Olympics in Review
This past August 11,178 athletes from 205 countries traveled to Rio de Janeiro to compete in 306 different events. In a nation dominated by political corruption, economic turmoil, terrible disease, crime, and pollution, the Olympic Games brought together people from all around the globe with one motive in mind: winning.
As usual, the United States topped out the medal count list with 46 golds and 121 medals in total. Edging off the Chinese from their usual place behind the U.S., Great Britain won 27 golds and a total of 67 medals. Falling one gold medal short, China collected 26 golds and 70 medals in all. With half of their athletes banned for doping, Russia was still able to retain their fourth place medal count with 19 golds and 56 total medals.
But this Olympics wasn’t just about the medal count at the end. In these games records were broken, legacies were solidified, expectations were satisfied, and dreams were fulfilled.
Michael Phelps won 5 more gold medals this Olympics and solidified his place in history with 23 gold medals and 28 medals in total. A rising star of the pool, Katie Ledecky, began her own legacy by winning four different events and placing second in another. The fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, made it look easy as he won the men's 100m dash, 200m dash, and 4x100m relay for the third Olympics in a row. The dominant U.S. women’s gymnastics team lived up to golden expectations behind an incredible performance by Simone Biles, perhaps the greatest female gymnast ever. The U.S. men’s and women’s basketball teams both won gold, and Ashton Eaton made history by winning the decathlon for the second time in a row. The Brazilian soccer team redeemed themselves from the disappointing World Cup by winning the gold medal match against Germany and bringing together the entire country.
Despite a few negatives such as the Ryan Lochte incident, the false doping tests, and other questionable things, this Olympics turned out to be one for the history books, proving that it is in the darkest of times when the stars shine their brightest and give us all a sense of warmth and wonder.