Just recorded an audioblog (5:55) for anyone short of entertainment. Perhaps I should call these late night usings, or maybe this one could be an Achaean musing, under the influence of some 2001 vintage Cabernet from that region.
A disadvantage of not having full acreditation here is not being able to witness the post-race press conferences to hear the athletes' own comments first hand. Past experience suggests the translations written down as the official 'flash quotes' tend to bear, in Chinese whisper fashion, little resemblance to what the athlete meant to say. No wonder they're often trained to say only bland stuff that won't be misinterpreted to ill-effect.
Ian Richards pointed today to a quote in a free paper produced here each day by the 20km walk winner Ivano Brugnetti who, correctly or incorrectly, was reported as saying "I knew I was going to beat Paquillo Fernandez in the last kjilometre as he is mentally weak'.
Normally no derogatory remarks get said about fellow athletes - perhaps it was written down or translated incorrectly - I'd guess it may have been what Ivano honestly meant but I suspect couched in politer terms as Francisco would have been sat next to him. The Spaniard doesn't look like a man to cross!
So, before I take the quote as authenic tonorrow I will check with someone who was there.
The search for authenticity is the theme of an extract from the new Michael Crichton novel "Timeline" broadcast (narrowcast?) tonight by Adam Curry on his site www.curry.com. He links in 'authenticity' with the Blogging movement - although from here in the centre of the Games, even with help of the small band of Olympic Bloggers, is overwhelming - or maybe that's just the sleep deprivation and blast furnace like heat...
1:25:52 AM 
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