2009 Maine Summer Olympics

Olympic weekend was a success. Though we had several last second cancellations, it turned out for the best as 14-15 competitors was a perfect number. Any more and we wouldn't have had time to do events like the Home Run Derby and the badminton/ping pong.

We split up into two teams, almost identical to the teams I had originally constructed, and they ended up being evenly matched. In fact, had Manda not injured her foot and sat out the mile run, we could have been tied going into the final event, World Geography. In the end though, Team B, comprised of Ethan, Jesse, Jon, Breanne, Andrea, Jane, Sarah-Jane, and myself, was victorious over Team A, which was Manda, Jake, Mary, Greg, Ryan, Matt, and Nick. Hopefully next year we can have an even number of competitors, but I was very happy with who showed up- it was a great group of Olympians.

The Meet 'n' Greet didn't go as well as planned as several people had trouble finding the place, Manda and Greg were running real late, and a couple of folks decided to come up in the morning. Jesse and Jon were the last to arrive on Friday night, at about 1:45, after Jon flew in from D.C. and Jesse got out of work around 11:30. Everyone was in bed by 2 and most everyone was up by 7:30 the next morning.

On Saturday, after breakfast, I read the Opening Ceremonies speech I wrote while eating half a bagel. Just before we left, Ryan and Sarah-Jane showed up and then Nick. We jumped in some vehicles and drove up to Farmingdale to do the Derby. The Derby took way too long, and as many people suggested later, we should have just played a shortened game of softball. Of course, then we wouldn't have witnessed the clinic Ethan put on. He hit 10 home runs, 6 more than everyone else combined. Jon and I each hit two, and I edged him in fence shots. Breanne took a lot of great pictures of everyone swinging.

Medals: Gold, Ethan. Silver, Luke. Bronze, Jon.

After the Derby we scooted over to the track at Hall-dale to do the 100m dash. It was a bit disorganized, with Ethan and I running back and forth trying to get the right people on the line and synchronizing the starts. Everyone got to run in at least two dashes, and it was an exhausting event. Team B had a bit more speed. I established the Maine Olympic record with a time of 12.6 in one of the heats. All the competition made me run quite a bit faster. The final heat was Jon, Greg, and me. I was told it was very close but I haven't seen any pictures yet.

Medals: Gold, Luke. Silver, Greg. Bronze, Jon.

A bit tired, we decided to head back to the house for lunch. We ate some sandwiches and prepared for badminton and ping pong, which went on concurrently. We eliminated the loser's round games to save time. Definitely the biggest upset of the Olympics, Manda beat Ethan in the semifinals and ended up taking Badminton. I think Ethan was exhausted from having to play Greg and then me in the first two rounds. Manda was also playing some mad badminton, getting to shuttlecocks that seemed out of her reach. Ping Pong wasn't as competitive as I didn't have to play Manda or Ethan, but faced Greg in the final. Greg's game, a tricky serve and overhand spike, are better suited against Manda, I believe. I tried to beat him 21-12 but it didn't work.

(B)Medals: Gold, Manda. Silver, Jon. Bronze, Ethan.

(PP)Medals: Gold, Luke. Silver, Greg. Bronze, Manda.

Before anyone could get too hungry, we hopped back in the cars and drove back to Hall-dale. Our first event was the premier event of the Olympics, the mile run. I had been dreading/anticipating the mile for a long time, but it went OK. I was bummed that Manda couldn't run because of her foot, and it made my medal feel unearned. With Manda running in the race I wasn't going to finish in the top 3. Greg and Jake busted out of the gate and nobody saw them again, except when they lapped most everyone. Greg pulled ahead after two laps but Jake still stayed well ahead of Nick and I. Nick stayed ahead of me for almost three full laps but I eventually overtook him and sped up over the last 200 to lose him. Jake correctly predicted his time, 5:30, while Greg ran an easy 5:02. It was clear he could have gone faster. I finished at 6:26, not a good time for me, but good enough for third. Nick was just 10 seconds behind me, and Ethan finished in 6:52, a very impressive time when you consider his past knee problems and the fact that he never ever runs. Breanne broke 8 minutes and beat Andrea, which was her goal.

Medals: Gold, Greg. Silver, Jake. Bronze, Luke.

Next was Wrickle and Disc golf. Team B did Wrickle while Team A played disc golf. Wrickle was a lot of fun. Andrea was the best soccer player in our group so we stuck her in the middle of the circle and she tried to bounce the ball to us. To get a "wrickle" everyone has to touch the ball before it hits the ground. We had 6 or 7, I can't remember. Jesse and Jon seemed to enjoy Wrickle the most. After about 10 minutes we were all so tired from having done the mile and everything else that our wrickling deteriorated.

Team A recorded more Wrickles than us but we did well in disc golf. I shot a -1 on the 5 hole, Par 3 course, and Ethan, Greg, and Jake tied at 17. All the players tied after 5 holes went into tie-breaker holes. Nick and Mary were the most evenly matched as they ended up playing the whole course again before the tie was broken. Ethan's skills eventually ousted both Jake and Greg.

(DG)Medals: Gold, Luke. Silver, Ethan. Bronze, Jake.

(W)Medals: Gold, Team A. Silver, Team B.

Back to the house, for burgers and the final event. Since we could only find a skinny shitty white rope, we opted to drop Tug-of-war. So that left World Geography. The teams score was actually 415-408 after 7 events, so Geography would decide it all. At that point I was confident we were going to win as Ethan, Breanne and I were three of the top Geo-athletes, Manda being the other one. I finished uncontested, 202 countries/regions in 12:46, but 2nd and 3rd place were extremely close. Breanne beat Ethan by 10 seconds, but he had actually finished filling in his maps and was checking over some answers. He heard Breanne shuffling and assumed she would check answers too but she didn't and registered her score before he could. Manda was just a few seconds later, but she mixed two countries up so wasn't in the running any way. Ethan, Breanne and I all had perfect scores. Jesse's and Greg's answers were some of the best, with several St. Jerome's and a Jupiter.

Medals: Gold, Luke. Silver, Breanne. Bronze, Ethan.

People were pretty pooped after that last event, but I did the medal ceremonies so people that were leaving could see it. Jake presented the Wrickle MVP's to Matt and Andrea and I handed out the rest of the awards. I won 1st individual overall, Ethan was second, and Greg was third, barely edging out Jon (by 1 point!). More importantly, Team B took home The Ouiji Cup, the chalice filled with candy.

It was an exhausting weekend but extremely fun. I wish we could have a winter Olympics but I'll probably just have to wait till next summer. Greg and Manda are hosting the next one in Gray, ME. They're thinking of having a triathlon.