The dream of nearly every athlete is to one day represent his/her at the Olympic Games as one of the absolute best in the world. Over the past 14 days, this dream has come true for over 11,000 athletes from around the globe in 306 unique events. The competitors have been pushing themselves to the limit day in and day out in search of the elusive gold medal: the prize that so many desire and so few are able to obtain. Along the way of these many journeys, some pretty cool things have happened. Here are a few.
1. The Refugee Olympic Team was created.
This year, the International Olympic Committee helped a team comprised entirely of athletes affected by international crisis make its debut at the summer games. Pictured above is Yusra Mardini, a competitive swimmer forced to flee Syria with her sister. Mardini won her preliminary heat, but unfortunately, did not advance to the semifinals this time around.
2. A United States athlete competed in her hijab.
Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad made history as the first Muslim American woman to compete for the United States of America while wearing a hijab. Muhammad won her first match against Ukranian fencer Olena Kravatska.
3. Simone Biles scored gold in the women's gymnastics all-around final.
But wait, there's more: Biles' margin of victory - a whopping 2.1 points - was greater than all of the margins of victory in that area from 1980-2012. Combined.
4. Simone Manuel made history in the swimming pool.
When Simone Manuel tied with Penny Oleksiak (Canada) for gold in the 100 meter freestyle final, she became the first African American female swimmer to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics. (Coincidentally, Simone Manuel and Simone Biles were both raised in Houston, Texas. It's a good time to be a Simone from Texas!)
5. Usain Bolt won a third consecutive gold medal in the 100 meter sprint.
Living up to his title of the fastest human being ever recorded, Bolt dominated the 100 meters with a finish time of 9.81 seconds, and subsequently became the first athlete to gold three times in a row in the famous track event.
It's no secret that to many, the world has become an increasingly troublesome place to exist in. The Summer Games strive to provide the perfect platform for many nations to come together with a common goal in mind. The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics have been no exception to this ideal. In all variations of athleticism history has been made over and over again; in many instances opening up new opportunities for those who were previously shut out of their passions. So as the Olympics draw to a close, it is my hope that we can rise above our myriad of struggles and remember what it feels like to be united.
