I've been glued to the Olympics almost every evening for a week.  As a former, competitive swimmer, watching the swimming events has been a must for me.  Not surprisingly, I particularly enjoyed watching Darra Torres cwin a silver medal  in the 50m freestyle.  She also won a lot of respect from millions of viewers for her good sportsmanship. 

Torres walked up to an official just before her race to let her know that one of the swimmers had a torn suit and asked if they could delay the race to allow her to change.  In an obviously competivie event, Torres made sure everyone had a fair chance.  Of course this act of sportmanship did not go unnoticed.  The TV commentators described how impressed they were with her, and she was asked about her action in numerous interviews.  It was also discussed on the web.  

 
Swimmingworldmagazine.com wrote, "Torres demonstrated some class as she asked an official to hold up her heat when Therese Alshammar needed to change out suits after a rip happened right before the event."  The Bleacher Report was so impressed with Torres' behavior that they entitled an article Darra Torres:  The Embodiment of What the Olympics Should Be.  The article further described her behavior s follows:

"She noticed that one of her competitors, Therese Alshammar of Sweden, was having trouble with her swimsuit. Took time out of her warming up, and went to try to help her.

"When she realized she couldn't fix the problem, she went to the official and asked if the race could be delayed until the other swimmer could change."

They say that you can find every perspective on the web, and I even found someone who questioned Torres's motives in talking to the official.  I don't buy that argument for a second.

Yes the Olympics offer a chance to show the world who is the best athlete.  It's nice to see the world's best sport as well.

Alex Elliot also blogs at Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting