Rio Olympics ended in a beautiful, glamorous ceremony where the Olympic flag was handed over to Tokyo and the Japanese Prime Minister ‘Super Abe’ made an appearance. Olympics offer a unique and extraordinary opportunity to observe the best athletes on the planet as they defy gravity and perform incredible feats, disregarding the laws of Physics.
However, even the Olympians are humans (oh yes, they are!) and they also make mistakes, which are captured by the ever-present camera lens. As the Rio Olympics have come to end, we have compiled a list of the most embarrassing moments from Olympics 2016. Have a look:
1. Ellen van Dijk’s Slow-Motion Fall
Oeii.. Ellen van Dijk raakt van de weg! #CyclingRoad #TeamNL pic.twitter.com/4EdCcrpkTO
— Sportnieuws.nl (@Sportnieuwsnl) August 10, 2016
Ellen van Dijk represented the Netherlands in the Olympics. During the time trial event, the cyclist went off track and ended up falling into the bushes, verryyyyyyy slowly. However, the snafu did not deter her, and she got back on her bike to ride her way towards the finish line. Although she didn’t win the competition, she was quite close to winning a bronze medal, which is pretty amazing considering her fall.
2. The Chinese Boxer who erringly assumed he had won the match
Ces sportifs qui ont crié victoire un peu trop tôt! #LvBin #Olympics https://t.co/BjGkOJEdtG pic.twitter.com/kcZu7NxaNp
— BESIDE SPORT (@BESIDESPORTS) August 9, 2016
LV Bin was so certain of his win against the Kenyan champion, Peter Warui that he even misheard the judge and started celebrating when the result was announced. Only later did he realised that the actual winner was his Kenyan adversary. Some hilariously embarrassing moments!
3. And then there was the Chinese Swimmer who ‘tried’ to Celebrate his win
Sun Yang should stick with swimming. Once a swimmer, always a swimmer… pic.twitter.com/nNMURuNotX
— MySwimPro (@MySwimPro) August 10, 2016
Su Yang won the Gold and decided to celebrate his win by throwing his cap into the audience, only it landed in the pool! The swimmer had to climb over and get it out of water. Awkward! But it didn’t put him off trying again.
4. The French Fencer who carried his Smartphone into the Arena
You competing in the Olympics at Fencing & you drop your mobile Enzo Lefort #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/2zUTfvAl4M
— Masato Jones (@masato_jones) August 12, 2016
He was so concerned about incoming notifications that Enzo Lefort took his smartphone with him into the fencing arena. As he tried to avoid a lunge while battling Peter Joppich from Germany, his handset crashed to the floor.
5. The Tennis player who got Stuck in the Elevator
This is how Delpo started the day: trapped in an elevator at the Olympic village for 40 minutes. pic.twitter.com/EFNmOKqIwE
— Jorge Viale (@jorgeviale) August 7, 2016
Juan Martin Potro had to play a match, only he was trapped in an elevator. To make the matters worse, he couldn’t get a signal on his handset. It was the handball team from Argentina that saved him from the elevator and he was able to play in his big match.
6. The British Swimmer who nearly Missed her Semi-Final due to the Public Transportation
Poor @franhalsall got taken to the Olympic stadium rather than the pool before her semi tonight! Still won her semi and looks great ????
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) August 13, 2016
Fran Halsall was to swim in the 50meter freestyle semi-finals, only her bus drove her to the stadium instead of the pool. Fran didn’t let the mishap faze her and ended up in the fourth spot.
7. Media won the Award for the Most Embarrassing Olympics 2016 Moments
Olympics Media Sexism Bingo – all nauseatingly regular
Demeaning sexist tripe that world-class athletes don't need. pic.twitter.com/xMt0whRVIN
— Alice Evans (@_alice_evans) August 11, 2016
From The Chicago Tribune tweet that announced Corey Cogdell’s win as “Wife of a Bears’ lineman wins a bronze medal” to Dan Hicks, the NBC presenter who credited the record-breaking win of a swimmer to her husband, there were countless foot-in-the-mouth moments in media. The NBC announcers angered quite a few people by referring to the US gymnast team as ‘the girls standing around in the mall’. It appears as if the media has a long way to go to acknowledge the role of women athletes in sports.