Diving
I indicated in my Day 2 commentary that there would be no reason to comment on this sport, unless a country disrupts China’s gold rush.
Well, in the wee hours this morning, not one but two countries did just that in Men’s Synchronized 3m Springboard.
- Jack Laugher and Chris Mears of Great Britain won gold; Sam Dorman and Mike Hixon of the USA, silver; and Yuan Cao and Kai Qin of China, bronze.
To be fair, the Chinese divers were probably more unnerved than others by the crystal-blue water in the Diving pool turning swampy green in the midst of competition, especially after event organizers confessed they had no clue what caused it.
Swimming
The media hyped the Men’s 200m Individual Medley as an Ali vs. Frazier-like matchup between Phelps and Lochte – complete with headlines like “Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte in league of their own…,” courtesy of NBC on August 10.
Except that Phelps has owned Lochte in Olympic competition dating back to Athens 2004, the way the Harlem Globetrotters has owned the Generals and Nationals in charitable exhibitions dating back to the 1950s. What’s more, this was always going to be a three-way matchup – with Kosuke Hagino, the upstart winner of the 400m Individual Medley on Day 1, posing a greater threat to both Phelps and Lochte than they posed to each other.
Sure enough, Phelps not only owned Lochte again, he blew away the entire field, winning his fourth gold medal of these Olympics, to make 22 overall, with relative ease.
- Michael Phelps won of the USA won gold in 1:54.66; Kosuke Hagino of Japan, silver; and Shun Wang of China, bronze. (Lochte placed 5th.)
Words no longer suffice to explain or hail the phenomenon that is Michael Phelps (31). He added to his historic career by becoming the first swimmer to win gold in the same event in four consecutive Olympic Games. Apropos of which, the phenomenon only grew when he returned to the pool within 40 minutes of this race to easily qualify for tomorrow’s final in the 100m Butterfly. He now has a chance to win gold in this event in four consecutive Olympic Games too.
Clearly, it was highly unlikely that any other race would upstage tonight’s Men’s 200m Individual Medley. Yet, only minutes later, the Women’s 100m Freestyle did just that.
Commentators touted one of the celebrated Campbell sisters of Australia to win gold. Some even speculated they might go one, two.
Except that two North American “sisters” had other ideas. I was really rooting for one of them. This excerpt from “Black Women Dominate NCAA Division 1 Swimming?!” March 24, 2015, explains why.
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Thirty years ago, when I was struggling to make my mark in NCAA Division III swimming, I could not have imagined a day when black swimmers (men or women) would be dominating Division 1…
African-American swimmers took the top three finishes in a single event at the Women’s Division 1 NCAA Championship this weekend…
Freshman phenom Simone Manuel of Stanford set an NCAA, American, U.S. Open, Championship and Pool record when she clocked a time of 46.09 in the Women’s 100-yard Freestyle. Manuel’s Stanford teammate Lia Neal came in second place with a time of 47.13 … the University of Florida’s Natalie Hinds [came in third] with a time of 47.24.
(NBC Sports, March 23, 2015)
I could not be more proud. And I don’t mind admitting that my best time in the 100-yard Freestyle would not have been good enough to even qualify for the final in their event, let alone win a medal.
Of course, pioneering black swimmers like Enith Brigitha, Maritza (Correia) McClendon, Anthony Nesty, Anthony Ervin, Cullen Jones, and Alia Atkinson (of Jamaica!) dispelled the myth that blacks can’t swim long ago. But this is an historic occasion worthy of celebration and, frankly, deserving of far more mainstream media coverage than it’s getting.
No doubt coverage of their feats at Rio 2016 will more than compensate. I can’t wait!
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Well, the wait is over. Let the coverage begin!
- Simone Manuel of the USA and Penny Oleksiak of Canada tied, won gold, and set a new Olympic Record in 52:70; and Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, bronze. (The Campbell sisters placed 4th and 6th.)
Manuel (20) made history again by becoming the first black female swimmer to win individual Olympic gold. Her reaction – complete with uncontrollable tears – indicated that she was all too aware of the historic nature of her accomplishment. Her words later confirmed it:
The gold medal wasn’t just for me. It was for people who came before me and inspired me to stay in this sport, and for people who believe that they can’t do it. I hope that I’m an inspiration to others to get out there and try swimming.
(Washington Post, August 11, 2016)
Adding to the drama was the fact that Oleksiak is just 16 years old. Remarkably, her accomplishment was not quite as historic. For Kyoko Iwasaki of Japan is the youngest female to win gold in Swimming: the Women’s 200m Breaststroke at Barcelona 1992.
Gymnastics
Another black Simone, this one Biles, has completely dominated women’s gymnastics in recent years; so much so that it would have taken an upset – on par with Chad le Clos upsetting Michael Phelps in the Men’s 200m Butterfly at London 2012 – to deny her gold in the Women’s Individual All-Around.
Not only was no such upset in the offing, but Biles stayed true to form, winning by the highest margin in the modern history of this competition.
- Simone Biles of the USA won gold; Aly Raisman of the USA, silver; and Aliya Mustafina of Russia, bronze.
Here’s the high praise no less a person than NBC commentator Nastia Liukin, herself the All-Around gold medalist at Beijing 2008, heaped on Biles after her historic win:
She’s by far the best gymnast I have ever seen.
For a little perspective, it might be helpful to know that Biles’s margin of victory was 2.100; whereas the margin for Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who won the Men’s All-Around last night, was just 0.099. Or, to paraphrase NBC anchor Bob Costas’s more dramatic assessment: Biles’s margin of victory is greater than that of the nine previous All-Around champions, dating back to 1980, combined.
Like I said on Day 2, all that’s left is the counting of medals – as the four Event finals are now on tap.
MEDAL COUNT: USA – 38; China – 30; Japan – 22
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