Melissa’s second race: Another morning and we are headed first thing to the Water Cube. We already know that Melissa swims last so the group is more comfortable settling to watch the different events. Another wonderful morning spent watching the different classes of swimmers compete.
Melissa’s category is S9, which has a lot of participants. When Melissa came out, she was greeted by the same very loud applause from our cheering section. Day 2 and we are still the loudest!
The race begins and so does the cheering! Melissa swims against steep competition and does great! Although her times are short for qualifying for the final, she swims a personal best.
Going in, Melissa knew this would be a challenging event as it proves to be. She shows improvement yet again, advancing to #18 in the world.
As a group we have a break from Melissa swimming events until Friday. Now it is time to experience some of the other venues and sports. After a morning of swimming, we ventured out of the main complex by bus to a separate complex where wheelchair tennis was taking place.
What amazing athletes! I can say with utmost certainty that if you put me against any of the competitors they would easily make quick work of me. I was so impressed by the coordination of hitting a ball and navigating in a chair at the same time. I think I said “wow” a lot!
The day is done and we are off to have dinner as a group in a more local setting in Beijing. Tomorrow I go to the national stadium for track and field.
No comments:
Post a Comment