[unmalryAlalry]

I have heaps of favorites, as you do, skateluvr. In this age of the Kardashians, it's hard to remember that Bruce Jenner was the decathlon champ in 1976, way before becoming the stepfather of all those girls whose names start with K. My favorite recent decathlete, though, is Daley Thompson. He had flash on the track and charm off of it. Two of my favorite track and field athletes of all time are Edwin Moses (110 meter hurdles) and Jackie Joyner Kersee, a splendid and versatile athlete who won repeat heptathlon golds and also long jump golds. She was a quietly radiant personality, a true lady and a good sport. Fencing: Peter Westbrook won a bronze for the U.S. (in sabre, I think) and promptly went to start a fencing academy to bring the sport to minority kids who would never otherwise even hear of it, let alone get to learn it. He's sent people like Keeth and Erinn Smartt to the Olympics.

Finally, influenced by Chariots of Fire but also because I went and researched him, I add Eric Liddell. After the Games, he went back to China as a missionary. He was captured and imprisoned in a camp in Japanese-occupied China, where he worked hard to keep morale up among the kids in the camp. He died of a brain tumor while still imprisoned. This was a man in full, and I'm grateful to the film for telling his story. By the way, I read somewhere that China still appreciates his humanitarian work on behalf of the people of China, and they consider him their first Olympic champion. At this point, they don't need the extra medals, but there's something very sweet about their inclusion of him as one of their own.

Hmmm...Winter Olympics, I have so many faves, as we all do. Michelle and Kurt at the top, of course. Then a bunch of ice dancers: Klimova/Ponomarenko, Torvill/Dean, Virtue/Moir, Davis/White. Also John Curry, Yagudin, Toller Cranston, Daisuke, Mao, YuNa.