Monday, August 25, 2008
While Lawrence slept in on Saturday morning, Scott Russell was miles away, trying to do the impossible in front of 90,000 people.
Russell’s 29-year-old body wouldn’t let him. His knees were shot.
Russell’s first trip to the Olympic games ended in a whimper. The former KU javelin thrower finished 10th after his longest throw in the javelin finals plummeted to the earth after just 80.90 meters.
The gold medal went to Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, who won the javelin event with an impossibly long throw of 90.57 meters. It was an Olympic record. His throw seemed to challenge gravity, soaring up and up, and for a second it looked like it might fly out of the Bird’s Nest in Beijing. It flew more than 297 feet, just shy of the length of a football field.
That’s the Olympics for you. So much has to be perfect. Four years of preparation and sweat and focus, and then it all come down to a couple of throws in front of 90,000 people in a stadium in China.
And in the preliminary round, Russell delivered. The pride of Windsor, Canada, stepped out onto the javelin runway. The rain was pounding down and Russell’s soaked blond hair was matted down by a backwards baseball cap.
Russell hopped down the runway, stopped for a split second, and uncorked a majestic throw through the rainy Beijing air.
The javelin landed 80.42 meters away from Russell. It was the sixth-longest throw of the preliminaries. With one throw, Russell had qualified for the finals.
But this was the Olympics. And in the finals, Russell had to throw against guys like Thorkildsen. Guys who grew up throwing the javelin in countries where the javelin is a national pastime.
To medal, Russell needed to throw a javelin longer than he ever had.
His body wouldn’t allow him.
In the past two weeks, we’ve seen an American swimmer defy the limits of human endurance. We’ve seen a Jamaican sprinter run so shockingly fast that we have to ask ourselves if anyone will ever run that fast again. We’ve seen so many radiant performances, that, after a while, you become numb to their brilliance.
And you forget that athletes are human and they have limitations.
“My body let me get to the finals,” Russell would say to members of the Canadian press.
And that was all his body would allow. He’s battled nagging injuries ever since he finished his All-American career at Kansas.
A groin injury kept him out of the Olympics in 2004. He had surgery on his knee last fall.
Russell knew he would throw his best on one of his first two throws. And in the finals, with his competitors throwing javelins inconceivable distances, Russell sputtered and finished 10th.
That’s the Olympics for you. Some dreams were realized, but thousands more were left to die in front of 90,000 people.
“It’s bittersweet,” Russell would say. His mind told him he should be competitive. But his body wouldn’t allow it.
And that’s where the story ends. Olympic medals are awarded in maddening four-year cycles. Russell still has hopes of continuing his Olympic dream in four years. The 2012 games will be in London.
But Russell will be 33, ancient by Olympic standards. And who knows what his body will allow.
— - Edited by Adam Mowder
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