We summarize: The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil

OS

The 2016 Summer Olympics are over and during two weeks we have enjoyed a great deal of sports in Rio de Janeiro. This was the first time the games was held in South America. Despite doping suspensions, economic troubles and sanitation problems, Brazil could deliver some great sports moment to us this summer. In this post, we summarize the highlights of the 2016 Summer Games:

Peaceful selfie

In the women’s gymnastics, Lee Eun-ju of South Korea and Hong Un-jong of North Korea took a selfie with each other. Their countries are still officially at war and the penalties in North Korea for contacts with South Koreans are harsh. Moments like this really catches the Olympic spirit and give the world hope.

Simone Biles

More gymnastics. The 19 year old US gymnast Biles impressed the world with a total of four gold medals and one bronze.

3x Usain Bolt

Jamaican superstar dominated in the 100 and 200 meters distance, as well as in the 4 x 100 meters relay. Hats off!

2x Mo Farah

Another athlete we have gotten used to during the years is British runner Mo Farah. He won 5000 and 10000 meters at the IAAF World Championship last year, and he repeated the procedure during the 2016 Olympics. Farah aims at participating (and winning) both distances at home in the 2017 World Championship in London.

Brazil’s most important gold

The games got a fairytale finish for the host nation thanks to football superstar Neymar. He scored one goal and the deciding penalty shot in the football final against Germany. A little comfort after the humiliating 1-7 loss at home in the 2014 World Cup semifinals. The soccer gold is of course Brazil’s most important medal since it is their national sport. In fact, the spectators of the Olympic games acted like every sport was football, booing inappropriate during the men’s pole jump for example. Immature and primitive.

Chicken Swedes!

The Swedish women’s soccer team went all the way to the final by playing a mediocre group stage, but acting disciplined in their offensive game, beating the 2012 Olympic and 2015 World Champions USA in the quarter final and Brazil in the semi final on penalties. USA’s goal keeper referred to the Swedes as cowards after the quarterfinal. Swedish coach Pia Sundhage answered “I don’t give a damn, they are going home and we are going to Rio!”

Selected World Records

  • Sarah Sjöström, Sweden, finally won her first Olympic gold medal and broke the world record in 100 meters butterfly. Sjöström also won a gold and a silver medal at freestyle swimming.
  • Almaz Ayana got the first world record of the athletics at the Olympic Stadium. She slaughtered the old record in women’s 10 000 meters with over 14 seconds.

Schedule, Olympic Handball in Rio 2016

Handboll

We continue to look forward to  the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, 2016. Earlier, we wrote about the Olympic football. In this post you can read about the handball tournaments. Below are the groups and schedule for the preliminary rounds as well as the play offs. According to the odds, France is favourites in to defending their gold medal from London 2012.

The men’s handball in Rio 2016

Group A

Argentina
Qatar
Croatia
Denmark
France
Tunisia

Group B

Egypt
Germany
Sweden
Slovenia
Poland
Brazil

The top four teams in each group go through to the quarterfinals. The winner of group A meets the fourth team of group B and so on. The group stage is played between August 7-15. The knockout stage starts with quarterfinals, August 17, followed by semifinals August 19. The medal games are played August 21.

The women’s handball in Rio 2016

Group A

Angola
Spain
Montenegro
Romania
Norway
Brazil

Group B

South Korea
Argentina
Sweden
Russia
Netherlands
France

Here too, the top four teams advance to the quarterfinals which is determined in the same manner as in the men’s tournament. The group stage is played between August 6-14. The knockout stage starts with quarterfinals, August 16, followed by semifinals August 18. The medal games are played August 20.

For full schedule and all match dates, check out this official PDF.

Schedule, Olympic soccer 2016

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In Sweden we especially look forward to this summer’s Olympic football tournament since both the men and women are qualified to the competition. The 2016 Olympic Games will take place in Rio, Brazil, and it most certainly will be a hot story as we remember from FIFA World Cup 2014. The men’s team must consist of players below 23 years old except for three players. The women will play with their ordinary teams. We of course hope that a star or two will join their youth teams for the tournament. What if Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided to take part in the Olympics? It would be a blast! Below are groups and schedule for both tournaments.

Groups and schedule, men

Group A: Brazil, Iraq, South Africa and Denmark
Group B: Japan, Nigeria, Sweden and Colombia
Group C: Mexico, South Korea, Fiji and Germany
Group D: Argentina, Honduras, Portugal and Algeria

August 4-10: Group stage

August 12: Quarterfinals
August 16: Semi-finals
August 19: Final and Bronze Medal Match

Comment: Team that are used to play in heat will of course have an advantage. In group A, the host nation are looking for revenge for the failure in World Cup 2014. Group B could go either way, but Colombia are one of the favorites. In group C, current World Cup champions Germany will go for the group win, mainly contested by Mexico. In group D, Argentina and Portugal are the main competitors for winning the group.

Groups and schedule, women

Group E: Sweden, Brazil, China and South Africa.
Group F: Australia, Germany, Canada and Zimbabwe
Group G: USA, France, New Zealand and Colombia

August 3-9: Group stage

August 12: Quarterfinals
August 16: Semi-finals
August 19: Final and Bronze Medal Match

Comment: Among the favorites here are Brazil, Germany, USA and France. The Swedish ladies have been struggling in the latest tournament and had trouble with the heat in the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada last summer.

We look forward to the (super)sports year 2016

In an earlier post we summarized the sports year 2015. I this post we look forward to the biggest events of 2016. Immediately we can sort out a top three list with European football championships in France, Summer Olympics in Brazil and World Cup of Hockey in Canada. On top of that, all the usual yearly events will entertain us between the major happenings.

Tour de Ski

Tour de Ski is the first milestone of 2016. January 1-10 the best skiers of the world will battle for gold and glory in a series of events which ends with a climb up a downhill slope. In the nordic skiing events so far this season, the Norwegian skiers have dominated the tracks. However, in Sweden we hope that Charlotte Kalla will be able to challenge Therese Johaug, Heidi Weng and the other competitors.

Längdskidor

More info: FIS Ski

IIHF World Championships in Russia

The World Championships of Hockey are always fun to watch. It gets even more interesting when the tournament is set in a big hockey nation. Last year, Canada won by defeating Russia in the final. This year, the Russians want to use the home field advantage to retake the throne and win the gold. We hope for a high quality tournament in which many players want to show their best skills in order to gain a spot in the World Cup in september-october. The IIHF World Championships 2016 are played May 6-22.

Tre Kronor2

UEFA Euro 2016 in France

June 10 – July 10 the biggest football event of the year is held in France. 24 European nations are battling for going all the way to the final. After exciting qualifiers we look forward to a tournament of good quality. Sweden managed to reach the Euro 2016 by defeating Denmark in the play offs. Team captain Zlatan Ibrahimoivc must now find ways to score against tougher opposition, in the group phase they are drawn against Belgium, Ireland and Italy.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

More info: UEFA

Summer Olympics in Brazil

The summer olympics are always a special event. This year they are held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. We look forward to seeing more duels like the ones in the 2015 IIAF World Champions in Beijing 2015. Will Mo Farah and Usain Bolt continue to dominate or is it time for a new generation of athletes to challenge the masters? August 5-21 over 10500 athletes from more than 200 countries will fight for the medals.

More info: Official homepage

World Cup of Hockey in Canada

The biggest hockey event of the year is held in Canada September 17 – October 1. The World Cup of Hockey 2016 might be one of the greatest international competition in modern time. The last time it was held was in 2004 and 1996. Before then, the tournament was known as Canada Cup. The World Cup is held early in the season and all the best players will participate. Also, two wildcard teams, consisting of young, North American players and a mix of European players from the “lesser” hockey nations, will challenge the established “big six”.

World Cup of Hockey 2016

More info: NHL.com

World Juniors in Canada

The finale of the sports- and hockey year 2016 is held in Canada when the World Juniors 2017 begins. It is aways fun to watch a hockey tournament held in the home land of the sport, although Canada always make sure they gain every possible advantage at home. However, the 2015-16 edition of the tournament in Finland is still underway and we will follow the play offs as the world’s best junior hockey players are battling for the gold. Later, we will post the schedule for the 2017 World Juniors.

World Juniors

Stay tuned and follow us as we progress through the super sports year 2016!