WE Empower Daily

The Olympics, Olympians and one Mommy Blogger

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Posted by Arabella Santiago on August 14, 2008

Downlodable poster from LATimes.com of Olympian Carrie Johnson from San Diego.

The Los Angeles Times showcases a handful of Southern Californian athletes competing in the Beijing 2008 Olympics through a series of beautiful posters that you can download from a widget on their Olympics blog. The majority of the Olympians featured are women (although they do have one of Kobe Bryant).  Official media coverage of the games in China are thorough and aplenty, but what's most interesting is the chatter among female bloggers whose comments more often than not offer a personalized take on the female Olympian.

On a post today, mommy blogger Lollipop Goldstein talked about swimmer and nine-time medalist Dara Torres' "openness in talking about IVF" -- in vitro fertilization. The blogger shares on her blog, "Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters":

"My own infertility tie to the Olympics came from the premature birth of the twins. We were supposed to be watching the opening ceremonies at home. Instead, we were across the street from the hospital, in a hotel while our twins were in the NICU. Nothing was how I imagined it would be. It is impossible not to get emotional when the Olympics rolls around again and I see all of our legs tangled around each other as we lie as a family in a hotel bed on vacation, explaining Chinese brush painting to our four-year-olds. I'm sure I will still feel this rush of emotion, this memory of infertility, four years and eight years and twelve years down the line as each Summer Olympics is televised."

This blog post is a poignant glimpse of the kind of impact these Olympic games and Olympians can have on our lives beyond the sport and thrill of competition.