Tag: 2020 Olympics

Ranking the top 10 players from the Olympics

HoopsHype ranks the Top 10 players from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic basketball tournament.

With the wrap-up of what was a fun, entertaining, intense Olympic basketball tournament, it’s time to take a look at what we just saw.

Players stepped up big-time while representing their countries, and though some, like that guy who plays for the Brooklyn Nets or the younger dude who suits up for the Dallas Mavericks, were to be expected, the production of other slightly lesser-known players was surprising.

Below, check out the Top 10 players from the Tokyo Olympic basketball tournament.

Olympics: Japan’s women’s basketball team coached into gold medal game by Penn State alum

Penn State alum hopes to coach Japan to major upset against United States in women’s basketball gold medal game at 2020 Olympics

The United States won the gold medal in men’s basketball at the 2020 Olympics, and now the women’s team will attempt to do the same as the Olympics begin to come to a close this weekend. Their opponent, however, will be coached by a former Nittany Lion.

The United States women’s basketball team will go up against Japan, the host nation. And Japan is coached by a former Penn State men’s basketball player, Tom Hovasse. No matter the result, Hovasse has already coached the Japanese women’s team to its best finish at the Olympics.

Under the coaching of Hovasser, Japan has become a rising power in international women’s basketball. Hovasse took over as head coach of Japan’s women’s team in 2017 after previous experience as an assistant coach for the team and years of experience coaching professional basketball in Japan in both men’s and women’s leagues. Since becoming the head coach, Hovasse has led Japan to gold medals at the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in 2017 and 2019.

SAITAMA, JAPAN – AUGUST 06: Team Japan Head Coach Tom Hovasse cheers on his team from the bench during the second half of a Women’s Basketball Semifinals game between Team Japan and Team France on day fourteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Saitama Super Arena on August 06, 2021 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Now, Japan has already clinched its best finish at the Olympics by far. Japan has never finished higher than 5th place in the Olympics, doing so in 1976. Japan automatically qualified for this year’s tournament as the host nation, and they are taking advantage of it.

Hovasse and his team from Japan are up against an absolute juggernaut in international competition, however. The United States women’s basketball team, coached by former Temple basketball standout Dawn Staley, is going for its seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal. The United States women have not lost an Olympic game since winning the bronze medal in 1992. The United States is 66-3 all-time in Olympic competition.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

Penn State wrestlers added to medal collection at 2020 Olympics in Tokyo

Penn State wrestlers are bringing home some hardware from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo

The 2020 Olympics are ending with plenty of medals up for grabs across the games, and Penn State wrestlers added two more to the collection early Saturday morning. Following David Taylor’s gold medal victory this week, two more former Nittany Lions are taking home hardware from Tokyo after Saturday’s results.

Kyle Snyder, who won the gold medal at the Rio games in 2016, was unable to go back-to-back for the gold medal this time around. Snyder finished with the silver medal in the 97 kg weight class, coming up short against Russia’s Sadulaev Abdulrashid. It is Snyder’s second career silver medal in international competition (2018 world championships).

Snyder wasn’t alone in winning Olympic medals on Saturday. Bekzod Abdurakhmonov was also in action, representing Uzbekistan. Abdurakhmonov won the bronze medal in the 74 kg weight class, bringing Penn State wrestling’s total medal count to four during the 2020 Olympics.

Thomas Gilman won the bronze medal in the 57 kg weight class this week as well.

All in all, this was a very successful trip to the Olympics for Penn State wrestlers. Four Olympic medals, including one gold, is a testament to the power of the Penn State wrestling program, which remains one of the best in the sport. Expect more medalists in the future to hail from Happy Valley.

[lawrence-related id=5289,5277]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

[vertical-gallery id=5297]

[listicle id=5321]

Five players from the Olympics who should be on NBA radars

HoopsHype breaks down five basketball players from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics who performed well enough to put themselves on NBA radars.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics provided incredible theater in the basketball tournament, leaving us with the United States, France, Slovenia and Australia as a strong final four featuring various superstar names from the NBA.

The Games were also an opportunity for lesser-known players to gain some extremely valuable exposure on an enormous platform, potentially putting themselves on NBA radars for the future.

Below, we break down five players from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics who we believe played themselves into potential future NBA opportunities.

Olympics: Penn State’s David Taylor wins wrestling gold in Tokyo

Penn State’s David Taylor scored his first Olympic gold in Tokyo

The medals are coming in for some of Penn State’s finest world-class athletes. On Thursday, one of the wrestling program’s top performers in recent years became an Olympic gold medalist.

David Taylor had the gold medal awarded to him following his gold medal match victory over Iran’s Hassan Yazdanicharati, the top-seeded wrestler in the Olympic field for the 86kg weight class. Yazdanicharati is a two-time world champion, but Taylor improved to 3-0 all-time against the Iranian wrestling star.

Taylor’s matches combined to last a total of 10 minutes and 49 seconds, with none of his matches lasting the full six minutes. Taylor notched three technical falls before time expired.

 

[vertical-gallery id=5297]

[lawrence-related id=5277,5270,5264,5260,5255]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

[listicle id=5272]

Olympics: Penn State’s Joe Kovacs wins silver in shotput final

Joe Kovacs is taking home the first Olympic medal by a Penn Stater in Tokyo

Penn State’s own Joe Kovacs added to his medal collection on Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics. Kovacs finished second in the shotput event to fellow American Ryan Crouser.

Kovacs won his second career Olympic medal, and it is the fifth medal of Kovacs’s career. As he boasted on Twitter following the Olympic final, he has never finished below a silver medal.

Kovacs certainly should not be disappointed in his second-place finish at the Olympics. His American rival, Crouser, happened to set a new Olympic record for the event as he took home the gold medal in Tokyo. Although it came just shy of his previous world record, Crouser shot a distance of 23.3 meters. Kovacs shot a distance of 22.65 meters in the final event.

New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh took the bronze with a distance of 22.47 meters.

Kovacs claimed the first medal by a former Nittany Lion, but more are surely on the way soon.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

2020 Olympics: Alyssa Naeher out for US women’s soccer team’s bronze medal game

Penn State’s Alyssa Naeher will be out for the United States women’s soccer team’s bronze medal game at the Olympics

It has been a challenging Olympic tournament for the United States women’s soccer team. After being defeated by Canada in a semifinal matchup, the Americans will hope to finish strongly in the bronze medal game. Unfortunately for Penn State’s own Alyssa Naeher, she will not be able to play in the final game of the Olympics for the US women’s team.

The US women’s soccer team announced Naeher will not be available for the bronze medal match due to a hyperextension of her right knee and a bone contusion suffered in the semifinal match.

Naeher left the game against Canada in midway through the first half after initially trying to stay in the game following a collision.

Naeher will instead be forced to cheer for her teammates in the bronze medal game against Australia. The United States will face Australia on Thursday at 4:00 am ET as they attempt to go home on a winning note.

[vertical-gallery id=5138]

[listicle id=5108]

[lawrence-related id=5225,5222,5210,5205]

Olympic Update: Raevyn Rogers wins Bronze; Devon Allen, Cole Hocker, Matthew Centrowitz advance to semi-finals

Oregon legend Raevyn Rogers won her first Olympic medal on Tuesday morning, while Devon Allen, Matthew Centrowitz, and Cole Hocker all advanced to their semi-finals.

The Oregon Ducks have been well-represented at the Tokyo Olympics this past week, with well over a dozen athletes running in the ‘Athletics’ section of the games.

Competition on the track is well underway, and for fans of the Ducks, it has been highlighted by Oregon legend Raevyn Rogers, who mounted an insane kick to win the bronze medal in the 800m final.

We will continue to update this list as the Olympic games go on, with some big stars continuing to take the track, including Devon Allen, Marcus Chambers, and English Gardner. Stay tuned as the Tokyo Games continue to roll on.

Tokyo Olympics: What is sport climbing? Explaining the newest sport

If you’re looking for something different in the upcoming schedule at the Olympics, one event that may catch your eye is sport climbing.

If you’re looking for something different in the upcoming schedule at the Olympics, one event that may catch your eye is sport climbing.

This is the first year that sport climbing will compete in the Olympics and if you have no idea what to expect once everything unfolds, we’re here to offer some helpful context.

Right off the bat, let’s start with the basics. Sport climbing is, at its essence, competitive rock climbing. The athletes are using just their hands and feet to ascend up a vertical wall. No equipment is permitted beyond safety ropes and climbing shoes.

The sport is broken up into three unique subsections. They are as follows:

Bouldering – Complete as many routes (also called “problems”) possible in a given time

Lead – Climb as high as possible on a 15-meter wall in a 6-minute window

Speed – Climb as fast as possible on a 15-meter wall, typically finishing in quicker than ten seconds

The athletes compete in each of these events and medals are awarded based on overall placement in the aggregate. Winners must show a wide range of skills in order to take home their medals.

However, because each discipline is given equal weight, accomplished climbers who do not typically focus on speed are put at a disadvantage. Shauna Coxsey, who will compete for Great Britain, offered this explanation (via Olympics.com):

“It’s a bit like asking Usain Bolt to run a marathon and then do the hurdles. No one has really transitioned before. No boulderer has transitioned to speed and lead, and no speed climber has done it to bouldering and lead.”

Another unique element about sport climbing in the Tokyo Olympics is that athletes will not actually get to see the walls for the bouldering discipline or the lead discipline until right before they begin the competition. The walls will literally be held under wraps until right before climbing.

The United States is sending four athletes (two men, two women) to compete at sport climbing in the Tokyo Olympics. Qualifying events begin Aug. 3 and the finals are on Aug. 5 and Aug. 6.

[listicle id=1056772]

Olympic Update: Jenna Prandini finishes 13th in 200m; Raevyn Rogers to run in 800m final

There are a number of former Ducks competing at a high level in the Tokyo Games, with Raevyn Rogers advancing to the 800 final, and Jenna Prandini finishing 13th in the 200m.

The Oregon Ducks have been well-represented at the Tokyo Olympics this past week, with well over a dozen athletes running in the ‘Athletics’ section of the games.

Competition on the track is well underway, and for fans of the Ducks, it has been highlighted by Oregon legend Raevyn Rogers, who advanced to the 800m final which will be run on Tuesday morning at 5:25 a.m. PT.

We will continue to update this list as the Olympic games go on, with some big stars continuing to take the track, including Devon Allen, Marcus Chambers, and English Gardner. Stay tuned as the Tokyo Games continue to roll on.