The Rio 2016 weekend highlights

Brazil is celebrated as Britain sleeps

A performance of drumming and dancing ensured that the Rio 2016 opening ceremony showcased the most high-tempo aspects of Brazilian culture. This provided some welcome positivity for a country plagued with problems leading up to the games, especially as such an impressive event was put together on a relatively low budget. There were still rumblings of discontent, such as the booing of interim president Michel Temer as he opened the games, but happiness and pride were the overriding emotions of the show. A global audience of three billion tuned in, despite the time difference meaning that Europeans wishing to watch the whole ceremony were forced to pull an all-nighter. 61% of respondents to a poll on the Boar Sport Twitter account said that they didn’t bother staying up, but those that did were richly rewarded.

Refugees represent Olympic values

One of the loudest cheers of Friday’s opening ceremony came when the Refugee Olympic Team entered the arena. The team was formed to draw attention to the worldwide refugee crisis and comprises of 43 athletes who have all been forced to flee their homelands. One member, Syrian teenager Yusra Mardini, won her 100m butterfly heat only a year after battling for survival as her dinghy capsized when trying to reach Lesbos, Greece. Though Mardini’s time ultimately wasn’t fast enough to progress, the awareness created by her performance meant that she was already one of the great triumphs of the games.

Cycling chaos creates controversy

The men’s and women’s cycling road races took place on Saturday and Sunday respectively, but the course’s dangerous descent overshadowed both events. With Team GB’s Geraint Thomas well-placed to go for gold, he was one of a number of contenders to crash on the winding slopes of the Vista Chinesa, ending British hopes of a medal. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. Dutch rider Annemeik van Vleuten fell as she sped clear of the chasing pack and alarming pictures of her motionless body slumped by the roadside followed. Though she is still in intensive care, van Vleuten is thankfully on the mend – but this was exactly the sort of situation that Rio’s much-criticised organising committee wanted to avoid.

Adam Peaty now holds every major 100m breaststroke title. Image: Wikimedia Commons/Chan-Fan

Peaty gets GB off the mark

Though Team GB was left empty-handed in the cycling, there were high hopes for Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke. The 21-year arrived at the games with almost every title under his belt; every title but the biggest one, that is. After breaking his own world record by nearly half a second in the heats, anything but a gold medal would have been a disappointment. Peaty duly delivered, underlining his dominance by shaving another four tenths of a second off his previous world record. With Peaty having barely recovered his breath, Jazz Carlin leapt into the pool to claim silver in the 400m freestyle. The night was so successful for Team GB that Michael Phelps’ 19th (nineteenth!) Olympic gold was little more than an afterthought.

Tennis titans fall at the first hurdle

Some of the greatest tennis players in the world saw their Olympic schedules suddenly become much lighter on an unpredictable days play. Novak Djokovic and two sets of siblings, the Williams sisters and Murray brothers, all lost in the first round of their respective tournaments on Sunday. You could see how much it meant: Djokovic was in tears after being defeated by Juan Martin Del Potro, while Andy Murray was visibly angry at himself during and following his and brother Jamie’s loss to the Brazilians Thomaz Bellucci and Andre Sa. The good news for the Wimbledon champion is that his passage to retaining his Olympic singles gold medal has been helped by Djokovic’s exit. Murray is a huge patriot, however, so his doubles defeat will undoubtedly hurt.