Gold Rush

I've had a couple late nights this week, due to watching the live swimming and gymnastics finals. Obviously, the big story is Michael Phelps, who is now 5 for 5 in gold medals, winning the 400 IM, 4x100 free relay, 200 free, 200 fly, and 4x200 free relay. The 4x100 was by far the most exciting of them all, with Jason Lezak barely edging out France's Alain Bernard. The US team won by 0.05 seconds, in one of the most exhilarating finishes I've ever seen. After the last turn, France was almost certainly going to win the gold, and Team USA looked like they had the silver in the bag. Adding to that, the French were quoted as saying they wanted to "smash" the Americans, and that's what they came to Beijing to do. But in the last lap, Bernard started to lag behind, giving Lezak the perfect chance to narrow France's substantial lead. I was literally on the edge of my seat as Lezak got closer and closer to Bernard. I jumped when they hit the wall, and the US had won! Awesome. Who's talking now, France?!?! Michael Phelps has made history: his 6 golds from Athens and 5 (so far) in Beijing = 11 career Olympic gold medals, the most of anybody ever. But, he's still on his quest to go 8 for 8, surpassing the great Mark Spitz's record of 7. He also attempted this 4 years ago in Athens, but won 6 golds and 2 bronze. Maybe he will prevail this time!
In gymnastics, the US men's team won bronze in the team final, and the women won silver. China won both team golds and their star, Yang Wei, won the men's all-around title. Next up is the women's all around competition, with Team USA's Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin among the competitors. Hopefully, one of them will win, since Americans Carly Patterson and Paul Hamm, won the women's and men's all-around in Athens.
China's wins in gymnastics have not come without controversy. Many people speculate that China has lied about the ages of members of the women's team, claiming them to be older than they really are. So just how old are these gymnasts? International gymnastics rules state that to compete in senior level competitions, like the Olympics, gymnasts must be 16 or older. It is unsure whether the accusations are true, but evidently, China has the advantage of getting away with a lot of things at these Games.
On a more positive note, Team USA is coming along. After Day 6, we have 10 golds, 9 silvers, and 15 bronze for a total of 34 medals, but China currently leads with 22 golds (!), 8 silvers, and 5 bronze for a total of 35. Some other sports to keep an eye on (besides the two already mentioned): basketball, where the "Redeem Team" is trying to win back their reputation as the world's best after their poor showing in 2004; beach volleyball, where Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are defending their '04 gold; track & field, which starts up this weekend; surprisingly, tennis, where James Blake upset Switzerland's Roger Federer (yes, him); and many more.
Switching topics completely, we finally get our schedules in the mail tomorrow! My "nerd schedule" will basically consist of a boatload of honors classes (like always), wind ensemble (which will be hard), gym (blerg!), lunch (of course), and newspaper elective (the only elective I had room for). I shall see where everything fits tomorrow, but for now, I'm going to go find something productive to do.