Hilarious video of BBC reporter Steve Parry being mistaken for Olympic legend Michael Phelps in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
“Steve Parry from Great Britain. Steve Parry from Great Britain.”

Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics are in full swing and on everyone’s mind, I thought I’d share my brush with Olympic Greatness.

At the 2004 Special Transplant Olympics in Minnesota, my wife won a Gold Medal in tennis. So rather than skipping out early (as we had done in ‘02), we stuck around for the Closing Ceremonies with a special sense of pride. At these ceremonies, Olympic champions Chris Klug and Carl Lewis were among the speakers.

While my wife would have liked to have met Chris for sure, we did not see him after he left the podium. However, as we were leaving the (kinda lame-o) dance party at the end of the event, I noticed a tall, slender-but-ripped man in a very snug shirt approaching us in the hallway. It was none other than 10-time Olympic medalist Carl Lewis.

He seemed engrossed in conversation with a small entourage. That didn’t bother me one bit. I walked right up to him with a cheery “Hey Carl! How ya doin’?!” I was greeted with a lukewarm response. Still (naturally) undeterred, I motioned to my future sister-in-law Cathlin to get ready for a photo. I turned back and asked Mr. Lewis: “Can I get a picture, Carl?!”

His response?

A stern “Reeeal quick.”

And so it was. I wrapped my arm around his back (probably the most musyular I had ever touched), smiled, and Cat’s quick trigger finger captured the moment! The look on his face says it all — this is truly an athlete who adores his fans.

And one with perhaps the cheesiest. web site. evar. (but it seems like they’re working on it in ’08…)

(corrected, thx S.G.G.)