St. Petersburg has officially bred the eighth-fastest man on earth.
Sure, it doesn’t sound too impressive when put like that, but when you look at who beat him, eighth doesn’t sound too bad.
Gibbs High School graduate Trayvon Bromell lined up for his chance at a gold medal Sunday night in the men’s 100-meter dash. His opponents? World-record holder Usain Bolt and 2004 gold medalist Justin Gatlin. So Bromell may not have had much of a chance at the world’s-fastest-man title, but for that 10.06 seconds, he put St. Petersburg in the spotlight, even though he finished last out of the eight finalists in the event. See? Sounds a little bit more impressive when put that way.
Bolt became the first person to ever win three straight gold medals in the 100-meter dash. The 29-year-old Jamaican sprinter still holds the title for fastest man alive (ever), but turns 30 next week so this could be his last gold medal in the event.
The U.S. men’s basketball team had a few close calls this weekend that almost made you wonder if they really are the best in the world. But obviously they are and were probably just taking it easy over the weekend. The Yanks continued their unbeaten run for their 48th consecutive win against Serbia on Friday. The Serbs made it interesting and came within three points, but the U.S. pulled off a 94-91 victory.
France made it just as difficult for the Americans, who squeaked out a 100-97 victory (49th in a row) on Sunday evening, proving that yes, they are the best; and that they are not just a team of American all-stars, they are the world’s all-stars. If aliens invaded the earth and challenged humans to a basketball game where defeat meant extermination of us all, this team would be chosen to save humanity. They should really make a movie about that.
Michelle Carter became the first American woman to ever win gold in the shot put event on Friday. The last year an American woman medaled in the event was 1960, but now Carter gets to join her father at the podium, who won a silver medal in the same event in 1984.
Golf’s triumphant return to the Olympic games ended with American Matt Kuchar taking home the bronze medal, the first since the 1904 St. Louis Olympic games, the last to include a golfing event. Great Britain's Justin Rose took home the gold, while reigning British Open champion, Sweden's Henrik Stenson, took sliver. The 1904 games also included croquet and tug-of-war. Maybe it’s time to bring those events back, too?
Monica Puig became Puerto Rico’s first ever individual athlete to win a gold medal. Puig won gold in the women’s singles tennis event. Andy Murray took won gold in the men’s event, beating Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro. Yep, the same guy who got stuck in an elevator, then beat Novak Djokovic the same day. He also knocked out Rafael Nadal.
The U.S. has racked up 69 medals so far, with plenty of time for more. The U.S. women’s field hockey team takes on zee Germans in the quarterfinal match at 11:30 this morning while badminton and table tennis heats up at 12:30 this afternoon with round-of-16 action. Don’t miss it, or you’ll have to wait four more years to see anything like it again.
