Against overwhelming odds the Olympics kicked off with a fairytale ceremony marking the pinnacle of an athletic life and a roller-coaster of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

An Olympic Games is an intense time for sports writers with many tempting avenues for the use of cliche.

“(Leisel) Jones, winding down her pinnacle swimming career at her fourth Olympics, said that she was overwhelmed by the public support she had received.” (Agence France-Presse, July 29)

“It’s been a roller-coaster career for (Canadian Emilie) Heymans.” (Waterloo Region Record, July 30)

“Astonishing as her (Monique Gladding) story of recovery may be, she is not the only member of Team GB’s diving team who has battled overwhelming odds to win their place.” (The Guardian, July 26)

“Of all the honours that an American woman can win at an Olympics, the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around is the one that most completes the fairytale.” (The Forth Worth Star-Telegram, July 30)

“The US Olympic swimming trials are like a Fiona Apple album: an emotional roller-coaster with soaring arrangements that drown out the melancholic stories.” (New York Times, June 27)

Cliché of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Clichés in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash’s book, The Last Whale , a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.