In less than a week, the Rio 2016 Olymipcs will finally be here. Months of stories leading up to the games which included outbreaks of major diseases and environmental concerns, corruption and political crisises, doping scandals and bans, and terrorist threats will be put on the back burner as stories of the athletes and the pageantry begin to dominate the news.
Despite the bans and high profile celebrity athletes declining to participate, the Rio Olympics is not short on captivating storylines and high profile, must see action:
- In the pool, Michael Phelps makes what will presumably be his final Olympic games as he looks to extend his impressive resume. While he won't be going for 8 gold medals, he has qualified for 3 individual events and will almost assuredly participate in his fifth Olympic Games at 31 years old.
- On the court, Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski looks to lead the
NBA All-StarsUnited States to another basketball medal where the paint is a trapezoid. While this is more guaranteed to happen than the Soviet Union Ice Hockey team winning in 1980, this will be Coach K's last Olympic games.
- Simone Biles is apparently one of the most hyped gymnasts of all time, and a run away favorite to win gold. But will she be able to live up to the hype or crack under the pressure?
- The Worlds Fastest Man Usain Bolt seeks his third straight triple gold in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100, relay
- For beach volleyball, Kerri Walsh Jennings pursues Olympic Gold once more with a new partner on the women's side. For the men, one of my favorite athletes from the 2008 Olympics, Phil Daulhausser also looks to return to gold after a disappointing 2012 games.
- Soccer is a thing that people watch, and I don't know anything about soccer besides hometown Brazil is pretty good and Germany is always talked about. But there is soccer!
- Golf returns to the Olympics after an 100+ year absence while Rugby makes its debut. I'm excited to actually learn what the heck rugby is. All I know is Invictus and that the crazy New Zealanders do a haka dance. But I'm intrigued none the less.
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