Tag Archives: summer-olympics

As the Winter Olympics get under way in Vancouver, softball gold-medalist Jennie Finch looks back at her Beijing days. By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Christina Garibaldi Jennie Finch Photo: MTV News Six years ago, world-renowned softball pitcher Jennie Finch took home the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Though Finch and her team settled for silver in 2008, the Beijing games provided Finch with at least one reward she didn’t earn in Athens: the opportunity to participate in the opening ceremonies. “My first [time at the] Olympics was in Athens, and I wasn’t able to go the opening ceremonies, so when I went to Beijing, I was super excited about it and looking forward to it, because that means you’re at the Olympics,” Finch told MTV News. “Getting ready for it, you had to think about what 90,000 people are going to look and feel like walking out. I can remember the staging process — it was hours and hours of waiting. We finally made it, walking into [Beijing National Stadium], and all of Team USA started chanting, ‘USA!’ That was the moment for me. It was so awesome because it was so much bigger than the city you’re from and the state you represent. You were there with Team USA representing your country as one.” Finch doesn’t plan to attend the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but the excitement surrounding the games this year reminds her of what it felt like to be heading into the competition. “The atmosphere at the Olympics is intense,” she said. “I can remember being a month out and just the anticipation and the anxiety — you’re trying to make so many hours of each day because you have to do this, you have to do that, you have to prepare, you have to be ready. It’s just this constant build. Then finally being there, it’s like, ‘OK, we’re here. Now it’s time to compete.'” While pre-game jitters come with the territory, Finch’s advice to first-time competitors is to take a deep breath, relax — as much as possible, at least — and revel in the experience. “My advice to first-time Olympians would be to enjoy it,” she said. “Definitely enjoy it. You’re a part of history, and you’re doing something that you’ve worked hard at for so incredibly long, so enjoy it. I think my best advice would be to just play your game. Play your event, whatever it is, rather than thinking about, ‘Here I am, representing my country on the Olympic stage.’ Take it back to when you were young, playing the sport that you loved.” MTV News is on the ground in Vancouver all week, so stay tuned for more coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Link:
Olympics Opening Ceremonies: An Athlete’s Perspective