Monday, August 18, 2008

08/17/08


Can I just tell you how excited I am that today is over! Last day of swimming! I do enjoy covering swimming - Phelps and Coughlin swim in the Santa Clara Swim Club International Swim Meet in Santa Clara - it's great cause you can go pretty much wherever you want to go. Here once you pick a spot you're basically in that spot for the duration. With few exceptions, it's not possible to get different angles on the same day... some swim strokes are better from lower angles and some are better from higher - but we don't have that luxury here.

Ground hog day - got on the bus and guess who was sitting across the way - that's right Sean! Sat next to Paul Kitagaki - headed straight to the swim venue - left about the same time as yesterday. Got there just after 7 am again. As were were heading in Paul proclaimed it to be the ThinkTankPhoto Roller Race (see documentation below) as the three of us had our rolling cases. Sean won, I got the silver and poor Paul bronzed it. There was another dude with us but I'm spacing out his name but he didn't have a roller anyways (sorry dude it was 7 am!).

So dealing with the medley is tough because of the flags they put up so that the backstrokers know where they are in the pool. The race was totally anticlimactic - we were all very disappointed. I was sitting next to legendary SI photographer John Biever and Michael Goulding (OC Register). We were all hoping that they would do something special for Phelp's eighth medal since his seventh he had really good jube. But alas nothing. Even the Japanese team came out and tossed a couple of members into the water after all was said and done... I guess Phelps was busy with Costas? Someone said Costas has a man crush on Phelps?

I think I should coin today as the honorary Paul Kitagaki (Sacramento Bee) day as we did the same three events together! Swimming, tennis, track and field. Though he covered the Women's doubles match and I didn't - we both covered the Men's singles match - between Nadal and Gonzalez. Luckily Nadal won in three straight sets - that took freaking 3 hours - if the other dude had won a couple that match could have gone on for like five hours! sheesh.

Saw both my former bosses (from KRT - when I was in Athens) - George Bridges and Harry Walker out-and-about today - hi dudes...

I was at the tennis venue and there was some dude here who cut his vest, we are required to wear a photo vest that says PHOTO and then a number - mine is 664 - in large gold letters on the back. The number is on the back so if we do something wrong they can track us down easily. I don't normally wear a vest but oh well. But this dude cut his vest in half (i mean a full half - so that it sits just above his stomach) and I'm trying my hardest not to break out laughing cause he looks like he should be in the movie Flash Dance - I just wish he had a head band on...

After that we headed over to the Women's 100m - a Jamaican won again - crazy...

so we're more than 1/2 through the games now!!!




3 comments:

David said...

Great shots of "Lighning" Bolt. I really like the one with all four of them, as they are all in the air, and it is like they are flying. The one where he stretches his arm like sending a lightning bolt through the air will be iconic. Good shot of Phelps joyfully in the water.
David

Juliette said...

Oh yeahhhh.
Well I went to chemistry class today. I know you're jealous.

80s90s said...

Dude, u talk about dude in the half vest - GIVE US A PIC or it didn't happen!

End Communicatiion.