Ric Blas Update & Other Olympic Links

In case you missed it last Friday, Ric Blas won his first round match becoming the first Guam Olympian ever to advance in judo. While he lost to the Beijing bronze medalist in the second round, Ric has had an incredible experience in London and has made Guam proud. Plus, per the picture below, he also appeared on CNN International even though I can't find the video online.

Here are articles about Ric in London:

CNN highlights the underdogs. [CNN]

I like Ric's nickname, The Little Mountain, referenced in this article. [Reuters]

You must be judoking? Really, Brisbane Times, you couldn't come up with a better headline? [Brisbane Times]

This is only video I could find of any of Ric's matches.

Guam's News Network chimes in. [KUAM News]

An article with an actual quote from Ric. [NBC Sports]

What would the London Olympic games be without a Terrible Towel?

In case you forgot, we've seen a Terrible Towel at the Beijing Olympics and in London during the royal wedding.

Pittsburgher Cassidy Krug had an amazing Olympic performance in the 3-meter springboard diving final. Unfortunately, she didn't fare well on her final dive and it cost her a bronze medal. [Post-Gazette]

More on Cassidy by Dejan. [Pittsburgh Trib-Review]

Not Olympic related, but a photo gallery of the Stanley Cup in Ithaca is pretty cool. [Ithaca Journal]

Enjoy the last few days of the Olympics!

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!

Olympic Links

The guy pictured to the right is Ricardo "Ric" or "R.J." Blas Jr., an Olympian representing Guam in judo. I’m not kidding. Seriously, they really do have judo in Guam! According to Bob Costas during the opening ceremonies where he (Ric, not Bob) was the flag-bearer for Guam, Ric may be the heaviest athlete in Olympics history. Unlike Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian gymnast who won five gold medals, Ric has a MySpace page, which includes many pictures of Ric in action (judo and otherwise). If there’s one person I want to do well in Beijing, it’s Ric, particularly since he could pummel me if I get on his bad side. Here’s a little more about Blas from Guam’s Pacific Daily News (as opposed to Guam’s Atlantic Daily News).

Update 8/14: There's more coverage about Blas on this blog here and here.


Bat-El Gaterer, competing in Taekwondo, is the only religious member of the Israeli delegation. Besides answering some questions about whether or not she would compete on Shabbat, this may be my favorite portion of the interview:

Q: But isn’t [practicing with boys] problematic for you in terms of "negiah" (banned physical contact with the opposite sex)?

A: "No. It’s a kicking match. I don’t see it as problematic."


Tuvalu, the fourth smallest country in the world (larger than only the Vatican City, Monaco and Nauru) at 10 square miles and less than 12,000 people, consists of nine islands located approximately half-way between Hawaii and Australia. Tuvalu is also one of the three countries that are participating in the Olympics for the first time. I was hoping to find some fun article about this fact, but according to The Guardian, apparently, "rising sea levels are causing [the] tiny island nations to sink and maybe one day disappear." At least they are selling Olympic stamps!