Yes, there have been some scandalous headlines over the last seventeen days taking away from some of the grit and glory, but push it away. Push away the two Russians disqualified and/or stripped of medals for PED use. Push away the banning of the Egyptian woman sent home for refusing to shake hands with her Israel opponent. Push away the disqualifications and protests and reinstatements and all of the critical analysis and hate. Push away the overshadowing of the Ryan Lochte mess (even though this picture is worth a moment for a laugh).
But joking matters aside, even though all of this took away from some of the miraculous and memorable moments, let’s all take a moment to analyze and realize that even though the world was worried about the streets of Brazil and the swamp water and the Zika virus going in, none of these incidents had anything to do with something badly reflecting on the host country. Before anything, I would like to say, in agreement with all of the athletes, thank you, Rio. Thank you for putting on one of the best Olympiads in years, from upsets to rivalries to ecstatic engaged fans to moments that people will remember forever, in nothing short of a miracle. Thank you for opening your arms and welcoming the world with kindness and the spirit of sports. Without the hospitality of Rio, Team USA could not have put on one of the most phenomenal showings since 1932. In that matter, my heart is happy for Rio in winning men’s indoor and beach volleyball gold and winning that gold medal and soccer they desperately needed.
Back to Team USA. Yes, Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz, and Jack Conger pulled a stunt that is extremely embarrassing to the United States, but don’t let that overshadow everything else. I mean, come on, possibly the greatest Olympic athlete to have ever lived, and someone you’ll see every ten generations if you’re lucky, represents our country and out on a strong showing in his final Olympics in all aspects. Morally, personally, and competitively, Michael Phelps made the USA proud.
Team USA’s men’s basketball team was one of the highlights of the games to watch, greatly due to their actions off the court that made many Americans proud. They were extremely supportive, showing up at the aquatic center for two nights of competition, attending the beach volleyball games (with Kevin Durant leading the ‘Happy Birthday’ song for Kerri Walsh Jennings), happy to just be there and cheer on teams from sports that they admitted they could never do. Carmelo Anthony even used his day off before the gold-medal game to teach some of his moves to local kids in some pick-up games.
Gwen Jorgensen, Ashton Eaton, Abbey D’Agostino, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Sam Mikulak, David Boudia, Alysson Felix, Katie Ledecky, and Kyle Snyder are only handful of the dozens upon dozens of Team USA athletes who have shown grace in defeat and tears of joy in success throughout these games, as well as sportsmanship that every athlete should aspire towards. They have accomplished feats that most people only dream of, all the while staying modest.
Lilly King, a spunky teenager on Team USA’s swim team, has courageously used her sport to make a statement and stand up for what she believes in: competing cleanly. Justin Gatlin, sprinter, spoke out about some misunderstandings when it comes to certain substances, such as the drug found in his medication for ADHD. This was the first time he had spoken out and he was brought to tears. So many of our athletes have cried tears of disbelief and joy during these Games, and it has moved the world to tears, some of the sobs wracking bodies as they stood on the podium listening to their national anthem being played. It’s incredible, really.
The previous record for gold medals for Team USA was smashed with the number totaling 46 during this 31st Olympiad. Even more impressive was the breaking of the overall medal record in modern, non-boycotted games. The previous record was 103. This year, in Rio 2016? Team USA collected 121 medals, nearly doubling that of the second place team.
This performance was something that people will be talking about for generations, decades, centuries. People will tell their children and grandchildren and so on. The performances we’ve seen will be remembered forever, etched in Olympic history, legends.
Thank you, Team USA, for lifting the spirits of a nation falling down once more. You have shown us that we can rise. Thank you.
