Some of the more notable (and often more relatively obscure) things that made a big impression on me.....about these Olympic games in Tokyo (primarily beyond what has already been mentioned in this thread):
- NBC's coverage. Certainly there were some hiccups along the way, but they managed to pull off a wonderful presentation....with multiple channels, and excellent camera work...in a trying, pandemic altered, multi-day event. Also, the connecting to the families so they could congratulate their athletes was a really nice touch.
- So along those lines.....Caleb Dressel, USA men's swimming. Not only his excellence in his events, but his emotions during the esp. the one interview. His entire family/friends watch party was connected and he just completely lost it. Genuine emotion. He couldn't actually speak it was so overwhelming for him. Makes you stop and appreciate what these athletes go through and their level of commitment.
- THE MOST DOMINANT PERFORMANCE. And I mean not by total medals or even consistency throughout multiple Olympics. The 14 year old diver from China....Quan Hongchan. OMG....did you see this girl? She can't be much over 4 and a half feet tall. She pulls a Nadia Comaneci (if you don't recognize THAT name, look it up!) with THREE PERFECT 10's (EVERY JUDGE) in the 10 meter platform. She comes from a poor farming family.....and her mother needs long term medical care after a bad accident. To see her focus on those dives, and then her elation after she realized she won the gold medal was INCREDIBLE. She nailed ever single dive STRAIGHT into the water EVERY TIME. Virtually NO SPLASH.....and not because she's so small. It's kind of a thing for China to do this....seemingly every one of their female divers is a young teen, and then you won't see them again in the next Olympics. I would not usually watch diving, but in the Olympics it's amazing how much you are drawn to the spirit of the competition. And this girl was just FIERCE.
- Simone Biles getting a medal after doubting her own confidence. The entire situation has been bandied about pro and con ad nauseum....so refraining from re-opening that discussion. But I'm proud of her for coming back like that and getting a bronze medal. Simultaneously, it's the most disappointing (not in her, but in what could have been). If she was on her game, she would have dominated similar to the diver.
- Another thing I would not normally watch. Synchronized (artistic) swimming (team). The ROC won the gold because of their precision/timing. But the ENERGY of the Chinese team was phenomenal. Holy crap. The music was BOSS and intense too. They won the silver, but I thought their routine was more compelling. Check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6jEtbwPzVg- Speaking of BOSS. And not a big fan of his (but don't want to go down THAT rabbit hole here!), but Bruce Springsteen's daughter. Equestrian competition. Won a medal. The boss's daughter gets to be the boss at the dinner table there.
- Allyson Felix. All time most decorated USA track athlete. FIFTH Olympics. 11 medals now, passing Carl Lewis. 35 years old and new mother. Incredible.
- USA heavyweight wrestler Gable Stevenson. Beat multi time Georgian (country not state!) world champion wrestler Geno Petriashvili in literally the last SECOND of the match. He was trailing 8-5 with about 30 seconds left to go....and was able to secure two takedowns, including the last with essentially ZERO time on the clock. Dramatic victory!
- Water polo. Just in general. Sounds a bit prissy on the surface (no pun intended), but it's a bad ass sport. You want to talk about tough? Them and the rugby players get my vote there! The things that go on during those matches....unconscionable.
- All the world records broken, seemingly across every competition. Seemed like perhaps more than any other Olympics?
- All of the FIRSTS. So many countries/athletes breaking through that normally do not medal! Wow! Again, more than any other Olympics?
Yes, I watched a lot of the higher profile sports too. I'm a big basketball fan, so I did enjoy watching the men's team bounce back after some early adversity and winning gold against a tough French team. Though, yes....they are expected to win, so not as awesome as some of the other things mentioned. The American ladies took care of business there as well. Katie Ladecky.....awesome, after losing to the Australian, Titmus, earlier. USA women's volleyball won first gold medal ever. That was very cool.
But by and large it was a lot of those less covered sports during the time away from the Olympics that garnered most of my attention. I think it's because you don't see them, and it's DIFFERENT when the athletes in those sports are representing their country in this way. Despite COVID and all of the political wranglings going on around the world.....athletes united and showed their spirit. Gets me every time.
Topic: 2021 Summer Olympics thread (Read 13029 times)
