Rio 2016 Olympic Update (Day 8)
The talk of these games was always decidedly negative leading up to the opening ceremonies with so many bad stories about the games.
The Zika Virus, the protests, political corruption and unrest, major security concerns, and any other number of stories had a lot of people very worried.
It seemed like this Olympics was guaranteed to be a bad one with something sure to happen this year that would put a black-eye on the games.
The Most of the start of the games seemed to be a practice in holding your breath waiting for something bad to happen.
One week is done as the halfway point has been passed and so far the issues have not come up in nearly as bad a way as many were waiting for.
Of course, there is still a little less than a week left and anything can happen but for the most part, the concerns have not been founded.
So far the Olympics have run pretty smoothly but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some issues.
One of the lesser heard issues involved the media who had their bus attacked at the beginning of the games.
There is no definitive answer to whether or not it was bullets or stones that hit the bus.
Minor injuries were reported along with some broken windows but no major injuries and there has yet to be any other reports of a repeat incident.
The most recognisable incident so far, though, has been in the diving pool where the water turned green at the beginning of the week.
Right off the bat, the pool looked bad as it had gone from that familiar clear blue to a murky green that looked closer to a lake than an Olympic pool.
For one of the major sporting events in the world, it was not a good look as there is nothing worse than something that is expected but not delivered.
It may seem like a simple thing but for many it makes the entire organisation look bad because they don’t have the best facilities for the athletes.
Although the optics weren’t great the concern quickly turned to the athletes who were competing in the pool as their safety became the biggest concern.
The pool simply didn’t look clean and the absolute worst thing that any Olympic Games could do is harm the athletes that are coming to compete.
It is a major concern for every Olympic Games as the safety of the athletes is a massive priority for anyone putting on the games.
The pool looked like it could be dangerous but officials assured the athletes that the pool was entirely safe to use.
Competition continued and some of the strangest pictures came out of the venue with the green water taking plenty of focus.
Eventually, the pool was closed after athletes complained that their eyes were itchy after diving into the pool.
Officials were not quick to explain the new colour of the pool but when they closed it concern only grew for what might actually be causing the discolouration.
Eventually, the organisers gave a reason as someone had dumped hydrogen peroxide into the pool.
That chemical reacted with the chlorine in the pool and essentially cancelled each other out.
It caused algae to form in the pool, what chlorine would have fought, and the pool turned green.
It still was likely not every harmful for the athletes diving and in the end, the issue only really made the water look weird.
It was not the best image for the Olympics in a year when everyone was just waiting for something to go wrong.
Then again if this is the worst thing to go wrong in the Olympics Rio will be a success.
There is still a little less than a week left and with the talk now fully on the performances the Rio Games are becoming another game where the sports take everything else over.
At least, that is what Rio is hoping as the games continue on with bigger events and more medals coming up.
The Canadian Story:
One on the Track
Canadian Cycling was once a competitor in every summer Olympics but recently they have fallen off with medals proving tough to come by although they did start well earning a bronze medal in the team pursuit
Short of the Goal
Brianne Theisen-Eaton came into the Olympics as a big hope for a gold in the heptathlon but the world #1 fell short of that goal struggling on the first day of the competition only to recover enough to earn a bronze medal
The New Star?
The premier event of the summer Olympics got underway as the Men’s 100m heats took place and for Canada, the prospects look promising as Andre De Grasse won his heat with the third-fastest time as he hopes to be the next Canadian sprinter to take a medal
No Win/No Lose
Beach Volleyball has been up and down for Canada but on Day 8 it was a tough one for beach volleyball fans as the two Canadian women’s team faced off against each other to move into the quarter-finals with the team of Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan coming out on top
Staying Alive
In more volleyball news the Canadian men’s team stayed alive in their tournament as they took a win against Mexico giving them a chance to move into the quarter-finals if they can take a win against Italy on Monday
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Day 8 Medal Results: |
Day 9 Medal Events: |
| Athletics Men’s 10,000m 1. Mo Farah (GBR) 2. Paul Tanui (KEN) 3. Tamirat Tola (ETH) Men’s Discus Throw 1. Christoph Harting (GER) 2. Piotr Małachowski (POL) 3. Daniel Jasinski (GER) Men’s Long Jump 1. Jeff Henderson (USA) 2. Luvo Manyonga (RSA) 3. Greg Rutherford (GBR) Women’s 100m 1. Elaine Thompson (JAM) 2. Tori Bowie (USA) 3. Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce (JAM) Women’s Heptathlon 1. Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) 2. Jessica Ennis (GBR) 3. Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN) Cycling (Track) Fencing Rowing Shooting Swimming Tennis Trampoline Weightlifting |
Athletics Men’s 400m Men’s 100m Women’s Marathon Women’s Triple Jump Boxing Cycling (Track) Diving Fencing Golf Gymnastics Sailing Shooting Tennis Weightlifting Wrestling |
The Sport Addiction 