Ukrainian Olympians, in particular, will compete for awards in artistic gymnastics, where the “blue-yellow” team is represented by Oleg Vernyaev, Igor Radivilov, Maxim Simankiv, Andrey Senichkin and Vladislav Grieko, saber fencing (Olga Kharlan, Elena Kravatskaya, Alina Komashchuk), bullet shooting (Sergey Kulish, Oleg Tsarkov) and diving from a tower (Maxim Dolgov, Alexander Gorshkovozov).
After the second day of competition at the 2016 Olympics, the US team leads the medal standings, according to the official website of the competition.
The Americans have 3 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze medals. Australia (3-2-3) and China (3-0-3) also have three gold medals each, but they have fewer silver and bronze medals.
Italy (2-3-2), Korea (2-2-1) and Hungary (2-0-0) have two gold medals each. Another 11 national teams have 1 gold each. In total, teams from 31 countries have already won tournament medals. Spain, Greece and Poland round out the medal standings with one bronze medal each.
After two days of competition, the Ukrainian team did not have a single award.
On the penultimate day at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Russian team won five medals, four of which were gold. This allowed the Russian team to move to fourth place in the unofficial medal standings, practically guaranteeing this position at the end of the competition.
2016 Olympics in Rio: Russian handball players became Olympic champions.
The women's handball team defeated the French in the Olympic tournament with a score of 22:19.
Let us note that Evgeniy Trefilov’s team did not suffer a single defeat at the Olympic tournament, and in the dramatic semi-final match they beat the reigning Olympic champions, the Norwegians, who had not lost for eight years.
Literally half an hour after the final whistle in handball, it became known that Russia would have two more golds - in rhythmic gymnastics and wrestling.
Olympics in Rio: Abdulrashid Sadulayev became the Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling in the weight category up to 86 kg. The two-time world champion confidently reached the final, allowing his opponents to score only one point in three fights. In the final bout, Abdulrashid defeated Selim Yashar from Turkey with a score of 5:0.
Bronze was won by Azerbaijani Sharif Sharifov, who lost to the Russian in the semifinals, and American Jayden Cox.
2016 Olympics in Rio: gymnast Mamun won Olympic gold in the individual all-around, Yana Kudryavtseva won silver.
In the individual all-around rhythmic gymnastics competition, the Russians performed so well that even before the end of the competition they guaranteed themselves medals, standing for their rivals. Based on the results of four types of the program, Mamun scored 76.483 points. Yana Kudryavtseva scored 75.608. Ukrainian gymnast Anna Rizatdinova (73.583) received bronze.
Russia has been undefeated in the individual all-around in rhythmic gymnastics since 2000. All that remains now is to defend the champion title in the group competition.
Photo: Official website of the Rio Olympics
Olympic Games 2016. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rhythmic gymnastics. Women. Personal all-around
1. Margarita Mamun (Russia) - 76,483
2. Yana Kudryavtseva (Russia) - 75,608
3. Anna Rizatdinova (Ukraine) - 73,583.
Photo: Official website of the Rio Olympics
Literally another couple of minutes passed, and the Russian team’s piggy bank was replenished with another gold medal - won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the pentathlon competition. Based on the sum of all types of the program, he scored 1479 points.
Silver went to Ukrainian Pavel Timoschenko (1472 points). Bronze - Mexican Ismael Marcelo Hernandez Uscanga (1468).
Photo: Official website of the Rio Games
According to the results of the penultimate day of the competition, the Russian team rose and strengthened its position in fourth position in the medal standings, with 53 medals in its assets - 17 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze. The USA is still in the lead with 116 medals (43-37-36). Next come the UK - 66 (27-22-17) and China - 70 (26-18-26).
Diary of the Olympics in Rio 2016: results, medal standings and what place Russia is in - you will learn about all this from our subsequent materials. Stay with!
Right off the bat, the first day of the Rio Games brought several world records.
The swimmers competed for four sets of medals. Hungarian Katinka Hosszú and the Australian women's team won gold medals in the 400m medley and 4x100m freestyle in world records.
The Americans won the first gold of the Games: Virginia Thrasher won the 10-meter air rifle event. Hoang Xuan Vinh won the men's air pistol event: this is the first Olympic gold in the history of Vietnam.
The real drama took place in the finals of the epee competition. The tournament favorite, Italian Rosella Fiamingo, took the lead against Hungarian Emese Szasz ten seconds before the final siren, but missed a shot and was content with only a silver medal.
Dudi Sela slightly corrected the minor performance of the Israeli team on the first day of the Olympics: he reached the second round of the tennis tournament.
Judoka Shira Rashoni was disqualified in the first round of the fight against Ukrainian Marina Chernyak: the judges recorded a prohibited technique.
Gal Nevo failed to make it to the finals of the 400-meter medley swimmers' competition. Gymnast Alex Shatilov performed unsuccessfully in floor exercises and also did not make it to the finals of the competition.
Medal standings:
1. Australia - 3 (2 gold-0 silver-1 bronze)
2. Hungary - 2 (2-0-0)
3. USA - 5 (1-4-0)
4. South Korea - 2 (1-1-0)
5. Japan - 5 (1-0-4)
6. Russia - 1 (1-0-0)
6. Argentina - 1 (1-0-0)
6. Belgium - 1 (1-0-0)
6. Vietnam - 1 (1-0-0)
6. Thailand - 1 (1-0-0)
11. China - 5 (0-2-3)
Diary of the Olympics in Rio 2016.
The XXXI Summer Olympic Games will be held from August 5 to August 21, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For the first time in history, the main sports forum of the four-year anniversary is being hosted by South America.
This Olympics will feature a record number of medal sets (306) with a record number of countries (206) participating, including for the first time citizens of Kosovo and South Sudan, as well as representatives of the refugee team, taking part under the Olympic flag.
Compared to the 2012 Games in London, the program includes two new sports - golf and rugby sevens. Thus, the total number of disciplines will be 42.
Due to the huge doping scandal and subsequent sanctions, the participation of representatives of the Russian Federation in competitions was in question until recently. Strict selection criteria were introduced especially for domestic Olympians; instead of training, many of them had to engage in litigation.
As a result, our delegation lost all weightlifters and track and field athletes, except for jumper Daria Klishina, and the lion's share of rowers and cyclists.
271 Russian athletes made it to Rio, although the team’s initial application included 389 people.
At the previous Games - in Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 - the Russians came third, and in London 2012 they missed out on this position to the hosts of the competition - the British.
Yesterday 05:52
The Maracana is covered in fireworks - the last one for today. The opening ceremony has ended - the XXXI Summer Olympic Games have started in Brazil. The competition will end on August 21.
Yesterday 05:48
Marathon runner Vanderlei di Lima lit the Olympic flame. It was he who brought the torch to the bowl. The fire flared up and the bowl rose under the arches of the Maracana. The Olympics have started!
Yesterday 05:47
Gustavo Kuerten, three-time winner of Roland Garros, former world number one, is the one who runs into the stadium with a torch. It seems like he hasn't changed at all since he won in France last time.
Yesterday 05:44
The announcer announced the end of the Olympic torch relay. And a torchbearer actually appears at the stadium.
Yesterday 05:42
Approximately 10 minutes remain until the end of the ceremony. Dancers have reappeared on the field, and their appearance precedes the appearance of the Olympic flame.
Yesterday 05:37
The traditional Olympic vows are being taken, and now the Olympic flame will be lit in Rio. Yachtsman Robert Scheit took the oath on behalf of the athletes, Martino Nobre on behalf of the referees and officials, Andriana Santos swore on behalf of the coaches.
Yesterday 05:30
The Olympic anthem sounds.
Yesterday 05:29
The Olympic flag appears on the Maracanã. It is carried by Marta (football), Ellen Gracier (first woman elected to the Supreme Court of Brazil), Sandra Pires Tavares (beach volleyball), Oscar Schmidt (basketball), Joaquin Cruz (athletics), Rosa Celia Pimentel (cardiologist and founder of Pro Hospital -Crianca), Torben Grael (sailing) and Emanuel Rego (beach volleyball).
Yesterday 05:27
And Michel Temer, the head of Brazil, declared the Games open!
Yesterday 05:17
The next participant in the ceremony is Kenyan Olympic champion Kipchoge Keino. He receives an award from Bach for his contribution to the Olympic movement.
Yesterday 05:14
Bach greeted the refugee team and wished them luck.
Yesterday 05:12
Bach says that today is a very important day in history, that today is the start of the first ever Olympic Games, which will be held in South America. He notes that the Brazilians did an excellent job of organizing, despite all the difficulties.
Yesterday 05:10
And now Thomas Bach takes the floor.
Yesterday 05:01
First, Carlos Nuzman, head of the organizing committee of the Games in Brazil, gave a big speech. He thanked everyone who helped organize the Olympics and said that he was very proud of both the city and the country. Nuzman speaks English and immediately translates himself into Portuguese.
Yesterday 05:00
IOC President Thomas Bach will now give a speech.
Yesterday 04:59
And now the main question is who will light the Olympic flame.
Yesterday 04:59
And that's it, the parade is over. And the dancers now line up the Olympic rings in the center of the field, and these rings are made of trees.
RIO DE JANEIRO, August 22 - R-Sport, Nikolay Ryazantsev. Despite the scandal that erupted on the eve of the 2016 Olympic Games and the suspension of more than a quarter of the team, the Russian team showed itself worthy in Rio de Janeiro, taking fourth place in the medal standings.
The XXXI Summer Olympic Games, held for the first time in South America, ended on Sunday. Over 16 medal days, 306 sets of medals were awarded in 28 sports. The first place in the unofficial standings was taken by the US team by a large margin - 121 medals (46 gold). The Russians, like four years ago in London, finished in fourth position - 56 medals (19 gold, 18 silver and 19 bronze).
Great, powerful, invincible: all the medalists of the Russian team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. PHOTO >>>
Initially, Russia was supposed to be represented at the Rio Games by 387 athletes, but as a result of the publication of a report by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on the alleged system of substituting doping tests at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) transferred the right of admission of Russian athletes to international federations, which “cut off” about a third of the entire composition.
As a result of a series of lawsuits to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), some athletes managed to defend their participation in the Games, but more than 100 Russians from the list of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) never came to Rio.
“Out of the total number (of Russians participating in the Games) - 280 people - 107 received a medal. In general, in almost all sports they fought for medals, we saw a very good fighting spirit of our team at this Olympics, despite all the vicissitudes, some then at the last moment he was admitted, everyone came out and fought to the end. I would rate the performance as very successful and a performance despite the circumstances,” ROC President Alexander Zhukov summed up the results of the Olympics.
Golden impulse of judokas
Judoists were the first representatives of martial arts to compete for Olympic medals, and Ezio Gamba's team gave more than a positive impetus, winning two top awards. Beslan Mudranov brought the first Brazilian gold on the starting day of the Games, opening the account for the national team's awards in Rio de Janeiro. Moreover, the athlete won in the weight category up to 60 kg, repeating the success of compatriot Arsen Galstyan four years ago.
The second gold medal was won by Khasan Khalmurzaev (81), and Natalya Kuzyutina (52) won the bronze medal. Moreover, the Russian won the first medal for the women’s team after a 12-year pause - at the 2004 Games, third place was taken by Tea Donguzashvili (+78), now the team’s senior coach. The general manager of the Russian national team, Gamba, called the result “super good and amazing.”
Meanwhile, Russian taekwondo athletes, who had ambitious plans before the tournament, finished the tournament with one silver medal. Bronze medalist of the 2012 Olympics Alexey Denisenko (68) added to the Olympic collection by taking second place. His colleagues could not support him: Anastasia Baryshnikova (67), who became third at the Games in London, and debutant Albert Gaun (80) suffered failures in their first fights.
New Musketeers
The fencing competition ended with a real triumph for the Russians: 7 medals at the Olympic tournament held at the Carioca-3 arena in the Olympic Park of Rio de Janeiro.
Four gold medals were won in saber (Yana Egoryan), team saber (Egoryan, Sofia Velikaya, Ekaterina Dyachenko, Yulia Gavrilova), women's foil (Inna Deriglazova) and men's team foil (Alexey Cheremisinov, Timur Safin, Artur Akhmatkhuzin). Silver was won in the women's saber (Velikaya), two bronzes - in the men's foil (Safin) and women's team epee (Tatyana Logunova, Violetta Kolobova, Lyubov Shutova, Olga Kochneva).
Saber fencer Yegoryan became a two-time Olympic champion. On the way to the final, she defeated her compatriots - first Dyachenko in the quarterfinals, and directly in the decisive match of the tournament favorite Velikaya with a minimal margin - 15:14.
“I dedicate this victory, among other things, to the athletes who were not allowed to participate in the Olympics,” said the most successful Russian fencer at the tournament.
The Great One again suffered a disappointing defeat in the final, but the team gold should serve as a good consolation for her. The 31-year-old athlete emphasized that she is not yet thinking about retiring from her career.
Domestic fencing traditions have previously been supported by awards from the Olympic Games, but in “Carioca-3” a real celebration of Russian weapons took place. The head coach of the Russian national team, Ilgar Mamedov, noted that after the Games “there was a boom in fencing.”
“School directors call and say that there has never been such an influx into our schools. This is very pleasing! The more children come, the more champions we will have,” the coach shared his satisfaction.
Layed on my shoulder blades
The Russian national wrestling team has made a significant contribution to the national collection of Brazilian medals. The path to gold was paved by Greco-Roman athletes. Victories were won by Roman Vlasov (75), who won the second Olympic Games in a row, and debutant Davit Chakvetadze (85), who supported the initiative of the team captain. And the winner of the bronze medal was super heavyweight Sergei Semenov (up to 130).
For the first time in Olympic history, the women's team competed in two finals. Alas, in a dramatic struggle, Valeria Koblova (58) and London Olympic champion Natalya Vorobyova (69) lost to the Japanese in the last seconds of the fight. And the next day Ekaterina Bukina (75) won bronze.
Annoying failures one step away from gold angered the president of the Russian Wrestling Federation (FSBR), Olympic champion of Seoul, Mikhail Mamiashvili: he called defeat ten seconds before the end “the lot of nonentities,” and then Inna Trazhukova, who lost in the fight for bronze, said that Mamiashvili insulted her and hit her twice.
The athlete intends to appeal to the prosecutor's office, to which the head of the FSBI said: “I am ready. Let the court order me to behave more correctly in such a situation. No court will convince me that I have no right to express this to a weak-willed and indifferent person.”
In the freestyle wrestling competition, the third and fourth gold medals for the team were brought to them by Abdulrashid Sadulayev (86) and Soslan Ramonov (65), who left no chance for their opponents. Aniuar Geduev (74), who knocked out the 2012 Games champion, American Jordan Burrows, was also close to gold. In the final, the Russian won with a score of 6:0, but a severe cut did not allow him to bring the fight to victory.
Overall victory
Russian synchronized swimmers have traditionally won both types of programs, leaving no chance for their competitors in either program. Svetlana Romashina and Natalya Ishchenko won gold in the duet. In addition to them, Alexandra Patskevich, Svetlana Kolesnichenko, Maria Shurochkina, Vlada Chigireva, Alla Shishkina, Gelena Topilina and Elena Prokofieva won gold in the group.
For the Olympic Games, Ishchenko and Romashina were preparing a new technical and a new free program. However, as the season progressed, it was decided to leave the “Gypsy” program for performance at the Games, with which they won the World Championships in Kazan, as well as the European Championships in London in May of this year. By the way, it was in London that the duo showed their new free composition - “Mermaids”. These two compositions brought them gold at the Games.
Then Romashina and Ishchenko joined the group, and there the advantage of the Russians was obvious after the technical program “Rhythms of the City”, and the next day, having received “tens” for the free program “Prayer”, the Russian synchronized swimming team won the second gold of the Games. It became the fifth in their careers for Romashina and Ishchenko, who equaled their former team partner Anastasia Davydova in the number of Olympic gold medals. And, repeating her experience, Ishchenko and Romashina were elected standard-bearers of the team at the closing ceremony.
Everyday gold of artists and breakthrough of gymnasts
Margarita Mamun won the individual all-around in rhythmic gymnastics, ahead of her compatriot and friend Yana Kudryavtseva. The final of the competition turned out to be dramatic: Mamun, after the first two events - hoop and ball - was inferior to Kudryavtseva and came second. However, in the third exercise with clubs, Kudryavtseva, who had recovered from a serious injury received a year ago before the Games, made a mistake. Mamun performed the exercise cleanly, taking the lead, and as a result of the exercise with the ribbon, she secured victory ahead of schedule. Both athletes said after the award ceremony that they would not make any plans, but would like to compete in Tokyo 2020.
Also, the Russian team in group exercises consisting of Anastasia Maksimova, Anastasia Bliznyuk, Anastasia Tatareva, Vera Biryukova and Maria Tolkacheva won the all-around, ahead of the Spanish and Bulgarian women. After the exercise with five ribbons, the Russians were third, but thanks to the excellent execution of the program with two hoops and six clubs, they came out ahead with high marks, and no one could get ahead of them.
And the Russian artistic gymnastics team won eight medals: one gold, four silver and three bronze. The only award of the highest standard to the Russian national team was brought by Aliya Mustafina, who became the first in the uneven bars exercises. In total, the now two-time Olympic champion took three medals in Rio de Janeiro, adding bronze in the individual all-around and silver in the team competition to gold.
The team tournament ended not only in second place for the Russians, but also in the same result for the men’s team, for the first time in 16 years. Denis Ablyazin also leaves Rio with two medals. The Russian gymnast took bronze on the rings, which became his first Olympic medal in this event, as well as silver in the vault. Maria Paseka also took second in the vault.
“The significance of these medals is different compared to London,” said senior coach of the Russian national team Valentina Rodionenko. “Apiary was bronze, became silver. The second Olympic gold was won by Aliya, who during the entire preparation cycle received more treatment than training, this says a lot. The price of the medal has increased. And the guys’ second place in the team is tantamount to victory.”
Boxers did not improve their London results
Russian boxers were unable to surpass the result of the Games in London, again winning one top award. The winner of the tournament was the current world champion Evgeniy Tishchenko (91), and on the final day of the competition, silver was won by the winner of the 2011 and 2013 world championships Misha Aloyan (52), who took third place four years ago.
Games debutants Vladimir Nikitin (56), Vitaly Dunaytsev (64) and Anastasia Belyakova (60) won bronze medals. Moreover, Nikitin and Belyakova could have claimed medals of a more noble denomination, but the athlete received a serious cut on his eyebrow in the quarterfinals and, for medical reasons, was forced to abandon the semifinal match, and Belyakova received a serious arm injury in the first round of the semifinals and was forced to leave the ring.
After four out of nine boxers suffered defeats, the head coach of the Russian national team, Alexander Lebzyak, said that some athletes came to the Games as “passengers” and “tourists.” The words caused a wide resonance not only in the media. Thus, the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov criticized the coach’s statements and called him a “tourist.”
Lebzyak later clarified that he intentionally made such a statement. “I specifically said it to hurt them (the boxers). So that they would get angry, so that they would not be spineless, but would enter the ring with emotions, so that they would give everything in the ring and win a medal,” the specialist said.
It was after the emotional speech of the head coach that the Russians won several awards, including Tishchenko’s gold.
Even the “left” horse is not a hindrance for Lesun
The Olympic tournament in modern pentathlon ended with the triumph of Russian Alexander Lesun, who set an Olympic record in fencing (28 victories in 35 fights) and in total points: based on the results of four events, the Russian scored 1479 points. The champion himself admitted that he felt calm at the tournament, sometimes even too much. “At the last shooting, I already saw the gold medal. And I made two misses in a row. So, I tell myself, get it together, there’s no medal yet,” said Lesun, who also said that he “felt like the master here.”
After the victory, Lesun said that during the competition his horse was changed because it had heart problems. At the same time, the Russian still had problems overcoming obstacles with the other horse.
“As for Sasha Lesun, a man said a man did. Before leaving for the Olympics, he said that he would win gold, and he did it. You can’t say anything here. True, they slipped him a left horse at the competition, but that didn’t stop him. He survived, he’s great!” - said the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Vitaly Mutko.
In the women's tournament, unfortunately, disappointment befell one of the favorites - Russian Donata Rimshaite, who performed unsuccessfully in her signature event - fencing, and eventually finished 12th in the combine.
“It seems to me that this is the worst performance in the history of Donata Rimshaite’s career,” said Vyacheslav Aminov, president of the Federation of Modern Pentathlon of Russia (FSPR). Another Russian, Gulnaz Gubaidullina, is 15th, and for a young athlete who set an Olympic record in swimming, this is a success.
One dream for two
Tennis players Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina have never hidden the fact that the Olympic gold medal has been their main dream and goal since they decided to play as a pair in 2012. Four years later, this dream came true: having shown brilliant play throughout the tournament, the Russians in the final match left no chance for the legendary Martina Hingis and her Swiss teammate Tima Baschinski. This gold was the first Olympic success in pairs for Russian tennis.
“We want to cry with happiness. I always dreamed of getting a medal at the Olympic Games, and finally it happened. We went through a lot: through injuries and pain, and we are doubly happy about this victory,” Makarova shared her emotions immediately after the final match.
It is worth noting the performance of the young Russian Daria Kasatkina, who at her first Olympic Games was able to reach the quarterfinals of the singles and doubles (together with Svetlana Kuznetsova) categories.
“Generally speaking, all the girls did everything they could, some could do better, our same pair Kasatkina-Kuznetsova had three match points,” said Russian women’s team coach Anastasia Myskina. “Dasha had an amazing tournament, but she was a little tired to the quarterfinals, playing two matches a day in such heat and with such responsibility..."
Handball players made history
Russian handball players in Rio won Olympic gold medals for the first time in history. In Rio de Janeiro, Evgeni Trefilov’s team played eight matches and won eight victories. In the semi-finals, the draw brought the Russians together with the winners of the last two Olympics - the Norwegians. Both teams showed absolutely equal play in the match for reaching the final, but in the end the Russian team won - in overtime with a score of 38:37.
The game for Olympic gold with the French women took place with a clear advantage of the Russian handball players, although in the middle of the second half the opponents were able to even the score at some point, but the Russians again took the lead and brought the match to victory - 22:19.
After the victory, Trefilov said that he was not going to leave the team. “I have all the titles except the European Championship. So I will definitely work with the team at this tournament. Let’s try to work through another Olympic cycle, why not? Another thing is that in life everything is possible,” said the coach of the Olympic champions.
In turn, the President of the Russian Handball Federation Sergei Shishkarev noted the team’s enormous contribution to the popularization of the game in the country.
“Today our match was shown in prime time, we had to make a holiday for the country. They said that the whole country was watching, everyone was watching,” Shishkarev told reporters. “I said that these gold medals are important for the development of handball. To see once this, to look at such dynamics, such emotions. They did something that the federation had not done in 20 years. The whole country was watching, and it was not in vain.”
A long voyage and four medals
Russian swimmers won four medals following their performance in Rio de Janeiro. Four-time world champion Yulia Efimova (100 and 200 m breaststroke) was twice on the verge of victory; Evgeniy Rylov (backstroke) and Anton Chupkov (breaststroke) won bronze in the 200 m.
The team was not preparing for the start in the best psychological conditions. After the WADA report, the team could lose seven athletes - Efimova, Russian record holder Natalya Lovtsova, Mikhail Dovgalyuk, Games medalists Vladimir Morozov, Nikita Lobintsev, as well as World and European Championships medalist Daria Ustinova. As a result, after the decisions of CAS, all seven returned to the application for the Games, but this whole story could not help but affect the result. Morozov and Ustinova were left without medals at their distances.
At the same time, Efimova had to withstand psychologically after the first medal, defending herself from the attacks of American swimmers. The winner, Olympic champion Lily King, openly made it clear even before the final that she did not consider Efimova a “pure” athlete.
At the press conference, the Russian woman had a difficult time answering questions from journalists about whether she considered her presence at the Olympics acceptable after two doping cases. Even Michael Phelps spoke negatively about Efimova - in response, she recalled the story with marijuana, although only after winning silver in the 200 m breaststroke.
“There are only two Americans I trust: Dave Salo and John Urbanchek (Efimova’s coaches in Los Angeles). I don’t give a damn about the opinions of others,” said the now three-time Olympic medalist.
Well, the Americans themselves were pleased with the most titled Olympian in history - Michael Phelps, who exchanged his third dozen gold medals at these Games and promised not to remain in the sport until the Olympics in Tokyo. In Rio, Phelps won as part of three relay races - two freestyle and a medley, as well as the 200 m butterfly and medley. The “Baltimore Bullet” won another silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly.
American Katie Ledecky set world records at two distances in Rio. In total, she has three gold medals at individual distances - Katie occupied the highest step of the podium in the entire long crawl (200, 400, 800 m). The American received another gold in the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay. Ledecky also won silver in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay.
Such different shooting
The Russian team in shotgun shooting took four awards (two silver and two bronze), each of which was brought to the team by debutants of the Games, and the national team in skeet shooting for the first time since the 1992 Olympics was left without medals; moreover, the Russians did not reach the finals in any from exercises.
Silver medals in Rio were won by 19-year-old Vitalina Batsarashkina (in air pistol shooting at a distance of 10 meters) and 28-year-old Sergei Kamensky (small-caliber rifle, three positions, 50 meters). Bronze medals went to 22-year-old Vladimir Maslennikov (air rifle, 10 meters) and 24-year-old Kirill Grigoryan (small-caliber rifle, prone position, 50 meters). Thus, the Russian bullet fighters showed the best result in Rio in the last 12 years: in London the team did not have a single medal, in Beijing - two silver and one bronze.
In another archery event, Ksenia Perova, Inna Stepanova and Tuyana Dashidorzhieva set a historic achievement in Rio - for the first time in the history of Russian archery they were able to win Olympic silver medals. In addition, these awards were the first for Russian women at the Olympics. Perova, Stepanova and Dashidorzhieva, the 2015 world champions, reached the finals at the 2016 Games in team competitions, where they lost to the South Korean team - the constant winner of team competitions at all Olympics, the program of which included this discipline.
Zabelinskaya's feat, silver and bronze on the track, BMX debut
Russian cycling did not escape losses after the WADA report. Due to the IOC rule, according to which Russian athletes with doping cases in their careers were not allowed to start at the Olympics, the team had to lose the winner of the Tour de France stage Ilnur Zakarin, the Games medalist in road cycling Olga Zabelinskaya, and track team member Sergei Shilova.
When CAS lifted this rule, it was already too late for Zakarin: the men's group race was on the first day of the competition, and he was in Russia. But Olga Zabelinskaya took the starting line, won silver in the time trial and expressed her intention to go to Tokyo as a player-coach.
Sergei Shilov was able to return to the race track, but due to CAS’s rejection of the appeal in the case of the three track athletes mentioned in Richard McLaren’s report - Dmitry Strakhov, Dmitry Sokolov and Kirill Sveshnikov - the quota in the team race went to the Italians. Therefore, track athletes fought for medals exclusively through the efforts of the sprint group. And she did not disappoint - Anastasia Voinova and Daria Shmeleva won silver in the team sprint, and Denis Dmitriev took third place in the individual.
It is worth noting that the Russian team has not had two medals on the track since the Olympics in Athens, and Dmitriev’s medal in the individual sprint discipline for men was the first for domestic cycling since the Games in Seoul.
Then BMX entered the fray. In this type of cycling, the Russians competed at the Olympics for the first time and coped with the task - 19-year-old Yaroslava Bondarenko, the youngest rider of the Olympic BMX tournament, reached the finals in supercross, where she took fifth place. In the men's competition, Evgeniy Komarov finished the fight for medals at the quarterfinal stage.
In mountain biking, Beijing Games medalist Irina Kalentyeva took to the start line in the women's cross-country race. Unfortunately, the athlete broke her finger during one of the pre-race training sessions, and a recent operation to remove appendicitis also took its toll, which did not allow her to get into optimal shape for the Games. As a result, Kalentyeva arrived at the finish line 17th, but did not lose her presence of mind.
For the first time in 16 years
For the first time in the last 16 years, Russian water polo players not only made it into the medal match, but also managed to win bronze. The path to the Games for the Russian team, led by Alexander Gaidukov, was not easy: during the Olympic cycle, many things changed in it, including the head coach. At the qualifying tournament in Gouda, the Russians qualified for the Games last from Europe in a match that claimed the title of “drama of the year.” The Russians won on penalties.
Several months passed, the team flew to Brazil and began the tournament with a loss to the Australians 4:14. Then there was a victory over the Brazilian team (14:7) and again a defeat, this time from the Italians (5:10).
The plan was to reach the Spanish women in the quarter finals and there compete for the right to qualify for the medal matches. Team captain Ekaterina Prokofieva scored a much-needed goal in the game against Spain, and the Russians advanced to the semifinals. Unfortunately, they failed to defeat the Italians at this stage of the tournament (9:12), but already in the bronze medal match with Hungary, the Russian team produced a new thriller. A little over a minute before the end of the match, the Russian team managed to miss a penalty, come back and win the post-match penalty shootout.
“Nobody believed in us, Gaidukov and the girls and I proved to ourselves and everyone else that we are capable of much. This, of course, is a miracle and a historic day for us. I hope that the Russian national team, both women’s and men’s, will rise and move forward. There are good coaches and players, material with which to work. What we have done now is a sports feat,” said team coach Andrei Belofastov.
Tailwind
For twenty years, Russian sailing was in the shadows, but from the very first days of competition in the RS:X class for women, it became clear that a lot could change in Rio. RS:X is an Olympic type of windsurfing. 19-year-old Russian Stefania Elfutina approached the medal race as a favorite, taking second place. At the start of the race she received a penalty, but then she was able to correct the situation and become third. Gold was actually very close.
"Quiet joy inside, I screamed on the water, incredibly happy. Not the best race, I didn’t remember the points, then they told me that I was third, and I was incredibly happy. This medal is very important for me and for Russia, to show that we have there are seas, weather conditions, that we can be a strong team in sailing,” said Elfutina, to whom a regatta will now be dedicated in her native Sochi.
Volleyball sadness
For the first time since 2000, volleyball players of the Russian national team failed to win a medal at the Olympic Games. The Russians were left without bronze medals, losing to the USA team in five sets in the match for third place on the last day of the Olympic Games. The captain of the Russian team, Sergei Tetyukhin, for whom this was the sixth Olympics, lost the opportunity to become the first five-time Olympic medalist in the history of volleyball and announced his retirement from the national team, as did libero Alexei Verbov.
Prior to this, in the semi-finals, Russian volleyball players lost to the finalists of the 2012 Games, the Brazilians, and without serious resistance - 0-3. “After London, after the European Championship, we never beat a strong team. Our volleyball stopped for some reason, we need to figure this out, why we can no longer beat the strong ones,” the head coach of the national team, Vladimir Alekno, diagnosed. “They didn’t let us play just the way we wanted."
The Brazilians eventually became Olympic champions, beating the Italian team in the final.
The performance of Russian volleyball players in Brazil ended in failure. The team led by Yuri Marichev quite confidently passed the group stage, but in the quarterfinals they weakly lost to the Serbian team (9:25, 22:25, 21:25), ending the fight for medals. Marichev himself called this defeat “coaching,” suggesting that the leadership of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation look for a new specialist for his post. “We will hold a coaching council and executive committee, and evaluate the work,” the head of the organization, Stanislav Shevchenko, did not rush things.
Beach volleyball players performed above expectations in Rio de Janeiro, delivering some unexpected victories but falling just short of medals. For women, Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Birlova dramatically reached the quarterfinals, where they met with the main favorite of the Olympics - the Brazilian couple Agata Bednarchuk / Barbara Seixas. The Russians led 19:13, but did not maintain their advantage in the set, losing both it and the second game - 16:21.
In the men's tournament, Russian representatives performed even better. Nikita Lyamin and Dmitry Barsuk could easily have defeated Italians Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo in the quarterfinals, but lost to them in the third set - 11:15. Next, the Italians knocked out the second, best Russian pair - Vyacheslav Krasilnikov / Konstantin Semyonov. Then the Russians lost the match for third place, leaving with a “wooden” award.
Bolt's triple-triple and Isinbayeva's farewell
The only Russian woman allowed to compete in athletics, Daria Klishina, failed to win a medal at her first Olympics. The long jumper, who has been living and training in the United States for several years, was able to qualify with a score of 6.64 meters, but in the final she stopped competing for awards after only three attempts, finishing in ninth place.
“Of course, I can’t say that I’m happy with my result. Based on the control training, I was ready for a much better result,” said Klishina, who confirmed that she will continue to live and train in the USA.
The triumphant track and field tournament was the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in Rio de Janeiro - at distances of 100 and 200 meters, as well as as part of his team in the 4 x 100 meter relay.
Bolt announced in advance that the 2016 Olympics would be the last of his career. Thanks to victories in Beijing, London and Rio, he has nine Olympic gold medals. “I want my country to be at its best. I brought a lot to it and, when I leave sports, I will also work for the benefit of my country. I will miss the Olympic Games. I did everything I could, I think I fulfilled my mission,” Bolt stated.
Two-time Olympic champion in pole vaulting Elena Isinbaeva was not able to compete at the Olympics, but flew to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the elections to the IOC Athletes’ Commission. Voting, which was held among athletes, ended on August 17. According to its results, Isinbayeva received 1,365 votes, taking fourth place and joining the IOC commission for the next eight years.
“I will definitely be a very active member of the IOC athletes’ commission, since the situation in which I find myself today is unfair, and I would like to avoid such injustice in the future and protect, first of all, our athletes from it. Today I will have such an opportunity and such influence I will use them to the maximum,” Isinbayeva told reporters after her election.
The famous athlete also officially announced her retirement. “I thought I would be so sad today and thought about how to hold back my tears. But my election to the IOC athletes’ commission inspired me so much! And now I say goodbye to the sector, to my poles, to the anthem in my honor, because every athlete is a little selfish and it will be difficult to get such emotions in life. But I have realized myself. I have earned the trust and love of fans all over the world. This is the height of dreams, great happiness,” said the two-time Olympic champion.
Bleeding rowing
Following Russian track and field athletes and weightlifters, who were not allowed to participate in the Games at all, were Russian rowers in terms of the number of losses. In rowing, out of six crews that won Olympic licenses, there was only one left, and that one was formed on the principle of “who was allowed.” Anton Zarutsky, Artem Kosov, Vladislav Ryabtsev and Nikita Morgachev, initially announced to participate in the eights, competed in the fours without a coxswain and took only 10th place.
In kayaking and canoeing, Russia lost 2012 Olympic champion Alexander Dyachenko, 2014 World Cup silver medalist Natalya Podolskaya and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and multiple world champion Alexei Korovashkov. In their absence, those from whom few expected success took the leading roles.
Kayaker Roman Anoshkin, who only in the last couple of years began to show stable results in the single scull, took bronze at a distance of 1000 meters. Bronze should also go to canoeist Ilya Shtokalov, who took fourth place at the same distance, but it later turned out that Moldovan Sergei Tarnovsky, who beat him in the finishing line, failed a doping test.
In the rowing slalom, all five Russians were allowed to compete, but could not reach the podium. After completing his heats, the most experienced member of the team and its captain, Alexander Lipatov, said that these were his last Games, and the 2008 Beijing bronze medalist Dmitry Larionov announced his retirement.
We jumped
What happened during the diving competition at the Maria Lenk arena. Even at the test starts, it was said that the Olympic diving tournament cannot be held in an outdoor pool. At the top, near the tower, the wind was blowing, the pool “bloomed” under the jumpers’ feet, and the athletes were actively posting photos with green water from the diving bath on social networks. There were many surprises in this arena, but only one thing remained unchanged - the dominance of China.
The best team of the Olympic tournament was expected to be the dominant Chinese team in this sport with its ten medals (7 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), and the Russian team for the first time in the last 28 years was left without awards based on the results of its performance at the Olympic Games, despite its presence in consisting of London champion Ilya Zakharov, Games medalist Evgeny Kuznetsov, European Championship winners Viktor Minibaev, Ekaterina Petukhova and Yulia Timoshinina.
Kuznetsov was the closest to a medal, stopping one step away from the podium at the end of the three-meter springboard final. Kuznetsov took his performance critically, but at the same time asked to stop attacks on the jumpers and the head coach of the national team Oleg Zaitsev. “I have a negative attitude towards this, I think that these are traitors to the Motherland who open their mouths against their own people, these are low and scum people. I’m talking about everyone who says nasty things about our head coach,” Kuznetsov said.
Verchenova with a record, but without a medal
After more than 100 years, golf has returned to the Olympic Games program. Athletes had to complete 72 holes in four days in a place inhabited by crocodiles, and competitions were sometimes interrupted by running capybaras. The only representative of Russia, Maria Verchenova, became 16th. On the last day of play, she showed her best result, setting a field record.
The Russian duo Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov performed well in the badminton competition, reaching the quarterfinals. Despite Sozonov's serious injury and lack of match practice, the Russians won all their matches in the group, and in a bitter fight they lost to the Chinese pair Chai Biao/Hong Wei - 13:21, 21:16, 16:21. Competitions in table tennis, triathlon, equestrianism and trampolining also did not bring medals to Russia.
Neymar helped Brazil satisfy Olympic hunger
It's hard to believe, but the Brazilian national football team has never won an Olympic gold medal in its history, and finally it happened at the home Games. The main star was Barcelona forward Neymar, who was mercilessly criticized by fans and the press during the tournament. However, this did not break the striker, and in the final against the German national team, he first scored in regular time, and in the penalty shoot-out he scored the decisive blow.
The American "dream team" again had no equal in the men's basketball tournament. At the group stage, only the French (100:97) and Serbs (94:91) were able to provide serious resistance, losing by only three points. In the playoffs, Mike Krzhizhevsky’s team could no longer be held back - victories over Argentina (105:78), Spain (82:76) and the defeat of the same Serbia (96:66) in the final brought them the 15th title in history. Carmelo Anthony, meanwhile, became the first US basketball player to play in four Olympics. The Americans won the women's tournament for the sixth time in a row.
In the first ever Olympic rugby sevens tournament, the Australian women's team and the Fiji men's team excelled, which brought the first medal in history to the dwarf state in Oceania.
In general, there were quite a few historical achievements at the Games in Brazil. Thus, Puerto Rican Monica Puig, who sensationally won the women's tennis tournament, brought the first gold in history to her country. So are Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh, Jordanian taekwondo athlete Ahmad Abughaush, hammer thrower Dilshod Nazarov from Tajikistan, Bahrain runner Ruth Jebet, Ivorian taekwondo athlete Sallah Cisse, Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling and Kosovo judoka Mailinda Kelmendi.
Dangerous Games
The main problem before the start of the Games was the issue of security, with which, traditionally, everything is not very good in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian government sent about 40 thousand military personnel to protect law and order, who could be found wherever guests of Rio could theoretically be. There were no major incidents, but several unpleasant episodes did occur. Somehow - a window on a bus for journalists broken by either a bullet or a stone, or a stray bullet that hit the tent for journalists at the hippodrome.
The most scandalous case was that of American swimmers Ryan Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Fagen, who said they were robbed at gunpoint in a taxi while returning to the Olympic village from a party. The athletes subsequently told police that the robbery story was made up, and Lochte apologized for the story, admitting that he was very drunk. The IOC created a special disciplinary commission to investigate the scandal, and the International Swimming Federation (FINA) said it would take action against the four athletes.
The Russians were not spared the problems: the silver medalist of the 2012 Olympics, the president of the Moscow Swimming Federation, Evgeny Korotyshkin, was robbed on the way to a restaurant near Ipanema beach by unknown men with weapons.
“Everything is fine with me. I talked with the guide and a local resident. They say that there is no point in contacting the police: my phone is already in the favelas, and even the police don’t go there,” Korotyshkin shared his impressions.
Also during the opening ceremony, the house of Russian fans, located on the famous Copacabana beach, was robbed.
Belgian judoka Dirk van Tichelt was celebrating his bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics when his phone was stolen on Copacabana beach. He ran after the robber, and when he caught up, he was hit in the face. Van Tichelt was taken to hospital but received no further treatment.
An unpleasant episode also occurred in the leadership of the IOC. Throughout the Olympics, the red line was the topic of speculation in tickets to the competitions. As a result, the head of the European Olympic Committees, Patrick Hickey, was arrested, who is suspected of illegally transferring tickets to speculators who sold them at inflated prices.
His arrest came after police detained a man with 800 illegal tickets in Rio. According to police, the 71-year-old official tried to escape when law enforcement officers came to arrest him. After his arrest, Hickey felt unwell and was taken to a hospital in the city, but was later discharged and must now appear in court.
Medal of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
photo: AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Rio de Janeiro / website On the first competition day of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the Russian Olympic team received its first positive results.
The first successes of the Russian Olympic team at the 2016 Olympics
He brought the first gold medal for the Russian Olympic teamjudoka Beslan Mudranov. Hewon the highest award and became the first Olympic champion of the 2016 Olympics.
The Russian women's handball team also showed a good result on the first day of competition. Russian athletes showed character in the opening match of the tournament and demonstrated a good game against the South Korean handball team.
The Russians won a strong-willed victory with a score of 30:25, despite the fact that the Russians were losing by a margin of -7 in the middle of the second half. Evgeni Trefilov’s team will play their next match on August 8 against the French team.
Olympics 2016. Overall medal standings
Based on the results of the first competition day, the Russian team shares 6th place in the unofficial team medal standings with the Olympic teams of Vietnam, Argentina, Thailand and Belgium, which also have one gold medal each.
The Australian team took first place; it received 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal for the first day. The Hungarian team took second place with 3 gold medals. In third place is the US Olympic team, which won 1 gold and 4 silver medals.
Unfortunately, the first day of competition brought the first injury. French gymnast Samir Ait Said suffered a broken tibia and fibula during landing. He competed in qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The injury was so serious that the athlete required urgent hospitalization.
Table of medals for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, a total of 306 sets of medals are being played out in 28 sports.
Teams are awarded points according to the following principle: gold – 3 points, silver – 2 points, bronze – 1 point.
