The Oddest News Stories From The Rio Olympics
Nathan Johnson
Published
08/12/2016
in
wtf
There have already been plenty of weird headlines from these Olympics
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1.
How far would you go to "catch 'em all"? For Japanese Olympic gymnast Kohei Uchimura, who is infatuated with Pokémon Go, the popular app cost him nearly $5,000. The reigning Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion confessed that he racked up a 500,000 yen charge for his roaming data plan after playing the game since his arrival in Brazil. The athlete said that he downloaded the app while at training camp and quickly became addicted to it — all while under the impression he had a flat rate for overseas data usage. Luckily, however, Uchimura's phone company spared him the enormous expense, and he'll instead be paying the flat daily rate of about 3,000 yen (about $30). -
2.
It's off-season for most NBA players, but the best of the best are down in Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics. But, it's still summer, so they need to kick back and relax once in a while, right? Right. To do just that, some Team USA players — DeMar DeRozan, DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan — decided to go to a well-known area spa, Termas Monte Carlo, for some professional massages and to get their minds right before this summer's international competition. Unfortunately, the spa is well-known for things other than back rubs —the Termas Monte Carlo doubles as one of the highest-end brothels in the region. Sure, it looks like a spa, but once upstairs, the girls do a lot more than get that crook out of your neck. When the teammates arrived, they figured out they probably shouldn't be there at all. “They realized it wasn't the right place for them and immediately left,” a source told TMZ. -
3.
France's foil fencer Enzo Lefort was competing against Germany's Peter Joppichduring when his cell phone popped out. Why this champion athlete slipped a phone into his pocket for this significant challenge, no one knows, but hopefully, it's not because of an emergency situation or because he's waiting for a booty call. Lefort calmly picked the phone up and handed it off to someone on the sidelines. It seems this wasn't enough to get him disqualified, but in the end, five-time world champion Joppich defeated Lefort. -
4.
The Rio Olympics ran into a little hiccup that, while seemingly minor, is amusing nonetheless. According to media reports, officials lost keys to the Olympic Stadium, locking them out of the mixed area. Workers had to use bolt cutters to get in! It's unclear if this will have any logistical effect on the games going forward, but it doesn't speak highly of the preparation and organization of an already-criticized Olympics. Did nobody make an extra set of keys? -
5.
Aly Raisman accurately predicted that she would become an Olympic gymnast back when she was in summer camp. Following Raisman's gold win in the all-around along with the rest of the U.S. team, fellow Wicosuta camper “Olivia” took to Twitter to share a photo of Raisman's yearbook. Back then, the 9-year-old likely owned the obstacle courses in queen camper style and said that she would be an Olympic gymnast in twenty years. She became one in 2012. Now, with a gold medal to her credit, she is currently focused on being awesome full-time. That's a legit goal!. Ideally, Olivia is also now a teacher, veterinarian, and singer. -
6.
Chen Guanming is a 60-year-old man from China who loves the Olympics so much that he rode a rickshaw all the way to Rio so that he could attend the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Dubbed the “Olympics Man,” Chen has also attended both the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. His arrival in Rio on July 30th marked his third Olympic experience. Fulfilling an obsession he developed in 2001 when it was announced that Beijing was hosting the 2008 Olympics, Chen made an incredible 800 km journey from his home in Tong Shan district to reach the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing via his aging tricycle. For his Rio trip, Chen had to cycle through the Americas over the course of three years to reach Brazil. He has been reportedly spotted riding his now famous rickshaw across Canada, and through the USA to Mexico. He then continued his cycling through Latin America and the Amazon rain forest before safely landing in Rio. -
7.
Seventeen days, 10,500 athletes, 33 venues, and 450,000 condoms. That's how many camisinhas ("little shirts") are being supplied by the International Olympics Committee for the 2016 Rio Summer Games. That's 42 per athlete, which — even by Olympic standards — is a hell of a lot. Welcome to the most promiscuous Olympics in history. The provision of 350,000 men's condoms, 100,000 female condoms, and 175,000 packets of lubricant for Rio's Olympic Village is three times higher than the London 2012 Games' allowance of 150,000, which prompted tabloids to dub the event “the raunchiest ever." The latex count began in Seoul in 1988, when 8,500 condoms were distributed to athletes. Reports of rubbers found on the roofs of Olympic residences led to the powers that be banning outdoor sex. Since then, the number of condoms provided has jumped around more than a gold-medal gymnast: 90,000 to Barcelona in 1992 and 15,000 to Atlanta in 1996. In Sydney 2000, Australian organizers ordered 70,000 condoms but a further 20,000 were brought in when they ran out halfway through the Games. In Athens 2004, Durex donated 130,000 condoms “to smooth the performance of the world's elite sports people in the arena and under the covers." -
8.
It's one of the worst nightmares for any golfer — sitting at baggage claim, watching the carousel spin with your bags nowhere in sight. But for most of us, it's just an annoying problem. Emiliano Grillo is competing in the Olympics, where golf is back for the first time in over 100 years. For him, the stakes are a little different. Grillo is taking it in stride. He asked his Twitter followers where they thought his clubs might be—presumably they're not in Rio. -
9.
What was one of the proudest days of Dirk Van Tichelt's life ended in a trip to the hospital, after the judo medallist was assaulted on Copacabana beach. The Belgian had just secured the bronze in the 73kg judo competition and was out to celebrate. Things took a turn for the worse when he was punched in the face by a thief who stole his training partner's mobile phone. The 32-year-old, who can clearly handle himself in most combat situations, was hit as he chased the robber down the popular beach, the Belgian Olympic Committee (BOC) said. The incident only came to light when Van Tichelt appeared for media duty sporting a black eye. -
10.
French gymnast Samir Ait Said lying in agony is quickly becoming the defining visual of the 2016 Olympics. He broke his leg while attempting a vault during the men's team preliminaries. His coach and medical personnel rushed to his side as the shocked crowd and viewers across the world watched in uncomfortable disbelief. But it did not get better for Said — various news sources report that as he was being transported to medical facilities, paramedics dropped him while transferring him into an ambulance. Thankfully, Said is already back on his feet after an operation and vows to compete in Tokyo 2020.
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