The Beijing Olympic Games are all but over and the medals have been won, at least one of them has been chucked away and one referee has been kicked in the head because someone didn’t win one.
Australia finished with 14 gold medals which sits pretty close to expectations, although according to the news reports, Australian sport is in a little bit of trouble because we were down on the Australian Olympic Committee’s (AOC) prediction. As an average Joe, stock standard Aussie, I say rubbish. The haul of medals pulled down by our athletes was right on the money.
I reckon any gold medal tally that sits between 10 – 20 is perfect – just enough to make every last one of them special and able to be celebrated fully. While it would have been nice to win more, you accept that not everything goes to plan and there are always going to be surprises in sport.
And it’s the surprise gold medals that make the greatest impact. Matthew Mitcham winning the gold medal in the 10m Platform Diving on the second last day will long live in many Australian’s memories. That it came completely out of the blue, with even the Australian commentators completely writing his chances off before “that” dive, made it all the more sweet.
Yes, the Olympics are over for another Olympiad, China has put on a great show and Australia can be well proud of their efforts. Memorable moments in the Games for me? It’s got to be Usain Bolt on the track and Michael Phelps in the pool.
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