The men's marathon kicks off the final day of the Tokyo Summer Games, and I at rooting for 35-year-old Galen Rupp of Portland, Oregon; 32-year-old Jake Riley of Bellingham, Washington, and 44-year-old Abdihakem "Abdi" "The Black Cactus" Abdirahman of Tucson, Arizona (but originally of Mogadishu, Somalia). U! S! A!
Rupp took bronze at Rio 2016, and an upset gold by him (or either of his teammates) today would be huge for Team USA, which needs at least two gold medals today to pass China in the medal standings. Here are the other opportunities:
— Team USA plays Japan for women’s basketball gold at 11:30 a.m. Tokyo time. Rio 2016 marked Team USA's sixth straight Olympic gold medal in the sport.
— In track cycling, one of today's finals is women’s omnium at 12:25 p.m. I don’t know if either of them is considered a medal threat, but the scheduled contenders include Jennifer Valente, age 26, of San Diego, California and China’s Liu Jiali. Neither competed at Rio 2016.
— Team USA plays Brazil for women’s volleyball gold at 1:30 p.m. Team USA won bronze at Rio 2016. Brazil, upset in the quarterfinals there, is undefeated so far in Tokyo, having won 21 of its 24 sets.
— Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis, 22, of Norfolk, Virginia, fights Andy Cruz of Cuba at 2:15 p.m. for gold in men’s lightweight boxing. And then Richard Torrez Jr., 22, of Tulare, California, fights Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan at 3:15 p.m. for gold in men’s super heavyweight boxing. None of these guys was among the competitors at Rio 2016.
Also today, China is among the final eight in contention in rhythmic gymnastics groups all-around, starting at 11 a.m. (China finished 11th at Rio 2016.) And--here's a key one--we need to be rooting for Great Britain’s Lauren Price against China’s Li Qian in the gold-medal match of women’s middleweight boxing at 2:45 p.m.; Qian was one of the bronze medalists at Rio 2016, and Price did not compete.
— In track cycling, one of today's finals is women’s omnium at 12:25 p.m. I don’t know if either of them is considered a medal threat, but the scheduled contenders include Jennifer Valente, age 26, of San Diego, California and China’s Liu Jiali. Neither competed at Rio 2016.
— Team USA plays Brazil for women’s volleyball gold at 1:30 p.m. Team USA won bronze at Rio 2016. Brazil, upset in the quarterfinals there, is undefeated so far in Tokyo, having won 21 of its 24 sets.
— Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis, 22, of Norfolk, Virginia, fights Andy Cruz of Cuba at 2:15 p.m. for gold in men’s lightweight boxing. And then Richard Torrez Jr., 22, of Tulare, California, fights Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan at 3:15 p.m. for gold in men’s super heavyweight boxing. None of these guys was among the competitors at Rio 2016.
Also today, China is among the final eight in contention in rhythmic gymnastics groups all-around, starting at 11 a.m. (China finished 11th at Rio 2016.) And--here's a key one--we need to be rooting for Great Britain’s Lauren Price against China’s Li Qian in the gold-medal match of women’s middleweight boxing at 2:45 p.m.; Qian was one of the bronze medalists at Rio 2016, and Price did not compete.
Here are the medal standings through 15 of 16 days of Tokyo 2020:
1. China 38 gold, 31 silver, 18 bronze
2. United States 36, 39, 33
3. Japan 27, 12, 17
4. Great Britain 20, 21, 22
5. Australia 17, 7, 22
6. Germany 10, 11, 16
7. Netherlands 10, 11, 12
8. Italy 10, 10, 19
9. France 9, 12, 11
10. New Zealand 7, 6, 7
11. Brazil 7, 4, 8
12. Hungary 6, 7, 6
13. Canada 6, 6, 11
14. South Korea 6, 4, 10
15. Cuba 6, 3, 5
16. Poland 4, 5, 5
17. Czech Republic 4, 4, 3
18. Norway 4, 2, 1
19. Jamaica 4, 1, 4
20. Spain 3, 8, 6
21. Sweden 3, 6, 0
22. Switzerland 3, 4, 6
23. Denmark 3, 4, 4
24. Kenya 3, 4, 2
25. Croatia 3, 3, 2
26. Iran 3, 2, 2
27. Belgium 3, 1, 2
28. Slovenia 3, 1, 1
29. Georgia 2, 5, 1
30. Chinese Taipei 2, 4, 6
31. Turkey 2, 2, 9
32. Serbia 2, 1, 4
33. Bulgaria 2, 1, 2
34. Uganda 2, 1, 1
35. Ecuador 2, 1, 0
T36. Israel 2, 0, 2
T36. Uzbekistan 2, 0, 2
T38. Greece 2, 0, 1
T38. Qatar 2, 0, 1
T40. Bahamas 2, 0, 0
T40. Kosovo 2, 0, 0
42. Ukraine 1, 5, 12
43. Belarus 1, 3, 3
T44. Romania 1, 3, 0
T44. Venezuela 1, 3, 0
46. India 1, 2, 4
47. Hong Kong 1, 2, 2
T48. Philippines 1, 2, 1
T48. Slovakia 1, 2, 1
50. South Africa 1, 2, 0
51. Austria 1, 1, 5
52. Egypt 1, 1, 4
53. Indonesia 1, 1, 3
T54. Ethiopia 1, 1, 2
T54. Portgual 1, 1, 2
56. Tunisia 1, 1, 0
57. Ireland 1, 0, 2
T58. Estonia 1, 0, 1
T58. Fiji 1, 0, 1
T58. Latvia 1, 0, 1
T58. Thailand 1, 0, 1
T62. Bermuda 1, 0, 0
T62. Morocco 1, 0, 0
T62. Puerto Rico 1, 0, 0
65. Colombia 0, 4, 1
66. Azerbaijan 0, 3, 4
67. Dominican Republic 0, 3, 2
68. Armenia 0, 2, 2
69. Kyrgyzstan 0, 2, 1
70. Mongolia 0, 1, 3
T71. Argentina 0, 1, 2
T71. San Marino 0, 1, 2
T73. Jordan 0, 1, 1
T73. Nigeria 0, 1, 1
T75. Bahrain 0, 1, 0
T75. Lithuania 0, 1, 0
T75. Namibia 0, 1, 0
T75. North Macedonia 0, 1, 0
T75. Saudi Arabia 0, 1, 0
T75. Turkmenistan 0, 1, 0
81. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 8
82. Mexico 0, 0, 2
83. Finland 0, 0, 2
T84. Botswana 0, 0, 1
T84. Burkina Faso 0, 0, 1
T84. Ghana 0, 0, 1
T84. Grenada 0, 0, 1
T84. Ivory Coast 0, 0, 1
T84. Kuwait 0, 0, 1
T84. Malaysia 0, 0, 1
T84. Moldova 0, 0, 1
T84. Syria 0, 0, 1
Also, athletes from Russia, which once held an Olympics and cheated, have been given 69 medals.
2. United States 36, 39, 33
3. Japan 27, 12, 17
4. Great Britain 20, 21, 22
5. Australia 17, 7, 22
6. Germany 10, 11, 16
7. Netherlands 10, 11, 12
8. Italy 10, 10, 19
9. France 9, 12, 11
10. New Zealand 7, 6, 7
11. Brazil 7, 4, 8
12. Hungary 6, 7, 6
13. Canada 6, 6, 11
14. South Korea 6, 4, 10
15. Cuba 6, 3, 5
16. Poland 4, 5, 5
17. Czech Republic 4, 4, 3
18. Norway 4, 2, 1
19. Jamaica 4, 1, 4
20. Spain 3, 8, 6
21. Sweden 3, 6, 0
22. Switzerland 3, 4, 6
23. Denmark 3, 4, 4
24. Kenya 3, 4, 2
25. Croatia 3, 3, 2
26. Iran 3, 2, 2
27. Belgium 3, 1, 2
28. Slovenia 3, 1, 1
29. Georgia 2, 5, 1
30. Chinese Taipei 2, 4, 6
31. Turkey 2, 2, 9
32. Serbia 2, 1, 4
33. Bulgaria 2, 1, 2
34. Uganda 2, 1, 1
35. Ecuador 2, 1, 0
T36. Israel 2, 0, 2
T36. Uzbekistan 2, 0, 2
T38. Greece 2, 0, 1
T38. Qatar 2, 0, 1
T40. Bahamas 2, 0, 0
T40. Kosovo 2, 0, 0
42. Ukraine 1, 5, 12
43. Belarus 1, 3, 3
T44. Romania 1, 3, 0
T44. Venezuela 1, 3, 0
46. India 1, 2, 4
47. Hong Kong 1, 2, 2
T48. Philippines 1, 2, 1
T48. Slovakia 1, 2, 1
50. South Africa 1, 2, 0
51. Austria 1, 1, 5
52. Egypt 1, 1, 4
53. Indonesia 1, 1, 3
T54. Ethiopia 1, 1, 2
T54. Portgual 1, 1, 2
56. Tunisia 1, 1, 0
57. Ireland 1, 0, 2
T58. Estonia 1, 0, 1
T58. Fiji 1, 0, 1
T58. Latvia 1, 0, 1
T58. Thailand 1, 0, 1
T62. Bermuda 1, 0, 0
T62. Morocco 1, 0, 0
T62. Puerto Rico 1, 0, 0
65. Colombia 0, 4, 1
66. Azerbaijan 0, 3, 4
67. Dominican Republic 0, 3, 2
68. Armenia 0, 2, 2
69. Kyrgyzstan 0, 2, 1
70. Mongolia 0, 1, 3
T71. Argentina 0, 1, 2
T71. San Marino 0, 1, 2
T73. Jordan 0, 1, 1
T73. Nigeria 0, 1, 1
T75. Bahrain 0, 1, 0
T75. Lithuania 0, 1, 0
T75. Namibia 0, 1, 0
T75. North Macedonia 0, 1, 0
T75. Saudi Arabia 0, 1, 0
T75. Turkmenistan 0, 1, 0
81. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 8
82. Mexico 0, 0, 2
83. Finland 0, 0, 2
T84. Botswana 0, 0, 1
T84. Burkina Faso 0, 0, 1
T84. Ghana 0, 0, 1
T84. Grenada 0, 0, 1
T84. Ivory Coast 0, 0, 1
T84. Kuwait 0, 0, 1
T84. Malaysia 0, 0, 1
T84. Moldova 0, 0, 1
T84. Syria 0, 0, 1
Also, athletes from Russia, which once held an Olympics and cheated, have been given 69 medals.
A marathon actually is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis event is taking place in Sapporo. It's a city of almost 2 million people way at the north end of Japan--about 700 miles from Tokyo. Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Games.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see the crowds lining the streets. The USA Network commentators say they are very quiet, because they have been asked not to cheer so as to tamp down spread of COVID-19.
700-mile drive, according to Google Maps.
Delete3.5 miles down ...
ReplyDeleteA fellow from Colombia has been leading from the start. He's ranked in the 500s worldwide. Rupp is part of the lead pack. So's Abdi. I don't see Riley.
ReplyDeleteUSA Network says Riley is 23 seconds behind Rupp, who is bouncing around the fifth/sixth/seventh position.
ReplyDeleteA man from China has moved toward the front.
ReplyDeleteCan't have that.
Programming note: I am actually running, too, as I watch this--in place, while I fold the laundry from our fantastic vacation trip to Chicago.
ReplyDeleteThis marathon coverage is the most satisfying Olympics coverage of Tokyo 2020 for me--live event, good race commentary, plenty of people, plenty of scenes of cnvirons and now a feature on the history of running in Japan.
ReplyDelete8.3 miles ...
ReplyDeleteThe Colombian, Suarez, continues to lead.
ReplyDeleteAt 15 kilometers, Rupp is fourth. Abdi and Riley are both back in the 40s.
ReplyDeleteThe guy from China is not among the front runners.
ReplyDeleteRupp led briefly. Now he's sandwiched among Kenyans, plus a guy from Brazil.
ReplyDeleteHalfway, and Rupp is 13th and 3 seconds back. A dude from South Africa is now leading.
ReplyDelete14.4 miles ...
ReplyDeleteRupp leading ... ahead of the Colombian, a Kenyan, the Brazilian ...
ReplyDeleteRupp wears a cap, and, under it, a bag of ice. Every so often, he tosses his cap and bag to the side and picks up a replacement from his coach along the road.
ReplyDelete16.7 miles ... three Kenyans lead, then Rupp and Abdi ... the Brazilian has dropped out ...
ReplyDeleteThe Abdi at the front is not our Abdi. The Abdi at the front, Bashir Bel Abdi, is from Belgium. Our Abdi, Abdi Abdirahman, is well back.
ReplyDeleteDang.
19.2 miles ... Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya charges to a goodly lead over two teammates ... Rupp is 10th and now behind the lead pack ... dang ...
ReplyDeleteUSA Network commentators now saying that everyone is running for silver behind Kipchoge ...
ReplyDeleteKipchoge was the Rio 2016 gold medalist. That might've been a relevant point for me to note earlier.
ReplyDelete20 miles ... Rupp 30 seconds back ...
ReplyDeleteInside the final five miles ... Kipchoge is so far out in front, you really can't distinguish among the runners in the pack behind him ... Rupp is not one of them ...
ReplyDeleteKipchoge did, indeed, win going away. The silver went to yet another Abdi, Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands; the bronze, Bashir Abdi of Belgium. Galen Rupp of Portland came in eighth.
ReplyDeleteKenyans also took gold and silver in the women's marathon, while Molly Seidel, 27, of Brookfield, Wisconsin, took bronze. That was the best Team USA performance in the event since Athens 2004.
ReplyDeleteThe NBC prime-time show just had Team USA’s giant, redemptive win in the men’s 4x400m relay. Michael Cherry, 26, of New York; Michael Norman, 23, of San Diego, California; Bryce Deadmon, 24, of Missouri City, Texas, and Rai Benjamin, 24, of Mount Vernon, New York, picked up a key gold after several days of criticism of the American track-and-field men.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a big Olympics for San Diego.
Team USA, as usual, dominated the massive “athletics” category of events: more gold medals (seven) than anyone else, more silver medals (12) than anyone else and more bronze medals (seven) than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteTeam USA won the athletics competition at Athens 1896. They didn’t have Olympics in 1916, 1940 and 1944 because of the World Wars. Otherwise, Team USA won the athletics in every Olympics until Munich 1972. The Soviet Union won then, and then East Germany won the sport at Montreal 1976, and then the Soviet Union won again at Moscow 1980, when the Americans did not compete. Then, starting with Los Angeles 1984, Team USA now has won the athletics in every Olympics since.
So good for Cherry, Norman, Deadmon, Benjamin, Carl Lewis, Joan Benoit, Dick Fosbury, Wyomia Tyus, Wilma Rudolph, Alice Coachman, Jesse Owens, Patrick Ryan, Thomas Burke and all of them. What a traditional power, Team USA athletics is!
Athletics final Event-balanced Olympics Points (E-BOPs) for Tokyo 2020:
Delete1. United States 18
2. Kenya 8
3. Poland 7
4. Jamaica 7
5. Italy 6
6. Netherlands 5
7. Canada 4
8. China 4
9. Uganda 3
Speaking of traditional powers, Team USA leads Japan by 11 at half of the women's basketball final.
ReplyDeleteWomen's basketball: Team USA up 19 on Japan after three quarters.
ReplyDeleteRhythmic gymnastics: China has been eliminated from contention for gold.
Oh, cool ... our old friend Bulgaria wins the rhythmic gymnastics.
ReplyDeleteWomen's basketball final from the Saitama Super Arena: Team USA 90, Japan 75. Congratulations, Coach Dawn Staley, 51, of Philadelphia; five-time-gold-medalists Sue Bird, 40, of Syosset, New York, and Diana Taurasi, 39, of Glendale, California, and the rest. Just terrific.
ReplyDeleteMedal standings:
ReplyDelete1. China 38 gold, 31 silver, 18 bronze
2. United States 37, 39, 33
Sue Bird tells NBC she's done with Olympics competition. "See you in Paris," says Diana Taurasi. YEAH!
ReplyDeleteOMG! OMG! OMG!!!
ReplyDeleteTeam USA @TeamUSA
ReplyDelete10m
Raced straight to GOLD!
Jennifer Valente claims the gold medal in women's omnium. #TokyoOlympics
SAN DIEGO!
DeleteU! S! A! U! S! A! U! S! A!
ReplyDeleteMEDAL STANDINGS:
ReplyDelete1. UNITED STATES 38 GOLD, 39 SILVER, 33 BRONZE
2. China 38, 31, 18
COME ON, TEAM USA! Women going for a first-ever volleyball gold on USA Network in about 15 minutes ...
ReplyDeleteSPORTS! OLYMPICS! TV! INTERNET! HP!
Argh. Cuba's Andy Cruz takes rounds 1 and 3 and the men’s lightweight boxing gold against Team USA's "Businessman."
ReplyDeleteMedal standings:
ReplyDelete1. United States 38 gold, 40 silver, 33 bronze
2. China 38, 31, 18
YES! YES! YES!!!
ReplyDeleteTEAM USA WINS WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL GOLD!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S IT! I THINK THAT'S IT! TEAM USA WINS THE TOKYO 2020 MEDALS STANDINGS!
ReplyDeleteMedal standings:
ReplyDelete1. United States 39 gold, 40 silver, 33 bronze
2. China 38, 31, 18
Great Britain’s Lauren Price and China’s Li Qian are fighting right now for gold in women’s middleweight boxing, but, even if Li Qian wins here, China cannot overtake Team USA--too many silvers!
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Richard Torrez Jr., but I'm going to bed.
ReplyDeleteAmazing finish to Tokyo 2020 for Team USA! AMAZING!!!
ReplyDeleteFinal medal standings:
ReplyDelete1. United States 39 gold, 41 silver, 33 bronze
2. China 38, 32, 18
3. Japan 27, 14, 17
4. Great Britain 22, 21, 22
5. Australia 17, 7, 22
6. Netherlands 10, 12, 14
7. France 10, 12, 11
8. Germany 10, 11, 16
9. Italy 10, 10, 20
10. Canada 7, 6, 11 ...
11. Brazil 7, 6, 8
ReplyDelete12. New Zealand 7, 6, 7
13. Cuba 7, 3, 5
14. Hungary 6, 7, 7
15. South Korea 6, 4, 10
16. Poland 4, 5, 5
17. Czech Republic 4, 4, 3
18. Kenya 4, 4, 2
19. Norway 4, 2, 2
20. Jamaica 4, 1, 4 ...
21. Spain 3, 8, 6
ReplyDelete22. Sweden 3, 6, 0
23. Switzerland 3, 4, 6
24. Denmark 3, 4, 4
25. Croatia 3, 3, 2
26. Iran 3, 2, 2
27. Serbia 3, 1, 5
28. Belgium 3, 1, 3
29. Bulgaria 3, 1, 2
30. Slovenia 3, 1, 1
31. Uzbekistan 3, 0, 2
32. Georgia 2, 5, 1
33. Chinese Taipei 2, 4, 6
34. Turkey 2, 2, 9
T35. Greece 2, 1, 1
T35. Uganda 2, 1, 1
37. Ecuador 2, 1, 0
T38. Ireland 2, 0, 2
T38. Israel 2, 0, 2
40. Qatar 2, 0, 1 ...
T41. Bahamas 2, 0, 0
ReplyDeleteT41. Kosovo 2, 0, 0
43. Ukraine 1, 6, 12
44. Belarus 1, 3, 3
T45. Romania 1, 3, 0
T45. Venezuela 1, 3, 0
47. India 1, 2, 4
48. Hong Kong 1, 2, 3
T49. Philippines 1, 2, 1
T49. Slovakia 1, 2, 1
51. South Africa 1, 2, 0
52. Austria 1, 1, 5
53. Egypt 1, 1, 4
54. Indonesia 1, 1, 3
T55. Ethiopia 1, 1, 2
T55. Portugal 1, 1, 2
57. Tunisia 1, 1, 0
T58. Estonia 1, 0, 1
T58. Fiji 1, 0, 1
T58. Latvia 1, 0, 1
T58. Thailand 1, 0, 1 ...
ReplyDeleteT62. Bermuda 1, 0, 0
T62. Morocco 1, 0, 0
T62. Puerto Rico 1, 0, 0
65. Colombia 0, 4, 1
66. Azerbaijan 0, 3, 4
67. Dominican Republic 0, 3, 2
68. Armenia 0, 2, 2
69. Kyrgyzstan 0, 2, 1
70. Mongolia 0, 1, 3
T71. Argentina 0, 1, 2
T71. San Marino 0, 1, 2
T73. Jordan 0, 1, 1
T73. Malaysia 0, 1, 1
T73. Nigeria 0, 1, 1
T76. Bahrain 0, 1, 0
T76. Lithuania 0, 1, 0
T76. Namibia 0, 1, 0
T76. North Macedonia 0, 1, 0
T76. Saudi Arabia 0, 1, 0
T76. Turkmenistan 0, 1, 0
82. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 8
83. Mexico 0, 0, 2
84. Finland 0, 0, 2
T85. Botswana 0, 0, 1
T85. Burkina Faso 0, 0, 1
T85. Ghana 0, 0, 1
T85. Grenada 0, 0, 1
T85. Ivory Coast 0, 0, 1
T85. Kuwait 0, 0, 1
T85. Moldova 0, 0, 1
T85. Syria 0, 0, 1
Plus, athletes from Russia were given 71 medals.
ReplyDeleteSuper Wikipedia: "Bermuda, the Philippines, and Qatar won their first-ever Olympic gold medals, while Burkina Faso, San Marino, and Turkmenistan won their first-ever medals. In addition, North Macedonia won its first-ever silver medal, having previously won only one bronze medal."
ReplyDeleteGreat map.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion of who's in and who's not.
ReplyDeleteAsks The Atlantic in its weekly roundup email, "How Much Longer Can the Olympics Survive?"
ReplyDelete"At least about 20 more, counting Summer and Winter games, please," selfishly responds I.
Here's the final count from 538:
ReplyDelete1. United States: 113 medals (39,41,33): 16 below expectations
2. China: 88 medals (38,32,18): 5 above expectations
3. Russia: 71 (20,28,23): plus 18
4. Great Britain: 65 (22,21,22): plus 1
5. Japan: 58 (27,14,17): minus 14
I will be boycotting the 2022 Winter Games. But I'm very much looking forward to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. I think they will be tremendous.
ReplyDelete