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Hometown heroes
Ranking at 13th spot with 7 gold medals, Rio 2016 was the most successful Olympic Games for hosts Brazil. Emotions rained down in the events where a Brazilian was competing, as the entire country seemed to be found at these arenas. Rafaela Silva with the crowd after her 57 kg Judo gold, Maicon Siqueira with the crowd after his 80kg Taekwondo bronze.
Love in the time of medals
Love was in the air, as is often seen on the sidelines of the greatest shows of human spirit. Alison Cerutti of Brazil celebrated with the crowd after a match point, a beautiful moment arrived after a rugby match when volunteer Marjorie Enya proposed to her longtime girlfriend and Brazilian rugby player Isadora Cerullo, China’s He Zi received a marriage proposal n the podium from fellow diver Qin Kai.
The Hahner twins from Germany created a photo finish at the end of the Women’s Marathon of an entirely different nature, crossing the finish line holding hands. However, German authorities have taken a dim view of the situation, alleging that the sisters pulled off a stunt to garner attention rather than giving their best.
The power of the Olympics – a historic selfie with North Korea’s Hong Un-Jong and South Korea’s Lee Eun-Ju. While decades of political tension keeps the people of the two neighbouring countries apart, these two gymnasts showed the world the power of rising above – both above vaults as well as petty divisions.
David Katoatau of Kiribati became an internet sensation for his celebrations. Weightlifting celebrations are rarely animated, but Katoatau of Kiribati is most unlike all other weightlifters. He danced after every successful lift, drawing huge cheers from the crowd. He said afterwards that his dance was an attempt to catch people’s attention regarding the plight of Kiribati – an island in the Pacific which is one of the places hardest hit by climate change and is undergoing rapid soil erosion.
One of the sweetest victories at Rio 2016 was Great Britain’s triumph in the Women’s Hockey final over Netherlands, the winner of the last two Olympic Games and the undisputed favourite this time around as well. After a dramatic shootout, it was GBR who claimed a first ever gold medal at this event.
Michael Conlan of Ireland and Vladimir Nikitin of Russia were involved in one of the bloodiest boxing bouts at Rio 2016, but their match made more news for what Conlan did afterwards. He reacted to the loss by showing his middle finger to the judges and going on a rant in front of cameras about how boxing judges were biased. Conlan’s rant made a lot of news, and as a direct consequence or not, some judges were sacked. However, it is expected that Conlan will be punished for his angry reaction.
China’s Chen Long weeps in joy after beating Malaysia’s Lee Ching Wei in the Men’s Badminton Singles final. Forever having been in the legendary Lin Dan’s shadow, this was Long’s first Olympics gold medal.
Some of the most stunning performances at Rio 2016 came from women, all of whom have crossed unbelievable hurdles to reach this stage – Gymnast Aly Raisman from USA, wrestler Sakshi Malik from India, sprinter Caster Semenya from South Africa.
The two most singular explosive entries made into the Olympics stage at Rio 2016 is of two American women – Gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Katie Ledecky. Biles won 4 gold medals and 1 bronze medal, in what is surely only the start of one of the greatest careers of all time. As for Ledecky, she was miles ahead from her competitors, making it a regular practice to reach the finish line and wait for everybody else to catch up. Ledecky also has a haul of 5 gold and 1 silver from Rio 2016. Biles and Ledecky are surely two greats who will lord over the sporting landscape for the next decade.
