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TOKYO – Incomes an Olympic medal is extraordinarily laborious. Profitable an Olympic gold medal is very tough, particularly in particular person sports activities reminiscent of observe and area. The gold-medal winner actually must be one of the best on this planet. To place issues in perspective, the world inhabitants is approaching 7.9 billion, in accordance with Worldometer.
What’s transpired on the observe and area for the U.S. males’s group encapsulates simply that.
“It’s actually laborious. All of the coaching, all of the lifting, all of the operating and all of the miles we placed on our our bodies,” Kenny Bednarek mentioned moments after earning a men’s 200-meter silver medal. “It’s simply a variety of laborious, laborious work. It’s not straightforward. You bought to ensure to drink water, rehydrate every single day, be sure that to stretch every single day and use all of the tools that you’ve…It’s not straightforward, however you are able to do it if you happen to put within the laborious work.”
Sadly for the U.S. males’s group none of them have been in a position to obtain their in the end golden desires.
Following six days of competitors, the U.S. males’s squad has 5 total medals – 4 silvers and one bronze. Zero gold medals. The U.S. observe and area males are nonetheless main all collaborating nations within the total medal depend with 5. Nonetheless, on the closing of Olympic observe and area day six, 10 nations have at the very least one observe and area gold medal, together with Sweden and Italy main the way in which with two apiece.
200 METERS: Americans take silver and bronze in race
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On the 2012 London Olympics, it took six days of observe and area competitors till U.S. hurdler Aries Merritt received the primary observe and area gold medal for the lads. Recording all the way in which again to the 1988 Olympics, the U.S. males have by no means gone by way of the primary seven days and not using a single gold medal.
“I feel everyone is simply bringing their A recreation,” Clayton Murphy mentioned after ending ninth within the males’s 800-meter closing. “It’s not straightforward, it’s by no means been straightforward. We simply form of been on high.”
Whereas the U.S. girls have 10 total medals, together with three gold, the lads are nonetheless trying to find their very first one.
American sprinter Trayvon Bromell got here into the Tokyo Video games with the No. 1 time within the 100 meters this 12 months, however didn’t get handed the semifinal spherical. Rai Benjamin was a gold-medal hopeful within the males’s 400-meter hurdles. Nonetheless, he was outdueled within the occasion by Norway’s Karsten Warholm in an exciting race wherein each males truly eclipsed the world document. One other instance on how difficult it’s to be a gold medalist.
U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles was one other frontrunner to win the gold within the 200 meters, however he positioned in third behind his U.S. teammate Bednarek and gold medalist Andre De Grasse, who attended USC, of Canada.
Lyles was appreciative that he received a bronze medal however the 2019 world champion within the 200 meters even referred to as bronze “boring.”
“All people desires to win after they come to the Olympics. The bronze shouldn’t be what I wished, however on the identical time it’s an amazing achievement after all,” Lyles mentioned. “It’s good to have however I need extra.”
The optimistic information for the U.S. males’s group is its gold-medal drought shouldn’t linger an excessive amount of longer. U.S. shot putter, world-record holder and reigning Olympic champion Ryan Crouser is the clear-cut favourite within the males’s shot put closing on Thursday. On the observe on Thursday, Grant Holloway goes into the 110-meter hurdles closing No. 1 on this planet and in higher type than any of his rivals. There may very well be two gold medals forthcoming, and probably extra, within the matter of hours. However that doesn’t take away from the unimaginable problem it’s to be one of the best on this planet at a person occasion.
This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: Tokyo Olympics: U.S. men’s track and field team without a gold medal
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