Commentators made a huge deal about how Torres asked officials to give fellow swimmer another moment before a prelim since her suit had torn. The suspicion was something like this would trip Torres up. She won the heat and went on to take silver in 50 free. With experience on your side, and some smarts, these little things are just little things. It can take time to "get smart." I was not surprised at all that at last fall's Johnstown (PA) Marathon, held the same day as the "shut down due to heat" Chicago Marathon, the top five women were over 40. While we (I was 3rd) were not necessarily faster than the under 40 set on paper, I feel sure we ran smarter.

And, what of Deena Kastor dropping out at 5k of the marathon due to a foot problem? (USATF reports she has a broken foot!) I didn't hear anyone note that smart athletes protect themselves from further injury or breakdown by making good choices about racing or not. This was driven home to me last year at the Boston Marathon. My coach who starts in the first coral (with the fastest of the non-elite men) dropped out at 18.6 miles. He explained he was hurting and it was not worth finishing. He went on to race three weeks later to get a marathon personal best in a smaller event in Pennsylvania. I tell that story to all of our newer runners.

While the U.S and I hope others cheer for Michael Phelps accomplishments, I hope someone discusses that he's a smart athlete. I can't believe he's not with that grueling schedule. What better way to inspire kids to train right by discussing what enabled him to race that many times at his peak in just one week? Does he eat right? (I'm sure he does.) How much sleep does he get? (A lot!) Does he train hard everyday? (I'm sure there are recovery days.)

Tyson Gay didn't make the final in 100 meter dash. His response: "...I don't really have any excuses. I just didn't make it." That was a great moment. While the details of why are his alone to ponder, it's valuable for everyone at every level to know that sometimes it just doesn't pan out and you need to get through it. You need to hold your head high (as he did) and when ready get back to your training. One of my training partners had a "bad day" at Boston. He disappeared for while, licking his mental wounds and recovering physically, but is now happily back into the swing of things. I'm sure Gay will do the same.

The final teachable topic I want to address is something I've thought about for years: this whole "nation against nation" competition. The constant flashing of the medal count and focus on "our country's" olympians gets old pretty fast. As Jonathan Beverly noted in the latest Running Times (far and away Directions Media's favorite running magazine) this is not about what country beats another, it's about competition. No athlete can be as good as he or she can without pressure from competitors. It's my experience that it really doesn't matter if those competitors are from around the corner or around the globe. Anyone who pushes you forward, while your "enemy" during the event, gets a hearty handshake and thank you afterward. I've been on the giving and receiving end of that at local fun runs up to serious races. I still feel guilty that I won a trail race after the woman I'd been chasing stopped to throw up 100 meters from the finish.

The moment that made that observation ring true for me was on Saturday. When Tomescu Dita reached the Bird's Nest first and the crowd went wild. While the Chinese hoped for a gold (they got a bronze) the attendees cheered enthusiastically for the first one in; I feel sure they would have done so no matter what country she represented. That's a great lesson right there.