9/11
September 11, 2008
September 11, 2001
Photographs by Marty Lederhandler/AP
I can’t believe it has already been 7 years since that fateful day. May God bless us all.
Olympics update
August 14, 2008
I am all about the Olympics. The summer games in Beijing have captivated me since the Opening Ceremony on 08.08.08. Of course the highlight of the Olympics so far for me has been Michael Phelps. How can you not like and root this guy on? The 4×100 m freestyle relay was simply amazing. It just keeps getting better and better. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson won the gold and silver medals, respectively, in the women’s all-around. The USA women’s gymnastics won the team silver medal a couple days prior.
“Michael Phelps is five-for-five in Beijing, winning gold and setting the world record in each of his events. In his first, on Aug. 10, Phelps won the 400m IM in 4:03.86, more than a second faster than the record he set a month earlier at Olympic Trials. The next day, Phelps and the U.S. team squeaked out a win in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Phelps’ leadoff leg of 47.51 was an American record, but anchor Jason Lezak dove in with more than a half-second deficit. Lezak posted the fastest relay split in history, 46.06, to catch Frenchman Alain Bernard for the win, by just .08 of a second. Phelps easily won the 200m free, for his third gold in Beijing and his record-tying ninth career gold. But he wasn’t tied for long, as the next morning, Phelps won two more gold medals: first, in the 200m butterfly, where the race was tighter than expected. But the only race in the 4x200m freestyle relay was for second, as the U.S. men, with Phelps leading off, broke the record by more than four seconds and beat the field by more than five.” – NBC Olympics
(Reuters/David Gray)
(Reuters/Jerry Lampen)
BEIJING, Aug. 15, 2008 – Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, and Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, won the gold and silver medals, respectively, at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, becoming the first U.S. women to go 1-2 in the all-around at an Olympic Games. Liukin joins Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Carly Patterson (2004) as the only U.S. women’s gymnasts to win an Olympic all-around title. – USA Gymnastics
BEIJING, Aug. 13, 2008 – The U.S. Olympic Team for women’s gymnastics claimed the team silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. The U.S. women finished with 186.525 points to earn their second consecutive Olympic team silver medal. China won the gold medal with 188.900 points, and Romania earned the bronze medal with 181.525 points.
“I feel proud of the USA and our team,” Johnson said. “We are proud of each other no matter what. I think that we represented USA very well.”
“My goal was to come out and know that at the end of the competition, I’d have no regrets,” Liukin said. “I definitely have no regrets. I’m happy with how everything went and to say that you have an Olympic medal is just amazing.”
“I’m definitely happy with silver,” said Memmel, who injured her ankle during training before the qualification round. “It’s the Olympic Games and we have a silver medal. The Chinese were the better team today. We had a few mistakes. The only disappointment for me was that I couldn’t contribute more to the team.”
“Leaving Beijing with a silver medal is such an honor,” Peszek said. “To have a medal hanging around my neck from the Olympics is remarkable. We’re all so proud of everyone.”
“You have good days and bad days, and I just wish that today was a good day for me,” Sacramone said. “My teammates were amazing today, but I just wish that my performance was a little better.”
“It’s amazing and having any medal is remarkable,” Sloan said. “We gave it our hearts, but China was just having a really good day today.” USA Gymnastics
(FIG photo)
Happy 4th
July 4, 2008
Jacob Korir, an All-American runner from Eastern Kentucky University, captured 1st place in the Bluegrass 10K. Visa problems kept Korir from traveling home to his native Kenya, training for Beijing. He will miss the Kenyan trials, in which he believed he could have qualified for the Olympics.
“Korir will leave EKU as one of the school’s most decorated athletes. In March, he finished second in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships, losing by only one second to Shadrack Songok of Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Afterwards, Korir was named an All-American, his first All-America honor in track and field.
Korir is a three-time All-American in cross country. In November, he finished sixth at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships, his highest placing in three tries. The finish capped a decorated cross country career that saw Korir named the 2006 and 2007 OVC Male Athlete of the Year, and the OVC Cross Country Runner of the Week a conference record 11 times.” – Steve Fohl EKU Sports
