Thoughts on the Winter Olympics.

Every olympiad gives you a different look at the people of the world, or as it is in the case of winter olympics, at the people of the Western world. There is always something, or someone, that leaves an impression on you and it is no different this time.

I had been impressed by the Scandinavian athletes and their ususal dominance of the cross country skiing events. These athletes give everything they have to the race and often fell exhausted after crossing the finish line. I was tremendously impressed by the Finnish skater Kira, whose whimsical, saucy interpretation of the gender difference (she skated to the tune of 'If I were a boy') was simply captivating. Hers were not the best skate, but her ethereal beauty in context of a skate made watching the performance memorable. Norway collected its hundreth medal.

I marvelled at the goofiness and skill of the snow boarders. It is easy to criticize the female American snow boarders in the halfpipe event, but these take skills and talent that most of us will never have.

My most enduring impression is from the Men's figure skating event. Evan Lysacek turned in just about as good a performance as he could do. All three medalists, in fact, performed superbly and I would be hard put to discern the difference. Lysacek is a tall man, dressed in somber black, skating to a somber piece of music. His height, the tight clothing and its color insured that any flaws would be well seen. There weren't many. It was a very deliberate performance, of utter concentration. The effort was notable not only because of its precision, but because Lysacek had outskated himself. He won because of the sheer will to outprform a perhaps better opponent. The Russian skater, who came in second, catted about Lysacek's performance being "dancing." That was because of the incredible grace and style of the American skater.

The olympics is not yet over and something else may grab my attention, but so far it is the tall man, skating with the grace of a ballet dancer who captured my admiration.