The Olympics- Two Olympian Moments

I really appreciated both of these stories.

“SAN SICARIO, Italy — She tried to flee the hospital. On Valentine’s Day morning, one day after rolling out of the trauma unit on a gurney, Lindsey Kildow got out of her bed, packed a bag, put on her clothes and made for the exit. She had to be restrained.

And if you need one image of these games, when you look back in 2016 or 2036, let it be that. Let it be the vision of this pretty blonde girl bolting for the door of a hospital after careening over a hill so fast that she sheared open her ski suit upon landing.

Or let it be the image of Kildow at the bottom of the downhill course Wednesday, hunched over, using her poles as crutches, holding back tears, smiling, and then walking gingerly off the mountain upright and without help.”

And

“TORINO, Italy — This Olympic story does not involve an American. Nor does it involve a sport most Americans watch, or play, or even care about.

That doesn’t matter.

This Olympic story is about a Norwegian man, and a Canadian woman, and a simple, split-second act.

That does matter.

The Canadian woman’s name is Sara Renner. She is a cross-country skier. She was in the third lap of a six-lap sprint relay final Tuesday. She was winning. Then, her ski pole snapped. Anyone who has ever laid eyes on snow knows that’s the cross-country skiing equivalent of a torn Achilles.

Renner slowed. A lot. A Finn passed her. A Swede passed her. Then, a Norwegian passed her. There went gold, silver, and bronze.

Enter the Norwegian man, whose name is Bjornar Hakensmoen. He’s the director of cross-country skiing in Norway. He must have been pleased to see his team slide into medal position. The Canadians, after all, were heavily favored.

But Hakensmoen did something both odd and even. He picked up one of his ski poles and handed it to Renner.

It was a men’s pole, 15 centimeters longer than Renner’s, but the Canadian muscled her way to a tag zone and reached her relay partner. The Canadian pair was now 2.5 seconds behind.”

Use the links and read both articles. They’re worth it.