Getting into the Olympic spirit

I am having so much fun watching the ups and downs of world class competition! American Nathan Adrian winning the gold in the 100m freestyle by 1/100th of a second was so exciting! And the women pulled through again with another gold in the 4x200m free relay. But watching gymnasts Danell Leyva and and John Orozco compete in the men's all-around was absolutely engrossing. They both had a chance to medal, but they each screwed up pretty bad on the pommel horse, repeating their mistakes from the team competition. John's score was bad enough to take him out of the running, but Danell did well enough on his other events to still have a chance... and he did it! He came away with bronze! Such an impressive comeback--it must have had something to do with that lucky towel he carries around with him everywhere. Gymnastics sure has been all about bouncing back this year!
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Kayla Harrison became the first American ever to win a gold medal in judo, and if that's not impressive enough for you, she's a former victim of sexual abuse. When she was 16, she confessed that her coach had been abusing her for years, and her mother immediately pressed charges. They moved, found a new training group to help her recover emotionally and psychologically, and now she's an Olympic champion. In an article from TIME magazine, Kayla says, "This is proof that you're only a victim if you allow yourself to be. Nothing can stop you." She is definitely a strong woman worth looking up to.

Every time Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman do their gymnastics floor exercises, the crowd claps with the music, and tonight they really put on a show. As their last routine, it was the perfect way to end the night that would win them the gold and bronze, respectively. We've won gold in the women's all-around for the last 3 Olympics, which means the Russians are no longer the obvious favorites in the sport. We've never had an African American winner, though, so Gabby's definitely in the history books for that.

Rebecca Soni also won gold in the 200m breaststroke with a world record, becoming the first woman to win this event in back-to-back Olympics. Our women sure have set a lot of standards this year--I wonder if that correlates with the fact that the US has more female than male athletes at the Olympics for the first time ever...