SILVER IS GOLD!!! August 17, 2008

CONGRATULATIONS TO CATHERINE on her SILVER MEDAL in the WOMEN'S MARATHON at the BEIJING OLYMPICS today!!! She ran well and looked great and brought Kenya her first medal of these Olympics! We are all SO proud of her!

There was definitely excitement and nerves in the air tonight as 5 of the Kenyan athletes arrived with Lisa at 5:15 for a BBQ and to prepare to watch the marathon. We had burgers and hotdogs and chicken and corn and "crisps" (potato chips). At 7:10 the camera man arrived and got set to film the athletes and Lisa as they watched the race. Among the Kenyan athletes was Catherine's brother, Samuel Ndereba who is also a runner. I wanted to capture the expressions and reactions to each person as they watched Catherine race. It was interesting to see the difference in the reactions between the different people. Lisa was very nervous and tense at times and Samuel did not seem as nervous on the outside, but he also did not eat dinner stating he was not hungry yet but I wondered if that had more to do with nerves.

Catherine ran her usual strategy of staying to the rear of the lead pack and she looked very strong and good. Lisa followed all her split times on the laptop and was on the phone from time to time with Anthony and/or Mostafa. It was very exciting as the top runners entered the "Birdsnest" to run the final lap around the the track. Everyone was yelling and cheering "Go Catherine" as if she could hear us! Catherine turned and saw one of the Chinese runners at her side and then she sprinted forward and edged her out! We were ALL very excited, relieved and drained! It was such an awesome experience watching the race with all of these excellent athletes! It was very funny though because I had Lisa warn the athletes that I keep my house on the cool side so they may want to bring a sweater. I'm not sure how cold Lisa said it was but Jane was so cute! She arrived with a winter coat on and did not take it off until almost 11:30pm! She wanted ice cream but said she was too cold as well! lol She sat bundled up in a blanket with her jacket on and it was just adorable.

After Catherine won the Silver medal there was a definite change in the air; relaxation! Everyone started moving about again, some checking their email, some getting more food and Irene polished my toenails and painted flowers on each! Catherine finally called and each of us got a chance to talk to her and congratulate her. She sounded great and was relieved that it was over and very happy with the result! She will now have a week to relax with her husband and be a tourist in China which I'm sure will be fun. I think I got some very nice footage tonight so I am pleased with that as well as the result of the race. Hopefully this will help in my quest to raise the funds needed to complete this film!