I leave for China in 9 days, and I'm really excited to be there for man's greatest athletic spectacle. I have tickets for the night sessions on August 19 (W400, W100H, M1500 finals) and August 23 (M800, W1500, M5000 finals, 4x400s).

A quick update on the Games:

Organizers have announced that all tickets for events in Beijing are now sold out, making me feel even more fortunate for being able to get a few tickets. 30,000 citizens waited in line for up to 48 hours for the sales of the final batch of tickets, which went on sale last Friday. The scene was so chaotic that police kicked and shoved to keep the peace. Partly due to the fact that China is home to 1.3 billion people, the Beijing Games have far surpassed the ticket sales from from Athens four years ago, when two-thirds of tickets were left unsold.

The air quality has long been discussed as a potential disaster for the games. Organizers have reported improved conditions and factories in Beijing have been shut down in hopes to reducing smog. However, a recent piece done by ESPN (link below) shows that the Chinese propaganda machine may be churning in order to alleviate fears from the IOC and the international community. Lets all hope that the conditions for the marathon and other endurance events are good enough that the best athletes can give their best performances.

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/play/70318-olympic-haze-beijing-08

I'll try to finish up the men's distance previews and hopefully start working on the women's ones.

-Kevin