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).

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