We got up extra early on the 18th in order to get to the stadium – called the Bird’s Nest – to see Aarik compete. The architecture of the building is pretty unbelievable and once again, thanks to some especially large markings, toilets were easily identifiable. The biggest surprise was that our tickets were mere feet from the sand pit – rendering the 7 pairs of binoculars we brought worthless. We could have spit on people if we had wanted – which of course we wouldn’t – but it’s nice to have the option.
Nisha hooked us up with some sweet tools to cheer Aarik on. We each had a US flag, and letters spelling: G-O-A-A-R-I-K. The matching t-shirts urging Aarik to “Go for the Gold!” rounded out the effect. There were two parallel runways and group A and group B, Aarik’s group, went simultaneously. Each athlete had three jumps.
Aarik scratched on his first attempt but had a jump of around 17 meters. Unfortunately, Aarik’s injury reared its ugly head on his second jump. For quite a while now he’s been jumping with multiple fractures in his leg and the injury was reignited in the worst way. The jump counted though Aarik limped into the pit, visibly in pain.
On the third jump Aarik went over 16 meters but at this point it was clear the pain was badly affecting him and he was short of the 17.10 meters needed to qualify for the finals.
We got together in the evening and had a great time at the apartment. We’re all so proud of what he’s done – being counted as an Olympian is a feat most of us will never attain. Once he’s had time to heal we can only imagine some fantastic things to come.
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