The Olympics are over and what fun they were. I'm already experiencing Olympics withdrawal. I'm grateful that the Paralympics begins on Friday, March 4th (through Sunday, March 13) so that I can get one more shot at watching spectacular sports competition. There are less sports represented in the Paralympics, but it should be great fun nonetheless.
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Sled Hockey is always fast and furious. I love the fact that the players have two hockey sticks to use. It makes for some great hockey shots. These guys don't hold back - it's fast and it's furious. |
I'm really looking forward to all of them, but especially the Wheelchair Curling and the Sled Hockey. In addition, there is Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing and Snowboarding. The athletes are every bit as competitive as those participating in the standard Olympics - sometimes even a bit more so. It's always fun to watch. But then, after they shut down, I'll be without any Olympics for two long years.
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Here is the 2022 Winter Paralympic Wheelchair Curling team for the USA. When you watch them play, and send the stone down the ice sheet, you'll see two wheelchairs, one right behind the other. That allows the first person to put all of their strength into the push, while their chair is held firmly by the person behind them. Remember your physics - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. |
Wait a minute, you might think. The Olympics are held every four years, not every two years. And you're correct. But the Pandemic affected everyone and everything. The 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021, but the Winter Olympics were always scheduled for 2022. The Paris Summer Olympics will be held in 2024. They will be followed by Los Angeles in 2028. The next Winter Olympics will be Milan-Cortina in 2026. It seems we will be settling back into an Olympics every two years, alternating between summer and winter games, a schedule which began with Lillehammer in 1994.
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I really loved the Lillehammer, Norway games in 1994. The location was small and unpretentious. The people were so friendly, and the scenery was beautiful. It reminded me of the Aspen, Colorado of my youth. I'm afraid those days are far behind us now, though. Today's Olympics require much more space and a much deeper budget than those of my youth. |
DH and I were texting back and forth last night about the Olympics while he was watching hockey (we won) and I was watching the Closing Ceremonies (quite fun). The computer room where I was, is directly beneath the bedroom where he was, but texting is the easiest way to communicate. We determined that the Peking Winter Olympics were my 16th Winter Olympics (my parents didn't own a television until 1963, so I'm sure I saw some of the Innsbruck games, but the first one I truly remember well are the 1968 games from Grenoble). DH recalled his father yelling at the television for the 1960 Squaw Valley games, so claims to have seen 18 of them. I'm totally in favor of watching at least another four or five Winter Games, that will give me another 16-20 years of delightful competition and beautiful scenery.
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I remember watching Jean Claude Killy wend his way down the mountains in the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics. DH was giving me a hard time about "falling in love" with him. I said "Yes, of course. He was very good looking and I was 13 years old. Duh!" LOL |
Tomorrow (actually starting late tonight), we're supposed to get hit by a snowstorm that will give us 4"-10" of snow by Wednesday night. I'm expecting I'll have to shovel at least four inches from the driveway tomorrow morning to get to the gym on time, so tomorrow's post will probably be short and sweet. I don't want to miss a day in the pool because of weather, so I'll have to be outside by 4:00 am to get shoveled (unless DH decides to be chivalrous and help me shovel or snowblow). Today, however, is wonderfully clear, so have an excellent day and I'll be back in one way or another, tomorrow.
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