Olympic Heartbreak: Some Sad Memories From Beijing's Olympics

The Beijing Olympics are over, and we are left with many memories to cherish - and some that we wish we could just forget. I thought writing down some of those heart-breakers would be therapeutic, so here they are, my most devastating Olympic memories:

Lolo Jones – Now here’s a heart-breaker for you. Lolo Jones, the 2008 indoor champion, was a favorite coming in to the 100-meter hurdles. She was confident, and we all had confidence in her.

The event final started, and Jones looked like she was going to pull it out, fulfilling her Olympic dream in perfect fashion. Ten hurdles lay in front of her as she rocketed off of the blocks. One, two… looking good… three, four… come on, keep it up… five, six… she’s pulling away, she’s going to do it… seven, eight… she’s got it, she’s got it! Two more hurdles to go… and then it happened.

She hit the ninth hurdle, and despite the struggle she put up to get over that finish line, seventh place was all she got in the end. Watching her fall down to the track, a look of utter disbelief on her face, I couldn’t help but feel pain for her. There certainly wasn’t any question as to how horribly she was feeling as she finally got up and walked off the track, defeat written all over her body. She had come so close, a hair’s breadth from taking home the gold, and yet, in the end, she had been so far, and she walked away empty-handed.

Liu Xiang – China’s Superman, Xiang had the hopes of millions of his countrymen weighing down on his shoulders as he prepared for the 110-meter hurdles. In a devastating turn of events for the Chinese, he dropped out of the event due to injury. Although he looked to be in pain while warming up for the event, he gave it a shot anyways. But after a false start, he simply could not continue.

While I felt no personal pain at this happening, honestly not knowing Xiang from Adam before these Olympics, it was clear that the host nation was crushed. Reporters cried on air as they watched their hero walk off the track. To put some perspective on this for Americans, I understand that the equivalent to this happening to us would have been Michael Phelps withdrawing. Ouch.

Dara Torres – I struggled over whether or not to include this one on my list. It was an extremely bittersweet thing, Torres’s involvement in Beijing. At once, it is both one of my favorite and one of the most painful Olympic memories.

What she did was incredible, and though there are many who are convinced she could not possibly have done it without the help of illegal performance enhancers, I have faith in Torres’s accomplishments (innocent until proven guilty, in my opinion).

To watch her go so far was amazing, inspiring even. But to watch her come so close and then not walk away with gold left me with a sinking feeling. She lost her gold with the exact same margin of loss as Michael Phelps gave to Cavic in the men’s 100-meter butterfly final. One hundredth of a second. It was just one of those things. What she did was beyond great, but there remained a painful “if only” in the back of my mind as she accepted her silver medal.

Alicia Sacramone – Oh wow, what can I say? I almost cried for Sacramone. More than any Olympic athlete, I felt pain for her. Watching her face crumble after she completed first her balance beam event and then the tragic floor routine was just heart-wrenching. Far from stoic, Sacramone's emotions were hidden from no one.

Everybody has an off day. The greatest, the most accomplished, and the most reliable - they all have their off days. For Alicia Sacramone though, that off day came at the absolute worst possible time in her career.

Then she was, in my opinion, robbed of the bronze in the individual vault competition, which could have only rubbed salt in her wounds. To have taken that bronze would have been some consolation, no doubt. It would have been a happy ending to what had really been a sad story for her at the Beijing games. But alas, it was not to be so, and I can only hope that Alicia can find the good to take out of this experience, that she can find personal pride in her silver medal, because if she doesn’t, there is certainly a whole lot to look back on with a heavy heart.

Dropped Batons – Ugh! You’ve got to be kidding! This was one of those drop-your-face-in-your-hands moments. First it was our men’s 4x100 relay team, and it really would have been bad enough if they had been the only ones. But then, as if scripted in some horror movie, the women did the same thing – not even an hour after watching their male counterparts!

These two events were probably the worst of a disappointing Olympic showing for the Americans in track and field. I’m still grimacing just thinking about it.

Softball – If I had placed one bet before the Olympics, I would have bet that the US softball team would come away with gold. Finch, Osterman, Bustos – they were going to bring it home, I just knew it, and I would have been willing to bet big on it. Thankfully, I’m not the betting type, and besides, no one in their right mind would have bet against them.

This loss was just not supposed to happen. The team, which is truly phenomenal, had not lost since 2000. So there they were, about to win what was probably the last Olympic game any of them would ever find themselves playing, and a miracle happened – a Japanese miracle. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’m still shaking my head over this one, and I can only imagine that the women of the US softball team are doing the same. This was a painfully sad ending to the US team's Olympic experience.

Feel free to add any of your own excruciating memories from this Summer's Olympic Games. It might help ease the pain.