I love sports.  More importantly, I love watching people expressing their competitive spirit through sports and/or games.  And what better place to live and work to find that on a daily basis than the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado?

The past two weekends have been great examples of getting to experience the thrill of being a sport fan and watching a variety of events.  It all started on Friday, December 5^th when USA Shooting hosted their annual 3 x Air competition.  The event features a 3-day competition for rifle and pistol shooters from around the country. 

I got the opportunity to take in the women's 10m Air Rifle final featuring a back and forth battle between 2008 Olympians and roommates Emily Caruso (Fairfield, CO) and Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, PA).  Who knew such a tedious, pedantic event could be so thrilling?!!!   In the end, Emily bested Jamie by one tenth of a point, which amounts to a speck of dust on the target.  But neither had what it took to beat Megan Morrill (Verdi, Nevada), who won out with a 498.6 final score compared to Emily's 498.2 and Jaimie's 498.1. 

The following Saturday, I was able to take in some Taekwondo action at the Olympic Training Center as the NGB hosted their Rocky Mountain Open.  Fighting in his first ever tournament was a former modern pentathlon teammate of mine Dennis Bowsher (Dallas, TX).  Now why would a pentathlon athlete compete in a Taekwondo tournament you ask?  Aren't 5 sports enough?  Apparently not for Dennis, who is using the martial art as cross training to better develop his sense of balance, agility, and aggression.  After only training in the combat sport for a few weeks this off-season, Dennis was able to dominate the competition and showcase some impressive moves while his cadre of groupies and I screamed out lines from "The Karate Kid" and "Mortal Kombat" movies.  "Put him in a body bag!!!!  Yeeeeeeaaaaaahh hahahah!"

As childish and immature as it was, you know you would do it too.  Ok maybe not...but I digress.  It was great to cheer on a friend; but it was also a great example of how athletic our residents here at the Olympic Training Center are.  Despite having less than 10 official practices in the sport, Dennis was able to enter a regional tournament and hold his own and actually have the look of someone with experience in the martial art. 

That night, the city of Colorado Springs hosted their annual Festival of Lights parade.  Athlete Services and Programs (my department within the USOC) with the help of folks from the Transportation and Facility Maintenance Division put together a float for the parade.  Walking in front of the float (which was essentially an OTC bus decorated with Christmas lights, blasting Olympic themed music) were about 40 Olympians and Olympic hopefuls who train at the OTC.  I was on hand to help herd cattle-I mean serve as a staff presence and help athletes within the parade. 

None of us knew what to expect from the parade and the prospect of walking nearly 2 miles in frigid weather wasn't too appealing.  But once we got going and started seeing the throngs of Colorado Springs citizens cheering us on, every athlete could be seen with a huge smile on their face.  Everyone got into the action, running along the sides and hi-fiving kids who were on hand to watch the floats go by.  And the crowd helped propel the excitement of the parade to goose bump levels as they chanted, "USA!  USA! USA!" as we marched through downtown streets.  It was a great reminder to staff and athletes on hand that the Olympic experience is much bigger than a single athlete, but extends beyond that to inspire communities and people who might not be interested in sports.

The following weekend, US Fencing hosted one of their North American Cup tournaments (NAC) at the famed Broadmoor resort at the base of Colorado Springs' mountains.  On hand to compete were some of the nation's best epee fencers including yours truly (HA!), along with OTC residents and Olympians Seth Kelsey (Brush Prairie, WA) and Cody Mattern (Tigard, OR). 

Although I no longer train in the sport of fencing, or modern pentathlon for that matter, I still enjoy competing.  I was surprised to find I still had enough talent and where-with-all to pull out a 40 something place (out of 200+ participants), but more importantly (hopefully) inspire some young fencing students I coach who came out to watch me compete.  Thankfully they didn't see me lose, so I am still immortal in the eyes. 

The tournament also gave me a chance to test out some new technology US Fencing and the USOC's Performance Servies department developed.  Essentially, it is a hand-held device that allows a coach to chart real-time scoring of a bout and note where each competitor's scoring actions take place on the fencing piste, along with how each point is scored.  Ultimately, the information is stored in a database that compiles stats for a coach to understand a fencer's tendencies and weaknesses on the strip.  Although the device still needs improvement, the concept and information it provides has the potential to become an invaluable resource in my opinion.

In the end, the most exciting bout came in the quarterfinals between 2004 Olympian and World Class Army Program athlete Cody Mattern and Polish fencer, Karol Kostka.  Cody, a top 25 fencer in the world rankings, fell behind early and faced a tough uphill battle as he was losing 8-2.  But patience, persistence, and determination paid off as Cody was able to whittle away the lead; meanwhile tension was building among the crowd of teammates, coaches, and fans watching.  With the score at 12-8, you could see that Cody finally found the plan he needed to defeat his opponent, but we all wondered if it was too late. 

At 14-12 and with 30 seconds remaining, everyone, most importantly, Cody himself, knew that any mistake on his part meant the end of the bout and a disappointing finish to the tournament.  But with a beautiful hand touch, followed by a strong in-fighting counter attack, Cody was able to tie up the match at the end of regulation, with the crowd wildly spurring on the comeback. 

During the sudden death overtime period, Cody was able to complete the massive, heart racing comeback to delight of the fans watching.  With the amount of hi-fives, chest bumps, and screams, one would think something big like money, a major championship, or someone's life was on the line.  But it was simply pride and the thrill of the competition and that made the bout so exhilarating.  Lucky for me, I get to see such excitement on a near weekly basis!