Wrestling Blogs - Terry Steiner

HEJ! (Swedish Hello)

As we prepare to leave Beijing it is time to reflect a bit on the experience. First of all let it be known that The Peoples Republic of China has done a TREMENDOUS job of hosting The Olympic Games. The people here have been very hospitable and gracious, and are going out of there way to help people out.

The Beijing Olympics compared to Athens Olympics. This will go down as one of the best run Olympics in History. I know a lot of problems are probably handled behind the scenes like in most business, but from a coaches perspective this was very well run and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has kept the athletes at the for front. The have made it very easy on the athletes, coaches and teams. Everything ran on time. There was never an issue with buses running late or buses being stuck in traffic BOCOG thought of all the little things to help make it a great experience.

The Volunteers - What needs to be said. They gave at least 3 weeks of there life working long hours to be a part of the games. The Olympic Games would not work without these gracious volunteers. They were ALWAYS polite and KIND and went the extra mile everytime. The Chinese people are very caring and kind people. They were great ambassadors for there Great Country. Last night a volunteer was getting of duty and went out of her way to accomodate us. For 2 hours she sat and talked to us about the Chinese Culture and never once thought twice about her time - she just wanted us to appreciate and learn the culture.
The proximity of the Venues/Village were a lot better than Athens. I realize each city will be different but everything seemed pretty close and easy to get to. Again, the transportation was very organized.

The Wrestling Venue was first class. From the seating to the mats, to the locker rooms, sauna, warm-up area all areas were very well thought out and very well maintained during the competition. The organization of the tournament as well ran very smooth. It was well spaced, the competition did not seem rushed or long. It was very predictable.
Life in the Village right now s starting to loosen up. Most athletes are starting to finish up with the Games, so everyone seems to be relaxing more, hanging out, laughing and congregating all over the place. It is like one big tailgate. Everyone is having a good time. You see a lot of people dressed up at night going out and having a good time. Others in the Games / recreation area. Others in the cafeteria- it is kind of the hangout place. It just seems very calm right now. Everyone may not be satisfied but it seems that everyone is appreciating the greatness of the games.

I just want to talk a little bit about the overall competition of the wrestling at the games. We had the opportunity to experience greatness on 2 ends of the spectrum. Borveisa Satiev was crowned with his 3 Olympic Title and Young Henry Cejudo was crowned with his 1st - I think the question is - How Many world and Olympic Titles can Henry win? It was great to see both of them. Also, Yoshida and Icho have now won 2 titles - What are there future plans?


China Facts
1- we figured it out to put your kid through college in China would cost you about $2,000 US Dollars - to put you ki through college in the states will cost you about $80,000 for tuition and fees. ????

2- In China when writing your name your write your family name first and your given names second.

3- In China they are now opening 1 new Power Plant each week.

4- Shanghai will have 2,000 new sky scrapers in the next 10 years.

5- 50,000 pedestrian deaths each year in Beijing

It has been a great trip - Not only the Olympic Games but Beijing and the people of China.

Next up for the women's program is the 2008 World Championships in Tokyo. We start a camp on September 1st and have the World Team Trials on the September 20th.

Thank You all for being a great audience. We are at the airport leaving Beijing right now!

Over and Out!

GODKVÄLL (Swedish Good Evening)