The Olympic Games: A Minnesota Round-Up

With NBC having hyped it since, oh, 2004, you probably don't need DtB to remind you that the Olympic Games commence tomorrow. Track and field fans, though, will need to wait another week -- until Friday, August 15 -- for the starter's pistol to fire in their sport.

To keep you up-to-date on the Minnesotans competing in Beijing, here's a round-up of recent stories and other content:

Shani Marks was recently featured in THIS Star-Tribune story by Rachel Blount. The winner of the triple jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Marks hopes to be the first American female triple jumper to advance to the finals of an Olympic Games.

Marks is also creating her own web content with THIS blog of her Olympic adventure.

Duluth native Kara Goucher got feature treatment from Blount and the Star-Tribune as well in THIS story. The Portland Oregonian, HERE, reports that Goucher and her Alberto Salazar-coached training mates Amy Begley and Galen Rupp had a successful training stint in the heat and humidity of Houston, Texas.

Carleton College grad Philip Dunn, who makes his third straight Olympic appearance in the 50K walk, was recently interviewed by National Public Radio about the conditions he and other athletes will face at the Games. You can read or listen to the story HERE.

Former University of Minnesota star Tahesia Harrigan, who will represent the British Virgin Islands at the Games, is pictured on two Olympic postage stamps recently struck by her country. Harrigan won a bronze medal at this year's IAAF World Indoor Championships. You can see one of the stamps and read more information HERE.

Finally, in the disappointing Olympic stories department, MinnPost's Jay Wiener reported HERE that University of Minnesota sprint star Ibrahim Kabia will not be representing the country of his birth, Sierra Leone, at the Games. The Big Ten 100 meter champ was originally told he'd be a member of the African country's delegation, but then learned late he wouldn't be going to Beijing after the country's federation decided it would only take Sierra Leone-based athletes to the Games.