By Leland Stein III

LONDON – Surely the city of London was much different than Beijing and Athens and Sydney. However, the 2012 Games were all about the athletes that train and train and compete to get to the level of world-class.

Seems like everywhere I went there was the royal family. One time I went to boxing at the ExCel Exhibition Hall to interview US boxer Claressa Shields and Kate was sitting right in front of me. I asked security if I could take a picture to prove to my friends that what I was saying really happened. They said no go. Besides the Royals the real stars of London 2012 were the athletes that brought the world community together.

Sure the Jamaican phenomenon Usain Bolt made himself a true legend of sport with his unprecedented second gold triple double – winning the 100-, 200- and 4x100-meter relay. The 25-year-old Bolt in the face of stronger competitors than in Beijing, unleashed that intrinsic determination and drive that only a superior athlete can possess. “I have won both events twice at the Olympics,” Bolt said, “I have won World Championship gold medals, I have broken world records many times. My coach is leaning towards the 400meters - I am leaning away from the 400. It will be an intense conversation. Have you seen the training program for the 400?” My favorite male athlete has to be the 800-meter runner from Kenya, David Rudisha, who set a world record in winning the gold medal. I have never seen anyone with a more beautiful stride and running gait.

My favorite female athlete has to be sprinter Allyson Felix. I have known her since my days in Los Angeles when she was a young up and coming sprinter. In spite of Felix getting edged in the 2008 Games in Beijing and feeling sorry for herself, she went to work. Running everything from the 100 to 200 to 400, she has made herself the most versatile sprinter in recent American history. In London she was the second woman ever to win gold in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, after American Chandra Cheeseborough at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. In addition, Felix's three gold medals in London tie her for second among women in athletics for most gold medals at one Olympics – only four others have accomplished the feat.

Great Britain's Mo Farah came into his home Games under pressure to deliver medals in the 10,000m or 5000m - he won both in thrilling style, seven days apart. If there had been a roof on the stadium it would have come off as 80,000 people roared Farah to victory.

Farah became one of a handful of men in Olympic history to complete the long-distance double. He said: “It's an unbelievable feeling, the best feeling ever.” There were standout performances right across the2012 Games from Felix Sanchez's golden night in the 400-meter hurdles to Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich stunning the Kenyan challenge to clinch Olympic Games gold in the men's Marathon on The Mall. The London Games also saw Michael Phelps become the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (18, double that of the next highest record holders). In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four golds and two silver medals.

Serena and Venus Williams won their unprecedented third doubles gold medal. Sandra Richards-Ross finally earned that valued individual gold medal in the 400-meter run. The Olympics are a celebration of humanity and people, who all come together in a friendly spirit of competition that challenges not only their opponent, but themselves.

Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com or Twitter at LelandSteinIII

By Leland Stein III

LONDON – The United States of America has always been renowned as a boxing power in the Olympic movement.

However, in recent years the good old US of A has struggled mightily in a Olympic sport that has seen them produce Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya, just to name a few. Now we have Flint, Michigan native Claressa Shields, joining the aforementioned collective.

She made history in winning a gold medal in one of the three inaugural Olympic women’s boxing divisions. She beat a woman nearly twice her age, 33-year-old Russian Nadezda Torlopova, in the 75-kilogram (165 pounds) division. Shields, 17, won the first boxing gold medal for the United States since 2004. The US coaches said that Shields has become the face of US Boxing and has become an inspiration for the men and women.

When told that she was going to be the face of boxing she said, “That’s what’s up!” Sheilds said: “I hope I showed everyone that women can do this. I put my combinations together and tried to put on a show. I model my style after Sugar Ray Robinson.” Shields now has a dilemma. She needs money; however, there is really not strong market for female boxers.

The hope here is that she can find a grant source that will allow her to train over the next four years and defend her crown. To that she said I really need to help my family and I’ll have to see how it “all works out.”

Shields did note that she was very enthused that she rep’d women and the respond the fans gave women’s boxing was tremendous.

Leland Stein can be heard on WGPR Radio (107.5) every Sunday from 11 p.m. to midnight. He can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com.

By Leland Stein III

LONDON – “My father played basketball,” Cullen Jones told me in an interview. “I have the body and height for the sport, but I chose a different path,” he exclaimed. And he added, “I believe I chose the right path for me.” The 6-foot-5 Jones started swimming when he was eight, and, fell in love with the sport. Now 28-years-old he has seen the sport take him all over the world. “I was not afraid to put in the work, because it is a lot of work trying to train at a world-class level,” Jones said. “Especially in the United States swimming is one of the most competitive sports to be involved in.”

First, the US Swimming Trials and now the 2012 London Games have showed all that Jones’s gold medal in Beijing in 2008 was not a fluke. He’s demonstrated that he’s dedicated to the sport of swimming and is willing to endure the ups and downs of world-class competition. In fact, Jones had a rough couple years prior to the US Swimming Trials. He did not qualify for the US championship and the World championships. After winning gold in the 2008 Games, where he was a member of the electrifying 400-meter freestyle relay team that broke the world record in one of the most memorable races in history, Jones hit the talk circuit and became an ambassador for USA Swimming. Swimming kind of took a backseat for a minute.

“Hey I had been working so hard and living in the pool,” Jones exclaimed, “then I took some me time and enjoyed being young. After failing to make the world’s I realized that I had to make sure I kept swimming as my top priority. I went back to the pool and got myself ready for the US Trials.”

Jones’ gold medal in 2008 made him only the second African-American to win an Olympic swimming gold medal, and, he parlayed that into education minorities on swimming safety. Following his excellent showing in London where he won two silver medals, one as a member of the 4x100 relay and he got his first individual medal finishing a fingernail short of gold in the 50-meter freestyle.

“I thought I had the gold,” Jones said after the race. “I swam fast, got a go start and finished strong, but it just was not meant to be. “This has made me hungry for more. My coach told me I have a lot more swimming left in me if I’m willing to continue to put in the effort. He feels I can get even better in the 100 with some dedicated strength training. He has even mentioned the 200. But we will see about that.” Jones is one of the fastest freestyle sprinters in the world today and currently holds the American record in the 50 freestyle, but more importantly he wants to continue to reach out to young African-American kids.

Jones said he has partnered with the USA Swimming Foundation and Phillips 66 to raise awareness about the importance of learning to swim. The "Make a Splash with Cullen Jones Tour Presented by Phillips 66," is visiting cities throughout America. Jones shares his story about nearly drowning at a water park when he was five. Speaking to crowds as large as 1,000 children, he communicates the importance of water safety and learning to swim. Additionally, each tour stop includes an in-water lesson and the USA Swimming Foundation and Phillips 66 present a $5,000 grant to a learn-to-swim provider to provide free swimming lessons to local children.

“I realize that there have not been a lot of Black swimmers representing the US at the Games,” Jones said, “so I want to be a role model and maybe inspire kids to get involved in swimming, and, maybe use it as a vehicle improve their live and give them exposure to water safety.” After leaving London Jones said he will continued to educate parents, children and caregivers about the learn-to-swim resources available in their communities.

Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com.

By Leland Stein III

LONDON – Venus and Serena Williams have made The Wimbledon Lawn and Tennis Center their personal playground. The sisters have each won five Wimbledon singles titles. For Serena it has been an unbelievable month. First, she wins her fifth Wimbledon Grand Slam singles, then she comes right back and doubles her pleasure with two more gold medals – one in singles and her third gold medal in doubles with her sister Venus.

Serena and Venus now have won four gold medals each. They have three doubles titles together, 2000 in Sydney, 2008 in Beijing Games and now the ladies can add 2012 to their rising gold medal collection. Venus won her singles gold at the 2000 Games. The sisters have become the most decorated tennis players in the modern history of the Olympic Games. Since Venus had already won a singles gold, Serena told me she really wanted to get it done at these Games; however, she was quick to add the doubles was more important to her. “It was so exciting to win singles,” Serena said following her double’s gold venture, “but like I said at the beginning of the tournament my main goal was to get another gold medal in doubles. There’s something about standing next to Venus and holding that gold medal. Three times we have played in the Olympics together and three times we have got the gold medal. We are pretty stoked about it.”

Added Venus: “It is so exciting being in the Olympics and winning the gold with your sister. It has been amazing watching Serena, seeing her win the singles title and completing the golden slam. We have been winning the doubles title together since 2000, so we come in here as the favorite, but it’s easier said than done.

Surely Venus and Serena are not the young kids on the block anymore as each is over 30 When Serena swept through the 2012 Wimbledon field to claim her 14th Grand Slam title, many marveled because in the tennis world longevity is not how world-class tennis players evolve. Serena and Venus appear to be breaking the mold, by managing to sustain a world-class competitive level. The sisters said they have a lot more tennis left in them.

“I think we love it more than anything,” Serena said. “We don’t do it for any other reason outside of pure joy. It is a great opportunity to do something that you love every day. Not everyone gets to do that with their lives. So we really enjoy these moments.” Added Venus: “I think for us, knowing that we have so much more to give, that we still have great tennis in our racquets. We want to be able when we’re done, to look back and say we gave everything.”

Serena in particular has been playing spectacular tennis. She outlasted the Wimbledon women’s stellar field a month ago and came right back and overwhelmed an equally stellar Olympic field. She took Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova to task in straight sets. On why she is playing such great tennis right now Serena said she just gives all the glory to God for getting her healthy. Then she added with a smile: “Lately I’ve been focused only on tennis, nothing else, no distractions, no life. My life is practice in the morning, training in the afternoon. Wake up to practice in the morning and training. Definitely been spending a lot of time on the tennis court. I have a nothing-to-lose attitude. Maybe my health concerns gave me a new fire that I would not have had.”

Serena has played in 17 Grand Slam Finals, winning 14. She is No. 4 all-time in Grand Slam singles victories and Venus has made it to 14 Grand Slam Finals, winning seven times, and, it appears they there may be more on the horizon.