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July 31, 2008
Posted: 549 GMT
The Olympics are really coming up fast and furiously and the buzz has begun. The United States has fielded a very strong team in track and field – not just in the sprint and middle distances, but in the long distances too. 
Tuhabonye: Don't look for a fast marathon.
 The U.S. will be well represented, and so will my fellow Texans — with 19 athletes going to the Olympics who are current or former Longhorns from the University of Texas. We’ll be watching our friends Leo Manzano and Sanya Richards as they will face incredible competition in the international arena but they are both looking really strong. We cannot ignore the teams from the great continent of Africa, either. The Kenyans and Ethiopians are both sending very strong teams. The competition will be tough and exciting. One of the great aspects of the Olympics is that even when you know a country has great teams and the athletes have trained well, there is always the element of surprise. People can push themselves to extraordinary limits in sports and in life. Speaking of the Kenyans — Kenyan-American Bernard Lagat has been living and training in Arizona and looks really strong this year. He will do well against the international field in the middle distance. I wish him the best! In the marathon, I am really rooting for Ryan Hall and think he’s got a decent shot at being on the podium. Ryan has run great marathons all year long, including a terrific showing in London. I don’t want to make any predictions about him, I’ll leave that up to sportscasters, but I know that he has been training very hard and I hope he has a great race! For all the runners, but especially for the marathoners, they have to carefully adjust to the weather and the air quality. In fact, because of the condition, no one is expecting the marathon to be a very fast marathon. From my own country, I just found out that three Burundians are going to the Olympics — in the men’s marathon Joachim Nshimirimana will run; Francine Niyonzima will run in the women’s 5,000 meters and Elsie Uwamahoro will compete in women’s swimming. Good luck to me country men and women! Posted by: Burundi athlete, Gilbert Tuhabonye |
 
About this blog
Receive updates from across the world on the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. "Olympics and the World" is a blog offering you the thoughts and observations from athletes, journalists around unique personalities preparing for the Olympics in China. Whether it's from the training field, the newsroom or the homes of everyday people, "Olympics and the World" provides you a global pulse as the Beijing Olympics approach. Special Report: Beijing 2008  Athletes
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