The Olympic Games ended in spectacular fashion, leaving Brazil happy despite the numerous fears that greeted the host nation from the start of this campaign.
After the successful Games in London, the baton was passed to Rio to continue, but the situations leading to the games were worrying with many threatening a boycott.
The corruption in the political elites, the rising crime rates in the midst of poverty, the impeachment of the president, widespread contaminated water supply and the Zika virus prevalence rate were some of the biggest concerns. However, the games took centre stage, but not without the usual controversies. One of the highest is the baring of the Olympic team from Russia, especially as they are the hosts of the World Cup in barely two years time.
There were evidences of widespread doping throughout the camps of the athletes. A few were allowed to participate like swimmer Yulia Efimova. She won the gold medal last year but ended up with silver this year. American Lilly King taunted her, drawing comments as it reflected the Cold War of the past. Former Arsenal star player Andrei Arshavin drew comments from far away Kazakh when he said some sports were “simply impossible without doping.”
Another scandal involved celebrated swimmer Ryan Lochte and the American team. He lied about being held up at gunpoint, adding to the false stereotypes about Brazil.
On the good part, Brazil broke their record when they won the gold medal in the men’s football event. American swimmer Michael Phelps and Usian Bolt continued their dominance at the sport. The American women’s basketball team also showed their consistency. The United States lead the medals table as expected, and it was a great time to compete again. The next Games would be in Tokyo in 2020.