All the Olympics News That Everyone at the Water Cooler Will Be Talking About Today
The Rio Olympics have been a big story that everyone has been talking about in the last couple of weeks. If you don’t have time to keep up with everything, we have collected the important things that everyone here is talking about so that you can quickly catch up.
Today’s Greatest Stories
Simone Biles will wear the US flag during the closing ceremony after winning four gold medals
From Time : US Olympic athlete Simone Biles – World’s Best Gymnast – was selected as the Official US Standard Bearer at the closing ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. Biles, 19, finished the 2016 Summer Olympics with five medals, four of which were gold, the most ever won by a gymnast in a single Olympics.
Usain Bolt wins 4x100m gold at third consecutive Olympics
From Deadspin : Usain Bolt accomplished an unprecedented feat, winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in three consecutive Olympics, giving Jamaica 37.27 points today and, along with Nickel Ashmid, Johan Blake and Asafa Powell, beating Japan by 0 , 33 seconds. The United States won bronze, two hundredths of a second behind Japan.
US swimmer Gunnar Benz said Lochte covered vandalism with robbery
From Deadspin : American swimmer Gunnar Benz, who was taken home from the Olympics with Jack Conger and forced to answer questions about the alleged robbery in which they were victims, now says the story of the robbery was invented by Ryan Lochte, whose vandalism they allegedly got into trouble in the first place.
Current medal count
According to Google, the medal is awarded as it currently stands, as of Saturday afternoon. If you want to know more about the Olympics from Google, check out our post on the best shortcuts here .
All previous news from the Olympics
Investigators are still trying to find out if Lochte and his teammates were actually robbed.
From the New York Times : In his initial report, Mr. Lochte said the car was stopped by armed men, one of whom held a gun to his head before taking money out of his wallet. But police investigators said Thursday that Mr Lochte and others acted more like dimwitted vandals than the victims they claimed.
Stopping at a Shell gas station around 6 a.m. Sunday morning, the men were clearly drunk, the station owner said. They broke the soap dispenser in the bathroom, damaged the door, ripped off the sign and urinated indoors, the owner told reporters.
American woman won a gold medal in wrestling for the first time in history
From Deadspin : Marulis usually wrestles in the 55kg weight class, but 55kg is not an Olympic weight class. Thus, she shed weight, dropped to the 53 kg category and toppled the three-time reigning champion with a score of 4: 1. This is the first gold medal ever won by an American in an Olympic wrestling. Here are two takedowns that earned her the four points she needed to win.
Usain Bolt wins 200m and 100m gold in third, record time
From Deadspin : Usain Bolt added 200m gold to his previous 100m in Rio, becoming the first athlete in history to win both 100 and 200 in three games in a row. And again he seemed to have calmed down towards the end; once again he dominated his opponents. His 19.78 would not have beaten Michael Johnson in 1996, but it didn’t seem to matter today.
Rio de Janeiro officials ditch plans of two U.S. swimmers to help investigate robbery
From Deadspin : This whole story of American swimmers Ryan Locht, Gunnar Benz, Jack Konger and Jimmy Feigen, may or may not be robbed at gunpoint by people who may have been posing as Brazilian cops, is suspicious and riddled with inconsistencies. Brazilian police questioned Lochte’s account , and earlier today a Brazilian judge ordered Lochte and Feigen to remain in Brazil to answer questions about the alleged robbery. Lochte has already left the country, but the Brazilian authorities seem to have removed Benz and Konger from their plane. Initially, the judge did not reveal their names, but apparently they are now stuck in Rio.
Another report suggests the British Olympian was also robbed at gunpoint.
From The Guardian : A member of the British Olympic team in Rio was caught at gunpoint while spending the night in the city. The news caused a deep shock among British athletes and officials, many of whom were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to enjoy Rio’s nightlife after the conclusion of their competition. It also led to an unprecedented warning from GB team members that it was “not worth the risk” of leaving the athletes’ village for fears that they might be targeted if they were spotted in British uniform.
Three American runners win 100m hurdles, first ever
From Jezebel : Rollins took gold with a very quick 12.48, while his teammates Ali and Castlin finished at 12.59 and 12.61 respectively, taking silver and bronze for the first ever Olympic victory of any country in this event. stories. Cindy Ofili from the UK came very close to Castlin, finishing fourth with an extremely respectable 12.63.
Dressage Lorenzo danced to Santana’s “Smooth”
From NBC Sports : Spanish North Jesús Jurado Lopez rides his horse – Lorenzo – to an awayshow featuring Santana’s beloved Latin American rock song from the 90s.
German cyclist Christina Vogel wins women’s sprint gold after losing her bike seat
From Deadspin : She held on to victory by a tiny margin, which was all the more impressive as her bike was falling apart. At the very end of her sprint win over James, Vogel’s entire perilous seat failed and she eventually jumped off the bike as she crossed the finish line. As you can see, track cyclists run while seated, unlike road cyclists.
Brazil beats USA in beach volleyball, bringing first Olympic defeat to Kerry Walsh Jennings
From Deadspin : Beach volleyball genius Kerry Walsh Jennings has played every Summer Olympics since 2004, winning three gold medals and losing exactly zero matches. It ended in Tuesday’s semi-finals when Brazilians Agatha and Barbara beat the reigning champion and April Ross in two sets.
Simone Biles recovers with her fourth Olympic gymnastics win
From the Washington Post : “If you get silver, you’re the best,” Ali Raisman explained with a laugh, “because Simone doesn’t count!” And this general logic is that on Tuesday at the Olympic Arena in Rio de Janeiro, on the final day of the Olympic gymnastics competition, two winners in the women’s floor exercise emerged: 19-year-old Biles, who won her fourth gold medal along with the bronze medal she is. ” … The day before, d earned on the balance beam, and 22-year-old Reisman, whose silver won first place in the gymnastics division, not related to Biles, brought her medal result to three.
Shauna Miller struggles to win 400m final with last second jump
From Deadspin : Allison Felix lost the 400m final by just seven excruciating hundredths of a second after Bahama runner Sean Miller dived right into the finish line to contain Felix’s attack from behind. Felix, 30, entered the home stretch behind Miller, but managed to nearly knock it down before Miller was knocked out of the home stretch.
Garbage fire in Rio threatens Olympic mountain bike track
From Reuters : A fire threatened the track that will host the Olympic mountain biking event on Monday after controlled burning of garbage spread uncontrollably due to high winds. Photos posted on the Twitter page of the Canadian cyclists’ website show flames licking the hills surrounding the competition site in Deodoro, 43 kilometers (27 miles) from the main Olympic Park.
Brazilian pole vaulter Thiago da Silva sets new world record
From Deadspin : Renaud Lavilleni competed in the pole vault final today as the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder. He finished with a silver medal thanks to Brazilian Thiago da Silva, who set a new Olympic record of 6.03 m on a stormy night, characterized by long delays due to rain and faulty equipment.
Usain Bolt ran the 100m final in 9.81 seconds …
From Deadspin : Usain Bolt won today’s 100m final, his third consecutive Olympic gold in that competition, in 9.81 seconds. Runners-up Justin Gatlin and Andre de Grasse watched the finish line as if they were running in slow motion.
… which led to such a loud applause that the JFK terminal was evacuated due to the “shots”
From Deadspin : Police evacuated Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy Airport Sunday night after receiving reports of gunfire. After preliminary investigations, police are now claiming that there was no shooting, and one official said the ” banging and banging ” of people watching the Olympics could have been misinterpreted as shooting.
Chinese diver He Tzu won a silver medal and then received a podium offer
From CNN : Just seconds after winning the silver medal at Sunday’s 3-meter springboard, He Tzu, a Chinese man, was asked to make a very different look. The 25-year-old was greeted by boyfriend Qin Kai, a fellow Olympiad, who knelt low on one knee at the podium before handing out a box containing a wedding ring.
Dutch cyclist challenges wall gravity to avoid collision
From Deadspin : Surprisingly, the woman Cuffe pushed out in the first place, Lauryn Van Riessen, managed to stay on her bike thanks to some, um, creative wall riding. The tops of the Velodrome floors have fairly steep inclines so riders can use gravity to shoot their slingshot, but the walls are at roughly 90 degrees to the ground. Van Risen rode without problem in a horizontal style to the very top of the wall, then returned to the Cueff turn and stayed upright to finish.
Ryan Lokte and three other swimmers were robbed at gunpoint
From the BBC : Lochte, Gunnar Benz, Jack Konger and Jimmy Feigen were stopped by people posing as armed police, the US Olympic Committee (USOC) said in a statement. The robbers demanded money and other personal items. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) initially denied reports of the robbery before the US committee confirmed it had taken place.
Sara Robles wins first U.S. weightlifting medal in 16 years
From Deadspin : This is not the United States of weightlifting. Since 2000, no woman has won a medal in the sport, and no male weightlifter has conquered the podium since 1984. Therefore, when Sarah Robles took bronze in the total of 286 kg today, it was a reason for celebration.
Olympic officials finally replace this green water in one pool
From Deadspin : While the muddy water could be good for water polo players, the irritations caused by either the water or whatever the Rio officials added to it weren’t, and synchronized swimmers need crystal clear water to perform underwater maneuvers. Officials closed the pool on Friday, promising that their treatment that day would restore water. It didn’t work and required a full transfusion.
Fiji wins rugby gold, first medal for the nation
From USA Today : After 16 appearances in the Olympics, the tiny country of Fiji has won its first medal. And this is gold. Fiji’s national rugby sevens squad beat Britain in the gold medal game Thursday night, winning 43-7 in a game that was never in doubt. Team GB seemed overwhelmed by the size and speed of Fiji and seemed unable to beat anyone by clean tackle.
Simone Manuel is the first black American swimmer to win an individual gold medal
From Deadspin : Simone Manuel swam an incredible final 50 in today’s 100m freestyle to earn a gold medal alongside Canada’s Penny Oleksiak, who in this case swam an identical Olympic record of 52.70. Both surpassed world record holder Keith Campbell, who led the race after the first 50 meters and ended up missing the podium.
Michael Phelps has more individual medals than ancient Leonidas of Rhodes
From the New York Times : Leonid has won 12 individual events in four Olympic Games. At 36, five years Phelps’s senior, he won his last three competitions in 152 BC, in the 200 and 400 meter races and in the shield race. Phelps surpassed Leonidas, winning his 13th individual gold (22nd overall and 26th medal). With the win, Phelps also joined track and field Olympians Al Orter and Carl Lewis as the only Americans to win the individual competition four times.
Rogue One’s new trailer crashed during the Olympics
Of course, this is not an Olympic sport, but they will still talk about it.
Women’s 200m butterfly race was decided at a surprisingly close finish
From Deadspin : This photo was taken at the very end of the women’s 200m butterfly final. Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia, swimmer on the right, won the gold medal against Australia’s Madeline Groves (left) by just 0.03 seconds, coming out from behind on the last loop and beating her against the wall.
Katie Ledecky closed a big lead in the 4 x 200 relay
From Jezebel : With a team that included Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith and Maya DiRado, the Americans lagged behind Australia for most of the race. Ledecky seemed to have easily outpaced Tamsin Cook in the final match, leading her team to gold.
Armenian weightlifter Andranik Karapetyan suffered a severe elbow injury
From Deadspin : Andranik Karapetyan is the reigning 77kg weightlifting European champion, but his hopes for an Olympic medal ran out when he sustained a disgusting elbow injury while trying to lift 195kg (430lb).
Several Olympic pools turned green
From CNN : There is something in the water at the Rio Olympics: Another pool is deep, bright green. This time it’s a water polo pool. On Tuesday, when the diving pool at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Center mysteriously changed color, the organizers of the Olympic Games and FINA – the international governing body for swimming – offered rival explanations.
Touring Horse Retired after Toxic Fever Insect Bite
From Deadspin : This is Parsifal. He is a very good horse. I would give him a carrot. However, if you went to the dressage area at the Rio Olympics this afternoon to feed him a carrot, you might not find him there as he had to leave the dressage competition after a suspicion of an insect bite left him “Toxic fever”.
Michael Phelps earned 20th gold medal after defeating longtime rival Chad Le Clos
From Deadspin : Chad le Clos, who took advantage of Michael Phelps ‘s crash in the 200 butterfly race four years ago , poked a bear last night . He missed a medal and Phelps won his 20th gold. Rest in peace.
U.S. National Gymnastics Team Takes Gold With Incredible Leadership
From USA Today : Since 2012, they have become the undisputed best team in the world. Simone Biles’ result on the floor at their last event of the evening was a mere formality in a competition that the Americans won by an incredible margin. The United States scored 184,897 points, beating second-place Russia by more than eight points. This is more than double the gap between silver and last place.
Katie Ledecky wins another gold with a narrow win in the women’s 200m freestyle
From SB Nation : Katy Ledecky won the gold medal in the women’s 200m freestyle on Tuesday, beating Sarah Shostrom of Sweden. Ledecky overtook Aussie Emma McKeon in corner two and appeared to be heading for an easy win, but had to hold off striker Shostrom in the final leg. Shostrom was on the outer lane out of Ledecki’s field of vision and finished without gold in 0.25 seconds.
Rio Media bus attacked while returning passengers to Olympic Park
From Deadspin : A bus carrying media and volunteers between Olympic venues was attacked in Rio this evening, according to multiple media reports. Several people on the bus described the attack as shooting. Initial reports said the bus was fired upon on the Trans-Olympic Highway when the attack took place.
Australian cyclist Melissa Hoskins sent to hospital in speed training accident
From Deadspin : While training at the velodrome ahead of the team pursuit event this afternoon, the Australian world-record team crashed during training … Everyone fell down except for leader Annette Edmundson. Ashley Ancudinoff, Georgia Baker and Amy Cur were able to get away quite easily and were treated for friction burns from falling onto the track at such a high speed. But Melissa Hoskins fell much harder than the other three, and stood motionless on the track for five minutes until she was stretched out.
Serena and Venus Williams suffer their first doubles defeat at the Olympics
From the BBC : Serena and Venus Williams lost for the first time in a doubles match at the Olympics as their hopes for a fourth consecutive title were unexpectedly dashed in the first round of Rio 2016.
Olympics officials apologize for using the wrong Chinese flag during the awards ceremony
From the Wall Street Journal : Several Chinese flags used by organizers at the 2016 Brazilian Olympics featured stars at the wrong angle – a subtle but significant miss that annoys Chinese officials as well as legions of spectators back home.
On the body of Michael Phelps were stains from the “can” therapy
From CNN via Gizmodo : Olympians in Rio are used to banks, an ancient therapy that was mainly used in the Middle East and Asia, especially China. The therapy consists of using round glass suction cups that are heated and then placed on the affected parts of the body. Placing a glass cup creates a partial vacuum that is believed to stimulate muscles and blood flow while relieving pain.
Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hossu set a record – 400 individual records in complex swimming
From Deadspin : Hungarian Katinka Hossu broke the women’s 400 IM record last night by 2.07 seconds, the biggest leap in world record progress since Petra Schneider of East Germany in Moscow in 1980. To illustrate how fast Hossu was compared to the previous champions, we coincided with the previous three times when we watched the 400 IM world record set at the Olympics. It is breathtaking.
19-year-old American athlete Ginny Thrasher wins first US weekend gold medal
From the Los Angeles Times : Virginia Thrasher of the United States won the first gold medal awarded at the Rio Olympics for first place in the women’s 10m air rifle competition on Saturday morning. The 19-year-old Thrasher defeated Doo Li in the final round with a total score of 208.0, setting an Olympic record. Du Li finished with a score of 207.0.
Michael Phelps earns his 19th gold medal as an incredible success
From Deadspin : He is back after the US lost to France in the 4×100 freestyle relay three years ago , and his second leg in the event tonight gave his team an edge over the French they never surrendered. This earned Phelps a record 19th gold medal in what became one of the biggest draws in swimming. While making the turn, Phelps surfaced an astonishing 2.5 seconds after the Frenchman touched the wall ahead.
French gymnast Samir Ayt Said suffered a graphic fracture of his leg
From Deadspin : French gymnast Samir Ait Said had to land after several jumps when his left leg buckled and broke badly on contact with the ground.
An Amazon jaguar was shot and killed in June shortly after the Olympic torch lighting ceremony
From Reuters : A jaguar pictured at the Olympic flame lighting ceremony was shot by a soldier shortly after the event in the Brazilian city of Manaus on the Amazon when the animal escaped from its owners, the army said in a statement.
Taiwan’s anger at being called “Chinese Taipei” at the Olympics continues to grow
From CNN : Although Taiwan has competed in all the Olympics over the past three decades, the compromise has never been liked by many at home and has become more controversial as Taiwanese politics has shifted towards complete independence from mainland China.
Leslie Jones is so passionate about the Olympics tweets that NBC invited her to Rio
From The Verge : Leslie Jones can be fun on Twitter, especially when she writes live shows like Game of Thrones. She started doing the same for the Rio Olympics and achieved amazing results, prompting Jim Bell, executive producer of NBC’s games, to invite her to help.