Tag: tokyo olympics

Tokyo Olympics inspire wild Animal Olympics from South Africa

Inspired by the Tokyo Olympics, Latest Sightings from Kruger National Park gives us a view of how the Olympics would look for wild animals.

Latest Sightings from Kruger National Park in South Africa produces amazing videos of wildlife throughout the year, but this week it might have topped itself with a compilation of various “sports” played by wildlife in what it called the Animal Olympics.

Inspired by the Tokyo Olympics, Latest Sightings gives us a view of how the Olympics would look for wild animals, from rock monitor wrestling, to elephant soccer, to grey heron surfing, to the Matabele ant marathon, to wildlife fencing, to the leopard on the high bars, to the lion atop the balance beam, to the javelin throw, to impala swimming, to the leopard high dive, to the cheetah-antelopes sprint, to giraffe karate, and finally, to our favorite, the elephant hurdle relay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcq2V3EVIOE&t=3s

Latest Sightings gives its own play-by-play of the video with more details:

First up was the final of the rock monitor lizard wrestling competition where these two guys who will grow up to be 5-feet long showed off their scaly grappling skills.

After the awards ceremony it was on to elephant football where this mini jumbo showed he was no dumbo as he expertly dribbled with a ball of one of its herds dried dung!

After a ring event and a field event, it was time to take to the water where a grey heron took gold for an excellent display of hippo surfing never once looking to lose its tight grip.

The Animal Olympics then focused on the Matabele ant marathon as 400 runners which normally head off in a column to raid termite mounds took a day off for the big race.

All eyes were then back on the wildlife fencing semi-finals when then these two elephants crossed tusks, but after a couple of spirited parries the match was over very quickly. On to the final when a buffalo put his horns up against the tusks to try and take fencing gold, but it didn’t end well when the elephant went straight for the kill and rolled him over.

Then those most agile of predators, the leopard, took to the high bars to show his prowess putting in a remarkable display using an impala it had killed earlier as gym equipment.

Then the sport took a brief break and with social distancing being so important the winning leopard headed back alone into the Olympic Village to take on some much-needed water.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Videos show Katmai brown bears getting too close for comfort

All eyes then moved to the gymnastics where the favorite, a young lion, thought to take the top medal on the balance beam event and looked to have it cracked but then took a fall.

After the impressive closely run display, it was time for the javelin final between an elephant and rhino, but as the elephant was the only competitor with something to throw he won!

Then it was back to the swimming where an impala was clearly ahead of fellow competitors, but the attention of some African wild dogs saw it tread water and lose out on first.

The sport moved on to the high dive and in this incredible footage we see a perfect exit from the board and a 30-foot drop headfirst with a perfect landing and another gold.

As ever the most prestigious event was the sprint final with the firm favorite the 60 mph cheetah over the 55 mph impala, but the antelopes got a dream start and took the honors.

The next event was the giraffe karate with the two tallest beasts of the bush slugging it out, but after an astonishing bout it ended honors even, with judges ruling it neck and neck.

And then the grand finale with the elephant hurdle relay and this big fella is way ahead, but despite getting in a tangle shows why it is perfect for the fourth leg getting them all over.

Commenters on Latest Sightings’ YouTube channel overwhelmingly loved it, saying “nice video” and “this is great” and “great stuff” and “excellent” and “Olympic spirit!”

Another offered this gem: “Give that guy a medal, the one who actually got the idea to compile all these.”

Good idea.

Olympic Update: Jenna Prandini wins silver medal in 4x100m relay; Cole Hocker advances to 1,500m final

Oregon legend Jenna Prandini finally got her Olympic medal, with a silver in the 4x100m relay, and Ducks freshman Cole Hocker advanced to the 1,500m final.

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.

Allyson Felix’s journey to GOAT status in track and field has been unlike any other

Allyson Felix is one of the greatest to ever do it — period.

Allyson Felix’s individual Olympic career is officially over after her run in the women’s 400-meter final. From her first Olympics in Athens circa 2004 until now, she’s done nothing but make history.

So, of course, she made a little more of that to close her career out.

Felix is legitimately one of the greatest Olympians to ever touch a track — period. Man or woman. For the United States or otherwise. She solidified that with her latest race.

Felix won the bronze medal in the women’s 400-meter final. And with that bronze medal, she now has 10 total Olympic medals, which ties her with Carl Lewis as the most for an American track and field athlete.

She’s also the first woman ever to win 10 medals in her career and the third track and field athlete to hit that 10-medal mark. Only Lewis and Finland’s Paavo Nurmi reached that mark before her.

That’s nothing but excellence right there.

She knew what she did, too.

She might not be done, either. She’s expected to join the United States’ relay team for the women’s 4×400 final. She could win an 11th medal, which would vault her to the top of the list for most medals by an American track and field athlete.

So, no matter what way you want to cut it, Felix has made history at 35 years old. She has cemented herself forever in the history books of the Olympics and track and field as a sport. You couldn’t ask for more.

This story becomes more remarkable when thinking about the path Felix took to get to this point. And it has almost nothing to do with what she’s done on the track.

Her biggest obstacle came outside of the sport. We could’ve lost her.

Felix got pregnant in 2018 and had a very traumatic childbirth experience where both she and her daughter, Camryn, were at risk. She was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia, forcing her to undergo an emergency C-section at 32 weeks pregnant.

And while that was happening, she was also having trouble with Nike. The brand offered her a contract that was 70 percent less than she was paid previously, according to Felix, with no guaranteed figures if her performance declined due to her pregnancy.

Through all of that, Felix came out on top. She documented her entire experience in battling for maternity protections and shared it with The New York Times. Eventually, she left Nike and joined Athleta. Now, she has Saysh — her own footwear brand specifically for women.

Her outspokenness was a force for change at Nike. The backlash from her story led the company to remove contractual payment reductions for pregnant athletes and guarantee their salaries for 18-months post-pregnancy.

And in her final years on the track, Felix continues to use her platform to try and change people’s lives for the better. She joined a program called Better Starts For All, which is dedicated to battling maternal health issues for women — particularly Black women.

In an interview with NBC, she explained why she was so passionate about it.

“I was in that situation and I had great medical care. I just knew that other women, especially women of color, were also facing and at risk for the same thing. … And it just really opened my eyes to that.”

Felix is a superhero. Plain and simple.

In a sport where there have been many all-time greats that have come and gone, she’s cemented herself as one of them.

When folks talk about the greatest track athletes of all-time, most people talk about Usain Bolt. They also talk about Carl Lewis. And they’ll tell you about Florence Griffith-Joyner’s greatness.

The next time you have one of those conversations, though, make sure you talk about Allyson Felix. Both on and off of the track.

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British gold medalist Tom Daley knitted an incredible Olympics cardigan while in Tokyo

This sweater is a masterpiece.

After a stunning performance with synchronized diving partner Matty Lee, Great Britain’s Tom Daley became an Olympic champion for the first time while competing in his fourth Olympics.

But Daley is also a knitting and crocheting machine and has been spotted stitching while poolside — including while competing still — at the Tokyo Games. He even made a lovely holder for his gold medal with the British flag on one side and the Japanese flag on the other.

However, Daley’s true masterpiece is the Olympic-themed cardigan he made while at the Games.

“When I got to Tokyo, I wanted to make something that would remind me of these games. Something that I could say I had made in Tokyo, during the Olympics!” Daley wrote in his Instagram caption with the finished product.

And it’s spectacular.

“I did a @teamgb logo on the back, with a flag and GBR on the shoulders and Tokyo embroidered onto the front!” he added.

Gators News: Baseball nears Olympic gold as we cruise into the weekend

Welcome to the week-ending edition of Gators News and today we have an Olympic team on the verge of gold to report on plus some housekeeping back in Gainesville. 

Thank goodness it is Friday, am I right? Welcome to the week-ending edition of Gators News and today we have an Olympic team on the verge of gold to report on plus some housekeeping back in Gainesville. Here is a look at the latest from the Gator Nation.

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China’s Quan Hongchan had a flawless gold-medal diving performance with two perfect 10’s

This is history, y’all. This is greatness.

Wow. So, perfect 10’s really do exist. China’s Quan Hongchan just proved it to us with one of the best diving performances we’ve ever seen — literally.

The 14-year-old diving phenom scored not one, but two, perfect 10’s on dives in her very first international competition in the women’s 10-meter platform final. Just typing that out, it doesn’t even seem possible. But it happened. She was really perfect.

The wild part is that if the Games had happened as scheduled last summer, Quan wouldn’t be here. She would’ve been too young to qualify. But she’s here now. And she’ll leave the Games as the absolute best diver in the world with a flawless performance under her belt.

The first 10 came here.

Then she followed that up with another epic dive

Just incredible. Her scores lined up look like video game numbers.

Just insane. We may never see anything like this again. This greatness is to be appreciated.

And just think, when she comes back for the 2024 Games, she’ll be a 17-year-old veteran. The follow-up to this performance is going to be incredible.

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When is the Tokyo Olympics’ Closing Ceremony?

When and where to watch the Tokyo Olympics Closing Ceremony.

The Closing Ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics will take place on Sunday, August 8 at 7 a.m. ET and 8 p.m. Tokyo time. NBC will broadcast the events live at 7 a.m. ET, and the network will also re-air the Closing Ceremony in primetime at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. The ceremony will also stream on NBC’s Peacock, along with other services like Fubo.

The event will follow the finals for water polo, volleyball, boxing and marathon on Sunday, just a few of the 41 sports, 339 medal events and ceremonies which took place over the course of the Summer Olympics.

Much like Opening Ceremony, fans will not be in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, dignitaries, officials and athletes will attend the events. Considering the elegant but muted Opening Ceremony, the Closing Ceremony is sure to be another impressive event.

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Team USA’s Ryan Crouser had a special message for late grandfather after winning shot put gold

Team USA’s Ryan Crouser had a touching celebration for his late grandfather after defending his Olympic title.

Team USA’s Ryan Crouser has been breaking all kinds of shot put records this summer.

First at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June, he destroyed the 31-year-old world record and set the new mark at 23.37 meters (or about 76.67 feet) while qualifying for his second Olympics.

And then Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics in the men’s shot put final, the 28-year-old athlete from Oregon won his second Olympic gold medal with a huge 23.30-meter throw (76.44 feet) on his final attempt.

He broke his own Olympic record of 22.52 meters from the 2016 Rio Games in each of his six attempts in the Tokyo final before finishing with the second-best throw of all-time, just shy of his world record. It’s also only the third attempt ever to pass the 23-meter mark, per NBC.

After successfully defending his Olympic title, Crouser celebrated by pulling out a sign with a special message for his late grandfather: “Grandpa, WE DID IT, 2020 Olympic Champion!”

You can watch the men’s shot put final here on NBCOlympics.com.

As USA TODAY Sports reported from Tokyo, the two-time Olympic gold medalist said his grandfather, Larry Crouser, died the day before he left for the Olympics, and he was the one who got the two-time Olympic gold medalist into the sport at a young age.

Crouser called his grandfather his “biggest fan” and added: “I felt like he was here watching me.” More via USA TODAY Sports:

“He’s had a huge role in my throwing career. To lose him a week before the Olympics was obviously sad, but I feel like he was able to be here in spirit,” Crouser said.

After Crouser, fellow American Joe Kovacs won the silver medal with a 22.65-meter throw (74.31 feet), while New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh won bronze at 22.47 meters (73.72 feet).

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Gators News: Tokyo Olympics continue as Grant Holloway grabs silver

In today’s update, we have a handful of athletes who bleed orange and blue including legendary track start Grant Holloway.

Where does the time go? We are already five days into the month of August, which means that kickoff for Florida’s 2021 college football season is merely 30 days away when they host the Florida Atlantic Owls at the Swamp on Sept. 4. Until then, we have Olympic action from Tokyo to tide us over as current and former Gators continue to compete in the summer games. In today’s update, we have a handful of athletes who bleed orange and blue including legendary track start Grant Holloway. Here is how things have looked over the last 24 hours overseas at the 2020 Olympics.

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Gators News: Tokyo Olympics continue as Grant Holloway grabs silver

In today’s update, we have a handful of athletes who bleed orange and blue including legendary track start Grant Holloway.

Where does the time go? We are already five days into the month of August, which means that kickoff for Florida’s 2021 college football season is merely 30 days away when they host the Florida Atlantic Owls at the Swamp on Sept. 4. Until then, we have Olympic action from Tokyo to tide us over as current and former Gators continue to compete in the summer games. In today’s update, we have a handful of athletes who bleed orange and blue including legendary track start Grant Holloway. Here is how things have looked over the last 24 hours overseas at the 2020 Olympics.

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