A Star is Born in Gabby Douglas

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball at the age of 28 in 1947. It was a monumental milestone for a sport that had been segregated for over 50 years.

Sometimes we do not realize the progress we make as a society because we take things for granted. Can anyone imagine MLB without African-American players now? Yet 1947 isn’t that far back into the past, if you think about it. It is a year later than the initial age bracket of baby boomers.

There have been a few African-American women gymnasts here and there but until the magnificent Gabby Douglas came along, they were merely place holders, limited more by their mindset than by their talent. African-American girls were just not expected to excel in a sport dominated by fair-skinned Europeans, Russians, Asians, and yes, Americans.

The status quo has been turned upside down by a 16-year-old “flying squirrel” whose poise, grace and sheer ability earned her the crown jewel of the Olympics gymnastics program, the women’s all-around. Gabby is the little engine that could, the ballerina who refused not only to be shackled by history but soar above it.

And how she soared! A bird, a gazelle, a wunderkind with gravity-defying moves who left you gasping for superlatives. The favored Russians paled next to her. “What planet did this alien come from,” their stunned expression seemed to be saying when the four-routine program was over.

Gabby brought along a stirring and quintessentially American story to the London Olympics. It broke her tender heart when her parents divorced. She wasn’t sure she could overcome this emotional abyss. Then she moved from her home state of Virginia to Iowa to train with famed trainer Lian Chow when all attention was focused on Michigan’s Jordyn Wieber, the reigning all-around world champion. Although impressed with Gabby’s ability, even Chow didn’t think Gabby had what it took to reach the pinnacle of Olympics gymnastics.

But what tested Gabby the most was the whisperings of her own mind. No African-American had ever worn gymnastic’s crown jewel. Add to that the intimidating fact that a billion pairs of eyes would be watching.

If there were any doubts in the beginning, however, Gabby soon overcame them. When the barriers of the mind fell, only the sky, almost literally for this “flying squirrel,” was the limit. The result? A star was born, a dazzling and disarming star in whose light we were privileged to bask, from continent to continent.

Track and Field is yet to start. Undoubtedly there will be more athletes who will capture our imagination. Perhaps Usain Bolt will recover his brilliant Beijing form. Or maybe he will have to pass the torch to fellow Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake. Famed Kenyan and Ethiopian runners are waiting for their moment in the sun. Michael Phelps has already become the most decorated Olympian ever.

But if a single athlete becomes the face of the London Olympics, it is Gabby Douglas. With her transcendent victory, she has opened the doors for girls for whom race will no longer be a barrier but a catalyst for success and glory, not just in the Olympics but in the wider arena of life.

Will Michael Phelps Make Olympic History?

The short answer is, yes.

The long answer is, yes, he will surpass the 18-medal haul of Soviet gymnast Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Olympics).

Phelps currently has 17 medals, including the silver he just won in the 400-m relay at the London Olympics. He still has 5 more races to swim. There is no question to that he will win at least 2 more medals to surpass Latynina’s medal count. Even if he cannot add to his 14 gold medals (8 of them at Beijing), it is unlikely that anyone will surpass his 14 golds in the near future.

But then, a prodigy or a phenom will undoubtedly arise somewhere, and what was once deemed insurmountable will fall by the wayside. Remember Bob Beamon's leap of 29 ft. 2.5 in. in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in 1968? The record stood for 23 years, until 1991, when Mike Powell jumped 29 ft. 4-3/8 in. at the world championship in Tokyo. (But Beamon's jump is still the Olympic record).

After Phelps came in 4^th at the 400 individual medley in London, major newspapers in America and elsewhere printed hysterical headlines of disappointment and dethronement . But inevitably, skills fade, competition gets tougher, time takes its toll. That Phelps has been able to maintain his excellence spanning 3 Olympics - Athens (2004) to Beijing (2008) to London (2012) - is a testimony to his peerless gift. Longevity is a sure sign of greatness. Think Pele, Ali, Michael Jordan.

I just hope that Phelps will keep his word and retire after London. Most celebrities do not do well when the spotlight is no longer on them. The mind whispers: “Take just one more shot at glory. You can do it!” When athletes, whose best days are behind them, continue to act as if time stands still for them and they can bend their bodies to the dictates of their minds, the result is a sad spectacle, tragic even.

Phelps can nurture promising youngsters and prepare them for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. That will cement his legacy as perhaps the greatest swimmer in history.

Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics

Zany and zesty. Cute and captivating. Silly and sublime. Whimsical and witty. Bonkers and brilliant.The opening ceremony of the 2012 London Summer Olympics was a mix of all these and more. Danny Boyle’s “Isles of Wonder” production was both English charm and Hollywood make-believe, the pastoral merging seamlessly with the digital.

After the spectacular 2008 Beijing Olympics, I wrote: “Imitation, Emerson said, is suicide. London will do well simply by being itself. If it can provide the color, food, music, and all the heartaches, improvisations and exhilarations of a messy democracy, and avoid going into debt, the 30th Olympiad should be a resounding success. The newly-built venues and stadiums must be converted into usable space - housing, office, hospital - within a month after the Olympics is over, with hopefully green technology leading the way. London must show the world that the host city doesn't have to be saddled with white elephants when the athletes and the visitors leave.”

Last night’s opening ceremony certainly gave viewers hope that Britain will come out better and stronger after the Olympics are over, even as the nation currently fights a brutal financial meltdown.

Some of the skits in the ceremony fell flat. I found “Mr. Bean” straining to be funny. It was like tickling someone to get a laugh. In contrast, I was blown away by Queen Elizabeth and Daniel “James Bond” Craig. For a moment I really thought the Queen had been practicing jumping off a helicopter, with 007 offering encouragement. To be able to infuse royalty with eccentric humor is a sign of self-assurance. The history lessons from the land of Shakespeare, Newton and J.K. Rowling were delivered with comedy in mind and so went down easily. And in this digital age, how can a Romeo secure the heart of his Juliet? By recovering Juliet’s lost iPhone, of course, and returning it to her. A kiss then is not just a kiss but a fusion of texting and longing.

The ceremony cost $42 million but by transforming an industrial wasteland in East London into a showcase for the best that England has to offer to the world, the money can be recouped many times over through jobs and housing once the athletic celebration of “faster, higher and stronger” is over. All in all, a "corker!"