Olympics - Rio 2016 - Day 4

Day 4 - August 6

Since this is the first full day of Olympic competition, Beginning with this entry, I will start with a list of the events that I watched for a significant amount of time; meaning a full race a set, a half, of some legitimate demarcation of that event.

Today's events:  Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Handball, Rowing, Shooting, Swimming, Soccer, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo.

Today's Olympic word of the day:  "Repechage".  In rowing, those boats that do not automatically qualify for the next round go into a "repechage"; a race in which they have another opportunity to qualify, should they win.

Several very interesting stories on this first full day of competition.  As an American, I am always partial to the Americans, win or lose, and it is a huge story that Venus Williams lost in the first round of tennis.  However, it was an even bigger story that the first gold medal of the Olympics, in the Women's 10 meter air rifle, went to 19 year old wunderkind Virginia Thrasher.  The rising sophomore at West Virginia University defeated to more experienced Chinese shooters, including the defending gold medalist, to win gold in her first ever Olympics, and likely just the first of her many Olympic appearances.

An even bigger story, although likely not as important to American viewers, was the Cycling Road Race.  Well, truthfully, not the race, but the track.  Labeled as the most dangerous Olympic road race ever, this competition surely lived up to its billing as less than half of the cyclists that started this race even finished, including several incredibly serious and dangerous accidents that took out the leaders of the race.  When more than half of those that are the best in the world cannot even finish, then this course was too hard.  The organizers should be ashamed of themselves.  Almost as ashamed of themselves as the producers of "What Would Ryan Lochte Do".

However, the biggest and best story of the day comes from the pool.  Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu won the gold medal, and obliterated the world record in the 400 meter individual medley; which I consider the race that determines the actual best swimmer in the world.  The only down side to Hosszu's victory was when NBC immediately showed a picture of her husband/coach, and proclaimed (paraphrasing), And he is the responsible for Hosszu's performance.  I am sure her training, effort and swimming ability had something to do with it.  Congratulations to Katinka Hosszu, not only for her gold medal, but for her winning the vaunted, "Story of the Day"!