Never can get enough of the Olympics
The Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, are over, and I am sad.
The Olympics were outstanding. One exciting day after another. From the soccer games that were contested before the Summer Games officially opened on Aug. 5, to the closing ceremony Sunday night, I was mesmerized.
I am going to provide some of the more intriguing moments that I saw in the 16 full days of competition.
If I missed anything that you feel to be important, I apologize for the oversight. I also apologize for digressing. I tend to do that. I also won鈥檛 bring my family and wife into this column. Maybe I just did. Sorry, honey.
The first day started with a bang (literally and figuratively) when West Virginia University student Virginia 鈥淕inny鈥� Thrasher won the gold in the women鈥檚 10-meter air rifle for the United States. Thrasher won the first gold of the entire games. The rest of Team USA followed Thrasher鈥檚 lead, as the US won 45 more gold medals, along with 37 silvers and 38 bronze medals for a total of 121 to lead the field.
It is hard to debate who had the more dominating Olympics. Was it Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt or Simone Biles?
Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time, and he didn鈥檛 disappoint in his final Olympics with five gold medals and one silver. Phelps has won 23 golds, three silvers and two bronze medals in five Olympics. He failed to medal in 2000, but I think we should cut him some slack since he was only 15.
Bolt swept the 100, 200 and 400-meter relay to give the 鈥渇astest man in the world鈥� nine Olympic golds.
Biles won four gold medals, including the team and all-around in gymnastics. The 19-year-old was incredible but stumbled on the dreaded balance beam and took third.
I鈥檓 sorry, Katie. I forgot about you. Ms. Ledecky was a force in the pool, and if Phelps is the king of the pool, she is the queen.
Ledecky won four golds, one silver and set a world record in the 800-meter final. She proved that she is the best distance swimmer in the world. With all due respect to Ledecky, she still has some work to do before she catches Phelps.
Staying on the subject of swimming, Ryan Lochte鈥檚 behavior was disappointing, but this is not about what he did. I want to acknowledge the athletes that did something positive in Rio. I am just glad Phelps decided to stay home that night and not party. Hopefully, he has turned his life around in that respect.
The US picked up 16 golds, eight silvers and nine bronze medals for a total of 33 in swimming, and were just as dominate in track & field with 32 (13G, 10S, 9B).
Allyson Felix won two gold medals and one silver on the track, and she pushed her Olympic-medal total to nine (6G, 3S). The United States鈥� 400-meter relay team was disqualified in the qualifiers for not properly exchanging the baton on a hand-off but were allowed to run once again and qualified for the finals. Felix and company took advantage of the second chance to win gold.
Michelle Carter and Ryan Crouser completed a sweep for the United States in the shot put. Crouser鈥檚 throw of 22.52 meters set an Olympic record. American Joe Kovacs won silver in the event.
Ashton Eaton won his second decathlon title for the United States. He won his first at the London Olympics in 2012.
Matt Centrowitz surprised the field, the fans in attendance and most of the worldwide audience with a victory in the 1,500-meter run. Centrowitz鈥檚 win was the first Olympics men鈥檚 gold for the United States in the event since 1908. Fellow American, Galen Rupp, didn鈥檛 win the race, but he fared quite well in the marathon with a third-place finish.
The United States鈥� women鈥檚 soccer team was one of the favorites to win gold, but bowed out in the quarterfinals to Sweden, 4-3, on penalty kicks after the game was tied 1-1 followed 120 minutes of play, including 30 minutes of extra time. US keeper Hope Solo didn鈥檛 endear herself for her 鈥淶ika-proof suit鈥� and was booed every time she touched the ball. She continued to show her true colors following the loss by calling Team Sweden 鈥渃owards.鈥�
That鈥檚 a girl you would like to take home to mom. I know, she鈥檚 good looking.
The United States women took the gold in water polo. The team also won in 2012, and Pierre McGuire compared a player to Wayne Gretzky. I am not hating. I love his commentary. The team is very strong and it is too bad the sport isn鈥檛 as recognized in the US, or the team would be getting more attention.
The US showed it is still the best in basketball, with the men and women winning gold medals. The ladies had a much easier time, as they won all their games in routs for their sixth consecutive gold.
The men had an easy win in the gold-medal game for their third straight title, but struggled in three preliminary games, only winning by 10 points against Australia, and just getting by France and Serbia with slim three-point victories. Spain played the US tough in the semis, but in the end, talent prevailed. They did, however, play more of a team game in the final and it showed.
Kayla Harrison won her second gold medal in as many games in judo, and fellow American Claressa Shields won a second gold in boxing.
The United States鈥� Shakur Stevenson finished second in boxing, and the 19-year-old was very emotional after the loss. 鈥淪ugar鈥� Ray Leonard had a nice message for Stevenson, who should have a very promising boxing career. Nico Hernandez won bronze for the United States, as boxing has not been kind for Team USA in recent Olympic Games.
The men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 indoor volleyball team didn鈥檛 win gold, but both bounced back from tough semifinal losses to win bronze.
At the beach, Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross lost in the semis, which was Walsh Jennings鈥� first setback at the Olympics, as her and Misty May-Treanor had won gold in the past three Olympics, but the American duo was able to fight back for bronze.
The biggest shocker in wrestling was seeing Jordan Burroughs leave Rio without a medal. He lost his quarterfinals match at 74 kilograms, but I never would have thought he would have lost in the repechage.
The US did have two champions, as Helen Maroulis (53 kilograms) won the first women鈥檚 gold for Team USA in women鈥檚 competition, and Kyle Snyder won gold for America at 97 kilograms. Snyder is 20-years-old and it is a good chance he could come back to win in 2020 and 2024 to be the first American to win three Olympic golds. J鈥橠en Cox lost in the semis, but battled back to win bronze at 86 kilograms.
There was some studio wrestling involved in wrestling at the Olympics. The first incident was when American and Penn State University alum Frank Molinaro was bitten in a repechage match. The referee, just like studio wrestling, didn鈥檛 seem to notice the bite and let the match go on even when Molinaro showed him the mark.
The two Mongolian coaches protested when their wrestler battling for a bronze medal was penalized for fleeing the mat when he celebrated too early. Protests happen, and I have seen some pretty angry wrestling coaches in my day, but I have never seen a coach strip to his underwear. It is a shame that more people will watch that, even in this country, than Snyder鈥檚 and Maroulis鈥� success, but it was darn funny.
I watched at least one competition in every sport. I am not sure what I will be doing in 2020, as Toyko, Japan, will host the next Summer Games. The time-zone difference may make for some late evenings, but I plan to do whatever it takes to watch.
Some sports that I recommend to give a chance are: All of them.
缅北禁地 sports writer Jonathan Guth can be reached via email at jguth@heraldstandard.com