USA + China Tied for Gold, Plus What to Watch Rio 2016: Day 4
And you thought you had a busy Monday
What you missed in Rio yesterday:
After a rocky start, the U.S. men fail to medal in the gymnastics team competition. Japan beat out Russia (silver) and China (bronze) to regain the gold.
The Sport You Didn’t Know You Loved: Field Hockey. The USA women’s team knocked off its second powerhouse in a row, 2–1 vs. No. 3 Australia, with Michelle Vittese and Caitlin van Sickle scoring; the USA beat No. 2 Argentina 2–1 in its opener Saturday.
Problems in the Pool, Part One: Michael Phelps advanced in the semifinals and will swim side-by-side with rival South African Chad le Clos in the 200m butterfly final Tuesday night—a rematch of their London 2012 battle, when Le Clos won gold to Phelps’ silver. Watch for another epic Phelps staredown and a lot more #PhelpsFace.
Problems in the Pool, Part Two: Olympic rookies Lilly King and Katie Meili took gold and silver in the 100m breaststroke finals. Not only did King set an Olympic record of 1 minute, 1:04.93 seconds to beat Yulia Efimova, but she also started an epic finger-wagging battle with the twice-banned for doping Russian.
Problems in the Pool, Part Three: The Girl with the Pearl Earring, USA swimmer Kathleen Baker, won silver in the 100m backstroke, losing to Hungarian Katinka Hosszu (the one with the crazy/passionate husband/trainer and who now has two gold medals). The problem began before the race, when Kathleen lost one of her signature pearl earrings in the pool and scuba divers had to retrieve it.
You try NOT to Party in Rio: Gymnast Yuri Van Gelder of the Netherlands left the Olympic Village on Saturday night to celebrate that he qualified for the Still Rings final. The 33-year-old didn’t return until Sunday morning and admitted he had been drinking alcohol—both acts against his team’s code of conduct. He was expelled from the Olympics and his teammates will continue on in the competition.
And back to the USA + China rivalry: The badasses of Women’s Volleyball, Walsh-Jennings & Ross (which we think sounds like a ’70s band) handily beat China’s Wang & Yue (which sounds like an ’80s band) in two sets in the women’s preliminary round.
So what’s next? Here’s what’s going on Tuesday, August 9 (Check NBC or nbcolympics.com for info on where to watch & live streaming!)
10 a.m. ET: Women’s Water Polo, USA vs. Spain, NBC
Noon ET: Defending Olympic 100m freestyle champion Nathan Adrian begins defense of the title, NBC
2 p.m. ET: Men’s Volleyball, Matt Anderson and the USA vs. Italy, NBC
3 p.m. ET: (delayed to prime-time show) Women’s Diving, Amy Cozad and Jessica Parratto try to blaze USA to medal, NBC
3 p.m. ET: (delayed to prime-time show) USA women’s gymnastics team hopes to defend 2012 title and win another gold, NBC
3:30 p.m. ET: Women’s beach volleyball, U.S. newcomers Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat play Brazil, NBC
5 p.m. ET: Men’s rugby, USA vs. Brazil, CNBC
6 p.m. ET: Women’s soccer, Carli Lloyd and USA face Colombia in final match of the group stage, Soccer Specialty Channel
9 p.m. ET: Michael Phelps out to avenge silver medal in 200m butterfly from 2012, Katie Ledecky in women’s 200m freestyle final, NBC
And thanks to Team USA’s Ryan Murphy, who won gold in the 100m backstroke, for reminding us that Olympic dreams do come true.
