Olympic Update: Day 13
As the London 2012 Games enter the last few days athletes continue to earn gold medals and continue to inspire a generation of future athletes. The performances and moments will live for generations for some as they remember the heroes of a country. The games will not completely end on Sunday though as a host of other athletes are making their way to London. These athletes don’t get the recognition of the Olympic athletes but many have gone through much more and can inspire many more people. These athletes are the Paralympians who get their time to shine immediately after the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Paralympic Games were started as a way to allow veterans to participate in sports after the war despite being hurt in the war. As these veterans continued to show up to the Wheelchair games more and more people looked to participate. The games continued to evolve until the 1948 Olympics when the first official Paralympic Games would be held. Since then every Olympic Games has been home to the Paralympic games as well with the second games taking place in the two weeks after to the Able Bodied Olympics. The Paralympics are a sporting event held only for those athletes who are physically disabled in some way. This includes single amputees, multiple amputees, those in wheelchairs, the blind, the deaf, and other disabilities. The Paralympic program is not nearly as big as the Olympic program but there are still many events. The reason for this is that the Paralympic Games only hold 21 sports, the Olympics include 36 sports, but in these sports there are numerous divisions. The divisions are all based on the type of impairment that the athlete suffers from. Some sports divide the impairments into visual, leg impairment, upper body impairment, or a balance impairment. Due to these special divisions watching the Paralympics will expose many people to very unique equipment and rules. One example of this is the visually impaired cycling in the Paralympics. Two people ride a tandem bicycle in these events as the assistant who steers the bike is not visually impaired while the athlete sits behind and does the majority of the work on the pedals. These are the types of sports and rules that are seen in the Paralympics. More than the unique sports and rules the stories make the Paralympic Games something special. Stories of perseverance through difficulties and strength through their issues make the Paralympics great. This becomes especially true when these athletes prove that they are more than just people with impairments. Performances so great that they prove to everyone that people with disabilities can do anything an abled bodied person can do just differently. It is an expression of greatness and it will begin as always after the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games take much of the focus of course with big names and big sports ruling the headlines for two weeks every four years. The Paralympics tend to be forgotten after the sports spectacular that is the Olympics. When the world leaves though these athletes compete with few left to watch them. That was until recently as the Paralympic Games have become more popular than ever. In 2008 the Beijing organizers saw record sales for the Paralympic Games as more people than ever came out to watch these athletes. In London the trend has continued as the London organizers have reported record ticket sales for the 2012 London Paralympic Games. Some of the sales are people who could not get tickets to the Olympic Games but many are fans who want to see this unique display of athleticism. It will all take place when the Olympic Games finish with Paralympians and fans remaining in London to display and watch perseverance and strength along with amazing athleticism.
The Canadian Story
Redemption for the Women’s Team
After a very tumultuous few days the Canadian Women’s Soccer Team finally got to play for a medal and after a game that saw the French team take a lot more chances all it took was one goal by Diana Matheson to win the Bronze medal
Rematch Falls short for Verbeek
Tonya Verbeek once again was forced to face Saori Yoshida for the Olympic Gold Medal but once again could not get past the two-time Olympic Champion as she saw a repeat of 2008 taking home the silver medal
Sings of the Future?
Many of the athletes for Canada this year have been young and unproven but have shown promise for 2016 in Brazil and on Day 13 it was Damian Warner’s turn as he had a personal best in every event in the decathlon for a 5th place finish in his first Olympics
The Debate Begins
As the Closing Ceremonies approach the debate has begun about who should carry the Canadian Flag and after Day 13 it seems to be a fight between gold medalist Rosie MacLennan or Canadian Soccer captain Christine Sinclair
Day 13 Medal Results
Athletics:
Men’s 800m
Gold- David Lekuta Rudisha (Kenya)
Silver- Nigel Amos (Botswana)
Bronze- Timothy Kitum (Kenya)
Men’s Triple Jump
Gold- Christian Taylor (USA)
Silver- Will Claye (USA)
Bronxe- Fabrizio Donato (Italy)
Men’s 200m
Gold- Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
Silver- Yohan Blake (Jamaica)
Bronze- Warren Weir (Jamaica)
Women’s Javelin Throw
Gold- Barbora Spotkova (Czech Republic)
Silver- Christina Obergfoll (Germany)
Bronze- Linda Stahl (Germany)
Men’s Decathlon
Gold- Ashton Eaton (USA)
Silver- Trey Hardee (USA)
Bronze- Leonel Suarez (Cuba)
Beach Volleyball:
Men’s Beach Volleyball
Gold- Germany
Silver- Brazil
Bronze- Latvia
Boxing:
Women’s Flyweight (51kg)
Gold- Nicola Adams (Great Britain)
Silver- Cancan Ren (China)
Bronze- Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte (India)
Bronze- Marlen Esparza (USA)
Women’s Lighweight (60kg)
Gold- Katie Taylor (Ireland)
Silver- Sofya Ochigava (Russia)
Bronze- Mavzuna Chorieva (Tajikistan)
Bronze- Adriana Araujo (Brazil)
Women’s Middleweight
Gold- Claressa Shields (USA)
Silver- Nadezda Torlopova (Russia)
Bronze- Marina Volnova (Kazakhstan)
Bronze- Jinzi Li (China)
Canoe/Kayak:
Men’s C2 1,000m Sprint
Gold- Peter Kretschmer/Kurt Kuschela (Germany)
Silver- Andrei Bahdanovich/Aliaksandr Bahdanovich (Belarus)
Bronze- Alexey Korovashkov/Ilya Pervukhin (Russia)
Men’s K4 1,000m Sprint
Gold- Australia
Silver- Hungary
Bronze- Czech Republic
Women’s K1 500m Sprint
Gold- Danuta Kozak (Hungary)
Silver- Inna Osypenko-Radomska (Ukraine)
Bronze- Bridgette Hartley (South Africa)
Women’s K2 500m Sprint
Gold- Franziska Weber/Tina Dietze (Germany)
Silver- Katalin Kovacs/Natasa Douchev-Janics (Hungary)
Bronze- Karolina Naja/Beata Mikolajczyk (Poland)
Diving:
Women’s 10m Platform
Gold- Ruolin Chen (China)
Silver- Brittany Broben (Australia)
Bronze- Pandelela Rinong Pamg (Malaysia)
Equestrian:
Individual Dressage
Gold- Charlotte Dujardin (Great Britain)
Silver- Adelinde Cornelisson (Netherlands)
Bronze- Laura Bechtolsheimer (Great Britain)
Football/Soccer:
Women’s Football
Gold- USA
Silver- Japan
Bronze- Canada
Swimming:
Women’s 10km Open Water Marathon
Gold- Eva Risztov (Hungary)
Silver- Haley Anderson (USA)
Bronze- Martina Grimaldi (Italy)
Taekwondo:
Women’s 57kg
Gold- Jade Jones (Great Britain)
Silver- Yuzhou Hou (China)
Bronze- Marlene Harnois (France)
Bronze- Li-Cheng Tseng (Chinese Taipei)
Men’s 68kg
Gold- Servet Tazegul (Turkey)
Silver- Mohammad Bagheri Motamed (Iran)
Bronze- Terrence Jennings (USA)
Bronze- Rohullah Nikpah (Afghanistan)
Water Polo:
Women’s Water Polo
Gold- USA
Silver- Spain
Bronze- Australia
Wrestling:
Women’s 72kg Freestyle
Gold- Natalia Vorobieva (Russia)
Silver- Stanka Zlateva Hristova (Bulgaria)
Bronze- Maider Unda (Spain)
Bronze- Guzel Manyurova (Kazakhstan)
Women’s 55kg Freestyle
Gold- Saori Yoshida (Japan)
Silver- Tonya Lynn Verbeek (Canada)
Bronze- Jackeline Renteria Castillo (Colombia)
Bronze- Yuliya Ratkevich (Azerbaijan)
Day 14 Medal Events:
Athletics:
Men’s Pole Vault Final (2:00 pm)
Women’s Hammer Throw Final (2:35 pm)
Women’s 5,000m Final (3:05 pm)
Women’s 4x100m Relay Final (3:40 pm)
Women’s 1,500m Final (3:55 pm)
Men’s 4x400m Relay (4:20 pm)
Boxing:
Men’s Light Flyweight (49kg) Semi-Final Bout (8:30 am)*
Men’s Bantamweight (56kg) Semi-Final Bout (9:00 am)*
Men’s Light Welterweight (64kg) Semi-Final Bout (9:30 am)*
Men’s Middleweight (75kg) Semi-Final Bout (10:00 am)*
Men’s Heavyweight (91kg) Semi-Final Bout (10:30 am)*
Men’s Flyweight (52kg) Semi-Final Bout (3:30 pm)*
Men’s Lightweight (60kg) Semi-Final Bout (4:00 pm)*
Men’s Welterweight (69kg) Semi-Final Bout (4:30 pm)*
Men’s Light Heavyweight (81kg) Semi-Final Bout (5:00 pm)*
Men’s Super Heavyweight (+91kg) Semi-Final Bout (5:30 pm)*
*Losers of Semi-Final Bouts receive bronze medals
Cycling:
Women’s BMX Final (11:30 am)
Men’ BMX Final (11:40 am)
Football/Soccer:
Men’s Bronze medal Match: Korea vs. Japan (2:45 pm)
Sailing:
Women’s 470 Class Medal Race (8:00 am)
Swimming:
Men’s 10km Open Water Race (7:00 am)
Synchronized Swimming:
Women’s Team Final Routine (10:00 am)
Taekwondo:
Women’s -67kg Bronze Medal Matches (3:00 pm)
Women’s -67kg Gold Medal Match (5:15 pm)
Men’s -80kg Bronze Medal Matches (3:15 pm)
Men’s -80kg Gold Medal Match (5:30 pm)
Wrestling:
Men’s 55kg Freestyle Bronze Medal Matches (12:45 pm)
Men’s 55kg Freestyle Gold Medal Match (2:03 pm)
Men’s 74kg Freestyle Bronze Medal Matches (12:45 pm)
Men’s 74kg Freestyle Gold Medal Match (2:48 pm)
|
Medal Table |
|||||
|
# |
Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
1 |
USA |
39 |
25 |
26 |
90 |
|
2 |
China |
37 |
24 |
19 |
80 |
|
3 |
Russia |
12 |
21 |
23 |
56 |
|
4 |
Great Britain |
25 |
13 |
14 |
52 |
|
5 |
Germany |
10 |
16 |
11 |
37 |
|
6 |
Japan |
5 |
14 |
14 |
33 |
|
7 |
France |
8 |
9 |
12 |
29 |
|
8 |
Australia |
6 |
13 |
10 |
29 |
|
9 |
South Korea |
12 |
7 |
6 |
25 |
|
10 |
Italy |
7 |
6 |
6 |
19 |
|
12 |
Canada |
1 |
5 |
10 |
16 |
The Sport Addiction 