08 August 2008

Olympic Connection

I almost have a connection to the Olympics. While riding in a train, I started talking to the guy on the seat opposite. It turned out he (Simon Ayeko) was on his way to a track meet to try to qualify for the Ugandan Olympic team. He didn't make it, which I don't understand since he's run fast enough to meet the 'A' standard in his event -- the 3000 m steeple chase -- this year. They're sending nobody in that event. Also surprising since he only has the second best time from Uganda. Oh well. He's a young guy, so I hope he makes it to the 2012 games.

In a different way, I do have a connection to the Olympics. My wife and I went to Greece for our honeymoon. While there, we visited Delphi. One part of the site at Delphi was the stadium in which the Pythian Games were held. The games at Olympus were not the only ones. So I ran full out for the 1 stade (178 meters) race, starting from where the racers would have 2500 years ago. Didn't succeed in getting some high school students who were posing at the start to join in a race. But I ran my best, while thinking of the competitors representing their cities those centuries ago.

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