Dafne Schippers, the Great White Hope

This woman is seriously bad-ass.

She beats all the black-African runners, which is mind-boggling to me.

Well, she almost beat Elaine Thompson last night, but she stumbled out of the blocks, then stumbled and rolled over the finish line after pushing enormous exertion to finish just a 10th of a second behind the winning time, taking the silver in the 200 meters. It was astonishing.

Either she's amped up on 'roids or the black chicks now have slower times because effective PED regulations and enforcement.

Either way, Schippers is the new Great White Hope of humanity.

At the Netherlands Times, "DUTCH SPRINTER DAFNE SCHIPPERS DISPLEASED WITH 200-METER SILVER MEDAL":

Dafne Schippers
Netherlands 🇳🇱
Sprinter
Twitter: @dafneschippers
Insta: dafne_schippers#Rio2016 #OnesToWatch pic.twitter.com/aTGCp8lLnP

— Telly Lad (@TellyLad) August 5, 2016

The Dutch athlete is disappointed in second place. “I hate this very much. I came here to get gold, and I didn’t do that”, she said to broadcaster NOS after the race. “I can’t enjoy this. Horrible.”

Thompson finished with a time of 21.78 seconds, Schippers finished at 21.88 seconds. Third place went to American Tori Bowie.

Also, from last week, at USA Today, "New kid in blocks: Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers eyes gold."

U.S. Swimmer Caught on Video Fighting Security Guard on Night of Alleged Robbery (VIDEO)

Hot Air has it, "Brazil: U.S. swimmers faked robbery to cover up assault — and we have video to prove it."

And at ABC News, via Memeorandum, "U.S. Swimmer Fought With Security Guard on Night of Alleged Robbery: Police Source."

Zika's Spread Helped Along by Brazil's Deep Poverty

I've been tweeting Olympics news with the #ThirdWorldGames hashtag, and you can see why after reading this piece at the Los Angeles Times.

Here, "Brazil defeated the mosquito that spreads Zika once before — few expect it to do so again."

Raw sewage runs through drainage canals, there's no running water in homes, and families don't have enough money to buy their own bug spray pesticides. It's a choice between fighting mosquitoes or putting food on the table.

First Woman to Medal in Six Olympics Ignored by Media Because She's Pro-Second Amendment — Except She Wasn't

I love the Gateway Pundit, but sometimes the posts over there don't match reality.

Here's the entry, "FIRST WOMAN to Medal in SIX Olympics Ignored by Media Because She is Pro-Second Amendment."

Actually, Rhode was featured very prominently at the front-page of this morning's Los Angeles Times, "L.A.'s most unsung Olympian continues to excel in her sixth Olympics."

And lots of Rhode coverage in the MSM on Twitter.

So, let's just stick to reality, okay.

There's plenty of media bias.

In the case of Kim Rhode, not so much.

ADDED: From Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "OLYMPIC OIKOPHOBIA: ‘Little Known’ Olympic Shooters Snubbed by Sponsors While Media Play Dumb." That's a good point about the corporate sponsors bailing out on Olympics shooters, although again, there's lots of media coverage. It's just not as sensational as fencers in hijabs, or what have you.

Simone Manuel Becomes First Black American Woman to Win Gold in Individual Swimming

I'm so happy for her.

At the New York Times, "Rio Olympics: Simone Manuel Makes History in the Pool":

Tears of Victory for @simone_manuel​.https://t.co/BWGaUNiTHM https://t.co/6ISMPGyu0U

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 12, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO — Katie Ledecky’s roommate at the Olympics is setting records now, too.

Simone Manuel, who is sharing a room with Ledecky in the athletes’ village here, became the first African-American woman to win an individual event in Olympic swimming on Thursday night. She and Penny Oleksiak of Canada tied for the fastest time, an Olympic record in the women’s 100-meter freestyle: 52.70 seconds.

“I definitely think it raises some awareness and will get them inspired,” Manuel, 20, said about the significance of her accomplishment. “I mean, the gold medal wasn’t just for me. It was for people that came before me and inspired me to stay in the sport. For people who believe that they can’t do it, I hope I’m an inspiration to others to get out there and try swimming. You might be pretty good at it.”

Manuel and Oleksiak shaved 0.01 seconds off the Olympic standard of 52.71, set earlier in the Rio Games meet by Australia’s Cate Campbell. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom won the bronze in 52.99.

The last time an American won gold in the event was 1984, when Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer also tied and shared the gold medal with a time of 55.92 seconds.

Several black swimmers have won Olympic medals for the United States. The first female of African-American descent to make an American Olympic team was Maritza Correia, a member of the 400-meter freestyle relay team that won silver at the 2004 Athens Games.

Lia Neal, a Brooklyn native, won a bronze in a relay at the 2012 London Games and a silver in a relay here at the Rio Games.

Anthony Ervin and Cullen Jones, who are black, have won Olympic gold medals...

More.

#ThirdWorldGames: Green Water Spreads to Water Polo Pool

Following-up from last night, "#ThirdWorldGames: Olympics Diving Pool Turns Green, Mysteriously."

Now water polo players are complaining of burning eyes.

That's what you get for playing the Olympics in a Third World shithole.

At WSJ, "Rio 2016: The Green Water Spreads to Water Polo Pool":

Rio 2016: The Green Water Spreads to Water Polo Pool - WSJ https://t.co/x5isF39taJ

— SnewsHound (@SnewsHound) August 10, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO—The Rio Olympics’ green-water crisis claimed another victim: the water polo pool.

Officials scrambled to contain the new embarrassment, which shocked television viewers and spectators Tuesday when the pool hosting the women’s 10-meter synchronized diving finals turned a deep, bright green. Wednesday, even as officials insisted they had the problem under control, they acknowledged that the problem was also affecting the adjoining water polo pool, which also displayed a greenish tint.

“Yesterday mid-afternoon there was a sudden decrease in the alkalinity of the pool,” said Mario Andrada, spokesman for the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee. “Obviously, the people in charge of maintaining the pool and of checking could and should have done more intensive tests.”

Andrada said the pool color would get back to normal “very shortly.” However, he added, Wednesday’s rain in Rio was complicating things.

Several possible explanations emerged on Wednesday, though not all seemed to fit together.

FINA, swimming and diving’s world governing body, said the change occurred, because “the water tanks ran out of some of the chemicals used in the water treatment process. As a result the pH level of the water was outside the usual range, causing the discolouration.”

FINA also added that its sport medicine committee had deemed the water safe for competition...

Well, maybe not.

At WaPo, "Water polo players complain of burning eyes after Rio officials attempt to treat green pool water."

U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team Leaves Opponents in Tears #Rio2016

Today's O.C. Register front page was plastered with the U.S. women's Olympics team. Those galls are utterly dominant.

The L.A. Times' front page, on the other hand, was plastered with articles on Donald Trump's Second Amendment "gaffe," of course.

Gives you a good idea about journalistic priorities.

Here's a couple from the Register, "This U.S. women's gymnastics team leaves opponents in tears," and "What the U.S. women's team dominance means for the future of the sport."

#ThirdWorldGames: Olympics Diving Pool Turns Green, Mysteriously

Yes, "mysteriously."

At the New York Times, "During Diving Event, Pool Transforms From Crystal Blue to Garishly Green":

Why is the diving pool water green? @vickihallch tries to get to the bottom of it. (The question, not the pool.) https://t.co/9BQv44wiXL

— National Post (@nationalpost) August 10, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO — An unsettling thing happened at the Olympic diving pool on Tuesday: the water inexplicably turned green, just in time for the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform diving competition.

Officials said they did not know what caused the trouble, exactly. But they declared the water had been tested and was not dangerous. It was an unsettling sight, appearing to become greener and murkier as the day went on, having been a lovely light blue on Monday.

The British diver Tom Daley, who won a bronze medal in the same pool the day before, posted a photograph on Twitter showing the contrast between the colors of the pools. “Ermmmm – what happened?” he said.

The adjoining pool at the aquatic center, used for synchronized swimming and water polo, remained its normal blue color, which made the extreme greenness of the diving pool all the more striking.

Meanwhile, diving practice went on as planned, and so did the women’s synchronized event. Competitors generally said that the swampiness of the water did not put them off their form, although they found it weird and puzzling.

“I’ve never dived in anything like it,” said Britain’s Tonia Couch, who finished fifth, along with Lois Coulson.

The situation overshadowed the news conference after the event, with reporters more interested in the state of the water than in the quality of the diving. Officials released a brief statement that did not address the main questions: what had happened, why had it happened so quickly, and why wasn’t there a simple explanation, given that this is the sort of thing that commonly happens to swimming pools?

“To ensure a high quality field of play is mandatory to the Rio 2016 organizing committee,” the statement said. “Water tests at Maria Lenk Aquatic Center diving pool were conducted and found to be no risk to the athletes’ health. We’re investigating what the cause of the situation was.”

The statement also said, “We’re pleased to say the competition was successfully completed.”

Officials at the news conference declined to take questions from the news media about the water.

Steve Henderson, who owns AAA Pool Service in Santa Rosa, Calif., said that although he was not an expert on Brazilian swimming pools, there were two likely causes: a sudden algae bloom, which could be eradicated by zapping the pool with extra chlorine overnight; or a chemical reaction between chlorine and a metal in the water, most likely manganese.

“If they have manganese in the water, you will get a reaction depending on level of chlorination,” Henderson said. He said that it was a normal occurrence, as even a slight imbalance can cause a violent color change, and not a cause of alarm.

Still, he said, he found it puzzling that officials at the Games did not have a better explanation...

More.

Michael Phelps Takes Gold in 200 Butterfly for 24th Career Olympics Medal

Christine Brennan, at USA Today, has the story, "Why Michael Phelps' 200 fly Olympic gold is as sweet as it gets."

Well, that Mashable tweet pretty much sums it up:

See the exact moment Chad le Clos regretted provoking Michael Phelps https://t.co/nYxAkCQekn via @mashable #Olympics2016

— Cece (@CeceCalabrese) August 10, 2016

British Anchor Helen Skelton Posts 'Outfit of the Day' to Instagram

At the Sun U.K., "BBC presenter Helen Skelton send pulses racing in her skimpy outfit: HEL-UVA OUTFIT - Rio 2016: BBC host Helen Skelton sends viewers into meltdown with risque outfit on Olympic swimming duty."

And London's Daily Mail, "Never mind about the swimming, check out my #outfitoftheday: BBC presenter Helen Skelton Instagrams her dresses as she swaps into VERY racy orange party number."

Here's her Instagram page.

Also on Twitter here.

Michael Phelps Game Face

We did have the Olympics on last night, after getting home from dinner at B.J.'s Pizza in Tustin.

Michael Phelps is hella disciplined.

At WSJ:

A game face for the ages from Michael Phelps https://t.co/2WZlO2YJa3 via @jasongay #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/Znwh01sjcF

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 9, 2016

Here Are the Anti-Israel Tweets from Ibtihaj Muhammed

Ibtihaj Muhammed.

She's a terrorist as far as I'm concerned. Shame on the U.S. for letting this woman even go to the games, much less represent America.

At Truth Revolt, "Here are the Anti-Israel Tweets from Hijab-Wearing Olympian."

U.S. Men's Gymnasts Want Olympics Competition to Be Topless

News articles are saying "shirtless" competition, but that's a gendered description.

It'd be non-sexist to say 'topless' competition, since obviously if men are "objectified" the objectifiers are going be women (primarily, since I'm sure a lot of homosexual men wouldn't mind male topless competition).

If you're seeing all these hot social media and TV celebrities taking off their shirts (tops) on Instagram and Twitter, no one's calling them "shirtless" selfies. Nope. "Topless" hotties are going to generate way better search results for the leftist hacks at Google, lol.

In any case, some Rule 5 for the ladies.

At WSJ, "U.S. Male Gymnasts Want to Be Objectified":

Training in the training hall complete! Team looking good #TEAMUSA pic.twitter.com/kXGTAEOFy8

— Jake Dalton (@jake_dalton) August 1, 2016

When the United States men’s gymnastics team came to the site of the Olympics earlier this year for a reconnaissance training camp, the American athletes did what anyone in Brazil with a carefully sculpted body would do. They went to the beach, stripped to their Speedos and whipped out a selfie stick. The soaring peaks of Sugarloaf Mountain in the background have never looked so meek.

What happened next was exactly the reaction the U.S. team imagined. The Internet went gaga for the ensuing Instagrams.

That wasn’t an accident. It’s one of the ways they think they can get attention in a country that showers glory upon gold-medal-winning women gymnasts while ignoring America’s less-successful men’s team.

So the men’s team has been brainstorming ways to market their sport better. They would like to be objectified.

“Maybe compete with our shirts off,” said U.S. star Sam Mikulak, the four-time, reigning all-around national champion. “People make fun of us for wearing tights. But if they saw how yoked we are maybe that would make a difference.”

The Rio Games’ women’s team final Tuesday is the marquee Olympic gymnastics event for American audiences—yet again. It’s a near-lock that Team USA will win the gold medal, the women will be immortalized with a catchy superlative like the “Fierce Five” and Simone Biles will be anointed Olympic royalty, to be remembered forever.

But first comes the men’s team final Monday. Don’t laugh. America’s men’s team actually did far better than expected during Saturday’s qualifying round, finishing second behind China.

After months of experts predicting that the men’s team final would come down to a race between China and Japan, the U.S. actually enters Monday’s competition as a frontrunner. The last medal for America’s men’s team was a bronze that came in Beijing in 2008.

But there’s a feeling on the men’s team that even if they won gold, they wouldn’t enjoy the stardom that America confers upon its top female gymnasts...

See? It's sexism all around!

Boy, there's no escaping those media double standards.

If leftists didn't have double standards they'd have no standards at all!

Still more.

How Brazil's Lula Conned the World — #ThirdWorldGames

From Mary Anastasia O'Grady, at WSJ:

The 2016 Olympic Games kicked off in Rio de Janeiro on the weekend without major incidents. That seemed a near miracle after weeks of grim reports about shoddy construction, an unprepared security detail and monstrous traffic jams. Whether the athletes, visitors and Cariocas (as Rio residents are known) can get through the next two weeks without a catastrophe remains an open question.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Then again, when Rio won the competition in 2009 to host these games, Brazil wasn’t forecast to look like it does today—with a budget deficit equal to some 8% of gross domestic product, inflation near 10%, two years of economic contraction and a cesspool of corruption scandals.

In 2009, President Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party (PT) had been at the helm for more than six years and was somewhat of a world rock star. His hip rhetoric denigrated the economic liberalism of the 1990s while hyping a new and improved brand of socialism with a samba twist.

Much of the region bought Lula’s 2.0 version of big government. Concerns about the return of left-wing Latin populism and its potential damage to entrepreneurship and economic growth were met with assurances that this time would be different.

Lula was a man of the left but he wasn’t Hugo Chávez, conventional wisdom explained. A November 2009 Economist magazine cover story was titled “Brazil takes off.” It cited a forecast by the consulting firm PwC that by 2025 São Paulo would be the world’s fifth-wealthiest city. Most of punditry agreed: Brazil was on course to take its rightful place as a world economic superpower.

Lula stepped down after two terms in 2011, handing power to his PT successor, President Dilma Rousseff. The 2016 Olympics were supposed to showcase the socialist paradise he had cultivated: an urban utopia mixing affordable housing, national industrial champions and orderly public-transportation networks to provide a tranquil—and environmentally approved—living experience.

Instead, at the Olympic Village, just weeks before the opening, sinks fell off the walls and there were various other plumbing disasters. The Australian national team fled from its quarters upon arrival because it found, among other things, exposed electrical wires next to indoor puddles of water. Guanabara Bay, the venue for open-water swimming and sailing races, is a giant petri dish of bacteria. A new metro line that was supposed to take visitors to the games ends eight miles short of its promised destination.

The Rio security company that was hired to screen spectators was fired 10 days ago for noncompliance with its contract. Organizers scrambled last week to hire and train a replacement team.

The world seems stunned. It shouldn’t be. Rio is a microcosm of Lula’s Brazil, where bureaucracy runs things from the top down and human beings are an afterthought. The only thing missing in this Rio analogy—so far—is the corruption that flourished at the federal level during 14 years of PT government...

Still more.

The Produnova Vault

This is interesting.

It's called the "vault of death."

At WSJ:

The Produnova vault is a gamble only a handful of women’s gymnasts are willing to make https://t.co/fX092NX1GJ #Rio2016

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 7, 2016

And there's more about India's Dipa Karmakar here, "Assignment Asia: Conquering the 'vault of death'."

Dutch Cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten in Intensive Care After Monster Crash in Women's Road Race at Rio 2016 (VIDEO)

Watch, at NBC Sports, "Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten suffers a horrific crash while in the lead and nearing the end of the road race on Sunday."

And at the Mirror U.K., "Annemiek van Vleuten in intensive care with three spinal fractures after horror crash."

#ThirdWorldGames — Hope Solo FTW!

Well, I don't follow women's soccer that much, and I thought Hope Solo was a prima donna.

But this is a riot.

At LAT, "Solo quiets the crowd and France in record-setting 1-0 win":

Solo quiets the crowd and France in record-setting 1-0 win https://t.co/0wI1qkOLT4

— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) August 6, 2016

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Hope Solo is arguably the best goalkeeper in women’s soccer history. But she’s clearly not the most popular.

For the second time is as many games at the Rio Olympics, Solo was booed mercilessly every time she touched the ball Saturday. And for the second time Solo answered the taunts with a shutout in a 1-0 victory over France on a goal from Carli Lloyd in the 63rd minute.

With the victory the U.S., the three-time defending Olympic champion, moved a big step closer to winning its group and earning a quarterfinal date in Brasilia against a third-place team. France, on the other hand, needs at least a tie to finish second in the group and win a quarterfinal trip to Sao Paulo, where it would play the winner of Group F, likely Germany or Canada.

Both teams have one game left in group play Tuesday, the top-ranked U.S. against Colombia on the edge of the Amazon jungle in steamy Manaus and No. 3 France against New Zealand in the colonial port city of Salvador.

That picture would be far more jumbled if not for Solo, who was making the 200th appearance of her international career, the most by any goalkeeper, male or female, in history.

The Brazilian crowd was in no mood to help her celebrate the milestone. Each time she touched the ball the crowd booed loudly – or as loudly as a crowd of about 10,000 people can boo – then chanted “Zika!” each time she took a goal kick.

Last month Solo, who said she had considered skipping the Olympics because of the Zika virus, posted photos of herself on Twitter wearing an anti-mosquito mask and holding a bottle of insect repellent, angering many Brazilians.

Solo later apologized but the apology wasn’t accepted by everyone...

She apologized?

Okay, but the tweet's still up, heh. No wonder they hate her.

Not sharing this!!! Get your own! #zikaproof #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/y3d8hnuEjk

— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) July 22, 2016

I'm not planning on watching that much of these games, but I'll watch kick-ass women's soccer. These women are rad!

Gisele Bündchen's Legs Do the Walking at #Rio2016 Opening Ceremony (VIDEO)

I know. I blogged the boring Olympics last night.

I didn't even watch, and I'm glad.

But the world went crazy over Gisele Bündchen, it turns out. So here's a little roundup of reactions, heh.

First, watch, at NBC Sports, "Gisele Bündchen kicks off the Opening Ceremony with the final catwalk of her modeling career."

And see the hilarious reaction at BuzzFeed, "This Is Just an Appreciation Post for This Marvelous Woman Called GISELE BÜNDCHEN":

Hi guys, let’s talk about the most important part of the opening ceremony.

Also, at London's Daily Mail, "Gisele uses her final catwalk to honor Brazil at #Olympics #OpeningCeremony. Woah."

And, "Tom Brady reveals why he missed Gisele's starring role at #Rio2016 #OpeningCeremony." Well, he's married to the woman, heh.

At CBS News Boston, "Tom Brady Praises Wife Gisele’s Role In ‘Incredible’ Olympic Opening Ceremony #Rio2016."

And here's a review, at NYT, "Even on NBC, Rio's Colors Can't Be Airbrushed Out."

Boring Brazil Olympics — #ThirdWorldGames

Heh.

I didn't watch.

Gisele Bündchen's really cool, though.

REVIEW: Brazil Boring... https://t.co/As9nPCVdsX

— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) August 6, 2016

.@giseleofficial is “The Girl From Ipanema” in Olympic #OpeningCeremony: https://t.co/otphOCsXvH pic.twitter.com/xqSR0vbzBJ

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2016

And at People Magazine, "Gisele Bündchen Dances Like Everyone's Watching at Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony."

Update Not Watching the Olympics — #ThirdWorldGames

Following-up, "Not Watching the Olympics — #ThirdWorldGames."

Via Twitter:

.@rogerlsimon That's why I never bothered to watch in the first place. Revolting politics and PC inanity. #ThirdWorldGames #Rio2016

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 6, 2016