The Olympic Games were held for close to 17 days in the beautiful city of Rio De Janeiro and what a spectacle it was for everyone to see. Ever since the start of the Games on August 5, the mega event kept everyone interested every single moment and day. From the opening ceremony to the close one, there were moments in Brazil which saw spectators bow down to the best of the athletes from around the world.
There were moments which saw history getting made by some of the most iconic individual athletes, and there were also moments where lesser known athletes led their nation to glory for the very first time. There was jubilation of winning, and there was also the pain of getting injured during competition. Rio saw it all, therefore we have compiled a list of all the firsts which happened exclusively at Rio 2016:
#1 10 countries winning their first gold medal
The Rio Olympics were a mega event where every moment was nothing less than history being made. There were 10 such moments for athletes from ten different nations who won the first ever gold medal for their respective countries. These countries were well spread throughout the five continents as athletes from Africa, America, Asia, Oceanic and Europe, all saw themselves triumphing at the Games for the very first time.
Winning the gold medal looks like an easy task for some athletes like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Kimberly Rhode, etc. But it have been a fairly impossible task for many countries throughout the globe. This journey towards winning the elusive gold medal for many countries has been a crazy one where countries have won a first gold medal in their 72 years history of participation. Here are the ten athletes and countries who won their first Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016:
Bahrain – Ruth Jebet won the women’s 3000m steeplechase event. This was Bahrain’s 9th trip to the Olympic Games.
Fiji – The Fiji rugby sevens team won the men’s competition in Brazil. This was the nation’s 14th trip to the Olympic Games.
Independent/ IOA Flag – Fehaid Al Deehani won the men’s double trap shooting event and became the first ever athlete to win a gold medal as an independent athlete.
Ivory Coast – Cheick Salla Junior Cisse won the Africa nation's first gold medal in taekwondo which was the nation’s 14th trip to the Olympic Games.
Jordon – Ahmad Abughaush also won a gold medal in taekwondo for his country. This was Jordon’s 14th trip to the Olympic Games.
Kosovo – Majlinda Kelmendi was the first athlete to win a gold medal for Kosovo in judo. This was the first Olympic Games for the nation after IOA recognised the nation in 2014.
Puerto Rico – Monica Puig won the gold medal in women’s tennis making it the Island nation’s first gold in their 18th trip to the Olympic Games.
Singapore – Joseph Schooling was the only medal winner for Singapore at the Games as he won in the sport of swimming. This was Singapore’s 16th appearance at the Olympic Games.
Tajikistan – Dilshod Nazarov won the men’s hammer throw event in Rio. This was Tajikistan’s 6th appearance at the Games.
Vietnam – Xuan Vinh Hoang won the gold medal in men’s 10m air pistol event in shooting. This was his country’s 15th trip to the Olympic Games.
#2 Andy Murray becomes first male tennis player to win two consecutive men’s singles gold medals
The gold medal was destined to go his way, wasn’t it? Andy Murray had just brought glory to Great Britain by winning his second Wimbledon Men’s Singles title in July 2016. He went into the Olympics with the tennis hopes of Great Britain resting on his shoulders yet again and boy did Andy Murray deliver. Producing exhibition tennis, Andy Murray overcame a powerhouse in Juan Martin del Potro in the final to win consecutive singles gold medals at the Olympics.
On his way to this historic gold medal, Andy Murray defeated Viktor Troicki, Juan Monaco, Fabio Fognini, Steve Johnson, Kei Nishikori and Juan Martin del Potro. While the starting few matches were easy, in the gold medal contest he was up against a towering del Potro, who had beaten Rafael Nadal in the semi-final. What ensued was a gruelling four-hour thriller that neither of them would forget and the Briton emerged victorious in four sets, winning the contest 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. Even the usually emotionless Murray was animated, thereby symbolising what the achievement meant to him.
#3 PV Sindhu becomes first Indian woman to win a silver medal at the Olympics
Despite sending a contingent of more than a 120 athletes to Rio Olympics, India was reeling with just one medal in the form of Sakshi Malik, who won the bronze in Women’s Freestyle 58 kg wrestling. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, a tall and skinny 21-year-old, then decided to take the history book in her own hands and write a chapter titled “Indian female silver medalist.” She became the first Indian woman to win a silver medalist in Olympic history.
Facing a rather difficult draw, Sindhu produced some exceptional badminton when she defeated World No. 2 and Chinese star Wang Yihan in the quarter-final. Gaining confidence from her peformance, the 21-year-old went one step further to go where no Indian woman had gone before when she defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the semi-final to guarantee a silver medal. Sindhu lost to a deserving Carolina Marin in the final but created history nevertheless.
#4 First Iranian woman to win a medal at the Olympics
Iran is a country with a population of close to 78 million but there had never been a woman Olympian from the nation to have won a medal at the Games. The feat was not possible because of the country’s unwillingness to allow females to play and participate in sports. This difference between the number of men and women athletes who participate at the Olympic Games was clearly visible as only 9 woman athletes were in Rio compared to the 54 males.
However, this imparity did not affect the country’s taekwondo participant Kimia Alizadeh. The 18-year-old showed that anything can be possible if women just took up their sports seriously and participated just like the men. She became the first ever woman to win a medal for her nation when she beat Sweden’s Nikita Glasnostic 5-1 in the taekwondo under-57 division.
The historic achievement was also well received by the country’s President, Hassan Rouhani. After Alizadeh’s achievement in Rio, the minister tweeted, “My daughter Kimia, you have triggered the happiness of all the Iranians, and particularly of the women. I wish you eternal joy.”
#5 Wayde van Niekerk becomes first South African to hold the 400m World Record
South Africa is one of the greatest sporting nations in the world and they seem to have a conveyor belt of champions, who hail from different sports. Athletics seem to be South Africa’s forte when it comes to the Olympics and they have produced stars like Reggie Walker, Ken McArthur, Bevil Rudd, Sydney Atkinson, Josia Thugwane and Caster Semenya among others.
Though South Africa won 10 medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, none would be as special as the one won by Wayde van Niekerk, who smashed Michael Johnson’s long standing 400m World Record to win the gold medal. Van Niekerk, who was up against the likes of Lashawn Merritt and Kirani James, did not have the best of starts and despite being the world champion, he was far from the favourite to bring home the gold. However, in the 400m final, the South African turned on the after burners to clock 43.03 and smash Johnson’s record by 0.15 seconds. The record was set by Johnson in 1999 and van Niekerk’s celebrations showed why exactly what it meant to him.
#6 First time two opponents picked each other up during a race
The Rio Olympic Games saw a very positive and memorable incident when during the women’s 5000m heat event, New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin and USA’s Abbey D'Agostino were both left on the ground after they were left flat on the track. This was one of the most objectively beautiful and proud moments of the Games for all the viewers.
The incident happened after the two had fallen down on the ground in their 5000m event, D'Agostino was seen in clear agony but got up first and helped the Kiwi to her feet. But the American fell down again with her injury which was later revealed to be a torn ACL, meniscus tear and strained MCL. Seeing this, Hamblin returned the favour to her fellow competitor and dragged the athlete over the finish line.
The duo were later seen embracing each other after the finish of the event but sadly for D’Agostino, she had to be taken off in a wheelchair in what was the biggest moment of her career.
#7 Refugee team competes at the Olympics
The world has been heavily debating, discussing and fighting over the migrant/refugee crisis, which has such heart-wrenching repercussions that no matter how much one did, it would not be enough. However, come 2016 Rio Olympics, a ray of hope, a silver lining in the dark clouds or a bit of light at the end of the dark tunnel, emerged when the Refugee Olympic Team walked out in the opening ceremony to a huge roar from the packed crowd at the Maracana Stadium.
As a part of showing solidarity with refugees around the world, the International Olympic Committee decided to field a team of selected athletes under the Refugee Olympic Team head. It was a brilliant gesture that was well received by everyone, including and especially the Brazilian public. The 10 athletes who competed under the ROT banner included James Chiengjiek, Yiech Biel, Paulo Lokoro, Yonas Kinde, Rose Lokonyen, Popole Misenga, Yolande Mabika, Rami Anis and Yusra Mardini. Though they did not win a medal, the feeling of competing in a competition as prestigious as the Olympics, despite their own lives being literally devastating, must have meant the world to these 10 athletes.
#8 USA Women’s 4x100m relay team runs “alone” in heat
We have all heard the phrase “loneliness of the long distance runner” but at 2016 Rio Olympics, the world saw the “loneliness of the sprinters” when the United States 4x100m women’s relay team ran alone to make it to the finals. For those of you wondering why this happened, let us tell you. During the regular qualification heat, the United States team was disqualified as they had dropped the baton. However, they appealed for external interference and it was successful when footage showed clearly that Allyson Felix got knocked off her balance due to Kauiza Venancio from Brazil.
Due to this ruling, the United States women’s relay team was asked to race on the track alone to qualify for the final and boy did they claimed the opportunity or what. Not only did they produced the fastest timing in qualification (41.77), they defeated Jamaica on their way to the gold medal as well, staging one of the biggest turnarounds in history.
