Showing posts with label #RioOlympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #RioOlympics. Show all posts

Sunday, August 21, 2016

2016 Olympics wrap up for AAPI athletes

The Rio Olympics came to an end Sunday.
ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER ATHLETES wound up winning eight medals for the United States total of 121 medals  during the 17 days of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The Olympics concluded Sunday with a Carnaval-like parade with athletes from all the countries gathering in the middle of the field celebrating the event held every four years.

Swimming
  • Nathan Adrian: gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay, Gold in the 4x100 medley relay, bronze medals in the 50m freestyle and the 100m frestyle
  • Lia Neal: silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay
Fencing
  • Alexander Massialas, silver in foil
  • Gerek Meinhardt joined Massialaas to win a bronze medal in team foil
Volleyball
  • Micah Christenson, Kawiki Shoji and brother Erick Shoji were part of the team winning a bronze medal
Paige McPherson, a bronze medal winner in taekwondo at the 2012 Games, was upset in the first round but she remains America's strong bet to medal in the future.

Though the badminton and table tennis teams were blanked, the young athletes gained valuable international experience and can only improve by the time the 2020 Olympics in Japan.

Below are all the stories that Views from the Edge presented as part of the Olympic coverage:

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Thursday, August 18, 2016

Olympics: Taekwondo fighter hopes to improve on her 2012 Bronze Medal


Paige McPherson
Filipino/African/American
Sport: Taekwondo
Discipline(s): Taekwondo, Sparring Taekwondo
Weight Class: 67kg
Height: 5-8
Weight: 140 lbs.
DOB: 10/1/1990
Birthplace: Abilene, Texas
Hometown: Sturgis, S.D.
High School: Black Hills Classical Christian Academy
College: Miami-Dade College
Olympic Experience: London 2012 Olympic Games, bronze (-67kg)
Personal: Her nickname is "McFierce." Enjoys going to the beach, shopping, and going to the movies...Hobbies include dance, snowboarding, and volleyball...Favorite foods are Asian food, her mom's cooking, and cheeseburgers...Was adopted when she was four days old.
Quote: "My brother is from Korea. My little sister is from St. Lucia. I'm Filipino and African/American, (and her parents recently adopted two Native American children) so we are all around the world. I've never lived with anyone that is the same like me, so it's practically normal for me to be around people with different personalities."

McPherson will start her competition Friday, Aug. 19,
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Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Olympics: Behind the scenes with Lia Neal

YouTube
Simone Manuel, left, and Lia Neal, center, are media favorites.
LIA NEAL, who won a silver medal as a member of the U.S. 4x100 freestyle relay team, has been prolific on social media, especially on Youtube, giving us a glimpse of what an Olympic athlete's life is like outside of the arena - or in her case - outside the water.


As you can see, below, it is not all a life of glitz and glamor. Aside from the men's and women's basketball team who are housed on a cruise ship, athletes are placed in barely furnished apartments " during the Olympics which looks more like a locker room with beds.
 
"(All the Team USA athletes} live in the same building and as far as we're concerned, we have everything we need. We have so many resources - we brought our own I.T. guy and we have two maintenance people that we flew out here just to take care of us. So it's been great for us. Living hasn't been a hassle at all here because we've been taken care of."


Not surprising, Simone Manuel is among Lia's BFF's. When the teammates are not competing for the U.S., they swim for Stanford University and they get to know the world calibre swimmers in the PAC12, many of whom are on the Olympic swim team in Rio. They are constantly being sought for interviews by the multitudes of media from around the world at the Rio Games.


The significance of Manuel's historic feat, becoming the first African/American woman swimmer to win an individual gold medal, is not lost on Neal, who can count Chinese and African bloodlines in her own heritage. Her mother made sure that Manuel is also fluent in Cantonese. She said the constant questions about being a black swimmer can be difficult, “but I think that’s just what comes with the territory of making history. You’re going to be faced with the question a lot, because it’s so new,” she said before Manuel’s gold-medal race.


The Stanford teammates are articulate and nimble in their handling of the many media requirements place on the athletes and great representatives of the United States. Below, the BFF's go to a press conference. "You see athletes everywhere but the dining hall is the premiere spot to really people watch," she told Cosmopolitan. "Everyone has to go through the dining hall; it's one of the coolest places in the village, if not the coolest. It's massive. You're just sitting down, watching the world's best athletes walk by."




At the age of 17, Neal went to the Olympics in London and earned a bronze medal as part of the 4x100m relay team. This time, four years older, a little more mature, and no longer a naive teenager. 


"London was such a blur for me because I was just so young. I didn't know what to expect. I had a lot of fun, and I was like, How will anything ever top that?! But I've had so much fun this time around too! I think just being older has allowed me to form more bonds with the team. I've just realized how great everyone is - this team really melds together well."


"The first day, we saw the U.S. women's gymnastics team. Not only was I starstruck, but I was sitting with the rest of our swim team and everyone is like, 'Oh, my god, there they are! They're so cute! They're smaller in person!'"

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Olympics: Pacific Islander weightlifter's dances bring attention to climat change's impact on his nation

YouTube
David Katoatau's crazy dancing has a deeper purpose.
By Louis Chan
Reprinted from AsAm News

DAVID KATOATAU of Kiribati placed 14th in the Olympic’s 105KG, but that’s not why people are talking about him.

The 5’7″ 231-pound Olympian is doing his best to raise awareness of both his country and climate change.

He has people talking with the way he exits the stage after his lifts.

Kirabati is an island nation in the Central Pacific. Most have never heard of it. Katoatau hopes his antics will bring more attention to his country and to the plight of climate change.
“I wrote an open letter to the world last year to tell people about all the homes lost to rising sea levels,” he told Reuters. I don’t know how many years it will be before it sinks. We don’t have the resources to save ourselves.”

Katoatau began his dancing crusade during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland two years ago. That was the first gold medal in any global sporting event for his tiny island nation of Kiribati, according to Reuters.
RELATED: 


His dancing as Kiribati's flag bearer at the Rio Games' opening ceremony made him a social media sensation.

Kiribati, located in the Central Pacific, is suffering "extreme coastal erosion not just of the beaches but also of the land" according to its government.
Some scientists have predicted a catastrophic effect on Kiribati's 21 inhabited islands, which has a population of about 100,000.

"Most people don't know where Kiribati is," Katoatau told Reuters. "I want people to know more about us so I use weightlifting, and my dancing, to show the world.

"I wrote an open letter to the world last year to tell people about all the homes lost to rising sea levels. I don't know how many years it will be before it sinks."
(Views from the Edge contributed to this report.)
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Monday, August 15, 2016

Olympics: Q&A with Nathan Adrian; what's next after medal performances?

YouTube
Nathan Adrian flashes the gold medal that he earned anchoring the 4x100m medley relay team.

 NATHAN ADRIAN, whose killer smile and 6-pack abs are drawing a lot of attention from his growing legion of fans on the Internet, has won the most Olympic medals for an Asian/American athlete in this year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Chinese/American swimmer won four medals in Rio, two golds in the 4x100 freestyle relay and the 4x100 medley relay. both of which contributed to Michael Phelps' historic run for gold which now stand at 23. Adrian also won two bronze medals for the freestyle at 50m and 100m.
Back in the San Francisco Bay Area where he makes his home, Adrian told NBC that Saturday’s 4X100m race also meant sharing a special moment with Phelps, who announced his retirement via Facebook Live on Saturday, while also celebrating fellow (Cal Bear Ryan) Murphy's first win. 

“More special being with Ryan, setting that world record, and Michael being his last race, I get to take credit for a small part of that,” he explained.

Here's a quirky factoid: Adrian's time for the final leg of that race was 47 seconds flat; .58 seconds faster than the gold medal time for the 100m in which Adrian won a Bronze. That says a lot about the vagaries of swimming.



That makes eight Olympic medals for Adrian, starting in 2008, when he got his first medal as a member of the 4x100m relay at the age of 15.

 So what's next for the 27-year old, who was an honors student majoring in public health at UC Berkeley? His bio says he aspires to become an MD.
If he wants, blessed with good looks and his lean swimmer's body on his 6'6" frame, he could certainly make a living as a model -- and that suits his sponsors Tommy HIllfiger and Speedo just fine. 

 Here's a clue: Nathan will be 31 in 2020 when the Games will be in Tokyo - the same age that Michael Phelps is this year.
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Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Olympics: Natalie Coughlin joins NBC coverage of the Rio Games




Natalie Coughlin, center, is welcomed by hosts Raj Mathai and Janelle Wang.
NBC BAY AREA announced that 12-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin will join the station's coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. 

Coughlin, a native of the Bay Area, will join NBC Bay Area anchors Raj Mathai and Janelle Wang to make up a rare television occurrence, an all-Asian/American panel covering the Olympics.

12-Time Olympic Medalist Natalie Coughlin Joins NBC Coverage of RIO GAMESIn the initial telecast, the two veteran anchors, Raj Mathai and Janelle Wang, promised to delve into Couglin's Filipino/American heritage. 

The team will be together throughout the Olympics during the station's 6 p.m. newscast for The Olympic Moment of the Day with Natalie Coughlin, a special segment where they will discuss an unexpected winner or moment of the day. Topics will be driven by the Olympic stories that emerge from each day and can range anywhere from an Olympic athlete winning against all odds, to a historical record-breaking moment.

"We're thrilled to bring Natalie's expertise to our Olympic coverage and provide our viewers with specific details and insights of the moments they can't miss from the perspective of an Olympian," said Rich Cerussi, President and General Manager of NBC Bay Area. "She knows what it is like to train hard, comeback from a setback, and be a champion."

Coughlin is the first American female athlete to win six medals in one Olympic Games and is also the first woman ever to win a 100m backstroke gold in two consecutive Olympic Games. She attended U.C. Berkeley where she became the first woman to swim the 100-meter backstroke in less than a minute. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Coughlin tied for the most medals of any female Olympian in history.

NBC Bay Area / KNTV Owned by NBCUniversal, NBC Bay Area / KNTV can be seen locally on Comcast 3 and 703 and over-the-air on 11. COZI TV, the station's digital network, offers a full schedule of America's most beloved and iconic television series, hit movies and original programming. Cozi TV can be seen locally on Comcast 186 and over-the-air on 11.3.
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Monday, August 8, 2016

Olympics: Asian American makes fencing history with a Silver Medal




Reprinted from AsAm News

ALEXANDER MASSIALAS who is Taiwanese American took the silver in the men’s individual foil at the Rio games Sunday.

He became the first American to win an individual medal in fencing since Albie Axelrod won the bronze in 1960, according to TeamUSA.org.

Before he could enjoy the magnitude of the moment, Massialas had to get over the fact that he fell short of the gold. If he had done that, he would have been the first U.S. man ever to win gold in fencing in the modern era.

His father Greg, who is also his coach, consoled his son after he lost to Italy’s Daniele Garozzo 15-11. Alexander came into the Olympics ranked number 1 in the world.
RELATED: Asian/American fencers go to Rio to make a point 
“I just told him, ‘I’m so proud of you. You fenced really your heart out. This is a great day for you,’” Greg said.

Alexander showed a lot of heart, coming back from a 14-7 deficit to pull within 3 and make it a game. He also came back in the quarterfinals after trailing 14-8 to Giorgio Avola of Italy to advance to the semifinals.

“I’m always out there to fight,” Massialas said. “If anything it (my quarterfinal win) assured me that I have a chance regardless. I can never give up in a bout like that, especially in the gold-medal match of the Olympics. Obviously I might have used up my luck earlier in the day.”
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Olympics: Asian American swimmers win medals; Adrian wins two gold, two bronzes




Nathan Adrian, left, anchored the winning relay team.


IT WAS  a really good Olympics for our Asian/American swimmers, especially for Cal alum Nathan Adrian, who medaled in his four events.

Lia Neal was the first Asian/African/American to win a medal at the Rio Olympics. She earned silver  as a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay team, which came in second to Australia on Saturday (Aug. 6).

For the first time in history, there are two African/American swimmers on the same Olympic team. Simone  Manuel, Neal's teammate at Stanford, also made the Olympic Swim Team.

The second Asian American Olympian to medal was Nathan Adrian, who won a gold medal  Sunday (Aug. 6) as the anchor of the 4x100 relay team. The U.S. avenged a 2012 loss to France, which won the Silver medal.

Adrian completed his 100-meter freestyle leg in 47.64 seconds, good enough to hold off a 47.00 performance by Australia’s James Magnussen — the world champion in the 100 free.

“It’s tough with the world champion chasing you — it’s not a pressure-less situation,” the 32-year-old Adrian told the Seattle Times.

 As the competition continued through the first week of the Rio Olympics, Nathan went on to win bronze medals in the 100m individual freestyle and in the 50m freestyle. He capped it off with another gold medal in the 4x100m medley relay in which he anchored, swimming the freestyle leg.

 Jay Litherland, a Japanese/American from the University of Georgia, qualifed for the finals in his event, the grueling 400m individual medley where he finished fifth.
RELATED: What's next for Nathan Adrian?
RELATED: Behind the scenes with Lia Neal 
RELATED: All Asian/American badminton team
RELATED: Asian/American fencers go to Rio to make a point 
RELATED: Hawaiian volleyball players destined to excel 
RELATED: Six Asian/Americans make up the table tennis team 
RELATED: Woman with most medals fails to make Rio swim team

Lia Neal
Chinese/African/American 
Event: 4x100 freestyle relay
DOB: Feb. 13, 1995
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Birthplace: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Olympic Experience: Won bronze in the 400m free relay at the 2012 Olympic Games in London
College: Stanford '17
Major: Undeclared
Fun fact: Because of her Chinese/American mother, Lia is fluent in Cantonese
Quote: "It's humbling that people would look up to me."


  • Jay Litherland
  • Japanese/American
  • Event: 400m Individual Medley
    DOB: AUGUST 24, 1995
    Hometown: Alpharetta, GA.
    Birthplace: Japan
    Olympic Experience: First Olympics
    College: Georgia '18
    College Major: Business
    Fun Fact: Is a triplet ... Two brothers, Kevin and Mick, also swim for Georgia and he can speak Japanese.
  • Quote: “We (He and his brothers) had a lot of fun when we were little fooling our teachers and other people pretending to be one another.”

Nathan Adrian
Chinese/American
Events: 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x100 medley relay.
DOB: 12/7/1988
Birthplace: Bremerton, Wash.
Hometown: Bremerton, Wash.
College: University of California – Berkeley ‘12, 
College Major: Public Health/Pre-Med
Olympic Experience
  • Three-time Olympian (2008, 2012, 2016); Five-time Olympic medalist (4 golds, 1 silver)
  • Rio 2016 Olympic Games, gold (4x100m free)
  • London 2012 Olympic Games, gold (100m free, 4x100m medley); silver (4x100m free)
  • Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, gold (4x100m free)
Fun Fact: Adrian, who says he just came out of a relationship, also said that he's open to a new one "if the right person comes along." And the new Tommy Hilfiger menswear ambassador is not opposed to being asked out himself.
Quote: “I am thrilled to be honored by the Asian Hall of Fame (2014). It has always been important to me to remember both sides of my cultural heritage and hopefully inspire young individuals to be the best at whatever it is they choose to do.”






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Friday, August 5, 2016

Olympics: All-Asian/American badminton team

WITH the shuttlecock traveling at 200 miles an hour, lighting quick reflexes  and strategy are the earmarks of badminton. The U.S. is sending seven members to compete in all five events of badminton, the first time that has happened. 

Like the table tennis team, all of the seven team members are Asian/Americans. While the U.S. has done well in international competition, it will be a hard row to hoe to get a medal. 

Badminton is one of three sports the U.S. has never medaled in. The other two? Table tennis and handball.

Most of the veterans have retired leaving Eva Lee as the only player who has had Olympic experience.
The powerhouse nations in this sport are China and Japan.

Phillip Chew
Sport: Badminton
Discipline(s): Badminton
Height: 5’8”
DOB: 5/16/1994
Birthplace: Anaheim, Calif.
Hometown: Orange, Calif.
Coach(es): Ignatius Rusli, Cai Zi Min, Don Chew, Rudi Gunawan
Quote: "I'm very excited to qualify for my first Olympic Games as one of only six athletes to qualify for two events in badminton."


Howard Shu
Height: 6-1
DOB: 11/28/1990
Birthplace: Los Alamitos, Calif.
Hometown: Orange County, Calif.
Coach(es): Tony Gunawan, Johannah Lee
Quote: "I started playing badminton when I was 8 years old so it's really surreal to see my name on that final list and know that I'm going to be competing at the most prestigious athletic event in the world."


Eva Lee
Height: 5’6”
DOB: 8/7/1986
Birthplace: Hong Kong, 91
Hometown: Diamond Bar, Calif.
Coach(es): Alistair Casey, Johanna Lee
Olympic Experience: 2008: 2008 Olympic Team (Singles, Women’s Doubles)
Quote: “I am so honored and grateful to be able to represent Team USA for a second time at the 2016 Olympic Games," 


Jamie Subandhi
Height: 5’4”
DOB: 12/15/1989
Birthplace: Long Beach, Calif.
Hometown: Westminster, Calif.
Coach(es): Ignatius Rusli, Zi Min Cai, Rudi Gunawan
Quote: "It is nice to see that the hours of hard work and team effort have paid off. Now, I am looking forward to the incredible honor of representing our country. It is an absolute dream come true.” 


Paula Lynn Obanana
Height: 5’3”
DOB: 3/19/1985
Birthplace: Dumaguete City, Philippines 
Hometown: West Covina, Calif.
Coach(es): Alistair Casey, Johanna Lee
Ouote: "I feel so overwhelmed, ecstatic and blessed. I am finally living my dream and I will do my best to certainly bring home a medal for our country."


Iris Wang
Height: 5’3”
DOB: 9/2/1994
Birthplace: Pasadena, Calif.
Hometown: Arcadia, Calif.
Coach(es): Tony Gunawan, Alistair Casey
Quote: “Ever since I started playing badminton, my dream was to compete at the Olympic Games. Now that it’s a reality, I’m eagerly looking forward to playing my best in Rio this summer!”



Sattawat Pongnairat
Height: 5-11
DOB: 5/8/1990
Birthplace: New York, N.Y.
Hometown: Bangkok
Coach(es): Zi Min Cai, Rudy Gunawan, Ignatius Rusli





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