University Chronicle

This has been a big year.

With an election coming up in November and the Olympics in London, there is a lot going on. Sports and news sections across the country have been riddled with headlines about two heated battles for glory.

Then there is Mitt Romney. Oh, Mitt. We have grown fond of your little vacations.

Romney’s most recent little adventure took him over to London, site of the 2012 Olympic Games.

If you remember the 2002 Winter Games, you would remember the Salt Lake City games and how Romney acted as the organizer for the entire event. Clearly this invited him to pass a few judgement calls to the people organizing in London.

The 2012 London Olympics are officially underway, as the opening ceremony commenced Friday night.

Great Britain put on quite a spectacle. Fireworks, Mary Poppins, Voldemort, and more entertained the crowd and the athletes alike.

There was a lot of music throughout the ceremony, capped off with a performance from Sir Paul McCartney leading the entire stadium in a sing-along of “Hey Jude”.

London had 204 countries marching into the stadium displaying bright boisterous colors to reflect the culture and flags of each country.

With 36 total events, the competition will take place from July 27 to August 12.

St. Cloud’s own Alise Post was ready to bring home the gold as the London Olympics kicked off Friday night. Post will be competing in Women’s BMX racing.

Headed into the games, Post is ranked second in the world behind Australia’s Caroline Buchanan in the 2012 UCI Supercross World Cup standings.

Post has overcome numerous obstacles to get to where she is today. She was a multi-sport athlete in high school, involved in gymnastics and track and field, being one of the state’s best gymnasts for four years.