Okay, so hear me out. I really think the issue is that rhythmic gymnastics has a branding problem. At its core, rhythmic gymnastics are beautifully choreographed lyrical jazz routines with a bit of acro thrown in there. Honestly, it’s like competitive Cirque du Soleil. If you look at it through that lens, I think y’all would appreciate it more.
In competition, the one who wins isn’t always the one who’s most talented. Sometimes hunger trumps talent. I’m just glad Team USA’s men’s basketball team developed some hunger pangs during those last three minutes of the semifinals game against Serbia.
Just an aside, I think LeBron and them should be responsible for the copay for my blood pressure medication this month.
Lots of fun times were to be had out at the Stade de France. I wouldn’t call it an upset because I definitely wasn’t upset by it, but Team Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo beat out the heavily favored Noah Lyles to win the gold medal in the men’s 200m. Letsile’s win represents the first time any African nation has medaled in this event.
One of our favorite Longhorns, Team USA’s Tara Davis-Woodhall, won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s long jump. Hook’em! Tara has one of my favorite competition rituals. To get a clap going while she’s about to jump, she starts the crowd off slow, so everyone has time to get on beat.
Like the term “genius” I try not to throw around the term “GOAT” too much. But Team USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone can easily be considered the GOAT in the women’s 400m hurdles. Sydney hasn’t lost this event since 2019 and has set 6 world records.
Just an another aside, should I ever win a gold medal, I need my friends waiting on the sidelines with a tiara to crown me like Sydney’s did.
Prior to these Olympic games, Team USA has won a medal in the men’s 110m hurdles in 27 out of 29 Olympics. Yesterday, Grant Holloway’s gold medal win made that 28 out of 30.
One last aside, these interviewers need to do better. I promise you, ten times out of ten when you ask an athlete what winning a gold medal means to them, their answer will be the same every time. I have yet to hear an Olympic gold medalist say something like, “this medal means absolutely nothing. I didn’t even want to be here.”