Athletics (8/16)

Women's Javelin
Women's 800m Semi-final
Women's Shotput Final
Men's 100m Semi-final
Women's 100m Round 2
Men's 400m Hurdles Semi-final
Men's Longjump Qualifier
Women's Heptathlon 800m
Men's 100m Final

Athletics presented us with our first opportunity to enter the Bird's Nest. Luckily, it was a beautiful day and we made it to the venue in plenty of time to take in all the action. The Bird's Nest truly is an amazing piece of architecture and it was incredible to have to opportunity to visit it a number of times.

We were close to the Long Jump and Shotput area of the Stadium, where the third leg of a 4x100m relay would start. We had seats on the first tier, which was incredible, because we could see all of the athletes walking by to go to their various events. Athletics definitely brought out a feeling of Olympic spirit - moreso than any other event, especially with athletes all around stretching, warming up and competing.



One exciting event was the women's Shotput final. None of the women will be winning a beauty contest any time soon, but they sure are strong. There were four Chinese participants and two Americans, amongst others. New Zealand's Valerie Vili ended up winning the gold - which was New Zealand's first gold in Track and Field since 1976. She was understandably excited.

We watched the final event of the Women's Heptathlon - the 800m race. A Brazilian won the Heptathlon, but Hyleas Fountain, an American got Silver. It was great to see her celebrating with the American flag around the field.

One, if not the most, exciting part of the night came at the very end with the Men's 100m final. We had the chance to see the 22-year-old Jamaican, Usain Bolt, break the world record. He let up at the end, but still killed the other runners. It took awhile for the fact that we had just witnessed the fastest man on earth - ever.