What am I Doing Here?

The Olympics

Day 4085
The Olympics-Facts and History
There are two sets or variations of the most admired and watched athletic event. They were the Summer and Winter Olympics. The original Olympics were designed to honor the god Zeus in 776BC. I thinks it must have been in warm weather because the colder Olympics, the Winter Olympics would be hard to prepare for and conduct. They were held in ancient Greece and for the most part, the athletes were in the nude. This was to make sure that men were in the men's section and women were in the women's section.
I did not find out about the timing and the other facts but I am sure it was all worked out.
Today's Olympics, held every 4 years for each Winter and Summer Olympics are eagerly waited for. Athletes work in their training very hard. And for the US the trials to make it to the Olympics are very important.
I enjoy watching both kinds of Olympics. The events are in cities that change every next event. Now we have the opportunity to see the glamor and wonder of the winter events. This is in Italy. The 2024 summer olympics was in Paris, France. I am sure that to go to any event, one would have to pay a small fortune.

For Me
I am a little partial to the Summer Olympics since I participate in a sport called fencing. It is compared to mental chess games. I love the quickness and finesse of the sport. A long time ago women could only fence in foil. Today women can fence foil, epee and saber. It is the same as the men fence. A competitor can only qualify for one weapon. There is a team part with women fencing another country's team. However the women and men cannot fence opposite gender's opponents.
I have fenced for about 14 years and qualified for the US National Championships in fencing for 13 years. Each year was in a different city in the US. That was fun for me, but expensive. And when a weapon broke, that resulted in more expenses.
I did have the pleasure to fence former Olympians in Houston when I lived there. Let's just say I was good, but not enough to beat the well coached and trained fencer. And I enjoyed the long and exhausting footwork. To me it was a great way to meet people and work on keeping my body trim.
I could go on but like other athletes, one must work hard, and put a lot of time into this sport. Coaches are good to have. Practice 2-3 times a week are valuable. And the relaxation afterwards at Pizza Hut allowed us to be friends instead of opponents. Talk was about the upcoming tournaments. And the best part was these people were friends for a long time. I miss those days.
If a young person wanted to learn fencing, I would let him/her know that this sport is fun and special. One can get hurt, in which case I did. But to see a smile on someone's face when they held up the trophy, was heartwarming.
You can see fencing in some of the old time movies. And yes the actors had to learn the sport because most directors wanted scenes to be authentic. I was offered to take a lesson in California with the teacher of Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn. He was old and took students only on referral by someone he knew. Yes that was a long time ago but that was when I fenced. I'd go back in a heartbeat if my legs could do a proper En Garde. But time has given me a few changes I'd like to undo.
Take care everyone. If you want to fence, find a club and check it out. It will be fun.