Back to last night-- somehow, there's THREE semifinals for the Women's 100m Dash. Maybe rename it Tri-Final? Then final runs for swimming--I'm definitely done with that sport until 2024. They made a big deal about Caeleb Dressel winning five golds in a single games. While it is incredibly impressive, there are more swimming events than ever to compete in, and Phelps normalized the idea of hitting a lot of them.
As prime time ends, the announcement goes out that Biles will not compete on the floor. Since that seems to be the safest event, I doubt she will do balance beam.
We got some shotput in late night--I wish they showed more of the field events on broadcast TV (I know, I can watch it on NBCQISE). BMX finals followed (mute the audio and make up your own trick names!), and golf was jammed in to fill time.
And onto daytime. Cross-Country Equestrian? It looks like a supersized mini-golf course. We then got some fencing, which was far more interesting than the volleyball match that followed it. Then tennis (I thought they had a separate channel for this). Then more beach volleyball, a rerun of last night's BMX, yet more golf, and a rerun of women's diving--and just like that, I fast forwarded over 4 hours.
NBC keeps showing the winning attempt (and only that attempt) of the field events. With nothing to compare it to, you have no real idea how far they jumped/threw something. Meanwhile, they show endless track heats on broadcast.
Men's Gymnastics Individual competition was buried on Sunday late afternoon, I assume because very few US gymnasts are involved (of course, the ladies are in prime time tonight). Jimmy Roberts went back to the 1964 Tokyo games, and Billy Mills' historic 10,000m race, for his daily report.
Moving to prime time coverage (brought to you by VISA), with Tirico reporting from a Japanese street market. Guess he got bored of the dock. More track semis, then onto the women's individual gymnastics events. Cue the dramatic story lines. McKayla Skinner and her COVID scare, Jade Carey and her dad coaching her, the video check-in with the families (brought to you by Microsoft Teams--when you're contractually obligated not to use Zoom).
More beach volleyball? Ugh. Enough for one day--more tomorrow.