Word: marathonical
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DIED. JOHN KELLEY, 97, Massachusetts native who ran the Boston Marathon a record 61 times from 1928 to 1992; in South Yarmouth, Mass. In 1935, armed with a lucky handkerchief and 15 chocolate pills, he took a subway, a train and a bus from his home to the starting line, and clinched his first Boston victory. He won again in 1945 and placed second seven times. In 1993 the city honored him with a statue near the base of Heartbreak Hill...
...Olympics celebrate the triumph of motion, the powerful upward thrust of a weight lifter, the gravity-defying spring of a pole vaulter, even the twirling toes of a flock of synchronized swimmers. So when Mongolia's sole female marathoner, Luvsanlkhundeg Otgonbayar, appeared at the entrance of a massive marble stadium unveiled in 1896 for Athens' first modern Olympics, it was impossible not to be taken aback by her almost imperceptible pace. More than an hour had passed since Japan's Mizuki Noguchi, a 40-kg wisp, had fluttered into the stadium, vomited and smoothed back her hair to accept...
...here to win first place. I'm here to show that in Cape Verde, we don't have good conditions to train, but maybe if we had better conditions, we would have better gymnastics." Mongolia's Otgonbayar, too, hoped her last-place finish might spur on more marathoners in her native land. "Our country is very big," she says. "We have lots of space to train for the marathon." Motion doesn't get any more triumphal than the descendants of Genghis Khan racing through the grasslands, in pursuit of the true Olympic spirit...
...Europe no longer has the prestige that once came from its hefty medal tallies, it can still take delight in outstanding individual performances - smaller stories, perhaps, but precious because of their rarity. Britain, shocked by Paula Radcliffe's twin flameouts in the marathon and 10,000 m, was lifted by 34-year-old Kelly Holmes' double gold success in the 800 m and 1,500 m. Russia celebrated a memorable 1-2-3 sweep in the women's long jump, while Germany rejoiced with canoeist Birgit Fischer, 42, who earned a gold and a silver, becoming the first woman ever...
...medley at the Acropolis. Or at least Yanni. But last Friday, Athens introduced a surprising new element to the show: class, or at least its cousin, restraint. History was referenced by way of crisp video from Olympia, but no actor-Pheidippides stumbled breathlessly into the stadium to recreate ancient Marathon. There was a graceful recap of three eras of Greek sculpture that did not include a singing Trojan horse. A hovering cube allowed those familiar with Pythagoras to feel intellectually flattered without patronizing those who were merely amazed. A glassy lake in the middle of the stadium floor suggested...