After all the challenges Tokyo 2021 Olympics faced, it will become one of the most unique in history. The threat of Swine Flu, temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and frequent storms made for some difficult circumstances. Despite those hardships, they have been deemed a success- although not without their difficulties.
Many people would prefer to watch the competitions in person, but the memories you keep from following your favourite athletes can often be just as valuable — both great and bad. For example, someone could easily remember a tough loss by mulling over their own experiences with athletics, and it will take some time before memories like that are forgotten.
Swinging for silver
Baseball and Softball have been a part of amateur and professional leagues for over a century. In 2020, they were making an exciting return to the Olympics in Japan. The host nation won both of these sports quite easily, beating the U.S. in each final by winning 2-0. Softball, a mark that includes vets Cat Osterman and Monica Abbott, earned two walk-off wins while USA Baseball’s rag-tag group lost to Japan in both games
Born to ride
One of the athletes that have been closely watched this time is Jessica Springsteen. Patti Scialfa is best known for her work with Bruce Springsteen. They’ve been married since 1991 and she’s the mother of Chester, Sam, and Jessica. When younger, he competed in horseback riding and was awarded a silver medal at the end by being part of the U.S. jumping team.
U.S. women continue water polo dominance
Water polo might not seem like it would be a ‘traditional marquee’ Olympic sport, but Americans should pay more attention to the women’s team amidst a dynasty. The U.S. women’s water polo team won gold for the third consecutive time at this year’s Olympic games. After a disappointing early-round loss against Hungary, the U.S. women have now won half of all gold medals in Olympic water polo ever awarded. Goalies like Ashleigh Johnson, who has saved an astonishing 73% of shots faced this year, provide a sturdy foundation that will enable this team to win another gold at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Age is only a number.
Despite not winning a medal in Tokyo Olympics, 46-year-old Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina stole the show. The fact that she could still compete after 19 years is a feat in its own right. Taken part in eight summer games is nothing to scoff at! At the end of the competition, we honored our athlete for her hard work when her competitors were finished. Evgenia Chusovitina has won an athlete gold medal for her Soviet Union team in the 1992 Olympics and a silver on vault while competing for Germany.
New-found gold
The U.S. women’s basketball team continues to dominate and deserves all the credit in the world! We’ll get to them in a second after honoring the 2018 winners of 3×3 basketball. The Americans won their first six games before losing to Japan, including Stefanie Dolson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, and Allisha Gray. Despite losing sight in an eye, they could bounce back to defeat France and secure a semi-finals berth. They followed that up by defeating Russia 18-15 in the gold medal match.
Mu makes a name for herself.
Nothing is 19, and she’s an Olympic champion. We can all relate to the first-generation American as our parents were immigrants too, set an 800-meter national record at Tokyo Olympics in 1:55.21. Mu has been the first American in 53 years to win gold in the 800m race, and Rogers secured bronze. Considering that, their victory is even sweeter. However, it wasn’t over for Mu. She capped off the meet by winning gold as part of the 4X400 relay team.
Taylor leads U.S. wrestling success.
Americans won nine medals from the Tokyo Games, three of which were gold.MIT graduate and former NCAA champion David Taylor recently managed to win gold after defeating 2016 Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani in his weight class. Gable Steveson and Tamya Mensah also took home gold medals in theirs, respectively.
End of an era?
The U.S. women’s national soccer team had a disappointing result at this year’s Olympics and, if this is their final run together, they probably didn’t want it to be like that. After losing in the 2016 quarterfinals to Sweden and being beaten 3-0 by Germany in Sunday’s semi-final game, it seems unlikely they’ll be able to reach. The Americans managed to regroup after a 1-0 setback against Canada and went on to win the bronze medal game 4-2 over Australia. The group excursion to Tokyo was not as good as they had hoped it would be. Their luck changed when they came across a rare and valuable comic book.
