Noah's Mark

Racing Covid, Weekend Whats, Feel Good Friday

Noah Lyles was a huge favorite to win the 200m in Paris. But in getting the bronze, he may have pulled off one of his more impressive feats. Why? Because Lyles ran the race while suffering from a nasty case of Covid. It was a reminder that even the greatest athletes in the world can fall victim to illness or injury. But it was also a reminder that Covid is still here. Imagine if someone had told you on March 11, 2020, the day everything really started to shut down, that the virus would not only impact the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, but it would still be messing with us during the Paris games. WaPo (Gift Article): On the night Noah Lyles was to become a legend, he became a reminder. Four years later, we still can't outrun Covid.

+ Adding a fraction of a second to an elite athletes' time is certainly a far cry from refrigerator trucks housing bodies in major cities. But for part of the population, a really large part, no reminder of Covid was needed. They're still suffering from a series of often untreatable and even unexplainable maladies associated with an illness the rest of us desperately want to forget. For them, Covid is not a sprint, but a marathon. NYT (Gift Article): About 400 Million People Worldwide Have Had Long Covid, Researchers Say. "The authors cited studies suggesting that only 7 percent to 10 percent of long Covid patients fully recovered two years after developing long Covid. They added that 'some manifestations of long Covid, including heart disease, diabetes, myalgic encephalomyelitis and dysautonomia are chronic conditions that last a lifetime.'"

2

House Call of the Wild

"She serves the Dukhas, a community of semi-nomadic reindeer herders in a remote part of the north, who follow their herd wherever they roam." So when Shurentsetseg Ganbold makes a house call, it can take a while. NYT (Gift Article) with some amazing details and photos. Making House Calls to Mongolia’s Herders. (Some days, following a herd of reindeers sounds a lot better than following the news.)

3

Five Ring Circus

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wore a crown after setting a new world record in the 400m hurdles. Considering that her time rivals some of the best runners who compete in the 400m withouthurdles, the headware may have actually been understated. The effortless Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s only real competition is herself.

+ "There was a part of her dominance that was, like any prodigy’s, a boon of sheer ability, cosmic fortune, and genealogy. But the higher and faster she rose, the more that rise was fueled by the work along the margins, in the crevices of athletic ingenuity where faculty, force, and fastidiousness fold into one. She was beyond her years in competition but also in tactical command. On the same days when Sydney would beat her opponents by enough distance to make it seem plausible that her lane didn’t have hurdles, she’d nitpick her form after the meets." The Ringer: The Spiritual Realm of Sydney McLaughlin. (It's also spiritual for fans and competitors who stare in disbelief and repeat, "OMG, OMG."

+ "At the centre of the disagreement is how Angelica Poquiz-Yulo managed her 24-year-old son's finances and her reported disapproval of his girlfriend, a content creator on TikTok." Double gold medallist's feud with mom eclipses historic win.

+ WaPo: This all-girls high school has more swimming medals than most countries.

+ Among the biggest shocks of the Olympics: The US rugby sevens player Ariana Ramsey experiencing free healthcare.

+ Healthcare isn't the only free perk. NYT: The Barber Will See You Now. The World Will See You Next. "At the Olympic Village, cuts, styles and manicures are free. The benefits, the athletes say, are priceless."

+ "Once they had braved the bacteria-laden waters of the Seine last week, Ainsley Thorpe and Nicole van der Kaay met New Zealand’s team doctor at the finish line for some post-triathlon medical advice. What he had waiting for them would horrify any dentist: two open bottles of Coca-Cola." WSJ (Gift Article): The Seine Is Gross, but Swimmers Have a Solution: a Can of Coke. (I'd rather swim in the can of Coke...)

4

Weekend Whats

What to Doc: "Behind President Joe Biden’s fateful decision are decades of challenges and controversies, triumphs and tragedies. Frontline tells the inside story of Biden’s rise to the presidency, and the personal and political forces that shaped him and led to his dramatic decision to step aside." This Frontline episode doesn't follow the tick-tock of Biden's decision to step aside. We'll have to wait a little longer for that rough draft history. But it is a great look at his up and down rise to power and the childhood and adult experiences that made his decision so remarkably difficult. Biden's Decision. And from back in May, here's the full interview of Biden by Howard Stern. It's not about politics, it's about his life.

+ What to Mystery: The excellent mystery writer (and part-time sheep farmer) Sarah Stewart Taylor is out with the first book in her new series. Agony Hill: A Mystery.

+ What to Book: Authoritarianism threatens us both abroad and at home. No one understands and explains that threat better than Anne Applebaum. Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World.

5

Extra, Extra

Chopper Whopper: During the latest episode in his same, old, tired act, Donald Trump lied constantly and served up his usual nonsense. But he added a new lie to the lineup. He claimed that he was in a helicopter that almost went down with Willie Brown who was being critical of Kamala Harris at the time. A few details were off. The helicopter didn't go almost go down. There was zero discussion of Kamala Harris. And it wasn't Willie Brown, it was Jerry Brown. Imagine the headlines if Biden had confused those two, but with Trump, the media just sits and listens. It turns out that there's a difference between a press conference and a monologue with reporters in the audience. That Time Trump Nearly Died in a Helicopter Crash? Didn’t Happen. (For now, the debate is back on following Trump's attempt to get out of it.)

+ Turns Out Political Violence is Illegal: "A California man with a history of political violence was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol." (Man who incited that action currently earning the support of just about every GOP leader.)

+ Putin His Place: "Reports suggest that Ukrainian troops are operating more than 10km (six miles) inside Russian territory – the deepest cross-border advance by Kyiv since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022." Russia struggles to repel deep incursion by Ukraine on fourth day of cross-border attack.

+ Gone in an Insta: "A chasm separated the Millers’ shimmering public lives and painful private reality. But their fall is also a source of very real grief — a story about trying to have it all, and what happens when you cannot." NYT (Gift Article): How an Instagram-Perfect Life in the Hamptons Ended in Tragedy.

+ Balls to the Walz:" Kamala Harris’ running mate has traditional 'manly man' traits. He’s also not frightened of women, afraid of Black people or terrified of the future." Bloomberg: Tim Walz’s Masculinity Is Terrifying to Republicans. (His decency is even more terrifying.)

+ Smells Unlike Victory: "In recent years, a growing body of research has affirmed that dogs can smell when humans are stressed. A new study shows how it affects them. As many dog owners can attest, our stress is contagious." Dogs can smell human stress, and it bums them out, study shows.

6

Feel Good Friday

"Being a parent is tiring, no doubt about it. Add balancing a career, a household, plus maybe being a single parent without support or a caregiver to ailing parents, and burnout is practically guaranteed. Before you know it, mothers and fathers find themselves at their doctor’s office with symptoms such as insomnia, panic attacks, depression or physical problems such as backache, arthritis or joint pain. But the prescription for what ails parents in Germany may not be for pills or creams. Those lucky parents may leave with doctor’s orders for a four-week spa break by the sea or in the mountains." This country’s doctors can prescribe four-week spa breaks to frazzled parents. (How about if my kids get sent to the spa and I just get my couch and my remote control.)

+ Thousands of anti-racism protesters have rallied in cities and towns across England after a week of anti-immigrant rioting and disorder.

+ How Lahaina's more than 150-year-old banyan tree is coming back to life after devastating fire.

+ Farmers honor ‘Peanuts’ creator Charles M. Schulz with corn mazes across US and in Canada.

+ The unsung hero of the Olympic-champion US women’s gymnastics team is a very good boy.

+ The endlessly fun (and oddly potent)... Tim Walz Fixed Your Bicycle.