Track and Field
With all due respect to the other events that played out today, the relays were the only ones of note.
In the Women’s 4x100m Relay, Team USA recovered from near disaster in the preliminaries. It stemmed from Allyson Felix dropping the baton as she attempted to pass it after the second leg. But the USA filed a protest. Sure enough, a review of the exchange showed that a fellow competitor interfered in her lane and caused her to drop the baton.
Accordingly, Track officials gave Team USA an “unprecedented” opportunity to qualify on time in a solo heat. It not only qualified, but did so with the fastest time of the day … running against itself.
No surprise then that Team USA ended up raining on Team Jamaica’s dominant parade, denying its 100m and 200m champion, Elaine Thompson, a Bolt-like gold trifecta. This, despite having to start from lane 1 after that kerfuffle in the preliminaries, which placed it at considerable disadvantage to Jamaica in lane 6.
- Team USA won gold in 41.01; Team Jamaica, silver; and Team Great Britain, bronze.
Apropos of trifecta, the Men’s 4x100m Relay seemed ordained to seal Usain Bolt’s legacy. He was poised to become the first Track and Field athlete to win the same three events in three consecutive Olympics. Those events of course are the 100m, 200m, and this last one, the 4x100m Relay.
- Team Jamaica won gold in 37.27; Team Japan, silver; and Team Canada, bronze.
Bolt now joins Paavo Nurmi of Finland and Carl Lewis of the USA as an illustrious trio of athletes who have won 9 Olympic gold medals in Track and Field (aka Athletics). Except that, given the new reckoning of retrospective testing for doping, I offer this qualification/warning, which could see Bolt stripped of one or more of his medals:
I wonder if it’s a testament to their national training methods or the performance-enhancing ‘herbs’ they use to flavor their sports drinks that make these Jamaicans so incredibly fast.
(“Beijing 2008: the Phelpsian Touch …Pure Gold,” The iPINIONS Journal, August 16, 2008)
But the most exciting part of this race was watching Japan run stride for stride, leg to leg, and then out-lean the USA at the finish line for silver. As if that were not shameful enough, the USA soon learned that it had been disqualified.
And so the American men continued their legacy of fumbling shame in relays (i.e., by either dropping the baton or committing lane infractions – as was the case tonight). The USA has not won this event since Sydney 2000.
The irony, of course, is that NBC introduced this Men’s 4x100m Relay with a video of the members of Team USA reacting to clips of previous “missed opportunities.” They included races where the team had an insurmountable lead over Jamaica going into the final leg but dropped the baton. Each member evinced unbridled disgust as he watched and then vowed that this would be the day of redemption….
Soccer (Football)
On Day 7, I commented on how Sweden prevailed in a penalty-kick shootout to upset the USA, the defending Olympic champion, in Women’s Soccer. Imagine the reaction then when Sweden proceeded to upset host Brazil in similar fashion.
After all, this punctuated the host country’s quadrennial frustration in trying to vindicate its national obsession with this sport. Brazil has never won Olympic gold in Women’s Soccer. This loss relegated it to the Women’s Bronze Medal Match against Canada.
- Team Canada won 2-1, adding insult to Brazil’s ongoing national frustration … and shame.
Hope springs eternal that the men’s team can restore a little Brazilian pride by defeating Germany in the Men’s Gold Medal Match tomorrow. I’m not a big Soccer fan, but I’m rooting for Brazil.
In the meantime, Sweden played Germany in the Women’s Gold Medal Match. I couldn’t have cared any less who won. But I imagine the insult to not just Brazilian but South American pride was such that their disinterest – in watching these two European teams play for gold on their soil – probably simmered with resentment.
- Team Germany won 2-1.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
I gather I upset many of you last week when I dismissed Equestrian (Dressage) and Trampoline as hobbies unworthy of Olympic competition. Well, here’s to fans of Rhythmic Gymnastics joining your ranks.
I watched a little of the Individual All-Around Qualification Rotations today. And, truth be told, the most interesting part was listening to commentators talk about the hardships Ukrainian Ganna Rizatdnova had to overcome just to make it to Rio.
Frankly, I got the impression I was watching auditions for the female lead in a live performance of the Kama Sutra. Which might explain why this sports seems likely to be among the best attended of these Games.
Mind you, some of the rhythmic positions the performers got into demonstrated impressive feats of athleticism. It’s just that their performances seemed more suited for the Cirque du Soleil than the Olympics.
MEDAL COUNT: USA – 105; China – 65; Great Britain – 60