2020 Olympic Review

2020 Olympic

Throughout the Olympics, all participants had to perform without the presence of fans. Initially, 10,000 local fans were allowed to attend games, but the rise of COVID-19 cases in Tokyo skyrocketed. According to USA Today, numbers peaked at 1,010 cases in May, one month before the start of the Olympics. Much was unknown, but the Olympic committee decided to proceed with the games on July 23rd. The USA went on to record 113 medals. According to Forbes, thirty-three (33) were bronze, forty-one (41) silver and thirty-nine gold (39) medals were won. With China and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) right behind in total medals received. In Track and Field, USA’s Fred Kerley brought home the silver medal in the Men’s 100 meter dash, and in a stunning exhibition, the Jamaican women sweep the 100 meters, winning the gold, silver, and bronze medals for the event. For the 200 meter, USA’s Kenneth Bednarek won silver and Noah Lyles and Gabrielle Thomas won bronze for the USA. For the women’s 400 meter, the extraordinary Alison Felix won bronze for her final Olympic game appearance. Felix has won seven Olympic medals and has become the first female ever to do so. Also, USA’s Raevyn Rogers won bronze in the women’s 800 meter. Paul Chelimo received bronze in the men’s 5,000 meter. Grant Holloway won silver in 110 meter hurdles and in the 100 meter hurdles, Keni Harrison won silver. Rai Benjamin brought home silver in the 400 meter hurdles. For the women’s 400 meter hurdle, USA’s Sydney McLaughlin won gold and Dalilah Muhammad received silver for the USA. In the 4x400 relay, the USA men won the gold medal. In the 4x100 relay, the USA women won silver, falling short once again to the Jamaican women’s complete annihilation of the 100 meters. However, the USA women brought home the gold in the 4x400 relay, For the mixed 4x400 team USA won bronze. For USA swimming, in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle Caeleb Dressel took home gold. The U.S also received gold from Dressel in the 100 meter butterfly. Hali Flickinger won bronze in the women’s 200 meter butterfly. In the 4x100 freestyle and the 4x100 medley, the U.S men won gold. In the 4x100 medley the men set a new Olympic and world record. The USA women won bronze In the 4x100 freestyle. In the 4x200 freestyle and 4x100 medley, the women won silver. Women’s basketball was victorious at the Tokyo Olympics, beating Japan 90-75 to secure the gold medal. The women’s U.S team has won seven (7) straight gold medals, which is an Olympic record for basketball. After winning the Rio Olympics in 2016 with gold, many believed the USA men’s basketball team would have difficulty in winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, given the limited talent on the roster. However, as a result of a dazzling performance by Kevin Durant, team USA managed to beat France 87-82. The women’s Volleyball team beat their rival Brazil 3-0 to earn gold. This marked the USA women’s first gold medal in Volleyball and their fourth medal in a row. The team had previously won three (3) silver and two (2) bronze medals at past Olympics. The USA women’s national soccer team won bronze in this year’s Olympics, after suffering an unexpected loss to Canada in the semifinals. After winning the World Cup in 2019, many

Review

Zaynah Preston, staff writer

gold this year. This was a heart breaking loss for the team, as the women were chasing history to become the first women’s team to win the World Cup and follow with an Olympic gold. Also, the women’s team was seeking redemption after losing to Sweden in the quarterfinals in 2016. World class gymnast Simone Biles changed the world for athletes’, backing out of several high-profile gymnastic events due to her unstable mental health, brought on by the “twisties”, which is a debilitating spacial disorder brought on when a gymnast doesn’t know where their body is while in mid-air. The “twisties” can lead to catastrophic injury to a gymnast when trying to land. Many were in support of her decision, while others felt let down by her early exit. When Biles returned on the final day of competition, she managed to win bronze for the balance beam competition to finish at the Olympics. Although her gymnastic career may be coming to an end, she has paved the way for much needed light on athletes’ mental health.

Track

Gold Medalists: Men’s 4x400 relay: Michael Cherry, Michael Norman, Byrce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin. Women’s 400m hurdles: Sydney McLaughlin Women’s 4x400 relay: Sydney McLaughlin, Daliah Muhammad, Athing Mu and AlisonFelix. Silver Medalists: Men’s 100m: Fred Kerley Men’s 400m hurdle: Rai Benjamin Men’s 200m: Kenneth Bednarek Men’s 110m hurdles: Grant Holloway Women’s 100m hurdles: Keni Harrison Women’s 400m hurdles: Dalilah Muhammad Women’s 4x100 relay: Teahana Daniels, Javianne Oliver, Jenna Prandini and Gabby Thomas Bronze Medalists: Men’s 200m: Noah Lyles Women’s 800m: Raevyn Rogers Women’s 200m: Gabrielle Thomas Women’s 400m: Alison Felix Mixed 4x400 relay: Trevor Stewart, Kendall Ellis, Kaylin Whitney and Vernon Norwood

Swimming

Gold Medalists: Men’s 50m Freestyle: Caeleb Dressel Men’s 100m Freestyle: Caeleb Dressel Men’s 100m Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay: Zach Apple, Bowe Becker, Blake Pieroni and Caeleb Dressel Men’s 4x100 Medley Relay: Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Zach Apple and Caeleb Dressel Silver Medalists: Women’s 400m Freestyle: Katie Ledecky Women’s 200m Butterlfy: Regan Smith

Soccer

Bronze Medalists: Women’s National Team: Alyssa Naeher, Crystal Dunn, Casey Kruger, Abby Dahlkemper, Emily Sonnet, Tierna Davidson, Sam Mewis, Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, Kristie Mewis, Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath, Lynn Williams and Christen Press

Baksetball

Gold Medalists: Men Team: Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, Jerami Grant, Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green, Keldon Johnson, Zach Lavine, Damian Lillard and Javale McGee Women’s Team: Ariel Atkins, Tina Charles, Naphessa Collier, Sue Bird, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Sylvia Fowles, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Jewel Lloyd, Brenna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, A’ja Wilson

Volleyball

Gold Medalists: Women’s Team: Rachel Adams, Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson, Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, Lauren Carlini, Megan Courtney, Danielle Cuttino, Tori Dixon, Annie Drews, Micha Hancock, Morgan Hentz, Kim Hill, Madi Kingdon Rishel, Jordan Larson, Karsta Lowe, Chika Ogbogu, Kathryn Plummer, Kelsey Robinson, Hannah Tapp, Jordan Thompson, Haileigh Washington, Sarah Wilhite Parsons and Justine Wong-Orantes