Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya sloshed his way to the gold medal in the men’s Olympic marathon as Rio de Janeiro began its grand goodbye to the 2016 Games in clammy conditions that did nothing to dampen Brazil’s frenzied mood.
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With the sides still level after extra time, the stage was set for Neymar to step up and strike the winning spot kick to send the whole of Brazil into raptures as the country finally captured the Olympic title they had so desperately craved.
It came two years after an embarrassing 7-1 home loss to Germany’s senior team in the World Cup semifinals at home.
To go alongside his shiny, new gold medal, the new tattoo is a pretty good way to celebrate what was undoubtedly a defining moment in Neymar’s relatively young career.
The average margin of victory for the U.S.in their Olympic games was almost 40 points, and the closest game was a 19-point victory over France in the semifinals.
The U.S. women’s basketball team victory over Spain, 101-72, was not only their sixth consecutive gold but also their 49th straight Olympic game.
With his club Barcelona clearing him to take part in just one tournament this summer, Neymar sat out the Copa America Centenario, instead prioritizing the one major vacancy remaining in Brazil’s formidable trophy cabinet – an Olympic gold medal. “God loves Neymar like he loves all this team”.
Juantorena put Italy in the lead 4-1 but Brazil came back soon to tie the score at 9-all with the block by Wallace. Neymar paid tribute to the fastest man in the world by flashing the Jamaican nine-time gold medalist’s “To the World” pose on the pitch. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a World Cup, European Championship or Olympic Games, this is what you’ve earned from your weeks and months of hard work”.
The national team, known as the seleção, possesses a unique ability to unify the country, even in the midst of political and economic crisis.
There was an unmistakable sense of occasion for Brazil’s first soccer gold.
Neymar has developed into a specialist from dead-ball situations and he showed it once again in the final of the Rio Olympics 2016 against Germany by converting a free-kick from over 25 yards. It was the final Olympic game for Tamika Catchings, who is retiring after the WNBA season.
They had won gold in all but one Olympics since the women’s game joined the event in 1996.
And the Americans had another exceptional night at the track.
Sadiq Umar scored a pair of goals and Nigeria won the bronze medal by holding off Honduras, 3-2.
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MEN’S WATER POLO: Dusan Mandic scored four times and Serbia beat Croatia, 11-7 to, win the gold medal.
