32 medals for the United States track and field team. That’s how many medals were earned by the various events. Thirty two is the most medals won by the U.S. Track and field team since 1984. But, no one seems to be hearing about that. No one is hearing about how the U.S. showed up in almost every race on the track. Races like the 5,000 meter and 1,500 meter that have belonged to other foreign countries for years. The U.S. proved to be more than the college development ground but show up at Rio ready to roll. On the women’s side, Emma Coburn and Jenny Simpson won the first U.S. medals in their respected events. The U.S. dominated track and field, but the news cycle has focused the attention elsewhere: one hazy night in Rio.
Although the way that scandal can take over the news cycle is not surprising, I am surprised by how little we’re hearing of anything else coming out of Rio. We’re hearing about how Jimmy Feigen has announced his statement that is similar to Gunnar Bentz and the uproar on who does and doesn’t want to be associated with Ryan Lochte now (Dancing With the Stars vs. Speedo). But we’ve also lost the voice of Katie Ledecky in the midst of all the drama. Ledecky who walks away from Rio with five medals has had little coverage since leaving the pool. With all the success from Rio, it is surprising that media coverage about Ryan Lochte’s comments have overshadowed the whole Rio experience.