Rio 2016

The 31st Olympic Games Take on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Sophomore Matthew Robertson views Michael Phelps’ profile on Olympic.org.

Emily Robertson, Staff Writer

Rio de Janeiro, a vibrant seaside city in Brazil, was the host of the 31st Olympic Games this summer.

Over 11,000 athletes competed in the Rio Olympics, and over 500 of them were there representing the United States of America.

Team USA displayed some new faces this olympic season, including favorites Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, and Simone Manuel.

The swimming events were the most viewed by Northmont students.

Senior Sha’bre Byrd was excited to see the the first-time Olympian Simone Manuel swim her way to victory in the 100m freestyle, becoming the first African-American woman to win as an individual in an Olympic swimming event.

More feats were made in Olympic swimming, including Katie Ledecky’s gold medal wins in the 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, and 4x200m freestyle relay.

Freshman Jenna Stowers noted Katie Ledecky’s gold medal wins as some of the most amazing moments she witnessed this Olympics.

Michael Phelps, an olympic veteran, was another favorite this Olympic games, especially among Northmont students.

Freshman Shelby Fugate’s favorite athlete to watch was Phelps. Fugate mentioned feeling inspired as to not give up, and to just keep swimming.

Students were not just impressed by Michael Phelps, but also by Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter.

Sophomore Matthew Robertson was astounded by Bolt’s ability to win his events so “effortlessly,” and does not believe Bolt will actually retire.

While swimming and sprinting might be some of the most viewed events, other sports are not so popular.

Junior Joey Pryor does not believe ping pong (table tennis) should be included in the Olympics.

Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since the 1988 Seoul games, according to olympic.org.

Among the 28 sports, gymnastics is also extremely popular.

Simone Biles, the 19-year-old representing the U.S. gymnastics team, has been one of the highlighted players in the Rio games.

Freshman Katie Shank considers Simone to be her favorite Olympic athlete, and feels inspired to get into a sport after watching some of the games.

Altogether, Team USA did “really good” according to Junior Aubrey Kosak, whose favorite sport to watch was track. Kosak enjoyed watching the 10k race, and was inspired by the race strategies she witnessed.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games came to a close on Sunday, August 21, and with it,  many new records waiting to be broken in another 4 years.