Olympic Sportmanship

Watching the Olympics has instilled a lot of faith in me about the kindness of humankind.  All of these athletes have come together from all over the world, with different cultures and different walks of life, and yet they have found a common bond of sportmanship.

Grenada athlete Kirani Jones swaps numbers with South African double amputee Athlete Oscar Pistorius

 One of the stories of the London Olympics was that of double amputee Oscar Pistorius, racing against healthy two-legged athletes in the 400-meter dash for the first time.  Unfortunately he did not make it to the final against some of the fastest runners in the world (although he did make it through the preliminary round against 50 other athletes to the semi-final round).  However, at the end of the race, top finisher Kirani Jones, from Grenada, walks over to Pistorius and swaps numbers with him, in an inspirational act that will be remembered forever in the hearts of many.

And who knows, maybe Karma does happen; because Kirani Jones won the Gold Medal in the 400 meter. I'm sure Oscar Pistorius fist pumped for this humble athlete.

Sam Mikulak has an great vault, but excited to see the other gymnasts' vaults

As you know, gymnastics is my favorite sport to watch during the Summer Olympics.  And at a time, where the men have in a way lost their following, but continuously not doing so hot this year (finishing very low on the team finals, and only winning one medal thus far), I have found the men to be awe-spiring.  Last night, while watching the Vault finals on NBC, I saw Sam Mikulak have a pretty good vault.  Ok, it wasn't the best from last night, but it definitely better than others.  And you knew he thought he did well, with a huge grin on his face when he stuck his landing (with his butt only inches from the floor mats).  But the best part of the entire event is watching each gymnast come down after their vaults, either good or bad, and get cheered on by all the other gymnasts that weren't their team mates.  How when Korean Yang Hak Seon went up for his vault and Sam Mikulak, "all right I want to see this guy rage."  Then after Yang Hak Seon  "raged" (an almost perfect vault), he went up to him and said "Dude, give me a hug!"  

It's moments like these, when you forget all the war in the world, due to different skin colors or religion.  When countries can come together for 2 weeks, play nicely and all leave winners.  Wow.

Which reminds me, that I still have my giveaway going on to celebrate the Olympics.  So be sure to enter for a chance to win this super cute Leotard for your American Girl (maybe next time I'll make one that matches Sam Mikulak's :D).  You can enter here, on the original blogpost for it!