Sequim Gazette Editorial and Letters to the Editor

For two weeks every four years, I am glued to the ultimate reality show.

Everything about the Summer Olympic Games fascinates me - the cheesy music, the dramatic montages of athletes, the medal ceremonies, even Bob Costas. I watch everything from the popular sports, such as gymnastics, swimming and track and field to the more obscure ones such as archery and modern pentathlon.

During my childhood as a gymnast, then as a rhythmic gymnast, I dreamt of being on that podium with a medal around my neck, waving to my adoring fans, perhaps even on a Wheaties box. After I found out that most Olympic-bound gymnasts practice for eight hours a day, six or seven days a week, often despite throbbing injuries, I set my sights on a Pulitzer, instead. However I maintained my love for the Games because I think many life lessons can be learned from a two-week period during which the United States and Iraq, Muslims and Jews and Christians compete not for power but for a small, circular medal tied with a flimsy ribbon.

The Games prove that the most touted athlete may not end up at the top of the podium after all: The 2000, American Greco-Roman wrestler Rulon Gardner defeated Russian Alexander Karelin, who had remained unbeaten for an astonishing 13 years. Four years later, the Puerto Rican basketball team beat the seemingly unbeatable American Dream Team by 19 points and took the gold medal.

It is a world stage where all countries, and all athletes, have the chance to be equal: The Soviet Union, which was a turbulent area for many years and dissolved in 1991, still has won the most gold medals in men's or women's gymnastics. Ethiopia, a country that steadily remains one of the poorest in the world and where the average life expectancy is 53, has won 28 medals, most of them gold. The United Kingdom, which is the 22nd most populated country in the world, is sending 1,500 athletes to Beijing while India, which has a population of over 1 billion, is only sending 10. Rich or poor, crowded or sparse, each country is equal at the Games.

For that reason, I applaud President George Bush for being one of the few G-8 leaders to decide against boycotting the Beijing opening ceremonies, saying that not attending would be "an affront to the Chinese people." Other leaders, such as U.K prime minister Gordon Brown and German chancellor Angela Merkel, have declined to attend the ceremonies due to China's less-than-great human rights record.

"(I don't) need the Olympics to express my concerns," Bush said.

For once, I would have to agree.

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games air on NBC beginning Aug. 8.