Saturday began gold rush weekend. 51 gold medals will be given out on Saturday and Sunday.
Not surprisingly, one of those gold medals went to Team USA’s Simone Biles in the women’s vault finals, which she also won in Tokyo in 2021. In that same competition, Team Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won silver and Team USA’s Jade Carey won bronze. Rebeca’s medal in this event made her the most decorated Brazilian Olympic athlete of all time.
Another unsurprising win was Team USA’s Katie Ledecky winning the women’s 800m freestyle for the fourth time in four consecutive Olympics, a feat that only 7 other athletes in any sport have accomplished.
Just an aside, Anthony Nesty (Katie Ledecky’s coach) is not only the first Black male to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming (which he did in 1988 in the 100m butterfly for Team Suriname), but he’s also the first Black head coach for Team USA’s men’s swimming team.
Among those 7 other athletes is Team USA’s Vincent Hancock, who won his fourth back-to-back gold medal in the men’s skeet shooting on Saturday.
How about those Longhorns!!! Team USA’s Ryan Crouser won his third Olympic gold medal in the shotput, making him the first in that event (male or female) to win 3 back-to-back gold medals. Competing for Team Germany, Leo Neugebauer won a silver medal in the decathlon. Finally, Team St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred’s gold medal win in the women’s 100m represented her county’s first ever Olympic medal.
In men’s artistic gymnastics, America’s newest sweetheart, Stephen Nedoroscik, won bronze in pommel horse. The pommel horse intrigues me. How did it go from a wooden structure made in the shape of a horse meant to teach people how to properly mount and dismount a horse to this thing made of metal, plastic, rubber, and leather that athletes swing around?
I followed Snoop and Martha Stewart in their full at equestrian kits to Château de Versailles where Team Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl won her second consecutive gold medal in the individual dressage.
The retirement of so many of Team USA’s women’s soccer team veterans, has provided an opening for the next generation of superstars in this sport, including Trinity Rodman (yes, as in Dennis Rodman). Trinity’s goal scored during Team USA’s game against Team Japan helped it to advance to the semifinals.
Well, hello there monsieur. I wish someone would’ve told me about Team France’s Teddy Riner just a little bit sooner; I would’ve totally been over there watching. Oh yeah, and his tie-breaking win in the last round gave Team France a gold medal in mixed team judo and made him the most decorated judoka in history.
Just another aside: when there’s a tie in mixed team judo, they spin a while (kinda like the one on the Price is Right) to see which gender and weight class will compete.
Some Olympic firsts from yesterday include Kristof Milak winning Team Hungary’s first gold medal in the men’s 100m butterfly; Carlos Yulo winning Team Philippines’ first gold medal in gymnastics and its second gold medal ever; Josh Liendo became Team Canada’s first Black Olympic individual medalist in swimming; and Team USA having two athletes (Sha’carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson) winning medals in the women’s 100m in the same Olympics since 1996.
One of the biggest firsts from yesterday was Summer McIntosh winning her third gold medal in these Olympic games, making her Team Canada’s first ever triple medalist in a single Olympics. AND she’s only 17.
But I’d have to say that the award for Olympic firsts goes to Allyson Felix, who helped launch the first ever Olympic Village nursery for Olympic athletes who are mothers to small children.
Can we talk about the mixed 4x400m race for a second? Femke Bol came out of NOWHERE during the last lap to upset Team USA and win Team Netherlands the gold medal in this event.
I know handball. I’ve played handball. Whatever it is that they’re calling handball at these Olympic games is not handball.
I woke up Saturday morning and the men’s road race was on. These athletes spend over six hours on a bicycle. I have so many questions…
I was just about to call it a night, when the women’s kayak cross event began airing. This is a new sport added this year. The race starts with four kayakers lining up, side by side, on a 15 foot platform. At the official’s signal, the athletes drop into the whitewater slalom course in their kayaks from the 15-foot platform and then go to battle, trying to knock each other out of the race with their paddles and boats (think water roller derby). This is all while trying to circle 8 buoys (2 upstream and 6 downstream). At one point during the race, the athletes must also clear a bar by spinning their kayaks 360 degrees like a hot dog in one of those gas station cases. I mean, who thought of this? This event is magical and just might fill the void left by surfing coming to a conclusion.
One last aside: if you’re wondering what’s in those skinny boxes the medal winners are given, it’s a print of the official Paris Olympics poster.