We've reached the one-year-to-go mark until the 2016 Rio Olympics! I can't wait until the first Olympics in South America! This year is either gonna go by really quick or seem like it takes forever (maybe both).
Over the next year, there's gonna be a lot of talk about Rio's preparedness for the Games and the state of the polluted water (which some say is a major issue, but the International Sailing Federation has said is OK and the triathletes had no issue with at the test event last week). Then there's the thing that's a topic of conversation heading into every Olympics--who's going to be the final torchbearer. At each of the last three Olympics (Vancouver, London, Sochi), it's actually been more than one person. Will Rio continue that trend?
The obvious name is the most familiar Brazilian sportsman in history. That would be the great Pele. Pele is a worldwide icon, and he's been an incredible ambassador for not just soccer, but all of sport. Pele would be a fine choice, and I'm sure he's going to have some sort of major role at the Opening Ceremony. But I don't think it'll be as the final torchbearer. Soccer is Brazil's passion and Pele is a legend, but with his age (75 next summer), recent health problems, and the fact that he was never an Olympian make me think someone else will receive the honor.
So who will it be? Well, Brazil actually has many more options than you might think. They've won double-digit medals at the last five Olympics (including an all-time high 17 in London), and 20 of their 23 golds all-time have come since 1980. Specifically, Brazil has had a lot of success in team sports, mainly volleyball, so it wouldn't surprise me to see a volleyball player (beach or indoor) among those final torchbearers at the Maracana during the Opening Ceremony. Maybe Ricardo and Emanuel, three-time medalists on the beach, will carry it together.
Whether or not Ricardo and Emanuel will actually compete at home in Rio remains to be seen, but there are plenty of Brazilian athletes who you can expect to see and will be medal contenders. Will one of them get a Cathy Freeman moment?
Someone that might is Fabiana Murer, the 2011 World Champion in the women's pole vault who was also the gold medalist when Rio hosted the Pan Am Games in 2007. There's probably going to be more pressure on Murer than any other Brazilian athlete in Rio. Brazil's medal chances in track & field will be few and far between. And the chances at gold in track & field will be even less. Enter Fabiana Murer. Especially after a disappointing showing in London, Murer will want to perform in front of her hometown fans.
Meanwhile, swimmers Cesar Cielo and Thiago Pereira have the chance of winning multiple medals at home. Same thing with gymnast Arthur Zanetti. Cielo, especially, would be an excellent choice. He's a three-time medalist from Beijing and London, and could probably win just as many medals in Rio. But since swimming and gymnastics are the Olympics' traditional first week sports, an active swimmer or gymnast seems incredibly unlikely.
I don't think it'll be a current athlete no matter what, though. I've got it narrowed down to a list of seven retired Brazilian Olympians who I think should be in line for the honor of lighting the cauldron.
Up first is Gustavo Kuerten, the three-time French Open champion who was the first South American man ever to be ranked No. 1 in the world. It won't be him, but Guga is still one of the most recognizable Brazilian sports figures there is, so he, like Pele, I expect to be involved in the Ceremony in some way. It won't be as the final torchbearer, though.
Two Olympic track & field medalists could definitely be in line for the honor. The first is the legendary Joaquim Cruz. He won the gold in the 800 in Los Angeles and silver in Seoul, and is still one of just five men in history to run the 800 in under 1:42. He lit the cauldron at the Rio Pan Am Games. Do they double-dip or give someone else a chance? Someone like Vanderlei de Lima, perhaps. If you remember, de Lima was leading the marathon in Athens when a crazy fan ran onto the course and pushed him into the crowd late in the race. He recovered to win the bronze, then was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for sportsmanship by then-IOC President Jacques Rogge.
Sailing gives us two more viable options. Torben Grael competed in six Olympics from 1984-2004 and won five medals (two gold, one silver, two bronze), which is tied for the most by any Brazilian athlete all-time. The man he's tied with? The great Robert Scheidt. Like Grael, Scheidt is a five-time medalist in sailing. Unlike Grael, he might be competing on home waters in Rio. It would be Scheidt's sixth Olympics. He was the Brazilian flag bearer in Beijing.
Brazil's flag bearer in London was Rodrigo Pessoa, who's competed in equestrian at every Olympics since 1992. Pessoa won gold in individual jumping in 2004 and twice won bronze in team jumping. Rio would be his seventh Olympics, the record for a Brazilian athlete. Oh, and did I mention he's from Rio?
If that was the complete list of candidates, I'd say Pessoa, Scheidt and Cruz were the clubhouse leaders to light the cauldron. But none of them would be my choice. My choice would be someone significantly taller. Someone who was a five-time Olympian, but never a medalist. That doesn't diminish his career at all, though. Because he might be the greatest basketball player in history.
In five Olympics, Oscar Schmidt played in 38 games and scored 1,094 points, an average of 28.8 per game. He was the leading scorer in three of his five Olympic appearances and averaged a ridiculous 41.9 points per game in Seoul in 1988. However, despite having arguably the greatest basketball player in Olympic history, Brazil was never able to get past the quarterfinals.
Just to throw some more numbers out there, Oscar scored almost 50,000 total points in his career if you combine club and national team games. He also played professionally for 30 years!
Oscar Schmidt never got that Olympic moment with his team. So with the Olympics coming to Brazil for the first time, I'd give him the honor of all honors. Oscar Schmidt is one of the greatest Olympians in history never to win a medal. But his legacy is greater than that of any other Brazilian Olympian. That's why I think he's the only choice to light the Olympic cauldron in the Maracana one year from now (almost to the minute).
No comments:
Post a Comment