Jane Palen
Managing Editor

In my sophomore year of high school, I had a picture of Mark Spitz wearing his swimming trunks and seven gold medals taped to the inside of my locker. If memory serves me correctly, my interest probably had more to do with his good looks than with his swimming ability. I also remember his acting debut on the ìSonny and Cherî show. Letís just say he should have stuck to swimming and getting his picture taken.

Now that Iím too old to have a locker, I still find myself drawn into the drama of the Olympics. And itís the drama as much as the competition that makes the Olympics so fascinating. And Iím not even talking about the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding type of drama.

Last week, I had never even heard of Blaine Wilson. Today I feel outraged that the IOC changed the rules and left him unable to perform the routine that heís been perfecting for months. The Hamm twins are fascinating.

And who can help but get caught up watching girls gymnastics. A gymnast needs the concentration of a chess player and the agility of a dancer, not to mention strength and endurance.

Watching the girlsí team struggle in the preliminaries was difficult. A step out of bounds, a little hop on the landing, can make dreams come crashing down. What an incredible amount of emotional risk these athletes take.

In swimming, American Michael Phelps faced Australian Ian Thorpe (the ìThorpedoî) in the 200 meter freestyle finals, billed as the ìrace of the century.î In interviews, the two athletes express nothing but respect for each otherís abilities, and even say that they are friends. Thatís a refreshing change from the trash talk that dominates professional sports.

Perhaps even more intimidating to Phelps than Thorpe was the prospect, discussed widely in the media, that he would match Spitzís seven gold medals. After his third place finish in the 200, beating Spitzís record was no longer a possibility. Heís probably going to enjoy the rest of his Olympic experience even more without the extra pressure.

Dawn Staley, who carried the U.S. flag during the opening ceremony, told an interviewer that as a little girl growing up in the housing projects of North Philadelphia, she never dreamed that she would ever have such an honor. Thatís an ìAmerican Dreamî story if there ever was one.

The Olympics is a great source for stories of courage, triumph, and hope. Itís all about so much more than winning.

Of course, the Olympics has been marred by scandal and even violence through the years, but it seems that there are far fewer scandals compared to professional sports.

I think many Olympic athletes would say that competing in Athens is a dream come true, but their ìdreamsî are unlike those of many of us. The point is that they did so much more than dream. They have an abundance of talent, of course, but they also have goals, ambition, and determination. Dreams are only part of it.

Top of Page

Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475

E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com