It may not be possible to catch all the best moments in a single day of the Olympic Games — but we’re going to try. Every day, we’ll award titles for standout achievements at (and around) Rio 2016, achievements that may or may not be recognized on the podium (and may or may not even be of an athletic nature). Here are our picks for Day 14.
Gold medal for karma or redemption or… something?
Four years ago in London, a member of Canada’s 4x100m relay stepped on a line during the race and it cost the country a bronze medal. This time around, it was the Americans who finished third and were DQd due to a late exchange, giving Canada—who crossed the line narrowly in fourth, and in a national record time—the bronze medal.
Did you see the Canadian team interviewed on CBC after the announcement? Smiles for miles. Andre De Grasse, who ran the anchor leg and made up a lot of ground, is now the only Canadian in history to win three Olympic medals in track and field in a single summer games. Two bronze and a silver in his Olympic debut. Also: Watch this. It’s a De Grasse throwback from six years ago.
Gold medal for a confusing apology (and for stupidity)
You probably guessed it: American swimmer Ryan Lochte has this one locked (Lochted?) up. He apologized Friday in a statement on Instagram after it emerged that his version of events—he said he and three other swimmers were robbed at gunpoint by people who claimed they were police—wasn’t accurate. Two teammates said Lochte was actually drunk and he damaged property at a gas station.
But in his “apology,” Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medallist, didn’t mention what exactly did happen, and what he lied about earlier. He apologized “for my behavior last weekend.” So now we’re all confused about what he’s saying happened, though one thing is clear: Lochte isn’t too bright.
Gold medal for clutch finishes and emotion
Christine Sinclair. Who else? Who else would score Canada’s bronze medal-clinching goal other than the greatest soccer player in this country’s history? Captain Sinclair then sobbed on the field, and dedicated the bronze medal to her father, who she lost a couple months ago.
It was a magical ending for a team that entered this tournament 10th in the world, and for their captain. Sinclair, 33, told her team after their semi-final loss to Germany that they weren’t leaving Rio without hardware. She made sure with her 155th career goal in her 250th game for Canada. If this is Sinclair’s final Olympics, what a way to go out.
Gold medal for taking a hip-check and classily enduring an emotional rollercoaster
This is how a couple of hours of Evan Dunfee’s Friday looked: He took a surprise hip check during the 50-km race walk. He still finished fourth. He was upgraded to bronze. (Joy!) Then he was relegated again to fourth. (Heartbreak.) The 25-year-old from Richmond, B.C., who led the race at the 35-km mark, remained in the lead pack of five walkers with 1 km to go. That’s when Japan’s Hirooki Arai delivered an in-race hip check that threw Dunfee out of his rhythm. Athletics Canada put in an appeal, Hirookie was disqualified and Dunfee was awarded bronze.
Then Japan appealed the appeal, and less than an hour later Dunfee was stripped of his medal. The good news: Dunfee set a Canadian record of 3:41:38 and he made race walking one of the big stories of the day in Rio—he was trending for hours on Twitter. And for a handful of minutes Friday, Dunfee’s bronze was Canada’s medal of the day. He also wins gold for class act of the day: His full statement following the appealed appeal is here.
Gold medal for no longer being even a little bit relatable
For a long time now, many of us had something in common with world No. 1 golfer Lydia Ko: She’d never recorded a hole-in-one. Chances are you’re in the same boat. Well, until Friday, that is. That’s when Ko went out and fired an ace on the par 3 No. 8 en route to a third-round 65. The New Zealander’s resume now includes being golf’s youngest-ever world No. 1 player (at 17), 14 titles on the LPGA Tour, 2 major victories, and an ace at the first Olympic golf tournament in more than 100 years. There’s one round left, and Ko is in the silver medal position. So add a possible Olympic medal to that completely non-relatable resume. And did we mention she’s only 19? Yeesh.
Gold medal for going out (hopefully not, though) perfectly
Let’s hope Usain Bolt changes his mind, but he did say Friday was the last time we’d see him race at the Olympics. He has done what no other sprinter in Olympic history has done: He completed the triple double. That’s six Olympic gold medals in sprinting’s premiere distances, at 100m and 200m. And the 4×100 relay, which Bolt and Jamaica won, is what Bolt’s saying is his Olympic finale. (That was his ninth Olympic gold medal, by the way).
Bolt turns 30 on Sunday. If this is his last Olympics, it’s probably the last time we’ll see a guy win a 100m race by a few comfortable strides, the last time we’ll see a sprinter smile for cameras mid-race, the last time we’ll see a guy ham it up the way Bolt does just before the gun goes off. Did you see him dancing after the relay win? Great shimmy. Fingers crossed he pulls a Michael Phelps and makes his return in 2020.
