us.
I ask this, did the Medal make Randi Miller great? Or Did Randi Miller, and her fight for excellence, make the medal great? Because of the medal, you know her, respect her, and appreciate her. But did the medal really do it? I don't think so. Like I've said before, Randi has had these traits for a long time. She didn't need a medal to prove it, and shouldn't have needed a medal for us to notice and appreciate her.
Excellence is everywhere, around most corners, and behind most doors. Don't wait four more years to let that excitement for life and the human spirit to come around again. It is always around, in people next door, at work, at the gym, our kids, our parents, and our friends. It is OUR job to make EVERYDAY a MEDAL day. Bring that joy, awareness, and appreciation forward in everything we do.
Thank You Clarissa Chun, Marcie Van Dusen, Randi Miller, and Ali Bernard for inspiring us all!
Tomorrow, Men's freestyle starts! We wish the entire team and coaching staff the best of luck!
Bon Soir!
Over and Out!
SUNDAY EVENING - AUGUST 17, 2008
FINAL RESULTS - DAY 2
USA has a new Olympic Bronze Medalist - RANDI MILLER
Both Ali Bernard and Clarissa Chun Lost in the BRONZE MEDAL Matches.
Randi beat a real veteran in Dugrenier from Canada in the Bronze Medal Match. I thought she wrestled a close to perfect match - she won in typical Randi Miller fashion. She pressured Dugrenier the entire match and in the end all of her work payed off.
I'm proud of the WAY we wrestled the last two days. I'm only dissapointed in the results. These Coaches and Athletes have worked too hard to walk away with only one medal.
I give credit to our coaches, Olympic Coach - Tadaaki Hatta, our Personal Coaches - Keith Wilson, Levi Weikel- Magden, Coach Leo McGee, and Roger Alves. Also our National Coaches Izzy Izboinikov, and at Northern Michigan, Shannyn Gillespie and Tony DeAnda. Also our Sports Performance Team at the USOC, Ron Tirpak our director of Video, and Billy Wood our State Women's Director have put so much time in behind the scenes.
I give credit to our Team Leader Stan Zeamer for all that he does. I also give credit to all of our training partners and National Team for being the "Team behind the Team." They have done a great job of preparing these girls for competition. I want to say thank you to all of the clubs and to USA Wrestling for giving us the resources we need to be successful.
Most of all, I want to say Thank the four Olympians for putting in the work and putting their trust in the coaching staff. We need to feed off of Randi's success and move forward.
RANDI MILLER - OLYMPIC MEDALIST - that sounds very good to me.
The people involved in the USA Women's Program can all take pride in what was accomplished here in Beijing. UNIITED and TOGETHER, WE ALL WIN!
Over and Out!
AUGUST 17, 2008 AFTER THE 1ST SESSION
63 kg
1st Round
Randi Miller over Egypt by fall
2nd Round
Randi Miller over Oostupchuck (UKR)
0-2, 2-0, 4-0
1/4 Final
Icho (JPN) over Randi Miller by fall in the 2nd period
72kg
1st Round
Ali Bernard over (NGR)
1/4 Final
Wang (CHN) over Bernard
5-3, 7-2
Both Icho (JPN) and Wang (CHN) made the final so they pulled us back into the fight for a bronze.
63 KG - Randi will face Zamula of (AZE) and if she wins that match she will be in the BRONZE MEDAL Match against Dugrenier (CAN)
72 KG - Ali will face Fransson (SWE) and if she wins this she will face Hamaguchi (JPN) in the BRONZE MEDAL Match
I thought we stepped on the mat with confidence today but we made some mistakes that cost us the matches. You cannot make that many mistakes and win a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games. Tonight is a big night for us, we need to wrestle tonight with emotion. You come to the Games to win it. No we are in the fight for a medal. I guarantee our opponents will be charged up tonight and wrestling with emotion. In the next few hours, we need to make sure we are in the right frame of mind. Tonight the BRONZE MEDAL FIGHT is about EMOTION.
Over and Out!
SATURDAY EVENING - AUGUST 16, 2008
Hello from the Village!
The Competition just finished. Clarissa Chun Lost in the BRONZE MEDAL Match to Merlini (UKR)
I thought Clarissa wrestled a great tournament but those few mental lapses cost us a medal. Marcie simply wasn't on today. I feel for these two athletes because I know the have put in a lot of work, when they do that you want to see them leave with rewards.
The final results today are as follows:
48 KG
GOLD - Carol Huyhn (CAN)
SILVER - Icho (JPN)
BRONZE - Stadnyk (AZE)
BRONZE - Merlini (UKR)
55 KG
GOLD - Yoshida (JPN)
SILVER - Li (CHN)
BRONZE - Verbeek (CAN)
BRONZE - Renteria (COL)
Tomorrow - we begin at 9:30 am w/ 63 kg & 72 kg
Randi Miller will have Egypt first round. Randi will have to win 4 matches to get to the finals.
Ali Bernard will have Nigeria first round and will have to win 3 matches to get to the finals.
Keep Your Heads Up - We need your positive energy tomorrow. We still have a lot of wrestling ahead of us tomorrow.
We need to wrestle with great intensity the entire match tomorrow. No lapses.
Over and Out!
AUGUST 16, 2008
Hello from the competition venue. We just finished the first session for 48 kg and 55 kg. Here are the results.
48 kg
1st Round
Chun over Matsson (SWE), 2-1, 3-1
2nd Round
Chun over Bobryrmm (FRA).4-1, 2-1
Semi-Final
Icho (JAP) over Chun, 1-0, 0-3, 1-1
Clarissa has wrestled a good tournament but in all three matches she let up after she had the lead. She was able to come back from that in the first two matches but against Icho we had the lead, 1-0 in the third period and we let up for a second and got driven out of bounds. Tonight in the bronze medal match we will face the winner between China and Ukraine. In this match, it is much the same. We need to be on the offense the entire match, mental breaks. Clarissa has so much ability, motion, and varied attacks. We just have to make sure we use it our gifts.
55 kg
1st Round
Van Dusen over Synyshyn (UKR), 1-2, 1-1, 7-0
Renteria (COL) over Van Dusen, 7-2, 5-3
Marcie started a little slow against Ukraine but was able to get her offense going in the third period. In the first two periods we rushed things again but we weren't penetrating. In the match against Renteria again started a little slow and we reaching for shots, and rushed things a bit. I cannot fault the effort it just wasn't clean wrestling today. Renteria was beaten in the Semifinal and we were put out of the competition.
It was a frustrating morning. We got going early but it just didn't happen. I feel for these kids, the put so much into this, you want to see them leave with rewards. Clarissa has a big match tonight. We need to refocus and get a medal around her neck.
Randi and Ali weigh-in today at 3:15 pm. They will start competition tomorrow at 9:30 am.
Over and Out!
AUGUST 15, 2008
GEIA SAS! (Greek - Hello)
KALIMERA! (Greek - Good Morning)
Weigh-In Day 48 kg and 55 kg
- The girls have weighed-in and the brackets are set. Clarissa Chun will face Matsson from Sweden first round and Marcie Van Dusen will face Synyshyn from Ukraine in the first round - They must win 3 matches each tomorrow morning to make it to the Gold Medal Matches, tomorrow evening. You can go to: www.themat.com - for the full bracket. This is USA Wrestling's Official website.
Like I have stated before, It is our belief that when an athlete makes a U.S. Team, they are prepared and ready to medal. Tomorrow, we must step on the mat with an aggresive, attacking mindset. If we do that we can wrestle with anybody.
Did You Know? China Fun Facts
- Ice Cream was invented in China around the second century B.C. When the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture in snow.
- Animals Native to China: Pandas, tigers, dolphins, monkeys, alligators, reindeer, yaks, and snow leopards
- The Great Wall is 4,000 Miles Long and was begun in 231 B.C.
- China has 20% of the world population. Yes, that means 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. I don't know about you but that is mind blowing to think about.
- Although China spans over 4,000 miles, the entire country observes one time, Standard China Time.
- Beijing, the capital city, has more than 15 Million People.
- In 1990 McDonalds Opens it first restaurant in China. In 2008 McDonalds opened its 1,000 restaurant in China.
- As of 1980, a family in China can have only one child. Before this time, it was ok to have more than one child. There are exceptions to the rule:
1- A husband and a wife that both come from families in which, they were the only child, can have more than one child. The main reason for this is so that the burden of taking care of 4 grandparents and 2 parents is not left to one person.
2- Families from rural China can have more than one child but the children must be more than 5 years apart in age.
- A family that choses not to have children is called "Ding Ke". This is for the same reasons people do not have children in the U.S. and around the world; careers, financial reasons, family and so on.
- One of the differences, in China, than in the USA, is that the grandparents take care of the grandchildren while they are young maybe until they are done with High Middle School (High School). The country is very family oriented.
- Before 2002, a college student either had to be married before he/she started college or they had to wait until they were finished with college. Now, it is fine to be married during college studies.
- The educational system in China is similar to that of the USA but there are differences.
-1) There is no Home Schooling in China
-2) School is free through primary school (grades 1-6), and middle school (grades 7-9). Once a student reaches high middle school (high school - grades 10-12) they must pay a fee of about 100 RMB per year. 4 years of College cost about 4,000 RMB per year. 3 years to get a masters cost about 4,000 per year but the government will give every student about 200 to 300 RMB per month to help pay for these costs. 3 years to get a doctorate will cost about 4,000 RMB but again every student will get a check from the government of maybe 500 to 600 RMB to help pay for the costs.
China definitely wants people to get a great education. So it invests in its young people and keeps the costs low.
- Here is a staggering figure - 40% of Chinese Students that go to College, will go to college abroad.
It is time to do some video before we get going tomorrow.
Over and Out!
ANTIO! (Greek - Good Bye)
AUGUST 13, 2008
Ayn Ya Haseo - this is how it sounds - if you Say Hello in KoreanHello
Village Life:
The Olympic Village has laundry service for everyone staying in the village. You drop off your bag in either one of two bags that either wash lights or darks and they match it with your credential, 12 Hours later you pick it up. The service is open from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. Today they lost Randi's bag. Hopefully tomorrow they find it. The service has been very reliable.
Breakfast at the village gives you a lot of choices: Eggs, Bacon, French Toast or Pancakes, Oatmeal, Fruit of all kinds, Breads, Deli Meats, Vegetables, Sushi, Cold Cereals, Cheeses. The coffee is a little weak but the tea is good. They do a great job for feeding this many people.
The USA Men's Basketball Team has other issues, although I'm sure they are used to it. They practice at BNU like the rest of the US Teams do. Today after our workout all kinds of people and cameras were behind fences at BNU trying to get a glimpse of this team. I guess we all have our own issues.
Did you Know?- China Fun Facts:
1- Taxi cab drivers cannot eat garlic or onion at lunch and dinner and must wear yellow shirts and ties.
2- If you were a baby in China you wear a bottom less outfit, so that they do noy have to wear diapers. It is like a diaperless outfit.
3- Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way on the streets in China.
4- Jia Yo - this means "add oil" it is what they yell in the stands to "Keep Going - Let's Go, Let's Go.
5- The word on the street has it that China puts salt crystals into the clouds to induce rain. They may do this for a number of reasons: More Moisture, Clean the air, and even wash things off. If it is true, it is kind of scary that we are starting to try and play God so to speak.
Today was a little warmer in the city. The humidity started to rise up again along with the heat. It was a little haze in the sky. It is hard to tell if it is heat haze or smog or dust but it definitely was not the clearest day.
This morning we had a good morning. Marcie and Chun were off the mats and Randi and Ali were on the mats. We tried to get a couple good starts in - The butterfies are starting to fly - the girls are starting to get in the competition mode.
This afternoon Marcie was on the mat - Coach Izzy put her through a workout with her training partner Amy Borgnini. By the way, Amy has done a fabulous job. The rest of the coaches and girls played a game outside along with Stan and Chris our Athletic Trainer. It is a great way for the girls to get a workout in and still keep it light. They had a great time.
Our 2008 World Team Coaches Keith Wilson and Levi Wiekel-Magden sure have a way to keep thing light and right now that is what we need. We need to first realize that we are fortunate to be in these positions, understand that to get the most out of ourselves we have to love what we are doing. Today, I think everyone had that feeling.
Tomorrow morning, Clarissa Chun will be on the mats. Ali, Randi, and Marcie will be off the mats. Tomorrow evening we will have a light workout, just to make sure we are around each other and keep our weights in check.
One of the attractions to foreigners here is going to the "Silk Market." If you thought you had high pressure sales from purchasing your last used car, guess again. These girls are relentless. It gets to the point you don't even want to make eye contact. They are actually pulling you into there shops to purchase - if they get you in you are going to have to do some fast talking to get out. The silk market has everything from shoes, to bags, to pillows. It is a situation were you barter with them for a price. I think all sales people should go through here for a day, I'm sure a lot could be learned.
The Greco Team had a rough day today. Tomorrow Vering, Wheeler and Byers step on to the Olympic Mats. We wish them all the best!
I believe that's it for now. Go Team USA!
Dos Fidanya! Good Bye in Russian
Over and Out!
AUGUST 12, 2008
Tsa - shung - ha (this is not the correct spelling but it sounds like this) This is how you say GOOD MORNING in Mandarin. Mandarin is the dialect spoken in Beijing.
Tsa - Shung - Ha
We had workout this morning at 10:00 am. At our workout, watching was a young women by the name, Jenna Stuczynski, remember the name! She is the # 2 Ranked Pole Vaulter in the world. She is a huge wrestling fan. Her personal coach is a former wrestler, NY State Champion in 1986, but wrestling is still a passion of his. He trains her with the wrestling menality. Jenna will compete on the 16th and 18th, watch for her, cheer for her, and send her some positive energy. She is a wonderful young lady.
Some interesting Olympic Facts:
1- The Olympic Motto: "Citius, Altius, Fortius" is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Braver," but is universally accepted to mean "Swifter, Higher, Stronger."
2- The Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in the Games is not to winbut to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
3 - The Olympic Rings: The Olympic Symbol - five inter locked rings - representsthe union of the five original major continents (Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Europe) and the meeting of the athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games. The Five colors of the rings from left to right are Blue, Black, and Red across the top, and Yellow and Green along the bottom. The colors of the rings are thought to have been chosen because at least one of these colors can be found in the flag of every nation.
4- The Olympic Mascots: The Olympic Mascot first appeared in the 1972 Munich Games. The Olympic Mascot, however, successful, disappears with the end of the Games it personifies. It is meant to be friendly and appealing, especially to the young and is a visual identity with the Games.
Today - was a good day. Like I said earlier we had one workout this morning and the athletes had time in the afternoon to do as they wished. A couple got in another workout and others rested. Tomorrow is a morning workout as a group and then we will again be one our own in the evening.
Spenser Mango wrestled today Greco and was 1 & 1. Tomorrow Dietchler and Dantzler wrestle, we wish them the very best. The rest of the Greco Team weighs in tomorrow.
I had the chance to watch the Freestyle team workout today. They look ready to go! There is a lot of potential for success on this team. We wish all of the athletes and coaches great success!
The Women's Team seems to be pretty relaxed, everyone is starting to get their weight in line. It is just calm. Butterflies are starting in the stomachs we are getting close to competition time. I know I have said it before but I want to thank everyone in the Women's Wrestling Community for all of your help and support in getting this program going. We are looking forward to many years of success.
I think that is all for now.
Yuan - Shung - Ha (again it sounds like this, not spelled like this) it means GOOD NIGHT in Mandarin.
AUGUST 11, 2008
Como esta?
I hope you are all doing well. Everything here is great. The weather held up again a little over cast and scattered showers but it was again a cooler day. Still humid but very tolerable.
The sky has been grey but the rain actually cleaned the air a bit. When I woke up today I could actually see the mountains to the north of the city. Remember Beijing sits in a basin so this is also the reason everything gets trapped. Also, a lot of the pollution/Dust in the air comes from dust from winds blowing in from the northwest.
I do no see much effect with people around the village. Most people are excersizing and working out outside. At the village, there is an outdoor running path through part of the village and it is full. Some are leisure runners like myself and some runners in training. But I have not seen anyone outside with masks on. I think the air has been pretty favorable. Like I said the other day China has put in something like 16 Billion Dollars into cleaning up. One thing worth mentioning though is that you hardly ever see a bird.
The food at the village is good. Like I said before the cafeteria is open 24/7. The building where we eat seats 5,000 people. They have all kinds of choices from fruits, vegetables, cheeses, nuts, different breads, probably 15 Different entrees. It is impressive.
At BNU (Beijing Normal University) the home of The USOC's High Performance Center (Olympic Training Center Overseas) the food is fabulous! They feed all coaches, training partners and Olympic Athletes if they desire to stay and hangout after a training session. To my understanding, the USOC has hired chefs out of New York along with their staff to feed the American team. It is top notch from food, to service, to presentation.
It is a normal site to sit in the cafeteria at BNU listening to athletes from all sports congregate and cheer on American team members. The atmosphere in the cafeteria is great. They have about 6 or so TVs on the walls it is s fun atmosphere. Every where you look you see athletes surrounding a TV interested in what is going on.
The City of Beijing and The People's Republic of China have let everything out for this event. Every where you turn there are Olympic Banners Lining Streets, Lining Railings, hanging on buildings, billboards. You name it, they have one it. Also they have really greened the place up frower beds, flower pots, trees and shubs everywhere. The have a lot of green. The countries PRIDE is everywhere. Flags on a lot of cars and bikes.
Today, I found out some interesting facts about The People's Republic of China.
1- China spent 300 Million Dollars on Opening Ceremonies. Just as a reference, Athens spent 36 Million on Opening Ceremonies in 2004.
2- China has 100 Million more Men than Women coming into their 20's. Many men will not find a female counterpart in China.
3- China has a policy of 1 child for each couple unless you get an exemption from the government. If you do not get an exemption and have more than one child, you can have everything taken away from you.
4- Also, in China, you can have only one dog and it can only be 16 inches high or less unless you have an exemption
5- China has a population of 1.4 Billion People. In the next 10 years, they have a plan to move 300 Million people from rural China (poverty) to the urban areas. That is about 1/5 of their population and that is like moving every single person in the USA.
Let's talk about our athletes a little bit. We had a good workout today. We left for BNU at about 9:30 am from the village. At BNU, we went through a short intense workout with the girls for about an hour. Then the had some time to do more cardio or sauna if they wanted to. After Lunch, they had massages scheduled with the USOC Sports Medicine Staff.
We met back up again at about 4:30 to play a game for about an hour - just a way to get a little running and agility in but stay light and keep smiles on there faces - a little way to hide the work.
Coach Izzy arrived tonight from the states he has been with the Jr World Team in Turkey at the Junior World Championships - where they finished 3rd as a team and had one Champion in Adaline Grey and 2 more medalists. Congrats to all of the team members and all of the coaches.
The thing that we all need to understand is that to build an Olympic/World Champion, it takes a community of coaches, athletes and support staff. Everyone is in on it. We are going to be the best women's wrestling country in the world because we are all working towards the same goal TOGETHER!
Tomorrow - we will again have a morning workout with the team - after that we start to do our own thing to rest, relax and make weight. Tomorrow the Greco Roman competition starts and Spencer Mango will lead TEAM USA out of the blocks. Good Luck to Coach Fraser and The Team!
Over and Out!
AUGUST 10, 2008
Goodaye Mates!
I hope its Jolly Goodaye in America!
It has been a goodaye here in Beijing. It was a relaxing day, the girls were on there own. Even the HEAT took a break today as it rained most of the day with thunder and lightning storms.
I spent some time this evening at the Asics VIP Warehouse. Although it was a long cab ride, Stan Zeamer and I learned a little about the history of the company.
ASICS started out in Japan with a basket ballshoe in 1949. The company was founded be the late Mr. Onitsuka. Onitsuka San was a very clever guy obviously. Well it turns out Tadaaki Hatta's father (our USA WOMAN'S OLYMPIC COACH) approached Onitsuka San to develop and market a wrestling shoe. Hatta San & Onitsuka San developed a wrestling shoe that was ahead of its time. The shoe was made with Nylon instead of the old heavy wet leather that was worn around the world. The Nylon Shoe was a hit in Japan and treasured around the world.
USA Coach Bill Farrell was friends with Hatta San and the two of them brought the shoe to the USA. Today, in the wrestling market ASICS controls about 70% of the wrestling market. I thought you might like the history on Onitsuka Tiger / ASICS Company. Onitsuka passed on last March and the company is now run by his son-in-law.
Bill Farrell still owns and operates the USA distributorship, named "TW Promotions." This is a quick version, some of it maybe a little different, I did not hear this from Onitsuka San or Hatta San or Mr Farrell. But I thought it was an interesting.
A couple other interesting facts about The Olympic Games:
1- 16,000 Marriages took place in China on 8-8-08. The was the beginning of the Olympic Games. The number 8 is a lucky number in Chinese Culture.
2- An estimated 1 Billion people will watch the basketall game between China and USA. The game is going on now.
We are looking forward to tomorrow it is one day closer to dreams coming true. Tomorrow we will have a mat practice on the morning and a lighter practice in the afternoon on or off the mat depending on the athlete.
Also, tomorrow, Spenser Mango - the Men's Greco - 55kg, weighs-in. We are excited to get going! He will compete on Tuesday.
Jim Scherr wrote a letter to the American athletes after the opening ceremony. The last part of this I will leave you with.
With a nation behind us
With a world before us
And within us all...
Amazing Awaits
Goodaye Mates!
AUGUST 9,2008
Hello Again from Beijing!
I hope you all had the chance to see the Opening Ceremony last night on TV. As you have seen, The Chinese people spared no expense putting these Games together. It was Truly Amazing!
I was asked by a reporter what I thought about the Opening Ceremony! It is really hard to put into words. It was a lot of things:
It was Grand - it is amazing how many volunteers there are to help at the Games and not just Chinese people but people from around the globe. It is also amazing how all of these efforts are coordinated to make everything run smoothly. It is also amazing how language is only a barrier if you let it be. A smile and a thank you everyone understands and appreciates.
It was inspirational. You see so many people together that arestriving for something better. Not just in the arena of competition but the arena of life. There is so much positive energy in the air it is hard not to be uplifted.
It was Uniting - It is so good to see everyone smiling having a good time whether you were male or female, black or white, Catholic, Protestant or Islamic. Everyone enjoyed the event, and what makes it great is that everyone is taking part. Everyone is together.
It gives us hope for a better tomorrow - not just in the sporting world but around the globe not matter what your place. It shows that if we look at our similarities we are all of the same mold. We have the choice everyday, each one of us, to look at whatever it is we want, it is our choice to focus on the good or bad. No body is perfect!
It makes us realize that the secret to life is in the struggle. We cannot wish away our moments here on earth. We only have so many moments. Enjoy the Journey - Good and Bad.
Today for the Team was a good day. We arrived at BNU to workout at 10:00 am. Chun and Van Dusen were in the Weight room and Miller and Bernard were on the mats. Then at 4:00 pm we switched it up. I felt we able to get more out of the girls this way. I thought all of the athletes did a great job of getting back to the task at hand. The mats were slippery, the heat was swealtering but the intesity, fight and focus was good. That is what we are looking for.
After the morning workout, we stayed at BNU with the support team and hung out. Everyone did there own thing. I was on the computer most of the time. Some took naps others played games.
It was a relaxing day. The Greco-Roman and Men's Freestyle Team were on the mats today as well. Everyone looks focused on their needs.
It is great to see all in the room at the same time and not differentiating between style and genders. I think there is a great respect for each other among all involved. We are TEAM USA!
Tomorrow - the girls are on their own. We have been on the mats everyday lately and I felt we needed a day to just relax and get our mind and body in check. As athletes and coaches, we tend to think that more is always better but at this point in the game we need to back off and trust in our preparations and get our mind and body ready to fight. To do that we need some calm before the storm! Tomorrow will be a day like that. The Support team will come to The Olympic Village on day passes.
Monday we will be back on the mats at 10:00 am - We are really looking for the quality and intensity, nothing is excessive.
I think that is it for now. It is time to catch the bus back to The Olympic Village. Enjoy the Games.
Over and Out!
AUGUST 8, 2008
Nin Hao, Hello, Hola, dobre-utra, ohiogozimas,
I'M FROM EARTH! I know you are too, but this is a statement on one of the popular shirts that is being worn around the Village. The Beijing Olympic motto is "ONE WORLD ONE DREAM"
Tonight if you are watching you will see a magnificent site. Put everything aside - tonight we will truly be ONE WORLD. United and together either, here, watching on TV, or in spirit - tonight we will focus on our similarities and not our differences and that is what sport should do - bring us together and unite us. In sport there is no room for politics.
It is August 8. 8-8-08 - The opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The air is filled with excitement and anticipation. We are all Honored, Humbled, and Proud to be here and be a part of such a magnificent occasion.
- Jacques Rogge, IOC President is in town.
- 104 Heads of State will be in attendance for opening ceremonies.
- Tickets to the opening are being sold for $10,000 US Dollars.
- The Peoples Republic of China will have an athlete delegation of 639 competing in the Games
- The USA will have an athlete delegation of 596.
It is Truly Amazing!
The Olympic Games represent so many great things - Three of the founding Values of the Games are EXCELLENCE, FRIENDSHIP, AND RESPECT.
EXCELLENCE. Obviously, the athletes are living this everyday in their fight for perfection. They learn a lot about themselves and about others. What you really learn is the importance of the other 2 founding values.
FRIENDSHIP. I think in a strive for excellence you find a lot out about you - you learn to appreciate you and others for who they/we are. Mr. Jacques Rogge has challenged everyone to go out of our way to make friends from other countries and other sports. ONE WORLD ONE DREAM.
RESPECT. Those in sport also learn to appreciate the journey. We learn to appreciate hard work, sacrafice, discipline and each new day. You must have respect for yourself and others in sport. Respect is essential for success. You must respect all but fear none. You must respect similarities and differences alike.
Today, we had a workout at 10:00 am. We were on the mat - a few of the girls had some issues that needed to be tended to so Dr. Hines went along with to the workout to make sure we were covered. Chris Schreor and Dr. Hines are our Medical staff assigned to women's wrestling. These small things help a lot.
We drilled about 20 minutes of task drills (teams drills) - then we wrestled live for 4 different periods, a total of about 12 minutes - then we had 20 Minutes of individual drlls.
I think after Opening Ceremony we will finally settle in. We still look a little off, but I expect on Saturday and Sunday it will be better.
Tomorrow, we will do more individual work. Clarissa and Marcie will be in the weight room in the morning and Randi and Ali will be on the mats. In the afternoon we will switch it up and Clarissa and Marcie will be on the mats, Ali will be in the weight room and Randi will be back on the mats.
Well it is time to get ready for Opening Ceremonies. Be Proud of these athletes; they are happy and proud to represent all of you.
We started out on buses to the fencing arena. In the fencing arena, Jim Scherr (USOC Boss) and Peter Ueberoth (chairman of the USOC) addressed the American Delegation.
Then we were all visited by both President Bush and The First Lady, Laura Bush and also Janet Bush, their daughter and lastly but not least Former President Bush. George W. Bush addressed the athletes and then the spent about an hour meeting and greeting each team. Former President Bush has a great sense of humor he always has a smile and is very sincere. We had a picture with him.
Also the Men's Basketball Team was a hit a lot of picture were taken and they we very open and seemed to be having a great time. I had the chance to Meet Coach K, in case you don't know he is Duke's coach and is a very humble and down to earth individual. It is not hard to see why he has been so successful. Good Guys do finish first. Also. I was impressed how all the Mega Stars like Kobe and Lebron went through the entire ceremony.
As I right this part of the blog we are sitting in the Gymnastic Stadium waiting to go into "The Birds Nest." We are the 140th country to go out. We are sitting by the Men's and Women's Water Polo Team. I'm picking up some tips - we play water polo at times for a cross-training workout.
So far it has been a great experience. Former President Bush is like the wise old grandfather, very comfortable and relaxed and just makes everyone feel good.
Well the ceremony is over I hope you get to watch it. It was great. We are now on a bus back to thw village. It is about 1:00 am here in Beijing.
The time is now for our girls. I think they had a great night and are excited to start.
Talk to you all later
Thank You - Shea Shea!
AUGUST 7, 2008
Nee How or Hello in Chinese!
Did you know that China has 1/5 of the worlds population with 1.3 Billion people. Amazing!
Today - I woke up at about 6:00 am. I thought I might sleep longer but I guess it takes a few days to acclimate.
Let me tell you a little bit about The Beijing Olympic Village. It has enough room for 16,000 people, it will hold all 205 countries that are competing in the Games. There are also Olympic Villages in the cities of Hong Kong & Quindao which are 2 main host cities for sports in the games.
The village is divided into three parts: 1) The International Zone, The Resident Zone and the Operations Zone. The village includes a cafeteria, a barber shop/salon, a tea/coffee shop, a fire station, a post Office, a library, a clinic, a fitness center, 4 internet cafes, a swimming pool (many ponds), a running trail, tennis courts, and sand volleyball courts. It has a transportation system that includes 24 electric buses that go around in and out of the village. It also has a laundry service for EVERYONE - and you get it back in 12 hours.
The Dorm or apartments are very nice. Everything is new and clean. The whole village is made of 6 and 9 floor structures. It sits right outside the Olympic Green ( the venue area) it also sits as a gated community. It is already presold to Chinese people who will take ownership after The Olympic Games and The ParaOlympic Games on September 20. It sits on the north side of Bejing.
The cafeteria holds 5,000 people. It is open 24 hours per day. It many sections: seating, fruits, cheeses, and salad, desserts, International cuisine, Mediterrenian cuisine, Asian cuisine, Coffee and drinks, McDonald's (yes, McDonald's). It is pretty amazing. I hope we make weight - I can see me chasing miller out of there a few times this week.
The Olympians, Stan Zeamer and myself then went for a workout at 9:00 am in thr fitness center. Everyone did cardio and lifting again - tonight at 6:00 pm we will get back on the mats.
I really enjoyed working out. I just love watching and learning from different cultures - we tend to think we know better but I think you can learn a lot from the rest of the world if you just keep an open mind. I'm going to spend an afternoon in the fitness center looking at other cultures routines and excersizes before we get into competition.
We came back to the dorms and got ready for the press conference - we had to leave the village at 12:00 noon for that. I showered and hand washed my workout gear.
In our room, Stan, I and eventually Tadaaki will be staying. We have been listening to Natasha Bedingfield on the IPOD
The workout partners and personal coaches went to The GREAT WALL today with the Greco Team while we were at the press conference. We will meet back up with them tonight for a workout. Stan and I had a great lunch talking about the development of women's wrestling at lunch. Stan is a brilliant business man and we are lucky to have him in our corner and as a team leader.
The press conference went well. I thought the girls did a great job. There were a lot of questions about Japan and Yoshida. I think our girls are ready and are not going to take back seat to anyone. We feel whoever is on a US Team has what it takes to win here.
At the press conference all of the athletes and the coaches sat at a front table with Gary Abbott directing the Press with questions. It went well.
After the conference we ran into Roger Federer and Randi chased him down to try to get a picture but his onterage protected him. So Randi wasn't so lucky, but it was funny watching our team run after him.
I haven't seen too many of our foreign competitors, only Spain's delegation (2 athletes and coach Francisco Barrera) and the Italian Team Leader and also Tomyama, the Japanese Team Leader, the Sweden Coaches and Venezuela. But the village is full.
Oh, by the way my (Raven's) IPOD went out (just in case! My birthday is coming up).
Our workout went OK. It took us a while to get there. We missed the bus it leaves on the half hour every hour all day. It was our first time so we rode in a van with some media, sports Tv from Spain. We finally got back on the mats. We looked a little bit sluggish but we need to expect that for a day or two.
The team behind the team had a good time today at the Great Wall but they too looked tired. We just got back from BNU - Beijing Normal University the home of USOC's Training Center.
And speakingof the GREAT WALL - I think the trip is getting to me now and I'm hitting the Great Wall. I need to go to sleep.
Shea Shea or Thank You - in the Chinese Mandarin Language
Over and Out!
AUGUST 6, 2008
Hello from Beijing! What a great day. We left San Jose State at about 7:15 am this morning. It took us about a 45 minute bus ride to the San Francisco airport. We were treated like royalty. We went to our own lines at check-in and security.
The plane was full of Olympic delegation. Some notables on our flight were Venus and Serena Williams and Lindsey Davenport. Also on our flight was Bob Bowlsby the AD at Stanford and his wife. When I was in school at Iowa, Bob was the AD in Iowa City. The flight crew was very hospitable to the entire delegation. Like I said most on the trip had something to do with the Olympics.
We also met up with the rest of our crew our training parnters and personal coaches met us in San francisco. The all had an early flight. I had a seat in the last row, 62 I was in the aisle, not a bad seat except I noticed everyone congregates in that area waiting to go to the bathroom. I don't know if I was tired or gassed out.
Any ways it was 12 hours - or a few movies and a few meals and we arrived today at about 2:00 PM. The New Beijing Airport is being billed as the largest building under one roof in the world. It is pretty amazing. So far everything here is amazing. At the airport, the official delegation went to the village with the exception of Coach Hatta - his credential starts in a few days. The rest of the group will stay at Beijing Normal University. This is the location of The USOC's "High Performance Center" it is like a US Olympic Training Center in Beijing.
The village is just Amazing! It is electric, full of culture, tradition and diversity. You can't look ten feet and not see someone from another country. This is truly what I love about this job - mixing with people from all over the world. Once we settled in and unpacked, the USOC had an orientation Meeting letting us know the USOC Services availabe at the village. The USOC is doing everything they can to let the athletes and coaches stay focused on our job - winning medals - and the have people in place to do all of the grunt work. It is what makes us different.
After the meeting, we went to the village fitness center for a short workout and sauna session. It is a full blown health club, set up in a semi-permanent structure with all of the amenities for the Games. The dining hall is about the size of 3-4 football fields with anything you can imagine open 24 hours a day.
Tomorrow we will wake-up at about 8:00 am and get another cardio- lfting workout - at 12:00 pm we will leave the village to the press center for our team's press conference. This is open to all media outlets around the world. We then will have until 5:30 pm to relax and enjoy the atmpsphere before we workout again, on the mats at 6:00 pm.
The training partners and personal coaches will visit the Great Wall tomorrow during our Press day and join us for a workout tomorrow night.
It doesn't look like the Today Show thing is going to happen tomorrow, but maybe later in the games.
Well it is about 11:00 pm - I'm bushed and still need to eat a bit so I will talk to you all later.
We are all very excited to be here and I know the girls are goimg to represent us well.
Over and Out!
AUGUST 4, 2008
Hello Again! We are 11 hours away from the Flight to Bejing! I thought i would fill you all in on what todays happenings were before I shut my computer of until we get to Beijing!
Today was a full day again, The Girls had there Athlete ambassador Program with the USOC from 9 - 11 am. The Coaches watched Video this morning on the opponents from Japan. Tadaaki had some interesting footage from a Japanese TV Show.
I don't know if many of you know Tadaaki, so I will fill you in on him just a bit. Tadaaki Hatta was born and raised in Japan. When he was college age his father sent him to the USA for an education and to learn more about Wrestling. Tadaaki's Father was the FATHER of WRESTLING in JAPAN. So you can see why it is a big deal for the Japanese people why he isan Olympic Coach for TEAM USA. It doesn't sit well with the Japanese people.
So we watched some documentaries on Japanese women's wrestling including Saori Yoshida / Marcie Van Dusen's match at the 2008 World Cup where Marcie beat Yoshida! This may not be a big deal to some of you but understand that Yoshida has not been beaten in Sr Level International Competition. So in a nut shell the Japanese people are concerned about what Tadaaki is doing with this team.
After lunch - we had a little time to relax. We had a workout planned for 2:00 pm - it turned out some of the Men's Freestyle Team was in by that time so we had about a 40 minute game of Butt Ball!
Again, if you do not know what butt ball is - it is basically, Ultimate Football played with whatever kind of Ball (sometimes all there is, is toilet paper wrapped in Tape - Hence the Name). Today was my shirt taped up in a ball. After the co-ed game of Butt Ball, the girls put in about 40 minutes of good drilling Working on their own individual areas. They all seemed relaxed. Also, a local TV station was doing a story on Chinese Americans on the USA Team. Chun has a Chinese and Japanese blood line so they did a story on her today after Practice
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