When the track-and-field events begin in Tokyo, Japan, at the XXXII Olympic Games, Ronnie Baker, 27, will be competing for Team USA in the men’s 100-meter race.Īt the last competition before Tokyo, the Diamond League event held July 9 in Monaco, Baker claimed first place in the 100-meter race with a time of 9.91 seconds. (Watch that race here.) In high school, Baker was twice named the Gatorade Kentucky Track and Field Athlete of the Year. He ran collegiately at Texas Christian University, winning the national championship in the 60-meter dash twice, and becoming a 12-time All-American. Now on his way to the Olympic Games, Baker believes he has a chance of earning the title “world’s fastest man.”Īlong with such benefits as relief from pain, enhanced flexibility, injury recovery and increased range of motion, Baker said he appreciates how massage calms his central nervous system. “As a sprinter, as a high-level athlete, it’s like 24-7 go, go, go,” he said. I usually get really good sleep during that time, which I think helps my central nervous system to calm, to reboot and everything, and it feels great.” It’s good, you know, when you have those massages and you’re completely relaxed. In Tokyo, Baker hopes to receive massage from sports massage therapist Benny Vaughn, LMT, BCTMB, ATC, LAT, CSCS, MTI, who will be at the Olympic Games as part of the U.S. Vaughn was instrumental in getting massage therapy accepted as a regular part of medical care at the Olympic Games, back in 1996 in Atlanta. īaker completed an internship at Benny Vaughn Athletic Therapy Center when Baker was earning his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. “I was just happy that I made the routine and that I got to compete one more time.“Benny definitely knows what he’s doing,” said Baker. “I didn’t really care about the outcome,” she told NBC. said her third-place finish was the most meaningful. Even with her winning a silver in the team event and bronze in balance beam individual apparatus, the G.O.A.T. With the help of Naomi Osaka and Michael Phelps, the gymnast pushed a conversation around mental health and cementing it at the crux of athlete safety moving forward. Mental Health Becomes an Integral Part of AthleticismĪmerica was shocked when it woke up July 27th to find out its star athlete, four-time gold medalist Simone Biles had withdrawn from the competition indefinitely. Elsewhere, Tyler Downs hit up Simone Biles on TiKTok and Leslie Jones continued her love for the Olympics on Twitter, pushing for underappreciated sports like artistic swimming. While the diving superstar (who won gold in the synchronized 10 meter platform and bronze in the individual event) had already started knitting beforehand, his creations during the games were so popular they ended up being featured in Vogue. Nothing sparked more joy on social media than Tom Daley and his knitting. Athletes Shine on Social Media With Normalcy Perhaps the most poignant was USWNT forward Megan Rapinoe going over to congratulate Canadian player Quinn, the first openly transgender athlete to win a gold medal, just days after Canada had beaten the U.S. While no one else tied for gold medals in the games, sportsmanship abounded with dozens - if not hundreds - of examples over 17 days of competition. Instead of continuing to battle it out, the pair opted to share the top of the podium. It all started when the pair tied in the final round and remained so after a jump off. With those words, Muta Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy both won first place in the high jump. There are so many individual moments worth spotlighting, but instead, we’re focusing on how the Olympics shifted from years past and what will likely remain at the forefront as the Paralympics begin August 24th, and beyond that, the Beijing Winter Games in 2022 and the Paris Summer Games in 2024.īelow are some of the defining trends from the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. won the medal count in the end, with 39 golds and 113 total. Instead, the major storylines coming out of Japan were often ones of kindness or surprise victory, albeit sometimes ridiculous (remember the boat that drove into the start of the men’s triathlon?). Tokyo Olympics: Closing Ceremonies of 2021 Games The pandemic created a lot of fears ahead of time, but as of now, it appears Covid-19 was contained better than anyone could realistically hope for. At a time when politics and disease are dominating headlines, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games managed to create space for athletes and fans to come (virtually) together and celebrate sport.
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