Olympic Update - Tennis, Sprints, And Medals For Brazil

In a tennis tournament filled with shocking upsets, the most unlikely winner of all was Monica Puig of Puerto Rico. Ranked 34th in the world coming into the tournament, she took down Gabriel Muguruza and Petra Kvitova on her way to the final. There she played an almost flawless match and outlasted Angelique Kerber in 3 sets. This was the first medal of any kind in history for a woman representing Puerto Rico and she truly earned it. Kvitova ended up taking the bronze. On the men's side, which went slightly more to form, Andy Murray picked up his second gold in singles by outlasting Juan Martin del Potro in four long, tough sets. Both men looked exhausted at different points in the match, but Murray's tenacious defense eventually wore del Potro into submission. In the bronze medal match, Kei Nishikori was rolling over the exhausted Rafael Nadal, up two breaks in the second after cruising through the first. And then the thought of an Olympic medal caught up to him. He through away the two breaks, serving to win the match both times, and lost the second in a tiebreak. But Nadal, who had played in both doubles as well, was just out of gas and Nishikori regained his composure to close out the third and take the bronze.

On the track, Usain Bolt won his third straight 100 meter gold medal with ease. Despite getting a terrible start, he cruised in the final few meters with Justin Gatlin, his only real challenger, trailing behind for the silver. He made it look so easy. The 400 world record, held for 17 years by Michael Johnson, was smashed by South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk by .15 second and nearly broke the 43 second barrier, registering an unbelievable time of 43.03. What is more incredible is that he did this while running from lane 8, traditionally the worst lane as you cannot see your opponents until the stretch.

In one of the more emotional moments of the night, Brazil managed to win a silver and bronze in the men's gymnastics floor exercise. Diego Hypolito, a world champion in the floor, had fallen in the last two Olympics while his compatriot Arthur Nory could not watch as the final competitor, American Sam Mikulak, did his routine. But Nory's place was assured when Mikulak stepped off the floor and had numerous big hops on his tumbling landings. Hypolito was already in tears as he was assured of a medal and Nory joined him when the score revealed he would take the bronze.

NBC gets a ton of abuse for its coverage, primarily due to the endless commercials and its US-centric focus. But another reason may be that sometimes they do a really poor job. Yes, Usain Bolt's win in the 100 meters last night was historic and clearly put him in the pantheon of great Olympians and probably the best sprinter ever, but it should not take over 4 minutes after the end of the race to let the audience know that the bronze medal went to Andre de Grasse of Canada. I know Canadians have long gotten used to the fact of being ignored by the US, but this was a little much.