Zeus Doesn’t Know Jack
Olympics.
Defined as:
Olympic games, or Olympics (Greek Antiq.), the greatest of the national festivals of the ancient Greeks, consisting of athletic games and races, dedicated to Olympian Zeus, celebrated once in four years at Olympia, and continuing five days.
Figures. Perfectly fitting for the situation. It is of Olympic proportions. And it’s not looking too good. I wonder if Zues ever waited on the UCI for a final point tally?
For those who read this and don’t also read www.velonews.com (or the New York Times…) the women’s position is still in limbo. After Austria, when I was on a plane headed back to the States, it was announced that a single rider whose timing transponder (a chip attached to each bike to record time and prove a rider has completed the course) either fell off or stopped working finished between Sue and Mary. This pushed Mary back one position and took one point from her - breaking the tie between the two Americans and seemingly awarding Sue the Olympic slot. Woa. Dramatic. Could not have scripted that. Well it get’s crazier.
The rules were that on July 12, the female with the most UCI points would take the women’s slot but on July 12, the UCI had not yet updated their results. Nor had they awarded a crucial 15 points that Sue had earned at a race in 2003. Sue had specifically asked USA Cycling (back in Ecuador) whether or not those 15 points would be counted in the final tally and was told that they would. Days of waiting have ensued as all involved hold their breath. Think about it - you’re a pro cyclist on the verge of a career - and LIFE-LONG goal - and you have to WAIT for a phone call. Talk about ‘mean’ time…. Would UCI award the points USA Cycling assured Sue? Would UCI disqualify the rider who came across the line w/o a transponder?
After waiting for days, on Friday, July 16th Sue finally got the nod from USA Cycling. They awarded her the spot. She is headed to Athens. Well, not yet.
Mary’s team, Seven cycles has submitted an appeal stating that, “It’s disappointing if the chief objective of USA Cycling is to send the athlete with the best chance of success,â€? said Jennifer Miller, a spokeswoman for McConneloug’s Seven Cycles team. “The head-to-head results bear out overwhelmingly that Mary is our best chance.â€? Sue is, as of today, ranked 4th in the world. Mary is ranked 2nd.
While this log is not meant to be a source of news, I’ll try to post what happens as soon as I know for those who are interested. Ken and I are reeling in how we can possibly incorporate this into the film. I thought I had it wrapped in Austria with this beautiful shot of Sue posing a toast to Mary and thanking all at dinner for joining her on a wild ride. Guess the story goes on…
Here’s some links to keep up:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5445527/
https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=1136
http://www.velonews.com/race/mtn/articles/6591.0.html
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/athens/cycling/2004-07-16-mtn-biking_x.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/sports/othersports/16cycling.html
