Not too long ago, Ivygate interviewed Puerto Rican Olympic swimmer and Princeton rising senior Doug Lennox for a feature called “Your Olympic Hero.” Doug’s answers were so witty and disarming I suggested he blog about his Beijing experiences for Ivygate. Doug mentioned something about being busy competing in the Olympics. But busy or not, Doug managed to fire off some observations about what it’s like on the ground in Olympic Village. Here’s what the Princeton swimmer has to say:

August 1st the Puerto Rican delegation left from Newark Airport on a direct flight to Beijing. We arrived in China August 2nd at 1 PM local time, 1 AM EST time. This flight was probably the shortest 13 hour flight I have ever been on…I watched a few movies, read a book, and talked to some random girls from San Diego who weren’t too afraid to approach me and my teammate in row 40 of this massive Continental airplane. People asking for autographs, wishing us luck, and blatantly staring at us left me excited. I have known I was going to compete in the Olympics since April, but nothing in my life had really changed at that point. Now, on my way to Beijing, dressed in team garb and (I guess) looking the part of an Olympian (or maybe being with others who look the part like the judo teammates and weightlifting females whom I traveled with) I have begun to feel the energy and adrenaline that come hand in hand with the Olympic Spirit.

When we landed the Puerto Rican team was met by some pretty excited Chinese officials. On the bus we were given waters and taken for a relatively short ride through the city of Beijing. We saw a lot of people waving, jumping up and down, and chasing our bus. Of course, they then realized we were Puerto Rican and immediately stopped. Nah, they didn’t. They were excited to just be hosting the Olympics and to the very friendly hosts we are all just Olympians. It’s pretty awesome.

Upon arrival in the Village…I get through the security, and a Puerto Rican delegate and I are escorted to our room where our team has already arrived. Our guide is a very nice retired Chinese gentleman who very genuinely told me that I am “a strong and handsome” man. I smiled, said thank you, and asked him to continue — but he didn’t know enough English. Oh well.

Read about Doug’s substandard room and the massive athlete cafeteria after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Ivygate wants you to meet Doug Lennox. He’s Princeton ‘09 and competing on the Puerto Rican Olympic swim team. He’s also part of a new feature called “Your Olympic Hero,” in which I interview our brave men and women over in Beijing. According to Iviesinchina.com, a website that offers more information than you really need about the history of Ivy League Olympic achievement, 42 students or graduates of the Ancient Eight are competing in the Summer Games. This is slightly worse than four years ago when there were 54 of us running around Athens. But 42 Olympic athletes is nothing to scoff at: it’s more than most countries have in the Games. In fact, if the Ivy League were a country (god forbid), it would have the eighth most medals of any country in the world. But enough about Ivy superiority. Onto Doug Lennox and his accomplishments!

Name: Doug Lennox

Ivy Affiliation: Princeton ‘09

Major: Anthropology, with certificates in Latin American Studies and American Studies

Sport: Swimming (Men’s 100 and 200m butterfly)

1. Are you going to win?

Maybe my preliminary heat…or if Mikey (Phelps) busts a knee.

2. Where did you grow up?

I grew up on the North side of Chicago, most of my years in Lake Forest and a couple in Evanston.

3. Is this your first Olympics?

I competed in several Illinois Junior Olympic Games….do those count?

4. What’s on your ipod when you’re working out?

Depends on what mood I am in. When I wear an Ipod working out it means I am spinning or running, and I use that time to do a lot of thinking…If you talk to anyone who knows me, I am pretty in touch with my emotions — not to be confused with “being emo” — but if it’s a really intense/focused work out (often times to get away from thinking about things that suck in the real world) it will include a lot of Metallica, Linkin Park, Godsmack, Lamb of God, Disturbed, etc. Also on this playlist are inspirational songs from movies, like the Rocky series, Space Jam, etc. I am pretty eclectic with my music.

All the fun questions after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »