Vern's Olympic News:4
Many famous Olympic athletes are mentioned in "Forward to Beijing", some celebrated for their extraordinary skills, others for their grace and courage. A few have "let the side down" by attempting to gain an advantage over their fellow competitors through the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The names of some successful athletes are recognised world-wide. These include Carl Lewis (Athletics), Maurice Greene (Athletics), Linford Christie (Athletics), Alexander Popov (Swimming), Fu Mingxia (Diving), Lee Lai-Shan (Yachting) and Anky van Grunsven (Equestrian). Until I wrote "Forward to Beijing", I have to confess that I had never heard of one outstanding athlete. She has a unique record. The swimmer, Jenny Thompson, of America earned eight gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal during the period 1992-1994. V. © The Gilvern Times, February 2008.
