Great Olympic websites

Hi, everyone: The title of this blog will make more sense starting with the next post, as I will actually be "At the Olympics" by then. I'm in a flurry of pre-Olympic packing right now, and also attempting to remember things like calling my credit-card company to make sure they don't shut my card off when I use it for the first time in Beijing (Do you know that happens sometimes if you don't call and you're overseas? I didn't).

In any case, I thought you might like to scan some of the Olympic websites and blogs I like before the Games begin. Also, if you missed my story today on Olympic athletes' amazing motivation, here it is.

On with the websites. If you know of others that could be helpful or entertaining, please feel free to add them in the comments:

www.NBCOlympics.com: Great overall site and the one I use the most. Helpful for athlete bios (not just the Americans) and the all-important TV schedules.

http://www.usolympicteam.com/ -- Concentrates on the Americans, obviously, with good news and multimedia components.

www.Olympic.org: Official website of the Olympic movement. More of an international flair.

http://jeremyandheatherknowles.blogspot.com/ -- Jeremy Knowles lives in Charlotte but will swim for his native country, The Bahamas, in these Olympics. Then he comes home and starts teaching the fourth grade in Charlotte. He's a great story -- one that I will chronicle next week in The Observer -- and the blog he and his wife Heather are writing is a gem.


http://www.markgangloffbeijingexperience.blogspot.com/ -- Charlotte swimmer Mark Gangloff -- who already has an Olympic gold medal -- has a great post on here about what the U.S. swimmers are doing at training camp besides swimming. His wife Ashley will be the primary poster during the Olympics.