Transformation of the Beijing Water Cube where Northwestern Olympian Matt Grevers won Gold and Silver

[Alaskawildkat]

Just finished watching Japan's Womens Curling Team pull off a major upset by beating number one seeded Switzerland in the Womens Curling Semi-Finals to advance to the upcoming Gold Medal Round where they will challenge Great Britain to see which one gets the Gold and which one takes home the Silver.

In watching the competition I learned that the venue where they are competing is the former Water Cube which lies in the shadow of the iconic Beijing Olympics Birds Nest where the Opening Ceremonies were held for both the 2008 Summer Olympics in which Northwestern's Matt Grevers won his gold and silver medals and this year's Winter Olympics. After an 11 day transformation it is now called the Ice Cube and has become the site of the Curling Competitions. Apart from changing the surface to accommodate ice modifications had to be made to the roof covering and temperature controls.

OK, Matt was a swimmer but there is a link to Northwestern Football. I'm sure many here recall his being honored between quarters of our Homecoming Football Game and his having led the 2008 Homecoming Parade as the Grand Marshall.

Below is a link with added details of his Olympic accomplishments and the return to campus for the Homecoming events.

FWIW, here is also my photo of the Birds Nest with a portion of the then Water Cube partially visible at the far left. Admittedly when I took it I was focused on the Birds Nest and didn't realize the Water Cube was in close proximity.

Northwestern Olympian Matt Grevers

 

[Alaskawildkat]

OK, I guess there is another Northwestern connection to the current Current Curling Competitions. There was a time (my time) when Curling was offered as a sport for Northwestern Students. I took Curling to satisfy one of the then required physical education class requirements at Northwestern. I guess the sport didn't quite have the draw to justify building a curling venue on campus so we were bused to a location "out west."

In any event I really enjoyed the memories brought back by watching the Swiss take on the Japanese in the semi finals and look forward to the gold medal game ahead. The underdogs had such fun competing that it was infectious. Here are some screen shots with their beaming smiles:

But first, the Ice Cube as it has now been transformed from the Water Cube:

Ironically, their attire was as Ninja like as their win. They snuck into the final four with a 5-4 record in the qualiers which landed them a slot against the number one seed Switzerland who had only lost a single game.

Some added shots:

 

[Alaskawildkat]

Here are some added photos from the Beijing environs to include the Olympic graphics depicting the Great Wall of China in aerial views along with my photos shot from the wall itself in the same location. Our guide advised that he had taken LaBron James and Nicolas Cage to climb up the same route that we took.

 

[No Chores]

Thanks for the great photos Alaska. The trip to the Great Wall was one of the highlights of our trip to China, and my wife and I have pictures similar to yours. Sadly, we will never go back given the CCP's horrendous human rights violations. Same is true for Hong Kong which we enjoyed as well before the CCP took over.