Citius, Altius, Fortius. These three seemingly simple Latin words for swifter, higher, stronger make up the Olympic motto. But what they signify far outweighs their literal meaning. These words represent the drive to constantly improve, and never be complacent. Many athletes take these word to heart in an event in which hundreds of nations compete every four years for the honor of representing their country and being known as the best in the world. In that spirit, the students at Palisades Elementary, held their own competition as they competed in the school’s fourth annual Olympics Day on June 21. In order to create a more international atmosphere, the students were divided up into groups, and each group was given a nation to represent. Countries represented included Malaysia, New Zealand, Cuba, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, the Czech Republic and Ireland. The countries battled for the gold in a variety of events, some of them Olympic standbys like relay races, long jump and a one-third mile run. Other more unusual events included tricycle races, handball, the obstacle course and tug-of-war. The opening ceremonies began as the students listened to guest speakers talk about athletics and their experiences competing. Palisades Elementary then presented its donation to the Special Olympics, which was accepted by Special Olympian Eddie Mack. Afterwards, the students recited the Olympic Creed, and the “games” began. Win or lose, first or last, the students all enjoyed themselves. Said third-grader Jeffrey Goldsmith, “I like the Olympics because everyone always has a good time.” The keynote speaker was Paul Sunderland, former gold medalist and former Los Angeles Lakers play-by-play announcer. Sunderland played basketball and volleyball at the University of Oregon before transferring to Loyola Marymount University. He played Olympic volleyball in 1976 and 1980 before winning the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. He said of his gold medal, “It’s just a piece of metal, but it represented a culmination of a passion for me.” He actually brought the medal out for the students to look at, along with a 2002 NBA championship ring he received from the Lakers. After the Olympics, Sunderland wanted to continue to work in sports, but was unsure about what he could do. “When my playing was over, I needed a job,” he quipped. “And I needed one now.” He got a job working at Reebok, and later covered three sets of Olympic games as a correspondent with NBC, including the 2004 games in Athens. Sunderland spoke about all the jobs students could have in sports. “If you like math, you can be a statistician. If you enjoy speaking, you can be an announcer,” he said. “There are many ways you can be involved.” Swimmers Excel at Industry Hills Palisadians Brian Johnson, Peter Fishler, Cara Davidoff, Alexa Merz, Eric Hamer, Julie Wynn, Samantha Brill, Jasmine Punch, Alex Fujinaka, and Dan Fox, all swimming for Westside Aquatics, participated at the Summer Senior Swimming Championships last weekend in Industry Hills. They helped their club team to an eighth place finish out of over 30 teams from all over the state. On the men’s side, Palisades High junior Brian Johnson won the 200 backstroke and placed second in the 200 Individual Medley. Peter Fishler won the consolation final in the 50 Freestyle and placed sixth in the 200 Butterfly. Eric Hamer was seventh in the 50 Freestyle while Daniel Fox, also swimming for The College of New Jersey, placed 10th in the 200 Butterfly. Scoring for the women, Cara Davidoff (Tulane University) was victorious in the consolation final of the 200 Breaststroke and swam fourth in the 400 Freestyle. Stanford-bound Alexa Merz placed third in the 800 Freestyle and eighth in the 200 Breaststroke. PaliHi sophomore, Julie Wynn finished 12th in the 50 Freestyle.
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