thiago_simoes

Congrats! I don't really follow water polo anymore, but it's nice to have one more country on the medal table!

Egypt and Greece with medals today.

Finally a medal in an Olympic event! 7 medals so far, only 1 in an Olympic event.

With only a few hours to go before the women's competition starts, I'll make some predictions. I'm usually terrible with predictions, so bear with me. Team all-around: Easy gold medal for the United States. No question about it, unless a huge disaster happens. Canada is in a very comfortable position for silver and the girls should not even break a sweat to earn this medal. Brazil was the favorite to win the bronze medal, but the fact that Jade Barbosa is injured (and no one knows whether she will compete or not) makes things hard to predict. Mexico, Cuba and Argentina are the only nations with a realistic chance of challenging Brazil, but all of them have trouble in different areas. Mexico had to deal with injuries from three gymnasts (Garcia, Moreno and Castro). Cuba has a decent all-arounder (Ferrera) but as a team they are a complete mystery because they don't make international appearances (except for the CAC Games and the Pan Ams). Argentina could be the biggest surprise here, but their recent performance at the South American Championships was not the greatest. If they hit, though, they could seriously give Brazil run for their money. It will all depend on Dominici and Magistrati My prediction: Individual all-around: Once again, easy gold medal for the United States. McCusker, Wong and Hudd will battle it out to see who will qualify for the all-around final, but gold and silver should be easy for the US. Canada (with either Black or Moors) should take the bronze medal. Black has the edge. Flávia Saraiva could, in theory, challenge for a medal, but she's a dark horse at this point. Argentina's Dominici and Magistrati, Cuba's Ferrera and Peru's Ariana Orrego are long shots for a medal. My prediction: Vault: This is where Canada could realistically win gold and prevent a clean sweep from the US. Olsen is the favorite, in my opinion. Americans Finnegan and Jones will battle against Canada's Black, Cuba's Vidiaux and Chile's Santi for the remaining medals. Dominican Republic's Yamilet Peña could make it to the final, but I don't think she has a chance of winning a medal here. Interestingly, Bolivia has a real chance to make the final. Venezuela could reach the final too. My prediction: Uneven bars: No question about the United States earning gold and silver here. Hurd and McCusker should go 1-2 in this event. Bronze is very hard to predict, though. Canada, Mexico and even Brazil (Lorrane Santos, in special) could take a medal. Argentina could make the final, but it will be hard. This is probably Mexico's best chance for a medal, too. My prediction: Balance beam: This is impossible to predict. Kara Eaker from the United States has the edge, but McCusker is not so far behind. Brazil's Flávia Saraiva is a mystery, and so is Canada's Ellie Black. Magistrati from Argentina has a nice routine, but she depends a lot on mistakes (and I mean big mistakes) from a number of other girls. We can also have some wild surprise popping out of nowhere. I'll go with my heart (and last year's Pan Am Championships results) with this prediction. My prediction: Floor exercise: Once again, very hard to predict. This is Flávia Saraiva's best chance for a gold medal, but whether she can do it is a different story. Except for Jones, all the other American girls have enough potential to score above Saraiva. The Canadians (especially Moors) could create something special here. Cuba's Ferrera is a real threat for a medal if she hits, maybe even gold. Argentina's Dominici is a dark horse and this is probably her best chance for a medal. I have no idea about how the Mexicans can perform here. Puerto Rico could also qualify two girls for the final and maybe even challenge for a minor medal. Surprises could come from Peru and even Chile and Guatemala. In short: this is Sparta. This will probably be the tightest event when it comes to scores. My prediction: No idea. I'll go with because I'd be thrilled with a medal for Ferrera.

Only European swimmers qualified for the men's 1500 freestyle final. The best non-European was only 11th. Crazy.

Very nice opening ceremony. I liked everything, except for the length. It could have been a little bit shorter. Good luck, Peru, especially when it comes to the gymnastics events! Fingers crossed for Daniel Agüero to get a medal on vault!

According to the commentator on Brazilian TV, they are reserved for the athletes (probably after the parade of nations).

Here comes the official song. Noooooo!

Very original segment with the horses. And it fits nicely with equestrian and modern pentathlon. So far, this ceremony is excellent. Everything is great!

By the way, I've explained it before but this is the perfect moment for me to do it again: "Arriba, Peru" sounds quite funny for us Brazilians. The word peru in Brazil means the country Peru, the animal turkey and a slang for penis. Arriba, Peru can be understood as "rise, cock".

I've never been to Mexico City (it's one of my dreams, but I'll eventually visit it in the future), but Santiago is very nice. The only problem there is heavy pollution. But unfortunately I think Mexico City will be the same or even worse.

Lima is one of my favorite cities in South America. This opening ceremony brings back memories. ¡Arriba, Perú!

I can't believe Bach was introduced as Olympic champion in fencing, 1976. This is getting insane.

This will be a disaster for artistic gymnastics. The World Championships usually happen in late October, so there's no way any country would send their best gymnasts for the Pan Ams.

The opening ceremony has not even taken place yet and I already can't stand the official song when it plays before and after competitions on TV.

I was hoping Paraguay could win a gold medal, but it looks like the Argentinian skater will not allow this to happen. And there's also Gustavo Casado, who has been world champion before, and could also pack a heavy punch in the long program. Well, any medal would still be a great result for Paraguay, but I wish they could win gold.

One more injury: Javier Sandoval from Colombia.

Australia again upset the US in a relay race.

Ok, Melo did terrible and our chances are gone after the first leg. Quick to disappoint, slow to swim.

This is the event I've been waiting for. Even a bronze medal would be fantastic for Brazil, but I know it will be next to impossible to get one.

Not a fan of Russia in any sport (not even gymnastics), but I have to say this performance was amazing. Wilson tied the world record yesterday so the pressure was on, and Chupkov treated it as if it was nothing. I hope there's no meldonium involved in this world record.

I'm surprised the guy from Palau had a 27 second mark. He gives me hope.

Schooling did terrible. Poor guy.

If the Brazilian girls have an absolutely brilliant day with no falls, it would not be impossible to beat Mexico, Argentina and Cuba for the bronze medal, but this is a big if. I honestly don't think there's a realistic chance for a medal without Jade.

Mexico's Nicolle Castro is apparently injured and will not compete. I can't stress enough how devastated I am with so many injuries. Andrade, Garcia, Moreno, Barbosa, Padurariu, Castro, Calvo, Larduet... This is absolutely insane!