Welcome back! Another busy day at these Paris Olympics, and as the headlines imply, there was some awesome and thrilling and disappointing (looking at you, tennis) results, plus my first ever link to eye candy I cannot post here! (Its a very short video, but I watched it on repeat as the candy was definitely sweet!). Lets jump on in for this recap!
Women's Gymnastics: After a very exciting night in the men's gymnastics final, the women's final was a culmination of what the USA team members have referred to as their "Redemption Games" after losing out on the gold in Tokyo.
This team final event didn't have the drama that the men's did, as with the ladies team being so good, that really all they had to do was not make major errors, which they didn't, and be awesomely efficient, which they were, to capture the team gold medal, by a whopping five points (trust in gymnastics scoring, that is a huge margin!) So Congrats Team USA for completing your Redemption Tour in fine fashion!
There was drama elsewhere in the gym, as one of the Team China members fell off the Parallel Bars TWICE, knocking them out of medal contention. Japan's team had major problems on the beam (think of it as the men's pommel horse- dreams die on this apparatus!), which opened the door to two teams that were not only mostly solid in this final, but also had some great reasons to snag those other medals (and I was rooting for them, so I'm extra happy!)
Team Italy won the silver medal, their first medal in gymnastics (the women's side) in 96 years...you read that correctly, I went back and fact-checked it, 96 years ago was the last time the Italian women's gymnastics team won a medal in this sport! Bravo, ladies!
The other feel-good story goes to Brazil, they of the snazziest unis and Rebeka Andrade, who finished 3rd for the bronze. This medal is the FIRST ever team medal in gymnastics for the Brazilians, and I was as joyous and happy tears for them as they were! Kudos, ladies !
Ladies with an attitude....the self-proclaimed Golden Girls!
Simone Biles...simply the GOAT of Gymnastics!
Tennis: It has started. In women's singles, second ranked Coco Gauff of USA lost her match to #21 ranked Donna Vekic of Croatia, while Italy's 5th ranked Jasmine Paulini lost her match to an unranked opponent. USA's Emma Navarro also lost her match, while Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova defeated Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.
All the ranked/favored men won their matches Tuesday.
In Mixed Doubles, Gauff had something positive for her Tuesday, as she and her partner Taylor Fritz (who won his singles match earlier in the day) won their match against Argentina.
In men's doubles competition, Rafael Nadal bounced back from his singles loss to win his doubles match with his partner, Carlos Alcaraz over the Netherlands. Another tennis legend that is retiring this year, Sir Andy Murray, along with his partner, Dan Evans, once again came from behind to defeat their opponent, Germany, to also advance to the quarter-finals!
"Batman and Robin" of the tennis world right now! Spanish version!
Women's Doubles also saw some good news for Jasmine Paulini, as she and her partner defeated their French opponents.
Men's Soccer: For the first time since the Olympic Games in 2000 in Sydney, Australia (which still has my favorite closing ceremonies!), the US Men's Soccer team has moved into the knockout stage, as the USA defeated Guinea, 3-0. Team USA will face off against Morocco on Friday!
Swimming: In a very exciting women's 100m backstroke, USA's Regan Smith and Katherine Berkoff were barely beaten out by Australia's Kaylee McKweon in one of the closest races of this Olympics! Definitely worth a look-see on You Tube!
In the Men's 800M freestyle (stamina, stamina!) American Bobby Finke came up just short of defending his gold title, losing out in a HUGE upset to Ireland's Daniel Wiffen by just .56 of a second. Young Mr. Wiffen will never have to buy a drink in Ireland for life...prayers for his liver! :)
I'm sensing an Olympic theme here....#SupermanClarkKentvibes
It's a Hot Nerd Summer at the Paris Olympics- Ireland's Daniel Wiffin snags gold!
In the men's 200x4m relay, Great Britain defended it's gold medal title, beating the American team consisting of Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Drew Kibler and Kiernan Smith handily, but this is the first medal the USA has won in this competition, so small silver victories for USA swim team!
Women's Rugby: Nice story here, as the USA's women's rugby team snuck up out of nowhere to make it into medal competition, and secured the bronze as they defeated Australia (them again!) for the USA's first medal in this sport! Congrats ladies!
Gotta end with one of my fave gymnasts (and uni), Rebeka Andrade of Brazil, who would be the top of the pack if there were no Simone! She is like Beyonce in Brazil, as the country adores her! As do I !
Men's INDOOR Volleyball: Thanks to my friend, I was able to catch the overtime set of my new favorite sports ball team, USA mens indoor volleyball, and they played well for two sets, then it got dicey, and their opponent, Germany made a strong comeback to force an overtime, where it was back and forth until US closed the door and won, 3 sets to 2!
I posted a pic of the team in an earlier Olympics post, but lookie here, I can actually add a video of the team! Enjoy!
One last Eye Candy- French swimmer Maxime Grousset- plus a link below to a very short compilation video that definitely shows more than I can here!
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