Rio 2016 Olympic Update (Day 11)
Just when it seemed like things were going well for the Rio Olympics and that the legacy of the games for the fans was to be a lot of worrying for nothing, everything fell apart.
After one week the games looked like all of the major catastrophes were avoided and that everyone could start thinking of the sports rather than the worries.
Then came the start of the second week when things started to fall apart, both literally and figuratively.
In Day 10 a camera that was set up to show the Olympic Park fell from the wires it was secured with and injured two fans.
It was not a good look for the Olympics and although the two women are fine aside from some scrapes and bruises it was still something that many had wondered about.
If something as simple as a camera could fall and hurt spectators what was to stop something worse from happening.
Just as the news about the camera was circling news about an apparent robbery was surfacing as well.
American swimmer Ryan Lochte along with two USA teammates have claimed that they were held up at gunpoint.
There are conflicting reports of the incident but it is hard to believe the story from a country known for corruption and one trying to save face after so many negatives surrounded the games.
The IOC and the Rio police claim that there is no evidence to support the claims by Lochte essentially saying that the Americans lied about the robbery.
If it is true it is another worry coming true in the Rio Olympics with violence and crime prevalent in a city with many poorer areas who despise the spending on the Olympics.
The most recent issue though may be the biggest and is yet another major concern from before the Olympics.
That is that the Rio organisers have now claimed that they have run out of money for the games.
With tickets sales slow and massive amounts already spent on all aspects of hosting an Olympic Games, Rio seems to be running low or completely out of money.
The deficit comes after the Brazilian Government refused to give them the funding they requested and left them without the right amount of money.
It was a terrible move for the Olympics but for a country in a terrible recession and a new government bound to save money it seemed like the right decision.
For the Rio organisers, it could mean disaster but not necessarily for the Olympics themselves.
There is little left to pay for in the Olympic Games with less than a week left but it could mean disaster for the lesser known and lesser talked about games.
The Paralympic Games are always held in conjunction with the Olympics as they begin two weeks after the Olympics finish.
This year the Paralympic Games are set to begin on September 7th as some of the most inspirational athletes in the world will travel to Brazil for their own competition.
These athletes might be the most affected by the shortage of funds from the organizing committee.
After taking money out of their Paralympic funds to pay for the Olympics the Rio organisers might not have enough left to get many of the athletes to the games.
Rio organisers were to pay a portion of the travel costs for athletes, particularly from the smaller countries, in order to ease the burden on the Olympic committees.
The Rio Games, as of right now, do not have the money they need to pay for those travel costs.
It could leave teams from Africa and Asia out of the games creating one of the most embarrassing moments in Olympic history.
The organising committee has asked the government for more money to help them get through but the government has already denied requests in the past and is not in a great position to hand out money to an already controversial event.
The Rio organisers ensure fans that the funds will be found and that everything will work out.
For the sake of the legacy of the games it has to work out as the Rio Games were supposed to be a disaster and as of right now they are hanging on by a thread between another Olympic Games and one of the worst in the history of the games.
The Canadian Story:
Meeting Expectations
The Canadians have had a number of athletes come into the games with high expectations and many have fallen short but Derek Drouin met those expectations as the World Champion came in expected to win gold and did just that adding to Canada’s total
Impressive Again
Andre De Grasse may just be the second star of the games after winning bronze in the 100m and posting the fastest qualifying time in the 200m as he takes a run at another Olympic medal in another premier event
Back to Bronze
The Canadian Women’s Soccer team seemed to have a very good shot of getting to the gold medal game but their second game against Germany in the tournament did not go as planned as they lost 2-0 and will play Brazil to defend their bronze
Court Disappointment
The Women’s basketball team came into the Olympics like medal hopefuls but once they dropped their group game to the Americans they could never get back losing every game since including their quarter-finals which ended their Olympics
Punched Out
The expectations in the boxing ring for the Canadians were not the biggest with only two boxers with any shot but in Day 11 the last of those boxers bowed out in a unanimous decision loss ending the tournament with no medals for Canadian boxing
| Day 11 Medal Results: | Day 12 Medal Events: |
| Athletics Men’s 110m Hurdles 1. Omar McLeod (JAM) 2. Orlando Ortega (ESP) 3. Dimitri Bascou (FRA) Men’s High Jump 1. Derek Drouin (CAN) 2. Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT) 3. Bohdan Bondarenko (UKR) Men’s Triple Jump 1. Christian Taylor (USA) 2. Will Claye (USA) 3. Dong Bin (CHN) Women’s 1500m 1. Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (KEN) 2. Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 3. Jennifer Simpson (USA) Women’s Discus Throw 1. Sandra Perković (CRO) 2. Mélina Robert-Michon (FRA) 3. Denia Caballero (CUB)Boxing Men’s Light (60kg) 1. Robson Conceiçäo (BRA) 2. Sofiane Oumiha (FRA) 3. L.Álvarez (CUB)/O.Dorjnambuu (MGL)Canoe/Kayak Sprint Men’s Canoe Single 1000m 1. Sebastian Brendel (GER) 2. Isaquias Queiroz dos Santos (BRA) 3. Serghei Tarnovschi (MDA) Men’s Kayak Singles 1000m 1. Marcus Walz (ESP) 2. Josef Dostál (CZE) 3. Roman Anoshkin (RUS) Women’s Kayak Doubles 500m 1. D. Kozák/G. Szabó (HUN) 2. T. Dietze/F. Weber (GER) 3. B. Mikołajczyk/K. Naja (POL) Women’s Kayak Singles 200m 1. Lisa Carrington (NZL) 2. Marta Walczykiewicz (POL) 3. Inna Osypenko-Radomska (AZE) Cycling (Track) Diving Gymnastics Sailing Swimming Synchronized Swimming Table Tennis Weightlifting Wrestling |
Athletics Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Women’s 100m Hurdles Women’s 200m Women’s Long JumpBadminton Mixed Doubles Beach Volleyball Boxing Sailing Table Tennis Taekwondo Wrestling |
