The last one! I have absolutely no idea how to judge dressage or count the number of faults for a jumping contest. I do know that watching the horses jump over all those obstacles is a lot of fun. Dressage? That’s an acquired taste. But I’m really taking a shot in the dark with these picks, because I just frankly don’t know much at all about the sport. Hopefully I’m able to come somewhat close to getting a couple right.
I’ll admit it, I’m completely befuddled on making my projections for cycling. It’s hard to find much info on this (and equestrian) as to who’s qualified or not. So, this will likely be one of my least accurate projections; I’m really taking a shot in the dark here. But the goal is to get a general idea of who’s gonna win medals, more than getting them right slot by slot. Note: this list is in a different form than the other ones, as men’s and women’s events alternate in this one.
The heart and soul of every Olympics, athletics is the only sport that I was able to see two sessions of in Atlanta. (My others were table tennis, basketball, weightlifting, baseball, and soccer.) There’s no way of understanding how fun it is actually being in the stadium, because you’ve got two or three things going on at all times. Someone’s running, someone’s jumping, and someone’s throwing, all at once. You never know when someone’s about to move into first place. I hope with all my heart that I get to see it again at the Coliseum in 2028.
I suppose there was a time gymnastics wasn’t a marquee sport in the United States. But I’m too young to remember it. All I remember is the 1996 women’s team winning the gold medal, and the country falling in love with the sport. Now the USA is coming off five consecutive gold medals in the women’s all-around, and looking for a sixth. They’ll probably get it, but one thing we’ve learned is that this sport is never predictable. I’m not too confident in my projections, even though (unlike most of the other sports) I’ve actually watched the Trials of this sport. Due to the lack of clear rankings in this sport, I am literally taking a shot in the dark on this.
Tommy A. Phillips 