Tuesday, August 30, 2016

The Olympics: Day 13 Rio

Kerron Clement was an Olympic silver medalist in 2008 in Beijing. Eight years later, he came back to win the gold in Rio. Besides being an Olympic athlete and gold medalist, Clement models and acts.

Men's 400m Hurdle Final

1. Kerron Clement, USA, 47.73
2. Boniface Mucheru Tumuti, Kenya, 47.78
3. Yasmani Copello, Turkey, 47.92

Team USA went 1, 2 in the Men's Shot Put event, and gold medalist Ryan Crouser broke an Olympic record that had stood since 1988, nearly 30 years!

Men's Shot Put Final 

1. Ryan Crouser, USA, 22.52, Olympic Record 
2. Joe Kovacs, USA, 21.78
3. Tomas Walsh, New Zealand, 21.36

Aston Eaton proved once again why he is the world's best athlete. He proved himself to be the best through 10 events. His wife Brianne Thiesen Eaton won the Heptathlon which makes me wonder.... are they the most fit couple?

Men's Decathlon Final

1. Ashton Eaton, USA, 8893
2. Kevin Mayer, France, 8834
3. Damian Warner, Canada, 8666

Dalilah Muhammad became the first US woman to win a gold medal in the 400m hurdles. The previous record for 5 silver medals for the US. Team USA also picked up a bronze medal from Ashley Spencer who ran a personal best. 

Women's 400m Hurdle Final 

1. Dalilah Muhammad, USA, 53.13
2. Sara Slott Petersen, Denmark, 53.55
3. Ashley Spencer, USA, 53.72

Sunday, August 28, 2016

The Olympics: Day 12 Rio

Day 12 #GirlPower

In Beach Volleyball, this was Walsh Jennings and Ross's gold medal to win. The Brazilians and the Germans had other plans and Team USA fell and played for bronze.

Women's Beach Volleyball Finals

1. Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst, Germany
2. Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas de Freitas, Brazil
3. Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross, USA

The US Ladies finished 1, 2 in the long jump. Brittney Reese considered retiring after London following a sports injury. She battled back and is called "da beast" for a reason. She made it all the way back to the Olympics where she finished in second place behind her US teammate.

Women's Long Jump Final

1. Tianna Bartoletta, USA, 7.17
2. Brittney Reese, USA, 7.15
3. Ivana Spanovic, Sernia, 7.08

Jamaica keeps their track and field tradition alive continuing to produce stunning athletes. Miss Elaine Thompson from Jamaica is the first woman since Florence Griffith Joyner in 1988 at the Seoul Olympics to win the 100m and 200m Golds! The 24 year old calls herself a "warrior and a strong girl".

Women's 200m Finals

1. Elaine Thompson, Jamaica, 21.78
2. Dafne Schippers, The Netherlands, 21.88
3. Tori Bowie, USA, 22.15

Finally, it was a beautiful day for the ladies of the US Track and Field Team who swept the 100m Hurdles. The US Women have a deep history rooted in this race, and they relinquished absolutely nothing, all three women standing on the podium were from Team USA!

Women's 100m Hurdle Finals

1. Brianna Rollins, USA, 12.48
2. Nia Ali, USA, 12.59
3. Kristi Castlin, USA, 12.61


Sunday, August 21, 2016

The Olympics: Day 11 Rio

Already a silver medalist from the Team Finals, Oleg Verniaiev earned himself an individual gold in the parallel bars finals. US Alternate Team Member, Danell Leyva showed the Olympic committee that he was grateful as well as deserving of the opportunity to be a part of Team USA earning a silver medal. His routine was near flawless.

Men's Parallel Bar Finals

1. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 16.041
2. Danell Leyva, USA, 15.900
3. David Belyavskiy, Russian Federation, 15.783

Simone Biles and Aly Raisman completed their Rio Olympics by adding some major hardware to their growing collections. Biles walks away with 4 Golds and 1 Bronze, and Raisman with 1 Gold and 2 Silvers. This was most certainly a successful Olympics for US Women's Gymnastics!

Women's Floor Exercise Finals

1. Simone Biles, USA, 15.966
2. Aly Raisman, USA, 15.500
3. Amy Tinkler, Great Britain, 14.933

The 16 year old German, Fabian Hambuechen, who some said looked like a blond Harry Potter beat the flying Dutchman, Epke Zonderland, who won gold four years ago in London on the High Bar. Danell Leyva turned in another brave performance on the high bar earning himself another silver after just winning one earlier in the day.

Men's Horizontal Bar Finals

1. Fabian Hambuechen, Germany, 15.766
2. Danell Leyva, USA, 15.500
3. Nile Wilson, Great Britain, 15.466

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Two members of Team US successfully finished in the first and second spots in the Men's Triple Jump defending their finishes from London, four years ago. Christian Taylor and Will Claye finished first and second respectively, both competed for the University of Florida. This marks the fourth time since 1984 that 2 members of the US Team have finished in the top two spots in this event, "To do this with my brother is a dream come true," Taylor said of his teammate. As for Will Claye, he proposed to girlfriend, US Hurdler, Queen Harrison.

Men's Triple Jump Finals

1. Christian Taylor, USA, 17.86
2. Will Claye, USA, 17.76
3. Bin Dong, China, 17.58


Friday, August 19, 2016

The Olympics: Day 10 Rio

Allyson Felix went to these Games being the most decorated female Olympic Track & Field athlete. She failed to qualify in the 200m during trials but did qualify for the 400m. Felix being able to completely focus on the 400m made it seem meant to be, and she had some of the top qualifying times, she made it into the finals and seemed so fully in control, and then in the last ten meters Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas came up alongside her and dived at the finish line crossing in front of Felix.

Women's 400m Final

1. Shaunae Miller, Bahamas, 49.44
2. Allyson Felix, USA, 49.51
3. Shericka Jackson, Jamaica, 49.85

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Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece is truly what everyone is calling, "Lord of the Rings". His routine absolutely stunned me, I don't think he could have done anything better than the routine that he put out.

Men's Rings Finals

1. Eleftherios Petrounias, Greece, 16.000
2. Arthur Zanetti, Brazil, 15.766
3. Denis Abliazin, Russian Federation, 15.700

In his Olympic debut he won Gold becoming the first North Korean Gymnast to win Gold in this event.

Men's Vault Finals

1. Ri Se Gwang, North Korea, 15.691
2. Denis Abliazin, Russian Federation, 15.516
3. Kenzo Shirai, Japan, 15.449

The beam was not good to Simone Biles, she wobbled on a move she does pretty frequently and had to grab the beam to stay on it. Considering that this was Bile's worst, it proves just how amazing she is to still win a medal. Laurie Hernandez had what was perhaps the best beam routine of her young career. She was charismatic and on point, and it was enough for her to capture the silver. And then there was the Gold medal performance by Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands; she absolutely dazzled on the beam, it was like she was at another level than everyone else.

Women's Balance Beam Finals

1. Sanne Wevers, The Netherlands, 15.466
2. Laurie Hernandez, USA, 15.333
3. Simone Biles, USA, 14.733


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The Olympics: Day 9 Rio

On Day 9, there were lots of Gymnastics apparatus finals and Usain Bolt in the 100m Dash, lots of excitement on this day.

On the Men's Floor Exercise, there was pure joy when two Brazilian gymnasts medaled. Max Whitlock of Great Britain won the first gold for a British gymnast. Whitlock won the bronze medal in the All Around. He went on to later win the Pommel Horse Final as well where he is the defending champion. Once again, disappointment for the US Men's Team, Sam Mikulak and Jake Dalton were the top two qualifiers and neither one of them medaled.

Men's Floor Exercise

1. Max Whitlock, Great Britain, 15.633
2. Diego Hipolito, Brazil, 15.533
3. Arthur Mariano, Brazil, 15.433

In the Women's Vault Finals, it was all about Simone Biles. She won her third gold of this Games! She is a young woman certainly destined to make history. Her first vault was a 15.9 and her second was a 16.033. She won this by a significant margin.

Women's Vault Final

1. Simone Biles, USA, 15.966
2. Maria Paseka, Russian Federation, 15.253
3. Giulia Steingruber, Switzerland, 15.216

I already mentioned that Max Whitlock also secured a gold in Pommel Horse. Alex Naddour of the US picked up the bronze. This may very well be the only medal the US Men's gymnasts walk away with.

Men's Pommel Horse Final

1. Max Whitlock, Great Britain, 15.966
2. Louis Smith, Great Britain, 15.833
3. Alex Naddour, USA, 15.700

Russia's Aliya Mustafina repeated as the uneven bars champion. She is only the second female gymnast to do this, the first was Svetlana Khorkina, also from Russia in 1996 and 2000. Maddison Kocian of the US Team took the silver while Gabby Douglas struggled to stay on the apparatus and as a result, her score wasn't high enough to make the podium.

Women's Uneven Bars Final

1. Aliya Mustafina, Russian Federation, 15.900
2. Maddison Kocian, USA, 15.833
3. Sophie Scheder, Germany, 15.566

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In the Men's 100m Dash, Usain Bolt proved why he is a force. He didn't get out of the blocks the best, but he just accelerated, and started passing each opponent. In the last 10 meters he slowed down, looked at this opponents and passed them. Bolt picked up his third consecutive Olympic Gold in the 100m, a feat that has never been done before. Bolt seals his legacy as perhaps the greatest sprinter ever. Justin Gatlin came back from redemption, and I feel he earned that running the best race he could and capturing the Silver.

Men's 100m Final

1. Usain Bolt, Jamaica, 9.81
2. Justin Gatlin, USA, 9.89
3. Andre De Grasse, Canada, 9.94

I bet that Wayde Van Niekirk is one of the most beloved athletes in South Africa. He is trained by his grandmother. He finished fifth in qualifying and had to start the final for the 400m in Lane 8, a place no one wants to be. Van Niekirk proved why he is the real deal, he finished in first out of Lane 8 and shattered the World Record and the Olympic Record. His grandmother was in the audience watching, what a moment. Of note, LaShawn Merritt of the US Team picked up a bronze.

Men's 400m Final

1. Wayde Van Niekirk, South Africa, 43.03 World Record, Olympic Record
2. Kirani Jone, Grenada, 43.76
3. LaShawn Merritt, USA, 43.85

Saturday, August 13, 2016

The Olympics: Day 8 Rio

It was the final night of swimming at these Olympics. It was perhaps the last time we will see Michael Phelps race. It's very clear how much Michael loves swimming, competing, his teammates, his fans, and it will be, no doubt, different without him. He is a true legend and inspiration, and I think that's not going to go away any time soon.

Denmarks Pernille Blume won Denmark's first gold in swimming. Simone Manuel continued to impress at these Games, picking up another medal, this time Silver.

Women's 50m Freestyle

1. Pernille Blume, Denmark, 24.07
2. Simone Manuel, USA, 24.09
3. Aliaksandra Herasimenia, Belarus, 24.11

In the Men's 1500m, Gregorio Paltrinieri had the lead for almost the entire event and his teammate won the Bronze. Conor Jaeger improved from sixth place to second place,

Men's 1,500m Freestyle

1. Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy, 14.34.57
2. Connor Jaeger, USA, 14.39.48
3. Gabriele Detti, Italy, 14.40.86

There was absolute dominance by the US Team in relays. This team has a lot to be proud of in terms of performance. More than ever, they have proven that the US is a force to be reckoned with in swimming and so many other sports.

Women's 4x 100m Medley Relay

1. USA, 3.53.13 (Team USA: Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer, Simone Manuel)
2. Australia, 3.55.00
3. Denmark, 3.55.01

Men's 4x 100m Medley Relay

1. USA, 3.27.95 (Team USA: Ryan Murphy, Cody Miller, Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian) Olympic Record
2. Great Britain, 3.29.24
3. Australia, 3.29.93

Friday, August 12, 2016

The Olympics: Day 7 Rio

Maya Dirado was not favored in this event, and nevertheless, here she is, with another Gold! I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to be begging Dirado not to retire after these Games and ride into the sunset. She upset Katinka Hosszu who was the favorite and won a couple of Golds earlier this week.

Women's 200m Backstroke

1. Maya Dirado, USA, 2.05.99
2. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary, 2.06.05
3. Hillary Caldwell, Canada, 2.07.54

Eight year ago, a teenage Joseph Schooling from Singapore met Michael Phelps before he went to the Beijing Games. Fast forward to 2016, and a grown up Joseph Schooling not only swan against Phelps but beat him and a group of veterans. Phelps took home the third silver of his career, an honor which this time he shared with long time rivals Chad Le Clos and Laszlo Cseh.

Men's 100m Butterfly

1. Joseph Schooling, Singapore, 50.39 Olympic Record
2. Michael Phelps, USA, 51.14
2. Chad Le Clos, South Africa, 51.14
2. Laszlo Cseh, Hungary, 51.14

Katie Ledecky not only defended her Gold in the 800m Freestyle, but she shattered the World Record that belonged to her. She finished the race almost 13 seconds after everyone else.

Women's 800m Freestyle

1. Katie Ledecky, USA, 8.04.79 World Record/ Olympic Record
2. Carlin Jazz, Great Britain, 8.16.17
3. Boglarka Kapas, Hungary, 8.16.37

Lastly, the 50m Free, the splash and dash as it's called by swimmers had quite the surprise. It came in the form of 35 year old Anthony Ervin from the US. Ervin won this event 16 years ago in 2000 at the age of 19. He and Gary Hall Jr of the US tied for Gold. This time around it was just Ervin. Favorite in the event Florent Manaudou of France won the Silver and Nathan Adrian of the US hung on for the Bronze.

Men's 50m Freestyle

1. Anthony Ervin, USA, 21.40
2. Florent Manouodou, France, 21.41
3. Nathan Adrian, USA, 21.49



Thursday, August 11, 2016

The Oympics: Day 6 Rio

Destiny fulfilled. Simone Biles won the Women's All Around today. Biles has been undefeated in three consecutive World Championships and tonight completed what has been a long journey. She was unstoppable and untouchable finishing two points ahead of her teammate Aly Raisman.  And it was redemption indeed for Aly Raisman who won the silver. I would argue that she is better today than she was four years ago. This marks the first time US Gymnasts have gone 1, 2 in the All Around since 2008 when Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson did it in Beijing. Mustafina who won the Bronze 4 years ago repeated as Bronze medalist today.

Women's All Around Finals Gymnastics

1. Simone Biles, USA, 62.198
2. Aly Raisman, USA, 60.098
3. Aliya Mustafina, Russian Federation, 58.665

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No Americans made it to the finals in the Women's 200m Breaststroke, a rarity during these games. Rie Kaneto of Japan won the gold. It was the first time in 3 Games that an American did not win. In 2004, Amanda Beard won Gold and in 2008 and 2012 Rebecca Soni took the Gold. Controversial swimmer from the Russian Team, Yulia Efimova improved to Silver from Bronze 4 years ago in this same event.

Women's 200m Breaststroke

1. Rie Kaneto, Japan, 2.20.30
2. Yulia Efimova, Russian Federation, 2.21.97
3, Shi Jinglin, China, 2.22.28

There is a new king in the Backstroke, and it's Ryan Murphy. At 21 years of age and making his Olympic debut, Murphy swept the Backstroke events winning Gold in both and keeping the US streak alive at 6 in a row in Olympic Games. He beat out Mitch Larkin who is the 2015 World Champion in this event.

Men's 200m Backstroke

1. Ryan Murphy, USA, 1.53.62
2, Mitch Larkin, Australia, 1.53.96
3. Evgeny Rylov, Russian Federation, 1.53.97

This was one of the events I was looking forward to during this entire Olympics. After all, it may be the last time that Phelps and Lochte go head to head in an Olympic event. I honestly expected them to go 1, 2 in this event. It's always been Michael and Ryan, but tonight for some reason, it just was not to be. It's like only half the story ended as it should have. Ryan was even leading at one point. Michael pulled ahead, like so many times before, and never looked back, the only difference is that this time Ryan was not right behind him.

Men's 200m Individual Medley

1. Michael Phelps, USA, 1.54.66
2. Kosuke Hagino, Japan, 1.56.61
3. Wang Shun, China, 1.57.05

5. Ryan Lochte, USA, 1.57.47

Wow Simone Manuel! You are a firecracker! Simone became the first African American woman to win an individual swimming medal, and go figure, it was Gold! And she died for an Olympic record with Penny Oleksiak of Canada. This is the first Olympics for Manuel and Oleksiak who beat out sisters and favorites in this race from Cate and Bronte Campbell from Australia. Sarah Sjostrom who won a couple of Golds earlier in the week took a silver.

Women's 100m Freestyle

1. Simone Manuel, USA, 52.70 Olympic Record
1. Penny Oleksiak, Canada, 52.70 Olympic Record
3. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden, 52.99  

The Olympics: Day 5 Rio

The big surprise in the Olympic pool tonight was that we had a group of unlikely winners. None from the US Team.

Dmitriy Balandin won Kazakhstan's first ever Olympic Gold in the Men's 200m Breaststroke, but that wasn't the only headline. Josh Prenot won a silver for Team USA, no American man had won a medal in this event since 1992 when Mike Barrowman won Gold in 1992 and Brendan Hansen won bronze in 2004.

Men's 200m Breaststroke

1. Dmitriy Balandin, Kazakhstan, 2.07.46
2. Josh Prenot, USA, 2.07.53
3. Anton Chupkov, Russia, 2.07.70

Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain added a Gold to her Bronze from earlier this week.

Women's 200m Butterfly

1. Mireia Belmonte Garcia, Spain, 2.04.85
2. Madeline Graves, Australia, 2.04.88
3. Natsumi Hoshi, Japan, 2.05.20

At only 18 years of age, Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers captured Gold in one of the marquee swimming events, the 100m free last night. It's the first Australian Gold in the event since 1968, and what's even more impressive is that Chalmers beat several veteran swimmers to do it. This included US swimmer and defending champion, Nathan Adrian who just made it onto the podium with a Bronze. Adrian said he still felt great about getting another medal.

Men's 100m Freestyle

1. Kyle Chalmers, Australia, 47.58
2. Pieter Tmmers, Belgium, 47.80
3. Nathan Adrian, USA, 47.85

Another relay Gold for the US Team was achieved in the pool last night. This time it came from Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, Maya Dirado, and Katie Ledecky. Ledecky has added more hardware to her already successful Rio Games. Dirado now has one of each medal from Rio.

Women's 4x 200m Relay

1. USA 7.43.03 (Team USA: Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, Maya Dirado, and Katie Ledecky)
2. Australia 7.44.87
3. Canada 7.45.39

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Meanwhile, the Men's All Around in Gymnastics took place on Wednesday night and the winner was no surprise. Kohei Uchimura from Japan who has dominated his sport since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing repeated as the All Around Champion. "King Kohei" as he is called sealed the deal with a near flawless high bar routine, 15.8. Uchimura is always humble and said that a team medal means far more to him than an individual medal, and so when his team did just that, one could tell that his happiness was genuine. Silver went to Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine who led several times during the event. Verniaiev said that Uchimura is one of the gymnasts he admires most, and the two posed for photos together. Max Whitlock from Great Britain became the first British man to win an All Around Medal at the Olympics.

Men's Individual All Around

1. Kohei Uchimura, Japan, 92.365
2. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 92.266
3. Max Whitlock, Great Britain, 90.641







Tuesday, August 9, 2016

The Olympics: Day 4 Rio

I still don't know what this team is going to call themselves, but whatever they decide on, they're incredible. The team of five women's gymnasts that make up the US team, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Herandez, and Madison Kocian dared to go there. They took chances, executed to near perfection, and in the end, won by a margin of over 8 points.

Women's Gymnastics Team Finals

1. USA 184.897
2. Russian Federation 176.688
3. China 176.003
4. Japan 174.371
5. Great Britain 174.362
6. Germany 173.672
7. Netherlands 172.447
8. Brazil 172.087

Update! They have given themselves the name, The Final Five because they are Marta Karolyi's last team, and in Tokyo in 4 years, Teams will consist of four members instead of five.

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Katie Ledecky is three for three for medals at these Games and two for two in individual Golds at these Games. Katie said she definitely felt the pressure and has never lost a race on an international stage in her whole career. She said this is the closest to throwing up she has ever felt in any race. She is favored to win in the 800m Freestyle later this week. Ledecky beat out Sarah Sjostrom who was favored to win.

Women's 200m Freestyle

1. Katie Ledecky, USA, 1.53.73
2. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden, 1.54.08
3. Emma McKeon, Australia, 1.54.92

Last night Chad Le Clos shadow boxed in front of Michael Phelps in the ready room. It also looked like he shook his body in front of him, maybe even danced. Phelps stared ahead, headphones on, looking super Darth Vader. Tonight, Phelps put it all out there, and left everything he had in the in pool. He always does though. Some may have doubted this come back. He had a lot of competition in this race: Le Clos, Cseh, and Kanderesi, but at the end, Phelps won his 20th Gold Medal!

Men's 200m Butterfly

1. Michael Phelps, USA, 1.53.36
2. Masato Sakai, Japan, 1.53.40
3. Tamas Kenderesi, Hungary, 1.53.62

and Le Clos, for the record, finished out of the medals.

The Iron Lady, Katinka Hosszu won her third Gold at these Games. Hosszue has made a lot of notable changes to her training regimen including firing her old coach and hiring her husband as her coach. Maya Dirado of the US Team who made her debut at these Games, won a bronze. She previously announced that she would retire at the end of these Games to pursue her career as a business analyst.

Women's 200m Individual Medley

1. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary, 2.06.58 Olympic Record
2. Siobhan Marie O'Connor, Great Britain, 2.06.88
3. Madeline Dirado, USA, 2.08.79

Make it 21 Golds for Phelps, 25 career medals, and for Ryan Lochte, not too shabby either, Olympic medal number 12. The US men were unbeatable in the Men's 4x 200m relay. They finished more than 3 seconds ahead of second place finisher Great Britain. Michael Phelps swan the anchor leg and as he was getting ready his swim cap broke, and Conor Dwyer quickly handed his swim cap to Phelps who quickly put it on and made it efficiently off the blocks.

Men's 4x 200m Freestyle Relay

1. USA, 7.00.66 (Team USA: Conor Dwyer, Francis Haas, Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps)
2. Great Britain, 7.03.13
3. Japan, 7.03.50


The Olympics: Day 3 Rio

I forgot to make mention yesterday that Olympian Wu Mingxia won her fifth Gold medal for Diving yesterday in the Women's 3m Springboard. Unheard of in her sport! Wu looks to make even more history by competing in other events during these Games. As expected, she is a favorite to medal!

Women's 3m Synchronized Springboard

1. Shi Tingmao and Wu Mingxia China 345.60
2. Tania Cagnotto and Francesca Dallape Italy 313.83
3. Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith Australia 299.19

Today was the Men's 10m Synchronized Platform Diving event. Gold medalist from the London Games, 27 year old, David Boudia had a new partner this time around in 20 year old Olympic newcomer Steele Johnson. Johnson says he is fortunate to get to train with a Gold medalist in his sport, but to dive with him, and be on the same team, even better. He says Boudia is not only a mentor but a friend. It was so great to watch them win Silver in this event. It was the Chinese Team though, with a score that could not be beat, who won Gold.

Men's 10m Synchronized Platform

1. Chen Aisen and Lin Yue China 496.98
2. David Boudia and Steele Johnson USA 457.11
3. Thomas Daley and David Goodfellow Great Britain 444.45

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Tonight, the Olympic pool was full of success and medals for the US Team. How consistently excited I've been watching these athletes compete and show the best of what they have to offer. Everyone has such a great story.

Conor Dwyer looked to redeem himself after a tough finish in the 400m Freestyle. He finished in 4th, just out of the medals. The 200m was his chance and when he looked up at the times, he finished in third. Sun Yang from China finished in first, and Chad Le Clos from South Africa finished in second, Mack Horton fron Australia who won the 400m called Yang from China a cheat, and said he hoped his sport would clean up these types of occurrences and that those caught would be punished.

Men's 200m Freestyle

1. Sun Yang, China, 1.44.65
2. Chad Le Clos, South Africa, 1.45.20
3. Conor Dwyer, USA, 1.45.23

Rookie to the Games, Ryan Murphy kept the US legacy alive in the 100m Men's Backstroke on Monday night. The US Team has won the Gold in this event dating all the way back to the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Not only did Murphy win but he set a new Olympic record. Fellow American, David Plummer won the Bronze and made history of his own becoming the oldest medalist in this event, 30 years 304 days.

Men's 100m Backstroke

1. Ryan Murphy, USA, 51.97 Olympic Record
2. Xu Jiayu, China, 52.31
3. David Plummer, USA, 52.40

Katinka Hosszu is continuing her gold streak at these games picking up her second Gold. She has come to two Olympics prior to this and never won a medal before Rio. What a story! Meanwhile, US team member, Kathleen Baker picked up a silver and couldn't be more ecstatic in her post race interview.

Women's 100m Backstroke

1. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary, 58.45
2. Kathleen Baker, USA, 58.75
3. Kylie Masse, Canada, 58.76
3. Fu Yuanhui, China, 58.76

There's been a war of words brewing between Lilly King and Yulia Efimova. The only thing is, King did all the talking.  King voiced that she felt anyone who had been caught doping from Russia past or present should be banned. Efimova previously served a 16 month suspension for testing positive. King's win was a major statement and in her post race interview, she said she stood by her words and her stance on the doping issues surrounding these and so many other games.

Women's 100m Breaststroke

1. Lillia King, USA, 1.04.93 Olympic Record
2. Yulia Efimova, Russian Federation, 1.05.50
3. Catherine Meili, USA, 1.05.69

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Disappointment in the Men's Team Final as the US Men finished out of the medals. Alex Naddour and Danell Laeva struggled last night on multiple events. For what should have been a happy night for the US Men's Team instead was frustration. 

Men's Team Final Artistic Gymnastics 

1. Japan 274.094
2. Russian Federation 271.453
3. China 271.122
4. Great Britain 269.752
5. USA 268.560
6. Brazil 263.728
7. Germany 261.275
8. Ukraine 207.028





Sunday, August 7, 2016

The Olympics: Day 2 Rio

Today was all about breaking records. Adam Peaty of Great Britain did something that hasn't been done in his sport at the Olympics since 1988 in Seoul; he won a Gold! Yesterday, Sarah Sjostrom from Sweden broke Olympic and World Records in the Women's 100m Butterfly, and then she jumped back into the pool today and did the same thing.

How beautiful was it to see Dana Vollmer come back after becoming a mom and win a Bronze medal in the event she won Gold in 4 years ago? It made me smile to watch Cody Miller celebrate after winning Bronze. You would think that he won a Gold!

Katie Ledecky made me smile as she shattered the World Record during the 400m Freestyle. She finished more than five seconds ahead of the second place finisher. I am predicting that Katie is going to have a successful Olympics. She is such a threat in so many distances and disciplines. I appreciate her confidence. Leah Smith brought the US Swim Team their third Bronze of the night.

And make it 19 Golds for Phelps, 23 medals overall. The USA brought the Gold in the 4x100m Freestyle Relay back to US soil as Phelps exclaimed to press after the win. Phelps swan the second leg and Adrian swan the anchor leg as the veterans along with two newcomers brought it home for the US Team.

Women's 100m Butterfly
1. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden, 55.48 World Record, Olympic Record
2. Penny Oleksiak, Canada, 56.46
3. Dana Vollmer, USA, 56.63

Men's 100m Breaststroke
1. Adam Peaty, Great Britain, 57.13 World Record, Olympic Record
2. Cameron Van Der Burgh, South Africa, 58.69
3. Cody Miller, USA, 58.87

Women's 400m Freestyle
1. Kathleen (Katie) Ledecky, USA, 3.56.46, World Record, Olympic Record
2. Carline Jazz, Great Britain, 4.01.23
3. Leah Smith, USA, 4.01.92

Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay
1. USA, 3.09.92 (Team USA: Caeleb Dressel, Michael Phelps, Ryan Held, Nathan Adrian)
2. France, 3.10.53
3. Australia, 3.11.37

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In Women's Gymnastics, the question has become, what can't the American Team do? What apparatus can they not dominate in?

Team Qualifying:

1. USA 185.238
2. China 175.279
3. Russian Federation 174.620
4. Great Britain 174.064
5. Brazil 174.054
6. Germany 173.263
7. Netherlands 171.929
8. Italy 169.396

All Arounds Individual:
1. Simone Biles 62.366
2. Alexandra Raisman 60.607
3. Gabrielle Douglas 60.131
(only top two from each county can go, so unfair since they were so much better than everyone else competing)

Vault:
1. Simone Biles 16.050

Uneven Bars:
1. Madison Kocian 15.866
3. Gabrielle Douglas 15.766

Balance Beam:
1. Simone Biles 15.633
2. Lauren Hernandez 15.366

Floor Exercise:
1. Simone Biles 15.733
2. Alexandra Raisman 15.275

I cannot wait to see how this Women's Competition unfolds!


Saturday, August 6, 2016

The Olympics: Rio Day 1

Lots of surprises came in day one of competition at the 31st Olympic Games in Rio. I expected much more US dominance in the pool. They did walk away with three silver medals, but why did I feel like there would be so much more? The Australians bounced back from a dismal performance in swimming at the London Games and walked away on night one with two golds in the Men's 400m Freestyle and the Women's 4x100m Relay.

Chase Kalisz grew up watching Michael Phelps. Phelps sees Kalisz like a little brother. The 400m IM, Kalisz said, is all about legacy, and so even though silver is nothing to be upset about, you couldn't help but see the look on Kalisz's face knowing that the gold slipped away.

On the Women's side, Katinka Hosszu was absolutely dominant in the Women's 400m IM shattering a World Record and Olympic Record. She's known as the Iron Lady for a reason, look for her to continue this dominance during the Games.

Results:

Men's 400m IM
1. Kosuke Hagino Japan, 4.06.05
2. Chase Kalisz USA, 4.06.75
3. Daiya Seto Japan, 4.09.71

Men's 400m Freestyle
1. Mack Horton Australia, 3.41.55
2. Yang Sun China, 3.41.68
3. Gabriele Detti Italy, 3.43.49
4. Connor Dwyer USA, 3.43.42
5. Connor Yaeger USA, 3.45.37

Women's 400m IM
1. Katinka Hosszu Hungary, 4..26.36 World Record, Olympic Record
2. Madeline Dirado USA, 4.31.15
3. Mireia Belmonte Garcia Spain, 4.32.39

Women's 4x100m Relay
1. Australia 3.30.65 World Record, Olympic Record
2. USA 3.31.89 (Team USA: Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzeil, Dana Vollmer, Katie Ledecky)
3. Canada 3.32.89

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In Gymnastics was the Men's Qualifying for the Team, All Around, and Individual Apparatus Competitions. The US Men looked to redeem themselves from their performance in London.

Here are the eight teams competing in the Team Competition:

1. China 270.461
2. USA 270.405
3. Russian Federation 269.612
4. Japan 269.294
5. Great Britain 268.670
6. Brazil 268.078
7. Ukraine 263.002
8. Germany 261.518

In the All Around, only two athletes per team can be sent. From Team USA, Sam Mikulak and Chris Brooks will compete.

The US Men did not qualify for the Still Rings and Vault, but did qualify for the following:

Floor Exercise: Sam Mikulak and Jake Dalton
Pommel Horse: Alex Naddour
Horizontal Bar: Danell Leyva and Sam Mikulak
Parallel Bars: Danell Leyva

I cannot wait to see how they do!