Speed Walking is still an Olympic event and I think I missed my calling…hips don’t lie.
Also, who do you think was the first “race walker” to wear a white hat? Do you think he’s happy he started a trend or sees this and calls them posers?
Author: adroyer
4 Random Things Bringing Me Joy Part 2
All the rhyme and reason, still just wanted to share:
The Guy On The Left
He brings me joy because he said “no, I will not bleach my hair with the rest of you. I did that in 7th grade thinking it would get me a date to the dance and it didn’t work so I promised myself never again. I intend on keeping that promise”. Also congrats on the bronze medal in the men’s team pursuit in track cycling.
Mijain Lopez Throwing his Coaches Around
This Cuban wrestler won/dominated his fourth straight gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 130 kg weight class. He then proceeded to throw his coaches around the ring like it was WWE. The guy on the left is trying to find his glasses after he was picked up and gently slammed into the mat and the guy upside is getting a ride around the ring. Wrestlers will be wrestlers.
The Current Medal Count
Are we going to get a record high number of medals? Probably not. Are we going to beat our medal haul from Rio of 121? Also, probably not. But are we still having a good Olympic games overall? Yes. While most medal counts prioritize golds over total number of medals I like ESPN’s display above the best. China has more golds but we still have the most medals of any other country and I think that should be celebrated. And at least we aren’t bullying our own Silver Medalists too much. We all need to say NO to bullying and together, we can bully bullying into not bullying.
Leslie Jones Tweeting the Olympics
I wish she was able to be physically in Tokyo having a blast with the athletes but her twitter feed will have to do this time!
MUST WATCH: Track Cycling
You know how sprints on the track for running are people just going all out for a short distance? The 100 meters is one of the simplest events in the entire Olympics. You sprint in a straight line and the fastest person wins. But if you try taking that logic to the velodrome (indoor cycling arena) for their sprint event you will be
It’s still whoever crosses the finish line first BUT it’s a 1:1 battle of strategy and will and love and then a break-up. They spend the first lap going as slow as possible to trick each other into getting the better position, or are they just flirting? The person in front is constantly looking back and swerving making sure their butt is always in the other person’s face.
They can also do a thing called a “track stand” where they literally just stop moving for a bit and balance on their bikes stare at each other. It’s kind of cute.
But all good things must come to an end and eventually one of them decides it’s time to move on because they saw the winning cyclist in the race before them and they start thinking, are they a better match for me? So that person takes off and tries to leave the other cyclist behind.
The cyclist who was left behind tries to catch up but it never really works and they are officially ghosted and sent to the repechage. And by repechage I actually mean
And guess what? That is only 1 of the track cycling event. I don’t even have the time (or knowledge) to explain what happens in Omnium or the Kieran or the Team Sprint. I’m pretty sure my blog would be banned if I showed a picture of the Madison so you’ll just have to learn about that one on your own.
So, go check out some indoor track cycling for yourself. Maybe pick up a few dating tips on the way and don’t forget to admire the massive thunder thighs along the way.
Quick Update on Daddy Yankee
Do you know what’s the opposite of Despacito? Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn during the 100-meter hurdle finals. She beat world record holder Keni Harrison from the US to win Puerto Rico’s first ever gold medal in track and field. And do you know who was super impressed? Daddy Yankee.
And do you know who was super jazzed to have impressed Daddy Yankee? Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.
You can watch the replay of her gold medal race here. And you can watch Daddy Yankee’s El Pony here, which is the closest connection to the Olympics I could find in music video form, there are horses in the Olympics…..
Looking Back at Gymnastics
I know I didn’t cover any of this last week and the last individual apparatus final just ended. It has been a wild ride. I’m not going to try to tell all the stories. The women’s team has been on an emotional rollercoaster but Suni Lee is leaving Tokyo an absolute star and ultimate Rise-To-The-Occasion-Er. MyKayla Skinner coming in clutch and taking full advantage of an opportunity she didn’t think she would get. Jade Carey showing how to shake it off and coming back strong for gold on the floor. And Simone, coming back in at the very end for what might be her last Olympic medal. The US men were also fun to watch. I’m honestly not sure if they were expected to win any medals but Sam Mikulak’s enthusiasm is gold in my book.
What I am going to do though is rank all the events within gymnastics based on no consistent criteria. Here we go.
#8 – Parallel Bars
The only time this has ever been exciting was when Danell Leyva stripped during the “Gala” performances in Rio. I feel like this was a staple at playgrounds growing up before they all started getting rock walls but it’s staying at the bottom for lack of excitement, lack of height/thrill in performances and lower pure strength compared to some of the other men’s events.
#7 – High Bar
This isn’t last because of height and thrill points but it just seems like a less interesting version of uneven bars. Maybe this should be combined with parallel bars so the guys have to go back and forth between 3 different bars?
#6 – Balance Beam
I get that this takes extreme amounts of balance and skill but does anyone really like watching it that much? You are kind of just waiting for someone to fall. They throw in a lot of “artistic” hand movements that look awkward half the time. It’s just kind of bleh for me.
#5 – Rings
This one is really hard to place because some of the individual moves they do are amazing feats of strength but the routines are so short and kind of boring. I do wonder if this would be the first to go though if the actual men’s gymnastic athletes had to play survivor with all the apparatus. I can’t picture anyone thinking “can’t wait to do rings next after my arms are already exhausted’.
#4 – Uneven Bars
Does anyone else immediately picture a black and white clip of the uneven bars and an athlete from back in the day kind of just going back and forth? It plays in repeat in my head. But this made it to #4 because I feel like the athletes have advanced the excitement of this event a lot, especially this year. I had a lot of “whoa” moments while watching some of the ways they combine skills and make catching the bar so easy.
#3 – Pommel Horse
This is probably going to be my most controversial ranking but for some reason I watched a lot of pommel this year and started appreciating it so much more. Maybe they are going faster or their approach has changed but I’m all in. I know it’s arguably the weirdest of all the events and a holdover from a different era when more people needed to practice riding horses, just like Modern Pentathlon. But let’s all give Pommel Horse another chance.
#2 – Vault
I went back and forth about the final two rankings. I love watching vault. The fact they are sprinting full speed at this large immovable object is just ridiculous to me. The reason it is not #1 is the fact that many athletes seem to be doing the same vaults and watching the competition gets a little repetitive. But when they stick the landing it’s amazing.
#1 – Floor
I feel like tumbling passes have become the biggest “how did they do that” moments from gymnastics. They are going higher, doing more twists, doing more turns, doing more flips. The women get to dance to music. The men get to take awkwardly large steps between locations on the mat as their transitions. It’s also the simplest of all the events, just a slightly bouncy floor, but they make it one of the most exciting.
(I’m not sure if trampoline should be in these rankings as well or if that would be an insult to all the athletes above. Do you get relegated to trampoline if you aren’t good enough for artistic gymnastics? Get called into the coaches office, hear “have you ever thought about trampoline” and go quietly to clean out your locker.)
4 Random Things Bringing Me Joy Part 1
No real rhyme or reason to any of these, just wanted to share:
Artistic Swimmers Acting Like Animals
That’s apparently the new name for Synchronized Swimming. I don’t love it but don’t hate it either. I watched maybe 20 minutes this morning and the team from Liechtenstein did an animal themed routine. You can watch the entire competition here, animals start around 35 minutes!
High Jump Friendship
Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi both had zero misses until the very last height which they both failed on all 3 attempts. Gianmarco even did a basketball “swish” after one of his jumps and brought out his old cast from a previous injury because why not. Traditionally they would have gone to a jump-off to decide who gets gold and who gets silver. BUT THEY CHOSE FRIENDSHIP. If you watch this recap it looks like the official was not even giving them that option (I’m pretty sure he said “possible” in the same way I tell most guys there will be a second date) but friendship always prevails. Great wins for both gentlemen.
Badminton dudes stripping…?
Gratuitous abs aside, this was actually an awesome match to watch and an even greater celebration. To set the stage, Men’s singles Badminton is traditionally dominated by Asian countries, especially China. But Denmark is also oddly good. This year’s gold medal match was 2016’s Gold Medalist Chen Long from China versus Bronze Medalist Viktor Axelsen from Denmark. It was a good match but clearly it was Viktor’s day and he was overcome with emotion when the birdie fell for the last time. Viktor and Chen decided to switch jerseys in a mutual show of respect in another moment of joy for me. And it answered one of the greatest mysteries of life: do badminton players have washboard abs.
A Very Cool Mare
That is how Julia Krajewski of Germany describes her horse Amande De B’neville. And now they both are gold medalists and Julia is the first female champion in Equestrian Olympic Eventing history. I know nothing about how this sport actually works but this seems long overdue. Cue Beyoncé.
Olympic Logo and Tokyo Mascot
First, just want to say that I created an Olympic Logo with my nephew’s blocks while I was on vacation…no big deal.
But to give a quick analysis of the Tokyo Mascot, it’s name is Miraitowa. You can find more information here. It’s just a repurposed Pokémon right? I grew up with a manageable 151 in the original Gameboy games but now I think they are up to at least 700 and there is no way Miraitowa is not in the Pokedex right now with slightly different colors. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I just need to know its attacks. Does it throw Javelins? Does it spike volleyballs? A Karate kick? Maybe it uses the Olympic rings as a weapon like the dude in the new marvel movie? Lean in Tokyo and get it a trading card.
And no, I’m not ignoring the other mascot, it is for the Paralympic games which I will cover when they start.
My Favorite Swimming Moments
I’m not going to try to recap all the swimming because it gets more than enough coverage but I will share my top moments.
Lydia Jacoby’s Gold Medal
There is nothing better than a young athlete defying expectations to win a Gold Medal and lead the charge of a new generation of amazing US swimmers. She was so shocked by her win and her story is amazing, only 1 Olympic pool in the state of Alaska! (we are not talking about goggles though, just her first final)
And watching her high school get so fired up, probably the best reaction video of the games so far.
Caeleb Dressel Getting Emotional (and all his golds)
You know all he accomplished at these games (and how handsome he is). It was his reactions to winning gold, to breaking records, to seeing his family that really pushed it over the edge for me into making him one of my favorite people at the games so far. Must be something in that Florida water that makes him so great?
Ahmed Hafnaoui’s Victory for Tunisia
He pulled a major upset from Lane 8 to win the 400m freestyle for Tunisia. He wasn’t even talked about as a threat in that final. And what really stuck out to me was when they were showing the athlete’s cheering sections near the end. Australia was filled with other athletes and coaches. Ahmed had a single coach jumping around and screaming his heart out. It made his victory all the more impressive.
Anything Katie Ledecky
Again, I don’t need to write out everything that happened during these games regarding Katie Ledecky since you’ve probably heard it already. She did so much to try and help the US bring home as many medals as possible. And maybe now she will be switching to Archery to bring home golds in a different sport? And we all knew the moment was going to come when Katie doesn’t win every single race she enters. It happens to all our favorite athletes but maybe the fact it was Australia, our eternal rival in swimming, that made it sting a little bit more but she still showed why she is the queen of the pool by the end of the games.
Bobby Finke’s Final 50 meters
His electrifying finishes are what the Olympics are all about. It is never over until someone crosses the finish line/touches the pool wall (do you think swimmers ever get jealous of runners for having a “finish line)? The reason I like Finke so much is he swims the way I like to try to run, saving something in the tank for the end. After seeing what he could do in the 800 I think the 1,500 got a lot more attention and people watching to see if he could do it again, and he did!
There are so, so, so many more amazing swimmers and moments from these games but there are so many hours in the day to google pictures of swimmers so had to stop after 5.
Women’s Soccer Semifinal Live Blog
My natural ability to wake up at 4:00am finally coming in handy! I’m very nervous about this game because we did not look that great during the quarterfinal. Kind of lackluster overall so I’m hoping we can turn it around for this game and get some of that fire back. Just turned it on 40 minutes into the game and it’s 0-0 so could be better, could be worse. Here we go!
First half is over and the only thing of real importance is that Alyssa Naeher is out with an injury after landing awkwardly on her leg. She was really the hero of the shoot-out against the Netherlands so let’s hope the US picks up the offense in the second half.
60 minutes into the game….still not much to actually say. I don’t really watch soccer outside the Olympics so maybe there is a lot happening and I’m just missing it? I also feel like Megan Rapinoe should have gone with a new hair color to fire everyone up.
Penalty Kick for Canada and they score…this is not good.
The US never had a response and we are going to the bronze medal match. I think this is exactly what we were all worried would happen based on their previous games. Definitely not what we were all hoping for but at least we still have a shot at a medal. I think that might be a general theme of the games so far for the US, getting medals but not getting to the top of the podium as much as hoped.
I think we all know what this team needs…..
Quick Thoughts on Mental Health
I don’t want to ignore this entirely but also feel there are already too many people pretending to be experts and “weighing in”. So what I will say is that I hope the conversations about mental health started during these games actually continue after the world quickly moves past the Olympics the second the closing ceremony ends. I also hope the media seriously examines their own role. There are so many athletes competing in the Olympics who have interesting and inspiring stories to tell.
So I hope these conversations about mental health will lead to athletes like Sha’Carri being able to use a non performance enhancing plant to relieve stress if they need to. I hope athletes like Simone can enter the next games at the peak of their physical and mental health. And I hope there are less athletes who seem to have a tough time after their Olympic days are over.
That’s all I’ve got.
Royer's Olympic Blog 