Category Archive: Rio Olympics

Rio’s Opening Ceremony: Sex, Beauty and Glory Restored

Opening Ceremony Maracana Stadium 2016August 5_New York Times
New York Times

The Debutante Ball is over. And Brazil is looking very good.

Despite all the issues that have arisen in Brazil in the run-up to August 5 – the impeachment of its President on corruption charges, the collapse of its economy, the constant news of the polluted Guanabara Bay, the shocking news of the impact of the zika virus, rumbles of possible riots by the underclass – the opening ceremonies at Maracanã Stadium went off pretty much without a hitch.

And there were a few big moments. Let me focus on three:

Sex: Carlos Nuzman is the president of the Rio Organizing Committee, and former member of the International Olympic Committee. He and his teammates likely helped inspire generations of volleyball fans in 1964 when he was on the men’s Brazilian team in Tokyo, where the sport debuted as an Olympic event. There he was on his country’s biggest stage on Friday, bubbling with excitement, exorcising all of the repressed worries he told countless people in the press not to be concerned with.

We never give up, we never give up. Let’s stay together when differences challenge us.

But to add a bit of spice to the formality of the opening speeches, Nuzman made one of those slips of tongue that the head of the IOC will never forget. Nuzman was responsible for introducing Thomas Bach, and said it was his honor “to hand over to the president of the IOC, the Olympic champion Thomas Bach, who always believed in the sex…success of the Rio 2016 Games.”

OK, Bach will always cherish that moment I’m sure…and it’s what’s on the mind of half the athletes at the moment anyway. (It’s been heavily reported that 450,000 condoms have been made available in the Olympic and Paralympic villages.)

Beauty: I’m a Jets fan. I hate Tom Brady. That goes with the territory. While Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, an instant hall of famer, his wife is arguably even more famous globally. Super Model, Gisele Bündchen, who was born in in Southern Brazil, travelled to London at 17. She was plucked out of the crowd of wannabes to make it on the catwalk for designer Alexander McQueen. From that point, Bündchen was a star, becoming a mainstay on the cover of Vogue and the body of Victoria’s Secret.

And so, in a moment of exquisite simplicity, the organizers brought together Brazil’s most famous song and its most famous face. First the crowd heard the massively familiar bossa nova rhythm and melody of The Girl from Ipanema, performed by Daniel Jobin, the grandson of the music’s writer, Antonio Carlos Jobim. From the other end of the stadium emerged the super model, coming out of retirement to make her final catwalk. Probably her longest catwalk ever, Bündchen sashayed some 150 meters across the entire stadium floor to the roars (and photo flashes) of 78,000 ecstatic fans.

gisele bundchen rio olympics
Gisele Bündchen – click on this image to see a video of the moment.

Glory Restored: It was the marathon event at the 2004 Olympics, in the birthplace of the race, Greece. Brazilian, Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, of Cruzeiro de Oeste, was leading the marathon race with 7 kilometers to go when a strangely dressed spectator burst onto the road and just as suddenly pushed de Lima off the course. As I have described in a previous post, de Lima looked disgusted as he made his way back onto the course and continue on with the race. At the end of the 42-kilometer footrace, de Lima finished in third. There were attempts to give him a gold medal, but it is likely that since de Lima was still in first with a decent lead, the IOC decided to keep the results as is.

No doubt, this incredibly quirky incident was hard to forget for Brazilians, and particularly de Lima, who could have been on the top step of the awards podium, with a gold medal around his neck, listening to his national anthem. Instead, he listened to the Italian anthem, consoled with a medal of bronze.

Fast forward to 2016. The most famous athlete in Brazil, the legendary Pelé is rumored to be too ill to participate in the opening ceremonies. Up steps de Lima, who took the sacred flame from Brazilian basketball star, Hortência de Fátima Marcari, and carefully climbed the 28 steps to the Olympic cauldron. He raised the flame high with two hands to immense cheers, turned to the cauldron and ignited it, and the hearts of 78,000 people in the Stadium.

As the cauldron climbed into the night, to become the centerpiece of an incredible metal sculpture that turned the sacred flame into a swirling solar spectacle, de Lima was probably feeling the pride and joy he could’ve, should’ve, would’ve felt, if not for that crazy man in Greece in 2004. As the fireworks exploded around and above Maracanã Stadium, de Lima’s heart, I’m sure, was full.

Vanderlei de Lima lighting the cauldron
Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima lighting the Olympic cauldron.
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Rio’s Golden Favorites: Lisa Carrington and Mark de Jonge, Kayak Sprinters

Lisa Carrington at the 2012 Games
Lisa Carrington

The kayak was originally developed by Inuits, native to the northern Artic regions. Piecing together wood, bone and animal skins, the Inuit developed over centuries a vessel that was both quiet and swift, allowing Inuit hunters to stealthily come upon their prey.

Today, the kayak is made from modern materials like fiberglass, and the K-1 200-meter race has become, on water, the equivalent of the 100-meter sprint, on land.

Come the Rio Olympics, the heavy favorites for the K-1 200-meter men’s and women’s competitions are Mark de Jonge of Canada, and Lisa Carrington of New Zealand. They are both the current world record holders in this event.

Carrington has simply forgotten what it is like to lose, as she has been unbeaten for the past five years in this race, wining her fourth consecutive world title in the K1 200 meters last year in Italy. She is also the reigning Olympic champion, having won gold in the 200 meters at the London Olympic Games. Seeking gold in the 500-meters, Carrington could go on to become one of New Zealand’s most decorated Olympians in history.

Below at the 8:50 mark, you can see Carrington take gold at the 2012 London Games:

While De Jonge finished with a bronze medal in the 200 meters at the 2012 London Games, he is the World Champion for the past two years, the first man to do so in well over a decade. Below is video of de Jonge in speedy form:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YrZe-h-t8c

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IOC Approves 271 Athletes for the Rio Olympics

IOC and Russian flags

The IOC approved the eligibility of 271 Russian athletes out of 389 originally selected. That’s 70% of the original roster.

The quote of the Games so far comes from the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, who remarked that Russian will have “the cleanest team” at the Games.

Go here for more details.

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Rio Golden Favorites: The Chinese Men’s and Women’s Diving Teams

Qui Bo diver
Qiu Bo

There are 8 gold medals up for grabs in the diving competitions at the Rio Olympics: the 10-meter platform and 3-meter springboard for both men and women, as well as synchronized 10-meter platform and synchronized 3-meter springboard, for both men and women.

In the past three Olympics in London, Beijing and Athens, athletes from the People’s Republic of China have won four, seven and six of the possible eight at the respective Olympics, which is pretty darn good. The international organization overseeing swimming and diving, FINA, organized four international competitions in 2016 – the FINA Diving World Series. Of the 40 gold medals up for grabs in those four competitions, the Chinese took an outstanding 38 of them. That’s 95% of the gold medals in 2016. That’s dominance.

While defending Olympic champion of the 10-meter platform, David Boudia hopes to return America to Olympic diving glory with a rare Olympian gold-medal repeat. To do so he will likely have to beat Qiu Bo, the man he defeated in London, who will of course be very hungry for revenge. Qiu is the current world champion in the 10-meters, where he edged out Boudia, and in fact has won three straight world championships since 2011, something only American Greg Louganis has done.

But Qiu is just one of a mini army of divers from China who look to take gold in diving in Rio.

Wu Minxia
Wu Minxia

Wu Minxia recently was the 2015 world champion in synchronized 3-meter springboard, partnering with teammate Shi Tingmao to win gold. She is hoping to exceed her current medal haul of six since 2004 and become the most decorated female Olympic diver in history.

And after their victories in the 2015 world championships, the Chinese are also favored to win in the men’s synchronized 3-meter springboard, the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform, the 3-meter springboard, the women’s 3-meter springboard, as well as the women’s synchronized 1-meter platform.

In other words, except perhaps for the men’s 10-meter platform, it’s possible that the Chinese can take 7 of 8 golds at the Rio Games, in addition to silvers and bronzes along the way. As Tom Gompf, the American diver who took bronze in the 10-meter platform competition at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics told me, “The Chinese dominate. They will get the bulk of the medals. If you saw their program you’d understand why.”

There you have it. Expect to hear the Chinese national anthem around the diving pool…a lot.

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August 5: The Start of the Rio Olympics and Brazil’s Date of Destiny

The Rio Olympics begin today, August 5, 2016. Coincidentally, it is a date affiliated with historical and cultural significance for Brazilians. Let’s take a look at three Brazilians who either were born or died on August 5.

Deodoro de Fonseca
Deodoro da Fonseca
Brazil’s First President: It was on this day in 1827, Deodoro da Fonseca was born. He grew up in Alagoas, when Brazil was a monarchy, and Pedro II was the emperor of Brazil. Fonseca became a military man, and ended up leading an army faction that eventually toppled Emperor Pedro. Fonseca, as head of the coup, became Brazil’s first President.

Oswaldo Cruz

The Scourge of the Scourge: It was on this day in 1872 when Oswaldo Cruz was born. An admirer of Louis Pasteur, and a specialist in bacteriology at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Cruz played in a significant role in improving the health of Brazilians at the turn of the 20th century. While smallpox had been wiped out in Europe and the US before 1900, Brazil was under threat of a smallpox epidemic in 1904. Under the Mandatory Vaccination Law, which Cruz was responsible for getting legislated, Cruz led an effort that allowed government workers to enter private homes and forcibly vaccinate people against smallpox, as well as to exterminate mosquitoes and rats, to prevent yellow fever and the bubonic plague.

Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
The Brazilian Bombshell: She performed on Broadway, acted with Don Ameche and Betty Grable, and danced with President Franklin Roosevelt, and became the face of Latin America to the world. It was on this day in 1909 when Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, aka Carmen Miranda, was born. Often wearing her trademark fruit hat, Miranda acted in 14 Hollywood films and becoming one of the most popular people in America in the 1940s and 1950s. It was on this day in 1955 when Miranda passed away.

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Lighting the Olympic Cauldron: It’s Most Memorable Moments

barcelona cauldron lighting
The lighting of the cauldron at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
The Olympics live on symbols. The five colored rings that represent the five continents of the world. The doves that represent peace. The gold, silver and bronze medals that symbol achievement at the highest sporting levels.

One of the most dramatic symbols of the Olympic Games has been the lighting of the Olympic cauldron that symbolically represents the Games ancient Greek origins, the beginning of the Games, and by extension, the suspension of hostilities in times of conflict and the coming together of the world’s athletes in competition and fair play. The cauldron lighting of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics most poignantly emphasized the need for world peace.

While this particular ceremony started at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, it was at the 1992 Barcelona Games where organizers raised the bar significantly in creating the Wow factor, that moment when you’ve seen something spectacular, something you would not have imagined or expected. In this case, it was paralympian archer, Antonio Rebollo, who shot a flaming arrow some 60 meters over a cauldron that rose seven-stories high, igniting the gases accumulating over the cauldron, and sending chills and thrills across the world.

In 1996, the organizers of the Atlanta Olympics had all sorts of issues with the planning of the cauldron lighting, but one thing they got right was having Muhammad Ali do the honors. Spectacle had to wait four more years for Sydney to bring goosebumps tot the world. An island nation, surrounded by water, Australia brought fire and water together in spectacular fashion. 400-meter sprinter, Cathy Freeman, stood in a pool of water. When she placed it to the watery surface, a ring of fire curled around her, the cauldron rising out of the water like a spaceship, making its way majestically to its home at the top of the stadium.

In 2008, China amazed the world with its spectacular opening ceremonies, highlighted by its impossible-to-imagine sky run, performed by legendary gymnast, Li Ning. Rising high above the crowd, suspended on wires, Ning appeared to run along the stadium wall for 500 meters before applying his torch and igniting another flame that spiraled up into a spectacular ignition of the cauldron.

What new spectacle and symbolism will the Rio Olympics bring? Our hearts are already a-flutter in anticipation.

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Why The Rio Olympics Will be a Success: The Olympic Values and the 2000 “Celebrate Humanity” Campaign

 

Celebrate Humanity logo.jpgWhy do we love the Olympics? Why will the Rio Olympics succeed despite the political, environmental, security and health issues hanging over the Games like a black cloud on the verge of bursting?

Because we love what The Olympics make us feel, what the five colored rings represent: hope, dreams and inspiration, friendship and fair play, and the joy we have in making an effort.

After the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta, considered one of those most commercially blatant Olympics in the modern age, and the bid-rigging scandals of the Salt Lake City Games, the International Olympic Committee believed they had to reassert and protect the brand by reminding the world what the true value of the Olympics were. Thus was born the Celebrate Humanity campaign.

Enrolling TBWA, Chiat Day and their legendary worldwide creative director, Lee Clow, the man who developed the commercial that launched the Macintosh (“Think Different”), the IOC launched a series of public service announcements on television that dominated the airwaves leading up to the 2000 Sydney Games.

With the unmistakable voice of Robin Williams bringing both joy, tenderness and strength to the images, the Celebrate Humanity ads were everywhere – on your TV, radio, on your in-flight screen, in your magazines. Incredibly, broadcasters were even asking the IOC how much they had to pay to air the spots, according to Michael Payne, who tells this story of the Olympic brand in his book, Olympic Turnaround.

The campaign included seven short films that represent the Olympic values, symbolizing them, for example, in the 400-meter sprinter, Derek Redmond of Great Britain who pulled a hamstring during the competition at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but gamely limped onto the finish line, or the Nigerian women’s 4×100-meter relay team who celebrate their bronze medal effort after first thinking they had finished fourth.

Watch them and be inspired.

Courage

Strength is measured in pounds. Speed is measured in seconds. Courage…   You can’t measure courage.

Bronze

Just a reminder: At the Olympic Games, you don’t have to come in first to win.

Smile

When you smile, I smile, that’s the deal. I’ll not walk past you, and not look you in the eyes, and not acknowledge you. Instead we’ll pass each other and say hello. Not with our words–they’re not the same–but with our faces. I meet you and see there is good in your eyes. There’s passion in your heart and there’s a friendly hello in your smile, and for the first time we can relate and appreciate each other. That’s all it takes. That’s where it starts. Because I know that you will smile and I will smile. And all the rest is easy.

Adversary

You are my adversary, but you are not my enemy. For your resistance gives me strength, your will gives me courage, your spirit ennobles me. And though I aim to defeat you, should I succeed, I will not humiliate you. Instead, I will honor you. For without you, I am a lesser man.

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Rio’s Too Close to Call: Men’s and Women’s (Indoor) Volleyball, But Brazil has the Home-Court Advantage

Brazilian Women's Volleyball Team

Brazilian women are gunning for their third straight Olympic title, done only once before by women in the history of the Olympics. This after taking bronze, silver and silver the previous three Olympics. Brazilian men are hoping that three’s the charm, after finishing second to Russia and the US the last two Olympics, after taking gold in 2004.

But there are thin margins for error. In the men’s competition, Brazil is ranked number one in the world. But #2 Poland, #4 Italy and #5 USA (which defeated Brazil for gold at the 2008 Beijing Games) are considered strong contesters for gold. And then, there’s #3 Russia, which was reinstated by the IOC (and which defeated Brazil for gold in the 2012 London Games).

Brazilian Men's Volleyball

The Brazilian’s women’s team is ranked world number 2, but they won the World Volleyball Grand Prix in July, defeating #1 ranked USA in a five-set thriller. The Netherlands and Russia were also strong, although a favorite, #3 ranked China, did not finish well. All of those countries, including Japan, are in the hunt for gold in Rio.

But as they say, volleyball is Brazil’s national sport (because soccer is their religion). With the home crowd behind their teams, the noise deafening inside Maracanazinho Gymnasium, Brazil’s indoor volleyball teams, both men’s and women’s could possibly make it a home sweep.

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Russian Olympians: Hundreds Could Be in Rio, and the One Who Really Should Be, Won’t

Russians banned not banned
Source: ABC News Australia

Who’s in? Who’s out? The very political decision making process for which Russian athletes are considered eligible for the Rio Olympics or not has changed yet again.

As most of the sporting world is aware, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) issued a report recommending that the entire team from Russia be banned from the upcoming Rio Olympics. The International Olympic Committee, which originally had the final thumbs-up, thumbs-down accountability on who gets to participate in the Olympics, decided to defer judgment on Russian eligibility to the international sports federations.

IOC and Russian flagsThis created chaos as, frankly, with less than two weeks to go, the various federations, some supremely under-resourced, have to make a well-researched decision on who to ban or not to ban. Many have criticized that decision. And as can be expected, decisions on Russians allowed to compete are inconsistent.

In this great summary by ABC News of Australia (as of July 27), the IAAF has banned all track and field athletes, as has the International Wrestling Federation. The World Rowing Federation has approved 6 for participation, but banned 19. The governing body for badminton (BWF), the International Judo Federation and the governing world body for volleyball, FIVB, have essentially cleared all of their eligible Russian players to compete.

As of this writing, the current estimates for Russian competitors at the Rio Olympics is more than 200, according to the Daily Mail.

However, on July 30, the IOC, likely buckling to criticism, decided to set up a three-member panel that will ultimately decide on Olympic eligibility, based on recommendations from the federations. The IOC spokesperson said that the process would be completed by August 5, which also happens to be the day of the Olympics opening ceremonies.

One person of note who will not be competing – Yuliya Stepanova. The athlete who risked her career, and perhaps even her life to help blow the whistle on the Russian state-sponsored doping and cover-up operations by talking with journalists and WADA was ironically banned.

Rusanova of Russia competes during the woman's 800 metres semi-final heat 1 at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu
Yuliya Stepanova

The IAAF, which has been hawkish in banning Russians from international competition, recognized the bravery and impact of Stepanova by approved her competition in the Rio Olympics as a “neutral athlete”. Despite that, the IOC decided to ban Stepanova from competing for her failed drug tests in the past, while conveniently dropping its accountability, casting a blind eye in all the other cases by allowing a third party to determine Olympic eligibility.

By the way, the honorary president of the International Judo Federation is Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

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Olympian Workouts Make You Want to Puke

  1. Have you ever exercised?
  2. Have you ever pushed yourself to exhaustion in a workout?
  3. Have you ever pushed yourself to exhaustion, want to stop, but push yourself even further?
  4. Have you ever pushed yourself to the point where your body rebels, and whatever liquids or solids are in your stomach shoot up your system and out your mouth in an acidy expulsion?

I can say yes, to the first two questions, but for Olympians, the answer to #4 is yes, on a daily basis.

exhaustion 2

Watch the above video to see how hard Team USA Olympians push themselves in the quest for gold and glory.

  • I get to the pool by about five o’clock, do about 45 minutes of prep work, and then I’m in the water at 6am. We see the sunrise in the morning when we’re already halfway through our practice. – Natalie Coughlin, swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist
  • It’s all about training when no one is watching. It’s all about training on holidays because I know most people aren’t training when they’re on holidays. – Carli Lloyd, two-time gold medalist in soccer
  • Nothing is….”Oh this is fun! I enjoy the pain, the lactic acid, the burn that flows through my veins!” None of that. You don’t want any of that. – Dawn Harper-Nelson, two-time 100-meter Olympic medalist
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