The Olympics are always a source of national pride for most Americans. Cynicism quadrennially permeates the edges of the games. There can be uplifting results shrouded in the World’s congoing calamities. Tunisian President Saied sacked the government and declared emergency powers. That did not slow 18-year-old Ahmed Hafnaouif who just won the second swimming Gold Medal in Tunisia history. He barely made the final and was relegated to the 8th lane, swimming through his more heralded competitor’s wash. They were all paying attention to each other, and no one saw the teenager streaking along the gutter to snatch the gold. It was a dramatic victory and a short-term elixir for the Tunisians. His countryman rejoiced his golden victory while the tenet of their fledgling democracy was put to the test. The Chinese and Russian, I mean ROC athletes bring their grit and joy to their pursuits. Far different than the stoic, hostile exchanges forged by our collective governments. The competition is fierce but the camaraderie among the athletes at all levels is refreshing and the way it should be at all levels.
Small towns across American revel in the brilliance of their local Olympians. The whole town has known about these athletes since they were progenies. In the Olympics, the whole world gets to hear their stories as curated by NBC. The stories are compelling and heartfelt. Lee Kiefer is a four-time NCAA champion hailing from Lexington, KY. Yard Staff had never heard of her, and we do not believe she had a Wikipedia page until last Sunday AM. She pulled in the first medal in the foil in US history and it was gold. The 5’4” warrior beat the defending gold medal champion from Russia. Russia has been winning fencing medals since the Bolsheviks. Lee Kiefer, you just won the gold medal. What are you going to do now? Finishing medical school, she is a third-year student, and she will hopefully be back in Paris in 2024 for her 4th Olympics.
Lydia Jacoby is going to start her senior at Seward high school in the fall. Seward Alaska has a population of 2236 nestled in the inlet of Prince William Sound. Seward HS does not have an Olympic regulation pool and there isn’t one in Alaska. She was taking on the brash Lilly King who has won one every 100 meters breaststroke race since winning gold in Rio in 2016. King stares down here competition on the starting blocks and backs it up. Jacoby, who has been driving 130 miles each way to train in Anchorage in subpar facilities, was not intimidated or denied. She came to swim and was not in the pre race conversation. The conversation is all about Jacoby now. If you have not viewed the celebration at the Seward High School cruise ship terminal watch party, look it up on YouTube. The joy and elation that Lydia delivered to her classmates is something they will vicariously remember forever.
Then we turned our attention to US women’s volleyball and there stalking the sidelines, the legendary Karch Kiraly. His name sounds like the one called legend! Kiraly will always be a Bruin first and foremost to the Yard. Karch grew up on the mean streets of Santa Barbara dominating the beach volleyball scene as a teenager before enrolling at UCLA to play for another legend Al Scates. The Yard and Karch shared some years in common at UCLA. We did not get to share a beer, but I am sure he had a few as a member of Lambda Chi. During the hall of fame outside hitter’s tenure, the Bruins compiled a record of 129-5, recorded the first undefeated season 30-0 in NCAA history, and won three NCAA Titles. Kiraly was not done with volleyball when he graduated with his biochemistry degree. He would lead the US Olympic Men’s team to their first gold at the LA games in 1984. Since volleyball was introduced in 1964 at the first Tokyo Olympics, Russian was the dominant volleyball program winning three of the first five gold medals. The Russians boycotted the 1984 games as payback for Jimmy C holding the US team from going to Moscow when Russia invaded Afghanistan, go figure. Nonplussed, Karch came back to lead the US to the 1988 Olympics and soundly thrash the Russians in the gold medal match. Kiraly had already transitioned to beach volleyball before those Olympics and in the aftermath, he gave up the hard wood for the sand. He would win the 1996 Beach Volleyball gold becoming the first and only player to win gold in both formats. He was voted the greatest volleyball player of the 20th century. There are not many hall of famers coaching but Kiraly has quietly coached the US Women’s team for nearly a decade. He is not doing it for the Benjamins. He has been coaching the team since 2013 with a record of 238-48 and a bronze in Rio. They want more in Tokyo and started their march towards the title by taking down the mighty Chinese in pool play. The teams are fierce and resilient like their coach. We are cheering for a golden finish.
The Olympics is working furiously to cultivate a younger audience. Younger audiences propagate the legacy and the games. The addition of skateboarding, rock climbing and surfing brings in younger competitors and audience demographics. 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya of Japan became the youngest gold medal winner in Olympic history. She won one of the skateboard competitions beating out her 15- & 16-year-old competitors. Not only is the Olympics getting younger, they are getting more entertaining. The women’s 3X3 basketball has been very fun for Yard staff. The game is played with the willful aggressiveness we played on the half courts of our youth. Fouls are rarely called unless belligerent. Steals are borderline muggings, and you must clear the ball to the top of the key. The US team lead by Kelsey Plum has raced to the semifinals. Plum is a Yard favorite with her perpetual scowl, quick smile, and frenetic energy on the court. She plays for the LV Aces and is a team leader. She is an assassin from beyond the arc nailing a crucial 3 pointer to close out China. It is fun game where two pointers are one point, three pointers are two and the first to 21 or whoever is leading after 20 minutes of play wins. Plum is a natural for this street fight with referees. She is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s history. She only trails Pistol Pete for leader in both genders. She is not as famous as Sue Bird and the rest of the UCONN ladies. She is just 27 and at the top of her game. We will be rooting for Kelsey and all the US hoopsters to win gold. The US Men’s 3x3? Did not qualify. US Women hoopsters are dominant. KD and company, not so much.
There will be more Olympic stories from the Yard, it is in our charter. These first days have been the tonic our staff needed. Watching sports with a passion that is only found when they are in the Olympics. We were at the 1984 Olympics in LA and Vancouver in 2010. There are no fans this time and without fans in the venues, we are the fans from our sofas. NBC had made it intimate with remotes with family, friends, and dogs. The exclusivity is inclusive. Winners have been able to FaceTime cry with their parents and the world. It is a weird one but who thought the 2020 Tokyo Olympics would be held in 2021 if at all. USA, USA!
Not so fun Fact: Tokyo Japan was vying to host the 1940 Olympics and was awarded the bid. Hitler’s Nazi Germany had introduced the torch relay when the Fuhrer hosted Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympics. The Nazi’s offered to assist Japan’s efforts with their expertise in torching. When WWII broke out in earnest, the 1940 Games were scrapped. Tokyo was later awarded the 1964 summer Olympics and technological enhancements to timing and scoring were introduced. Germany was awarded the 1972 Olympics. The US lost in basketball, Olga Korbut made her Olympic debut, Mark Spitz won seven golds and Palestinian terrorists killed eleven Israelis athletes and the games marched on.
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