Sports Illustrated's David Epstein has a nice piece explaining why he is looking forward to the Men's 800m as one of the most exciting events of the 2008 Olympics. In a few hundred words he manages to communicate the chaos and anaerobic panic of the 800, praise Nick Symmonds for his unworldly acceleration in the late stages of races, and pay homage to Dick Wottle, the last U.S. man to win an Olympic gold medal in the two-lap event.
What I'm looking forward to...
Symmonds will have his hands full, and even making it to the finals will be a tall order. Still, even though he doesn't have the fastest time in the field, his 1:44.10 at the Olympic Trials was faster than the winning time in the 2004 Olympics... so anything is possible. Symmonds will be joined in the 800m by Vermont native and current Oregon runner Andrew Wheating and by Christian Smith.
The first round of the 800m is Wednesday, August 20th, at 7:00 p.m. Beijing time.
Meanwhile. we'll have to be content with swimming, basketball, beach volleyball, and gymnastics. And talking about those spectacular opening ceremonies. My goodness!
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