Truly special women doing truly special things

I know these stories probably got great play back home and deservedly so but I don’t think we can over-emphasize or celebrate what went on here Sunday for a couple of Canadians who really should be considered among the great Olympic athletes our country as ever produced.

Emilie Heymans winning a medal in a fourth straight Olympics is unprecedented – no female diver in the history of the Games has done that.

Clara Hughes fighting through some of the weirdest conditions imaginable – rain, cold, warm, sun – to hang with the lead pack in the women’s road race before falling back may not be a medal-winning performance but it’s pretty incredible what she’s accomplished her career.

I remember the first time I ever saw Hughes. It was in Atlanta in 1996, I was cub reporter with CP, she won a cycling medal that caught us by surprise and I had to race to Buckhead or somewhere like that just to catch the end of her official news conference to write about her.

To think that 16 years later she’s still going strong, after a foray into speedskating to win a Winter Olympics medal, is a story of dedication and athletic ability that might be unrivalled in Canadian sports history.

We have no idea how hard it is to get to a Games, what it takes in personal sacrifice with lives a bit on hold; to do it for all that time, and to do it so well, and to do it in such physically demanding sports is crazy good.

And Heymans?

Diving is, for the most part, a young athlete’s sport, kids, really.

Four straight Games with a medal?

How good is that? Never-done-before-good, that’s how good that is.

These are the kinds of stories that make the Olympics special, history-making, awe-inducing, heart-warming stories of special people doing special things and making their country proud of them.

There shouldn’t be a Canadian today who doesn’t feel at least a little sense of pride that women like Heymans and Hughes are out there waving our flag, making us known, making the world take notice.

It was a one-bronze day for Canada but, really, it was much, much more than that.

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Such dietary choices!

There’s a little coffee-food kiosk just inside the entrance to our main press centre – they make a lovely latte that’s just strong enough if you add a third short of espresso – and they’ve got some sandwiches there I need to try.

Not too many NBA arenas I’ve been in offer you either:

Peppered beef and gherkin

Or,

Cheddar cheese and pickles.

Haven’t tried either, but I sure will. Which one do I want?

The food choices here at our part of Olympic Park aren’t quite as varied as others I’ve been to.

There’s the obligatory McDonalds (some incongruous about Big Macs being the official food for the Olympics?) and a couple of places offering curries and, yes, fish and chips at the monstrous self-serve cafeteria one building over but, overall, far less choice than usual.

Not that there’s a lot of time for eating, actually, but be nice if there was more.

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These guys came up last night in conversation and since the Olympic Park’s in the East End, might be tough for me to see West End Girls.

And I missed a free Pet Shop Boys concert in a park here, I’m told.

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So, no, I did not see Lithuania get drilled by Argentina in the men’s basketball last night here (I was off freezing with my friends at beach volleyball) but my spies tell me Valanciunas was quite ordinary and really had a hard time dealing with pick and roll defence when he was guarding Luis Scola.

Not that it’s too huge a deal, actually, because Scola is precisely the kind of wise veteran who’ll give the kid fits for a while ‘til Valanciunas figures out he’s playing men instead of boys.

Very little other surprises on Day 1.

Americans cruised, Spain won, Brits lost and Nigeria-Tunisia was fun and close.

Hoping to get over there one day soon to catch up with all the familiar faces but, truth be told, if I don’t see the USA play until the playoff round, I’ll be fine. Been watching that circus for 20 years now and it’s getting kind of old.

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Steak and ale pie and a handful of Stryians in a pub down an alley (the Swan, just off Southampton Row near the hotel) was a pretty solid night.

And I know this runs counter to what you might think about me, but having pubs close at 10:30 on a Sunday night made for a better night’s sleep than usual.

With a triple-header today (I are an expert in beach volleyball, archery and women’s basketball today) that early close wasn’t a bad thing at all.

Being the very last table in the joint – they were physically taking tables down around us while we sipped our last ones – was more traditional for us than an early night.

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Get off the bus at the Horse Guard’s Parade, have some time to kill, take a wee walk away from the venue, turn a corner and what’s there?

No, you don’t get to see that stuff wandering Hazelville.

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Remember a couple of weeks ago I was telling you about my friend over here and how she was lamenting the crappy weather? And then I land and it’s at least 30 C every day for the better part of a week and all the sweaters, jackets and trousers (I’m becoming quite British in the language, aren’t I?) that we back were just extra weight?

Well, she was right.

Ran through the darkest clouds I’ve seen in months, something akin to torrential rain, high winds, and then sun. Then some more rain, more clouds, more winds, and then sun.

It was like 22 C when I left my hotel clad in shorts and a t-shirt and about 13 C when I sat down at The Swan 13 or 14 hours later.

The jacket?

Was in the room.

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Comments

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:

Thanks for reminding us that there is more than one definition of 'winner.' Yes indeed, it was proud to be a Canadian to see how these two young women represented our country yesterday.
Go Canada!

[john]

Not sure who is was but they hit the nail on the head... 'To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day.'

[Mike]

Just to add an additional opinion to Doug's about Valanciunas. He looks very long when defending, great wing span that could definitly drive those he is defending (and on the offence end) a little mad. He is a little over eager when commiting to the double team or help defence. But then, game 1 of the oylmpics might do that.

Small sample size, but i would say he has a strong chance of being a difference maker given his physical attributes. I was pretty encourage by what i saw.

[Mos High]

My comment is for Beach volleyball. To be honest Im not sure how they select some of these sports, but Beach Volleyball. I thought there was volleyball in the gym already as a olympic challenge.

This may not come off politically correct, but I found myself watching 15-20 mins of the womens beach volleyball. The only, only reason was they were wearing bikini style cant call them shorts I guess panties, I dont know what they call them. I would not watch a second of mens beach volleyball. But again that's just my opinion.

I cant take this serious even though I know the young ladies train extremely hard and are actually really talented. Still this is sexually charged event. I know some of you will disagree, but that is the way I see it. Come on short things that are nearly thongs, half of the checks are exposed!!!!!!!
They should be wearing real shorts at minimum.

[Cluck Kent]

@Mos, I couldn't agree more. Womens beach volleyball is one step above professional pole dancing as serious sport. Pole dancers train hard too and are very talented.

And as if to prove my point, how many close up butt shots have you seen in the last 24 hours of a woman beach volleyball players 'explaining' that this is how they send signals to their partner.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no prude, but let's keep things honest.

Blogger's note: Sorry. You all need to watch the athleticism far more than you are.

[Lorie]

Hey Doug!
Great Olympic reporting from you and the entire Star Team. So, archery, beach volleyball, basketball...but where oh where are your waterpolo stories And Clara Hughes is so inspiring - and not only for incredible athletic accomplishments: she's also done significant work with the Let's Talk campaign in support of mental health services. She's a national treasure and terrific role model. And I'm still thinking about music and London and was reminded of a song my very-British grandpa used to sing to us grandkids. He'd lived more than half of his 88 years in Canada but never lost his wonderful Cockney accent and to my mind could sing this one even better than Mr. Holloway! So, wishing our women's basketball team "a little bit of luck" too against Great Britain today! Cheers!
http://youtu.be/h_Sj9o7DWJU

[David T (Ottawa)]

How often do you really see volleyball 2s indoor? The less people you have on a court, the more roaming you have to do (makes sense, right?). Also, the more digging and diving that are necessary, so indoor 2s just isn't feasible because you want that forgiving surface underneath you.

Are they stellar athletes whose quickness, anticipation and reaction are some of the best in the world? Absolutely.

Are they also usually rather, um, comely persons who take advantage of the opportunity to be fairly unhindered by excess clothing? Absolutely. I'm not sure I can fault them too much for that, either.

The entire Olympics is full of scantily clad people. Do the diving and swimming second-skin spandex leave any more to the imagination than the beach volleyball outfits? Not to pick on them: gymnasts wear basically the same and on the track, women are competing in sports bras and tiny shorts. And so on.

And the final point: even nudity (and this is a FAR cry off) does not necessarily equate to sexuality. I can appreciate a very nicely shaped women's beach volleyballer without becoming aroused (I hope!! There's a nice beach with volleyball nets between my house and my office in Ottawa...) I think that's something we've definitely forgotten as a society.

[Lorie]

Jeez. And good grief. Maybe the women competing in the hurdles and the marathon and high jump etc should cover up a bit, too? Do they HAVE to wear those skimpy, skin-baring, body-hugging uniforms? And how about those male swimmers and divers in their wee bathing suits? I can barely concentrate. Let alone critique their performances. And don't even get me started on the ballet. It would seem there's shockingly inappropriate apparel everywhere. If you are compelled to look for it.

[Steve]

Blogger's note: Sorry. You all need to watch the athleticism far more than you are.

So it's all about athleticism now? Can we expect pole dancing in 2016 then?

Blogger's note: Yawn

[john]

Hey @Mike, did you see the game in person? I couldn't find it anywhere, a link would be awsome.

As for beach vollyball debate, the only thing I know for sure is that pole dancers probably make more un-reported income than pro-vollyball players...

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:
"Blogger's note: Sorry. You all need to watch the athleticism far more than you are. "

Although I agree with you regarding the athleticism required - especially on wet, heavy sand (imagine running almost non-stop on the beach for over an hour!), FIVB does nothing to negate the public perception that women's beach volleyball is nothing more than an event meant to 'grab' male viewers with absolutely no interest in volleyball - of any kind - when they FORCE the females to wear bikinis unless the weather gets 'too cold' - how often will that happen at the SUMMER Olympics?
From your article today:
"FIVB, the sport’s global governing body, has relaxed its uniform rules and women are now allowed to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants instead of bikinis. But that’s when the temperature dips below 16C. According to official match statistics, it was 18C with 17.6 km/h breezes during Sunday’s match."
If FIVB wants anyone to take beach volleyball seriously, they should change the rules to treat women like ATHLETES, rather than OBJECTS!
Just my nickel's worth!

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:
On a lighter note, who drew the caricature of you for the link to your blog on the Star's website?
(http://i.thestar.com/images/2b/5a/caee31d64ff59580b8b68a332730.jpg)

Blogger's note: No clue, had never seen that before

[Mos High]

I know this doesnt come off nice and smooth how most people like it, but in all honesty these Olympic games in general are non sense, spending billions of dollars for some so called games. I really dont think it does anything to help world peace, injustice, unfair economic trade etc. Hopefully it allows some who need the economic boost get a sponsorship (so they can feed family and friends etc)

So for them to allow or push women to wear panty or super tight shorts in events that really dont call for it is not a surprise. They know hundreds of thousands of men like myself would not tune into any type of volleyball if they were wearing long pants or long shorts. Its just a fact. How much of you men out there watch mens volleyball? Opposite for the women on this blog. Im sure the women love mens beach volleyball, but they dont watch sports channels as much as men.

Some can deny it if you like but everything is done for a reason.

[Peter]

Steering well clear of the "other" conversation going on in the comments today. My thoughts on Valenciunus were that he seemed very long, fairly strong, quite quick, and certainly looked to have a future. My issues were that he was glued tot he bench for much of the third and fourth quarters. I was watching a broadcast without the play by play, so I'm not sure if there was foul trouble, or another issue, but I had hoped that he would be on the floor more. It concerns me a little bit that his coach felt that it was best to play the other Lithuanian bigs, instead of him. Especially since I wasn't all that impressed with the play of the bigs that Lithuania had out there.

[james]

Here is why the Olympics are not nonsense, according to me: There are very few global institutions that engage a large portion of humanity in a generally benign way, but this is one. It will always be open to the criticism that it embodies the flaws of all human endeavour in the early 21st century: the crassness, the corruption, the commercialization, an essential unfairness favouring rich nations over poor ones. And yet, if it didn't exist, we would probably have to invent it. Where else could a rower of three months experience compete in the same venue as Clara Hughes, or Kobe Bryant? Further, I am always fascinated by the athletic obsessions of other cultures (White water canoeing and Slovakia? Who knew?)
As for beach volleyball, forget the bikinis. The story of Child and Heese practising over the winter by dumping a load of sand in a Toronto warehouse and parlaying that into the most improbable of medals in Atlanta was what first grabbed me about the sport. Lorie is right. If seeing scantily clad young people makes you nervous, the Olympic experience is not for you.

[David in Oakville]

OMG! What am I missing?

Beach Volleyballers signal their intentions to their partners with their butt's? Really?

Poledancing in 2016.. in BRAZIL! Aye Carumba.

But to be serious for a minute, I am leaning towards agreement with Mos, this whole Olympics nonsense is trending towards foolishness, in spite of some really decent people like Hughes and Whitfield and Hesjedal.

Damn Doug, I thought for sure you would have chosen Mr. Zevon by now for your daily musical selection.. or did I miss it?

[doug]

I think people need to leave their adolescent male viewpoints behind (no pun intended) when watching beach volleyball it's a sport and the participants are extremely gifted world class athletes...watch the female pole vault, or sprinters or high jumpers...world class athletes are world class for a reason they train their butts off (again no pun intended) so yes they have toned bodies, yes in the case of beach volleyball players their all legs and butts as their tall....so come on let's get real. it's a sport not a peep show and if your looking at it as such then who has the problem??....loving your Olympic blog, good stuff and cheers...

[m]

@doug, exactly.
I wonder why an american purveyor of crap food should provide the official "food" of the Olympics.

[james]

Speaking of special women doing special things, that was a solid, tough-minded performance by Shona Thorburn in a too exciting fourth quarter. Did I hallucinate Ken Shields on the British bench?

Blogger's note: Whole story here:
http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/basketball/article/1233733--london-2012-canadian-basketball-legend-ken-shields-takes-to-the-court-for-britain

[J]

I take offense at the blanket statement regarding sexually-crazed men. In fact, the bikinis do nothing for me, and I'd much rather watching men's figure skating than anything else (including women's figure skating). Or should I re-examine my sexuality?