• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

Rio 2016, Day 15 Report: Redemption, Heartbreak and Mo Racing Fever

Muri Assunção August 21, 2016 Leave a Comment

rioWow. What a night for the host country.

Brazilians went wild after their team, the seleção, won their first ever gold medal in soccer, beating Germany at the iconic Maracanã stadium.

The stakes were extremely high as the country’s national sport and most intense passion tried to regain the world’s respect after the humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany at the World Cup semifinal in 2014.

It worked.

The dramatic match finished 1-1 after overtime and had to be decided by the dreaded penalty shootout. An entire nation held its breath until Brazil goalkeeper Weverton defended Nils Petersen fifth kick.

Then, Neymar the loved-then-hated-then-loved-again captain of the team, scored Brazil’s fifth — and golden goal. Pure poetry.

After a slow start to the tournament, with scoreless matches against both South Africa and Iraq, Brazilian fans had committed the ultimate act of sacrilege: they started crossing out Neymar’s name on the back of their jerseys.

But after last night, all’s forgotten. Neymar is king, again.

“With the help of Neymar’s foot Brazil finally wins the gold in the Olympic Soccer”, noted sports journalist Gustavo Martinez. “As of today, Brazilians have won everything in football.”

Germany had the last laugh at the World Cup.

Now Brazil cry tears of joy.https://t.co/jazAnQQpbq pic.twitter.com/Z3aJpMOGnY

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 20, 2016

♦

After Bolt’s “triple-triple” earlier in the week, yesterday in Rio the athletic glory went to Mo Farah’s “double-double.”

The British distance runner (who had already made headlines last week when he fell down during the 10,000m race, but still  won the gold) won last night’s 5,000m, as well.

Farah had won the same races in London 2012, making him the second man to win both long-distance events after Finland’s Lasse Virén did it in 1972 and 1976.

https://twitter.com/JamesMelville/status/767291424794636288

American Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo finished second, but it was disqualified for a lane infringement. A few moments later, however, IAFF, track and field’s governing body, said he hadn’t broken any rules and would in fact get the silver medal.

Hope you all are watching this 5000m medal ceremony back home. @Paulchelimo just looks so stunned. This is just…wonderful. #Rio2016

— USATF (@usatf) August 21, 2016

Sadly, American viewers weren’t able to see the ceremony live. NBC aired Ryan Lochte’s interview instead, which frustrated some viewers:

We are watching Ryan Lochte fake contrition.

— Patrick MacDonald (@CoachMacDonaldP) August 21, 2016

we would be if @NBCOlympics wasn't interviewing Lochte again 😤😤😤😤

— Sarah Hopkins (she/her) (@MNXCCoachHop) August 21, 2016

I wish we could! Thanks @NBCOlympics …. hmph.

— Bill (@sr71fan90) August 21, 2016

♦

Team USA pulled a different “double-double” win last night, with gold medals for both the men and the women in the 4x400m relays.

It was the women’s sixth straight victory in the event, and anchor Allyson Felix became the most decorated female track and field athlete in history, winning her sixth Olympic gold medal.

Allyson Felix just made history https://t.co/a9ZJ4qmvDm

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) August 21, 2016

♦

Caster Semenya won gold in the 800m race and we could finally see the South African middle-distance runner smiling, while celebrating her personal best time of 1min 55.28sec, and a new South-African record.

Since the 2009 world championship when Pierre Weiss, the general secretary of IAAF said that she was a “woman, but maybe not 100 percent,” and forced her to undergo gender tests, she became a very reserved athlete.

She has since been diagnosed with hyperandrogenism, (her testosterone levels are higher than most women and more similar to men’s), but “perhaps no female athlete has faced such brutal scrutiny by fellow competitors, sports officials and journalists,” the New York Times wrote.

In a rare post-race conference (her first major appearance since she won silver in 2012), Semenya told reporters: “It’s not about looking at people, how they look, how they speak, how they run. It’s not about being muscular. It’s all about sports.”

She added that her priority after the interview was to call home. “My wife is waiting for my call,” she said. Semenya married her longtime girlfriend Violet Raseboy last December.

Yes!! Just landed to see @caster800m won #Gold for #RSA Fantastic. So proud. Congratulations #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/psXCFbz2yA

— GARY PLAYER (@garyplayer) August 21, 2016

♦

Super stylish high jumper Ruth Beitia of Spain proved the old sports cliché “never give up” sometimes does pay off.

The 37-year-old finally won gold, competing in her fourth Olympics. She finished 16th in Athens, seventh in Beijing and fourth in London. But Rio gave her gold. She didn’t miss a single jump at all three heights leading up to the final bar.

“I’m happy,” she told Reuter’s Nick Mulvenney. “Never did I think I’d be competing again after the London Olympics. My dream has become a reality.”

¡Ruth Beitia #Oro  !!!
¡¡¡ Grande!!! pic.twitter.com/vS3PLxv9mM

— Ana Isabel Pérez (@Anai_pb) August 21, 2016

♦

daleyDiver Tom Daley, of Great Britain had a major disappointment when he didn’t qualify for the finals.

After scoring the highest points on Friday’s early qualifiers for the Olympic 10m platform diving competition — and the “highest score ever in an Olympic Games” — Daley couldn’t impress the judges and had to deal with a shocking early elimination.

The 2012 bronze medalist who had already won a medal in Rio (synchronized diving with partner Daniel Goodfellow) was heartbroken.

“I’m in shock right now. I’m the only one who could challenge the Chinese for that gold medal. In the Olympics, you can get your dreams crushed. I’ve been feeling really, really good. In training, everything has been going really well. Right now it’s just kind of heartbreaking to think that it just didn’t happen for me today,” he told reporters after he exited the competition. 

Truly heartbroken. but I will never give up on my dream of being an Olympic champion. pic.twitter.com/lflU8vACod

— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) August 20, 2016

♦

In men’s waterpolo, Serbia beat Croatia 11-7 to win gold, and Italy won the bronze medal, after beating Montenegro 12-10.

We don’t like to brag, but we did tell you how hot the Serbian waterpolo team was — in more ways than one — on our Rio 2016 – Day One Report. 

srb3srb5 srb3 srb2 srb4serbia5 serbia4

♦

With 27 gold and 66 total medals so far — with at least another one guaranteed: boxer Joe Joyce will fight the super-heavyweight final Sunday — Rio 2016 has been Great Britain’s most successful overseas Olympics ever (Team GB won 146 medals in London 1908). It is also the first time since the modern Olympic era began in 1896 that a country has increased its medal tally at the summer Games immediately following one it hosted, as the BBC pointed out.

Team GB have 66 medals. What a time to be alive! What amazing athletes we have in this little country we have #Olympics #TeamGB

— Scarlett Moffatt (@ScarlettMoffatt) August 21, 2016

How amazing are #teamGB doing ! Proud to be British 🇬🇧

— Duncan james (@MrDuncanJames) August 20, 2016

https://twitter.com/Punkedcaniff/status/767313067092930560

TeamGB in Rio surpassing London 2012 is a triumph. Will be an ever greater one if this time it can inspire Britain to become more active.

— Dan Roan (@danroan) August 21, 2016

Except for British journalist and Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice winner Piers Morgan, whose tweet about Team GB’s performance has gone viral:

Just can't get excited by Silver & Bronze medals.
You win or you lose.
Gold is all that matters. #Olympics2016

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 10, 2016

Topics: Sports, towleroad More Posts About: Caster Semenya, Olympics, Rio 2016, Tom Daley, Water Polo

Related Posts
  • Caster Semenya’s Impossible Situation: Testosterone Gets Special Scrutiny But Doesn’t Necessarily Make Her Faster
  • Two Men Arrested for Rushing Stage During Ryan Lochte’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Debut: WATCH
  • Gay Equestrian Rider Lee Pearson Chosen as Flagbearer for Team GB at Paralympics
  • Bad Bunny refuses to give clothes a gender

    Bad Bunny refuses to give clothes a gender

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Bad Bunny refuses to give clothes a gender. The 28-year-old rap star – whose real name is Benito Ocasio – is unsure what defines “masculine” or “feminine” and cannot discriminate clothing …Read More »
  • Biden to issue policing order on George Floyd death anniversary -media reports

    Biden to issue policing order on George Floyd death anniversary -media reports

    Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden is set to issue an executive order on Wednesday directing federal agencies to revise use-of-force policies as the United States marks the two-year anniversary of the police …Read More »
  • Ellen DeGeneres starts her ‘career pause’ in Africa

    Ellen DeGeneres starts her ‘career pause’ in Africa

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Ellen DeGeneres’ “career pause” will begin with a luxury African vacation. The final episode of ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ will air later this week, and Ellen and her wife Portia de …Read More »
  • ‘The Kids in the Hall’ review: Sketch comedy is a young person’s game — yet here are older guys just ripping into the form as if they never left

    ‘The Kids in the Hall’ review: Sketch comedy is a young person’s game — yet here are older guys just ripping into the form as if they never left

      Published by Chicago Tribune   The TV landscape tends to feel pretty dismal when “Saturday Night Live” is the only sketch comedy game in town. And often that’s the case. Over its four-plus decade run, …Read More »
Previous Post: « ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’, Animation Magic with a Bravely Melancholy Undertow: REVIEW
Next Post: Rio 2016, Men’s Freestyle Wrestling Bonus: EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Pelosi hits back at San Francisco archbishop for banning her from Communion over pro-choice stance

    Pelosi hits back at San Francisco archbishop for banning her from Communion over pro-choice stance

  • Mick Jagger Cuts Harry Style Down To Size, Says He ‘Doesn’t Have A Voice Like Mine Or Move On Stage Like Me’

    Mick Jagger Cuts Harry Style Down To Size, Says He ‘Doesn’t Have A Voice Like Mine Or Move On Stage Like Me’

  • Summer Love? Rosie O’Donnell Teases Possible New Girlfriend With PDA Moment

    Summer Love? Rosie O’Donnell Teases Possible New Girlfriend With PDA Moment

  • U.S. commission recommends renaming nine Army bases to strip Confederate legacy

    U.S. commission recommends renaming nine Army bases to strip Confederate legacy

Break

  • Keanu Reeves hailed one of world’s nicest men

    Keanu Reeves hailed one of world’s nicest men

  • Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and Noami Ackie join ‘Parasite’ Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s new movie And it Sounds Mind Blowing

    Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and Noami Ackie join ‘Parasite’ Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s new movie And it Sounds Mind Blowing

  • Starbucks to completely exit Russia after Ukraine invasion

    Starbucks to completely exit Russia after Ukraine invasion

  • Evan Spiegel & Miranda Kerr Pay Off $10 Million In Loans Of Otis College’s Graduating Class

    Evan Spiegel & Miranda Kerr Pay Off $10 Million In Loans Of Otis College’s Graduating Class

RSS Partner Links

  • Morning Wood
  • “The latest ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ trailer finally reveals the villain” links
  • Duchess Meghan kissed Harry, then wiped her lipstick off of his mouth
  • Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman & Tom Sturridge Match In Sharp Sunglasses For Cannes 75th Anniversary Event
  • Diane Kruger & Norman Reedus Are Couple Goals at Cannes Film Festival 2022
  • Jennifer Connelly Recalls Meeting Princess Diana When She Was A Teenager
  • CBS Pulls 'FBI' Season Finale After Elementary School Shooting in Texas
  • Scenes from Greg Berlanti’s 50th birthday!
  • Texas: 14 Children, 1 Teacher Shot Dead In Uvalde Elementary School; Shooter Dead

Most Recent

  • NC Republicans push ban on teachers discussing LGBTQ issues, other rules for schools

    NC Republicans push ban on teachers discussing LGBTQ issues, other rules for schools

  • Bad Bunny refuses to give clothes a gender

    Bad Bunny refuses to give clothes a gender

  • Biden to issue policing order on George Floyd death anniversary -media reports

    Biden to issue policing order on George Floyd death anniversary -media reports

  • Ellen DeGeneres starts her ‘career pause’ in Africa

    Ellen DeGeneres starts her ‘career pause’ in Africa

  • ‘The Kids in the Hall’ review: Sketch comedy is a young person’s game — yet here are older guys just ripping into the form as if they never left

    ‘The Kids in the Hall’ review: Sketch comedy is a young person’s game — yet here are older guys just ripping into the form as if they never left

  • Opinion: The Right-Wing Airing of Imaginary Grievances Like Sex Ed Is Not and Never Has Been Used To Groom

    Opinion: The Right-Wing Airing of Imaginary Grievances Like Sex Ed Is Not and Never Has Been Used To Groom

  • Tan France gets parenting advice from Gigi Hadid

    Tan France gets parenting advice from Gigi Hadid

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in