Fourth-Place Medal
The U.S. could win its 1,000th Summer Olympic gold medal Saturday
Henry Bushnell at Fourth-Place Medal1 hr agoWith a monster day on Friday at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the United States is three gold medals away from its 1,000th at the Summer Games.
Olympic historians are actually split on the exact medal count for the Americans. Bill Mallon has the count at 996. Infostrada has it at 997. There hasn’t been a consensus conclusion on which is correct.
But the U.S. Olympic Committee had the official number at 977 before the 2016 Games began, and the U.S. has won 20 golds so far in Rio.
Either way, the U.S. could get to 1,000 on Saturday. It has a total of 16 gold medal possibilities on the day. If it gets one or two during the day, things could set up for either the men’s or women’s 4×100-meter freestyle swim team to win Summer Olympics gold medal No. 1,000.
One of the first shots for gold comes at 10:06 a.m. EST, when the U.S. is favored in the women’s eight rowing final. The U.S. men will also compete in the men’s eight rowing final at 11:27 a.m., but don’t have as great a shot at gold.
North Korea reportedly won’t let its Olympians accept free Samsung phones
Jackie Bamberger at Fourth-Place Medal1 hr agoMedal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news
Upon arriving at the Olympic Village, athletes of all countries are treated to a plethora of perks courtesy of the Games’ many sponsors.
Other than the free all-you-can-eat McDonald’s, this year’s most notable gift is a special Rio-branded Galaxy S7 smartphone, courtesy of Samsung.
Unfortunately though, not all athletes were able to pick up the phone, which retails for $850.
[Related: Olympic diver scores zero for back flop]
Walsh Jennings, Ross meet Leslie Jones, continue midnight mastery
Greg Wyshynski at Fourth-Place Medal2 hrs agoYour browser does not support iframes.
Medal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news
RIO DE JANEIRO — When the clock strikes midnight in Rio, it usually means Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross are already on their way to victory.
The top-seeded U.S. beach volleyball duo won their third midnight match of the tournament, this time in the Round of 16, with a 2-0 (21-10, 21-16) victory over Marta Menegatti and Laura Giombini of Italy Friday night.
The only match that gave the 4-0 team any trouble was the one that started at 9 p.m. against Switzerland, in which Walsh Jennings lost only the second set of her Olympic career. With the victory over Italy, her winning steak now stands at 25 matches.
But a bump in the road in preliminaries was a good time to self-evaluate before the elimination rounds, said Ross.
[Related: Americans win wild rally in men’s volleyball upset over Brazil]
Dutch dressage rider quits after horse falls ill
Vincent Pena at Fourth-Place Medal2 hrs agoMedal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news
The reigning silver medalist in the Olympic dressage competition withdrew from the Rio Games after her horse, Parzival, became ill.
Dutch equestrian Adelinde Cornelissen ended her trip to the Olympics after Parzival suffered an apparent spider or insect bite. Cornelissen detailed the reasoning behind the decision in a Facebook post.
“After double checking with the vets here they concluded he was bitten by an insect or spider or some sort of animal which produces toxics,” she wrote Aug. 10 explaining her decision to withdraw.
The 19-year-old horse had a fever Tuesday morning and the right side of his head was swollen when Cornelissen went to begin training for the day. After getting some tests done and giving the horse fluids to reduce his temperature, Parzival appeared to be in better health and was cleared for competition.
Rio mystery solved: Can NCAA athletes keep their Olympic medal bonuses?
Jackie Bamberger at Fourth-Place Medal3 hrs agoMedal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news
Katie Ledecky’s record-breaking exploits in Rio have made her $115,000 richer thanks to United States Olympic Committee payouts on her six Olympic medals. But, come this fall when she arrives for her freshman year at Stanford, she’ll be able to compete against amateurs just like any other NCAA athlete.
So, how is Ledecky allowed to take home a six-figure payday while other college athletes face losing their NCAA eligibility for playing laser tag or standing next to Drake?
Simone Manuel's race delayed because the bus driver got lost
Adam Stites at Fourth-Place Medal4 hrs agoMedal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news
Simone Manuel’s encore performance to her 100-meter freestyle victory Thursday night was a fourth-place finish in her 50-meter freestyle semifinal, earning her a spot in the final on Saturday. But a lost driver made fans and swimmers wait until almost midnight local time for the race to happen.
The bus taking swimmers from the athletes’ village to the pool was lost for more than an hour, forcing the pair of semifinal races to be pushed back about an half hour. The Olympic Aquatics Stadium is just about a half-mile away from the athletes village, but the confused bus driver instead took the swimmers to the track and field stadium, according to one of the riders on the bus.
Michelle Carter, 'Shot Diva,' becomes first U.S. woman to win Olympic shot put gold
Henry Bushnell at Fourth-Place Medal4 hrs agoLucky Stars of Rio: Manuel makes history in the pool | Phelps denied perfection | Tongan flag bearer’s life changed in 24 hours
Michelle Carter, who calls herself the “Shot Diva,” unleashed a Herculean final throw in the women’s shot put competition Friday night in Rio to take home the first-ever gold medal by an American woman in the event.
Carter, 30, heaved her last shot 20.63 meters to surpass and upset two-time defending gold medalist Valeri Adams of New Zealand. Adams had set the distance to beat, 20.42, and Carter’s first five throws had ranged from 19.12 to 19.87. But she came up big on her last attempt.
Anthony Ervin wins Olympic gold 11 years after selling his only other gold
Fourth-Place Medal4 hrs agoYour browser does not support iframes.
Medal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news
Anthony Ervin’s triumph in the men’s 50-meter freestyle Friday night at the 2016 Olympics was special.
Ervin, 35, won gold in the same event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. In the 16 years since, a second individual gold eluded him. He spent eight years in retirement, and didn’t swim at the 2004 or 2008 Games. He struggled with drug use, and even tried to commit suicide. He came to Rio as the oldest member of the U.S. swim team.
Friday, he finally got that second individual gold. So what could make it even more special? Ervin doesn’t have the first one anymore.
Serbia lost to the U.S., but Milos Teodosic made the pass of the Olympics
Dan Devine at Fourth-Place Medal4 hrs agoYour browser does not support iframes.
For years, Serbian point guard Milos Teodosic has had the reputation of being one of the best and most creative playmakers who wasn’t playing in the NBA. On Friday night, during Serbia’s marquee 2016 Summer Olympics matchup with the heavily favored United States, the 29-year-old passing wizard showed a rapt audience exactly how he earned that rep.
Teodosic delivered what looked like the best pass of the Olympic hoops tournament so far when he set up former Milwaukee Bucks center Miroslav Raduljica for a dunk in the second quarter with a slick sidearm whip of a bounce pass in the pick-and-roll. But the former FIBA Europe Player of the Year and Euroleague MVP, who this season helped lead Russian club CSKA Moscow to the Euroleague title, needed just two quarters to top himself, bringing a flair for the dramatic to Serbia’s attempt to knock off the U.S. with an unbelievable no-look pass out of a drive to the basket with just under 1:30 remaining in the fourth and Serbia trailing by five.
Michael Phelps finishes in remarkable three-way swimming tie
Adam Stites at Fourth-Place Medal5 hrs agoYour browser does not support iframes.
Medal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news
Joseph Schooling pulled off the upset on Friday, defeating Michael Phelpsand earning the gold in the 100-meter butterfly. But what was even more remarkable was that Phelps was one of three swimmers to finish in a tie for the silver medal, joining Chad Le Clos of South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary in second place.
In an era of sports that features super slow motion and camera triangulation used to challenge tennis and volleyball faults, how can there be a tie in a race, let alone a three-way tie?
Unlike most sports, swimming doesn’t use instant replay or a photo finish to determine a winner. Instead it has an electronic timing system with touchpads on the wall of the pool that stop the clock immediately when touched.
