Mark ringo chicago

You walk the wall. For hours. And you do a lot of it with your jaw dropping. That … right there … is what the IOC wants to see in an Olympic city. You can put together the best venue plan, the best transportation system, you can promise that the games will make money. You want the Olympics? Show the world why. Because the IOC views the games as a treasure to be awarded carefully to the city which most deserves it.

Some very obscure places have been awarded the Olympic games. Those places got the games all of those Winter games, by the way, because they put together the perfect combination of venue plan and desire. We are told London was awarded the games because the final sales pitch at the very last minute, beating slam-dunk favorite Paris.

Great cities have been aced out in the past. Perhaps the most beautiful city in America, San Francisco, which would have been an idyllic setting, was forced to drop out in the competition with Chicago, after their stadium plan fizzled out. The bottom line is that no one can dispute the Chinese enthusiasm for the games. Everyone has said Beijing is going to be a tough act to follow. Of course, the opening ceremonies and the magnificent venues will be one reason.

But the enthusiasm of the general public will be another. There have been troubling reports of suppression of dissent to keep up the appearance of happy games. But there is no disputing the genuine enthusiasm of those who are attending. Not everyone leaves Beijing with a medal. Case in point, Christina Loukas. Christina is a delightful young woman from Riverwoods who went to Deerfield High School and has been a standout at the University of Indiana.

Her father, George, is known to thousands of Cub fans as the proprietor of numerous establishments around Wrigley Field, including the famous Cubby Bear. Christina is an incredibly talented athlete who made the US Diving team just two months ago, and competed in the 3m Springboard.

We were there in the Water Cube for the medal round, and there was one signifigant problem — the Chinese divers showed up. The Chinese produce just amazing divers who barely splash when they enter the water. We actually saw 10s go up on the scoreboard from some judges. Combined with that, Christina had a bad time with her fourth dive, a reverse 2 and a half somersault. She recovered on her fifth and final dive, but by then, the point totals were just not in her favor, and she finished in 9th place.

All that training, all of that work, all of that buildup, and it comes down to one night and the bounce of the board. That said, Christina is a champion in every sense of the word.

She was standing in a spot on the edge of that diving well with just 11 other young women. Think about it. She handled herself with grace, and poise, and is the kind of young woman every parent in the United States would like to have as a daughter. I believe she had 17 family members there at the Water Cube from Chicago cheering her on.

They did that because they love her, they respect her, they are proud of her, and losing out in the medal round did nothing to diminish it. I made the mistake one time of referring to a legendary athlete as a former Olympian. I was quickly corrected. No one can take that away. Christina Loukas is an Olympian, and always will be. If you think for one second that everything about these Olympics is not exciting and overwhelming, think again. What you see on television, is exactly what we see here.

The venues are top notch, the operation is swift and smooth with almost no hitches whatsoever. And the people of this city are killing their visitors with kindness. A quick word about us. Remember, this is a city of about 15 million people. No problem.

The Olympic rings are painted on the road every quarter mile or so. And only credentialed cars can be in them. Compliance on that seems to be percent. We fly across this city. That is the same system Chicago would use.

Imagine, the left lane on the Kennedy Expressway, or the Dan Ryan, almost devoid of cars except for those with official Olympic business. On a personal note, I am indebted to two really talented individuals. Photographer Mark Ringo, who you see in these photos, and chief photographer Bill Jennings who I will show you in action in a future post.

Ringo is not only a very talented shooter and editor, but is just a great person to work with when you are out working on 20 hour days. Plus, Mayor Daley could not wish for a better Chicagoan to send out into the world, as he is a defacto ambassador of goodwill. The locals love him, and he can spot Americans in a crowd like a laser beam an important quality for us when we are seeking out Chicagoans!

He also runs out during the day to shoot stories with our reporters from other cities. As I write this, I believe he is at the Great Wall. Bill is just a super guy, and again, another person you would want with you in a foxhole.

Or on an international assignment. More later! Tagged Beijing Olympics. The Water Cube Aquatics facility is huge, impressive, and brand new. The entire building is transparent and literally glows at night. Or Steve Jobs at least. His day yesterday? Just 20 hours. Tagged Beijing Olympics images. Stepping off the airplane, we were greeted by musicians…giant stuffed mascots representing the trademark of the Beijing Olympics more on that later , and oceans of smiling, friendly, greeters, whose chief mission seemed to be to make us feel great about being here, and to keep pointing us toward baggage claim.

Mission accomplished on both counts. By the way, a quick note about the airport itself. It is huge, impressive, and absolutely spotless. One is told that if the terminal was plopped into New York, it would stretch from one side of Manhattan Island to the other. It is huge. Everyone wants to know about the air. On first glance, it seems you could wave a jar out the window, scoop up a pint of it and bring it home. But you do notice it.

Largely because if you try to look very far, you only see a vague image of whatever you are trying to see. I mentioned the heat, and the heat is just part of the landscape. On Sunday, the temperature at our live location overlooking the Birdsnest stadium was measured at Rooftops are never really very good for cooling you off. That said, It is impossible not to get caught up in the excitement. The city seems to be racing at a million miles an hour.

Officials have planted 40 million flowers. In Beijing, the Olympics are absolutely everywhere. Skip to content. Home About. Farewell to China Posted on August 24, by parogers Leave a comment. For the last time, Ni hao from Beijing! Leave a comment Posted in Uncategorized. But I digress. Saturday, August I walked on the Great Wall of China today. We chose the latter. It was a blast as we rode all the way down the mountain on little carts in a metal chute.

It made you want to go back to the top, walk the entire length of the wall, and do it again. While we were editing tonight I stepped out. I had just one too many meals of beef and peppers. And noodles. And did I mention they eat a LOT of garlic here?

One place we visited actually had garlic cloves on the table…sort of like some Chicago restaurants have a basket of crackers. By and large the food here is excellent and you want to sample the local cuisine as much as possible. There are a lot of those here. As I passed this one, I saw something extraordinary. Dozens of people, sitting on the sidewalk, watching the Olympics. No sound. Now that the games are underway… Posted on August 10, by parogers Leave a comment.

When we were here last year, there were pretty severe restrictions over where one could shoot, and what one could take pictures of.

I was curious how officials would handle the presence over 20, credentialled journalists. The answer is, they are handling it with great aplomb. So far, we have enjoyed pretty much unfettered access to anything we want to shoot. On Friday we were near Tiananmen Square, where thousands turned out just to take part in the opening day of the Olympics. There was an area roped off with police tape, and an officer waved to us and said to come inside, because we knew we would get a better shot.

The wonderful and the unusual Posted on August 5, by parogers 2 comments. There is much about Beijing that is magical and wonderful. And to the westerner, there is much which seems rather, well, unusual. Case in point: my hotel room. The hotel is very nice, and my room is terrific. But as I opened my closet door, I was greeted by two gas masks. Those are the masks they wear on ER. These are gas masks like one would use in a chemical attack.

And there was no explanation. Free gas mask, anyone? Nice hotel. So it comes with the usual assortment of toiletries. Schwag from the hotel. Yes … condoms. When was the last time YOUR hotel threw those in? Not sure what the message is there either. Again, no explanation. Free condoms from the hotel. Today while waiting for an interview with Chicago members of the USA Volleyball team, we stopped in what would best be described as a typical Chinese restaurant. It was terrific. Also known as M Alfaro.

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