It might surprise some that the World Championship, (or, um, the World Cup title) won yesterday by USA is only the 5th-ever title for the Americans in the 17-year history of the event. And, that that only ties USA for most titles with Yugoslavia. The good news for USA is that YUG doesn't exist anymore, so the road is clear for USA to move firmly clear atop the history books. And there really shouldn't be any concern yet for the USA, provided they maintain focus and take these tournaments seriously. When they do - thanks to Jerry Colangelo and the current USA Basketball mantra, there really isn't much competition. At this tournament, for example, it must have been disheartening a bit for other nations to see such depth of the Americans, as a couple of months before the start, USA was in a bit of turmoil with injury depletions and players dropping out. In fact, only two players on the World Cup team were carry-overs from the Olympic team in 2012. Spain and others must have been drooling at the prospect of grabbing a title while USA was sleeping. But, while other countries were fielding their 'A' teams in that goal, USA was probably a 'B+' at best, and yet still cruised to the title. How do the other countries counter? We'll see in a couple of years in Rio what adjustments, if any, the top contenders ESP, SRB, FRA and maybe others can make. Otherwise, Rio looks to be another USA coronation. But behind the U.S., it may be a toss-up, as the sport really is a global game. From '94 on, 11 different nations aside from USA have won a medal - and the silver and bronze medalists in '14 are completely different from '10 (SRB and FRA vs TUR and LTU). Furthermore, most pundits expected Spain to cruise into the final against USA, yet ESP found themselves upset by old rivals FRA in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, SRB was a surprise finalist after finishing third in their round-robin group and upsetting FRA in the semifinals. There is obviously some good basketball being played over in Europe. That competitive balance and popularity of the sport is certainly what helped drive FIBA to re-brand the tournament as a 'World Cup' vs a 'World Championship', with an eye toward marketing the sports as a significant global interest. But to really make it matter and to really make it compelling, there needs to be a good, consistent chance going into it that other one or more teams can knock off the USA. Time will tell if that can happen.
The Games of the XXVII Olympiad - or, the Sydney Olympics - opened officially with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, September 15 2000. 10,651 athletes from 199 nations participated in what was considered widely as a greatly successful Games in terms of organization and sportsmanship. Memorable moments included Ian Thorpe (AUS) becoming a hometown hero in swimming, as did Cathy Freeman (AUS) in the women's track 400 meters. These were also the last Games for IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. And, these were the first Games on which I worked within sports media, including developing content and advertiser programs throughout the two weeks. They do hold a special place in my memory... Russia came out the big winner from the Wrestling Worlds in Taskent, which ended this weekend. Aside from the team title in men's freestyle, RUS also won 2nd place in both women's freestyle and men's greco-roman, and a total of 15 medals to top the table, and outpacing by far second place Iran and Turkey, who had 9 medals each. Those 15 medals featured 6 golds, including Denis Tsargush (pictured) in the men's 74kg free class. Russian wrestling has usually been a source of athletic success for the nation, and it's no wonder that President Vladimir Putin played an active role in helping to reinstate the sport to the Olympics after the brief scare of a possible drop; their overall medal count at the Games would certainly have been negatively affected. But it is obvious there is a rich tradition there in the sport, and it is impressive for sure to see their athletes continue to lead the charge. And even on the women's side, too, at the Championships, where RUS women tied Japan for total medals at 5, although JPN's included 4 golds to RUS' 0. There might be a strong rivalry there in the making, although the JPN men have a long road ahead to catching up to their female counterparts, as the men's team only came away with 1 silver in freestyle. Jesse Owens (USA) was born on September 12, 1913 and is best known for winning 4 gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, in front of a partisan German crowd led by Hitler and his intent on using the Games as a tool to showcase 'Aryan superiority'. Interestingly, and perhaps predictably, that narrative is conveniently packaged, and there are accounts of Germany actually being somewhat a generous host to Owens. Regardless, Owens was a remarkable athlete and is often considered the best track athlete ever - so much so that USA Track and Field named its annual honor of achievement after him. In 1972, the Munich Olympic Games closed on September 10. Although known for many memorable sporting moments - Olga Korbut's debut, Mark Spitz's 7 golds, Lasse Viren's double golds, and more - the Games are best known for the September 5th kidnapping and later massacre of 9 Israeli delegation members. To say the least, that moment probably served as an unfortunate catalyst for using the Games as political opportunity and forging strict security concerns going forward. |
Above: Athens' Kallimarmaro, the site of the 1896 Summer Olympics
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