From paralympic table tennis to archery, the Olympics hosts events that families around the globe can enjoy. The four years of preparation in between the Olympics builds eagerness throughout the world. The ultimate goal is to place, but every contestant who steps into their arena is fighting for the gold.
“The Olympics are a fun time for everyone,” junior Kayla Stovall said. “My favorite part is the gymnastics portion. It is amazing that people can defy gravity and tumble through the air.”
The 2012 Olympics will be in England at various venues throughout London. Each sport has a specific venue such as tennis competition which will take place at the Wimbledon stadium. The International Olympic Committee Coordination is confident that London will be the perfect city to welcome the world’s athletes.
“I visited London last summer and it is a really beautiful city,” Stovall said. “I wish I could go this summer so I could see at least one Olympic event.”
Junior Tre’Von Boles loves to watch the basketball Olympics featuring the most talented, NBA players on the USA team, face competitive teams from around the world.
“My favorite Olympic memory was when Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard played on the same team and won the gold medal,” Boles said. “It was so cool when they beat out all the other teams and dominated the competition of the world.”
The options of the sports to watch are endless. Even if you aren’t a sports person, everyone has a competitive spirit in them that shows itself at times. It is interesting to witness someone run faster than the speed of sound or lift weights heavier than boulders.
“Every four years, I think the nation develops a sense of nationalism just by rooting for the USA team in any and every sport they can find,” junior Natalia Vela said. “It is not about bandwaggoning, it is about supporting your country.”
A former winner of the swimming Olympics, Michael Phelps, won multiple golds and silvers at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Since his competition, he has created the Michael Phelps Foundation which encourages living a healthy lifestyle and more involvement in the participation of swimming in young people. Also to set an example, he is a member of “Project Believe” and is tested for performance enhancing drugs randomly.
“I think that is pretty fair, athletes should be able to get physically fit by themselves,” junior Daisha Woodson said. “He is setting a really good example for young people in today’s sports who think steroids will help them.”
The logo for the Olympics is always a controversial topic, even though it seems like it would not cause much hassle. According to abcnews upon 48 hours of the unveiling of the logo, there was opposition to it. Some people are upset with the design, which cost $800,000 to produce, but many others are content with it and are more worried with the actual games.
“The logo is important because it should be updated and new for new generations,” Woodson said. “I want to be able to look back at certain logos and know which games were during my childhood.”
