Article June 11, 2012 ISSUE

Spiritual participation in the Olympics

Tony Lobl

On April 17 , 100 days before London’s 2012 Summer Olympics, British gymnast Louis Smith looked forward to his chance to thrill the home fans. He told the London Evening Standard: “Having the roar of the crowd behind us will be an amazing feeling.”

For sporting fans that “amazing feeling” is already being stoked by articles featuring memories of vintage gold: Romania’s Nadia Comaneci scoring the first “perfect 10” in women’s gymnastics in 1976; British decathlete Daley Thompson earning consecutive golds in Moscow and Los Angeles (1980 and 1984); and Jamaican Usain Bolt striding 100 meters in 41 steps in Beijing four years ago.