Students Take the Gold

With the 2002 Winter Olympics drawing to a close this weekend, we look back on two weeks of extraordinary courage, brilliant athleticism and a bit of nostalgia for the games of old.

The estimated three billion television viewers who tuned in to the opening ceremony saw quite a show. Watching the members of the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team gather to light the Olympic torch tingled the nerves of all who remember their memorable victory against the Soviet Union. The players recreated their famous medal-stand pose, but this time, they reached for the Olympic flame rather than a gold medal. For those of us who are too young to remember the game, it was dramatic to see the team that accomplished the “Miracle on Ice” assembled once again.

It is perhaps most amazing to see our classmates competing on the world stage. Last night, in the women’s hockey final, five former, current and future Harvard students took the ice to represent the U.S. and Canada. We give our wholehearted congratulations to Tammy Shewchuk ’00-’01 and Jennifer Botterill ’02-’03 for winning gold medals as part of the Canadian women’s team, and also to U.S. national team members A.J. Mleczko ’97-’99, Angela Ruggiero ’02-’03 and Julie Chu ’06 for their silver medal-winning effort last night in Salt Lake.

Another Harvard undergraduate, Dan Weinstein ’03-’04, is hoping to bring back a speedskating medal to Cambridge. Weinstein will join sensation Apolo Anton Ohno and two other U.S. athletes in the 5,000-meter relay tomorrow night, the final event of the 2002 Olympics. Ohno gave an inspirational performance when he staggered across the finish line for a silver medal after being injured in a crash during the 1,000 meter event. Most assumed he was done for the Games; when the young skater went on to win a gold, six stitches and all, it was a testament to Ohno’s determination and drive.

The only downside to the Olympics so far has been that the games’ broadcaster, NBC, seems intent on spoiling the fun. Perhaps NBC should change the meaning of its acronym from National Broadcasting Company to Notoriously Bad Coverage, Nothing But Commercials or Never-ending Banal Chatter. Its coverage has been, in a word, awful, from out-of-place and uninformed comments to advertisements in obscene quantities.

But nothing, of course, can dim the light of the games; our only regret is that we must wait another two years until the Summer Olympics in Athens.