U.S. fencing team captain Jeffrey Bukantz, left, meets former President George H.W. Bush at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The woman is unidentified.
Photo courtesy Jeffrey Bukantz
August 14, 2008
The Opening Ceremonies have always been the moment where the dream becomes the reality. The parade of athletes is always the highlight, of course, but it is the spectacular and specialized production of the host country that sets the tone for the Games.
You could feel the excitement as 8/8/08 approached. Athletes, support personnel, and even the local volunteers were gearing up for this most anticipated event.
Unfortunately for our fencing team, three athletes would not be able to march, as they had to compete the next morning. As women’s saber has been our biggest medal hope, there was no way we would even consider letting 2004 Gold medalist Mariel Zagunis, 2004 Bronze medalist Sada Jacobson, and 2006 World Champion Rebecca Ward attend the ceremonies. They had to focus on winning their events and attending their own medal ceremonies the following evening.
The athletes started to go to the buses around 5:30. The American Olympians were then taken to the fencing venue, by chance, for a special occasion: We would be greeted by President George W. Bush, his father President George H. W. Bush, and Laura Bush. While there is no doubt that many of the young athletes were on the opposite side of the political aisle, everyone knew we were in for a treat of mammoth proportions.
After greeting the entire U.S. delegation with a short but inspiring speech, the current President Bush posed for a photo with each team. He was affable and eager to speak to the athletes about their events.
When our turn came, I informed the Secret Service agent that, as team captain, I would present a USA Olympic Fencing pin to the president. The agent said that would be okay. Then I said I was going to give the president a great big hug. At that point, the Secret Service agent said, “I’ll let the pin thing go, but under no circumstances do the hug.”
The president came to the fencing team, I presented the pin, we took the photo, and he made some small talk with the fencers. He even asked where “the girl from Yale” (Jacobson) was. I told him she had to fence the next day.
As the group was breaking up to let the next sport queue up with the president, I leaned into his personal space and asked, “Mr. President, I’ve been waiting for a few years to do something. Would you mind if I gave you a big hug?”
Without any hesitation whatsoever, President Bush smiled and said, “Go for it.”
I gave him a bear hug, fulfilling a vow I made after he had the courage to protect our great country after 9/11.
Before we knew it, we walked over to the gymnastics venue, where the delegations from all 204 countries were staged prior to marching in.
After an hour and a half of waiting while the other countries marched in, it was our turn. The team of about 600 assembled and started making the trek over to the stadium.
There was one huge problem: the weather. It must have been in the high 90s and the humidity was off the charts. We were all soaked from head to toe, and the Ralph Lauren Olympic attire was, shall we say, in need of dry cleaning. It was beyond brutal.
But all was forgotten as we made our way through the tunnel. The walk around the track is always special, and if you don’t have goose bumps, you’re not alive. The crowd of 90,000-plus was respectful but didn’t have the spirit I felt at the Athens ceremony. Well, it was a long night for them, too; they were saving their energy for the arrival of the hometown heroes. Sure enough, the Chinese team finally entered, and a roar went up.
Finally, the Olympic torch was lit in a spectacular display, the fireworks went off, and a very wet and tired group of athletes made their way back to the hundreds of buses waiting to transport them back to the Olympic Village.
The theme of these games is “One World, One Dream.” But for the United States Olympic Fencing Team, the theme of the rapidly approaching next day would be “One Team, and up to Three Medals.”
[Editor’s note: The American women’s saber team made a clean sweep of the competition: Zagunis won the Gold medal, Jacobson the silver medal, and Ward, the Bronze.]
Jeffrey Bukantz, a resident of Montville and inductee of the JCC MetroWest Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, is captain of the U.S. Olympic fencing team for the 2008 Games.
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