John Oliver addressed Ryan Lochte’s disastrous Olympic gas-station incident in a recent segment on his show ‘Last Week Tonight,’ and boy, he really goes all in on the swimmer. Among the names Oliver slings around for Lochte are “America’s sweet, dumb merman,” “the purest form of the chemical element ‘Bro,’” and several other words that are less repeatable here.
But the best point Oliver makes is that Lochte, who was once, in Oliver’s words, “America’s sweet, dumb merman,” is no longer fun. When he was harmless, his antics — such as his reality show What Would Ryan Lochte Do? and his line of sneakers — were entertaining.
But now, the 32-year-old who said he acted “immaturely” and fumbled through a cringe-worthy interview with Matt Lauer, is a whole lot less endearing.
“And so,” Oliver says, “As we say goodbye to the Rio Olympics, we must also say goodbye to one of America’s favorite idiots.”
~Ryan Lochte Epitomizes White Privilege and U.S. Foreign Policy~
The harrowing tale of American Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and his fellow athletes being held up at gunpoint and robbed in Río de Janeiro by men disguised as police officers was all the rage in the media last week.
Not surprisingly, there was no shortage of excuses made for the cherished American Olympic athletes.
“These kids tried to have fun,” said Rio 2016 Olympic spokesperson Mario Andrade. “Lochte is one of the best swimmers of all time. They competed under gigantic pressure. Let’s give these kids a break. They had fun, they made a mistake, life goes on.”
Following the European colonial playbook, Lochte played on the perceptions his countrymen have of Brazil and Latin American countries in general as having nothing more to offer than crime and poverty.
The same way the white Christian settlers demonized the Indigenous Americans as “savages” and Donald Trump demonizes Mexicans as “rapists”, Ryan Lochte essentially demonized the inhabitants of Río de Janeiro as nothing more than a bunch of thieves.
In this way he is the perfect representative of his country’s foreign policy, showing no respect for international standards of decency, behaving as if we are the “exceptional” nation, caring nothing about other cultures, and fabricating evidence to make the U.S. appear an innocent victim while those we invade and oppress are tarred with a brush of criminality and terrorism.
Puerto Rico prepares big welcome home for Olympic tennis champ Monica Puig
Puerto Ricans were looking forward to the arrival of Monica Puig, the tennis player whose singles title at the Rio Games made her the Caribbean island’s first gold medalist.
Mónica arrived at San Juan International Airport on Aug. 22.
The people of Puerto Rico were out in the streets.
A spectacular welcome ceremony will be held, Puerto Rico Olympic Committee president Sara Rosario Velez told reporters Monday.
The 22-year-old Puig, who is ranked 34th in the world, defeated Germany’s Angelique Kerber, the world No. 2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in the women’s gold medal match on Saturday. August 6.
More than 8 million Puerto Ricans around the world, of whom 3.4 million live on the island, eagerly anticipated the Olympic championship match.
Thousands of people gathered in bars, restaurants and private homes across Puerto Rico to watch the historic match.
~~LLEGA MONICA PUIG A PUERTO RICO~~ Dania Alexandrino
~~Published on Aug 20, 2016~~
Recibimiento protocolar de Monica Puig por el Gobernador de Puerto Rico Alejandro Garcia Padilla y la Primera Dama Wilma Pastrana
~~Puerto Rico Celebrates First Gold Medal~~
~~Published on Aug 19, 2016~~
The tennis player Mónica Puig became a hero for Puerto Rico when she took home the commonwealth’s first gold medal in women’s singles on Saturday. The win spurred celebrations across the island.
In San Juan’s historic center there is a giant colonial door bearing an image of the Puerto Rican flag.
Known appropriately as “La Puerta de la Bandera,” the mural boldly asserts its presence from the side of an abandoned historical building on a busy commercial strip, where on any given day a gaggle of tourists flashing peace signs can be found taking turns at photos.
Since it was first painted by local artist Rosenda Álvarez four years ago with permission from the building’s owner, La Puerta has emerged as an emblematic fixture of Old San Juan and a symbol of national identity.
~~GRAPHICS SOURCE~~
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As the Rio Games wrap up, AP Sports wanted the opinion of the Olympics’ fans on one of the biggest questions as we look back:
Who was the biggest breakout star?
Gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Katie Ledecky were already stars in their sports before these games, but for Olympians Simone Manuel,Joseph Schooling, Monica Puig and Ibtihaj Muhammad, the games were a true introduction to stardom.
So who had the biggest breakout in the Twitter poll?
Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, the 34th-ranked tennis player in the world, stunned world no. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany in the Olympic gold medal match in Rio on Saturday, pulling out a history-making win in three tough sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
As soon as she won the final point, Puig dropped her racket and mouthed the words, “Oh my God.”
By making her surprising run to the finals in Rio, Puig was assured of becoming the first woman to win an Olympic medal representing Puerto Rico. Now, she’s the first person ever to win gold for the island.
~~Monica Puig wins Puerto Rico’s first ever gold~~
Rio Olympics 2016
~~Published on Aug 13, 2016~~
Tennis player Monica Puig wins Puerto Rico’s first-ever Olympics gold medal
Toaa soundtrack of “Si se puede!” from the stands, Monica Puig won Puerto Rico’s first gold medal in any sport in Olympic history, upsetting Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in the women’s tennis singles final Saturday at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Yes, she can. And, yes, she did.
Puig is also the first woman representing Puerto Rico to earn a medal of any color at an Olympics, and when she finished a tense closing game — saving six break points and converting her fourth match point — she dropped her racket and went over to collect a flag she paraded across the court.
~~Puig on Puerto Rico’s 1st gold: ‘I think I united a nation’~~
~~Published on Aug 13, 2016~~
Monica Puig defeats Germany’s Angelique Kerber in three sets to win Puerto Rico’s first ever gold medal.
En un suceso histórico, la tenista ponceña Monica Puig le otorga a Puerto Rico su primera medalla de oro para la isla.
La joven de 22 años se impuso ante la alemana Angelique Kerber en un juego que paralizó a todos los boricuas dentro y fuera de la isla.
Puerto Rico ha participado en los juegos de verano desde el 1948 pero nunca antes había obtenido medalla de oro.
Monica Puig Makes Olympic History, Winning Puerto Rico’s First Gold Medal
Puerto Rico now has its first Olympic gold medal, courtesy of tennis star Monica Puig, who beat Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the women’s singles tournament at Rio’s Summer Olympics Saturday.
“I”m speechless,” a smiling Puig said after her historic win. “I wanted it so bad.”
“I never imagined in my wildest dreams that this would happen,” Puig added — and she said her experience in Rio de Janeiro has been like a dream. She’s looking forward, she said, to waking up tomorrow morning and seeing her gold medal sitting on her bedside table.
As for her plans after the Olympics, Puig said, “I know my life is going to change a bit.” But she said some things won’t — because, she added, “I love what I do.”
Congratulations to #Boricua Laurie Hernandez a true representation of #LaBorinqueña, who just turned 16, and is the first U.S.-born Latina since 1984 to go to the Olympics with the U.S. gymnastic team, and she is also one of the youngest U.S. athlete to go to Rio.
It Is What It Is 