Olympic Showdown

With the Olympics winding down, it's been a great show. Let's talk about a few exciting events that took place earlier.

Day 15, Aug 23 (China) had quite some spectacular showdowns

Thank goodness the American men and women on the 4x400 meters relay teams won their races. It salvaged America's track reputation. The American men set a new Olympic record, while the Bahamians take silver, the Russians, bronze. Did anyone notice how the Brits didn't medal in the event? Part of me is kind of glad because they got cocky in the qualifying heats...when that one Brit guy, Martyn Rooney, was teasing Bahamas and Jamaica to catch up. That was just stupid. You don't celebrate and show off winning heat; you celebrate when you win. And in this case, they lost; the Bahama team he teased won second place. Craig Pickering showed much more class when he took the blame for Great Britain not making the 4x100m sprint relay earlier this week.

But it wasn't all smooth on the running tracks. Belgium was a medal contender until the last part of the relay when the anchor, Cedric van Branteghem, fell and was almost trampled over by the other runners.

Out of my bitch! They're giving away Hannah Montana tickets!



The American women had the most sensational relay of the evening. They started off with a great lead, but by the time it got to anchor Sanya Richards, they were behind Russia. In the last 50 meters of the race, Sanya Richards kicks it into overdrive and overtakes Anastasia Kapachinskaya to win the gold. The Russian women take the silver, and Jamaica settles for the bronze. Still, the showdown that should've happened never quite materialized. It would appear Sanya Richards takes one medal over her rival, Britain's Christine Ohuruogu, who got careless in the qualifing heats earlier and almost cost Great Britain a spot in final relay. Great Britain, which was suppose to challenge the Americans, placed fifth.

China man bends over for Australian thunder from down under!



Speaking of challenge, how about that Aussie sensation, Matthew Mitcham! The Australian sensation beats Chinese favorite to gold in the 10m platform diving. China's Liang Huo ends up with silver, breaking a Chinese medal sweep in diving! Up until the last dive, Liang Huo was first for the gold, but his last dive was sloppy; he bent his knees during his entry, leaving himself wide open for Mathew Mitcham to slip right through! With a near perfect dive earning four perfect 10s and the highest score in Olympics diving history, he tops the Chinese favorite in an unbelievable showdown! But the diving drama doesn't end there! Russia's Gleb Galperin beats off another Chinese diver to win bronze! The Chinese diving conquest has suffered a setback.

I won gold, mofo! And I didn't even have to shave my underarms like those other bitches!



But it's not just diving that had an incredible upset. Let's take a look at the some of the hottest athletes on the field, the women of the high jump. Long, limber legs that exude power take to the skies and jump over a bar that's set higher and higher til only one is able to clear it.




The heavily favored (tall and thin) Croatian Blanka Vlasic is the world champion. And she had a great performance that almost guaranteed the gold. But she got careless and couldn't clear the last height.


And it was Tia Hellebaut of Belgium who seizes the opportunity and wins the gold! The gorgeous girl in glasses blew away expectations and proved that she was the best!

Anna Chicherova of Russian jumps her way to bronze.



But there were several other hot ladies competing. Let's talk about those synchronized swimmers!




















The team event was dramatic!
















Japanese tuna fleet on the move.



One of the Japanese swimmers hyperventilated and had be helped out of the pool for medical assistance. Who says this isn't a sport?

David Hasselhoff and unidentified Baywatch lifeguard help distressed swimmer.



The Russians took gold,
















the Spaniards took silver,















and the Chinese earned the bronze.


















Another group of fine ladies competed as well. The rhythmic gymnastics, the sport of the hotter looking gymnasts took place. No underaged, manly shouldered munchkins in this sport!

And Russia's Evgeniya Kanaeva jumps to gold.

Inna Zhukova of Belarus gets the silver.

















And Anna Bessonova of Ukraine hula hoops her way to bronze.



UPDATE 24 Aug 03:30 a.m.: US basketball team wins the gold in final game with Spain. The 'Redeem Team' restores America's reputation in basketball since it's poor standings in the previous Olympics and World Championships. This time, they get it right. It's not just talent; it's also about teamwork. The Spaniards put up a great fight right down to the wire, but in the end, they lost 118-107.

And the US water polo men win silver--the number 9 ranked team lost to number 1 ranked Hungary. Still, it's quite an achievement for the athletes, as the last time the Americans medaled in the event was 20 years ago!

And the American men's volleyball team wins gold against Brazil! It was a wonderful ending for a team who's Olympic quest started off with the tragic attack on the New Zealand born coach's wife and in laws. The father in law died but his wife and mother in law survived the attack. And it was his mother in law that encouraged Hugh McCutcheon to return to Beijing and finish his team's quest for gold. And with a long hard battle, the Americans beat the Brazilians on the volleyball court. The American women take the silver as the Brazilians win gold. Still, the Americans have all ready dominanted the beach volleyball courts as well earlier in the week.

What an incredible end to the games. The only thing left now is the Closing Ceremonies. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Chinese will end these games, and I wonder what London'll do in 2012 to top it off!