The Olympic Hype


(photo via tokyo2020.jp)

Have you heard? The election of the 2020 Olympics host city is just around the corner!

It's down to Istanbul, Madrid, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand....(what!?)....Tokyo!!!!! How crazy exciting is this? Could Tokyo really win the honor of hosting the 2020 Olympics?

Personally, I'll be just as excited whether it's here or the other side of the world. I love the Olympics. I grew up in a VERY Olympic enthusiastic family and have tons of memories of our family watching the Olympics on TV together.

All this Olympic talk made me nostalgic. So I went down memory lane and picked a few memorable Olympic moments that I remember sharing with my family...and I'm not gonna lie, I cried all over again ;P


(photo via olympic.org)

Albertville 1992, Women's figure skating

Living in the U.S. at the time, I think this was the first time I'd seen that many (okay...two) Asians on TV at the same time. I wanted to be just like Kristi Yamaguchi when I was little and we all loved Midori Ito, too. I remember in her interviews she would try to answer in English with phrases like, "I fee-lu goo-ddo!" Too cute. They were both amazing and we were all on pins and needles during the long program competition! (read story here)


(photo via The Guardian)

Barcelona 1992, Men's 400m

This wasn't even the finals. It was the semi-finals but I will never forget what I saw on the tv that day. I was only 10 but I remember what happened to Derek Redmond very vividly. He didn't win the race but he finished it and became someone unforgettable. (read his story here)


(photo via What I Like)

Atlanta 1996, Men's gymnastics

Alexei Nemov What more is there to say? This man was hottttttttttttttt!!! (And that is really all I cared about in 7th grade.) The competition between China and Russia was tight and had us holding our breath the whole time. But who are we kidding, all us girls were glued to the tv just so we can get a glimpse of Russia's hottie. (enjoy all his hotness on the floor exercise here)


(photo via kndoty)

Atlanta 1996, Women's team gymnastics

I was so into gymnastics during this Olympics. I think all of America was. We were up against all the dominating gymnastics countries like Russia and Romania but we had a really great team plus the hometown advantage. The competition was exciting and it ended up being the most dramatic ending. It was insane and the U.S. women's team won their first ever team gold medal! (read story here or watch the whole thing here)


(photo via this blog)

Nagano 1998, Men's ski jump

Watching my first Olympics back in Japan...and it was actually held in Japan! And although at that time, I had no idea where Nagano was, it was still exciting watching it all from Sapporo. And I remember my dad let me come home from school early so we could all watch the team ski jump competition together. I think most of Japan was laughing and crying just like our team was after winning the gold. A-ma-zing. (read story here and here)



Do you have a favorite Olympic moment? Gathering information on this post has me surrounded with crumbled tissues (I get emotional when it comes to the Olympics! haha) and once again in awe of all the athletes. The Olympic games are amazing and I'm always excited for it.

Wishing all three cities the best of luck at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires this weekend! :D

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