Olympic Word of the Day: Try - In rugby, it is the primary method of scoring worth 5 points. It is scored when a player places the ball on the ground with downward pressure in the in-goal area between (and including) the goal-line and up to, but not including, the dead ball line of the opposition's half. A pretty generic word in rugby, but since rugby has not been in the Olympics since 1924, a good starting word for those about to become fans of this exciting game.
I would be remiss if I did not start my recap of yesterday's action without mentioning Kayla Harrison, easily the best American judoka of all-time. Harrison, the Olympic gold medalist in judo in London 2012, repeated yesterday in the 78kg weight category, to become the only two-time American gold-medalist in the sport (being the first gold medalist in 2012). Congratulations to Kayla Harrison, who - along with 3 or 4 others - becomes an early contender to carry the American flag in the closing ceremonies.
Justin Rose, competing for Great Britain, took his 7-iron at the 189 yards par 3 4th hole at Olympic golf course, and never needed to use his putter. This first hole-in-one in the Olympic Games history, led him to a 4 under par first round of the tournament. Although Australian Marc Fraser leads the tournament at -7, Justin Rose easily had the shot of the tournament.
In the pool, American, Simone Manuel, who had qualified third for the 100m freestyle final behind Australian Cate Campbell's Olympic record, took to the pool in the finals to come in tied for first with Canada's Penny Oleksiak in their own Olympic record 52.71. With an incredibly talented and deep field, it was an incredible performance, and nobody expressed more shock and pure joy about Manuel's victory than Manuel herself, as these pictures show.
Ryan Lochte once again failed to live up to his billing in a showdown with Michael Phelps, as he fell to 5th in the 200m individual medley. Ryan Lochte has finished behind Michael Phelps so many times that I will now refer to him as Alydar.
In Table Tennis, for the second day in a row, two Chinese compatriots fought in the finals for the gold medal. On Day 8, Ding Ning defeated Li Xiaoxia to win gold as China went 1-2 in the women's final and solidified themselves as the country to beat in the team title. Yesterday, it was world number 1 ranked Ma Long, who exacted revenge for being left off the Olympic team in London in 2012 for Zhang Jike, who won gold in London but succumbed in straight sets to Ma. As Chinese men went gold-silver, they also solidified their position as the favorites to win team gold.
Back in the gymnastics arena, Simone Biles cemented her standing as one of the world's best gymnasts EVER, by defeating teammate Aly Raisman for the all-around title by 2.1 points. This is a greater margin of victory than the sum total from 1980 through 2012!!! That, my friends, is dominating. (It should be noted that Raisman herself outdistanced the bronze medal by 1.433 points - so the distance between Biles and the rest of the world is VAST). Biles now has two gold medals in these Olympics, and she has qualified for the finals in three separate individual apparatus.
While Simone Biles was the most dominating athlete yesterday, her win was expected and thus rather uninteresting, so she is not the story of the day.
The story of the day goes to Fiji's men's rugby team, which won gold by defeating Japan in the semi-finals and annihilating Great Britain 43-7 in the gold medal game - and the game wasn't even that close. Fiji, which earned the country's first ever medal in Olympics history, win in Rugby's first appearance in the Olympics since 1924. Like Manuel, the joy emanating from the team during the final and after the game was palpable. For their win, for their country, and for their joy, the Fiji Men's Rugby team is the story of the day.
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