Olympia 2020: Biles, Osaka, Djokovic – these superstars have failed

Biles, Osaka, Djokovic – Olympia of the failed superstars

The Olympic Games in Tokyo go down in history as those of the failed superstars. The American gymnast Simone Biles was the tragic heroine, Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic got nothing.

Five gold medals were ready for Simone Biles. It seemed like the 24-year-old from Texas could scale Olympus and even surpass her 2016 yield after the resignations of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, the superstars of the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games.

On the most important occasion, however, the exceptional talent showed weaknesses for the first time since her meteoric entry into the gymnastics world in 2013. The immense pressure was for once too much for the 1.42 m tall Biles, which manifested itself in the form of a blockage. After the canceled team final, the American only competed on the balance beam and left Tokyo “only” with one silver and one bronze medal.

Tennis players Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic did not meet expectations either. Osaka made her biggest appearance at the opening ceremony when she lit the flame as the last torchbearer. On the pitch, however, she was not yet the same as she was after the last time she stayed away from the tour due to depression.

Djokovic started in Tokyo to close the last gap in his Palmarès with the Olympic victory. But the number 1 in the world failed in the semifinals to Alexander Zverev and remained without a medal. The Serb got a taste of what to expect at the US Open in three weeks at the Ariake Tennis Park. Then it’s about his greatest legacy in tennis, winning the Grand Slam.

Dressel, Thompson-Herah, Warholm

But not all favorites failed. In the swimming pool, the USA, led by Caeleb Dressel, swung out in a duel with Australia. Dressel won three individual races as only the third swimmer after Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps and got his Olympic victories 3 to 7. The Australian Emma McKeon won seven medals, four of them in gold.

The Australian Kaylee McKeown (swimming), the South Korean An San (archery), the New Zealand canoeist Lisa Carrington and Elaine Thompson-Herah from Jamaica, who repeated her sprint double from Rio de Janeiro, this time also with the relay, secured three gold medals won the Olympic gold medal. After the Bolt era, Italy surprisingly established itself as the number 1 sprint nation among men, with Lamont Marcell Jacobs becoming the first European 100 m Olympic champion since 1992.

The most impressive performance in the athletics stadium was provided by the Norwegian Karsten Warholm, who advanced over 400 m hurdles by improving his own world record by 76 hundredths in spheres that had previously been considered unthinkable. Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands won the double 5000 m / 10’000 m and took bronze in the 1500 m.

The faux pas of the games

The fact that Olympia writes its own stories had already been shown on the first weekend in Tokyo, when the cyclist Anna Kiesenhofer won the first Olympic medal for Austria on the road. The 30-year-old duped the favorites from the Netherlands, whose best Annemiek van Vleuten crossed the finish line jubilantly – believing that she had won. It was the fallacy of these games.

As always, there were premieres and records. San Marino, the fifth smallest country in the world, won precious metal for the first time thanks to trap shooter Alessandra Perilli. Japanese skateboarder Kokona Hiraki became the youngest ever Olympic medalist 22 days before her 13th birthday. Her 13-year-old compatriot Momiji Nishiya had previously been named Olympic champion in another discipline of this new sport. A twelve-year-old competed in table tennis with the Syrian Hend Zaza.

Host Japan was delighted with 3rd place in the medal table behind the USA and China and victory in baseball, the country’s most popular sport. Tokyo also saw the birth of an upcoming superstar. The 20-year-old gymnast Daiki Hashimoto won the all-around and high bar final and followed in the footsteps of Kohei Uchimura, whose last Olympic appearance ended with a fall from the bar. Even him, the over-gymnast of the last decade, was denied the big appearance in Tokyo. (sda)