They're here! The 2016 Summer Olympics are well under way, and if you are anything like me, you had to do some research to know what events, and athletes, to watch. So, to save you some time, I have compiled a list (with help from CBS Sports, BBC, The Telegraph, The Daily Beast, and the official Rio Olympics page) that should give you nearly all the information you need in order to survive watching the Summer Olympics.
1. The Olympics are August 5 - 21, 2016.
Well, mostly. There are a couple of events that do start a couple of days early. While the opening ceremony was on August 5th, men's soccer started on August 3rd, and women's soccer on August 4th.
2. The Olympics are taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Even though the main events are scheduled to take place in 32 venues across Rio, more events, such as soccer matches, are also scheduled to take place in nearby towns such as Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Manaus, Salvador, and Sao Paulo.
3. The most popular events include gymnastics, swimming, and track and field.
Of course, there are a grand total of 306 events for 42 sports. Other sports include, but are not limited to, fencing, volleyball, badminton, trampoline gymnastics, rugby sevens, and table tennis.
4. Most of the Russian team is not competing.
You read that right, 119 Russian athletes were disqualified and banned from competing in the Olympics. Investigator Richard McLaren found that Russia had sent in at least 312 false test results from 2011 to last year's world swimming championships. In June, the International Association for Athletics Federations banned Russian track and field athletes from competing in the Rio Olympics, due to doping violations. In short, Russia screwed up, and now they have several official agencies breathing down their necks.
5. As always, there is a list of American athletes that you should be keeping your eye on.
This year's top American athletes include Michael Phelps (Swimming), Simone Biles (Gymnastics), Ashton Eaton (Track and Field), Serena Williams (Tennis), Katie Ledecky (Swimming), Justin Gatlin (Track and Field), and Kerri Walsh Jennings (Beach Volleyball). This is definitely the year to keep an eye on Jennings, and her former partner, Misty May-Treanor retired after the London games. Jennings' new partner is April Ross.
6. Below, you can find a list of international athletes to watch, too.
This year's top international athletes include Usain Bolt (Track and Field - Jamaica), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Track and Field - Jamaica), Neymar (Men's Soccer - Brazil), Caster Semenya (Track and Field - South Africa), Novak Djokovic (Men's Tennis - Serbia), and Oksana Chusovitina (Gymnastics - Uzbekistan).
7. Of course, there isn't anything wrong with knowing a little extra trivia for the Olympics.
Oksana Chusovitinia, 41, is the oldest female gymnast in Olympic history.
The IOC will provide 450,000 condoms for the 10,000-plus athletes staying in the Olympic village. To break that number down, that's 350,000 male condoms, 100,000 female condoms, and 175,000 packets of lube. That's just about 42 condoms per athlete.
This is Michael Phelps' fifth Olympics. He is the most decorated Olympian of all time, holding the world record for having a grand total of 18 Olympic gold medals.
7.5 million tickets have been sold for the various Olympic Games.
206 countries are sending their athletes to compete this year.
Last but not least, there are 306 events comprising the 31st Olympiad.
