Wrapping Up

The Olympics aren't over until Sunday but my adventures ended this morning when I crossed back over to the USA. Thankfully that border crossing was the nicest yet. Despite some of the chaos and frustrations I was sorry to see my Olympic trip end. But I am thrilled that it ended with seeing Speedy win his silver last night. I forgot to post the picture below with the rest after the event. I'm calling it the "Star Brigade" in honor of the freestyle uniforms. With that many members of the staff/team standing together to cheer on the guys you started seeing stars!

Star Brigade

The downside to attending the Olympics is that you miss a lot of the stories. I just saw tonight on NBC that Kris Freeman collapsed during his 30k race due to his blood sugar. (Kris is a type 1 diabetic.) One of the German coaches ran over to him with an energy drink. Kris refused to give up and continued to ski. He finished last but he finished! I also learned that the day I was at the Cross Country sprints that one of the athletes had fallen into a gulch on the side of the course during warm ups. She insisted on racing and won the bronze. It turns out she raced with broken ribs and a collapsed lung. That is some amazing spirit! In the news today it was also announced that Billy Demong (first Nordic Combined gold medalist) was elected by his fellow athletes to carry the flag in the closing ceremony. And my rookie, Hailey Duke, finished 30th in her first Olympic race. Way to go Hailey! For anyone who only follows skiing every four years during the Olympics you might have expected to see Lindsey Vonn become the "Michael Phelps" of these games. That is media hype that Lindsey never promised. (Just like Bode never promises to do more than go out there and give it everything.) Lindsey always said that if she won even one medal she would be happy. In the end she won a gold and a bronze and that ain't bad! I would also like to thank Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports for doing such a horrible job predicting the medal results. Maybe it gave our athletes a bit of motivation to prove them wrong.

The Olympics aren't over. Saturday there is Men's Slalom, Men's PGS and Women's Cross Country 30k. On Sunday there will be Men's Cross Country 50k, plus a great Men's Hockey final. But I am in Seattle now and heading toward home and my next adventure. I only have four years to figure out how to get someone to take me to Sochi so I don't have to plan that trip! See everyone in Park City!

GO USA!