Ric Blas Time

After four years of training, Ric Blas finally returns to Olympic competition on Friday at 4:51 AM Eastern time. I’ve written about Ric many times since the beginning of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (including this incredible interview), so I hope that you’re supporting him in his match (and hopefully matches) like I am. Ric faces Facinet Keita of Guinea in the Men’s +100kg Judo division elimination round of 64. You read that correctly. 32 Olympians, who have trained extremely hard over the past four years, will compete in one match and go home (well, after partying in the Olympic village). The Olympics are essentially a single-elimination tournament until the quarterfinals, when it becomes double-elimination.

Although I’m not sure what television station carries the judo matches in the U.S., this link for NBC’s Olympic site should show Ric online. In addition, if you’re like me and have little or no idea how judo works, the London Olympics website has the rules and history of judo.

Now that you know when Ric competes, here’s some of the media coverage Ric has received:

This is Ric's Olympic profile. [Guam Sports Network]

Cool video of Ric first arriving and training in Kendal, England. [ITV News]

Ric is the heaviest athlete in Olympic history at "34 stone." I think I like using stone as a unit of measurement. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, everybody must get stone! [The Independent]

This video is the Team Guam Olympic Preview from Kuam Sports.



Good luck Ric!