Students React To Upcoming Olympics
by Ben Jarrell
With the Summer Olympics in Beijing approaching, some Tech students are getting excited about watching the games.
The Summer Olympics feature a wide range of sporting events from track and field to cycling and fencing to weightlifting.
It is also the only event that features dozens of different countries competing against one another.
Ryan Duplechin, a senior zoology major from Carrollton, Texas, said the thing he enjoys most about the Olympics is the fact that people don’t often watch their countries compete against other countries.
“From the standpoint of being a fan of the United States, you don’t often get a chance to see the United States compete against a lot of these nations, so it’s a unique contest,” said Duplechin.
Duplechin said his favorite events in the Summer Olympics are soccer and some of the track and field events, such as the sprinting races, the high jump, and the triple jump. In the winter, Duplechin said he is a huge fan of the short and long track speed skating, as well as the luge and the bobsled races.
While Russia has the two most successful Olympians in total number of medals, the U.S. has 5 of the top twelve medal winners. That list includes Mark Spitz (swimming) in 4th place with eleven medals, including 9 gold medals, which is tied for the most all-time. Carl Lewis (track and field) is in 5th place with ten medals, and also has 9 gold medals.
Also, on the list are Jenny Thompson (swimming), Matt Biondi (swimming), and Ray Ewry (track and field).
Susie Moore, a Tech alumna from Dallas, said the best thing about the Olympics is the fact that there are so many sports that you usually wouldn’t see on any given day that are brought together to form one incredible event.
“You get to see everything and a lot of people are interested in these sports, you just don’t get to see it a lot on ESPN,” said Moore. “They’re always infatuated with football and basketball and you can’t watch all these other sports.”
Moore said she enjoys watching the swimming and diving events, as well as the track and field and the basketball, but only because Coach Mike Krzyzewski is coaching the U.S.A. basketball team this year. During the winter games, she likes to watch the alpine skiing, figure skating, and hockey.
According to the official Olympics Web site, the U.S. has hosted the Olympics 8 times, 4 summer games and 4 winter games, which is more than any other country in the world. However, the U.S. will need to wait until the 2016 Summer Olympics to bring the games back onto American soil.