What year did women get to run a marathon in the Olympics?
How long did we have to wait before the 800 meter run was reintroduced for women in the Olympics?
What year did women have a road race for cycling? Mountain Biking?
I have always been a huge fan of the Olympics, the spirit of the Olympics and a bit of a history nut. In college, one of my finals included entire course on women in sport and I have been fascinated ever since. What’s even more interesting to me is how they train, what they eat, how many hours a day/week/years they’ve spent getting ready for one event. Can you name your favorite woman Olympian? When I was a kid, Mary Lou Retton made a huge impression on me- and yet, I never attempted gymnastics! 1984 was a big year- the year of the marathon for women and the Road Race for women. I was 14! And, that was the year I started running. Something must have rubbed off on me!!?
Now, 20 years later, I’m still an avid fan of the Olympics and in training like I was one, laugh out loud. Cross Fit is serious work and was curious to see how many Olympians use Cross Fit to train. The cool thing about this type of training, is that it’s working for everyone- whether you’re a stay at home mom to an Olympic athlete- cross fit will help all of us getting stronger, leaner, faster.
In my quick search, I found 4 women Cross Fitters who are also Olympians. Cool!
Carissa Gump, Olympic Weight Lifter
Image Credit: (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Erin Cafaro, Rower
Lauren Bay Regula, Canadian Olympic Softball Player
Eva T, Olympic Skier
This leads me to the “Train Like an Olympian” Promotion at the Open Sky Project. If’ I’m going to train like an Olympian, I’d like to look good while I’m doing it! My favorite Handful, Inc bra is on sale for 15% off!!
And, some other products on sale are the Eat Smart Digital Scale which I totally need for the ZONE diet!
CLICK HERE TO RETRIEVE YOUR COUPON!
So, who else is a history buff? Share your Olympic stories here. We all have them!
3 responses so far ↓
1 Rebecca // Feb 18, 2010 at 4:34 am
Rachel – so loved the Olympic post today as I too am a huge fan – and have been polling other gals in our “generation” – making sure to keep the dream alive for future generations. My dream was to be an Olympic marathoner – not in this lifetime. And as for training like one, well that’s more complicated – but now watching the speedskating, I think I could lighten up on the bread, cheese, wine and chocolate…. do any of these athletes indulge?
2 OpenSkyBlog // Feb 18, 2010 at 3:54 pm
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3 Jeanne // Feb 19, 2010 at 3:36 am
Rachel – you’re so right, it’s fascinating to think about how things have changed. I shouldn’t admit this, but I don’t remember any women from the winter Olympics when I was little except for the skaters (who didn’t have a Dorothy Hamill haircut?). But now skiiers like Vonn and Mancuso are such superstars …. Did it all start with Picabo Street?
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