Summer Olympics 2016: Winners and Losers from Day 2 in Rio
The Olympic Games don't really begin until Michael Phelps has a gold medal around his neck.
Well, they are now underway.
Phelps gave his 4x100-meter relay team the lead on the second leg, and the Americans helped him secure a 19th gold medal. It was just one of many highlights in an entertaining night in the pool that saw two more world records fall, including Katie Ledecky crushing her own record.
Early in the day, the story in cycling, unfortunately, was a crash. Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten was on her way to a gold medal when she crashed and ended up in the hospital. The danger of the course has been among the worst public relations hits for Rio so far in these Games.
On a more uplifting note, upsets are always fun at the Olympics, and Sunday delivered with medal contenders in men's indoor volleyball, men's basketball, men's soccer and multiple major global tennis stars losing.
Winner: USA Women's Hoops
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Does the United States have another Dream Team?
The U.S. women could be so dominant in Rio to deserve such a title. The Americans opened the Olympics with a historic 121-56 win over Senegal.
It was the most points scored, widest margin of victory and most assists (36) in Olympics history.
"We want to dominate the world," Diana Taurasi said this week, per Johnette Howard of ESPN.com. "The sports world, I mean."
It is hard to see that as an attainable goal, but the U.S. women could get plenty of attention if they continue to dominate the tournament at a historic rate.
Unlike the men's team, the women did not leave any of the big stars at home. Taurasi, Tamika Catchings and Sue Bird are all playing in their fourth Olympics and are joined by some of the game's top up-and-coming stars, including Elena Delle Donne, Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner. To signify the strength of this team, Delle Donne, the WNBA's MVP, comes off the bench.
The U.S. had seven women score in double figures against Senegal, led by Taurasi, who tied her own U.S. Olympic record with five threes and tied for the team lead with 15 points.
Loser: American Cyclist Mara Abbott
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Annemiek van Vleuten and Mara Abbott appeared to be on their way to gold and silver, respectively, in the women's road race.
The finish was crushing for both.
Van Vleuten had a comfortable lead over Abbott as the Dutch rider sped down the Vista Chinesa descent. With no one around, Van Vleuten lost control of her bike and flipped over her handlebars onto her head in a scary crash.
That left the American Abbott in the lead and no one else in sight. But as Abbott approached the finish line, three riders passed her. Abbott just didn't have enough left to chase them down, going from gold to out of the medals in fourth place.
"The ironic part is that you're in that situation and you don't actually believe that you can win," Abbott told NBC's Steve Porino. "You know the people are behind you and you know they're chasing you, and you think about winning an Olympic medal and you think that's something that could never ever happen to you.
"I didn't believe it until I passed 200 meters to go, and then I thought, 'Oh, my God. Oh, my God. This is going to happen.' And then they passed me. So I guess that's what they say about counting your chickens before they hatch, unfortunately."
Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands won the race, followed by Sweden's Emma Johansson and Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini.
An update for Van Vleuten: The cyclist suffered three fractures in her spine and a severe concussion from the crash, per Orla Chennaoui of Sky Sports.
Winner: U.S. Fencer Alexander Massialas
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Alexander Massialas is the top-ranked fencer in the world, but his bid to become the first American to win gold in individual foil fencing came up just short. He won silver.
Calling his day a disappointment, however, would not be accurate.
Massialas had an amazing comeback in the quarterfinal to put himself in position to medal. He was one touch away from losing when Italy's Giorgio Avola led him 14-8.
"I felt like every touch, one by one, I could actually do it," Massialas said, per Dan Wolken of USA Today. “Never give up, and I just fought my hardest and left it all out on the strip.”
Massialas scored seven straight points to beat Avola. He was right with Italy’s Daniele Garozzo in the gold-medal match, tied 7-7, and then Garozzo went on a 7-0 run to again put Massialas one point away from a loss. This time around he couldn't come back, losing 15-11.
It was the first time the U.S. has won an individual fencing medal on the men's side since 1984.
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Loser: The United States Men's Volleyball Team
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The United States men's volleyball team got off to an awful start to the Olympics by losing to Canada in three games: 25-23, 25-17 and 25-23.
The Americans have high hopes in these Games after winning the World Cup last year. The U.S. arrived in Rio as the fifth-ranked team in the world. Canada, ranked 12th, had not won a match since the 1992 Olympics.
Now things get dicey for the Americans. Looking ahead, the U.S. is in a tough spot. The next two matches are against world powers—the U.S. plays fourth-ranked Italy on Tuesday and then Brazil, the world's top-ranked team, on Thursday in pool play.
The top four teams advance to the quarterfinals, and the Americans could conceivably lose the next two matches and still have a chance to make it out of pool play if they win out in pool play against France and Mexico. But that would likely set up a quarterfinal matchup with the top team from Pool B—Poland, the world's second-ranked team is the favorite in that pool—and that's a scary proposition for the U.S.
Winner: The State of Swimming
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Swimming gets primetime treatment at the Olympics and the sport has not disappointed over the opening weekend. Two more swimming world records fell on Sunday to make it four new records so far in these Games.
Adam Peaty broke his own world record in the 100-meter breaststroke, and Katie Ledecky crushed her world record in the 400-meter freestyle on Sunday night.
The yellow line that shows the world-record pace was at Ledecky's feet for much of her swim in the 400. Her previous record was 3:58.37 and she touched the wall in 3:56.46 to win gold.
"It feels great," Ledecky told NBC's Michele Tafoya. "The goal is 3:56, so I'm really happy. Check that one off."
Hungary's Katinka Hosszu (400-meter individual medley) and Australia's 400-meter freestyle relay women's team also set new world records on Saturday.
Considering most world records were set during the super suit era (2008 and 2009), this has been an impressive two days in the pool and a sign that we're witnessing some of the greatest swimmers ever at their peak.
Loser: The Williams Sisters
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The Williams sisters lost in doubles at the Olympics for the first time ever on Sunday, dropping straight sets in the opening round to the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova.
Serena and Venus Williams had an unbelievable run in the Olympics, rolling to gold in 2000, 2008 and 2012. They had never lost, so it was assumed that when they got together again in Rio de Janeiro, they would be the favorites.
This is a terrible start at the Olympics for the Americans in tennis. Venus also lost her opening-round match on Saturday, and American male Jack Sock was upset on Saturday as well. Sock, who has walking pneumonia, is still alive in doubles, but it's hard to see him and Steve Johnson advancing far with Sock ill.
That puts a lot of pressure on Serena in singles to help the Americans come away with at least one medal in tennis.
Winner: Juan Martin Del Potro
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Argentina's Juan Martin Del Porto started his day at the Olympics stuck in elevator. Del Porto finished with a big upset win, knocking off world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round.
The victory wasn't as surprising as the margin in rankings—Del Porto is No. 141—might suggest. Del Porto was the 2009 U.S. Open champ, and he beat Djokovic in the bronze medal match of the 2012 London Olympics.
The Argentinean won in straight sets 7-6, 7-6 on Sunday.
Loser: Spain's Men's Basketball Team
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Spain is the team that's supposed to be best equipped to give the United States a game at these Olympics.
The Spaniards sure didn't look like it in their opener.
Croatia knocked off Spain 72-70 when Pau Gasol's last-second hook shot was blocked by Croatia's Dario Saric, who is headed to the Philadelphia 76ers this year.
The Croatians locked down Spain's offense in the fourth quarter with a physical brand of basketball that left Spain settling for too many jumpers. Spain made just 11 of 32 threes and didn't get much from anyone outside of big men Nikola Mirotic and Gasol, who combined for 45 points.
Croatia rallied in the fourth quarter behind the shot-making of Brooklyn Nets wing Bojan Bogdanovic, who scored 23 points.
Spain, the world's second-ranked team, is playing these Olympics without Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. Spain might as well have been without Ricky Rubio as well. Rubio was a non-factor, going scoreless with just one assist in 12 minutes.
The young Croatians celebrated the win like they'd won the gold medal.
Winner: United States' 4x100-Meter Relay Team
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He's still got it.
Michael Phelps showed these Olympics aren't just a ceremonial farewell tour for him with an impressive swim in second leg of the 4x100-meter relay, helping the Americans get redemption for four years ago, when the French upset them in London.
Phelps had an awesome turn at the 50-meter mark of his leg, emerging from under the water with a lead that the United States never relinquished.
It was obvious how important the race was to Phelps when, at the end of a post-race interview, he leaned in with one more message.
"We wanted to bring that relay back to American soil," Phelps, who was part of the 2008 gold-medal-winning relay team, told NBC's Michele Tafoya. "We had some sour tastes in our mouth, for me, from 2012, and I'm glad that's back on our soil."
Loser: Brazil Men's Soccer Team
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Brazil was thought to have an easy road in the group stage at the Olympics.
The Brazilians are now in danger of not making it out, though, after back-to-back 0-0 draws against South Africa and Iraq. Those aren't exactly world powers in soccer.
This is an embarrassing start for the Brazilians, who have not performed well on the world stage lately.
Two years ago, also playing on their home soil, the Brazilians lost 7-1 to Germany in the World Cup semifinals. Then earlier this year, Brazil did not make it out of the group stage of the Copa America, which led to the country firing head coach Dunga.
That tournament was played without star Neymar, who is back for the Olympics, and there is no excuse this time around.
The Brazilians do control their fate, as a win against Denmark on Wednesday would put them into the quarterfinals. But they still have plenty of work to do to get back in the good graces of their country.
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