Athletes Village & Stats

Here's the Athletes' Village. It's rows of buildings similar to apartment buildings that were built especially for the Olympics. Actually, the buildings are so new, they are still finishing up some of the painting as I'm writing this! The first American Team just moved in today with the rest of the teams coming in in waves right up until the opening ceremonies on Feb. 10. Each country has its own section. As you can see from the flags hanging down, these buildings house teams from Sweden and Canada. Canada's flag is so big it covers all three floors of the building. I haven't been in the village yet, but I go in tomorrow. I didn't get many pictures today since the sun was going down when I got off work and these are the only pictures I managed to get for today. I'll take more in the Athletes' Village tomorrow.

Since I'm lacking in pictures at the moment, I'll pass on some cool Olympic stats that the U.S. Olympic Committee's press office sent to us today. The athletes in Team USA totals 211 (89 women and 122 men). Athletes will compete in 10 Olympic events with snowboardcross being the latest addition to the Winter Games. Of these 211 athletes, 87 are returning Olympians. Athletes range in age from 16 (Figure Skating) to 54 years old (Curling). There are lots of family bonds on the team this year. There are 2 sets of twins (Biathlon and Nordic Combined skiing), a set of sisters (Curling), a set of brothers (Cross Country skiing), and two married couples (Long Track Speedskating and Ice Dancing). There is even one superstar athlete who will be competing in two sports (Biathlon and Cross Country Skiing). And the kicker. . . she's 38 years old! Did I mention I turned 38 this year?! There are 33 states represented. A note to my Southern friends, here is the breakdown for athletes from Southern states: Alabama (1), Florida (3), Georgia (2), and Texas (5). So, make your kids play in ice (you're gonna have to really crank the AC for this one!) and learn a winter sport so they can represent us for the Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010!!!

OK gang, that's all I've got for today. I promise I'll have more pictures tomorrow, so stay tuned. . .