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Best Moments from Tokyo Olympics

Here are 9 best moments of the Tokyo Olympics that you should know:

1. History Made by Elaine Thompson-Herah

The Jamaican sprinter, Elaine Thompson-Herah became the first woman to win 100-200m at consecutive Olympic Games. No woman succeeded in defending the 100m and 200m titles. Because of her consistent win, she became the undisputed sprinting queen.

2. Memorable Skateboarding Competition

Skateboarding is an exciting game that is made up of the Olympics. This is good news for many skateboarders. It was a refreshing and fun-to-watch game without tantrums and egos. The first winner of the skateboarding game was the local Yuto Horigome.

3. Prolific in the Pool

Caeleb Dressel rules the pool games. He had 12 total swims in six different events and won five gold medals. He became the fourth male to make such record-breaking wins, after winning gold medals in five Olympics events. On the other hand, Emma McKeon won seven gold medals, which include four gold medals.

4. Felix Makes History

Allyson Felix is an American sprinter who won another gold medal. She is one of the successful women in the Olympics with one bronze, three silvers, and six gold medals. People are comparing her with Carl Lewis’ 10 Olympics medals, which is a record.

5. Tears of Joy

Tom Daley waited a long time to win an Olympics gold medal. Since his first dive in 2008, he managed to win this time. He stood atop the podium with Matty Lee and celebrated the win. Daley is now an Olympics champion after 16 years of struggle.

6. Canada’s Victory

Canada defeated the US to become the number one team in women’s football. When Julia Grosso made her winning penalty kick, the team flocked to her with joy. Also, Quinn is now the first non-binary, trans athlete to win a gold medal.

7. Magic Zverev

Alexander Zverev became the best tennis player by winning the men’s singles gold medal. He is the first German player to win a singles tennis gold medal. His win at the Tokyo Olympics was the best moment of his career.

8. New Pool Queen

Australian athlete, Ariarne Titmus won the women’s swimming in both 200m and 400m freestyle swim. After her 400m won, her coach, Titmus had an incredible reaction. Also, she won a silver medal in the 800m swimming competition.

Mutaz and Gianmarco sharing the gold medal were one of the touching moments of the event. After two hours of high jump final, both managed to clear 2.39m. Before announcing their shared win, Mutaz Essa Barshim inquired with the officials whether they can share the medal and they said yes.

As the Olympic Games 2021 are finally taking place in Tokyo, it’ll be nice to learn some interesting facts. Some of the facts here are from Ancient Greek games, and others are from modern ones as well. Read further and learn some cool facts as you watch the Olympic Games.

1. Winners Names Imprinted on the Stadium Halls

After winning a medal, all the Olympic winners are honored at the stadium. Not only that, but their names are imprinted on the stadium walls, continuing their legacy.

2. Biting the Medal

Biting the Olympic medal is a tradition that you may have noticed in some of the games. So, you may ask yourself why? Well, this is an old tradition that was done to check if the coins were real, as a gold coin would never leave teeth marks. Most of the Olympic medals are now finished in gold and made of silver.

3. The Naked Athlete

During the ancient Greek games, many athletes would perform naked. It was seen as a symbol of courage, power, and fearlessness.

4. The Symbolic Olympic Rings

Curious as to what the olympic rings symbolize? Well, the colorful rings on the flag symbolize 5 continents and their flag colors.

5. The 1500 Year Old Hiatus

Pierre de Coubertin formed the International Olympic Committee, and it took almost 1593 years before for the Olympics to return. It originally ran from 776 BC to 392 AD.

6. The Medal Format

The ancient Greek Olympics only had only one medal, which was gold. Now, the modern Olympics have three medals; gold, silver, and bronze.

7. The First Paralytic Games

The first Paralympics games took place during the 1960s in Rome. This was initially for war veterans as a form of rehabilitation. The modern Paralympics consist of people with disabilities competing against each other.

8. Marathon Without Shoes

Abebi Bikila was the first African to win a gold medal in the Olympics. Not only did he win, but he won for competing in the marathon race barefoot.

9. Children and Amateurs were a Part of the Olympic Games

Until 1997, young people and amateurs were allowed to compete in the Olympics. However: the rules changed, and only above 16 can compete now.

10. A few Games are Not a Part of the Tug War

There are a few games not included in the modern Olympic Games, such as hot air ballooning, tug if warm plunge for distance, and dueling.

11. Rectangular Medals

The 1900 Paris games were the only Olympics games that offered winners rectangular medals.

12. First Female Participants

The 2012 London Olympic Games were the first ever in which each country sent female athletes.

13. Olympic Torch

The Olympic torch has been taken to save a few times!

14. Recycled Medals

The Tokyo 2020-21 games are the first in history to give medals made from recycled materials that were being handed out.

The Takeaway

These facts surely may have blown your mind, especially if you’re keeping up with the current Olympic Games being held in Tokyo right now.