Mens 100m Final (Jamaica Jamaica)

Thinking I wasn’t going to see any Olympic events besides those I’d be in uniform for, I didn’t bring any patriotic t-shirts, flags, or face paint to Beijing. The United States wasn’t on the ticket at the gymnastics and softball events I’d attended, so it wasn’t too much of an issue. The night the world would crown its new fastest man however, was a different story. I had some scrambling to do.

Taking pity on those of us who did not land assignments in the Bird’s Nest, BOCOG wrangled us tickets to the highlight of track and field events—the Men’s 100m finals.

It’s old news now—Gay didn’t make it and Bolt broke the world record—but nothing about being there that night feels old. I’d had several “Olympic moments” by that evening; moments where I felt the intensity of the whole experience, that the whole world was watching and cheering, and pulling for what was happening there. But that night topped them all. Just being in the stadium would have been enough. Ninety-thousand people emoting and flags of every country waving. That we were only a few hundred yards away from the most talked about race in any Olympics was just gravy.

Clad in a red shirt, white skirt, and blue neck tie (I said I had to scramble), I joined my classmates on the end of the stadium closest to the 100m starting blocks. My first look at the field through the corridor brought tears to my eyes, but by the end of the night, after Bolt had run his barefoot victory lap in front of us, I was on my feet dancing to the reggae music blaring through the Bird’s Nest’s speakers. Reggae music playing in China’s National Stadium—just another Olympic moment.