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Showing posts with label Matt Biondi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Biondi. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Olympic Fever

This is not related to anything Asian. I just wanted to share that I have Olympic fever. Just like millions of viewers across the globe, I have been glued to the telly since the opening ceremonies.(Present time excluded)

Tonight, as I was watching the men's swimming preliminaries, I heard a name that I haven't heard in ages come up. Matt Biondi.

In a nutshell, Matt Biondi was an Olympic swimmer who represented the US in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 summer Olympic games. In his Olympic career he won 11 medals.

I happened to meet Matt as he was teaching at a school on the Big Island of Hawaii. I was coordinating a photo shoot for work in which he was one of the participants.

When he walked into the room, I tried to keep my cool, be calm and be professional. But on the inside I was screaming. I had watched this guy swim when I was just a little girl. And he inspired me to want to learn how to swim.

He was an intimidating 6'7". But, let me tell you, as we went through the shoot, I could see he was a down to earth nice guy.

I will forever cherish that moment. Some people have the chance to win gold. I will never be able to have that chance. But at least I was able to shake the hand of one of the greatest swimmers and spend a couple of hours with him.

My Olympic moment. My Olympic memory.

One day I'll share another. My Kyla Ross one. I still can't believe the US women's gymnastic team won gold!