My Favorite Moments and Drama From Day 13 of the Olympics
The Paris Olympics are nearing the finish line, and like a great marathon runner, the games end strongly . I don’t know if today was the most dramatic day in Olympic history (I wasn’t in Ancient Greece), but let’s put it this way. All this happened in a few hours in Paris:
Men’s 200m drama : At the start of the games, the heavy favorite in the men’s 200m was Noah Lyles of the USA. But this race proved that you are not a winner until you win. Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo shocked the world by coming out of nowhere, running the race of his life and taking home the gold medal, the first gold medal Botswana had ever won. Lyles finished third, but in a plot twist, Lyles revealed after the race that he had been diagnosed with COVID earlier that day. This makes him the third fastest person on earth to have COVID .
Women’s javelin upset: Lyles wasn’t the only favorite to be beaten today: Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the javelin gold medal, beating Indian hero Neeraj Chopra with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m.
Men’s basketball in the US has actually been interesting: it’s clear that our men’s and women’s basketball teams are so strong – it’s our sport – but it doesn’t usually lend itself to dramatic games. Today was a rare exception. LeBron James, Steph Curry and company were down 13 points at halftime against Serbia, and watching Team USA struggle to a 95-91 win was amazing. The USA will now move on to the gold medal game against France on Saturday. It should be incredibly exciting.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone sets world record : US track and field athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set a new world record of 50.37 seconds in the 400m hurdles, winning the gold medal and becoming the first woman ever to win two Olympic 400m events. . gold medals in hurdles.
Refugee Olympian wins medal : Boxer Cindy Ngamba grew up in Cameroon but became a refugee from her home country after coming out as gay in 2021. She lost the gold medal bout to Panamanian boxer Atheina Baylon, but won bronze, becoming the first refugee team to win a medal in Olympic history.
What do you need to become an athlete at the next Olympic Games?
If you’re like me, you have Olympic fever and want to prepare for the next games. So what do you, a non-athlete, need to do to become an Olympian in 2028? The obvious answer is to give up on your dream immediately, but there are several legal (sort of) ways someone can get into it. This is of course unlikely, but it could happen.
In 2006, Catherine Bertain, a self-proclaimed “quite talented but by no means gifted” athlete, was funded by ESPN and tasked with spending two years doing nothing but trying to get to the 2008 Olympics. Bertin tried handball, open water swimming and modern pentathlon, but settled on cycling. After becoming a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, she almost managed to represent them at the games, but ultimately did not qualify. However, Bertin ended up writing a stunning book about this experience.
I think Bertina had the wrong strategy. She should have focused on marksmanship, archery, or dressage competition. This is my plan. Because I am ignorant and have an unhealthy level of personal confidence, I feel that within four years I can become good enough at these competitions to compete on the world stage. How difficult is it to shoot a target with an air rifle? And all you need to be successful in dressage is a talented horse, right?
If I manage to get into games in a new sport, I won’t be the first. Here are some of my personal Olympic heroes:
Eric “Eel” Moussambani Malonga : Eel qualified for the 2000 Olympics through a draw held in Equatorial Guinea, designed to encourage participation from developing countries without adequate training facilities. He had never swum in an Olympic-sized pool before coming to compete in the 100m freestyle. Despite finishing with the slowest time in Olympic history, two other swimmers in his heat were disqualified for false starts, so Eel won his heat. It’s a strangely moving story. Check this out:
Alexandra Burghardt : Burghardt won a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Games in double bobsleigh, even though she only took up the sport six months ago. She was the person who pushed the cart and jumped into it while her partner drove. (It probably helped that Burghardt was an Olympic sprinter, though.)
Elizabeth Swaney : Swaney competed in freestyle skiing at the 2018 games despite being an average skier at best. To qualify for the Olympics, American Svani represented Hungary, which had an unfilled quota for female skiers. To qualify for Olympic freestyle competition, athletes must place in the top 30 at a number of international freestyle competitions. Thus, Swani competed in competitions with fewer than 30 participants and was able to enter the Olympic Games through the back door. She came in last, 13 points behind the athlete who fell in both her runs. I can’t find any information about this, but I think she had to pay for all these activities herself. Here is her performance .