thiago_simoes

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!

Even though Medeiros won silver, I'm very disappointed today. This was our best opportunity for gold. And no medal in the men's 100 m freestyle final is a big shock. Our performance in Olympic events is just terrible here. Now we have only three more chances for a medal: 50 m freestyle, both with Fratus and Medeiros, and men's 4 x 200 m freestyle, which I think will be unlikely.

Apparently, Jade Barbosa is injured and maybe she will not even perform anymore. It looks like Lorrane Santos is also injured and will only perform on the uneven bars. Brazil's chance for a team medal is basically gone if this is true. Canada is a lot better than I thought even without Padurariu and silver will be easy to get. Mexico and probably Argentina could get team bronze now. I'm very curious about the outcome of the women's team event.

Isaquias Queiroz is a nice choice, as Vinicius mentioned. He won three medals at the Rio Olympics (only Brazilian athlete to ever win three medals at a single edition) and was the world champion in C-1 500 last year. His personal life is drama-filled as well: he lived in a stilt house in a very poor area of the country and his coach died last year. He's typically Brazilian: everything goes against him, but he still manages to beat the odds and be the best. Martine is a girl from a rich family with a famous and influent father who has lots of personal contacts within the Brazilian Olympic Committee. And her sport is widely unknown in Brazil.

Racism and misogyny are huge problems in Brazil. We've had a black man as a flag bearer at the Olympics: João do Pulo. He died as an alcoholic, bankrupt and forgotten man. My complaint about Martine Grael is because almost no one knows who she is, even though she earned a gold medal in Rio. Sailing is one of the most elitist sports, especially in Brazil, and it's very suspicious that she was chosen to represent the country given the involvement of her family with the Brazilian Olympic Committee. I mean, she has zero appeal as the flag bearer.

The point is black women are stigmatized in Brazil, and they are the ones who suffer the most with racism, misogyny and lack of opportunities. Our first female individual medalist at the Olympics was a black woman, but still only white women take the prize when the opportunity comes (even if we're talking about very few opportunities). And, yes, Martina is just another white woman who is probably boosted not by her gold medal but by influence of her father. But this of course is my opinion, and no one is supposed to agree with me. Spend a few years living in Brazil and you will understand why I am so stubborn about giving more visibility to black women.

Shocking result! Wow, Australia!

One of the commentators today tried to remedy the situation adding that this is the first time two Brazilians earned a medal at the "long course world championships". I still don't like this because: 1) This is the World Aquatics Championships, not the Long Course Swimming World Championships, so every medal earned here should be treated the same way in my opinion. 2) I understand FINA treats LC swimming and OW swimming differently, but we have people like Paltrinieri participating at both, so it's just the same sport, albeit with wildly different strategies and approaches to get a medal. Still, the objectives and skills necessary for a medal are the same. I mean, it's not like an artistic swimmer could win a medal on the pool, but LC, SC and OW swimming are three variants of the same sport, in my opinion. Artistic swimming is a completely different sport.

Amazing result. Two medals! Even though I'm not Lima's biggest fan, he surprised me and a medal is a medal. Now, it's irritating how the Brazilian commentators on TV (and even male swimmers) treat both open water swimming and female swimmers. The commentators keep repeating this is the first time two swimmers from Brazil are on the podium at the swimming championships. In 2013 Poliana Okimoto and Ana Marcela Cunha were 1-2 on the 10 km open water event. Nicholas Santos kept saying in his interview that his bronze medal was the first medal at the championships, while Ana Marcela Cunha won two gold medals in 5 km open water and 25 km open water events. In 2016 Brazilian media often expressed disappointment with "no medals in swimming", and Poliana Okimoto won the bronze medal in the 10 km open water event. Besides, she was the first female swimmer from Brazil to earn an Olympic medal, but few people acknowledge this.

It's indeed pink and I like it more than I thought I would. Still, it reminds me of London 2012 a lot.

Any pictures of the gymnastics venue? I'm very curious.

It's nice that a woman is a flagbearer, but when are we going to see a black woman carrying the Brazilian flag across the stadium? All of the women who have been selected at the Olympics were white, and now for the Pan Ams, another white woman.

Is Ana Padurariu injured? EDIT: She is. This is terrible. Padurariu is the one I was mostly looking forward to in team Canada. Anyway, Isabela Onyshko replaces Padurariu and this makes the battle for team silver a little more interesting. Canada still has the upper hand, but now it's not impossible for Brazil to theoretically beat Canada's score. Not the best way to do it, because I wanted everyone to be healthy, but let's hope for the best from now on.

I have never seen people complaining when a Japanese swimmer wins gold. Fu Yuanhui has become sort of an international phenomenon thanks to her personality and many "Western" people root for her. I have seen people questioning Ireland's Michelle Smith's Olympic gold medals, and she is from Europe, not Asia. You are trying too hard to make this a "West vs. East" issue when in fact it's a "doper vs. clean swimmers" issue.

Again, I think you missed the point. The protest is not against the result per se, but instead against the fact Sun Yang was even allowed to compete. It's like you know you failed a Math test, but instead of handing in the test so you will receive a low grade, you make a lump out of the paper and swallow it, and ask your teacher to give you an A grade because he's not able to correct the test anymore and he has to believe you scored high. Or ask the teacher to take the test another day.

Sun Yang is a convicted doper. This does not even compare.

So far, taking into account long course and open water swimming events, China leads the medal table (4-1-2), the US is in second place (3-3-4) and Australia is third (2-2-3). Germany (2-2-2), Canada (2-0-3), Brazil (2-0-1), Hungary (2-0-0), France (1-3-1), Italy (1-1-4) and Great Britain (1-1-1) complete the top 10. No gold medals for Russia and Japan in swimming as of yet.

Efimova taking King's victory gracefully is the best thing she can do for her image. King insistently looking at Efimova before the race is HILARIOUS, though. I'm used to such drama in gymnastics, but usually the Russians start the drama, not the Americans.