Unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware that the 2008 Summer Olympics have begun in Beijing. The awe-inspiring opening ceremonies were worth watching on tape-delay or YouTube (and showed us how the Chinese will conquer the world: After hypnotizing everyone with choreographed moving boxes, thousands of Tai-Chi masters will pop out of said boxes and easily overpower their opponents. We don't stand a chance.).

The Games are being fought out roughly 5,500 miles from Lebanon, but that doesn't mean there aren't local ties.

Maryland Johnson tipped me off to one of the strongest Lebanon-Beijing connections. She told me that Grant Kremers, former teacher at Seven Oak and now a resident of Carson City, Nev., is the grandfather of U.S. triple jumper Aarik Wilson.

Wilson, 25, won the Olympic trials and set a Hayward Field record last month.

Speaking of track and field, did you catch Lebanon's Dennis Olafson in a couple of camera angles during the Olympic trials in Eugene? He was the head official of the event, which received rave reviews from athletes, spectators and media alike. I

Middle-distance runner Andrew Wheating, a crowd favorite at the track and field trials, attended Lebanon High School - in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He now competes for the University of Oregon, so let's make him an honorary local.

Willamette Speedway fans will recognize the name John Duty as a very successful driver. But how many know that his first love was hockey? It's true. He played for 15 years in Canada and the U.S. and, according to his website, "was involved with the U.S. Olympic team." A serious head injury ended his career and forced him to consider tamer pursuits, like race car driving.

Julie Brandt Glass is an inline skater who has numerous titles to her name. She made the U.S. (ice) speedskating team in 2002, but decided her heart wasn't in it. Some readers might recognize her name; several years ago she and her husband, Doug, owned a coffee stand in Lebanon.

I wasn't able to contact Glass, but she mentioned Lebanon in an interview she gave to Inline Planet. Read it online at www.inlineplanet.com/Interviews/julieglasstalksa.html.

Finally, for a few years in the 1990s, Lebanon hosted the Olympics - the Basset Hound Olympics. At one point, the BHO made international headlines not for a doping scandal but simply for its novelty. Sadly, this event moved to Woodburn. The 2008 "Games" were held in July; anyone want to help me petition the governing body of Basset Hound competition to bring them back home?

Know of another local Olympian or Olympic tie? E-mail Rachel Beck at rachel.beck@lee.net.