Celebrating 100 Days Until the Rio Olympic Games
Source: nbcbayarea.com
The Rio Olympic Games are just 70 days away, but at the 100 day mark on April 27th, Olympians and future Olympians gathered in Times Square to help celebrate the highly anticipated 2016 Olympic Games. Team USA’s 100-Day Countdown celebration took over New York City’s Times Square and brought together athletes of all sports, and First Lady Michelle Obama, to celebrate the #RoadToRio.
Golf returns to the Olympics after an absence of more than a century, and the sports world is full of predictions about who will be teeing off for the United States. But with each team limited to four players, many favorites will be staying home.
Then there is the Zika virus, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just concluded is causing microcephaly and other birth defects. Brazil’s health ministry has been working to ease visitors’ fears, but some athletes are weighing whether to give the Rio Games a pass.
Many spots on Team USA won’t be finalized until just before the Opening Ceremony. Trials for some of the most popular events, including swimming, diving, track and field and gymnastics have yet to be held. That means you can still watch your favorite athletes battle for a trip to Rio de Janeiro before the Games.
So far, about 100 athletes have qualified in sports from boxing to badminton, and by the time August arrives, more than 500 athletes will have made the team. Be sure to follow the NBC Olympics website closely as new competitors will be added throughout the summer.
At the London 2012 Games, American women outnumbered American men in total medals AND gold medals, and the women are expected to dominate again in Rio. The U.S. women’s teams are reigning world champions in basketball, gymnastics, soccer, volleyball and water polo.
As more than 10,000 athletes from across the globe prepare to compete in the first Olympic Games to be held in South America, here are a few headlines to catch you up:
Golf’s Olympic comeback
Golf returns for the first time since 1904, when only the United States and Canada competed, and a Canadian won the individual gold.
Among the United States’ best prospects: Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.
But some of the world’s top players have said they will be giving the Games a pass. Vijay Singh, from Fiji, was the first to say he would not play. South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel have pulled out, citing family and scheduling issues, and Adam Scott of Australia also pointed to a busy schedule when he said he would skip Rio.
Golf’s crowded schedule of championships has been a concern for players, but golf legend Jack Nicklaus is worried about the message they send by withdrawing.
“If the guys don’t want to participate, then we might not be in the Olympics after this,” he told Golf Digest. “They vote next year. And if they vote to keep golf in, then that’s great, but if not then we lose that momentum with growing the game.”
Before the vote to reinstate golf (72 holes of stroke play for 60 men and 60 women) superstar Michelle Wie and champion Padraig Harrington urged their sport’s inclusion before the International Olympic Committee. But the vote covered only 2016 and 2020; another vote will be held next year to decide if it will be back in 2024.
Michael Phelps will swim for the USA one final time
In his final Games, Phelps will become the first U.S. male swimmer to compete in five Olympics. The most decorated Olympic competitor ever, he has won 18 gold medals, plus two silver and two bronze.
His return follows his second drunk driving arrest two years ago and a stint in rehab. He was suspended for six months from USA Swimming but returned to the pool last spring.
Adeline Gray looks to make USA wrestling history
Gray is a gold medal favorite this summer as a result of the growth of women’s wrestling. The IOC added women’s wrestling in 2004, but four years ago, Gray’s weight class, 75 kilograms (165 pounds), wasn’t yet in the Olympics, so Gray tried to make the team at a lower weight and lost at Trials.
Now, the Olympics have expanded from four to six women’s weight classes, adding 75 kilograms. And Gray is a three-time world champion riding a 37-match winning streak.
As in many Olympic sports, world titles don’t attract anywhere near the same attention as Olympic gold medals. Afsoon Johnston, who in 1989 became the first American woman to win a world championship medal, is confident the U.S. is ready to capture at least one gold, if not more, in Rio. “Women’s wrestling has a high potential for bringing home those Olympic medals, and Americans love to see that and cheer for that,” said Johnston, who now coaches with USA Wrestling. “Once we make history this summer, that’s going to be definitely a lot more visible within the United States, and we’re going to have more mainstream fans.”
Who won’t be going?
Some of the country’s top stars will not be making the trip, sidelined by injuries and for other reasons.
Kobe Bryant announced he would not play in Rio after retiring from the Los Angeles Lakers because he thought it was a younger man’s turn to play. Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers also withdrew from consideration, while New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis was forced out by knee and shoulder injuries.
In soccer, Sydney Leroux and Megan Rapinoe were both on the U.S. Women’s World Cup team, but they will not be in Rio. Leroux is pregnant and Rapinoe is injured. Goalkeeper Hope Solo said in February that she would skip Rio if the games were being held then because of her fears of Zika.
Zika virus continues to be a worry
The CDC released travel guidelines which urge talking to your health provider about recommended vaccines and medicines, packing a health kit and monitoring travel warnings from the U.S. Department of State. Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant should take special precautions.
Much is still being learned about the virus, which has been linked to birth defects and which researchers have discovered can be transmitted sexually, not just through mosquito bites.
In February, the head of the World Health Organization praised the Brazilian government for its handling of the outbreak, but warned the situation could get worse before it gets better. Brazil has stressed that the mosquito population is much lower in August, the country’s winter.