Freshly graduated and shipped off to London; Stephen Kasica is on assignment in London for the Olympics. He sent us this missive:
Dear Colorado,
I'm legitimately angered by Chris Chase's article on Yahoo News called "United States leads China in 'real' medal count," where he discounts gymnastics, diving, trampoline and judo to put the U.S. ahead of China in the medal count. This was published Wednesday, before the U.S. moved from second to first after the women's soccer team, boxer Claressa Shields and decathlete Ashton Eaton won golds.
Friday, I sat a pub in London's financial area I was watching British boxer Nicolas Adams in the flyweight final against China's Cancan Ren. There was standing room only as Brits packed in to cheer for Adams. After this fight, no one left: Ireland's Katie Adams was next against Russia's Sofya Ochigana and the Brits cheered just as loud as they did for Adams.
"The important thing in the Olympics games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well." I think too many Americans forget this quote from International Olympic Committee founder Pierre de Coubertin, myself included (I was cheering for Adams because I didn't want China to get another gold medal).
Stephen Kasica
Stephen is a Boulder resident and University of Colorado journalism grad reporting for the CU Journalism News Service. Follow his trip through the 2012 London Olympics on Twitter: @stephenkasica
