6 Olympic Sports I Will Be Obsessed With This Summer
The Summer Olympics are upon us, opening ceremonies will be Friday August 5th. It’s the time of year where we find ourselves watching sports with little knowledge of the rules but cheering our faces off for our respective country’s athletes anyway. Or totally getting caught up in a narrative. I found myself in the latter last Olympics with the controversy surrounding Matteo Martino, Italy’s bad boy of Volleyball. You heard me correctly, the BAD BOY of Volleyball. Here are 6 other Olympic Sports you can let your sanity run away with this summer. The complete schedule of events can be found here.
Equestrian
via sportsmafia.info
Not only do I think they have the best outfits these athletes also have the most posh sounding names of anyone participating in the Olympics. Names like Kent Farrington (USA), William Fox-Pitt (GB), Valentina Trupppa (Italy) certainly project airs. I also love this sport because everyone participating is dressed like a fancy dominatrix.
Archery
via nbcolympics.com
Archery is the one Olympic event I actually think I could do. This is pure arrogance because I know it’s much harder than it looks. I’ve been to an archery range and you need so much control and upper body strength, so I will just stick to looking like Merida rather than trying to be her. Mackenzie Brown (seen above) is the sole women on the US Archery team. The 21-year-old Texan is also the lady who taught Katniss Everdeen her skills in “The Hunger Games.” If that doesn’t deserve a gold medal I don’t know what does!
Judo
via espn.co.uk
As a fan of UFC, I love when a Judo champ enters the octagon. Ronda Rousey is probably the most famous example. But even cooler than that for the first time ever a new team composed solely of refugee athletes will compete, officially being called the “Refugee Olympic Team.” Two of these athletes are competing in Judo. Popole Misenga (Men’s Team….pictured above) and Yolande Mabika (Ladies Team) were born in Congo and sought asylum in Brazil, where they currently live now. They are definitely ones to watch.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
via nbcolympics.com
Dear Lord, Please tell me Johnny Weir is the commentator for this so all my dreams can come true! I have no idea how any of this works but there’s ribbons, sparkles, frolicking….it’s like if Lisa Frank were a sport! Basically when we were all five we were Rhythmic Gymnastics and sometimes still are after a few cocktails. If I can find one word to describe this…it’s whimsy.
Badminton
via commons.wikimedia.org
The sport that’s ruined many a barbecue due to being either/or overly competitive or drunk. Germany’s Michael Fuchs (pictured above) returns for another Olympics. Here’s hoping for a medal because that last name is award worthy. A fun drinking game for anyone watching would be to drink every time they say ‘shuttle cock.’
Fencing
via themuslimvibe.com
I totally caught up all the love for Muslim American lady fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad. She will be the first athlete to compete in a hijab. This Jersey girl kicks so serious butt too. I mean she even calls herself the Hijab Zoro! With all of Donald Trump’s ignorance and hatred, I will be standing in solidarity with her and screaming my lungs out as she lunges her way into our hearts and onto the podium.
Don’t forget to snag one of our Ameri-can shirts to show your USA pride and support our Yanks!
