Olympics Days 9 & 10

There are 38 different sports in this olympics, and I have seen all but six so far. Hoping I don't miss modern pentathlon. Will be fine if I don't see rythmic gymnastics.

A salute to the "senior citizens" of these Games. Dara Torres (41) silver in the 50 free, Constantina Tomescu (38, Romania) gold in the marathon, and Oksana Chusovitina (33, Germany) silver in the vault. Both Dara and Oksana are older than the combined ages of the gold and bronze medalists from their events! All three also have children. I would love to see a list of all the female medalists that have carried children. Very impressive. There are also male athletes in their 50s (sailing) and 60s (equestrian), but no medals yet.

You expected to see athletes stripped of medals after failing drug tests, but a rifle athlete?

Most seen non-athlete award: Debbie Phelps (Michael's mom for those of you who went camping the last 10 days). She is almost a household name. A good story, but a little overplayed by the media.

Impressive track performances: While the new swimsuits and "fast" pool produced unlimited world records, track records are fewer without the technology help. Previously mentioned 38 year old Constantina Tomescu running away from the pack in the marathon (not a record time, but impressive). Another world record by Russian pole vaulter Elena "Izzy" Isinbayeva, far above everyone else. And the most incredible performance I have seen was 100 meter champ 21-year old Usain "Insane" Bolt from Jamaica coasting to a new world record. Men normally peak in this event in their mid- to late 20s, and he has only run this event for 9 months! Expect to hear his name a LOT.

Hot 11 update: The Olympic Games were created by the Greeks who had a great appreciation for the physical form in its fittest state, and were known for sculpting statues of the finest. They also admired the physical prowess of sports champions. These are the basis for my list.

Previously mentioned beach volleyball player Xue (Schway) Chen has established herself as possibly the most dominating female player in the sand.
Another that caught my eye this weekend was US high hurdler Lolo Jones. I love her energy in interviews and I also love the name.