The first week of Olympics competition is mostly done as I write this on Friday morning.
I didn’t watch everything and was not particularly interested in doing homework heading into the games outside of a few storylines I just knew from past Olympics.
I only was able to catch a few sports live because of work, mostly relying on NBC’s three hour, USA centric, tightly edited wrap up show most nights. That means I did miss a lot, especially if it did not involve America.
Still, the first week had me turning on sports every night for the first time in more than month since the doldrums of July sports started up as it is filled with those I am usually not that invested in unless certain criteria are met.
The first week traditionally is filled with a lot of swimming. That’s because team USA seems to have an endless roster of people who at least have a medal’s chance in every race, if not being among the best to ever do it.
I will say, the amount of records not being set seems to be a bit of a downer as a viewer. Apparently, it is the pool’s fault. Shallower pools are slower according to people in the swim world, but science does not back that thinking up.
The only event I caught live, which meant I streamed it on my phone at work, was the men’s street skateboarding final.
While I have spent literally no time on a skateboard in my life, I have always been fascinated by watching X Game competitions growing up and later learning about the history of skateboarding.
It’s fascinating a fad activity from the 1970s fueled mostly by teens looking only to have fun would grow into such an interesting subculture. The fact the forbearers are still around, with the oldest in their 50s-60s, to see it turn into a sport respected enough for the Olympic stage blows all of them away if you ask them.
While a lot of people think skateboarding is people flying off of ramps and halfpipes like the most popular skateboarder Tony Hawk, the vast majority of regular skateboarders skate in the street style since its obstacles are almost everywhere.
These are the ones who grind rails, jump down stairs and get chased away by security guards who don’t want them skating on public property. Yes, the progenitor to these vandals are the ones who are now Olympic athletes.
I was rooting for USA’s Nyjah Huston, who is pretty much recognized as the most successful contest street skater in history. The only thing missing on his resume is an Olympic medal. He failed to medal in 2021, which were the first Olympics with skateboarding in it.
Him and fellow American skater Jagger Eaton were tearing it up, both scoring runs more than 90 points out of 100. The competition then turned into a best trick format, with skaters having five tries to land their two best tricks.
Both looked to have gold and silver locked down, landing two tricks more than 90 points again, which is a really high score.
Unfortunately, defending gold medal champion and teenager, Yuto Horigome from Japan, came out to snipe the gold medal with his final few best tricks.
Japan had two more at the top of the medal stand in the women’s street skate boarding as well, with all three medalists being teenagers as well. A sport of youth rebellion indeed.
Of course, the first week also is ruled by team gymnastics. While the women and Simone Biles were the biggest story, another story proved to be endearing.
The USA men’s team had last won a team medal in 2008. This year, the team was in the running for the bronze if they executed and got some help from some of their competition.
Made up of youthful looking, exuberantly buff men looking to make a mark, every clean routine stuck seemed to mark an explosion of joy from the USA competitors that it was endearing to watch.
It all culminated into the last person to go. All meet, Stephen Nedoroscik had sit calmly by, waiting in the wings to do his one routine on the pommel horse event. With big glasses on that seemed to overshadow his typical buff gymnast frame, he took them off right before he mounted the horse and seemed to turn into Super Man.
As he dismounted, he and his teammates knew he had secured a bronze medal, ending the medal drought.
The explosion of joy and the scenes of them lifting him up as he pumped his arms was one I couldn’t help but feel happy about.
I am not alone in preferring women’s gymnastics as opposed to men’s, but on this day their joy made me care and feel invested.
On a similar note, when I want to see someone get tackled, I would rather them be padded up with a helmet on playing American football instead of rugby. Unfortunately, one is an Olympic sport and the other is not.
I did not realize the women’s rugby competition was going on or that it was in the medal rounds already, but when I saw the highlight of the USA women’s team winning literally in the final seconds how could I not care.
Playing Australia, a country that has a big tradition and really gives a crap about rugby unlike here, USA had just fallen behind with less than two minutes left to play in a low-scoring game.
Backed up near their own goal line and with time running down, the ball found Alex Sedrick who ran through two defenders before breaking away, running the length of nearly the whole field and scoring a try (touchdown) to tie the game up.
The extra-point kick after gave USA the win 14-12 and its first medal in the program’s history.
Immediately, such a dramatic play, fans got to see in real time the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” as players on both sides were in tears for different reasons.

I know I missed other great moments from other sports and also from other countries.
What was your favorite thing to watch in the first week? Leave a comment or email [email protected].

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.