SoCal Winter Olympians 2022

Halfpipe

There are several 2022 Beijing Olympians from SoCal, but today we are only going to talk about two of them.

Chloe Kim of Torrance

Chloe won the gold in 2018 and going for back to back gold medals on women's halfpipe.

Yes, she won and no one was even close. She will be back for multiple more olympics if she so chooses. 

Shaun White of Los Angeles

Shaun, competing in his fifth and last winter olympics and he was going for a fourth gold medal.

He went out in style and fought to the end. Triple gold medalist in the men's halfpipe, Shaun fell on his third run and failed to get a higher score. He ended up just out of a medal, in fourth place. 

When he started competing in his first olympics in 2006, he was the youngest, in 2022 he was the oldest. As Shaun is exiting the games, Chloe is just at her peak.

Men's Olympic Basketball - Shocker

American Arrogance

The United States has dominated men's olympic basketball since the start. 

Granted the Soviet Union beat the US in a freak win in 1972 and that they didn't compete in the 1980 Moscow games, they have always touted that they were the best in the world. And they were.

And the third place finish in Seoul Korea 1988 happened. The resulting shame was unbearable, the best of the best vowed to send only their very best players and so they did in 1992.

Dream Team

The Dream Team of Michael, Magic, Bird, Barkley, Malone, Stockton, Ewing, Robinson, Drexler, Pippen and the rest of the team needed to prove to the world that the US is still home of the greatest basketball players and that the NBA is still the best league on the planet.

And every four years since, they sought to send their very best.

But of course they became complacent and arrogant again. And so have another big loss again in 2004 in Greece. 

Redeem Team

The result was the Redeem Team of 2008 -- a team composed of Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Kidd, Carmelo, Dwight, Paul, Bosh, Deron Williams and others.

Of course, they achieved what was expected of them, like the original Dream Team but again after several years of basketball dominance, complacency and arrogance are to be their worst enemies again.

2021 Tokyo

After France beat the Americans in the Basketball World Cup in 2019, France once again beat them in the first official game of the 2020 Olympics (being played in 2021) -- the first official Team USA lost since 2004.

I dare say, this could be the start of a second Redeem Team in the making. Americans just haven't learned their lesson. Or American basketball players of today just do not care to show the world that they are the best anymore or worse if they are not even the best in the sport that they originated and love anymore.

(American football is not an Olympic sport, USA Men's soccer team didn't make the cut. Baseball is a relatively new Olympic sport and the  US Men's baseball team have not even won an Olympic gold medal in baseball yet.)

   

Opinion: 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics

The Summer Olympic Games that was supposed to take place last year finally opened today (Friday, July 23rd 2021).

The tradition continues as the world once again comes together to find out and honor who is:

Citius. Altius. Fortius.

Faster. Higher. Stronger.

We have Japan to thank for not giving up, despite every drama, every obstacle and every criticism they have to face, conquer and push through.

Japan

Thanks to them the dreams of thousands of athletes, trainers, coaches and everyone competing in the Olympics are being fulfilled. And thanks to the Japanese people, the hopes of billions of other people all over the world who are supporting and rooting for their friends, family and fellow citizens are being realized.

Together

This year, the Olympics is pushing for peace and solidarity, to help make the world a better place through sports as they once again light the fire of the Olympic cauldron (incidentally lighted by Naomi Osaka who embodies so many of us who are battling mental health issues).

1,824 drones forming the globe spinning and hanging above the Opening Ceremonies

Respect

There were no crowds in the stands as the athletes wearing face masks march for the opening of the games.

All of them looking proud and joyous.

But some athletes will be taking the opportunity and this stage as a flatform for their protests as we have already seen in the preliminary games, as well as way back during the Olympic trials.

We cannot prevent any of these, it is everyone's right to do so. Yet what is hard to swallow is while these individuals are indeed protesting something real and something really important in their home countries (particularly the USA), many of these athletes and millions of the people they represent are in far worse situations and cannot ever think of doing any of these protest actions without getting kicked out of their national teams or worse, their communities and their countries. Let us be sensitive that as some complain about having no shoes to wear, let us be a little mindful that we are with and among other people who have no feet or legs.

Closer shot of the drones

Conscious

If we give most athletes in these games a chance to trade places with these American athletes, they will in a heart beat. We have already heard of that one athlete who went missing in Tokyo ahead of the games. He presumably left a note saying his life in his home country was too difficult and he wanted to stay and work in Japan. Not every country and not every city has the benefit of hosting these games, only the ones who can afford them. This is a good time to think about how fortunate we are, if we live in countries able to host these games. 

Emotional

The Summer Olympics return to Tokyo for a second time and it has truly been an emotional return. The games would have easily been cancelled, but something like this, which has been taking place for thousands of years, which only happens once every four years, as we mentioned only to a select few cities and which takes an awful lot to put together is just too big an opportunity and a blessing not to push through.

Only Chance

For some, these would be their first and only chance to be an Olympian and to proudly represent their nation, for a few who have already been, these could be their last chance. For several countries this could be their chance to win a gold medal and for a few, this could be their chance to win their nation's first medal, ever.

For many this is their only respite away from their homelands still embroiled in war and pestilence.

So much is at stake. So many dreams waiting to be realized. A few athletes got infected with Covid-19 but fought back and are now representing their individual nations. So let us put aside our personal agenda and look at the big picture. Not everything revolves around us (or the US).

These games should be about the indomitable spirit, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Let us all go all out and strive to be the fastest, the highest, the strongest, the best, together.

Let the Games begin!

(In 2028, the Summer Games will return to SoCal)

Olympics Profile: Japan Back for More in 2012

Tower Bridge Olympic Lighting, London - July 2012

Japan is in the world's third top economy. And, arguably, it got there in record time, following utter destruction at the end of the Second World War.

In fact, only 20 years after the war it showed the world how far it had come by hosting the 1964 Summer Olympics. And not content with that, Japan hosted two more Olympic Games, the Winter Olympics of 1972 and 1998. All in just a span of 50 years after WWII.

Japan has not only proven itself an economic giant, it also displays its prowess in these Games--all of which are fruits of its resilience, technological skills and strong work ethics.

Here is a short profile of Japan and its Olympic tradition and history:

Country name: Japan

Region: Northeast Asia

Population: 127,368,088 (July 2011 estimate - 10th in the world)

Land Area: 377,915 sq km (slightly smaller than California)

Best Summer Olympics Medal Haul: 37 medals (Athens, 2004)

Best Winter Olympics Medal Haul: 10 medals (Nagano, 1998)

Notable Sports: Judo, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, synchronized swimming, athletics, volleyball

Notable Olympians:

Tadahiro Nomura is only one among Japan's world famous judo athletes. In the Olympics, he is the only judoka to have won three gold medals in a row (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004).

Sawao Kato is the most productive Japanese Olympic gymnast of all time. He led the Japanese team to three team gold medals. In three Olympics (1968, 1972 and 1976), he has compiled a total of 12 medals (8 golds, 3 silvers, 1 bronze). Currently, he is one of roughly 10 athletes to have won eight or more Olympic gold medals.

Kosuke Kitajima is one of Japan's best known swimmers. He has won four Olympic gold medals in two Olympics. He struck Olympic gold for the men's 100m and 20m breaststroke twice in a row at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Other Olympic facts: The Japanese Olympic Committee was founded in 1911 and Japan participated for the first time at the Games of the V Olympiad in Stockholm 1912, and the Winter Olympic Games in St. Moritz in 1928.

Before hosting the Summer Olympics of 1964, Tokyo won the bid to host the games back in 1940. But because of WWII, the 1940 Games came to be known as the "Tokyo Olympics that never were."

Japan is one of only two nations to have won team Olympic gold in men`s gymnastics five times -- Japan winning it straight from 1960 to 1976 and the former Soviet Union winning in 1952, 1956, 1980, 1988 and 1992. Japan is also dominant in men's wrestling and has won medals in this discipline in every Olympics since 1952 (excluding the 1980 boycotted games).

Current 2012 Olympians: Seven Japanese Olympic athlete profiles

Notable Olympians in the 2012 London Olympics:

Hiroshi Hoketsu: An equestrian who first competed in show jumping in the 1964 Summer Games. In London 2012, Hiroshi will be the Games' oldest competitor. He was also the oldest athlete in Beijing, where he competed in 2008. At the London Games, he will be 71 years old. Hoketsu earned his spot by topping in the International Equestrian Federation's Asia-Oceania individual dressage rankings.

Japan's World Cup-winning Women's Soccer Team. So, even though the reason these ladies are in the news as of late is that they flew into London economy class, while their Japanese male counterparts came in business class, this shouldn't be all that we should be talking about these lady athletes.

What we ought to remember is how these ladies flew under the radar, surprising many top teams and upsetting everyone else in the 2011 Soccer World Cup. These London Games is their chance to show the world that they weren't a fluke and the perfect venue for Hope Solo, Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan and the rest of the members of the 2008 Olympic gold-medal U.S. Women's Soccer Team to redeem themselves.

Writer has been following the Summer Olympics since the 1970s. He has trained in the same gym alongside Olympic athletes in the Korean sport of taekwondo when it first became an Olympic demonstration and finally as an official sport in the late 80s into the 1990s.

Originally published at Yahoo! US Sports in fulfillment of Yahoo! Contributor Network Olympic 2012 Country Profile Assignment.

Photo Credit: David Iliff,  Wikipedia Commons

Summer Olympics: Australia Ready for the Games

2012 Olympic field hockey team Australia

Australia isn't called the Land Down Under for nothing. In fact, because it's way down there, most countries have nothing in common with the people living there. For years it has been cut off from the rest of the world and the seasons are completely reversed from that of countries in most of the known world. Australia a totally different plant and animal life, with the people living densely in the coastal areas.

Having been no stranger to water, Australians have always made a splash in the Summer Olympic Games since they joined the first modern games in Athens. Australia has hosted the Summer Games twice, the last one in Sydney in 2000, placing fourth place overall. They also placed fourth four years later in Athens.

And although Australia placed sixth in Beijing, 2008, it is still a team to watch in London.

Country name: Australia

Population: 22,015,576 (July 2011 estimate)

Median Age: 37.7 years

Literacy: 99 percent

Land Area: 7,741,220 sq km (world's smallest continent, sixth largest country)

Best Summer Olympics Medal Haul:

58 medals Sydney 2000 (16 gold, 25 silver, 17 bronze)

Notable Sports:

Swimming, rowing, cycling, sailing, athletics

Other Notable Facts:

Although Australia is a big place, its territories are largely unpopulated. In fact, even if it is almost as big as the entire U.S. Mainland, the whole Australian population is only 22 million. This isn't a big number, considering that this is already about half the people of what most major cities have in many of the major countries around the world.

Anyway, the comparatively smaller number of Australians has resulted in more funding for their athletes and them having one of the highest Olympic medal per person ratios in the world (about one for every 50,000).

Australia remains to be a powerhouse swimming nation, and you can add other water events, such sailing, cycling and canoeing. On land, Australia is great in cycling, equestrian and track.

Notable Olympians: There are many great Australian Olympian,s but very few are well-known all over the world.

Among the few are:

Beth Cuthbert - Competed in the 100, 200 and 400 meters. She struck gold four times in Melbourne 1956 and Tokyo 1964.

Dawn Fraser - One of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times. She won the 100m freestyle gold in three consecutive Olympic games (1956, 1960 and 1964). She also won a fourth gold with the 1956 4x100m freestyle team and won four silver medals total.

Cathy Freeman - A six-time gold medalist in the Commonwealth and World Championship Games is a specialist in the 400 meters. She won the silver in Atlanta 1996 and then finally the gold at Sydney 2000. Cathy is the first female Australian Aboriginal to represent and win a medal for her country.

Ian Thorpe - At the age of 14, she was the youngest male ever to represent Australia in an international competition. Ian isn't called the thorpedo for nothing. His Olympic swimming tally is nine medals, five golds in Sydney and Athens for the 200 and 400m freestyle and the 4x100 and 4x200m freestyle. Sadly, Ian failed to qualify for the London Games.

Among the Notable Olympians in London are:

Sally Pearon (hurdles) - Silver medalist in Beijing 2008

Steve Hooker (pole vault) - Gold medalist in Beijing

Kookaburras and the Hockeyroos (men's and women's hockey teams) - Gold medalists in 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens

Complete Profile List: 2012 Australian Olympic Team Athletes

Writer has enjoyed closely watching the Summer Olympics since the 1984 Games. He lives in the Los Angeles area but has lots of family and friends in Australia.

Originally published at Yahoo! US Sports in fulfillment of Yahoo! Contributor Network Olympic 2012 Country Profile Assignment.

Photo Credit: Delusion23,  Wikipedia Commons