Henry Cejudo of the United States is another amazing athlete who has a story to tell. After watching the last episode of Today in Beijing where Mark Richmond did a short segment on this gold winning wrestler, it made me curious to read more about Henry Cejudo. 

What I learned was inspiring.  Henry Cejudo was an illegal immigrant whose mother raised him and his 6 siblings alone working two jobs to make ends meet.  Their father spent most of his life in and out of prison and Nelly Rico, Henry's mother, refused to let her children grow up in a negative environment and uprooted her children away from him.

Due to their illegal status, they moved over 50 times while Henry was growing up.  No matter how disadvantaged the family might have seemed, Nelly never let her children fall wayward. Instead, she constantly encouraged her children to be anything they wanted to be! So instead of fighting on the streets, Henry took to fighting for medals.  

He is a four time State Wrestling Champion and the only high schooler to win the US Nationals. Last year he was ranked 31^st and having only wrestled in only one world-level senior tournament before Beijing, he was the underdog who now lives the American Dream because he worked hard and won the gold medal Tuesday at the Olympic freestyle 55-kilogram wrestling.

Personally, I've never been much interested in wrestling and I would never have watched any of the matches, but after Mark Richmond singled Henry out, I was so impressed that now I've gained an interest in this sport because of Henry Cejudo's inspiring story.  In fact, it was funny to hear that the Cejudo party of nine cheered so loudly during the Olympic match, Security almost threw them out of the China Agricultural University (CAU) Gymnasium! That's how proud they were! Where was Henry's mother? The excuse was given she was back at home taking care of her grandchildren, but later one of the brothers explained their mother gets so nervous at the matches she spends most of the time in the bathroom throwing up. And yes, at the time of Henry's match, it was reported that she was in the restroom at home.  An inspirational story for an inspirational gold medal!

I came across an interesting article in The Straits Times Urban Section on Friday, August 22^nd entitled "Hostess with the Mostest".  The article focused on the fashionable dresses which were designed by three designers and were painstakingly designed.  Usually, when I think of Chinese dresses, I think of red, but interestingly, the ceremonies director decided against red because the spotlight belonged to the athletes and not the hostesses. Instead, designers merged tradition with modern touches. There are several different types of dresses which are worn for the different events.  Basically one of the dresses which caught my eye and was featured in "Urban" was the white cheongsam dress which had a modern jacket yet was designed after the Chinese porcelain vases. What a fabulous idea! It is traditional, yet spiced up with a modern touch!

After reading this article, I did a little research on the internet about these lovely ladies who are the medal presenters, tray bearers and athlete escorts. At first I thought it was a simple job to be a hostess, after all, just smile and put on a medal, right? Boy, was I wrong. It seems, these hostesses worked almost as hard as the athletes themselves!  I read about how these pretty presenters were chosen.  First each candidate had to meet certain criteria.  Candidates had to have a University degree as well as meet a height requirement and an age requirement in addition to an "eye requirement" which said, "eyes are three-tenths the length of their faces."  After being selected, they had 2 months of intensive training.  As I did my research through the internet, I read where the girls had to stand with a book on their head in high heels and a piece of paper between their knees and at the same time they had to have a natural eight teeth smile! If they couldn't smile, a chopstick was placed in their mouth for an hour. As one model explained, after the chopstick training, a natural smile came out easy!

It is amazing how every little detail, no matter how big or small was carefully planned for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is the first time I've really understood what the Games are all about.  The last Olympic Games in 2004, I was only 7 years old and it was pretty hard for me to comprehend all the hard work and what the gold, silver and bronze medals meant.  Now that I am more aware of the world around me, I am really amazed at the stories about these amazing athletes. Each one of them has an amazing story to tell. 

Oksana Chusovitina is just one of numerous athletes who has an astounding story to tell.  She's one of the oldest athletes in gymnastics to win a medal. This Olympic Games participant at the age of 33 and a mother of one child, won a silver medal on Vault. The first time she competed, she represented the Soviet Union, then Uzbekistan and currently Germany. But her story doesn't end here at being one of the few to have competed under three different flags.  Her son was diagnoised with luekemia in October 2002, and that's when she sought medical help in Cologne, Germany. Through donations and her prize winnings, she was able to help pay for her son's treatments and he has since recovered and he is now in training to be a gymnist.  I read an interview where she was asked if it was difficult for her to have competed for 3 different countries. I think her answer was interesting. To her, gymnastics had no flag. Her love for gymnastics is why she competed. 

I think Oksana Chusovitina has a very inspiring story to tell. She beat the odds of age and showed the world that age doesn't matter in a sporting world that is dominated by youngsters. In addition, she showed the world that being a mother and an athlete is possible.  And the time when her son was sick, she still pursued her goals and was still a caring mother at the same time.  I hope I can be as strong a person as Oksana! Way to go!

In today's edition of The Straits Times, World Section, page 35C, you can find 3 articles and 3 photos from all three of us MCKs! It was really exciting to see our photos and articles published in the newspaper.  In my article, I wrote about visiting the Athlete's Olympic Village.  Megan wrote about the Medal Ceremony where  McDonalds' honoured the winning MCKs from Sinagpore and other countries.  Codee wrote about the badminton match we were able to attend. 

When we were first asked to write the articles, we were in Beijing and given our jounalist "assignments". It was exciting to take notes and plan out what we would write.  McDonald's has been more than supportive and before we went to Beijing, McDonald's helped us prepare for our Journalist Adventures through a workshop at SPH. It was through the workshop where we learned pointers on how to interview, take notes and write articles.  It was a very useful workshop.  In addition, McDonald's helped to inspire us by giving us many "reporter" type notebooks, bags and opportunities, such as this blog. 

When I went on my "assignment", I felt it was very challenging and it was so exciting to meet these athletes, that in my excitement, I almost forgot that I was a journalist! After the initial excitment and nervousness was over, I remembered my "assignment" and started taking notes and trying to "interview" the athletes. Thank goodness McDonald's provided me with a digitial recorder which helped me "remember" my trip into the Athlete Village. It's exciting to have my article printed in the paper and now my family has bought a whole load of newspapers to share with our friends and relatives.  My parents are really proud and I'm really estatic to have my article printed together with Codee's and Megan's! And most of all, I want to thank The Straits Times for believing in us, MCKs. 

It was a heartbreaking moment when the American Men's Relay team dropped the baton in last night's race.  It caught everyone off guard.  At home, my parents were shouting at the TV in disbelief.  No one could believe the American men's team didn't qualify for the finals.  But little did we know that more bad news was to follow! The American Women's Relay team made the same blunder! It was mind boggling to watch! At the same leg which the men's made the mistake, the women did it too.  Just watching it was so painful, that I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be the athletes. They must be running that moment over and over in their minds, wishing they could turn back time. But the bad news doesn't stop there, the Jamaican women's relay team was favored to win, but they too, succumbed to the dropping the baton, too!  It's hard to imagine a mistake being recorded in history, replayed repeatedly all over the world and making front page news.

I really feel for these athletes as they worked for 4 years to get to the Olympic Games and to miss the finals must have been like a nightmare.  Instead of being critical and blaming each other, I hope they show lots of sportsmanship and encourage each other and try again in London in 2012.  We still salute you America and Jamaica for all your hard work, courage and dedication. 

Yesterday was the FIRST time BMX (Bicycle Moto Cross) was included as an Olympic Sport. I had no idea about this Olympic Sport, until I spotted it on the encore edition of "Today in Beijing".  Thanks to my mom for recording the highlights which are normally shown at 11pm on Channel 5 for the highlights of the day. A repeat telecast is the following day at 1 pm which my mother records for me to watch when I return home from school. 

What caught my eye was the BMX racing. It was amazing! At the start of the buzzer, the bikers take off, FAST! They cycle through a series of hills at top speed.  They take curves at high speed and one wrong move can send the cyclists tumbling which was seen in the second heats of the quarter finals where an American BMX rider crashed and all those behind him, crashed right into him. That left only three riders who were able to coast to the finish line because they came in first, second, and third. I'm looking forward to more BMX racing, especially the women's races.  Watching the BMX races makes me want to go out and jump on my bike!  What an exciting sport, I wonder why they didn't add this as an Olympic sport, sooner?

Right now most Singaporean Primary School Students are in the middle of their CA2 exams.  It's been really tough studying when the Olympic Games are on! While studying, I can't help but occasionally peek at the TV to see what's happening! It's nearly impossible to watch every event or even watch an entire event, however, thank goodness for the Internet and Olympic Highlights. This gives me a chance to catch up in between studying!

One of the great moments today was the Russian Duo who won GOLD in Synchronized Swimming.  Anastasia Davydova and Anasasia Ermakova won their third Olympic medal in this event. They truly are the masters of this event.  It's so mesmerizing to watch their routine and the way they perform, you would think they were walking on water! I love dancing, but I just can't imagine how they stay afloat in water! They truly are magnificent and deserve the nearly perfect scores which they received. 

All the costumes were vibrant and every team looked energetic. It must have been hard to be a judge in such an amazing sport! Two more days of exams and then we will have the time to really sit down and enjoy the Olympics and watch history in the making!

Yesterday, August 18th Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games! It was amazing to watch Phelps achieve his goal.  Now he will forever be etched in Olympic history and I will always remember this monumental achievement because it was exciting to root for him and watch his excitement and joyous screams and smiles as he won medal after medal.

Winning 8 gold medals and being at the top of the world, wasn't all that he accomplished.  He even managed to break World Record after World Record in his races.  Michael Phelps "rules" the pool! Watching Phelps break record after record and win medal after medal has inspired me to work harder in ever in everything that I do.  Michael Phelps never gave up and he worked harder and harder and never let himself get tired.  Sometimes when I go through my day, I feel tired, but I think the lesson learnt from Michael is to keep on striving for more.  Work hard and just maybe you can reach the top, too! Go for gold!

I do not know how to express how lucky I felt! It is something that will always be on my mind! It was a great day and we started off with an early wake-up call! As I mentioned, we had a sleepover last night and it was fun. We helped one another prepare for the next day and we were able to just have fun! We called for a wake-up call at 6am because we had to be in the media center at 7.30am! Megan and I left at 6.10am from codee's room to our own hotel room! We got ready and met up again in the Media center!

After that, we had to rush and have our breakfast and then we headed to the USOC house for the Medal Ceremony! The Medal Cermony in honour of all of us MCK Champions from all over.  Altogether, there are 50 of us here in Beijing.

My mother, who is in American had told me that Carl Lewis may be there... and he was! Frederick Carlton ("Carl") Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is a retired American track and field athlete who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 golds, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were golds, in a career that spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and subsequently retired. I got an autograph from him for my mother, for my sister and one for me! My dad took a picture with him and I did too! I interviewed Carl Lewis and he was a pleasure to interview!

Janet Evans was another amazing athlete who I was able to meet. Janet Evans is a record breaking competitive swimmer who became the first woman ever to win back-to-back Olympic and World Championship titles in any event, taking the 1988 and 1992 Olympic titles and the 1991 and 1994 World titles in the 800 m freestyle.  At the end of her career, she held six U.S. records, three world records, five Olympic medals, including four gold and 45 U.S. national titles! I felt extremely lucky to have the opportunity to take a picture with her!

When the Medal Ceremony began, everyone settled down and listened out for their name to be called! We received very nice medals and a certificate!

We were given a while to shop and eat our lunch and i bought 2 t-shirts! One for my sister, Vinitha and the other, for myself! Right after that, we headed to the Olympic Badminton Event! It was thrilling to watch our own country play!

We visited the Athlete's Village and I took some pictures with some of the Athelet's that were there. In the Village, they had a Hair Salon, a Travel Agency, a nail place and a place where the Athlete's can take pictures of themselves! We spent about 25 minutes in the Village and I think that was something very memorable!

We then went to the Olympic Green for dinner at McDonald's! We bought some souvenirs along the way back! I bought some souvenirs for my friends, family and myelf! I thing this once in a life time opportunity is awesome and I willl never forget it! Unfortunately, tomorrow is our last day here in Beijing, but I have had a FANTASTIC time!  

Here I had a rare opportunity to meet Evander Holyfield.  He is an American boxer who has won multiple championships.  In the 1984 LA Olympics, he won a bronze! It was truly an honour to meet him!

Yesterday, we visited the Great Wall of China, went to the Temple of Heaven and even did Tai Chi! We had a wonderful Dinner at the Family Bai Restaurant and it was very interesting and they served very delicious food. We have eaten McDonald's food for 2 meals so far and yesterday for dinner, was our turn to try Chinese food. It was not my first time eating Chinese food but some of the dishes were new to me and some of them were really different! What do I mean by different? There were some pretty edible flower petals with salad dressing but I decided to pass on that. The adults seemed to have enjoyed it and the bowl was empty in the end!

The Temple of Heaven was very beautiful and Majestic and I definitely admire the ones that built it! In the ancient times, only the Emperor could walk on a certain side and no one else could walk on his "side". It was very interesting and it was a different culture that I have learnt and it has taught me quite a lot!

We did some Tai Chi near the Temple of Heaven and my father (My dad is a Singaporean Indian and my mom is an American Chinese!) took part in the Tai Chi. It was challenging, but different! We were taught by two Tai Chi Masters and I have to say they are pretty flexible and make it look easier than it seems! I thought Tai Chi was something you could pick up in a day or two, but you need skill and practice to be able to do so. It was a fun-filled experience to do something different! 

Then we visited the Great Wall of China where I had the greatest experience of my life! It was my first time and I enjoyed it a lot and thought it was AMAZING! We took the cable car to the top and back and we had time to look around before we had to leave.

We had a picnic with our favourite food, McDonald's! I chose to eat the Fillet-O-Fish rather than the Big Mac for lunch! Our dinner, as I mentioned earlier, was grand and I liked the way they welcomed us with some greetings in Chinese which Megan and Codee helped translate for me.

This experience has helped me in many ways! I am picking up on Chinese and I am trying to use it as much as I can with Megan and Codee so when I want to speak in Chinese, it will sound a bit more polished. It is a really memorable experience!  

Last night we had a sleepover! Codee, Megan, myself and Codee's mom were in the room. It was good for us to be able to just have conversations about how we felt and not be in a hurry to go anywhere.

Today is going to be the most memorable day for me! We are having a Medal Ceremony then to going to the Athlete's Village and lastly, we get to watch a Badminton game! Unfortunately there are only two more days here!! Anyway, I am having a great time here and I am enjoying every moment of it!  

CHIJ-OLN girls came to the Finals of the MCK and cheered me on.  Thanks to everyone at CHIJ for all your support

This is a photo of the poster which greeted us when we first registered at the finals of the MCK contest.  I was really in awe when I saw how "big" all of us were! There were even GIANT banners  of EACH of the finalists leading up to the stage.  It was an awesome sight.

The three of us were lucky enough to be able to have our "10 minutes of fame" on Channel News Asia together with Suzanne Jung and  Steven Chia! We were interviewed about the competition and what we were going to do there! It was a really great experience for us and I completely enjoyed it.

Through this competition I have made more friends and I have more experience on journalism and writing. I am 'counting' down the days till we leave for Beijing and I can't wait for the day to come! We are leaving on the 7th of August and returning on the 10th of August so I hope to make the best of it there! I am definitely looking forward to interviewing the athletes! I hope I can use what I have learnt from our Training at SPH (Singapore Press Holdings) and a workshop with Suzanne Jung!

Team Singapore "Well-wishes" Event at IMM (May 27):         

This is the very first time we met the Olympians and had a chance to interview them! This was the very first event since we won on May 24. I was a part of the baton relay in IMM with some of the students, and it was really fun! We got to wave our flags and smile at everyone. Codee, Megan and myself got a chance to interview 2 Olympians each and it was really cool!