The 2016 Rio Olympic Games got underway a week ago and already there have been headline-grabbing upsets, world records and remarkable surprises.
The world’s premier athletes are competing on one stage where absolutely anything can — and often does — happen. Like college football or March Madness, expecting the unexpected is what makes the Olympics so enjoyable.
There’s still a long way to go in Rio, but let’s take a gander at some of the summer’s biggest surprises to date.
7. U.S. women’s field hockey team channeling ‘Miracle on Ice’ without the ice
At the 2012 London Olympic Games, the U.S. women’s field hockey team finished dead last in a pool of 12. As a result, expectations weren’t very high entering the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Despite that, the U.S. still showed marked improvement over the last four years, earning a No. 5 overall ranking — the highest ranking for a women’s field hockey team in U.S. history.
As it turns out, they may have been deserving of an even better ranking.
In consecutive upsets, the U.S. women defeated No. 2-ranked Argentina 2-1 in their Olympic opener on Saturday, and then No. 3-ranked Australia 2-1 on Monday. The two highly-unexpected upsets earned the U.S. six points, which was enough to lead Pool B going into their next game.
“We love to be the underdog,” captain Lauren Crandall told the Washington Post after their upset of Australia. “Even if we are to be No. 1 in the world someday, we’ll still feel like the underdog. That’s our mentality.”
Following their 2-0 start, the team then beat Japan 6-1 on Wednesday and shut out India 3-0 on Thursday. They have earned the top seed in Group B thanks to their 4-0 start and goal differential of 10. In good shape entering the knockout stage, they need two straight wins to reach the gold medal game.
The U.S. women’s field hockey team has not won a medal since 1984.
6. Missy Franklin’s swimming struggles
Missy Franklin went from being one of the darlings at the London Olympics in 2012 to disappointing in Rio.
The world record holder in the 200m backstroke, Franklin failed to qualify for the finals of both the 200m freestyle and 200m backstroke. Keep in mind that Franklin was the defending gold medalist in the 200m backstroke.
Not only did Franklin not qualify for the finals of both the 200m freestyle (she was 13th in the semis) and 200m backstroke (she was 7th in her semifinals heat), but she also got subbed off the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team in the finals, though she did claim a gold medal because of her work on the relay team in the earlier rounds.
From winning four gold medals and a bronze in London to not reaching the finals in two events in Rio, it’s been a rough road for the 21-year-old swimmer.
Franklin is trying her best to keep a good attitude about Rio, but she told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ann Killion, “right now, it sucks.”
5. Kerri Walsh-Jennings loses second career Olympic set (but wins match)
Kerri Walsh-Jennings is a beach volleyball legend at the Olympics.
The 6-foot-2 Santa Cruz, Calif. native teamed with Misty May-Treanor to win three consecutive gold medals beginning with Athens in ’04 and running through London in 2012. As a team, the duo only lost one set in the Olympics, and that came in 2012 against Australia.
Through three matches at the 2016 Rio Games with new teammate April Ross, Walsh-Jennings has already matched that total of lost sets.
Despite winning their first two matches in straight sets, Walsh-Jennings and Ross dropped a set against the Swiss team of Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Verge-Depre. The American duo still rallied to win the deciding set 15-12 and finish at the top of the standings in Pool C. They now enter the knockout stage of the event, needing four straight wins to capture the gold, which would mark Walsh-Jennings’ fourth in a row at the Olympics.
4. Philippines ends 20-year medal drought as Hidilyn Diaz makes history
It had been 20 long years since the Philippines last won a medal in Olympic competition, but that drought came to an unexpected end thanks to under-sized weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz.
The 5-foot-1 (and that’s being kind) Diaz was not expected to medal in 2016 after coming up short in both 2008 and 2012, but she shocked the world by winning silver in the 53kg weightlifting class. In the process, she also became the first Filipino woman to ever win an Olympic medal.
“I am happy. I did not expect to win the silver medal,” Diaz told NBC after her performance. “I just aimed for the bronze medal.”
With the silver, Diaz not only etches out her place in Olympic history and ends a 20-year dry spell for the Philippines, but will also receive a life-changing amount of money for her and her family.
In addition to her bonus of 2.5 million pesos (roughly $53,000 USD), Diaz will also receive an undisclosed cash reward from boxer/senator, Manny Pacquiao.
“Not really big. The amount will come from my own pocket,” Pacquiao told Philboxing.com.
Diaz will receive several other perks, including a new house, when she returns home to a hero’s welcome.
Read Nos. 3-1 on Page 2
