SEX, MONEY AND GLORY IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

Celebrate good times, come on! There are some wild times going down in Vancouver, British Columbia, site of the 2010 Winter Olympic games, and I’m not talking about the events themselves. The real hot-spot for action in Vancouver is the Olympic Village.

The organizers for the Vancouver games have continued what has become a common practice at the Olympics since the 1992 games in Barcelona…the distribution of free condoms to the residents of the OV. In Vancouver, the organizers have provided approximately 100,000 condoms for the participants at the Games’ two Villages. That number breaks out to 14 condoms available for each of the 7,000 athletes, coaches, trainers and officials.

What’s sex without the money? Some of the United States teams have developed creative ways to generate sponsorship dollars to fund their pursuit of Olympic glory. After the United States speed skating team lost a sponsor, fans of Stephen Colbert’s show on Comedy Central, The Colbert Report, stepped in and picked up the slack. The Colbert Nation made their contribution by donating nearly $300,000 to the program. The U.S. Curling Association upped the ante by partnering with Kodiak Technology Group and introducing the Hurry Hard condom. The product is named for a phrase used in competition to get their teammates to sweep the ice faster. Proceeds from the sale of the condoms are split between USA Curling and Monterey County AIDS prevention.



Maybe there is a benefit to the American athletes being so “relaxed” and well heeled as they are having unprecedented success in 2010. As of Sunday night, the U.S. team led the 2010 medal count with 24, seven of which are gold. It is possible that the U.S. could end up with 30 or more medals by the time the Vancouver Olympics come to a close next Sunday. At the Calgary Olympics in 1988 the U.S. team won just six medals…total.



Obviously, these world-class athletes are focused on the task at hand until their events are complete, but this is one fun with numbers course I can get interested in. Enjoy all of the excitement and thrills the Olympics provide while you can Reader, because it sure seems as though the athletes are…and more power to them! USA! USA! USA!

WOOFIN' AT THE WINTER OLYMPICS

Courtesy THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan


PETRA MAJDIC: A CASE STUDY IN AN OLYMPIAN’S HEART AND A LOVE OF COUNTRY

On Wednesday of this week I watched as an Olympic athlete put forth an epic effort that resulted in a spot on the podium in the Women’s Individual Sprint. The skier was the world’s best female cross-country sprinter Petra Majdic (MAD-itch) of Slovenia. The medal was a bronze, awarded to the athlete finishing third in a given event. But you would have a hard time convincing Majdic that the medal around her neck was anything other than "gold with little diamonds" in it. Majdic, driven by her love of country, strengthened by her determination of mind and powered by every last ounce of energy remaining in a broken body, managed to accomplish this feat after suffering severe injuries….four broken ribs and a collapsed lung….PRIOR to the qualifying races of the event. After the event, it was determined that the injuries sustained by Majdic were so severe that she would not be able to compete in any other events at the 2010 winter games. Though her competition had come to an end, the Slovenian athlete was not allowed to fly home due to her lung injuries.


Courtesy NBC OLYMPICS










Slovenia’s sportswoman of the year in three of the last four years slid off the course in an icy corner and tumbled down a 3-meter embankment landing on rocks and breaking both poles and a ski. "I was in pain and some volunteers helped me out.” Majdic said. “They wanted to take me to the medical center, but I yelled, 'take me to the start.'” Majdic then somehow managed to battle through four rounds of racing around the 1.5km loop to claim her bronze medal. Majdic got the first medal of these games for her country, the first Olympic cross-country medal for Slovenia, the nation's fifth overall (all bronze) and the first individual medal since 1994.


Courtesy AP photo

"This is not a bronze medal, this is a gold medal with little diamonds on it. I already won a medal for going to the start. The wish was so big because I have been fighting for this for 22 years," Majdic said.

There is no greater honor to be earned than one garnered in the pursuit of a goal greater than one’s self. Slovenia’s Petra Majdic is the Olympic example of this belief.

If ever an athlete deserved to be recognized in this forum for their efforts in the arena of their chosen sport, is has to be Petra Majdic. This Slovenian cross-country skier is without a doubt, A DAMN BEAST!!!

Check out a slideshow and video of Majdic’s fall HERE.

Another slideshow of Majdic competing in the Women’s Individual Sprint can be seen HERE.

Check out other articles on this magnificent competitor’s painful day at Whistler Olympic Park HERE and HERE and view the final medal results HERE.