Friday, April 6, 2012

Olympics Coming to London


Slept late this morning and had a quiet breakfast before heading to the gym.  Chatted with VB and he told me to say hello to the knuckle head. One of Gavin’s teachers from Sachem East, and a friend from the Cruzer’s soccer team he was on.

While at the gym Kyle txt to pick up eggs, so I go to stop and shop on the way home.

Eat a 2nd breakfast instead of having lunch, and then head to the bicycle store with Luke to have a new chain put on.

This day in history “On April 6, 1896, the Olympic Games, a long-lost tradition of ancient Greece, are reborn in Athens 1,500 years after being banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I. At the opening of the Athens Games, King Georgios I of Greece and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed athletes from 13 nations to the international competition.
The first recorded Olympic Games were held at Olympia in the Greek city-state of Elis in 776 B.C., but it is generally accepted that the Olympics were at least 500 years old at that time. The ancient Olympics, held every four years, occurred during a religious festival honoring the Greek god Zeus. In the eighth century B.C., contestants came from a dozen or more Greek cities, and by the fifth century B.C. from as many as 100 cities from throughout the Greek empire. Initially, Olympic competition was limited to foot races, but later a number of other events were added, including wrestling, boxing, horse and chariot racing, and military competitions. The pentathlon, introduced in 708 B.C., consisted of a foot race, the long jump, discus and javelin throws, and wrestling. With the rise of Rome, the Olympics declined, and in 393 A.D. the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, abolished the Games as part of his efforts to suppress paganism in the Roman Empire.”

The summer Olympics are being hosted in London, and ThomsonReuters will cover the venues and we are already preparing our systems and networks for the onslaught of content.

As a child, I recall watching the Olympics with my dad.  I have already been told that we can’t take vacation during the Olympics, even though I work in Hauppauge, it is all hands on deck.  Having worked for Reuters for more than 20 years, I understand the importance of keeping the news flowing.

While I don’t expect to become an Olympic athlete at my age, I do have a new appreciation for these athletes and how they have trained to shave off perhaps a fraction of a second from their runs in order to come home with a medal. 

Gavin has been training, and will be participating in a triathlon this summer.  I may try one myself, a sprint triathlon and hope to not come in last place.

We go out for Sushi on this “Good Friday”, and on the way home drop Kyle off at his girlfriends house.
Sue made cupcakes and brownies for Easter and put together a nice basket for her sister.

Photo of the day “London Olympics”


No comments:

Post a Comment