Olympic Update: Day 12
When fans sit down to watch the Olympics there are not always the popular sports to watch forcing many people to watch sports that they may never watch. This is one of the greatest parts of the Olympics as sports fans are exposed to all types of sports that are jot among the usual program. In North America sports are ruled by the big four meaning that the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA dominate the sports columns and the airwaves. Every four years though this changes as new sports take the focus for two weeks. When the Olympics are on every other sport seems to go to the back burner making room for some very unique and interesting sports. This becomes even truer in the last week of the games as many sports that few people watch finish off their Olympic tournaments. With quarterfinals and semi-finals taking place in many sports fans get to see some of the best in the world compete on a major stage. This creates a unique time of year for fans as they see sports that some would play recreationally played on a new level. Many of the sports in the Olympics come from simple backgrounds and are played by millions of people around the world. Sports like badminton, volleyball, table tennis, and many more are all played by recreational athletes. These sports gain a reputation because of this recreational play. Many sports fans consider these sports not much more than a decent way to stay active without really breaking a sweat. Many of these sports suffer as they become unpopular during the Olympics with nobody wanting to watch them because they do not take them seriously. Little do many sports fans know that these sports are some of the best sports to watch in the Olympics. Many sports played at a recreational level seem simple and easy but when they are taken to an Olympic level everything changes. Table tennis is a great example of this as in recreation facilities around the world people play and look for long rallies or look to just try to hit the other side of the table. When watching Olympic table tennis the mood is much different as athletes stand feet away from the table in order to return a shot. Table tennis is an extremely fast sport when played at the Olympic level with the ball almost invisible between the paddles. For many sports the fact that they are played recreationally does not do them justice when it comes to the level they are played in the Olympics. This can be said for many sports as people may not understand why some sports are in the Olympics until they watch. Sports like handball are rarely played or even watched outside of the Olympics every four years but it is an extremely entertaining sport. With a mix of physicality and skill handball can be one of the most interesting things to be exposed to through the Olympics. This is one of the best parts of the Olympic games as you are exposed to a whole new world of sports. These are sports that as a North American I would never get to watch but seeing them being played at the highest level allows everyone to see these sports at their best. It is also extremely interesting to see these sports and the impact they have on different countries with certain sports taking the focus in different countries. As these unique sports take focus on the world stage it seems like a different region of the world is either dominant or just simply in love with the sport. It is one of the aspects that makes the Olympics so special and these sports will continue to shine on their biggest stage as more and more fans fall in love with new sports.
The Canadian Story
Another Medal for a Great Olympian
Adam van Koeverden has been one of the faces of the Canadian Olympic team for years and in what could have been his last Olympics he became the most decorated paddler in Canadian history winning silver in his K1 1,000m Sprint
Oldershaw Holds up Legacy
Mark Oldershaw is from a family of paddlers many of whom had been in the Olympics including his grandfather but it wasn’t until 2012 that the family name would stand on the podium as Mark earned a bronze medal in the C1 1,000m sprint
Another Medal for Huynh
Carol Huynh was the defending Olympic champion but faced some tough competition in her day on the mat as she came away with a bronze medal making it 2 Olympic medals for 2 Olympic appearances
Women’s Soccer Avoids Punishment; For Now
The fallout from Monday’s semi-final women’s soccer game stopped or at least was slowed down on Day 12 as FIFA held off punishment for remarks made after the semi-final game until after Canada’s bronze medal match on Thursday
Day 12 Medal Results
Athletics:
Women’s 400m Hurdles
Gold- Natalya Antyukh (Russia)
Silver- Lashinda Demus (USA)
Bronze- Zuzana Hejnova (Czech Republic)
Women’s 200m
Gold- Allyson Felix (USA)
Silver- Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)
Bronze- Carmelita Jeter (USA)
Men’s 110m Hurdles
Gold- Aries Merritt (USA)
Silver- Jason Richardson (USA)
Bronze- Hansle Parchment (Jamaica)
Women’s Long Jump
Gold- Brittney Reese (USA)
Silver- Elena Sokolova (Russia)
Bronze- Janay Deloach (USA)
Beach Volleyball:
Women’s Beach Volleyball
Gold- Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh-Jennings (USA)
Silver- April Ross/Jennifer Kessy (USA)
Bronze- Larissa Franca/Juliana Silva (Brazil)
Canoe/Kayak:
Men’s C1 1,000m Sprint
Gold- Sebastian Brendel (Germany)
Silver- David Cal Figueroa (Spain)
Bronze- Mark Oldershaw (Canada)
Men’s K1 1,000m Sprint
Gold- Erik Veras Larsen (Norway)
Silver- Adam van Koeverden (Canada)
Bronze- Max Hoff (Germany)
Men’s K2 1,000m Sprint
Gold- Rudolf Dombi/Roland Kokeny (Hungary)
Silver- Fernando Pimenta/Emanuel Silva (Portugal)
Bronze- Martin Hollstein/Andreas Ihle (Germany)
Women’s K4 500m Sprint
Gold- Hungary
Silver- Germany
Bronze- Belarus
Equestrian:
Individual Jumping
Gold- Steve Guerdat (Switzerland)
Silver- Gerco Schroder (Netherlands)
Bronze- Cian O’Connor (Ireland)
Sailing:
Men’s 49er Class
Gold- Nathan Outteridge/Iain Jensen (Australia)
Silver- Peter Burling/Blair Turk (New Zealand)
Bronze- Allan Norregaard/Peter Lang (Demnark)
Table Tennis:
Men’s Team Final
Gold- China
Silver- South Korea
Bronze- Germany
Taekwondo:
Women’s 49kg
Gold- Jingyu Wu (China)
Silver- Brigitte Yague Enrique (Spain)
Bronze- Chanatip Sonkham (Thailand)
Bronze- Lucija Zaninovic (Croatia)
Men’s 58kg
Gold- Joel Gonzalez Bonilla (Spain)
Silver- Daehoon Lee (South Korea)
Bronze- Oscar Munoz Oviedo (Colombia)
Bronze- Alexey Denisenko (Russia)
Wrestling:
Women’s 63kg Freestyle
Gold- Kaori Icho (Japan)
Silver- Ruixue Jing (China)
Bronze- Battsetseg Soronzonbold (Mongolia)
Bronze- Lubov Volosova (Russia)
Women’s 48kg Freestyle
Gold- Hitomi Obara (Japan)
Silver- Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbijan)
Bronze- Carol Huynh (Canada)
Bronze- Clarissa Kyoko Mei Ling Chun (USA)
Day 13 Medal Events
Athletics:
Men’s Triple Jump Final (2:20 pm)
Men’s 800m Final (3:00 pm)
Men’s 200m Final (3:55 pm)
Women’s Javelin Throw Final (4:00 pm)
Men’s Decathlon Final Event- 1,500m (4:20 pm)
Beach Volleyball:
Men’s Bronze Medal Match (2:00 pm)
Men’s Gold Medal Match (4:00 pm)
Boxing:
Women’s Flyweight (51kg) Gold Medal Bout (11:30 am)
Women’s Lightweight (60kg) Gold Medal Bout (11:45 am)
Women’s Middleweight (75kg) Gold Medal Bout (12:15 pm)
Canoe/Kayak:
Men’s C2 1,000m Sprint Finals (4:30 am)
Men’s K4 1,000m Sprint Finals (4:48 am)
Women’s K1 500m Sprint Finals (5:08 am)
Women’s K2 500m Sprint Finals (5:35 am)
Diving:
Men’s 10m Platform Finals (2:00 pm)
Equestrian:
Individual Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle (7:30 am)
Football/Soccer:
Women’s Bronze Medal Match: Canada vs. France (8:00 am)
Women’s Gold medal Match: USA vs. Japan (2:45 pm)
Sailing:
Men’s 470 Class Medal Race (8:00 am)
Swimming:
Women’s 10km Open Water Marathon (7:00 am)
Taekwondo:
Women’s 57kg Bronze medal Matches (3:00 pm)
Women’s 57kg Gold Medal Match (5:15 pm)
Men’s 68kg Bronze Medal Matches (3:15 pm)
Men’s 68kg Gold Medal Match (5:30 pm)
Water Polo:
Women’s Bronze Medal Match: Australia vs. Hungary (1:40 pm)
Women’s Gold Medal Match: USA vs. Spain (3:00 pm)
Wrestling:
Women’s 55kg Freestyle Bronze Medal Matches (12:45 pm)
Women’s 55kg Freestyle Gold Medal Match (2:03 pm)
Women’s 72kg Freestyle Bronze Medal Matches (12:45 pm)
Women’s 72kg Freestyle Gold Medal Matches (2:48 pm)
|
Medal Table |
|||||
|
# |
Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
1 |
USA |
34 |
22 |
25 |
81 |
|
2 |
China |
36 |
22 |
19 |
77 |
|
3 |
Russia |
11 |
19 |
22 |
52 |
|
4 |
Great Britain |
22 |
13 |
13 |
48 |
|
5 |
Germany |
7 |
15 |
10 |
32 |
|
6 |
Japan |
4 |
13 |
14 |
31 |
|
7 |
France |
8 |
9 |
11 |
28 |
|
8 |
Australia |
5 |
12 |
9 |
26 |
|
9 |
South Korea |
12 |
7 |
6 |
25 |
|
10 |
Italy |
7 |
6 |
4 |
17 |
|
11 |
Canada |
1 |
4 |
9 |
14 |
The Sport Addiction 