Games of the XXXI Olympiad take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil August 5 – August 21.
Public Market will be watching from our screen in the Food Hall, and we hope you’ll join us.
Swimming and gymnastics will be among the top sports to watch in the first week with track and basketball coming in the second half. While there will be numerous highlights and unexpected twists and turns, here’s our shortlist of what to watch for:
- Missy Franklin. The former Cal Star won 5 medals at the London Olympics in 2012, however the Olympic trials this time around have proven tough for Franklin. She finished seventh in the 100-meter backstroke, an event she won in London. Still, through it all, Franklin hasn’t lost her spunk and we’ll be cheering her on.
- Usain Bolt is the Jamaican sprinter largely regarded as the fastest person ever timed. Rio will be Usain Bolt’s last Olympics, and he will be trying to win the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100-meter relay for the third consecutive time. He has been getting ever slower and will turn 30 on the day of closing ceremonies. Can he win? We’ll be watching!
- You may not know her now, but you will. Simone Biles is the favorite to succeed fellow American Gabby Douglas for all-around gold at the Rio Games. Already the most decorated female gymnast in history, Biles is ready to add an Olympic gold medal to her collection.
- Rio 2016 is the sixth Olympics to feature women’s soccer, and none of the previous five have seen the reigning World Cup champion win the gold medal. The U.S. has as good a chance as any team to become the first, having triumphed in four of the five Olympic tournaments.
- The IOC will field a team of about 10 athletes with refugee status to compete in Rio under the Olympic flag. “These athletes have no national team to belong to, they have no flag to march behind, no national anthem to be played,” President Thomas Bach said in March. “We will welcome these refugee athletes with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic anthem.”