One of my favorite Olympic observations took place at Beijing 2008, not far from the Main Press Center and Water Cube.
Dozens of pin collectors -- some veteran, others new to the hobby -- were viewing one another's boards of trading material.
A Chinese collector took notice of a 1970s throwaway pin I offered, featuring the words "Born to Skate" (likely a roller-skating reference).
"What is skate?"
This memory came to mind yesterday as a trio of Team USA skateboarders -- Poe Pinson, Paige Heyn and returning Olympian Mariah Duran, exited the Paris Olympic Village to head out for an afternoon skate about Paris.
Before they set out, I caught up to Pinson and Duran and quizzed them about their arrival at the Village, which turned out to be two days ago (18 July).
Though lowkey (perhaps day two of jetlag), they were positive about the entire experience, with Heyn joining the conversation to mention she looked forward to visiting the athlete hair and nail salon -- the main Village feature about which she had heard -- at some point before the opening ceremony.
With several local French children and kids from neighboring apartment blocks surrounding us, all three Olympians started handing out free swag, including skateboard pins and some Tech Deck miniature plastic boards.
"J'aime le Etats-Unis!"
And then they were off -- the trio of skaters set out on what turned into a 2.5-hour ride (I spotted their return from the corner of an eye but did not speak with them again).
Other observations du jour: A large batch of Dutch athletes (two busloads) though my Olympic crush Femke Bol was not among them (a Team NL official mentioned she'd arrive later), Team Mexico unveiled what may be their Opening Ceremonies sombreros (much to the delight of the local kids who got to wear them), and some trading with volunteers or staff from the International Olympic Committee, Intel and NOCs from Aruba, Montenegro, Team GB and others.
Best moment: Conversation with Venezuela's two-time judo Olympian Anriquelis Barrios, who completed interviews with AFP and me before gifting a Team Venezuela pin in exchange for a blog pin (both featuring the Paris mascot).
Back in 1996, a couple of colleagues with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) international relations team composed an original song -- "Village of the World" -- in which almost 200 national Olympic committees got mention in the lyrics.
My missions du jour: Check out the guest pass process, and trade pins.
There were lots of pins.
After trading with several volunteers and Olympic Village workforce members during what seemed to be a shift change, I walked away the happy owner of several new items, including a heart-shaped International Olympic Committee pin given to volunteers earlier in the day, German and Brazil team pins and a few of the new U.S. half-dollar-sized Samsung Rendezvous pins.
Upon arrival at the separate Village transportation area, with a much larger athlete presence, I wasted no time capturing the arrival of the Refugee Olympic Team bus, also speaking with several athletes (three pin exchanges).
The vibe at the transport area among dozens of security, volunteers, NOC officials and athletes was a mix of glee, nervous anticipation (the good kind), a little stress (do I have all of my bags?) and a lot of smiles and hugs.
When the Fiji Olympians arrived, it made me chuckle that each athlete brought their own case of water from their homeland sponsor (you know ... the expensive Fiji Water bottles like at Whole Foods Market).
Other NOC interactions included Australia, Canada, St. Lucia, Liechtenstein, Argentina, Norway, France and, of course, Team USA, who had two full-time staffers on site awaiting a critical luggage and supply delivery truck.
Another eager attendee was a photojournalist for Kyodo News, who was relieved to get his money shots of Team Japan disembarking from their bus as Paris 2024 volunteers helped load airport-style Village-branded luggage carts.
Perhaps the best pin discoveries: Andorra has a really nice jumbo design, and the Peru Olympic Volunteers got creative with their oversized design, using a globe-spinning mascot image I almost picked for one of my Olympic Rings And Other Things pins.
Never did find the guest pass area, but learned this morning it's just around the corner from the transport zone -- will endeavor to explore yet another Village entry in the days ahead.
Another curiosity of the Olympic Village was its proximity to dozens of neighboring apartment buildings.
In the quiet times between pin trades, I spoke with several local residents who revealed a mix of good cheer to live so close to "the action" juxtaposed with "can't we just get this over with" sentiment (one resident was particularly cranky his carpark access had some hiccups).
Looking forward to the next Village visit. Meanwhile, today's task: Paris Media Centre.
Tonight through June 23, just over a thousand (1,007) qualified swimmers will compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Swimming inside the cavernous Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.
According to the meet press kit provided by USA Swimming, which kindly granted a media credential, "this meet is the only way for an American pool swimmer to make" Team USA's squad of 26 women and 26 men entered at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Making history as hosts to the first swim meet contested in an NFL stadium, the city also known as racing capital of the world has rolled out the red, er, blue carpet for thousands of out-of-towners who poured through Indianapolis International Airport today.
As visitors deplaned and made their way to baggage claim, the pool-blue footpath eventually revealed a miniature medals podium photo opp stop and patriotic "Welcome to the Trials" signage.
Excitement for the event is palpable from the Uber/Taxi stand to hotel lobbies and along the downtown walk to the stadium, which now has two temporary pools -- one each for competition and warmups -- in the stadium divided by a massive curtain.
From a perch on one of the media rows along the finish line end of the racing pool, swimmers aged 14 to 46 are mingling with coaches, security and meet staff.
Opening night includes superstar, legend and newly branded bestselling author Katie Ledecky, who's racing in the 400-meter freestyle long course less than a week since the release her page-turning autobiography "Just Add Water" (review forthcoming).
Some additional details about the competition space:
First time 70-foot-tall vertical digital board topping off the athlete entrance (I suspect this is really gonna pop on live broadcasts via NBC and Peacock)
Water (1.8 million gallons) is sourced from the nearby White River, purified and treated for competition; after post-event filtration, it's all heading back to nature
Three years of planning, 8,000 hours of fabrication, 12 collaborating entities, four weeks for installation
Pools will see new life at permanent sites in Fort Wayne, Ind., and the Cayman Islands
As of this post, more than 10,000 are in attendance, with a target on an all-time record.
The Pan American Games eluded me until 2023. And I've been in a funk since their conclusion last month.
Happily, the recent "19th Edition" of the event hosted at Santiago, Chile, added this international athletic festival to my sports CV.
Too young to travel to the '87 edition of Indianapolis, too American (as in being a U.S. passport bearer) for Havana '91, and too oblivious for most Pan Ams since (save Rio 2007 and Toronto '15), on a whim I applied for Santiago media credentials after learning about the Games' feathered mascot, Fiu, in a pin trade at the World Athletics Championships in Hungary.
The serendipity of that exchange proved a great memory. What fantastic hosts the Chileans proved to be for the athletes and attendees from Oct. 18 to Nov. 5.
While client work in Atlanta kept me grounded at home for week one of the Pan Ams, I booked passage from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2 with stopovers in Miami. Thanks to an unruly passenger who disrupted our overnight flight to Chile -- through which fellow passengers and I enjoyed and impromptu and surreal 18-hour layover in Panama City -- it was fun to finally touch down in Santiago in time to attend the first four days of track and field competition at Parque Estadio Nacional, which also hosted aquatics, field hockey and gymnastics venues near the Main Press Center, which was a well-oiled operational machine for over 1,800 accredited journalists.
Through an organizing committee led by Pan-Am Sports Organization (PASO) President and International Olympic Committee Member Neven Ilic, I learned the 2023 Pan American Games were a first for Chile with over 6,900 competitors.
My focus turned to track and field entrants from Team USA, which afforded access and introduction to several emerging stars of Team Chile. Highlights from the experience include:
Witnessing Team USA's two-time Olympian Deanna Price win gold in hammer, followed by her medal ceremony (see photo)
Learning about fellow American Ryan Talbot who won bronze in decathlon with a score of 1,086 (see photo at base of post)
Capturing on video the last 300 meters of the women's 400m run, during which Team Chile's Martina Weil achieved hometown legendary status on a rain-soaked track (not since Usain Bolt's 100m victory in Rio have a heard such an elated crowd)
Meeting Isidora "Isi" Jimenez, also of Team Chile, following her silver medal performance in the 4 x 100m relay.
The biggest win of the Santiago experience, however, was finally meeting in person a one-time PR client, fellow Georgian and Team USA's Jordan Gray, who in 2021 launched the Let Women Decathlon campaign for which a half-page New York Times article was a feat for us both (f you have not done so already, please sign the petition).
In Santiago, Gray competed in heptathlon to earn bronze with a score of 5,494, with Team USA's Erin Marsh earning gold with 5,882 (visiting with her father during day one of heptathlon, I learned Marsh is also from Georgia).
Off the track I found time to take in a women's water polo match, some field hockey and rhythmic gymnastics and some pin trading, ultimately returning stateside with about 50 new designs.
The trip also afforded time to visit three great museums including La Chascona, Pablo Neruda's home shared with his mistress, as well as the modern art collection of Museo Ralli steps from the city's fantastic public trails, and the top of South America's tallest building with spectacular views of the surrounding Andes.
Is a return to the Pan American Games in works? Yes, please count me in for the XXth edition of '27 in Barranquilla, Columbia.
And a return to Santiago? Absolutely, as soon as possible!
Telling it like it is: this blogger has very little interest in the NBA.
Curiosity in this area is consistently so low, I was oblivious to the 2008 Olympic basketball competition and its professional players for its entire two-year lead up to Beijing, the Games that inspired launch of this site.
Not once in China -- nor during three Olympiads and two years since -- has the five-ringed hoops competition of Beijing crossed my mind until this weekend while reading the Oct. 6 New York Times review of the new documentary "The Redeem Team" now streaming on Netflix.
Screening the film -- combined with recent enjoyment of HBO's excellent drama-comedy series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" -- might have finally sparked more curiosity about the NBA and its reach within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). I definitely have a lot to learn.
Like the next person,1992's Dream Team did pique my interest, as did the '96 version, though most Atlanta team members came to my attention only through attending the unveiling of an oil painting by Bart Forbes held in a Buckhead gallery (now a Men's Wearhouse) a few weeks before the Games.
Since that event, I've paid money only once or twice to see star players, specifically a "retiring" Michael Jordan in the late '90s, and a couple of stars from the OKC Thunder in town just after Rio 2016. And though it was personally thrilling to work with the Atlanta Hawks through PR client Philips Arena from 1999 to 2002, and exciting to stand courtside during LA's Olympic bid press events at Staples Center in 2017, professional hoops just haven't captivated me.
Each of these NBA touch points were dusted off as "The Redeem Team" got rolling with its streaming recap of Team USA's historic dominance of Olympic basketball shut down at Athens 2004, where an unprepared assemblage of U.S. players lost a playoff round to the ultimate gold medalists from Argentina.
Viewers learn of "Coach K" Mike Krzyzewski's recruitment to rebuild Team USA starting in 2006, as well as the public perceptions and private personas of most of the stars who signed on for the Road to Beijing, with first-time Olympian Kobe Bryant joining returning Athens 2004 Bronze Medalists LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Carlos Boozer on the quest.
Things sort of plod along during two years of prep, but filmmaker Jon Weinbach's team does a masterful job translating tensions of the court for viewers of the doc. Consider this writer now eager to view this director's treatment of previous Olympic matters via "The Nagano Tapes" or "The Other Dream Team" populating Weinbach's IMDB profile.
I enjoyed the last 20-30 minutes of "The Redeem Team" for the crescendo of drama it delivers. Bryant's on-court action and pre- and post-Games interview footage really drew me in and helped me "get it" how much he evolved as a player and person before his tragic death.
Munich '72 Olympian Doug Collins' visit to the team -- to share his vantage as a would-be-gold medalist robbed by history -- juxtaposed with Coach K inviting wounded or blinded soldiers as another teambuilding action, poignantly hammered home one of the bottom lines for the 2008 U.S. squad: You had better not f*ck this up, not so much because gold is on the line, but because untold millions of patriotic fans are drawing inspiration from the team factor above any individual glory for its players.
One of the journalists tapped for commentary eventually states of "The Redeem Team" players that, "... they're the biggest, greatest team arguably in the history of the Olympics." For some viewers this may ring true.
For all of this film's strengths, it did not establish for this viewer enough inspiration to earn GOAT status. Not even close.
This is no scrappy "Miracle" team of Lake Placid nor Soviet gold medal basketball team of 1972 (for better or worse, "the greatest" hoop dreamers for some Olympic fans on the other side of the world). I won't be alone in thinking of other top teams that rallied at the Games -- off the top of my head, how about the "Magnificent Seven" gymnasts, the 1996 and 2000 women's soccer teams and/or the undefeated-since-1996 U.S. women's basketball teams?
The NBA-infused 2008 team's only "Goliath" was overcoming self and pride for the sake of the team, which they did admirably. Watching this team get their act together is a fun ride.
Image credits: Coach K in Beijing via UPI; '96 team painting by Bart Forbes, Redeem Team photo w/Statue of Liberty via USA Basketball, "The Redeem Team" promo still via Netflix and IMDB.
Continuing a decades-long tradition, The White House formally hosted Team USA’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes of Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 on Wednesday morning.
The gathering was a well-organized, grand celebration of America's best, delivering fun memories for all on the scene.
Approaching 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on foot, positive vibes channeled with sounds of a military marching band (playing a five-ringed John Williams medley) and sights of aptly-branded "Chariots for Hire" buses from which arriving athletes descended.
When the musicians performed "One Moment In Time" as media waited by the West Wing, I was beaming, sensing the day might be enough of a consolation prize for missing two pandemic Olympiads.
For this blogger, this third time visit was a charmer in terms of stepping "on campus" (lingo of those employed there) at the Executive Residence.
Previously, I posted from the October visit following Rio 2016 hosted by the Obamas and the comparatively muted festivities of April following PyeongChang 2018 with many of the Clown Car (err, Insane Clown Posse?) cabinet members of that era in attendance.
All three events took place on overcast days, with 2016's gathering in one of the ballrooms and 2018's remarks delivered under the North Portico.
The May 5 ceremony, held on the South Lawn of the Executive Residence, was perhaps the first in history to include competitors of both summer and winter Olympiads together with over 600 uniformed athletes filling a temporary grandstand.
Hundreds of invited guests including family members of attending sportspersons -- as well as several dozen White House correspondents or visiting Olympic media -- also enjoyed remarks by President Joe Biden, first lady and five-time bobsleigh medalist Elana Meyers Taylor.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff also attended, receiving with the Bidens a set of special uniforms and shoes presented by the Olympians and Paralympians. A brief clip featuring the national anthem performed live is here:
“The Bidens are a big sports family, and we love watching the Olympics,” said President Biden after brief remarks by the first lady, who led the Team USA delegation in Japan. “Jill came home from Tokyo, all she could do was talk about you all constantly. You think I'm kidding – I'm not!”
Though he was playing for laughs, Biden was serious about his Games-time fandom. Similar to the FLOTUS, as vice president, Biden led a Team USA delegation to Vancouver 2010 (my first of several converging paths with Joe).
On Wednesday the president also expressed appreciation for the uniting spirit the athletes provide, citing 18 U.S. military veterans among the 2020 and 2022 competitors. He also noted the challenges of COVID-19 navigated on the journeys to Tokyo and Beijing.
“The pandemic made training and competing especially difficult and draining, but you did it,” said Biden. “You all did it, and we were in awe not just of your incredible athleticism but your endurance and your state of mind -- but most of all your character. You all have such incredible character.”
“As a team … we’ve been through a lot,” said Meyers Taylor. “We came together, and we persevered, and we hope we’ve made this country proud.”
As she spoke, I reminisced about meeting Meyers Taylor in Sochi, her second stop along the journey to become the most decorated Black Winter Olympian and the most decorated female Olympic bobsledder.
Opting to maintain a celebratory tone for the occasion, during their South Lawn remarks, the president and first lady did not mention Olympians of other nations—such as the unresolved Russian doping controversies of Beijing 2022 that prevented medal presentations for the figure skating team competition—nor world events such as the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Also unmentioned: Team USA’s two-time women’s Olympic basketball champion and WNBA center Brittney Griner, who was detained for allegedly possessing vape pen cartridges with hashish oil upon arrival at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Feb. 17.
In an interview with USA Today published Monday, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said the organization supports efforts to hasten Griner’s return stateside.
Speaking of the national Gannett newspaper, I wound up spending most of the ceremony in proximity to legendary sports columnist Christine Brennan—a fellow May 14 birthday celebrant—and she kindly swapped Games-time stories of 1984 to present while newsgathering for her column and also introducing other reporters and Olympic figure skating champion Sarah Hughes (thanks, Christine!).
In a media scrum at a White House visit countdown event on Monday, Hirshland also called for sporting sanctions of Russia, according to the Washington Post Olympic reporter Les Carpenter, who was also reporting from the South Lawn.
No basketball athletes from USA attended Wednesday’s South Lawn event, according to a list distributed to media by The White House Press Office. Also absent: Shaun White, Mikaela Shiffrin, Simone Biles, soccer stars and A-listers of track and field.
The festive mood and camaraderie, however, seemed to bestow many with all the feels.
Over in the Rose Garden, tables were stacked with healthy snacks, and some athletes posted selfies or other photos and videos including an impromptu dance from ground floor rooms of the Executive Mansion, revealing some interiors illuminated in red and blue.
After the president’s South Lawn remarks, the Bidens and the vice president remained with the athletes for several minutes to shake hands, share congratulatory messages and pose for photos.
We spotted White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki uncharacteristically fangirling with a few Olympic stars (believe it, I was also star-struck, but then again, "When in Rome ..." or "When on The White House campus" applies, yes?).
Soon after Wednesday’s gathering, pole vault champion Katie Nageotte shared videos online, captioned with the message, “White House visit with Team USA! Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity!”
In some ways, the post-event wind-down created the most impactful and funny moments of the experience.
In addition to brief intros with Hughes and Olympic beach volleyball champion April Ross, Olympians Katie Ledecky, Reggie Jagers III, monobob champion Kaillie Humphries and figure skating medalist Vincent Zhou each worked the rope line with reporters.
The nicest surprise was a brief reunion with Olympic diver Katrina Young.
A few days after her Olympic debut in Rio, we first met in a crowd of wishful fans vying to talk our way into the men's basketball final with only our Games credentials. Equally ticketless, she made it to the game. Sadly, I did not.
Months later, recalling that brief introduction, we got acquainted at the Team USA Gala for 2016 Olympians in Washington the night before each of our first visits to The White House. We both got in the building that time, but by earning her Olympian status, only Young got to sit in the rooms where it happens. It was fun to reconnect in person after occasional Facebook Messenger or Instagram messages during the pandemic.
There was also a renewal of Olympic joy—severely depleted by the pandemic's many challenges—in the form of a few pin trades, including the hot design du jour given to White House visitors by the USOPC in patriotic, high-quality cloissone (see photo).
If only the designers at pin manufacturer HONAV could get the Olympic rings on these Team USA designs!
And finally, the day provided a return visit to the James Brady Press Briefing Room, the theater/workroom for many of the nation's best reporters and publicists/political advisers-turned-press secretaries. I have a lot of respect for Psaki restoring professionalism and decency to this hallowed ground, and was hoping to shake her hand and tell her so.
As it turned out, the Team USA visit delayed the afternoon's scheduled briefing, creating a short window for me to instead strike a pose, all in good fun. My caption on social channels was, "Psaki was at lunch, so ..."
Quoting Nageotte again, "Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity!"
Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, here's hoping this horseplay avoided inspiring placement of my name on future no-entry lists, and that additional Olympic reporters may enjoy Team USA visit to The White House down the road.
According to The White House Historical Association, U.S. Olympic athletes have visited the mansion as far back as 1924, with a Team USA delegation from Tokyo 1964 among the earliest-cited full-team ceremonies hosted by a sitting president. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt hosted members of the U.S. Olympic team of London at his “Summer White House” home on the north shore of Long Island, N.Y.
Earlier in the week I was hopeful the team at Keep The Flame Alive might be able to attend on the heels of their first in-person Games reporting from Beijing. Though there are no promises of a rose garden, in conversation we concured next time is a must!
Like other five-ringed sports fans in the USA, today I woke up to the International Olympic Committee's news making it official: Tokyo 2020 will exclude overseas fans.
After hitting snooze and a shower, two quotes came to mind.
On the more desperate or depressed end of the spectrum, there's the classic lyrics by U2.
Cue the iconic drum intro:
I can't believe the news today. Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go away!
As of this post, there are just 1,223 days remaining until Paris 2024.
For this blogger, of course it's a huge bummer that Tokyo 2020 won't be happening for most outside Japan. This Olympiad was to be one that made up for many mishaps -- some real, others perceived -- via Rio 2016.
At the moment, London 2012 still has my vote for "best Games ever" though my first and hometown Olympics of Atlanta remain a close second and sentimental favorite of nearly 25 years, as detailed in the centerfold spread of the 2017 WHERE Guestbook.
Amid the pandemic, it will be a remarkable feat for the Tokyo organizing committee to just get the athletes, coaches, officials and other Olympic family members assembled safely. For those who care to read it, the complete IOC statement is online, as are the words of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, with each link noting how additional updates for the Games will be shared in the weeks ahead.
During a member event hosted by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum on Thursday, at least one former Team USA employee stated her Olympic media travel is secured though there will be a "bubble" for reporters akin to the one for athletes -- the thought of corralling journalists in this manner brings to mind notions of herding cats.
In spite of today's news, I'm optimistic at least a handful of fans will find a backdoor entry to the Games of the XXXIInd Olympiad. For some, maybe they'll score a credential as part of a sponsor delegation or national Olympic committee gig. For others, maybe there's a family connection to Japan to be leveraged.
For this writer, there's still a potential Olympic berth -- albeit a very long shot plus a vaccine shot -- via the Games media credential front.
No stone will be left unturned, and I'm not yet ready to cancel my Tokyo accommodations, though it is reassuring they'll be fully refunded via Hotels.com should I eventually surrender to the inevitable.
The Morohashi Museum of Modern Art -- a.k.a. the Salvador Dali Museum of Japan -- near Fukushima, as well as Nagoya, Mount Fuji and other destinations also remain on my travel wish list for Japan, even if an eventual visit takes place beyond 2021.
Speaking of refunds, designated Olympic ticket broker CoSport was quick to address today's official announcement, which provided some level of reassurance my ticket investment will be returned. As to when is anyone's guess -- paraphrasing another fan quoted by media, it had better be before the Opening Ceremony on July 23.
I applaud the IOC, Tokyo 2020 and others for persevering over COVID-19 and keeping the Games on track for the athletes. It won't be the same, but then, what else is in this pandemic? Glad also to see the Olympic Torch Relay will resume in five days, which everyone may enjoy virtually.
Heavy doses of determination kept things on track for the athletes, and it will still be inspiring to witness Olympian feats this summer, no matter the room in which we are viewing.
Several dozen American women and men will spend Leap Day 2020 running for the Games, with three competitors earning their tickets to Tokyo as Atlanta hosts the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for marathon.
The Feb. 29 event starts and ends midday around Centennial Olympic Park, with mile markers for the 26.2-mile course set along Peachtree Street from Forsyth Street in downtown to Peachtree Circle near the north end of Midtown.
The route also heads through the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood along Highland Ave. to southbound Jackson Street before turning west onto the Old Fourth Ward's Edgewood Ave.
The journey nears its end when runners, who've completed three loops on the aforementioned course, will bank south from Edgewood onto Piedmont Ave., heading south past the Gold Dome and the Siah Armajani-designed Olympic Bridge and Cauldron (erroneously referred to as the "Olympic Rings and Torch" in event press materials) with a U-turn on Capitol Ave. near Georgia State Stadium.
The final two miles cross west along Mitchell Street, with viaduct views of State Farm Arena's iconic "ATLANTA" grand entrance and Megatron's Butthole, er, Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the thinning pack runs the final stretch back toward Centennial Olympic Park.
Runner's World magazine and event host Atlanta Track Club produced a high-quality and informative video of the route available here:
To showcase Atlanta's Olympic spirit on NBC's live national broadcast, fans are encouraged to #showyourgold on race day, with several places to watch designated on the event's official website.
In Midtown, for instance, Hudson Grille, Publik Ale House and City Tap House (each along Peachtree Street) will offer $2.62 beer, tacos or other marathon-inspired specials. With numerous road closures, MARTA is recommended.
Though I cheered runners at Peachtree Road Races many times since 1996, this will be my first Olympic marathon experience and the city's second, which I missed thanks to work shifts at the Atlanta Olympic Village.
Female runners to watch for include two-time Olympic marathoner Desiree Linden, who did not finish in London 2012 but placed seventh at Rio 2016. According to the event site, her all-time fastest marathon (2:22:38) and Trials qualifying time at the 2019 New York City Marathon (2:26:46) put her a few minutes from the top Trials qualifier Jordan Hasay, who set her personal best time at the recent Chicago Marathon (2:20:57).
A hometown runner on which to keep an eye is Georgia native Bridget Lyons Belyeu, who trains on the Silver Comet Trail and near her south Atlanta residence in Newnan, Ga., according to a recent profile in Atlanta Magazine.
In the men's competition, three-time Olympian and Rio 2016 marathon bronze medalist Galen Rupp is the leading 2020 Trials qualifier (with 2:06:07; he is also a three-time Olympic competitor in the 10,000m, earning silver in London 2012). Atlanta marks his fourth Olympic marathon trials, which he won on the Road to Rio.
The entrant with the second-fastest qualifying time (2:07:56) is Leonard Korir, who "ran the fastest-ever marathon debut by an American" in the 2019 Amsterdam Marathon, where he did not have an elite bib but placed 11th. He was a Rio 2016 Olympian and considers Rupp one of his heroes, according to his Team USA bio.
Portland resident Patrick Reaves returns to his hometown Atlanta to compete in his first Olympic trials with a qualifying time of 2:17:45.
As reported in Sports Illustrated on Feb. 13 and in this Yahoo! article on Valentine's Day, the Atlanta event also includes first openly transgender athlete competing in an Olympic marathon trials. Though Megan Youngren's bio is not yet posted on the event website, her qualifying time of 2:43:52 puts her further back in the rankings.
The S.I. article explains how the International Olympic Committee would handle her qualification in Tokyo should Youngren earn a Games berth in Atlanta.
The three top female and male finishers will compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9, respectively. The 2020 Olympic marathon course is in Sapporo, Japan, host city of the 1972 Winter Olympic Games and some of the Olympic football competitions this summer.
Marathon site at Sapporo Odori Park
For those heading to Japan, it appears the start and finish in Sapporo Odori Park is just a few blocks from the city's main rail station. Check out the course map below and at this link for more details.
Check out more of the competitor roster on the event website -- with the marathon route along Peachtree Street just a few blocks west of my Midtown residence, I may set up a viewing spot at The Vortex Bar & Grill between Seventh Street and Eighth. They serve some delicious sake!
A public relations executive by day, small-time eBayer by night and weekends, lifetime member of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and full-time Olympic enthusiast who also looks at "BoingBoing-style" unusual news with interest. Please e-mail me at olympiada@yahoo.com or if you can't get enough try my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/people/Nicholas_Wolaver/713593008
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