Aug. 18, 2008

While the rest of the Tar Heel football program is sweating through training camp, the normally ever-present Kevin Best is absent. Don't worry, he's got a good--or is that gold?--reason. The Deputy Director of Athletic Communications is in Beijing this month, where he's serving as the Information Manager for all Olympic events at the National Stadium. That includes the opening and closing ceremonies, all track and field events, and the men's soccer final. Kevin will file periodic dispatches from Beijing for THB.com.

We've had a couple of thrilling nights in the first two days of competition at the Bird's Nest. Carolina's Shalane Flanagan brought home the bronze medal in the women's 10,000 meter race on Friday the 15th. Many were surprised by her top three finish, but perhaps no one was more surprised than Flanagan herself. After crossing the finish line, she put her hands on her head and looked to the scoreboard wondering if she finished third or fourth. "I had no idea where I was when I crossed the finish line," said former Carolina standout. "I wasn't sure if I had won the bronze or if I had finished fourth. I didn't want to celebrate too early." After realizing she won the bronze, Flanagan grabbed an American flag and ran a lap of honor. Because the women's 10,000 meters was run so late at night, the medal ceremony was held the next day in front of a capacity-filled stadium of 91,000.

On Saturday, Usain Bolt lived up to his top billing as the world's fastest man by capturing the gold medal with a world record time of 9.69. His gold shoes sparkling in the Beijing night, Bolt blistered the field and at the 80 meter mark began to celebrate. One wonders what he could have run if he had stayed in proper form throughout the race. Former Olympic champion Donovan Bailey, who was commentating for CBC Sports in Canada in the mixed zone could barely contain himself as Bolt hit the finish line. "He makes it look so easy," said Bailey. Speaking of the mixed zone, this is an area where broadcasters and journalists interview the athletes as they walk off the field of play. When you see NBC interview an athlete at the venue after competition, it's happening in the mixed zone. It may look calm on TV, but it's a zoo. The broadcasters and journalists are literally penned in by bike barricades and permanent barriers. Each broadcaster who pays for a position is allowed a one minute interview. At the stadium, there are 53 broadcast positions, followed by an overflow area. Bolt did an interview with nearly every one of the 53 positions, then conducted interviews in the overflow area. It was a long night answering such genius questions as "Did you think you would lose?" In the overflow area, it took approximately eight of us to hold back the barriers or Bolt would have been crushed. The same scene unfolded in the press area before Bolt finally went to a press conference. That's a lot of work for 9.69 seconds of glory. I'm sure he didn't mind.