Olympics Begin and US Fails to Earn Any Medals on Day One

by JBullock

Justin Bullock, FISM News

 

The long awaited 2020 Summer Olympics have finally begun in Tokyo, Japan, where US athletes are expected to medal in a variety of events. However, the US team failed to earn a place on the podium during the first day of competition. This is the first time this has happened since the 1972 Summer Olympics.

There were a number of upsets that surprised team USA, resulting in their disappointing first day. Particularly in archery, American bowman Brady Ellison is widely considered to be the best archer in the world. He and his partner, the young Mackenzie Brown from Texas, lost in shocking fashion to the fifteenth-seeded Indonesian team.

In addition, team USA’s Mary Tucker, the second ranked firearm marksman in the world, had a disappointing day of shooting and placed sixth. China would go on to win the first gold medal of the Olympics in this event. Ultimately, 11 different events consisting of archery, cycling, fencing, judo, air rifle and pistol shooting, taekwondo, and weightlifting were decided on the first day and the US failed to achieve a medal in any of them.

While this result is historic for the Summer Olympics, it replicates the results in the 2018 Winter Olympics where the US team also failed to earn a medal on day one. It should not necessarily be a cause for concern for Americans as the US team has had a strong showing in the initial qualifying stages in a number of other events that will be decided in the coming days. From basketball to soccer to swimming the US has posted some impressive qualifying results and is poised to dominate once again in the medal race.

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