HOT Summer Tracing the history of the Olympic Games Due to the excitement surrounding the London Olympic Games, Harding expanded its international programs to include an Olympic tour of previous Olympic sites in four European cities and London. Associate Professors of Kinesiology J.D. Yingling and Jessica Moore accompanied 14 students to Greece, Italy, Germany and England to trace the history of the Olympics to its culmination in London. The group first traveled to Athens, site of the original Olympic games, and Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic games. When the group went to the 2004 Olympic stadium in Athens, the students trained with Greek coaches and studied traditional Olympic events such as long jump, shot put, discus and javelin throwing. After training with the Greek coaches, the group had a miniOlympic games and an award ceremony of their own. They also took a bike tour of the Olympic facilities. The HOT tour visited Rome after Athens and Olympia. To get to Rome, the group took a 22-hour ferry ride to Ancona, Italy, and then a train ride into Rome itself. Their stay in Rome consisted of Roman adventures such as visiting the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain and eating gelato. Munich followed the short stay in Rome, and the city turned out to be an unexpected highlight for many of the students. According to junior Peter Messer, the students got to zip line over the Olympic stadium there. "Munich was awesome because it's a very outdoorsy city," sophomore Shelby Smith said. 'The people are very bike-friendly, and they have all these different parks." Yingling echoed Smith's praise, saying that after the hot weather in Greece and Italy, the sunny and cool weather of Munich was ideal. Though Munich was the site of an Olympic tragedy in 1972, HOT Summer '12: Row 1: A. Moore, C. Moore, P. Messer, A. Farrow, S. Smith, L. Bolin, D. Yingling, K. Barnes. Row 2: J. Moore, M. Matteri, H. Kennon, W. Stevens, B. Davison, C. Sullivan, J. Yingling, P. Anzalone, T. Johnson, H.Young. 52 \International when 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed, the students saw no trace of that event except commemorative memorials in the stadium. Rather than focus on the evil that was done, the students were able to remember the talent and the lives of the athletes who passed away. By the time the group got to London, the students had finished the academic portion of the trip. Time in London was reserved to attend the Olympics and to experience the city. Although the students did not see 2005 alumna Janet Cherobon-Bawcom compete in the 10,000-meter run race, the group watched water polo, fencing, archery, table tennis, court volleyball, beach volleyball, men's and women's soccer and synchronized diving. Smith said the Olympics gave London an air of anticipation and international unity that was tangible. To their excitement, the group saw various Olympic athletes during their stay in London. The students had a djfficult time describing their feelings watching the Olympic events. A multitude of emotions such as awe and pride were felt by everyone. Yingling remembered a specific race in which an athlete from Grenada won the 400-meter race and garnered the first gold medal for his country. To Yingling, "that's the essence of the Olympics," demonstrating personal excellence as well as national pride. The Harding Olympic Tour had a cohesion that began with the reason for the creation of the games and ended with a celebration of their modern intention to celebrate international talent and unity. "I came away with an appreciation of the Olympics because I think it helps unify our world," Smith said. 'There is a lot of tragedy going on, a lot of poor, a lot of fighting, but this brings the world together for two weeks." Chanhee Song/Mallory Pratt Freshman Whitney Stevens, sophomore Cooper Sullivan and senior Paul Anzalone dash for the finish line at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. The stadium held the first international Olympics in 1896. Noah Darnell
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