Huh? The US Track and Field team performed fantastically this year (who can forget Quincy Hall's comeback win in the 400m, Cole Hocker's gold medal burst in the 1500m, or McGlaughlin-Levone's dominance in the 400m hurdles?)

1) I was on the high school track team when Wottle won the 800 in '72. Yes, kids started wearing golf hats. This year, I was thinking how much better our Olympic track athletes have become, especially since the rest of the world has improved. Its good also to see African and Island Nations improve in the sprints.

2) The US Olympic men/women all look like Gods/Goddesses...conditioning, diet, strategies & genetics must have REALLY IMPROVED. They didn't even have Title IX until my senior year (all of the sudden, we had to share the track w the girls, which was fine w me...my prom date was a sprinter)

3) In all, its sort of a "West vs East" microcosm. The West seems to dominate in the team and muscle events, the East in obscure hand-eye coordination things like diving, ping-pong, rhythmic gymnastics, and shooting (uh-oh). The West stresses the NCAA events, which in turn stress conditioning and provide monetary incentives (scholarships, etc). There are almost too many events!

4) Will checkers, rhythmic ping-pong, and artistic pogo stick soon make their Olympic debut?

5) Native American Sioux Billy Mills' epic come-from-behind 10,000 m win in 1964 is still my biggest Olympic thrill (worthy of its own Medium article). The TV announcer got fired for going nutso during the call, but it was truly a "he came from nowhere" moment, probably only possible in the old days of the sport.