March 29, 2024

Gold standard is set and more

“Because I can,” American Kristin Armstrong said of why the twice retired cyclist keeps coming back to compete. Armstrong became the first cyclist — male or female — to ever win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event, dating back to 1896.

Armstrong on her final day as a 42-year-old won the gold in the women’s road time trial on Wednesday at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Cyclists battled time, lashing rain and wind on the time-trial course. Armstrong prevailed for her third gold in the event.

Americans have celebrated many gold medal performances so far in the first week of competition at the Rio Olympics. The glamour sports of gymnastics and swimming pushed the American competitors to the forefront early in Rio.

In my estimation, America has some of the GOATs in several Olympic disciplines. For those of you, like me had no idea what GOAT meant — Greatest Of All Time.

No doubt was left which women’s gymnastic team was the best in the world in 2016. The Final Five, as they call themselves in tribute to retiring U.S. women’s gymnastic team coordinator Martha Karolyi, won the team gold this week. Simone Biles and Aly Raisman were Gold-Silver in Thursday’s all-around individual competition. They were cheered on by Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian and Lauren Hernandez.

The U.S. has an Olympic record contingent of 292 women in the America’s 555-strong Olympic team. So, the U.S. women have it going well after the first week of competition.

United States’ swimmers wowed everyone in the Olympics pool led by Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky. There were so many more American swimmers from veterans to first-timers who earned gold, silver and bronze medals. The U.S. swimmers are making statements in the Olympic pool and out of it — standing up for drug-free competitions.

There are other sports in the Olympics where Americans excelled. The “Dream Team” U.S. basketball teams are plowing through opponents. The U.S. men were pushed by Australia Wednesday, winning by 10 points. The U.S. women’s soccer team is on schedule for the medal round.

The hop-skip-and-jump type of coverage by the NBC stations is tough to follow without a scorecard. I was home ill Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday morning I turned on the television and on the first station I found Olympic coverage on — not regular NBC — was the arena show jumping of the equestrian eventing. Eventing involves dressage, cross country and show jumping.

The U.S.’s oldest competitor in the 2016 Summer Olympics is Phillip Dutton on the American equestrian team. The 52-year-old Dutton, riding his horse Mighty Nice, captured the bronze medal in individual eventing Tuesday. It was the first American medal in equestrian individual eventing since 2008.

Swimming wraps up its run at the Olympics this week while the men and women gymastists head to the individual event finals Sunday through Tuesday. Track and field — or if you are looking up results, it is called Olympic Athletics — are front and center starting Friday, running though next week.

Also golf began its return to the Olympic stage Thursday when Adilson da Silva, the lone Brazlian in the 60-man field, hit the opening tee shot. Not since 1904 in St. Louis has an Olympic medal been awarded in golf. Olympic golf is a 72-hole individual stroke play competition for the medals. It concludes Sunday.

In other sports news —

Here in our own backyard, I’ve been visiting with Newton High’s coaches for football, volleyball, cross country, boy’s golf and girls’ swimming along with Lynnville-Sully’s coaches for football, cross country and volleyball. The Newton Daily News sports staff is working on fall sports previews to be featured in our Jasper County Fall Sports Preview Section on Aug. 25.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at

jsheets@newtondailynews.com