Countdown to the Games...

Since my last blog post, I’ve been staying busy at BOCOG Training. It’s nice to see all the journalists finally arriving. The broadcast folks get here tomorrow, so that’s when my fun will begin.

Most of the athletes are here and have begun training in the National Indoor Stadium (NIS). As many of you know, Paul Hamm pulled out of the Olympics because his broken hand still isn’t healthy enough for him to compete.

As a result, Raj Bhavsar will take his place.

The group spends most the evenings in the Hou Hai (pronounced HO-hi) area, which is a manmade lake—the largest of three consecutive lakes lined with willow trees and surrounded by a maze of hutongs, shops, and cafes. The evening is a beautiful time to visit, since the courtyard stays lit through the evening.

Olympic tickets have also gone on sale here in China. Eric Durban, a Mizzou convergence major, decided to brave the massive “lines” for a chance at getting tickets. The Guardian, the New York Times of the UK, posted an article about their long wait in line. Unfortunately, after a full day of waiting they left with no tickets in hand. Here’s a picture of Eric, holding the sign, “Line Starts Here.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/gallery/2008/jul/24/olympics2008.china.beijing?picture=335958099


I trusted my dear friend, Sarah Orscheln, to buy us tickets on Beijing’s Craig’s list for the women’s gold medal football match. Sarah played soccer in college and stays up-to-date on any soccer news. She informed me that Abby Wambach recently broke her leg and will not be playing in the Olympic Games. Wambach is the U.S. Women’s leading scorer, and she broke her leg in a game in San Diego on July 16th.



I’m also including several photos that Sarah has taken during our trip. She is a convergence major at MU.

Sarah and I visited Wángfǔjǐng and the Night Market the other day. Wángfǔjǐng street, located in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, is one of China's most famous shopping streets. Much of the road is off-limits to cars and other motor vehicles, which is nice for pedestrians. You can find anything from dog brain soup to fried starfish! Sarah and I decided we’re going to come back with a group of kids, so we can try all the crazy foods together.

Sarah

BOCOG Training

During the past week, we’ve spent most of our time at BOCOG Training, which we are required to keep confidential. However, they released our schedules, and I will be a flash quotes reporter for the Olympic News Service. I’ll also be working alongside BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation, taking quotes from the athletes as they’re interviewed.

The Beijing News came one day to training to interview some of the volunteers. Ted and I were interviewed from our group. Here’s a link to the article, even though it’s written in Chinese.

http://www.thebeijingnews.com/news/olympic/2008/07-23/039@072024.htm


And the final members of the U.S. women's gymnastics team have been named...

• Chellsie Memmel
  
• Samantha Peszek
  
• Alicia Sacramone
  
• Bridget Sloan
• Shawn Johnson
  
• Nastia Liukin
  

(Three alternates were chosen: Jana Bieger, Ivana Hong and Corrie Lothrop.)

Day 24 - Schedules Released!

Hey Everyone!

We completed another day of training today. We finished the day with another team-building game. This time, it was a ping pong balancing relay race. The Chinese students were really competitive and the Americans joked that the reason why the winning team came out on top was because they only had one American on the team to slow them down.

We also got our work schedule for the Olympic Games. I'm scheduled to work in the Broadcast Mixed Zone. Basically, I'll be grabbing quotes from athletes as they come off the field. After coming off the floor, they have to walk to the broadcast area (a row of partitioned spaces in the arena - see picture) and walk by all the television companies. This is the opportunity for the tv stations to grab the athletes for one-on-one interviews. Then, the athletes will go down to the Press Mixed Zone (where newspaper and other ONS reporters will get the chance to talk with athletes). I'll be working with the NBC team. The reporter for NBC NewsChannel is the main anchor at the NBC station I interned two summers ago. Small world! Anyway, our team is on rotation shifts and we will work alternating days. The last few work days (17-20), we will be working every day. Looking forward to focusing in on our tasks!

Ted