Summer Olympics 2016: Biggest Surprises from Day 1
It's the Olympics.
Not everything goes according to plan.
That reality was in full effect on Day 1 of the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, where an American teen became a shooting champion, a Japanese gymnastics superstar experienced a human moment and a beleaguered boxing program began piecing together its competitive reputation.
We put together a list of some of the top early Brazilian surprises as things got underway, and we invite your suggestions and opinions in the comments section.
Thrasher Hits Golden Target
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It may go down as one of the biggest surprises of the entire Olympics.
Ginny Thrasher winning a gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle—the first for an American in 16 years—should qualify as the premier shocker for Day 1 of the Games.
The 19-year-old Thrasher finished with a final score of 208, a full point ahead of China's Du Li.
Thrasher only got her start in shooting five years ago when she asked to join her grandfather on a hunting trip.
"This is beyond my wildest dreams," Thrasher said, per the Associated Press (h/t the New York Times). "I knew it was a realistic expectation for me to get into the finals, and once you get into the finals, anything can happen. For me, this year has been incredible."
Stricken Sock Goes Down the Tubes
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No one realistically expected Jack Sock to win a men's tennis gold medal.
Nevertheless, no one expected his quest to end in one match, either.
But that's what happened to the world's 25th-ranked player. He lost in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to Japan's No. 118-ranked Taro Daniel.
Sock was diagnosed with walking pneumonia before arriving in Brazil, but he decided he'd try to tough it out for the sake of experiencing his first Summer Games.
“I tried to come down; I wanted the experience, wanted to be part of the Olympics, and obviously went out there and did the best I could,” he said, per Yahoo Sports. “Obviously there will be a lot of people who thought that it didn’t look great. But I did what I could. It was tough for me to breathe at times.”
US Field Hockey Starts Strong
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In its pre-Olympics medals predictions, SI.com pegged Argentina to win gold in women's field hockey.
But if the South American superstars pull it off, they'll have to recover from a Day 1 shock.
In its first game of pool play, Team USA came up with a 2-1 upset of the favorites, following up on a similar surprise from the 2015 Pan-American Games.
Goalkeeper Jackie Briggs came up with some huge saves to keep Argentina from getting on the board in a frenetic first half, and she was rewarded in the second with goals from Katie Reinprecht and Michelle Kasold.
Argentina’s Delfina Merino ended the shutout bid with just more than three minutes left, but a Lauren Crandall-led defense held things down for the U.S. as it sealed the win.
"If we play our game and stick to our game plan, we can beat anybody," Briggs said, per the Associated Press (via the Intelligencer).
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US Boxing Comes Out Swinging
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The U.S. men's boxing team has won precisely one medal, Deontay Wilder's bronze, since 2004.
So any good news from the ring in Rio de Janeiro could legitimately be labeled as unexpected.
Team USA's Nico Hernandez and Karlos Balderas, roommates at the Olympic village, got the squad off to a roaring start with a pair of unanimous-decision victories.
Balderas opened in impressive fashion with a lightweight victory over Kazakhstan's Berik Abdrakhmanov, while light flyweight Hernandez fought impressively in Rounds 2 and 3 while toppling Italy's Manuel Cappai.
“In the first round I was lunging in,” Hernandez said, per Chris Kudialis of Kansas.com. “I went back to the corner and (Coach Billy Walsh) told me to use jabs and work my way in. I listened to him and I accomplished that.”
Upset Yields Women's Fencing Gold
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No matter the sport, a seventh-ranked athlete beating a multiple world champion is a surprise.
And when the scenario plays out courtesy of a dramatic rally on an Olympic stage, it borders on shocking.
Such was the feat accomplished by Hungary's Emese Szasz, who rallied to win the gold medal in women's epee over two-time world champion Rossella Fiamingo.
The final score was 15-13 in Szasz's favor after she'd trailed by four points (10-6)—often a decisive margin in fencing.
"I believed in myself and my fencing, and I did it," she said after her win, per Luke Meredith of the Associated Press (via the Washington Times).
Kohei Uchimura Is Human After All
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Japan's Kohei Uchimura is still a six-time world champion.
And he may still wind up as the first Olympian to defend a men's all-around gymnastics title since 1972.
But he's not a machine.
The 27-year-old missed an attempt to regrip the horizontal bar after a release maneuver and fell flat on his back to the mat. He wound up with a qualification score of 14.3, which was not good enough to make the final eight on the apparatus on which he was the world's best last year.
“What happened today can only make me stronger,” Uchimura said, per Reuters (via the South China Morning Post). “I need to repress my feelings so I can perform better at the next competition."
Elite Pro Shown Up by Amateur Fighter
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The suggestion that professionals be allowed to fight in the Olympics was hardly applauded.
But few would have suggested it was a bad idea because the pros were overmatched.
That’s apparently the case after Day 1, though, when former world middleweight title challenger Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam—who’d lost just twice in 36 for-pay fights—was bounced from the light heavyweight tournament by 25-year-old Brazilian amateur Michel Borges via unanimous decision.
N’Jikam, who fought for a world title last year, was 3-0 as a pro in 2016. He defeated Patrick Mendy in March, Robert Swierzbinski in May and Tomasz Gargula just one week before the Games.
“I am not happy but I (had) fun,” he said, per Paulo Prada of IOL.
Hungary's Hosszu Sinks World Record
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Katinka Hosszu’s win in the women’s 400-meter individual medley was no shock.
In fact, Bleacher Report told you to expect it.
But the ease with which the 27-year-old captured her first Olympic gold medal was still jaw-dropping.
The Hungarian began her fourth Games with a record-shattering blitz of the competition in four minutes, 26.36 seconds, which shaved more than two seconds of the mark established by China’s Ye Shiwen (4:28.43) at the 2012 Olympics in London.
She was five seconds ahead of record pace before the 100-meter freestyle leg but still touched the wall with room to spare between both the previous record and second-place finisher, American Maya DiRado.
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