The Rio Olympics Won (Or Did They?)

Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of
all time, winning his 200m final race
with ease over France's Christophe Lemaître,
who received the bronze.

(Wally Skalij/LA Times)

Yesterday marked the final day of the two-week 2016 version of the summer Olympic Games, held this year for the first time in Latin America, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's second largest city. On many levels, the Rio Olympics succeeded; despite concerns before the games began of the federal political crisis marring the global spectacle, the spread of the zika virus, inadequate preparation and shoddy construction, the potential for international terrorism and domestic crime, grave health threats from Rio's extremely polluted bodies of water, and financial constraints so severe that the surrounding Rio de Janeiro State declared it was out of money and could not fund basic functions, the games took place, with only a few obvious hitches. Rio residents' and international critics' concerns, which included public protests about gentrification and displacement; police and state violence; fiscal waste, misuse of funds and corruption; and so much more, received flashes of coverage before the games began, but mostly vanished, particularly on NBC, which mostly limited its focus to shots of Rio's breathtaking landscape, coverage of half a dozen sports--including swimming, diving, beach volleyball, athletic gymnastics, track and field, and synchronized swimming--, treacly redemptive stories about athletes's backgrounds, and events in or near the bustling Olympic village. Thankfully NBC's streaming options were numerous and, though intercut with commercials, mostly fail-safe.

Americans Tianna Bartoletta, English Gardner,
Tori Bowie, and Allyson Felix celebrating
after winning the gold in the women's 4x100 relay
(Wally Skalij/LA Times)

Despite multiple tocsins before the games began, the Olympic events unrolled in a nearly flawless fashion, barring the weather, when and where scheduled. There was no domestic or international terrorism, and crime against visitors, which received some coverage, though it occurred, was nowhere near predicted. Outside of a few reported illnesses during the games, no athletes grew as ill as envisioned based on testing of Rio's toxic waterways. The Opening Ceremonies lacked some of the pyrotechnic dazzle of prior Olympic welcomes, but the skillful use of visual projections, coupled with Brazil's decision to highlight its rich history and  diverse cultural traditions, made up for the technological squeeze. Amidst the usual display of music and dancing, historical pageantry, national chauvinism, and the parade of athletic beauty, viewers encountered the special treat of Tongan flag bearer and taekwondo participant Pita Taufotatua, shirtless and sporting a sheen of coconut oil; unsurprisingly, he created an international sensation, even if he did not win a medal a week later. Brazil's acting president, Michel Temer, earned boos opening night, but he and the country's political situation mostly remained hidden, even if intrepid local and international reporters did not slack on keeping anyone interested knowledgeable about the impeachment proceedings against elected President Dilma Rousseff.

There were a few incidents that represented cause for alarm. One example was the bullets piercing a tent at the equestrian eventing headquarters during the cross country races, though no one was injured; neither the military nor local police could ascertain or explain where the fusillade came from. A man attempting to run onto the women's marathon course was stopped before he could create havoc. There also were robberies on and around various beaches and in the athletes' village, including the theft of the Australian delegation's electronic equipment and some of its mascot-bearing shirts, right before the games began. The most outrageous imbroglio resulted not from imagined threats, however, but from lies told by American swimmer Ryan Lochte and three fellow swimming teammates, who participated early one morning in an act of vandalism at a Brazilian gas station, after which Lochte repeatedly and publicly lied about it. Claiming he and his teammates had been held up at gunpoint and stripped of their wallets and other goods, he sent a chill through the media about participants' safety. Security camera footage, scanning technology and eyewitness testimony revealed Lochte's tale to be just that. Before he could be questioned he fled the country, and now faces criminal charges.

Multiple medal winner Simone Biles carries
the US flag into the Olympic Stadium during
the Closing Ceremonies
(Wally Skalij/LA Times)

The ongoing problem of doping, which had been in the news before the Olympics started, popped up occasionally. A Kyrgyzstan weightlifter was stripped of his bronze medal after tests revealed the presence of strychnine in his system, while athletes from India, Moldova, China and host Brazil were disqualified because of pre-games tests or challenges. Most in the performance enhancing drug spotlight was Russia, whose athletes on prior Olympic and world championship teams had had their reliance of PEDs exposed by a whistleblower earlier this year, and thus sent a reduced squad to Rio, yet still finished fourth in the medal total. Throughout the two week span, The 2008 host, China, finished second in total medals, and the 2012 host, the UK, though still dealing with the aftermath of its withdrawal from the European Union, finished third.

Team USA led all countries with 121 medals, including 46 golds, for which praise must go to US's women athletes, who were pacesetters in a number of sports. The first medal, a gold, of the games, came at the gun of Virginia Thrasher, who won in the women's 10m air rifle. In total, US women won 61 medals, which, if they were there own country, would have placed them fourth. Gold medalists earning praise included the women's gymnastics team, which finished their routines nearly 2 points ahead of competitors, and which included all around champion Simone Biles, who earned 5 medals in total, 4 of them gold (though hateful social media attacks on London all around gold medalist Gabby Douglas's hair and stance during the team medal ceremony marred what would been a coronation for the women tumblers); swimmer Katie Ledecky, who won three individual goals, as well as team gold; swimmer Simone Manuel, who became the first African American woman ever to win an individual Olympic gold in her sport; the US women's basketball team, which dominated, as did the US women's  water polo and eight rowing team; women's freestyle wrestler Helen Maroulis, who finished first in the 117 lbs category; triathlete Gwen Jorgensen, who like all her fellow competitors deserved multiple medals for swimming in the stew of Rio's Guanabara Bay; and 165 lb boxer Claressa Shields, who repeated her pugilistic wins four years after her victory in London.

The US men's 4x400m team, which won the gold:
LaShawn Merritt, Gil Roberts, Tony McQuay,
and Arman Hall (David Verburg ran in
the qualifying heats as well.
(NBC streaming screen capture)

In other sports, although they did not win golds, US women still made a mark. New Jersey-based fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first woman ever to compete in Olympic fencing wearing a hijab. She and her teammates would go on to win a bronze in team sabre competition.  US cyclist Sarah Hammer won a silver in the women's omnium race, an event I'd never watched before but found enthralling, and Alise Post won a silver in the women's cycling BMX race, which was as wild and rugged as it promised. In some cases, US women's teams or athletes who had dominated in prior years faced stiffer competition this year, but still took home medals; this was the case for the US women's beach volleyball duo, indoor volleyball team, and some of the swimmers, though in the pool the US women and men repeatedly set the pace. (And yes, Michael Phelps, that natatory Methuselah, won two individual goals, one silver, and three relay golds, in his fourth straight Olympics, to raise his all-time total to an astonishing 23 gold medals, three silvers, and two bronzes, making him the most decorated Olympic athlete ever.)

In track and field, the US women shone like supernovas. Dalilah Muhammad became the first US woman ever to win the 400m hurdles, and her teammate Ashley Spencer earned bronze. In the 100m hurdles,  Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali, and Kristi Castlin swept all three medals. The 4x100m and 4x400m teams also won, with the former successfully protesting interference during a heat, which required them to re-run the race all by themselves on the track. They produced the fastest time among the semifinalists. US women won on the field, and their victory in the relay finale allowed Allyson Felix to win her 9th track and field medal, tying her with Jamaican sprinter Merlene Ottey, while also handing her the sixth and most gold medals of any competing women track athlete in history. On the opening night of the track events, Michelle Carter became the first American woman ever to win the gold in the women's shot put (and followed in the footsteps of her father, Michael Carter, a silver medalist in the same event at the LA Olympics in 1984). A few days later, in the women's long jump, Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese finished first and second. Where they did not win gold, the American women nabbed silvers and bronzes in a number of events (100m, 400m, pole vault, 1500m, etc.).

US swimmer Katie Ledecky, outpacing
the field in her 800m race, in which she
set a new world record.
(Robert Gauthier/LA Times)

One of the pole stars of this year's track and field races, and of the entire games, was Jamaica's Usain Bolt, who won his third consecutive golds, almost effortlessly, in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m races. In fact, Bolt looked so dominant that the seemed never to be breaking a sweat. He will easily go down as the greatest sprinter of all time, a runner of power and panache, who reset the template for what was possible. Watching him, it struck me that if he decided to continue competing, rather than retiring, he might even trounce competitors in Tokyo 4 years from now. His fellow sprinters, including several young Jamaicans, Americans, and Bahamians, will thank the gods every day if he holds to his promise to speed off into the horizon. Jamaica's dominance in the sprints was evident as well in the figure of Elaine Thompson, who won the 100m and 200m, with a smile, dethroning her countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price, the incumbent 100m champion, who took bronze. A third Jamaican, Omar Price, won the men's 110m hurdles, and was met, unfortunately, with homophobic commentary on social media back home. With the long distance races, Kenya again showed its mastery. Kenyan men and women medaled in the women's & men's marathon (both gold), women's & men's 10,000m (both silver), women's (gold and & silver) 5000m, women's (silver) and men's (gold) 3,000m steeplechase, women's 1500m (gold), women's (bronze) and men's 800m (gold), and, a first, the men's 400m (silver) and javelin (silver).

There were many great stories across a number of the competitions, perhaps beginning with host Brazil's Rafaela Silva, a native of the local favelas and an out lesbian, who received her country's first gold of the games in judo. Silva had competed in London, lost and received a bombardment of racist hate online, causing her to fall into a deep depression. She fortunately did not give up hope or determination, and ended up anchoring the 19 medals Brazil ultimately won. Another remarkable local story was that of Bahian canoer Isaquias Queiroz, known to Brazilians as "Sem Rim" (Without a Kidney). Queiroz won 3 medals, two silvers and a bronze, despite competing with only one kidney, and having triumphed over near-death three times, which included being kidnapped and trafficked and falling hard on a rock, splitting one of his kidneys in half, before he was 10 years old.  Brazilians also won golds in the pole vault, women's volleyball, men's beach volleyball, boxing, sailing, and, to national relief, men's soccer. To make it even sweeter, they defeated Germany, which had humiliated their hosts 7-1 in an elimination match at the 2014 World Cup.

USA's Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler
celebrate after winning the gold medal
match. (Wally Skalij/LA Times)

Puerto Rico, facing one of the greatest social and economic trials in its recent history, was able to celebrate tennis player Mónica Puig, who defeated a raft of highly ranked competitors to take the women's individual gold medal, her country's sole prize in Rio. In the first Olympic appearance of rugby sevens, one of my favorites this time around, Fiji, which also won no other medals, finished first, with the inventor of the game, the UK, taking the silver, and a spunky South African side winning bronze. A black Ukrainian* Greco-Roman wrestler, Zhan Beleniuk, took the silver in the men's 85 kg competition. There was also the moving story of the Independent Olympic Athletes, who competed under no flag; one, Fehaid Aldeehani, won gold in the men's shooting double trap competition, while another, Abdullah Alrashidi, took bronze in men's skeet. Also moving was witnessing what might have been the final Olympic appearance of former gold medal winner Venus Williams, who did not advance in the individual competition or in doubles with her sister Serena, fresh off her Wimbledon victory, but did win a silver medal with mixed-doubles partner Rajeev Ram, losing to another US pair, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock.

(*Who knew there were black people in Ukraine? And they don't have an easy time of it, unsurprisingly.)

These games featured 53 out LGBTQ athletes, the most ever. Some, like British diver Tom Daley and US basketball star Brittney Griner, were famous as out gay pathblazers. Others, like her teammate Elena Delle Dona, came out publicly right before heading to Rio. 47% of the out gay athletes actually earned medals, and several, including British boxer Nicola Adams, won gold. Still others, who were not out, however, were nearly exposed, with dangerous consequences, when a British Daily Beast reporter decided to masquerade as a gay man, trawl for hookups, and then wrote a snarky, homophobic article that gave clues to the closeted and DL men he had connected with. After being widely denounced, he publicly apologized, and was eventually recalled home early.

***

When Rio and Brazil won the opportunity to host the games eight years ago, the region's and nation's economies appeared to be on the upswing. Two economically vibrant, though corruption-ridden terms by Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, Brazil's first Leftist president since its return to democracy, led to the easy election of his chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff, a former revolutionary turned technocrat, and under both, Brazil saw a sizable increase in its middle and working classes, aided in part by "Bolsa Familia" and other programs that Lula, Dilma and their Congressional allies implemented. The Olympics, like the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament, held across Brazil, were to be crowning events to Brazil's ascension to the first rank of the global community.

Though Brazil's leaders, and admittedly a great many people all over the world, including the US administration of George W. Bush, did not fully grasp what was underway, the ground, however, was about to fall out beneath them. 2007 through 2009 marked the worst of the global financial crisis and recession, which Brazil initially weathered, but the collapse of commodity prices, inadequate monetary policies, and Rousseff's and the Brazilian Congress's failure to trim spending--not slash, but readjust--sent Brazil careening towards a cliff off which it has since plunged. Inflation and now deflation, fiscal contraction, and a dense and intricate tapestry of corruption investigations, ensnaring politicians and business people from the acting president down to local officials, are today's baselines across South America's largest economy.

Brazilian canoeists Erlon de Souza and
Isaquias Queiroz, after their silver medal
race in the 1000m pairs

None of this boded well for a country, state and city that had agreed to spend billions to host the Olympics, which are a financial drain even under the best of circumstances. In the run-up to the Rio games, the governor of Rio State, facing a funding emergency, even appealed to the nation for money; the state, he claimed, was unable to pay for basic services, and needed help even finishing the Olympic projects underway. Additionally, right before the games started, policemen protested with signs warning visitors about the tenuousness of their safety, saying they were entering "Hell." In response, Rio and Brasília found a bit more money, and the city was able to deploy  85,000 security officers, who included federal military service people. Questions arise about what will happen now that the Olympics--and soon the Paralympics--have ended. Where will the funds for Rio State's necessary expenditures come from now? And what effect did the redeployment of military officials have on crime in locales away from the Olympic events? Given the horrendous pre-Olympics track record of police murdering Brazil's poor, particular Afro-Brazilian youth, how will these empowered state forces interact with Rio's impoverished communities once the international media are gone?

Rio's mayor Eduardo Paeswas quite pleased, however,  with how things turned out. A member of the centrist-conservative PMDB party, home also to acting president Temer, Paes has stated that the Olympics allowed Rio to push through infrastructure projects that would have taken decades or which would never have been realized otherwise. The new subway line to the city's southern edges, the enhanced network of bus lanes and routes, and the Olympic Village itself are among the projects that Paes can tout as proof that Rio dig gain something beyond fourteen days of visitors, exciting races and bouts, and international attention. In fact, the Olympics' apparent success will probably serve as the launching pad for Paes' presidential run, after a year's sabbatical at Columbia University though he may need to switch parties (as he's done repeatedly) if Temer and other PMDB politicians remain deeply unpopular. That most of these new structures, facilities and renovated areas will primarily benefit Rio's wealthiest residents and future tourists far more than the majority of the city's working class and poor was part of his and other organizers' vision.

Ukrainian wrestler Zhan Beleniuk
(NBC Streaming screen capture)

Authorities forcibly displaced favela residents from their homes and razed portions of certain neighborhoods, such as Vila Autódromo, in the southern sector of Rio. For the Olympics Media Village, developers utilized public land near Olympic Park that had long been the ancestral home of Afro-brazilians fighting for decades to claim it as a quilombo, and thus their own. The condominium built on this spot, Grand Club Verdant, will be sold to private buyers once the games end. The Athletes' Village, also constructed on public land, is slated to become luxury housing rather than lodgings for Rio's middle and working class residents. Organizers also filled in protected public wetlands to build the golf course, but once the games conclude nearby Cariocas who aren't rich will not have access to it. With regard to the billions of dollars that vanished on their way to rectifying Rio's waste disposal and water pollution crisis, no one can account for them. There will, however, be a new museum downtown highlighting Rio's role as a major slave port; when building the new port, construction workers discovered remnants of the original port, graves and artifacts dating to Rio's early history, and have grasped the potential touristic and historical value of creating an exhibit around them.

Rio's experience is only the most recent example of the International Olympic Committee's flawed approach to staging games that, at this point, very few countries can afford. For two weeks of athletic competition--providing thrills for viewers, a bit of pride for participating countries, future employment for physicians, chiropractors, and physical therapists, and new entries for the record books--host nations are expected to indebt themselves. In the case of the UK and China, the strain was great but not insurmountable; with Russia and the Sochi Winter Games, we may not learn for years what this exacted on the host nation's still staggering economy, or its politics and society, though it did give Vladimir Putin an electoral boost. As the host 30 years ago, Montreal, could attest, however, along with more recent host Athens, sometimes the costs are too high to bear.

US freestyle wrestler Helen Maroulis, winning the
gold medal by defeating Japan's Saori
Yoshida in the women's freestyle 53kg final.
(Robert Gauthier/LA Times)

Perhaps the answer is not to end the Olympics, despite their long history of cozying up to anti-democratic autocrats and greedy corporations, but rather to figure out another approach that will aid the cause of athletic, cultural and global engagement. One option I have seen suggested is to distribute the games across the globe, using sites already built; a virtual Olympics seems eminently doable. Countries with team handball arenas can vie for those contests; baseball, if it returns, could be staged in nations that play it. More people would be able to attend Olympic events as a result, and rather than having to build billions of dollars of new facilities, countries could spend far less to upgrade existing ones, but only if needed.

Another option that I also saw suggested recently would be to have a given country that agrees to host the Olympics do so for several repeated cycles. So Rio would again host the Olympics in 2020 and 2024. Or perhaps in round robin fashion. This does eliminate the challenge of a new country building all new facilities every four years, but it does not address the large-scale costs that the host would have to bear over a dozen years. Not only would Rio or any country have to keep the facilities it built open and functioning optimally for twelve years, but it would again have to find money for security, further extensive infrastructure upgrades, and so on.

US gymnast Danell Leyva, in his
silver medal performance on the men's
horizontal bar final. (Robert Gauthier/LA Times)

So post-Rio Olympics, I will be keeping an eye on Rio, and Brazil, to see what the hangover and recovery periods bring. Beyond Brazil, I will be curious to know whether the debates that always arise around the Olympics and their future go beyond the theoretical stage. If things run as smoothly as I imagine they will in Pyeongchang in 2018 and Tokyo in 2020, any serious talk of reforming the Olympics will be placed on the backburner for decades to come. That is, if the IOC can find anyone to host the 2024 Summer games and Beijing doesn't decide, given its economic struggles and the environmental toll more building will require, that the Winter Games in 2022 are not such a good idea.

Rio Olympic Village, with the nearly
completely razed Vila Autódromo immediately
to its left

Note to Readers + Olympic Withdrawal Syndrome

I want to begin by thanking all J's Theater's readers. I haven't done this in a while, and these are slow days, but the site stats state that people are dropping in, mostly from the US, Canada and the UK, but also from other parts of the globe (most recently and most frequently, Russia, France, Indonesia, Ukraine, and India, which amazes me), so I appreciate it. I also wanted to let readers know that because I've instituted Ghostery (which blocks Net trackers) in two of my primary browsers, I cannot seem to comment on posts. I had figured out a way around this by allowing Google Friends and Google Connect to pursue me without hindrance, but that no longer seems to work. If anyone has any suggestions, do let me know. I can read your comments, but I haven't been able to respond for months.

***

All around women's artistic gymnastics gold medalist Gabby Douglas

As is always the case every four years when the Summer Olympics roll around, I say I'm going to watch only a few events and not get sucked into the vortex of compulsive viewing, and then, when the two weeks of competition are over, I feel hung over, or perhaps more accurately, feel withdrawal symptoms. Until 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, there will be no more Olympic track and field races. There will be no more Olympic men's and women's artistic gymnastics. There will be no more Olympic men's and women's tennis, or road racing, or track cycling, or swimming, or rowing, or any of the other sports I love to watch.  There won't even be any more Olympic diving or women's beach volleyball--Hallelujah! But today I even miss the three-time US champions in that sport, although I really wish we saw a bit less of them and a bit more of some of the other sports, smaller though their viewership may be.

The world's fastest man ever, Jamaican Usain Bolt

Like many others across the Net I found myself complaining about NBC's TV and Net coverage, which was alternately excessively jingoistic, infuriating, infantilizing, sentimental, soporific, and as the awful video focusing on women's bodies exemplified, just plain sexist and misogynistic. It began with the annoying delayed broadcast of the opening ceremony, which I enjoyed (it felt very British; I mean, what positive things is the UK commonly known for? Its royalty, its long, continuous successful government, its monarchy, its extraordinary literary contributions, its amazing contributions to contemporary popular music, its mostly successful multicultural aftermath to its brutal colonial and imperial history) and mostly grew worse. There was the incessant focus only on American athletes and on those sports that the US teams and individual competitors were most likely to earn gold medals in. There were the human interest stories that were tiresome 20 years ago--we can look this stuff up online, NBC!, there's a thing called the Google, and another thing called the Wikipedia, and...--and still are. There were those extremely grating Mary Carrillo outings hither and thither, that simply ate up time that NBC could have devoted to, oh, sports! And then there was that interminable, maudlin Tom Brokaw paean to Britain's steadfast response to the German threat of invasion during World War II. (Why oh why do we ever have to see or even hear clips of you-know-who? Just. Stop. Giving. AH. Airtime. Stop. It!)

Gold medalists Mexico celebrate their victory over Brazil in the men's soccer final

Perhaps it all had to do with money. I took that to be the rationale behind the sports it showed in prime time and late at night (which was always better). The best aspect of NBC's offerings, however, turned out to be the streaming video. Yes, there were commercials every 15 seconds--or however long it was--but the quality, at least on my home cable modem connection--was quite good, and I could watch any sports in real time. I did this for a few, like men's and women's artistic gymnastics. Mostly I checked Yahoo! and the London Olympics 2012 website, which was so easily to read and follow, listed all the athletes, times and results, and should be the model for future games.

Félix Sánchez of the Dominican Republic, after winning 400 m hurdle gold

I won't recount the numerous highlights, since they've been amply covered, but I will list a few of my favorite moments. First, there was the incredible performance by the US women athletes; they accounted for the majority, I believe, of the US's 104 total medals, especially the golds. Congratulations to them, and of course to all the competitors at the games. Congratulations also to host UK, for pulling off a drama-and-terror-free extravaganza, from start to finish, and for also achieving its astonishing medal haul. Among the individual athletes, perhaps my favorite was 16-year-old Gabby Douglas, who became the first African American woman to win the gold in the women's artistic gymnastics all around, and the women's team also taking the gold. I still get a little choked up about the former achievement, and Douglas has been a delight to watch since. I hope she inspires many other young people to keep pushing even when, as was the case for her family, it was an incredible financial and logistical trial to keep going.

Louis Smith of Great Britain, on the pommel horse; the UK team took bronze

I also must give props to Michael Phelps, who, despite the hype, really showed what a champion is, by coming back and winning even more golds and other medals, in individual and relay races, and setting a standard that probably won't be equaled anytime soon. There was main man Usain Bolt, who despite the naysayers blew past his competition in record time in the 100 m and 200 m, and with his Jamaican teammates, set another record in the 4 x 100. I was as riveted by all the American women runners too: Allyson Felix, Carmelita Jeter, Sanya Richards Ross, and the rest, who won their races and relays, and let the world know that even if the male athletes weren't keeping pace, they were ready to set it. Double amputee Oscar Pistorius showed tremendous heart in his races, getting as far as the finals in the men's 400 m and 4x400m, while American Manteo Mitchell ran a leg of the 4x400m prelims with a broken leg, yet did not give up, helping the US men to advance to the next round.

The women's 4x100 record-setting relay team

I loved that some older athletes also did wonderfully at the games. There was Dominican American Félix Sánchez, now 35, winning the 400 m hurdles again for DR, reprising his 2004 gold in Athens, after having faltered badly in 2008 as his grandmother was dying. He broke down after winning and was so shaken with joy that he could not stop crying on the medal stand. Also, Kristin Armstrong, at age 39, returned and won a second gold in the women's cycling road individual time trial. There was Serena Williams, now 30 and a Grand Slam tennis winner (with five singles titles at the Australian Open, 1 single title at the French Open, five Wimbledon titles, and 3 US Opens) earning her first gold in women's singles, and then returning the next day to win the doubles gold with her sister, tennis champion Venus Williams, now 32.

Kirani James of Grenada celebrates his victory in the men's 400 m finals

Some newbies also took surprising golds. There was American Jordan Burroughs, from Camden, New Jersey, who defeated his Iranian challenger, Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi, to win a gold in the 74 kg freestyle competition. There was 19-year-old Kirani James, of tiny Grenada, winning the men's 400 meters, a race Americans have long dominated. In another surprising outcome, 19-year-old Trinidadian Keshorn Walcott received the gold medal in the men's javelin throw. A number of young American women took golds, silvers and bronzes in swimming, including 15-year-olds (!) Katy Ledecky (US) in the 800m freestyle, and Ruta Meilutye (Lithuania) in the 100m breaststroke, and 16-year-old Ye Shiwen (China) in the women's 200m and 400m individual medleys. A US coach, however, cast Ye's victories in doubt, publicly questioning whether she had been doping, which enraged many Chinese officials and fans. Several athletes were sent packing for doping, including one for having (accidentally, he claimed) ingesting a little weed. Uh huh. Though the gymnastics judging required some redos, bringing a silver to the Japanese men's team and pushing the British into bronze status, and a bronze as well to American Natalia Raisman in the floor exercises final, the shakiest sport this time through appeared to be boxing, where some of the officials calls looked more than subjective, and accusations have since flown about possible match fixing.

The finals in the women's keirin race, which Briton Victoria Pendleton won

I'll end by recounting a response to a friend and fellow sports lover who was questioning the relevance of one particular competition, equestrian dressage. Why, he asked me on the phone, was this elitist sport--one could easily throw sailing and a number of others, including diving into this category--still part of the Olympics? Only rich people had ever been interested in and could afford to do it, as he put it. Perhaps he was reacting to the brouhaha surrounding Rafalca, the horse owned by Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife Ann. I don't know. But I pointed out to him that in fact dressage had a much older history; it was the purview of infantry officers as much as the aristocracy, going back centuries. I was reminded as we spoke of a question I always asked my Northwestern undergraduate introduction fiction writing students whenever we read the opening of Anton Chekhov's famous story "The Kiss": "What," I will often say to them, followed by some prompting, "is he describing." Almost none of them, except the few who ride horses regularly, knew. Here is the Chekhov quote (translator unknown):

At eight o'clock on the evening of the twentieth of May all the six batteries of the N---- Reserve Artillery Brigade halted for the night in the village of Myestetchki on their way to camp. When the general commotion was at its height, while some officers were busily occupied around the guns, while others, gathered together in the square near the church enclosure, were listening to the quartermasters, a man in civilian dress, riding a strange horse, came into sight round the church. The little dun-coloured horse with a good neck and a short tail came, moving not straight forward, but as it were sideways, with a sort of dance step, as though it were being lashed about the legs. When he reached the officers the man on the horse took off his hat and said:

     "His Excellency Lieutenant-General von Rabbek invites the gentlemen to drink tea with him this minute. . . ."

     The horse turned, danced, and retired sideways; the messenger raised his hat once more, and in an instant disappeared with his strange horse behind the church.

In this opening section, I let them know, Chekhov not only tells you what's going on, with concrete facts and details, but he shows you who you're dealing with. That horse "moving not straight forward, but as it were sideways, with a sort of dance step, as though it were being lashed about the legs," and which "turned, danced, and retired sideways," is an emissary of a military officer, an aristocrat, Lt.-General von Rabbe[c]k, and is performing dressage. Chekhov could have just used this term or its Russian equivalent, but instead, he describes, and thus shows, the gentility of the officer extending the invitation. This officer's home will be the site of the accident that transforms, at least momentarily, the story's protagonist, as all readers of "The Kiss" know.

Yonemitsu of Japan celebrates his victory against Kumar of India during the men's 66 kg freestyle wrestling final

Where am I going with this? There are sports, like track and field, wrestling and rowing, that probably date back to the oldest Olympics games.  Few of us ride horses regularly or can afford to, but in the long history of human existence, horses, like dogs, cats, cows, pigs, chickens, and a few other species, have been beside us every step of the way. What now seems very elitist once had specific meaning and importance, and we ought not forget this. Moreover, like Chekhov, in London, at least for two weeks, athletes from all over the world didn't just tell us what they could do, that they--we--could compete side by side without rancor or enmity--but they showed us, for the most part, the best of what human beings can do in competition and working together, whether competing on a BMX track or in a kayak on whitewater rapids or on a soccer field. It's four years till Rio, and it's going to be an impatient wait for me!

London Olympics Matchups to Watch

Two months ago I wrote about Josh Dixon, who was vying to become the first out black gay US Olympian by making this year's men's gymnastics team and heading to London for the summer games, which begin in 20 days. Dixon unfortunately did not make it. I'm still looking forward to the men's competition, though, and to a number of other matchups that will take place once the games begin.

John Orozco and Danell Leyva (© Kyle Terada, US Presswire)

Leading the men's gymnastics team will be two gymnasts whose names may not be widely known yet, but if they perform to their peaks, they'll be be on cereal boxes as well as the medal stand. For the first time ever, two Latinos will lead the US men's team: Danell Leyva (Team Hilton HHonors (Universal Gymnastics)), a Miami resident whose family immigrated from Cuba when he was 1/2 years old, and John Orozco (Team Hilton HHonors (US Olympic Training Center)), a Bronx-native of Puerto Rican ancestry and the 2012 Visa National Champion, have talent, skills and the drive to win big. Either one could earn the all around gold medal, and together they put the US at the forefront of the team competition. They'll be joined by Sam Mikulak (Newport Coast, CA/Univ. of Michigan), Jake Dalton (Reno, NV/Univ. of Oklahoma), and Jonathan Horton (Houston, TX/Team Hilton HHonors (Cypress)). Three replacement athletes will also accompany this quintet to London: Chris Brooks (Houston, TX/Team Hilton HHonors (Cypress)); Steven Legendre (Port Jefferson, NY/Team Hilton HHonors (University of Oklahoma)); and Alexander Naddour (Gilbert, AZ/Team Hilton HHonors (USA Youth Fitness Center)).

Photos of Orozco and Leyva from the trials

Leyva on the rings

Leyva on the rings

Leyva on the pommel horse

Orozco on the rings

Orozco on the pommel horse

Orozco and Leyva congratulating each other

On the women's gymnastics side, representing the US will be 2012 Olympics trials all-around champion Gabby Douglas (Virginia Beach, VA/Chow's Gymnastics and Dance), who'll be joined by McKayla Maroney (Long Beach, CA/AOGC); Alexandra Raisman (Needham, MA/Brestyan's American Gymnastics); Kyla Ross (Aliso Viejo, CA/Gym-Max); and Jordyn Wieber (DeWitt, MI/Gedderts' Twistars USA), plus three replacement athletes: Sarah Finnegan (St. Louis, MO/Great American Gymnastics Express); Anna Li (Aurora, IL/Legacy Elite Gymnastics); and Elizabeth Price (Coopersburg, PA/Parkettes). Douglas beat out Wieber 123.450 points to 123.350 to take the title and an automatic berth. 2008 Olympic all-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin vied for a spot but failed to make the team.

Douglas's and Wieber's close finish bodes well for their medal chances in London, and as with Orozco and Leyva, they should be at or near the top of the standings in the all around competition and leaders of a very strong US women's artistic gymnastics team.  Will Wieber avenge her trials loss? Will both women perform even better under the international spotlight? Will the US women outdo the male counterparts? I can't wait to see.

Gabby Douglas, on the uneven bars

The men's track and field competition sprints outcomes will no longer be a foregone conclusion, as some might have thought. At Jamaica's recent Olympic trials, 2008 100m and 200m gold medalist and world record holder in both events (9.58 in the 100m, 19.19 in the 200m), Jamaican Usain Bolt, lost both races to his training partner, Yohan Blake, and may be recovering from an injury, or at the very least trying to restrike his confidence and dominance, right up to the start of the prelims. After stunning Bolt in the 100m with a time of 9.75, Blake came right back and won the 200m in 19.83.

Meanwhile, the US's top sprinter of recent years, Tyson Gay, finished second in the US trials to Justin Gatlin, who won the 2004 Olympic gold medal in the 100m (and the bronze in the 200m), but was subsequently banned from competition for four years after testing positive in April 2006 for a proscribed substance. He returned in 2010, and won the 100m Olympic trial final in 9.80, the best time in history for a man over 30 years old. Whether he has it in him to best Gay again, as well as Blake and Bolt, and anyone else (the UK's, France's, and other countries' top racers will be raring to going as well), is for track fans to find out in a few weeks.

Photos of Bolt, Blake, Gay, and Gatlin

Blake after winning the 100m in 9.75

Gatlin outpacing the field to win the US Olympic trials

Blake defeats Bolt in 200m

Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, Jamaican 100m & 200m champ

In the US women's 100m race, two runners finished tied for 3rd place: 200m star (and 2008 Beijing bronze medal winner in that race) Allyson Felix, and Jenebah Tarmoh, crossed the line at exactly the same time, in 11.86 seconds, as a high-speed camera even verified. Several options for deciding a winner, ranging from a tiebreaking run-off to more misogynistic suggestions, were bandied about, but in the end, Tarmoh chose the most sportspersonlike approach and gave her spot to Felix, choosing instead to accompany the team to London as a backup member. Felix will be aiming to score that elusive gold medal in the 200m, and to justify Tarmoh's decision in the 100m, so I won't be surprised if she runs the races of her life. Ready, set-->go!

Tarmoh at bottom, Felix above her, both tied at

In men's swimming, 2000 Olympic 50-meter freestyle gold medalist Anthony Ervin, who, it turns out, was the first person of (partial) African-American ancestry to win a swimming medal, decided, after prompting by his students, to return to the pool competitively and, at the age of 31, has made the team and will compete in his signature race at the 2012 London Olympics. He will be racing against another African American, Cullen Jones, of Irvington, New Jersey (just over the border from Newark), who gained great acclaim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he was part of the gold medal-winning 4x100m race. This is surely a first.

Anthony Ervin & Cullen Jones, at the US Olympic swimming trials

Lastly, the men's basketball team roster is set, and it will be chockfull of superstars and superstar-level egos, as has been the case since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. This year's roster features the recent NBA Championship MVP LeBron James, of the Miami Heat, as well as several members of the runner-up Oklahoma City Thunder, among them NBA scoring whiz Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.  The oldest member of the team is LA Laker and 3-time Olympian Kobe Bryant. There are no weak links, and if they can play together as opposed to as a team of multimillionaires with dazzling skills and unmatched self-regard, they should win the gold medal with one hand tied behind half their backs. That is, if they can play together....

U.S. basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo (R) and the 12 players selected for the 2012 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team pose during a news conference at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada July 7, 2012. Back row (L - R) Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Front row (L - R) Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, James Harden, Andre Iguodala and Kobe Bryant. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Certainly there are so many more fascinating pairings and stories that will unfold in London, not least the frightening militarization of the city that the British government has undertaken to address terrorism fears, so I, like many others, will be staying tuned (and hoping that the only brouhaha involves scores and times, and nothing worse)!

Osaka 2007: Today's Races

Since I seldom post photos from athletic events these days, here are photos from today's Track & Field (Athletics) championships in Osaka, Japan. The biggest event was the showdown between American Tyson Gay and Jamaican Asafa Powell, who is the world record holder in the 100m. Gay's performance in the final was remarkable; he came from behind to win with a time of 9.85 seconds, which more than took care of Powell, who ended up finishing third at 9.96 seconds, after Bahamian Derrick Atkins (see below) came in at 9.91. He can now claim to be the fastest man in the world.

C hipped me to a new toy that makes acquiring pictures like this much easier, so enjoy!

Canada's Anson Henry

Defending 100m world champion Asafa Powell, in an interview

Britain's Mark Lewis-Francis in the 100m semifinal

Gay, before the 100m semifinal heat

Asafa Powell before the 100m semifinal

Powell in the lead before finishing 2nd in his semifinal heat

French star Christine Arron before her 100m quarterfinal heat

American sprinter Torri Edwards before her 100m quarterfinal heat

Edwards's heat before the race

Edwards blazing to a victory

Another women's 100m qf lineup, Lauryn Williams at center

Lauryn Williams just nosing (or kneeing) out first

Gay, before the final heat

Derrick Atkins, before the 100m final

Gay blowing past Powell (in yellow, 3rd) and Atkins (in blue, 2nd): his winning time was 9.95

100m champion Tyson Gay celebrates

Olympic champion Félix Sánchez before his 400m hurdle heat

A contemplative Sánchez before his heat

Sánchez, otra vez

Javier Culson before the 400m hurdle heat

Sánchez after winning his heat

James Carter, after his 400m hurdle heat

New Zealander Valerie Vili, putting the shot to win the women's championship in that event