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