Olympics - Paris 2024 - Day 7

Day  - July 30, 2024

This damn work and real life stuff is getting in the way, but hey, I still have the opportunity to watch some events.  Either way, here is the daily report.

A few controversies from Day 7.  The men's triathlon was postponed because the Seine River, where the swimming portion is to be conducted, is too polluted.  This has only been the case for over 100 years.  Yes, the city of Paris has put billions into cleaning it up, and yes it passed testing last week, but the large amount of rain from last weekend has contributed to the unsafe testing in the waters.  They hope to have the triathlon tomorrow.

The Italian delegation believes the judging in fencing has been unfair, in order to favor some traditional fencing powers, and have lodged a formal protest.  I doubt that will go anywhere.

And, American Coco Gauff lost her third round match.  A super questionable rule came into play - that didn't exactly cost Coco the match - but leads to some serious questions.  Now, the ruling was completely accurate, but the rule itself needs to be changed - IMMEDIATELY.  Here is the scenario - Gauff is down a break point when her opponent returns a shot and as Gauff is in her backswing to hit her shot, the linesman shouts "Out!"  Her opponent calls for a review, and the call was overturned and it was correctly ruled in.  However, Gauff would have hit the ball if the linesman had not made the ruling, but since she didn't, she lost the point, the break, and the game.  Gauff still has mixed doubles and doubles, so hopefully she can still come away with some hardware.

I would be remiss if instead of just commenting on the outcome of the events/games, and the controversies, I didn't mention one particular athlete whose story caught my attention:  Zhiyang Zhang of Chile.  Zhiyang, age 58, was a superstar at table tennis in China as a teen, having won national championships and international tournaments.  However, the governing body of table tennis changed the rules of the sport to require both sides of the paddle to be different colors.  As an aside, for those that don't know each side of the paddle has a different surface to produce different effects on the ball when striking it.  This rule flabbergasted Zhang, and for some reason should could not mentally adapt to the different colors of the paddles, fancying herself a master of using techniques to surprise her opponents by not allowing them to see which side of the paddle she would use for a particular hit.  She stopped playing the game, and moved to Chile where she became a table tennis coach.  Then Covid hit.  She began playing table tennis again to keep herself occupied and she caught the fever.  She began training, and playing in tournaments and she became the Chilean national champion and qualifying for the Olympics.  Alas, she lost in the preliminary round, but Zhang enjoyed every minute of her Olympic experience, something she would have taken for granted as a teen (if table tennis was in the Olympics back then.  (It did not become an official Olympic sport until 1988 in Seoul.

The best event that I watched personally yesterday was the volleyball match between the United States and Germany.  The US jumped out to a hard-fought, but dominating lead by winning the first two sets.  Germany clawed its way back by winning the third set, and then the fourth set.  The fifth set went back-and-forth with the US ultimately pulling out the victory to go to 2-0.  A great team effort as the entire squad played critical roles at different times in this barnburner.

That volleyball match was amazing from start to finish, but nothing beats the ending to THE FINISH OF THE USA WOMEN'S RUGBY BRONZE MEDAL GAME!!!  Alex Sedrick took the Match Ball close to her own try line, started inside into contact, absolutely trucked the Australian defender and sprinted away from the field for the tying try as time expired.  She converted the conversion (ha!) for the US victory and the bronze medal! Sedrick made her kick despite not being in the team's kicking rotation.  The primary kicker was not on the field at the itme Sedrick scored her try (as the team needed different personnel given the time left in the match and the location of possession, so Sedrick stepped up and hit the conversion.  In other news, New Zealand defeated Canada in the gold medal game.

At the shooting range, Guatemala's Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas could not outshoot Great Britain's Nathan Hales (gold) or China's Qi Ying (silver), but he did earn the first medal for Guatemala in these games, and the second overall (a silver in the 20km walk in London 2012.  Hopefully Guatemala doesn't have to wait too long for their first ever gold (foreshadowing).

Something that needed no foreshadowing - the United States absolutely dominated in the women's team gymnastics, securing gold even with Simone Biles stepping out twice during her final floor exercise routine - the last of the competition for the American women.  They won by approximately 6 full points - an absolutely dominating performance!

In another sport that needed no foreshadowing, China won gold in the mixed doubles event in table tennins, defeating the team from North Korea in the finals.  South Korea defeated Hong Kong for the bronze.

In fencing, the Italian women won gold in the team epee, defeating France.  Poland defeating China for the bronze.  No word on if Italy plans to protest this event.

Three medal events in the pool yesterday, with Australia's Kaylee McKeown lowered her own Olympic record in the 100 meter backstroke, defeating her rival, American Regan Smith by .33 seconds.  Katie Berkhoff of the USA finished just behind Mckeown and Smith, earning the bronze.

Daniel Wiffen of Ireland won gold in the men's 800  meter freestyle event to earn gold followed by American Bobby Finke (silver) and Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri.  It was Ireland's first swimming gold, and in the process Wiffen set a new Olympic record.

And in the anchor position, Great Britain defends its 4x200 meter freestyle gold medal.  The United States finished second for silver, defeating Australia who earned bronze.

Athlete of the Day - Daniel Wiffin, Ireland, Swimming

Setting an Olympic record, a full three seconds faster than your event-best qualifying time, to earn Ireland's first swimming gold gets Wiffin the Athlete of the Day.

Team of the Day - USA Women, Gymnastics

A thoroughly dominating performance by Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera

American Athlete of the Day - Alex Sedrick, United States, Rugby

Seriously, go back and watch her Derrick Henry-esque play - with no time left on the clock!!!

Olympic Term of the Day:  Clear - 3x3 - When the defensive team obtains possession of the ball, either by a defensive stop or after giving up a basket, they must take the ball by dribble or pass out past the three-point line before beginning their offense.  This is "clearing" the ball.  Yes, just like on the old playground.

Olympic Events Watched:  3x3, Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, Handball Rugby, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Volleyball

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer (Alphabetically - Capitals indicate a potential favorite to this point):  Chloe Dygert, Brady Ellison, Torri Huske, Casey Kaufhold, LEE KIEFER, ILONA MAHER, TOM MURPHY, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson                             

Olympics - Paris 2024 - Day 6

 Day 6 - July 29, 2024

Light day of Olympics watching for your author, as it was a Monday, and sometimes work must be done.  That does not mean there isn't anything to report, as there was some great action on the fields, courts, pools, etc.

The day wasn't without controversy though, controversy which actually occurred two days ago, but was announced yesterday.  Eurosports' commentator Bob Ballard was on the call for the women's 4x100 meter freestyle relay.  After Australia won gold, and the other teams were competing to finish second through eighth, Ballard stated, "Well, the women are just finishing up.  You know what women are like ... hanging around, doing their makeup."  Ballard's broadcasting partner Lizzie Simmonds, herself a former Olympian, immediately called him out saying, "Outrageous Bob."  Ballard was removed from his job broadcasting the Olympics and sent home by Eurosports, and rightfully so.

But yesterday was a better day in the pool, as there was some fantastic action.  In the women's 400 meter individual medley - the race that most consider the rest to determine the world's best overall swimmer - Canada's Summer McIntosh cruised to gold - her second of the games, with Americans Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant neck-and-neck for silver and gold.

Also in the pool, American Luke Hobson secured bronze for the USA in the 200 meter freestyle, finishing behind Romania's David Popovici (gold) and Britain's Matthew Richards.

American team captain Ryan Murphy secured the bronze medal - hist 7th overall Olympic medal - in the men's 100 meter backstroke, and he arose out of the pool to see his pregnant wife holding a sign that read, "IT'S A GIRL!"  Thomas Ciccon of Italy won gold, followed by China's Xu Jiayu.

In the women's 200 meter freestyle, Australia Ariarne Titmus staked her claim to the best female swimmer of these games with another medal, this time silver as she was bested only by her countrywoman Mollie O'Callaghan.

American's were successful outside of the pool as well, with Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston winning silver and bronze in the skateboarding men's street final, with Eaton finishing just .1 point behind Japan's Horigome Yuto for the gold.  Eaton's silver will pair with his bronze medal from Tokyo.

The USA won another medal in fencing, as Nick Itkin secured bronze in the men's foil, defeating Japan's Iimura Kazuki in the bronze medal match.  Cheung Ka Long of Hong Kong won gold in a scintillating final over Italy's Filippo Macchi, winning 15-14 in the gold medal match.

And, of course, the US Men's gymnastics team won bronze medal in the team competition, for the country's first medal in 16 years in Beijing in 2008.  Congratulations to the team of Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Frederick Richard.  The pure exuberance showed by the Americans in winning bronze was interestingly contrasted with the disappointment shown by the Chinese team - who suffered some uncharacteristic falls on high bar - in finishing second.  Japan won the gold.

The Women's rugby team defeated Great Britain 17-7 to advance to the semi-finals.  Here's to hoping that I can write more about them tomorrow after today's semi-finals and finals.

The most fascinating event I watched yesterday was the men's canoe slalom, in which Nicolas Gestin was able to secure gold in front of the home fans.  He was followed onto the podium by Adam Burgess of Great Britain and Slovakia's Matej Benus.  Benus earned his second Olympic medal in the event, having come in second in 2016 in Rio.

The best event I watched was the women's volleyball match between Turkiye and the Netherlands, with Turkiye coming back to win the last 3 sets after falling behind 2 sets to none.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Novak Djokovic - Rafael Nadal match in the second round - YES SECOND ROUND - with Djokovic thrashing the Spaniard in his last singles match at Roland Garros Stadium.  Nadal remains alive in doubles with Carlos Alcaraz, who also won his singles match yesterday.

As for the best photograph from yesterday's events - and probably from Olympic history - is this one:

This photograph was taken by Jerome Brouillet of AFP/via Getty Images after Brazil's Gabriel Medina (pictured) just concluded what he knew was an amazing ride in surfing at Teahupo'o in Tahita.  It turns out Medina's ride was awesome - it was the highest scoring ride in Olympics history.

Athlete of the Day - Gabriel Medina, Brazil, Surfing

Dominating run in the men's surfing competition, and come on, look at that pose coming off the ride.

American Athletes of the Day - Frederick Richard/Stephen Nedoriscik, United States, Gymanstics

Richard's scintillating performance on high bar catapulted the Americans into medal contention.  Nedorisik, who did not perform until the American's sixth and final apparatus - the pommel horse - due to the rules of only 3 competitors per country per event in the team finals, nailed his anchor leg performance to secure the USA's first men's gymnastics medal since Beijing 2016.

Olympic Term of the Day:  Pancake - Volleyball - Defensively, when diving to save the ball from hitting the floor, a player dives and puts their hand straight out onto the ground so that the ball bounces off the hand instead of the ground in order to prolong the point.

Olympic Events Watched:  Beach Volleyball, Canoe, Field Hockey, Gymnastics, Kayaking, Swimming, Synchonized Diving, Volleyball

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer (Alphabetically - Capitals indicate a potential favorite to this point):  Chloe Dygert, Brady Ellison, Torri Huske, Casey Kaufhold, LEE KIEFER, TOM MURPHY, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson                             

Olympics - Paris 2024 - Day 5

Day 5 - July 28, 2024

The controversy of the day involves the Brazilian swim team.  Brazil sent home swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira after she left the athlete's village with her boyfriend - fellow swimmer Gabriel Santos - without clearing it with the team beforehand.  Santos was given a warning, but Vieira was sent home.  The Brazil swim team leader, Gustavo Otsuka, claims that they were both warned, but then they found out Vieira questioned the lineup of the 4x100 meter freestyle relay team that finished 12th in the heats, failing to advance to the finals.  But we all really know what happened - Santos is a he, and his behavior is somehow not as bad as Vieira's, the woman.  And yes, this is 2024.

In what could have been the biggest news of the entire Olympics, Simone Biles injured her calf during a warm-up on the floor exercises.  After some treatment and getting her leg wrapped, she completed the floor exercises, the vault, and the uneven parallel bars, and she finised in first overall, as did the US team.  Sunisa Lee - the defending Olympic all around champion - will be the other American in the all-around finals, narrowly nipping teammate Jordan Chiles, who finished fourth overall.  Chiles failed to qualify for the individual all-around because the rules only permit two finalists per country, maximum.

We just missed one of the potentially all time biggest upsets in sports history as the Netherlands' women's archery team took the 9 time defending South Korean team to a ninth and deciding game in the semi-finals, before faultering on their last shots.  Yes, I said - 9 TIME DEFENDING CHAMPION!!!  After the late loss in the semi-finals, the Netherlands lost  5-4 to South Korea, they then lost their bronze medal match to Mexico. South Korea, in the finals, won its second consecutive 5-4  over China to win gold.

The South Korean women were equally amazing in the 10 meter air pistol shooting event, with Oh Ye Jin winning gold and Kim Yeji winning silver, with India's Manu Bhaker earning bronze.  The Italians were able to put 2 men on the podium in the 10 meter air pistol event, with Federico Nilo Maldini wining silver just ahead of compatriot Paolo Monna (bronze).  They both finished behind China's Xi Yu.

In the biggest upset so far in the Olympics, Cuban boxer Julio Cesar La Cruz - in search of his third gold medal in boxing in the Olympics, lost in the first round to Loren Berto Alfonso Dominguez of Azerbaijan.  Dominguez, a Cuban-born exile who defected to Azerbaijan, defeated La Cruz in a split decision, ending La Cruz's attempt to become only the fourth athlete ever to win 4 boxing gold medals.

Japan's dominant team in women's skateboarding finished with the gold and silver as Yoshizawa Coco (gold) and Akama Liz (silver) beat the old woman of the competition, 16 year old Rayssa Leal of Brazil, who earned the bronze.

Kazakhstan and Moldova both earned their first medals of these games in judo, with Gusman Krygyzbayev winning bronze in judo for the former, and Denis Vieru winning bronze in for the latter.  Both finished behind Japan's Abe Hifumi (gold), who defeated Brazil's Willian Lima 10-0 in the gold medal match.  In the women's 52kg final, Uzbekistan's Diyorka Keldiyorova defeated Kosovo's Distria Krasniqi 1-0 for the gold, the first for Uzbekistan in these games.  Krasniqi (OK you caught me, I just wanted to type Krasniqi again) won the first medal for Kosovo.

In US team  news, Haley Batten won the silver medal in women's cross-country mountian biking, finishing just behind France's Pauline Ferrand Prevot, who secured gold.  Jenny Rissveds of Sweden earned the bronze.

The United States women continued winning on the pitch with a 4-1 victory over Germany.  They have now scored almost double the amount of goals (7) as they did the entire World Cup (4).  Sophia Smith scored a brace and Mallory Swanson added her third goal of these games.  The US secures a berth in the knockout rounds, but will have a final tune-up group match against Australia.

US women secured more medals for the team in the epee portion of the fencing program as Lee Kiefer defending her gold medal from Tokyo, defeating teammate and Harvard fencer Lauren Scruggs in the final.  Scruggs secured the silver with her performance at these games.

The United States men's basketball team easily defeated the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic's Serbian team behind 23 points from Kevin Durant and 21-7-9 from LeBron James.  Next up for the US is South Sudan, who defeated Puerto Rico in a hotly contested, fun-to-watch match.

As we always know, the first week is dominated by the pool, and the action there did not fail to astound.  France's wunderkind Leon Marchand set an Olympic record in winning gold in the 400 meter individual medley.  American Carson Foster earned the bronze, just behind Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita, both well behind Marchand.

The women's 100  meter butterfly final featured two Americans, Gretchen Walsh - the world record holder, and Torri Huske, and these two highly ranked women did not disappoint as Huske took home the gold just ahead of Walsh.  Huske finished fourth, just .001 off the podium in Tokyo, so this race was some sweet redemption for her.  China's Zhang Yufei finished fourth.

But the race of the day was the men's 100 meter breastroke, in which Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi narrowly upset the sport's best breastroker Adam Peaty of Great Britain, who tied for silver with American Nic Fink.  It is a good thing they use computerized timing devices because we could not visibly determine the winner from the overhead camera view as Martinenghi's time of 59.03 just narrowly outtouched both Peaty and Fink at 59.05. Peaty had won the gold medal in the event in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020.  Hours after finishing the race Peaty tested positive for Covid, putting his remaining events in doubt.

Athlete of the Day - Leon, France, Swimming

He thoroughly dominated the 400 meter individual medley, long considered the quintessential race to determine the best all around swimmer.

American Athlete of the Day - Lee Kiefer, United States, Fencing

Defending her gold-medal winning performance from Tokyo in the epee.

Olympic Term of the Day:  Epee - Fencing - The Epee is the heaving thrusting sword in fencing, as opposed to the foil, which is the light, flexible thrusting sword, and the sabre, which is the shorter, slashing sword with a larger guard.

Olympic Events Watched:  Archery, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Fencing, Gymnastics, Rugby, Skateboarding, Soccer, Swimming, Volleyball

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer (Alphabetically):  Chloe Dygert, Brady Ellison, Torri Huske, Casey Kaufhold, LEE KIEFER, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson                             

Olympics - Paris 2024 - Day 4

Day 4 - July 27, 2024

It was the first full day of competition, and boy was it jampacked with events, including our first medals!

Might as well start with controversy, as more comes out surrounding the Chinese swimming doping scandal.  Positive tests from the Tokyo Olympics were revealed in April of this year (after being swept under the rug by the Chinese federation for three years!)  It turns out 23 members of the Chinese swim team in Tokyo tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.  Eleven of those 23 are swimming in this Olympics.  At least one member of the Australian delegation is contemplating a podium boycott if a Chinese swimmer wins a medal.  We shall see!

In the first medal match of these games, China 1 defeated South Korea 1 in the 10m Air Rifle mixed team event 1-12, earning gold, while South Korea settled for the silver.  Kazakhstan earned bronze by easily  outdistancing Germany 17-5.

The United States won its first medal in the women's 3m springboard synchronized diving event as Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon earned silver behind China's Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen.  Great Britain earned the bronze.

In some exciting games, Spain defeated Slovenia 25-22, and Egypt outlasted Hungary 35-32 in Handball.  Croatia narrowly escaped Japn 30-29 as well.  Germany beat Japan in volleyball 3-2.

 in a great matchup.

In the most dominating American performance yesterday, rower Kara Kohler won her heat by open water, easing into the semi-finals.

Right behindg Kohler's performance was that of the women's water polo team, which defated Greece 15-6!.

The US men's soccer team bounced back from their 3-0 defeat at the hands of the host country France to beat New Zealand 4-1.

In what looks like a literal passing of the torch and a scary combination for its opponents, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are teaming up for men's doubles for Spain!

France defeated two-time defending Olympic champion - and previously undefeated in the Olympics Fiji - to win the rugby 7s gold medal, but the game of the day was the South Africa - Australia bronze medal game.  South Africa scored two tries in the waning minutes of the second half to tie the match, and then the deciding try as time expired to win the bronze medal!  Just exhilarating.

But, the primary focus yesterday was on the pool, specifically the women's 400m Freestyle final and both 4x100 meter freestyle relays.  The women's 400 meter Freestyle final featured the three women that have hte best 30 times in history, and in this battle of the titans Australia's Ariarne Titmus defeated Canada's Summer McIntosh (silver) and Katie Ledecky of the United States (bronze).

Australia won the women's freestyle relay, with the US winning silver and China winning the bronze, and the stage looked set for an Australian sweep of the day.  But, third leg Hunter Armstrong - sorry Greg Olsen - took over second place and then the lead before handing the proverbial baton to perhaps the greatest finisher in relay history, Caleb Dressel.  And with about a body length lead when he entered the pool, Dressel coasted to gold despite a charge from Australia, which came in second and Italy earned the bronze.

Athlete of the Day - Ariarne Titus, Australia, Swimming

She dominated the race that most swim fans were most interested in seeing, as her, McIntosh and Ledecky are the three most dominant women at the 400 meter distance ever, and they were all competing in the same race.

American Athlete of the Day - Chloe Dygert, United States, Cycling

Dygert suffered a crash during the women's individual road racing time trail, yet got up to win bronze, just missing out on the silver by seconds.  A well earned bronze!!!

Olympic Term of the Day:  Open Water - Rowing - When a boat is more than a full length ahead of every other team in the race.

Olympic Events Watched:  Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing, Rugby, Soccer, Swimming, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer (Alphabetically):  Chloe Dygert, Brady Ellison, Casey Kaufhold, Alyssa Naeher Mallory Swanson                            

Olympics - Paris 2024 - Day 3

Day 3 - July 26, 2024

Light schedule today due to the Opening Ceremonies, unless you are just super into shooting pre-traning!  Yes, that is the only other event scheduled yesterday.

Even though there were no competitive events yesterday, we still had some scandal.  Sajjad Sehen, a male judoka from Iraq, tested positive for two different anabolic steroids and is banned from competing in Paris.

In other drug related news, the United States won its first gold medal yesterday.  How could they win a gold medal if there were no competitive events yesterday you ask?  Well, here is how:

The Court of Arbitration for Sport finally resolved a Russian doping issue from the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.  The Court decided to remove the gold medal awarded to the Russian Olympic team in team figure skating due to a positive doping test from then-15 year old Kamila Valieva, who incidentally was the first female to land a quad in Olympic history.  I outlined the doping/testing situation back when it happened, and you can find it HERE!

Since Russia was removed as the gold-medal winning team, the then-second place team United States was elevated to the gold medal winners.  Japan was elevated to the silver medal, and the Russian Olympic Team - they were not allowed to compete under their own name or flag due to the invasion of Ukraine - was awarded the bronze since Valieva's test occurred in late 2021 just before the Olympics, and since she should have been suspended from the Olympics, the score from their second best female skater would have landed them in third place.  Anyway - USA!  USA!!  USA!!!

The Opening Ceremonies were a show, for sure, but I think that they were probably more spectacular for the athletes and the fans on site than for the television audience.  My main comments:

Nothing much on Celine Dion here, because she will be covered everywhere else, but WOW!  And performing on the Eiffel Tower!

Zinedane Zidane starting the torch relay from the Eiffel Tower.

NBC's broadcast left a lot to be desired.  The failed to introduce and/or                                                                                                                                             a lot of the performers, and were very sporadic in identifying the flag-bearers in the parade of Nations.  They should have listed every single one, as well as their sport.  NBC also skipped over various countries during the parade.  I get there are commercials, but that isn't new.

The fits.  My favorite five are: (5) Mongolia, which happens to be most critics' favorites.

(4)  Chinese Taipei - F' It!  TAIWAN!!!

(3)  Haiti

(2) Togo (unfortunately I could not find a photo of Togo)

and the winner is .....

(1) - ARUBA!

The highlight of every opening ceremonies is the lighting of the Olympic flame.  The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee had a number of athletest carry the torch from the Seine to the official cauldron, with names including Amelie Mauresmo and Alain Bernard, but the official lighters of the flame were Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner.  Perec was a track and field athleted that won gold in the 400 meters in 1992 in Barcelona, and doubled in the 1996 Atlanta games winning the 200 meters and repeating as champion in the 400 meters.  Teddy Riner is a juduka who won gold in teh +100 kg weight class in the 2012 games (London) and 2016 games (Rio), and won a gold in the mixed-team even in Tokyo 2020 (2021).

Perec and Riner carried separate torches which were lit from a torch carried by France's oldest Olympian, Charle Coste, who won a gold medal in cycling's team pursuit in teh 1948 games in London.

Perec and Riner then took their torches to light the cauldron, which then took off like a hot air ballon!

The lighting of the cauldron was beautiful, but to me, the highlight was incuded Coste as the penultimate torch-bearer!

Athlete of the Day - None - No competition

American Athlete of the Day - None - No Competition

Olympic Term of the Day:  Judoka - Judo - A person who practices, or is an expert in, judo.

Olympic Events Watched:  Opening Ceremonies

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer (Alphabetically):  Brady Ellison, Casey Kaufhold, Alyssa Naeher Mallory Swanson                           

Olympics - Paris 2024 - Day 2

 Day 2 - July 25, 2024

Before I get into yesterday's recap, a couple of notes from points raised in yesterday's column.  First, Canada's women's soccer coach Bev Priestman has been dismissed and sent home after the cheating scandal involving the use of drones to scout New Zealand's practices.  It appears that Canada has been doing this for year's according to article released yesterday, including in Tokyo 2020 - which occurred in 2021 - an Olympics in which Canada won gold.  Hmmmmmm ....

I also want to raise a point that I completely missed heading into the Argentina - Morocco soccer match.  After Argentina was victorious in the Copa American, its players were seen celebrating and racially mocking the French team - which wasn't even there.  What does this have to do with Wednesday's match?  Well, the mocking is about the French's players of African - particularly North African - descent (see Zidane, Zinedane red card from World Cup).  So Moroccan fans were particularly riled up.  And just lost it when Argentina thought they tied it up right at the end of extra time and celebrated in front of the Moroccan fans.  I am not condoning what the fans did, just putting the actions in some context.

Also important, albeit negative, some criminals have vandalized some of the train systems heading into Paris, including committing arson by burning trains, tracks and parts of some stations, which could affect travel in and to the capital city through the weekend.  

Lots of women's soccer and rugby yesterday, with archery and handball also getting started.

In women's soccer, the United States cruised to a 3-0 lead in the first half, and then coasted to win 3-0 over Zambia.  Trinity Rodman opened the scoring and Mallory Swanson finished it with a brace.  Lindsay Horan had 2 assists.

Canada - despite the absence of its coach, did defeat New Zealand 2-1.  Other victors include Germany (3-0 over Australia), and France (3-2 over Colombia),

In women's team handball, perhaps the game of the team was the Netherlands winning 34-31 over Angola in a high-scoring affair.  Other winners were Denmark (27-19 over Slovenia), Brazil (29-18 over Spain), France (31-28 over Hungary), Sweden (32-28 over Norway) and Korea (23-22) over Germany.

In the men's 7s in rugby, both the final group stage match and the quarterfinals matches were played yestreday.  The United States qualified for the quarterfinals with an impressive 33-17 win, led by an impressive 4 tries (American record) by Perry Baker.  But alas the United States ran out of steam - and points - as they lost to Australia 18-0.  The other semi-finalists are Fiji, a 19-25 victor over Ireland, France, who wond 26-14 over Argentina, and South Africa, which defeated New Zealand 14-7.

In archery, Korea dominated in the ranking round with Kim Woojin placing first with a score of 686, Kim Je Deok finishing second, and Lee Wooseok coming in sixth.  American Brady Ellison sits comfortably in 7th, finishing just 4 points from a medal position, 5 points from second place, and nine points out of first.  Heading into the medal rounds it should be noted that Ellison has the world record score of 702 which he set in 2019, but Kim Woojin has the Olympic record with 700 set in Rio in 2016.  Let's hope Ellison can find a few extra points in the medal round.

The South Koreans also dominated the preliminary rounds of women's archery, wih Lim Sihyeon setting a new World Record of 694, followed by her teammate Nam Suhyeon, who had a personal best of 688.  American Casey Kaufhold finished in 4th, just behind Yang Ziaolei.  Although it looks like the South Koreans are going to be hard to beat, Kaufhold has a medal in her sights, as it took personal best and season bests for all of the 5th through 8th finishers to just qualify in their positions.  Can we get two medals in archery?

Athlete of the Day - Lim Sihyeon, Korea, Archery

You set a world record, you will be considered for this award.

American Athlete of the Day - Perry Baker, Rugby, Mallory Swanson, Soccer

Baker scored 4 tries to lead the US into the quarterfinals.  Swanson scored a brace in the US win over Zambia.

Olympic Term of the Day:  Try - Rugby - A way of scoring points in rugby by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area.  Worth 5 points in rugby union; four in rugby league.

Olympic Events Watched:  Rugby (Men's Sevnes), Soccer (Men's)

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer (Alphabetically):  Brady Ellison, Casey Kaufhold, Alyssa Naeher Mallory Swanson                          

Olympics - Paris 2024 - Day 1

Day 1 - July 24, 2024

Well, the Olympics are officially here.  Yes, I know that the Opening Ceremonies are not until tomorrow, but rugby and soccer started today.  I am going to attempt to do a daily recap of the events, but with work and personal life it may not always happen, but I am going to start!!!

But, as much as this pains me, we have to start with two scandals that have occurred already.  One, which I consider minor, involves the Canadian women's soccer team have a member of the delegation flying a drone over New Zealand's practice to spy.  Sounds like good olde American college football - looking at you Michigan and Conner Stallions.

The second is much more serious and impactul.  Six-time Olympic medalist from Great Britain, Charlotte Dujardin will not be participating in dressage (equestrian) these Olympics after a video surfaced showing her abusing horses.  I hav enot seen the video, nor will I, but it must have been bad for her to withdraw.

In the men's 7s in rugby, Fiji had two impressive performances scoring 40 points in both of their matches, against Uruguay and the United.   In addition to the loss to Fiji, the United States tied France, meaning they have some work to do today in order to qualify for the knockout stages.

The United States also competed against France in men's soccer, falling to Les Bleus 3-0, behind three second-half goals for the French.

In soccer the most dominating performance was put together by Japan, which defeated Paragruay 5-0, behind braces from Fujio Shoto and Shunsuke Mito.

But, the game of the day was the soccer match between Argentina and Morocco.  Morocco strikes first just before halftime on a goal by Soufiane Rahimi, who quickly doubled the lead on a penalty kick just after the start of the second half.  Argentian creeps back into the game on a goal by Giuliano Simeone in the 68th minute, and then seemingly equalizes well into extra time 90' +16.  Moroccan fans erupt, throwing items onto the field and some crazies even rushed the field.  The officials suspend the game for over an hour to clear the stadium, and when the players re-take the field, VAR announces that Argentina was offsides on the run-up to the goal.  NO GOAL!!!!  Morocco's 2-1 victory stands.  

Athlete of the Day - Soufiane Rahimi, Soccer, Morocco

His two goals were so important in the game of the day.

Olympic Term of the Day:  Hooligan, Soccer - Individuals known for the involvement in disruptive activities, such as vandalism, violence, or public disturbances, particularly during soccer matches.

Olympic Events Watched:  Soccer 

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer (Alphabetically):  Nobody yet, but the best players for the USA soccer yesterday were Paxton Aaronson and Kevin Paredes