Getting older and slower by the minute - updated
I’m sitting in the Bird’s Nest waiting for the first of nine heats in the first round of the men’s 800 meters. And I’m aging by the minute.
Sixty-one runners from 43 nations are scheduled to compete in the 800, which is two laps around the track. Glancing over the competitors’ fastest times is a humbling experience.
The slowest runner looks to be Derek Mandell, a 21-year-old from Guam. His best time of just under two minutes is 18 seconds slower than the world record, but it is more than a minute faster than I can ever dream of running 800 meters.
Twenty-four runners from the heats will advance to Thursday’s semifinals -- the top two finishers from each heat and the next eight fastest runners.
Mandell has little chance of advancing, but I’ll be rooting for him not to finish last. Hopefully he can beat Souleymane Ould Chebal, a 21-year-old from Mauritania, whose best time is 1:56.07.
UPDATE - Mandell finished last, but with a personal-best time of 1:57.48, just .05 seconds behind Chebal. Three of the 61 scheduled runners did not compete, however, so Mandell can say he "beat" them.
Bird's Nest before races start
Who's got your number?
a PB is a PB, but even more so at the Olympics
Kudos to Mandell for beating his own personal best, even though finishing last among those who actually competed at Beijing! It would have been easy to just go through the motions knowing that you have little hope of making it to the final 24, much less medaling. And thank you to David for reporting on it! We all benefit from the personal observations of someone witnessing this historic event firsthand. I was as touched by this story as by any gold medal winning tale, if not more so. That's what the Olympics are all about.