Olympic photos: Day 17, final assignment

The day is here. Tonight is the Closing Ceremonies of the XXX Olympiad here in London and a few short hours after the torch is extinguished, Julie and I will be on a plane bound for home. And you know what? It’s time.

I’ve really enjoyed my month Across the Pond, shooting photos wherever I go and meeting very good people from all over the world. There was the nice man from Cameroon who played the sax on the train for Julie and I; the lawyer couple from Yorkshire who didn’t understand the American political process and shared my distaste of the Spice Girls; the Spanish man who loved everything about American culture and especially the sports (he’s a 49ers fan and watches the NBA finals live from Spain); and who could forget Charles, the Londoner who held and umbrella over my camera so I could photograph the women’s marathon in the pouring rain.

Someone asked me yesterday if I was homesick and it didn’t hit me until that moment but I really am. It will be nice to get a full night’s sleep and not have to sleep on an air mattress on the floor of a closet-sized dorm room. While I think the Tube is the greatest feat of public transportation in the world, it will be nice not to have to travel a minimum of 45 minutes each direction just to get to the action. That being said, I can’t wait to come back and see the UK properly, without the distraction of The Games. Though I will still have my camera in tow.

On this final day of competition, the men’s marathon wound its way through the maze that is the streets of London. Team USA’s Mebrahtom Keflezighi finished fourth after leading early. And with that, I’m off.

Mebrahtom Keflezighi of the USA takes an early lead halfway through the first of three laps during the men’s Olympic marathon on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Methkal Abu Drais of Jordan runs in the men’s Olympic marathon on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Marcel Tschopp of Liechtenstein runs in the men’s Olympic marathon on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Augusto Soares of Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste runs in the men’s Olympic marathon on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Olympics photos: Day 16, women’s race walking

Race walking just doesn’t seem funny anymore, it seems hard. And this race was a great one, at least at the end. Olga Kaniskina from Russia lead the 20 kilometer race the entire way and was on a World Record pace when, with 1 kilometer left to go, her fellow Russian, Elena Lashmanova, stormed past her and took the gold medal AND the World Record.

Team USA’s Maria Michta didn’t do well compared to the rest of the field, but she did run a personal best time and did it with a smile on her face whenever she was near her friends and family in the crowd, which also happened to be near me, so I got a lot of photos of her smiling.

Friends and family of Team USA walker Maria Michta show their support during the women’s Olympic race walk near Buckingham Palace on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Athletes compete in the women’s Olympic race walk in front of Buckingham Palace on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. Elena Lashmanova of Russia, second from left in lead pack, came from behind to take the gold medal with a world record time of 1:25:02. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Olga Kaniskina of the Russian Federation leads the women’s Olympic race walk at the People’s Republic of China’s Hong Liu keeps pace on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. Kaniskina placed second. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Jammy Franco of Guatemala asks the judge if she was given a warning for improper form during the women’s Olympic race walk on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Brigita Virbalyte of Lithuania cools herself off with water during the women’s Olympic race walk on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Maria Michta of the U.S. competes in the women’s Olympic race walk on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Spain’s Maria Vasco stays ahead of Ana Cabecinha of Portugal during the women’s Olympic race walk on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Maria Michta of the U.S. is all smiles as she spots her friends and family in the crowd during the women’s Olympic race walk on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 inLondon. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Olga Kaniskina of Russia struggles on lap nine of 10 during the women’s Olympic race walk on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. Kaniskina led nearly the entire race until she was overtaken near the finish by fellow Russian Elena Lashmanova. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Elena Lashmanova of Russia and Shenjie Qieyang of China try to catch leader Olga Kaniskina of Russia (not pictured) as the Ukranian coach looks on during the women’s Olympic race walk on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. Lashmanova overtook Kaniskina on the final lap to win the gold medal. Qieyang took the bronze. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Anisya Kirdyapkina of Russia splashes water on her face during the women’s Olympic race walk on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Like always, I had to get to my spot about 2 hours early to get a good spot. Met a nice couple from Yorkshire though and talked about our different culture and politics. Pretty funny to hear a Brit’s take on American politics. And yes, they told me I’d have to deal with The Wave being called the Mexican Wave since that’s what the entire world (except the US) knows it as.

Olympic photos: Day 12, Bevan Docherty and the Men’s Triathlon

Got up extra early this morning so I could wait at a good spot for the men’s triathlon. I had scoped out an area while I was at the women’s triathlon where you could see the swim, bike, and run from roughly the same spot. It was a valiant effort to get there, but alas, I didn’t make it in time. Granted, I was still 2 1/2 hours early, but all the spots around the swim and running area were gone, so I camped out by a nice Spanish couple along the cycling route. It was tough to find Santa Cruz’s Bevan Docherty at first since I was clicking away with the camera for the first lap. I finally spotted him on lap 3 and tried to focus on just him. I’ll tell you though, those guys move fast. When the cycling was finished I ran over to where I thought I might get to see some running, but security had blocked access to the area because there were already too many people there. I tried to walk in one way with a few other people but we were quickly pushed back. That’s when I used my impressive movie knowledge to my advantage.

Have you seen “The Paper” with Michael Keaton? Great little film for anyone interested in newspapers and journalism. In the film, he said, “A clipboard and a confident wave can get you into any building in the world.” Well I didn’t have a clipboard, but I did have a media pass (NOTE: This is not a credential to get me access to anyplace special, it just has my name and says MEDIA because I am with Julie in a secure location for our stay). So I went near a different security person and flashed my worthless media pass and confidently waved as I walked by. He had a confused look on his face, then just waved as he held other people back. It’s not like I really went anywhere I wasn’t supposed to, it was a free area, just a crowded free area.

Armed with a new confidence I tried to squeeze myself into a location where I could see some runners go by but these weren’t security people I was trying to get in front of, these were people who had been waiting longer than the 2 1/2 hours I had been waiting. They weren’t moving for the Pope, let alone a photographer. I was able to stand on my tiptoes to see between two people’s heads to get a few shots, which I don’t recommend unless you have very strong calves … I don’t.

Docherty didn’t win, but it was great to see Great Britain get so pumped for the Gold and Bronze winning Brownlee brothers. And the Spaniard Javier Gomez got Silver, so I know my new Spanish friends are excited.

Santa Cruz resident Bevan Dochertyis cheered on by the crowd as he runs the final stretch to the finish line during the men’s Olympic triathlon at Hyde Park on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz resident Bevan Docherty (54) runs during the final leg of the men’s Olympic triathlon at Hyde Park on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Thousands of people crowded Hyde Park to watch the men’s Olympic Triathlon on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz resident Bevan Docherty (54) races for his native New Zealand just behind Sven Riederer (21) of Switzerland during the men’s Olympic triathlon ay Hyde Park on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 in London. Docherty finished in 12th place. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz resident Bevan Docherty races for his native New Zealand during the men’s Olympic triathlon ay Hyde Park on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 in London. Docherty finished in 12th place. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Stuart Hayes of Great Britain leads the pack during the cycling leg of the men’s Olympic Triathlon at Hyde Park on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Danylo Sapunov of the Ukraine (23) and Simon de Cuyper of Belgium (28) race during the cycling leg of the men’t Olympic triathlon in Hyde Park on Tuesday., Aug. 7, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee of Great Britain cycle past the crowd during the first lap of the cycling leg of the men’s Olympic triathlon at Hyde Park on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 in London. Alistair Brownlee earnd the gold medal while his brother Jonathan Brownlee earned the bronze. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

A little girl tries to find an alternate way to watch the men’s Olympic triathlon at Hyde Park on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Olympic photos: Day 10, women’s marathon, the kindness of strangers and a soaking Tony

I should know better, I just should. BBC weather said it will be sunny and in the 70s on Sunday, but they lied. OK, so they didn’t lie, but their educated guess was off. By a lot.

I went to central London to shoot the women’s marathon and wanted to make sure I got there very early so I’d get a spot. Turns out, I didn’t have to worry so much because there weren’t that many spectators around until just before the race started and I was about 30 minutes from the start. But just as the starting bell went off, the sky opened up and dumped massive amounts of rain on all of us there waiting to watch the runners. I backed away from the barricades and stood under a ledge until more people started showing up and I had to regain my spot. It was still pouring.

At this point I put away my camera in my bag, which has a waterproof covering, until just before the women were due to arrive. I happened to be standing next to a nice British family that, like all Brits I’ve met, was extremely nice and eager to strike up a conversation with a Yank (though I think of Yanks as East Coasters). Charles, Caroline and Ruby kept me company as I got more and more soaked since I had no umbrella and no poncho. Every time I’ve seen a poncho for sale it’s been sunny, so I didn’t think to buy one. Stupid me. Charles was very helpful in keeping my spirits up and even snapped a photo of me …

Here I am, waiting in the rain for the women’s marathon. Aren’t the Olympics glorious? You can see me using my body to keep as much rain off my camera bag as possible.

That’s when a wonderful thing happened. Another Brit offered me his umbrella since he and his wife could share one. It was a wonderful gesture, but one I was about to decline when Charles took the umbrella and held it over me himself so I could use both hands to shoot photos. “You’re supporting the American press,” he told the stranger. “Well in that case …,” said the stranger as he playfully tried to take the umbrella back. So the first of three lap of the marathon were shot with Charles holding the umbrella over my lens in the pouring rain. I really love London. Surprises around every corner.

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Olympic photos: Day 9, part 2 … RACE WALKING!

I know what you are thinking, “Tony, dude … race walking? Seriously?” I know, I know, but after watching my first live race walking event, I have to say, this looks tough. These guys are WALKING close to a 6-minute mile. That’s hardcore. The agony these men were in by the end of the race made ME out of breath. I won’t make fun of race walking any more. Really.

American TV Neglected the Saddest Story in the Olympics [UPDATE]

Recently, ESPN’s Bruce Jacobs wrote about how the coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games was just fine, and how nobody should be airing their grievances about it, which many have taken to the web to do. However, if you don’t like tape delays, web streams that freeze or are blurry on many occasions, or have even one iota of interest in seeing nations other than the United States compete, you would disagree with Bruce’s point of view.

via American TV Neglected the Saddest Story in the Olympics [UPDATE].

Olympic photos: Day 9

Women’s triathlon

Great Britain’s Lucy Hall was the youngest women’s triathlete at age 20 during the Olympic triathlon at Hyde Park on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Olympics photos: Day 6

Kristin Armstrong of the USA successfully defends her Olympic Time Trial title at Hampton Court Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 in London. Her final time of 37:34 was 15 seconds ahead of the field. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Kristen Armstrong of Team USA finished the 29km route in 37:34 to finish 15 seconds clear of the field.

World champion Judith Arndt of Germany finished in 37:50 to place second, with Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaya third in 37:57 for her second bronze medal of the Games.

Great Britain’s Emma Pooley, the 2010 world champion and silver medallist in Beijing four years’ ago, finished in 38:37, placing sixth.

Lizzie Armitstead, Britain’s first medallist of London 2012 after winning silver in Sunday’s road race, clocked 39:26 to place 10th.

Kristin Armstrong of the USA successfully defends her Olympic Time Trial title at Hampton Court Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 in London. Her final time of 37:34 was 15 seconds ahead of the field. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Spectators crowd the railing to see Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark compete in the Olympic men’s cycling time trials at Hampton Court on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 in London.

Great Britain’s Emma Pooley races past spectators during the Olympic women’s cycling time trials at Hampton Court on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Elizabeth Armitstead of Great Britain recieves the cheers of her compatriots as she races in the Olympic women’s cycling time trials at Hampton Court on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 in London. Armitstead placed 10th with a time of 39:26.24. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Marianne Vos, the Olympic gold medalist in women’s road cycling, races in the time trials at Hampton Court on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 in London. Vos placed 16th in the 29k time trial. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Shara Gillow of Australia races in the Olympic Cycling time trials at Hampton Court Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Olympics photos: Day 3

Soaked. The weather here switches from very hot to cold and rainy in a matter of minutes. I froze while standing in front of Buckingham Palace waiting for the Women’s Cycling race to head to the finish line. Staked out a great spot but when the rain started, the umbrellas went up and I could see anything anymore. Oh well. I made do.

The Hatman of London, Chito Salarza Grant, displays the hat he made in honor of the 2012 London Olympics in front of Buckingham Palace on Sunday, July 29, 2012 in London. The hat, says Grant, represents the Olympic Stadium and is “my gift for London and the tourists.” (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Paola Andrea Munoz Grandon of Chile talks on her cellphone before the Women’s Cycling Road race in front of Buckingham Palace on Sunday, July 29, 2012 in London. Munoz Grandon did not finish the race. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Crowd favorites Elizabeth Armitstead and Lucy Martin of Great Britain warm up before the Women’s Road Cycling race Sunday, July 29, 2012 in London. Armitstead took silver in the event. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Spectators bring out their umbrellas before the Olympic Women’s Road Cycling race in front of Buckingham Palace on Sunday, July 29, 2012 in London. The weather has been fickle since the start of the Games, changing from temperatures in the 80s to being cold and rainy, sometimes in a matter of minutes. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Cyclists make their first turn off The Mall in Front of Buckingham Palace during the Olympic Women’s Road Cycling race Sunday, July 29, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

A flag baring the likeness of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II flies near the finish line of the Olympic Women’s Roaad Cycling race Sunday, July 29, 2012 in London. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Elizabeth Armitstead of Great Britain, Marianne Vos of Netherlands and Olga Zabelinskay of Russia ride down a rainy final stretch of the Olympic Women’s Road Cycling race Sunday, July 29, 2012 in London. Spectators braved the elements — which swung from sunny and hot to cold and rainy — in order to watch the women compete. Vos won the Gold, Armitstead the silver and Zabelinskay took bronze. (Anthony L. Solis/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

An unidentified Dutch man cheers for Marianne Vos of the Netherlands as she earns the gold medal in the Olympic Women’s Road Cycling race Sunday, July 29, 2012 in London.

Seeding for the London 2012 Tennis competition has been announced

PRESS RELEASE

Roger Federer has been named as the top seed in the men’s Singles Tennis tournament which begins at Wimbledon on Saturday.

Wimbledon finalist Andy Murray is seeded third behind Federer and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

David Ferrer of Spain is fourth, with France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fifth, while CzechTomas Berdych, Serb Janko Tipsarevic and Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro make up the top eight.

Unlike at the grand slams, where there are 32 seeds in a 128-strong field, the Olympic Singles tournament is a 64-man field featuring 16 seeds. It’s the first time since tennis was reintroduced to the Games as a medal sport (at Seoul 1988) that it will be played on grass.

World number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus heads the seedings for the women’s Singles with Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska second, followed by Russian Maria Sharapova and Wimbledon champion Serena Williams of the USA.

The men’s Doubles field is headed by American twins Bob and Mike Bryan, with defending champions Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka seeded sixth.

Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond of the USA top the standings in the women’s Doubles whilst their countrywomen Venus and Serena Williams, the Beijing gold medallists and Wimbledon champions, are unseeded.

The draw for the Singles and Doubles takes place on Thursday. The entries for the mixed Doubles will be decided over the weekend with the draw taking place next Tuesday.