Olympic Surprises All Day and Night

It felt like Christmas on August in Rio de Janiero on Friday.

Like waking up with anticipation to see what gifts Santa delivered, I rolled out of bed  unsure of what to expect from the Olympic opening ceremony. 

After spending most of the morning tending to light housekeeping in the apartment (i.e. more unpacking and organizing pins), I embarked to Copacabana to check out the daytime elements of the Olympic Torch Relay. 

It was fun to see the Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn pass the flame to a Brazilian celebrity only steps from the beach (disclosure, Nissan is a client of UEG Worldwide, which engaged me on some freelance work for Rio). 

It was astounding to share a pre-Games conversation with three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh-Jennings! Hello! 

The surprise visit took place when I stopped by a colleague's hotel to drop off some Olympic tickets. 

Walsh-Jennings was finishing lunch with her parents and sister, and she graciously shared about five minutes with this fan looking to cheer her on at her fourth gold medal match. 

I mentioned to the beach volleyball icon my thanks for her answering my questions at past Team USA media events. One of my questions to her at the spring Media Summit -- asking about the extent to which parenting shifted career opportunities -- apparently appeared in the new documentary film "Kerri Walsh-Jennings: Gold Within" inspiring a bump in blog traffic.

Also thanks her for three Olympiads of memories as I attended all three of her gold medal Games. 

Walsh-Jennings is definitely in it to win it, bringing up her No. 1 goals and punctuating them with "when we win gold" multiple times. 

In response to the Rio 2016 blogger pins given to her relatives, she presented me with her personalized golden pin for this Olympiad (now a treasured keepsake of our chat). 

I headed back to Hotel Vermont to meet my inbound-from-Minneapolis long-time friend Joanne, who flew in to Rio on her 43rd birthday. Her arrival was surprisingly early, and we had just enough time to hit Ipanema Beach then grab coffee and a snack before heading to Maracana stadium. 

Back at the apartment to get dressed for the ceremony, Joanne entered our ninth floor open-air unit to find a stray pigeon in our bathroom. She ducked, I hollered, the bird fluttered out the panoramic window and we exhaled and exclaimed "that was awesome!" a la "Tommy Boy" Chris Farley.

Brazil's Olympic opening ceremony impressed me on many fronts. I loved most the portrayal of the city and favela construction, the aeroplane launch, amazing music and the energy is provided, and the magnificent and new mobile that encircles the Olympic cauldron (a new twist on cauldron design). 

Back in Atlanta, my mentor and friend Lee messaged me the hometown broadcast was "trippy" in his eyes, and I concur with his description. 

But for every psychedelic and colorful element, a more somber segment dropped in with interesting results. That cauldron stole the show with both conservative/simple design and thoughtful points of light reflection. 

From our twentieth row seats in section 124 -- steps away from the athlete parade entryway -- we snapped photos of Michael Phelps carrying the flag for Team USA, IOC President Thomas Bach's on-stage remarks, and one or two thong-wearing dancers before the Olympic flame's arrival. 

Very best surprise: The brilliant idea for the athletes to help plant an Olympic forest as a major Rio Games legacy. The poem read by Dame Judi Dench, the mirrored seed carts and their magical unveiling of fully-grown ferns was extremely creative. 

Immediately following the event's final fireworks, Joanne and I spent a few minutes on a "ticket walk" (retrieving left-behind tickets to sell and fund future Olympic travels). 

My tired eyes spotted an open door to the floor of the stadium, and without a single sideways glance from security, the two of us walked out across the entire Maracana floor to photograph selfies with the new Olympic cauldron. 

We stopped short of running up the steps where the final torchbearer took care of business only minutes before. But we learned and appreciated the three-dimensional golden spiral that spread the light of the Olympic flame across the venue. 

Our final surprise was discovery of access to a VIP dining area and views from the press tribunes, where we snagged some media guides to translate the opening ceremony's meaning. 

We discovered that children or volunteers meticulously wrote messages of good luck and other well-wishes on the individual pieces of confetti flown over the athletes, a nice touch!

I'm satisfied to post this summary without reading it, ready to dream about the next 16 days and get going to athletic events on Saturday. Will also post video tomorrow featuring the mobile cauldron in action on Friday night. 

Bravo, Brazil!

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Kerri Walsh: "Mission Accomplished!"

It's the middle of the night in London. I'm in my hotel near Paddington Station while across town in the Olympic Village, I suspect Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor are still celebrating.

Paraphrasing Lionel Richie, they are once, twice, three time a lady's gold medalist in Olympic beach volleyball. Kudos to this Team USA duo -- Olympic champions for the third consecutive Games -- and to their teammates April Ross and Jennifer Kessy, winners of the silver medal.

Congratulations are also in order for the Brazilian medal winners Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva who earned da bronze.

This was my third consecutive Olympics to witness Walsh and May-Treanor take home the gold. In Athens 2004, on a beach beside the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S. duo brought home their first Olympic victory. Four years later, in the pouring rain at a theme park venue in Beijing, they won again. In both cities, it took until the next day to interact with the Olympic champions (in Athens, a the TODAY Show set, repeated in Beijing).

Tonight I enjoyed the competition from section 109, stayed for the medal ceremony (captured on video from behind the U.S. flag raising during the national anthem for Team USA), then hung out until most of the purple-clad venue volunteers exited the building. With a combination USA House badge and London Media Centre badge in tow, and a couple of Olympic pin trades later, I found myself outside the Horse Guard's Parade venue media centre in which the medalists were interviewed by the world's media.

Outside a small group of teenage fans awaiting the medalists for a chance photo or autograph, and I captured video of all four U.S. medal winners as they exited the media tent. Check out Kerri Walsh sporting her three-peat Olympic medal, which she describes as a "mission accomplished" feat that made her say "... it's like I don't have a head on my shoulders!" and stating of the gold medal "she's beautiful."

I will post each of the videos to YouTube (but tonight just doing the best of them -- it's awfully late).

As in Athens, Walsh proved to be a class act taking time to inspire a generation (the theme of the London 2012 Olympic Games) by signing autographs and posing for photos with young fans (it was nice to see all of Team USA do this after their press conference).

Congratulations to the three-time Olympic Champions in women's beach volleyball.

Video and photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Prince Albert In The Social Network (USA House Visit); Countdown to Olympic Beach Volleyball

Last couple of days = blur.

Sort of hit the wall on Monday, with some in-hotel media pitching and rest on Tuesday.

But last night brought some early evening time to trade pins at the London Olympic Super Store (nothing "super" about it if you ask me -- considerably smaller than even the Torino Olympic store in 2006) and neighbouring Coca-Cola Pin Trading Center (considerably smaller and much more quiet than in Olympic Park).

Scored a London Bridge pin featuring the Olympic rings and a few Cobi and Petra (Barcelona 1992 mascot) pins, then strolled over to USA House in the rain. Oh, what a night!

USA House was hopping with Olympians -- Edwin Moses, Bob Beamon, some gymnasts and volleyball players (the tallest Olympian yet met), Rowdy Gaines, Donna De Varona and Prince Albert of Monaco (bobsleigh Olympian of winter Games fame).

This was my third opportunity to interact with Mr. Grimaldi. As readers of this blog may recall from 2010, Prince Albert was part of a blog post from a Visa event in Vancouver. And also, in 2002, I was part of his motorcade and press team when he visited Atlanta for the opening of the DeKalb International Training Center (DITC) for which he is a board member.

How fun it was to interact with HSH for the third time -- this time, with an important question: What was Prince Albert's reaction to his portrayal in the Oscar-nominated film "The Social Network"?

Why was this question on my mind?

Well, blog readers may also recall that when the movie premiered I posted a critical review including my reaction to the portrayal of Prince Albert in "The Social Network."

Readers may also recall that the actor who played Albert, James Shanklin, wrote in a response in the comments section of this blog (on one hand, very cool he took the time to post a comment; on the other hand, interesting that a Hollywood actor has time to personally troll the Internet for blog posts about his work -- either way, I respect and appreciate Shanklin's readership and response).

When I posed the question to HSH, "What is your reaction to your portrayal in 'The Social Network'?" and "[when] did he see the film?" Mr. Grimaldi responded directly that he had not viewed the entire movie, but that when he did see HSH's likeness on screen it was played "a bit dry" or a bit to stiff.

Because Mr. Grimaldi endured a long line of fans and Olympians to pose for photographs, and HSH stated the person before me was "the absolute final photo" of the evening, I opted for the brief conversation in lieu of a grip and grin image.

I greatly appreciated the courtesy of his response, thanking him by presenting a hot off the press 2012 Olympic Rings And Other Things media pin featuring Wenlock. Prince Albert returned the favour with a brand new Comite Olimpique Monegasque (Monaco Olympic Committee) lapel pin.

Merveilleux!

If there is another opportunity to speak with HSH, I want to ask him about the reports that the London Cultural Olympiad was searching for Monaco's national poet. Did they find an entrant, I wonder? But poetry was not on the brain last night -- too many Olympians!

After the interaction with HSH, I turned the corner to shake hands with Beamon and his wife, who were in USA House sharing information about Art of the Olympians, for which Beamon is CEO. I will visit their exhibit in London later this week to post from that location, which sounded very interesting.

Of course, in the last couple of days I lost my camera's USB cord, so photos of the USA House encounters will follow when a connection may be made. Please enjoy the Team USA Media Summit and 24 Hour Fitness press event photos until the Grimaldi interaction images may be added.

Heading soon from London Media Centre to the gold medal women's beach volleyball game featuring USA versus USA. Can hardly wait to see Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh play for a three-peat gold medal against Team USA's Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, who I spoke with at the Team USA Media Summit in Dallas earlier this year. Ross said in Dallas she hoped for an all-USA final game, and I expect Ross and Kessy will play hard to attempt to dethrone Walsh and May-Treanor.

Tonight marks my own Olympic three-peat as the gold medal women's beach volleyball match in Athens 2004 was among my tickets in Greece eight years ago, and in the pouring rain in Beijing, Walsh and May-Treanor emerged victorious again. My friend Brian (an ISOH member who writes and talks extensively about -peat feats in the Olympics) sadly could not three-peat with me tonight (we both attended women's beach volleyball finals previously), but we will be sure to RE-peat on Copacabana Beach during Rio 2016.

Please enjoy the video of Kerri Walsh with a special message about this blog.

Photos and video by Nicholas Wolaver, except for the 2012 Olympic beach volleyball photo by Petr David Josek/The Associated Press

At London's St. James Park, Life's A Beach

World travels took me through London twice, and only via the airport. One travel goal by next May is to check out the city in advance of London 2012.

So I've never seen, but often heard, of Downing Street and St. James Park. It pleased me to read that the London 2012 beach volleyball venue will be wedged between both destinations at a spectacular temporary venue, announced last week and reported by the Telegraph.

Both in Athens and Beijing, a good friend and I each trekked to Beach Volleyball for the women's gold medal finals. Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May Treanor are 2-0 for gold, and a three-peat would be an awesome feat to witness.

In Athens, the venue was on the Mediterranean beach near Piraeus. In Beijing, an amusement park ground (in pouring rain). What will the London venue include? Views of Big Ben and the London Eye, apparently (can't wait).

Photo via Populous and the Telegraph

Youth Olympic Games Underway

The last couple of weeks are a bit of a blur. First the mad dash of a pre-vacation week, then the mad dash of the vacation time itself (most recent trek included blend of food, family and sightseeing in Dallas, Fort Worth and Oklahoma City).

Also took on a writing project with the Edmond Sun newspaper in the home town where my folks live. Their sports editor was kind enough to indulge my suggestion that I write a report on one of the Edmond entrants to the Youth Olympic Games now underway in Singapore. Inquiring minds may check out the full sports report online in the Edmond Sun archive. Good luck to Edmond's YOG participants Gunnar Nixon and Micha Hancock!

Upon returning to Atlanta and catching up on Olympic news, was saddened to read that David Wolper, producer of the magnificent Los Angeles Olympic Opening Ceremony of 1984, died last week. Wolper's work on the Games made a tremendous impression on me 26 years ago -- I was fortunate enough to shake his hand during the July 18, 1996, Atlanta Olympic Opening Ceremony dress rehearsal (Wolper was running around like a kid in a Willy Wonka candy store and we crossed paths near one of the tunnels).

Was curious to find headlines about Olympic figure skater Nicole Bobek found some new 'meth'ods of spending her spare time.

And this just in: Kerri Walsh and other beach volleyball greats may hold their ground regarding an upcoming tournament seeking to play by 'retro' rules.

I'm currently reading a new Olympic book titled The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany. Will work to post a review of this new text by Kay Schiller and Christopher Young before month's end.

Photo via Associated Press and Los Angeles Times

Here, KT KT KT

Remember the time when Kerri Walsh was wearing that curious black "stuff" on her shoulder during the Beijing beach volleyball games?

It was always my intention to try to learn more about "the stuff" but it slipped my mind.

And then the other day an e-mail arrived from the P.R. team for KT Tape, the proper name for the company/product that contributed to Walsh taking home the gold.

According to their website ...

"KT Tape is an elastic athletic tape that allows athletes to compete at the top of their game. Used as a preventative taping system, KT Tape enables athletes to perform at their highest levels with confidence."

Since we won't likely see too many beach volleyball players in Vancouver (note: if you spot ANY women's beach volleyball Olympians in town, a free blog pin goes to the first person to send me the news tip!), I was curious which Winter Olympic athletes might be donning KT Tape in British Columbia.

Quoth the press release ...

"Athletes from all sports use KT Tape. More and more people are discovering the difference KT Tape can make in their athletic performance. Injuries that usually sideline an athlete are no match for KT Tape. KT Tape provides relief for runner’s knee, tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis, shin splints, sprains, and general back and shoulder pain, as well as most muscle soreness or pain. All of these injuries respond well to treatment with KT Tape, allowing people to remain active while injured."

The tape is also available now to consumers.

Anyone else wondering whether KT Tape was part of that photo shoot for the new (and "controversial") Sports Illustrated cover featuring Lindsey Vonn?