Final Farewell
The athletes who have completed their last Olympics – or have they?
The problem with sports, as with everything in life, is the passage of time. One minute you’re a teenage sensation announcing yourself to the world and the next your career has come to its end. This year’s Olympic Games is no exception and Rio 2016 is the final farewell for many favorites.
Fairytale ending
Michael Phelps is perhaps the most highprofile. The American swimmer dominated in the pool for the third Games in a row and helped himself to his 28th medal – 23 of those are gold. The greatest Olympian ever in the eyes of many will be 35 years of age when Tokyo rolls around in four years time and that makes it unlikely we will see Phelps make a splash given that he has officially announced his retirement from the sport to the media. The next biggest name that we may have seen the last of is Usain Bolt. The Jamaican is expected to sign off with the “triple-triple” haul of nine golds – three at each of the last three Olympics. He strolled to the 100 and 200 meters to make history by becoming the first man to ever win either race three times and still has the 4x100-meter relay yet to race in his last Olympic Games, given that the fastest man in the world himself has indicated that he will call time on his career after next year’s world championships. It is fitting that he and Phelps bow out at the same Olympics given that they both came to public prominence at the Beijing Games in 2008. Another athlete who won gold in Beijing, and one that has perhaps been even more dominant in their sport than those athletes have been in the pool and on the track, has probably competed in their last games. Serena Williams bowed out of the women’s singles tennis tournament in Rio during the third round as well as falling at the first hurdle in the doubles. Williams won gold in the doubles in both 2000 and 2008 but had to wait until London 2012 to claim the singles gold medal. A champion to the last, the 34-yearold said that her victor in this year’s singles was the better player.
Going out on top
London 2012’s gold medalists are dropping like flies. Jessica Ennis-Hill has hinted that she may retire after her silver in the heptathlon in Brazil, while her fellow Super Saturday gold medal winners for Britain may have also lined up at their last Olympics. Long jumper Greg Rutherford, who will be 33 at the next Summer Games, may not overcome the disappointment of bronze, while Mo Farah will hope to add the 5,000-meter gold to the one he claimed for the 10,000 meters he is already 33.
Great Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu is another British athlete who might have seen her last hope for another Olympic medal pass her by. The 400-meter runner won gold in Beijing and silver four years ago but this year, at 32, she failed to make the final. Ohuruogu admitted that she was “getting old” and poetically described her athletics career in terms of the fairy tale it has been so far: “I think it’s one minute to midnight and this girl is about to turn into a pumpkin.” At least she could be a pundit in Tokyo with her turn of phrase matching the turn of pace that made her a double Olympic medalist.
Sir Bradley Wiggins had a happy ending in the cycling. The British bicyclist, who was the first of his countrymen to win the Tour de France, took gold in the men’s team pursuit in the velodrome. This was his eighth Olympic medal and a fitting farewell for the 35-year-old who had already declared he was hanging up his helmet after Rio.
Lin Dan will wish for an ending to match for his badminton career. The Chinese racket whiz won on home turf in 2008 and became the first man to ever defend the gold medal in London four years later. He beat his great rival Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei to do so but on Friday Lee put a stop to Super Dan to end his dreams of a third gold.
Not all Olympic tales can end with victory. Kenya’s Ezekiel Kembol finished third in his defense of the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase but the 34-year-old was stripped of his medal after the French team appealed because the Kenyan had stepped outside of his lane during the race.
Similar disappointments have been seen on the basketball court in Rio. Manu Ginobili’s Argentina team were beaten by the US in the quarterfinals of the men’s tournament, meaning that the 39-year-old bows out without repeating his gold medal heroics of Athens in 2004. In the women’s tournament, Australia’s Lauren Jackson – a veteran of five Olympics – never got her hands on a gold to add to her silvers and bronzes after the Opals fell to Serbia in the quarterfinals.
Never say never
There were many other winners and losers at their last games but at least they competed. The Bryan Brothers, who have dominated men’s doubles tennis for so long, did not bother coming to Rio, the 38-year-old identical twins instead choosing to withdraw over health concerns. LeBron James also opted out of Rio but the recent NBA Finals MVP has not shut the door on Tokyo. Never say never.
That’s probably the attitude folks should take to Phelps’ retiring. Phelps returned from retirement to win in Rio, after all. Katie Ledecky is doubtful he’s done: “Last time was his last, this time was his last … Maybe there will be a third time. All records are made to be broken.” Fellow teammate Ryan Lochte has gone so far as to “guarantee” that Phelps will be in Tokyo.
Even if he is, he will have some way to go to improve on the greatest return from retirement in Olympic history. American swimmer Anthony Ervin won gold in Sydney as a 19-year-old before dropping out of swimming, suffering depression and drug dependency, even selling his 50-meter freestyle gold medal in aid of tsunami relief. This year he got himself two Olympic golds, aged 35, in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter freestyle relay – an event that he finished second in 16 years ago. Now that’s a happy ending.