Fitness And Healthy Blog

Lindsey Jacobellis flew into the frigid Italian atmosphere as a celebrated and admired snowboarding superstar but, after an adrenalin-fueled grab at her board in mid-flight, she returned to earth in a meteoric flameout destined to make her a lock for membership in the Bonehead Hall of Shame. But her gaffe also represents a watershed moment for a sport once typified by such actions.

Snowboarding is a serious sport populated by serious athletes. Participants in competitions throughout the world work and train and sacrifice to race and win and be recognized as the best in their sport. But the ascension of snowboarding from a wild, rebellious and carefree winter activity to a corporately-sponsored, mainstream, Olympic-level competition has resulted in attitudes and expectations that are radically divergent from the once-radical personality that dominated the sport.

The modern Olympics we see are often held up as a continuation of the first games. While the basic idea of sporting events is common to both, there is much that is different.

The original Olympics were actually only one part of four games held during the year. The others were the Nemean, Isthmian and Pythian Games. The Olympics, however, were by far the most famous. These games derived their name from Olympia, were they were held.