Thursday, August 18, 2016

Usain Breezes Through The 200m Semis

The final is tomorrow 05h30. He said he wants to break his 19.19s record. This means running half a second faster than his time in the semis. De Grasse could provide some motivation. Bolt will of course be in action at 18h48 today in round 1 of the 100m relay (the final is at 05h35 on Saturday).

You also don't want to miss the Badminton singles semis which starts at 18h00 when Sindhu will try to earn the second medal of a billion-people nation. While the US will be facing Serbia at 20h00 in one of the two women volleyballs semis. If you like women wrestling today is the day you want to be glued to your TV. Tomorrow if you also like men wrestling. 

Of course as these Olympics are ending in the weekend there will be a lot of medals awarded in the next 2-3 days. Hopefully Brazil will win as many as possible so that the home crowd is in the best of moods. Like at 00h30 on Sunday when the Selecao play in the Maracana. And get a chance to get even.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Rio Olympics Are Excuse To Watch Gisele Walk

Now that's done, see you in Tokyo in four years.

Wait. There's plenty else to see. Like Kohei Uchimura -- regarded by many as the greatest gymnast of all time -- tonight at 23h00 in the men's individual all-around. Nadia told FT how perfect Kohei was: you can't see any flaws even in slow-motion. Then there's that giant from Jamaica -- and the world's favourite -- who has trouble decelerating in the sprints. He didn't go watch Ms. Bundchen at the Maracana preferring to save his energy to let his races do the talking. Mr. Bolt will turn 30 the day these 31st Olympics end.

The Selecao will also try to do better than grabbing silver for the fourth time. That's not looking too good after two scoreless draws against South Africa and Irak. But a lot of the most memorable experiences will come from athletes we've never heard before. They will dazzle us with their craft. It will not matter which country they are from. We will instantly become one of their fans. Especially if the contests are tight. As many have been already.

The US is ahead in the medal count. Right in front of China. And Hungary. But we've barely started. And there's so much stuff to watch. Including Vinicius and Tom.