London Olympics! (Part IV)

Ready for some final thoughts?

Track and Field

I have mentioned him before, but Oscar Pistorius ran the anchor leg of the men's 4x400M relay. By the time he got the baton, South Africa was in last place. However, he ran a great leg to finish the race. What a wonderful race. How nice to see he was also the flag bearer for his country at the Closing Ceremony. He will remain in London for the Paralympics so cheer for him!

I am not a fan of inking one's body, but check out Oscar's tattoo on his shoulder/back! It's 1 Corinthians 9: 26-27:

I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Triathlon

I only read about this, but what sportsmanship by Leonardo Chacon! He got clipped during the cycling race and fell behind. But instead of getting angry about the unfortunate situation and blaming the defending silver medalist, the athlete who crashed and unintentionally made contact with Chacon's bike, Costa Rican Chacon sent a heartfelt Facebook message to Simon Whitfield of Canada. In return, Whitfield just posted this message on Facebook:

Dear People of Costa Rica & Canada,
Because of Leonardo's kindness and because him & Simon have become fast-friends, Team Whitfield is working on flying in Leonardo to Canada so we can meet him in person. Stay tuned for details!

Diving

Platform diving is one of my favorite Olympic sports. At the men's 10M platform diving event, China was favored to win gold (as usual), but David Boudia had a fantastic last dive to pull ahead of Tom Daley (home favorite) and China's Qiu Bo to win gold! At the end of the competition, while the incredibly poised Boudia was looking at the score board and soaking in the news, his team was so excited for him that they were hugging him and congratulating him. What team spirit! And read this and this about David's faith.

Marathon

Ryan Hall had to drop out of the race with a hamstring injury. While deeply disappointed, he posted the following tweet:

A huge bummer of a day today. Hamstring wouldn't let me go. But a huge congrats to @runmeb! You continue to inspire me. #GodIsStillGood

What a way to hold on to faith during this difficult time!

Closing Ceremony

I didn't get to watch it much, but the stage design was nice. The center was the Union Jack and athletes gathered "under the flag." A nice symbol to show how the Olympic Games in London brought athletes together from around the world. And what fun to watch the Olympians relax and celebrate their hard work and achievements!

I hope you enjoyed the Games as much as I did!