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 August
30 – IT’S
OVER. What else can be said about the recent Olympic Regatta and the
Games themselves? Most of the day was spent packing up everything to be
shipped home by container. The venue is a virtual ghost town with sea
seagulls now the primary inhabitants instead of sailing’s 400 Olympic
athletes.
 We headed to the Plaka for some last minute shopping as well as dinner
before the Closing Ceremonies. We got to the stadium early to get to
our seats and found ourselves six rows up from the infield – next to
where the athletes would march in and in close proximity to the Olympic
Torch. There was a lot of traditional Greek music and dancing prior to
speeches about how much the Games meant to Greece. Then the Athletes
paraded in as one whole group, not country by country as in Opening
Ceremonies. We saw most of our Team but they could not hear us over the
tremendous noise.
The Olympic Flag was passed from the mayor of Athens to the mayor of
Beijing and IOC President Jacque Rogge – himself a sailor – called for
the “youth of the world to gather four years from now in Beijing for the
XXXIX Olympiad.” The flame was extinguished and then the celebrating
began on the infield before we all headed home.
 This will be my final report and I want to thank the entire 2004 US
Olympic Sailing Team for putting out such tremendous effort. I also
need to thank my wife, Jan, who not only volunteered at the Media
Center, but who also edited these reports and posted them each day along
with the accompanying photos, as well as our daughter, Alanna, who
shared a once-in-a-lifetime experience with her parents over the last
three weeks.
Until Beijing --- Jonathan |
