Olympics News and Info

David Letterman Questions Usain Bolt on Premature Celebrations

Filed under: Americas

The world’s fastest man, Jamaican gold medalist Usain Bolt, visited David Letterman last night, and Letterman asked Bolt why he didn’t run hard through the finish line instead of slowing down at the end of the 100-meter dash:

“Before the finish line you’re dancing and whirling around and flapping your arms in celebration,” Letterman said. “Now that’s not technique. That’s something different from running technique, isn’t it?”

Bolt tried to make a joke that he wanted to fly, but Letterman wouldn’t let it go.

“But maybe if you had finished the race and then celebrated, maybe your world records would have been even lower,” Letterman said.

Bolt then made a tacit acknowledgment of what many have speculated about: He might have actually wanted to slow down so as not to set a world record so low that even he can’t break it.

“That’s true, but then it would take me a long while to get there again,” Bolt said. “So I was being smart when I slowed down.”

I like Bolt and love the fact that he made track and field more interesting during the Olympics, but I’m with Letterman: He should go all out through the finish line.

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Kerri Walsh, Misty May-Treanor Defend Their Bikinis: ‘Why Don’t Divers Get Questions?’

Filed under: USA

When American beach volleyball gold medalists Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor visited with David Letterman, the subject of the bikinis they wear in the sand came up:

“As I watch beach volleyball, I find it more interesting than regular indoor volleyball,” Letterman told his guests, clearly referring to their apparel. “Was it the International Olympic Committee that said, ‘Here, wear these outfits.’”

Walsh said the bikinis just make sense in the sand. May-Treanor added, “How come divers never get questions like why don’t you wear a full sweat suit?”

Good question. I’m still not totally sure why men wear shirts, though.

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Shawn Johnson Tells David Letterman ‘I Don’t Know What to Think’ About Chinese Gymnasts

Filed under: USA

American gymnastics gold medalist Shawn Johnson is back from Beijing, but before returning home to Des Moines she made a stop in New York to visit with David Letterman:

Letterman asked Johnson about the vault, and Johnson told him about the first time she tried it.

“I was like three, and I just flew over the vault,” Johnson said. “My coach caught me. He didn’t want me to land on my head.” Said Letterman, “They deduct points if you’re unconscious.”

But the more interesting portion of the interview came later, when Letterman asked Johnson about the allegations that China is using underage gymnasts in violation of Olympic rules.

“I don’t know what to think,” Johnson said when Letterman asked her if she thought the Chinese gymnasts were under 16. “It’s kind of sad to think that they might have broke the rules if they’re not of age.”

Letterman suggested that the gymnasts are underage but that they had no control over participating because “they’re in a corrupt system,” to which Johnson said, “Yeah.”

Johnson said that she and her teammates talked about the age of the Chinese gymnasts, but that “We couldn’t really do anything about it. They were going to compete no matter what, and they’re really good.”

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Biff Henderson Visits U.S. Olympians

Filed under: USA

With the Olympics starting tomorrow, the funniest thing you’re going to see is this clip of Biff Henderson from The Late Show with David Letterman visiting with the U.S. Olympians:

NBC always treats the Olympians as if they’re superheroes, so it’s nice to see them tweaked a little bit on another network. And I loved the way Biff reacted to two-time taekwondo gold medalist Steven Lopez. (More on Lopez and his siblings is here.)

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