Students tune in to Olympic events

At a time when gold is worth roughly $1100 per ounce, the value of an Olympic gold medal lies in both its physical worth and its symbolic meaning. That golden circle hanging around champion’s neck? It represents years of training and sacrifice, the pride of a victory, and the pure hard work of beating out every competitor and becoming the best in the world.

 

Cue up the Olympic theme song in your head.  The soaring notes work to showcase that broadcasting of exhilarating victories and bittersweet seconds, of devastating mistakes and the spirit of these 16 days of competition on the world stage.

You’ve heard the names: Shaun White, Apolo Anton Ohno, Lindsey Vonn. The hype surrounding these athletes and their sports hit a feverish pitch just prior to the Games, and it continued as these athletes all competed, eventually winning gold. Students caught onto that gold fever and tuned in, witnessing the best of the world go head-to-head in competition.

“Last night I was watching Lindsey Vonn and was really surprised when that German girl [Maria Riesch] won [Ladies' Super Combined],” sophomore Zach Isaacs said. “I mean, she [Riesch] had more medals, but Lindsey was expected to take it all.”

Shaun White’s dominance in Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe brought him a second gold medal and more fans, especially with the unveiling of his new trick, the Double McTwist 1260. Sophomore Luke Vandewater enjoyed watching White’s performance, but he cited a different kind of race as his favorite.

“[My  favorite was] that one event where the girl got completely trashed by the pole, the Swedish girl, not Lindsey Vonn,” sophomore Luke Vandewater said.

Wipeouts were aplenty in many of the events and drew viewers, but senior Kelsey Corbett looks forward to another heavily favored event.

“I’m super pumped for Women’s hockey finals because Canada’s going to win gold,” Corbett said, supporting her native country.

Hockey, snowboarding, skiing, and figure skating may be crowd favorites, but one event has drawn a large following in these Vancouver Games.

“Curling. Curling’s the number one sport, best one in the Olympics,” sophomore Charles Logan Knotts said.