If you were watching the Olympics yesterday, you probably saw Hungarian weightlifter Janos Baranyai's horrific accident. This guy is 77 kgs and while he was trying to do a clean and snatch of 144 kgs, his elbow gives out. I'm sure that he is in a lot of pain at the moment. What is disturbing about the whole incident is that Hungarian officials commented by saying something to the effect that Janos is 24 - he'll be ready for the 2012 games. Whatever happened to "we wish him a speedy recovery" or "let's prioritize his health and well-being before we see if he is fit to continue on to the next games?" This poor guy's career may be over and all his country can think about is how they will see him compete again in the next Olympics. He's probably suffering more emotionally than anything. Well I wish him a speedy recovery. Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Agony of Defeat
If you were watching the Olympics yesterday, you probably saw Hungarian weightlifter Janos Baranyai's horrific accident. This guy is 77 kgs and while he was trying to do a clean and snatch of 144 kgs, his elbow gives out. I'm sure that he is in a lot of pain at the moment. What is disturbing about the whole incident is that Hungarian officials commented by saying something to the effect that Janos is 24 - he'll be ready for the 2012 games. Whatever happened to "we wish him a speedy recovery" or "let's prioritize his health and well-being before we see if he is fit to continue on to the next games?" This poor guy's career may be over and all his country can think about is how they will see him compete again in the next Olympics. He's probably suffering more emotionally than anything. Well I wish him a speedy recovery. 
US Olympic Training Center
There's been a lot of buzz about the Olympics. I've blogged about some of it - both good and bad - but deep down inside, I'm probably more excited about the whole thing than I am willing to show because I know how hard athletes train. I know from personal experience. I almost had a shot at going to the Olympics in 1988 when Taekwondo made its debut as a demonstration sport.
From early 1987 when it was announced that Taekwondo was going to be a demonstration sport at the Seoul Games to the Spring of 1998, I trained hard everyday after school. My training consisted of going down to Shape Gym at the University of Life in Pasig everyday where I went through 3 hours of weights and cardio training. By around 6PM, I'd take a break to grab dinner then come back to Shape at 7PM and train in Taekwondo until 11PM. Unlike many of the athletes in the US, the only support that I got was from my instructor and a couple of the officials from the Philippine Taekwondo Association. To make a long story short, I qualified for a shot at the Philippine Team from the Philippine Olympic Week tournament but because I had torn a hamstring two months prior and didn't have access to the extensive sports injury specialist that many athletes have, I never fully recovered. My citizenship was also questioned and I saw my Olympic hopes come crashing down before my eyes.
That said, we've seen photo after photo of athletes in various events and of venues and other Olympic-related subjects. This weekend, I will be going to the US Olympic Training Center here in San Diego and will take photos of the facilities to share with all of you so that you can get a rare glimpse of what goes on before the games. I've used the Center as backdrops for a few photo shoots in the past but I've never really gone there without a client just to take photos. I will be taking photos of the facilities and the resources that go into making US athletes.
Since I already have a date with a fellow photographer that I was 'bromantically' involved to go take photos of the Star Trek exhibit at Balboa Park on Saturday, I will be going to the facility on Sunday and will have the photos up by that evening - No press pass is required for any of you to view them! So if you've always wanted to get a "behind the scenes" look at the US Olympic program, check back then! If you are a Trekkie, check back on Saturday evening as I will have photos of the Trek exhibit as well.
From early 1987 when it was announced that Taekwondo was going to be a demonstration sport at the Seoul Games to the Spring of 1998, I trained hard everyday after school. My training consisted of going down to Shape Gym at the University of Life in Pasig everyday where I went through 3 hours of weights and cardio training. By around 6PM, I'd take a break to grab dinner then come back to Shape at 7PM and train in Taekwondo until 11PM. Unlike many of the athletes in the US, the only support that I got was from my instructor and a couple of the officials from the Philippine Taekwondo Association. To make a long story short, I qualified for a shot at the Philippine Team from the Philippine Olympic Week tournament but because I had torn a hamstring two months prior and didn't have access to the extensive sports injury specialist that many athletes have, I never fully recovered. My citizenship was also questioned and I saw my Olympic hopes come crashing down before my eyes.
That said, we've seen photo after photo of athletes in various events and of venues and other Olympic-related subjects. This weekend, I will be going to the US Olympic Training Center here in San Diego and will take photos of the facilities to share with all of you so that you can get a rare glimpse of what goes on before the games. I've used the Center as backdrops for a few photo shoots in the past but I've never really gone there without a client just to take photos. I will be taking photos of the facilities and the resources that go into making US athletes.
Since I already have a date with a fellow photographer that I was 'bromantically' involved to go take photos of the Star Trek exhibit at Balboa Park on Saturday, I will be going to the facility on Sunday and will have the photos up by that evening - No press pass is required for any of you to view them! So if you've always wanted to get a "behind the scenes" look at the US Olympic program, check back then! If you are a Trekkie, check back on Saturday evening as I will have photos of the Trek exhibit as well.
Monday, August 4, 2008
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