Gold Medals, Green Pools + What to Watch in Rio Day 5
The Color of the Day was GOLD:
Team USA picked up four more golds today—including:
Michael Phelps brought his total medal count to 20 (in the 200m butterfly) and then 21 (in the 4 x 200m relay with silver fox Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Townley Haas)…so no real need for #PhelpsFace.
Katie Ledecky, already two deep in her quest for five gold medals, who won the 200m freestyle …
And the Final Five—Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian—who cruised confidently to a gold, beating Russia (Silver) and China(Bronze). (Their new self-proclaimed nickname honors their last year with beloved coach Martha Karolyi, and also the last year where the Olympics team final will feature five teammates … teams go down to four in Tokyo 2020.)
(Also, reminder to turn off all push notifications from phone and not to look at any social media when gymnastics are going on and you are stuck in meetings.)
Then the Color of the Day Turned GREEN:
When the water in the pool turned from beautiful blue to kale-colored green.
There’s no word on why this exactly happened but the Olympians were given a warning to keep their mouths closed under water… just in case. (Sounds like good advice.) Canadian swimmer Meaghan Benfeito saw the green as a good sign: “The fact it was green actually helped because it is a visual sport. The fact that it was completely different from the sky helped us.” Guess some people see their (green) pools half full.
In Other Olympic News …
Finger-wagging gold medalist Lilly King continued to call out dopers, even those on the U.S. team (Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay).
Hope Solo is not having a great Rio. First, she was booed by the hometown crowd for her mosquito prep. And yesterday, she let an embarrassing goal slip through her legs (aka a “nutmeg”), leading to a 2–2 draw with Colombia. Thankfully, Team USA is still in first place in its group and plays again Friday against a TBD opponent.
And neither are the Williams sisters. First Venus was upset in an early round. They lost in doubles. Then it was Serena’s turn. She lost to Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (6–4, 6–3) in the third round, after an astounding five double faults. Maybe she was just ready to get back to New York to prep for the U.S. Open …
The last bit of bad news: The U.S. men’s volleyball team still pointless after two matches, losing today to Italy.
So what’s next? Here’s what’s going on Wednesday, August 10 (Check NBC or nbcolympics.com for info on where to watch & live streaming!)
10:40 a.m. ET: Men’s Water Polo, USA vs. France, NBC
12 noon ET: Men’s swimming, USA’s Ryan Lochte has 200m IM preliminary heats, NBC and Women’s swimming, including Refugee Team Swimmer Yusra Mardini who will compete in the women’s 100m freestyle.
2 p.m. ET: Women’s volleyball, Christa Dietzen and the USA face Serbia, NBC
2:30 p.m. ET: Women’s basketball, USA vs. Serbia, NBCSN
3 p.m. ET: Men’s diving, USA’s Michael Hixon and Sam Dorman make their Olympic debuts, NBC
3 p.m. ET: (delayed to prime-time show) Men’s gymnastics all-around and individual event finals
4 p.m. ET: Field hockey, USA vs. Japan, NBCSN
4:30 p.m. ET: USA’s Lee Kiefer and Daryl Homer go for gold in women’s foil and men’s sabre, NBC
6 p.m. ET: Men’s basketball, USA vs. Australia, NBCSN
8 p.m. ET: Beach volleyball, USA’s April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings play final preliminary match, NBC
And take a look at this gem from wayyyyy back in 2006: An adorable young Katie Ledecky getting hero Michael Phelps’s autograph.
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