That’s the 29th Olympiad, of which we are in. These just happen to be the games that fall on that cycle. An Olympiad is four years and these are the games during the 29th one.
I’ve been able to get to a few events. Water Polo and Boxing were great. A friend of me gave me a ticket to boxing but I had to get my own tickets for water polo. A few weeks ago, I stood in line for four and a half hours waiting to buy tickets. I was the only foreigner but the 50 RMB ticket was worth the wait.
Watching Olympic-caliber water polo was great. Finally I saw teams doing things that coaches have been beating into my brain for years! Players would actually wing out at half court. Upon a kick-out, the man-up play was set up instantly. And of course it was awesome seeing these guys get so far out of the water and just nail shots from anywhere.
At halftime the infamous Olympic Fuwa came out. Think of the Fuwa what you want, but it was hilarious seeing them try to dance. They were in big, inflated suits so their mobility was definitely restricted. I wanted to see them fall in the pool and float around helpless…. I don’t know why but it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.
The YingDong Natatorium is across the fourth ring road in the Olympic Sports Center. The 9:30 morning session was packed! By the third game of the session there wasn’t an empty seat to be had.
Boxing was at the Workers Gymnasium, right across the street from the Workers Stadium. The place is a decent stadium but felt small enough that it seemed like we were right on top of the action.
Just south of the Olympic Sports Center there’s an army outpost or something. There are a bunch of anti-air missile launchers and guys standing behind turrets. I don’t know if this is legit or not, but it was definitely unsettling to walk past what looked like a war zone just meters from Olympic venues.
Lately, Beijing has seen some nice weather. Today is the third sunny day in four days. For Beijing, that’s impressive.
More photos…
you’re sick!!