T-oday's Events: Basketball, Handball, Mountain Biking, Track and Field, Volleyball, Wrestling
Olympic Word of the Day: Opposite - In volleyball, the player that plays opposite the setter. Generally a hitter, but may often be called to set if a bad pass from the back makes it difficult for the setter to get to the ball. Also important in outside blocking.
There were two absolutely phenomenal games played today. The first ties into the Olympic word of the day, that being the bronze medal volleyball match between the US and Russia. The US lost a match against Italy in the semi-finals in five sets, after being up 2 sets to 1, whereas Russia was absolutely annihilated by Brazil. How would those matches affect the finals? Well, we may not have had a chance to know, as the United States bus did not have the proper credentials to get through the new blockades set up for the Closing Ceremonies (the volleyball stadium is near the Olympic Stadium), so the team had to exit the bus and walk over a mile to the arena in the rain. So we don't know if it was the after effects of the semi-finals hangover or the problems with arrival, but either way, the United States started off slow losing the first two sets 23-25, 21-25. But, in the second set coach John Speraw inserted veteran outside hitter Reid Priddy, who had played exceedingly sparingly throughout the tournament, and the veteran erupted. Although the 38 year old is retiring from the national team, with his hitting, movement and skills, I would expect to see him on the beach volleyball scene in the near future. Behind Priddy, and with Middle Blockers/Hitters Max Holt and David Lee providing devastating slams from the middle, and opposite Matt Anderson heating up from the outside, the United States overcame many problems from the service line to win the final three sets 25-19, 25-19, 15-13. Brazil, behind the tournament-long hitting of Wallace, took the gold over Italy in straight sets, making up for the silver medals won by the country in volleyball in the last two Olympics.
For Russia, the semi-finals marked the last game of Sergei Tetyukhin, who was playing in his 6th Olympics. Tetyukhin didn't just play sparingly, he was involved in almost every minute of these games. Although he did not go out with a medal, Teyukhin's talent were necessary for Russia to advance to the bronze medal game.
The second fascinating game of the day was the gold medal match in the Men's Team Handball, between Denmark and France, with the Danes winning 28-26. Mikkel Hansen who was amazing throughout the Olympics again starred for Denmark, scoring 8 times in the match to defeat the world number 1 ranked, and defending gold medalist, France.
On another Court, the United States Men's Basketball team bounced back from a close group play victory (3 points) over Serbia to win the gold-medal game over the same country 96-66. Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from the U.S. National team. For Serbia, the play of point guard Milos Teodosic should earn him a contract in the NBA. In a fascinating bronze medal match, Spain defeated Australia by 1 in a match that was won on a great defensive stand by the Spaniards, who held Australia without a shot that could have put the Aussies ahead.
Just as their were two matches that carried the last day of the Olympics, two very different protests helped close out the games of the XXXI Olympiad. The first was incredibly amusing.
As the clock ticked up to 6:00 (the final time in a wrestling match) in the bronze medal match at the 65kg weight class, Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran of Mongolia was beating Uzbekistan's Ikhtiyor Navruzov 7-6. At around 5:54 and 5:55, Mandakhnaran began celebrating by pumping his hands in the air. The referee considered this fleeing, and awarded a point to the Uzbek, making the score tied at 7. Those that recall yesterday's post will know that in wrestling the tiebreaker goes to the person that scored the last point, and since time had expired, that was Navruzov. As the Mongolian's started to understand what had just happened, the coaches threw the challenge mascot. (Instead of a challenge flag, each coach had mascot they could throw onto the mat which would trigger a video replay.) However, this situation is not reviewable. The coaches, Tserenbaatar Tsogtbayar and Byambarenchin Bayaraa, started their own protest by stripping, one coach took off his shirt, and the other stripped down to their underwear. This resulted in another point for Navruzov, solidifying his claim for the bronze with an 8-7 victory. It should be noted that the three judges from Navruzov's quarterfinal match were sent home for malfeasance earlier in the tournament. Congratulations to Navruzov, but the fans were definitely supportive of the Mongolians as they shouted "Mongolia, Mongolia!" Here are the coaches.
Another more serious protest occurred on the marathon course, where Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya crossed the finish line in first place in 2:08:44 for fold. American Galen Rupp, fresh off his 5th place finish in the 10,000 meters and running in only his second marathon - his first being the Olympic trials, was third in 2:10:05. However, the important action occurred after Kipchoge finished and ahead of Rupp.
Ethiopia's Feyisa Lilesa finished second in 2:09:54, capturing the silver medal. However, as Lilesa neared and crossed the finish line, he raised his arms to form an "X".
The "X" was not a celebration, or a cue to family or friends, but a gesture that could lead to Lilesa's execution, or at least jail. The formation has become a formal protest of the Oromo tribe in Ethiopia, the largest single ethnic group in the country. The government has marginalized the Oromo people, taken away their land, jailed them, and worse, killed them - over 400 since last November. Although Ethiopia's Communication Minister said that Lilesa has nothing to fear upon returning to Ethiopia for his protest, it should be noted that the state run television station edited out the gesture once noticed, and has not replayed Lilesa's finish. The Guardian is reporting that Lilesa is seeking asylum, but details are scarce as to whether that will be in Brazil or elsewhere. The Guardian quoted Lilesa as saying "Maybe I stay here [Brazil]. If I can get visa, I can go to America".
For taking this stand in the face of imprisonment or death, Feyisa Lilesa and his marathon finish are the story of the day.
The closing ceremonies completed the event, with the proverbial - and almost literal - passing of the torch from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo, Japan, that will host the Summer Olympics in 2020. Interestingly, representing Tokyo is the Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike accepted the Olympic flag, the traditional closing of the games, even though she was only elected 3 weeks ago. Also appearing was Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in a tribute to Mario Brothers that stunned the stadium.
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