Fast Track

I didn't go on any adventures yesterday because I wanted to get to sleep in order to get up earlier and watch the men's 100m final live on TV at the hotel before going to work.

It was worth it, as the race was very exciting, and Usain Bolt won with a time of 9.63 seconds (the second fastest time ever, behind his 9.59 world record from a few years ago).

Consider also that this was the fastest 100m final ever, with record times for places 3 to 7.  Unfortunately, Asafa Powell pulled up with an injury, or else this would have been a race with all 8 finalists under 10 seconds (Powell has run under 10 seconds 88 times, more than any other person).

The lightning bolt pose has become a meme on the internet, much like the Tebowing phenomena from last year, so I thought I would get in on the act!

Oscar Pistorius did not qualify for the final of the men's 400m, but will still compete in the 4x400m relay later this week.

Just because I didn't go anyhwere yesterday doesn't mean that I didn't see anything interesting.  It turns out that the women's Marathon course runs right by my hotel, so I had to walk along part of the course after getting off the tube on the way home, and managed to snap a decent shot of some of the runners...

Also yesterday, history was made, with female Boxing making it's first appearance in the Olympics. Canada has a contender in the 75kg class with Mary Spencer.

Tomorrow, Phylicia George will race in the women's 100m hurdles.  I wrote about her in my Renting the Podium post.  In that post, I linked to an article about her by National Post writer, Sean Fitzgerald.  In the "its a smal world" category, when I arrived in London, I ended up riding with with Sean and his photographer on the train from the airport. 

We had been chatting about the hurdling event, and I mentioned that I had read a great article in the National Post about Phylicia, and he said "I wrote that" - like I said, small world.  Anyway, ahead of her race tomorrow, Sean has written another article about her, and her relationship with her mother Glenna (who worked with Susan at Bunnomatic in Aurora), and who, sadly, passed away two years ago.  Please read, it will make you cry...