Olympic Pole Dancing

There I was, struggling to come up with something to blog about — seriously: I don’t care about health care reform or this damn summit — when BAM: Deadspin blogs about Olympic pole dancing. From an AP story about the Quixotic campaign:

For Japan’s Mai Sato, watching all those gold medals being handed out in Vancouver is a bittersweet experience. Sato knows the demands of being the best. In her world, blisters are the rule, bruises a way of life. And the training — five hours a day, five days a week.

Sato, the world champion in her sport, is as athletic, dedicated and competitive as the Olympians representing their nations at the games. And she thinks it’s high time her discipline, too, got some real recognition.

Still, pole dancing? In the Olympics?

Absolutely, say thousands of pole dancers and the rapidly growing number of international and national federations transforming what was once the exclusive property of strip clubs and cheap bars into a respectable — and highly athletic — event.

I, for one, salute these brave athletes who are attempting to bring greater honor to their legendarily difficult sport. Pole dancers of the world unite!