Watch out Jackie Joyner Kersey and Carl Lewis - Team 7450 is taking over Olympia! Yesterday, our hosts in Patras drove us to the site of the first Olympic games. We wrestled in the original Palestra, raced in the first Olympic stadium, and wandered among the ruins of Zeus' temple, workshops, hotels for VIPs, the Schatzhaus (no, it's not what it sounds like...) Unlike the real olympics, we kept our clothes on.
Being in Olympia was surprisingly moving. Standing out on the track brought back the pre-race nerves I used to feel in high school waiting in the starting blocks for the gun to go off or the feeling of standing on the javelin runway in college during a big meet. And seeing where they light the Olympic torch before the Games was unreal. I wish my dad, who used to go to almost all of my track meets, could have been there.
Afterwards, we visited the museum and saw the emotional statue of the Greek god Hermes followed by the "Twelve Labors of Hercules." By the end of the day, we all decided to adopt our tour guide for the day, Theodore, as our team papou (grandfather).
Signing off - Lauren (aka javelin-throwing Kyria Tiri)
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Your comments about the Olympic Games and the venue of the first ones were touching and very personal. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteKyria Tiri is a great name for Lauren.