The Olympic Champ

Two thousand seven hundred sixteen years ago,

within the shadow of beautiful Mount Olympus

in the land of ancient Greece,

was born an institution known as the Olympic games.

Emblematic of these glorious athletic festivals

is the torch bearer,

who down through the ages has carried aloft the precious flames

to the far corners of the Earth.

Rome...

Egypt...

India...

China...

Through forests and tractless wastes, over mountains and sea...

down to the present day.

The ritual of the Olympiads

demands that this heroic flame shall not become extinguished,

but shall be kept burning at all costs,

serving as a beacon, whose unfailing light

shall guide all athletes in fair play, and clean sportsmanship.

To give them courage, and forever remind them of the brave and the strong,

whose nerves of steel, and cool heads shall keep alive

and preserve any sacrifice this precious spark for posterity.

That all mankind shall benefit by the light that never fails.

The first Olympic event, was foot raising.

Therefore, let us briefly analyze the fundamental strides.

First, the sprinter.

Note the powerful piston-like action of the legs

as compared to the long distance of space devouring stride of the miler.

And then, that of the marathon runner,

whose effortless, untiring stride carries him for amazing distance.

And last, but not least, the walk.

That's one of the most graceful of all.

Exacting the perfect coordination of all the muscles of the body.

Note the similarity of the walk to a dance.

One, two, three, four... One, two, three, four...

Hey, wait a shake! We're off the track.

Uh, right...