Congrats Mark!

Today was a fantastic day! We got up early again and went over to the Water Cube on the USA Swimming bus. We met up with Joe and Anne (one of Mark's great friends from Firestone High School and his wife came to Beijing to cheer for Mark... wasn't that incredibly nice?!) and all seven of us headed into the venue. There was amazing swims heat after heat. Mark raced about an hour after the session started (thank goodness because I don't think I could have waited any longer). He marched out with the other finalists like normal, but looked even more relaxed, cool and collected than usual- this is usually a very good sign for a great swim. With all of his friends and family cheering for him at home and the seven of us in the stands as well as his coach David Marsh and other teammates, Mark swam a great race and posted a time of 1:00.2. He had gotten faster with every swim at this Olympic Games! Mark finished 8th, but swam a very solid race and was extremely satisfied. As we walked to lunch he leaned over and said, "you know that my time this morning would have won the 2004 Olympics, right?!" I knew when he told me that, that he was happy and ready for his next race... the relay.


Mark received many handshakes, hugs, and "congrats!". Jenny Thompson and Gary Hall Jr. and Mark's agents, David Arluck and Sabir Muhammad, all greeted Mark after his race to tell him what a great swim he had. We also ran into another family who lives in Akron and attended Firestone High School who stopped to talk to Mark and take pictures with him- what a small world. Everyone was very proud of Mark, as I am sure you all are. Pleas know that we appreciate every ounce of support and every single nice thought and word of encouragement.

Once we said goodbye to Mark and wished him another big congrats, Joe, Anne, my mother, Jeri Moss (one of my best friends--and Eric Shanteau's girlfriend), Mr. Moss, and I all sat at the Moss's hotel for a slice of pepperoni pizza. We had a blast at lunch. Another Auburn University friend, Yoav Bruck, joined us. Yoav swam for David Marsh in the early nineties and has since returned to Israel as a sports broadcaster... he is still a huge AU fan... of course! We talked and laughed and told stories. WAR EAGLE is everywhere!!

After hanging out with our friends in the afternoon, my mom and I headed back to the Olympic Park to spend some time in the superstore... I hope everyone wants Olympic gear for Christmas this year--don't even bother with a Christmas list!

We went back to the pool tonight to watch another friend, Jeremy Knowles, who trains with Mark and swims for the Bahamas, swim the prelims heat of the 200m fly. Jeremy is a great guy and we are really looking forward to the rest of his swims this week. Mark, who was sitting in the athlete section, really saw some excitement when he sat next to LeBron James... yep, that's right, LeBron James. The basketball team heard how well the swimmers had been competing and wanted to see it for themselves. Don't worry, Mark got a picture and we will post it as soon as we get back home.

Did I mention that President Bush, Bill Gates, and other big wigs have been attending the swimming sessions?! I think they were good luck for Mark and now I am just wondering how we are going to get them all to all of Mark's meets.

Have I even talked about the men's 400 freestyle relay yet? It was AMAZING! I have never seen four guys more determined to win an event in my life. Each one of them, Michael Phelps, Garret Webber-Gale, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak swam great splits, but Lezak is now my hero! The US team was never close to leading throughout the entire race until Jason Lezak's last stroke. The sweetest thing (for all the romantics reading) is during the victory lap, Lezak climbed up into the stands to give his wife a kiss--- I hope Mark was taking notes!



Well, I hope that I have satisfied your craving for a little Beijing news and I hope to catch you up as the week progresses. Tomorrow we are going to see the great wall, I'll take lots of pictures, and maybe I'll try something more than McDonald's.

I will post video clips and more pics when we get home, but I have posted a couple more to get you through until then.