And you know what? He’s pretty calm - or at least as serene as a person can be before representing his country in the world’s biggest athletic competition.
“My nerves are fine,” Hazle, a former Temple High School star turned javelin thrower for the United States Olympic team, said by phone Tuesday night from the Olympic Village in Beijing. “Mentally, I’m totally ready. And physically, I’m not really hurting.”
Hazle will compete tonight in one of two qualifying rounds for a spot in Saturday’s javelin finals. There is only one day between the preliminary and final rounds, but the hectic schedule won’t be anything new to Hazle.
“The time has flown by since I got here (Aug. 7),” he said. “That’s because you never have time to sit around and say, ‘I have nothing to do.’
“Life over here revolves around a clock. There are always deadlines, and places you need to be and interviews you need to do. Plus, with all the people and things being so spread out, the transit time in between places takes up a lot of the day.”
Since arriving in China, Hazle has experienced a little bit of everything, from the beautiful yet agonizing opening ceremonies to the peaceful U.S. training center in Dalian to the tension of Beijing.
“The ceremonies were one of the coolest and at the same time most horrible things I’ve ever been a part of,” he said.
The ceremonies had their share of highlights, such as meeting the first family and parading in front of 95,000 fans at National Stadium and billions of others on TV.
But there also was the heat and apparel - the U.S. delegation was outfitted by Ralph Lauren’s Polo brand in slacks, ties, blazers and fresh-out-of-the-box shoes.
“The shoes weren’t broken in, so people were starting to get blisters,” Hazle said. “I just carried my shoes for a lot of the time.
“Then the heat was unbelievable. The TV networks did a good job of hiding it, but there were people passing out all over the place. There were medics all over the infield, carting people out. At times, it looked like a wild nightclub scene with people shedding their shirts and everything else.”
The day after the ceremonies, Hazle flew to the more quiet confines of the U.S. training center in Dalian, about an hour’s flight from Beijing.
“It was great in Dalian,” he said. “It was like a resort. Looking out the back of my room, I could see the beach and a golf course.”
Back in Beijing since the weekend, Hazle has simply tried to meet the demands of a full daily schedule. He has, however, watched portions of the track and field competition, some in person and some on closed-circuit television at the athletes’ village.
“Based on the way the games have gone so far, nobody knows what’s going to happen,” he said. “There have been people who weren’t even supposed to make the team who won gold, then others who were locks to win and got eliminated in qualifying.
“You never know what’s going to happen. So I just want to make sure that I have the best performance I can, and then see what happens.”
