Track and Field
In Gymnastics, the winner of the All-Around is considered the best athlete in the sport; in Swimming that title goes to the winner of the Individual Medley. In this sense, the winner of the Decathlon for men and Heptathlon for women is considered the best athlete in Track and Field.
(“London Olympics: Day 8,” The iPINIONS Journal, August 4, 2012)
I was impressed when Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium dethroned defending Olympic champion Jessica Ennis of Great Britain to win the Heptathlon on Day 8. But I was even more so when Ashton Eaton of the USA defended his Olympic title in the Decathlon today, becoming the first to repeat since Daley Thompson of the Great Britain at Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984.
- Ashton Eaton of the USA won gold; Kevin Mayer of France, silver; and Damian Warner of Canada, bronze.
The Decathlon requires athletes to compete over two consecutive days in 10 events: the 100m, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, and 400m on the first day; the 110m Hurdles, Discus Throw, Pole Vault, Javelin Throw, and 1500m on the second.
But nothing indicates how athletic they are quite like Jeremy Taiwo of the USA jumping 7’2” in the High Jump yesterday. After all, this would have placed him 7th in the regular Men’s High Jump final on Day 11, in which 15 jumpers competed. Except that Taiwo then had to run the 400m to complete his first day of competition.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a little biased because Taiwo is a family friend. But no less a person than Usain Bolt affirmed my take, even if unwittingly. For he made news this week when he complained about having to run two 100m sprints in one day; whereas these athletes have to run, jump, and throw in five events in one day and do the same the very next day.
Speaking of Bolt, he continued his historic quest for an Olympic three-peat in three events in the 200m, having already done so in the 100m. It’s too bad this final lost most of its drama after Bolt’s archrival, Justin Gatlin of the USA, failed to qualify.
Never mind the drama inherent in the man hyped to have a final showdown with Bolt failing to even show up. But I suspect Gatlin decided that it’s better to blame his failure to qualify in the Men’s 200m on an early round miscalculation than face another loss to Bolt – complete with the resounding anti-doping boos that have greeted him every time he entered the stadium at these Games.
- Usain Bolt of Jamaica won gold in 19.78; Andre DeGrasse of Canada, silver; and Christophe LeMaitre of France, bronze.
Triathlon
As the above attests, I believe the winner of the Decathlon should be acclaimed as the best athlete in Track and Field. But being acclaimed as the best athlete in the world is an entirely different proposition. Not least because the winner of the Modern Pentathlon can be so acclaimed for performing feats of athleticism and endurance in five different sports in one afternoon (tomorrow for women, Saturday for men); and the winner of the Triathlon can be no less so for performing feats of athleticism and endurance in three different sports in two hours.
With respect to the Men’s Triathlon, brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee were the clear favorites. Together they are as dominant in the Triathlon as the Jamaicans are in Track. Therefore, nobody was surprised when Alistair defended his London 2012 title and Jonathan improved from bronze to silver.
- Alistair Brownlee of Great Britain won gold in 1:45.01; Jonathan Brownlee of Great Britain, silver; and Henri Schoemann of South Africa, bronze.
By the way, this version of the Triathlon includes 1.5km of Swimming, 40km of Cycling, and 10km of running. The women compete on Saturday.
Wrestling
One of the transformative features of these Olympics is the extent to which women are not only generating far more excitement but also winning more medals for their respective teams. For example, Team USA has an insurmountable lead in the overall medal count, and women account for the majority of its haul.
Helen Louise Maroulis demonstrated this in historic fashion when she became the first woman in U.S. history to win gold in Wrestling. She competed in the Women’s Freestyle 53kg.
- Helen Louise Maroulis of the USA (a first-time Olympian) won gold; Saori Yoshida of Japan (a three-time defending champion), silver; and Sofia Magdalena Mattsson of Sweden, bronze.
It is truly humbling to concede that if I were on the mat with any of the women competing — even in the lightest weight class — she probably would have had her way with me … gladly.
MEDAL COUNT: USA – 100; China – 58; Great Britain – 56