Rio Olympics, Unlikely Winners Top 2016 Sports News

 

The year 2016 will be remembered for a long time by sports fans around the world.

The Summer Olympic Games took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Major sports leagues celebrated¹ champion teams that had not won titles in a long time. And the world mourned the death of boxer² Muhammad Ali.

Olympic Heroics in Brazil

Earlier in the year, reports coming from Rio de Janeiro said the country was behind schedule in building housing and event spaces for the Olympics. Environmental scientists said the water where some swimming and boating competitions would be held was not clean, or even safe. And athletes from some nations said they would not travel to Brazil because of worries about the Zika virus.

But, once the Olympics began, the excitement overshadowed any problems with infrastructure³. American athletes, including Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles won record-breaking gold medals in the first week of the games.

Of course, athletes from around the world impressed, too. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt won three gold medals for the third Olympics in a row. He won the 100 and 200-meter races and the 4x100-meter relay.

China’s Fu Yuanhui became famous for her honest interviews with reporters after her swimming events.

Almaz Ayana from Ethiopia was a surprise winner in the 10-kilometer race. She set a world record in the event.

Celebrations a Long Time Coming

People who follow soccer, basketball and baseball will remember 2016 as the year long-time losers finally won: especially those from Leicester, England; Cleveland, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois.

Leicester City won England’s top-level soccer championship for the first time in its 132-year history. Before the season started, Leicester City was not expected to do so well. The odds⁴ of Leicester City winning the English league were 5,000-to-1. Many soccer experts thought the team would finish toward the bottom of the English Premier⁵ League standings.

The championship broke a 20-year run of teams from either London or Manchester winning the title. Manager Claudio Ranieri and top goal-scorer Jamie Vardy became heroes overnight.

The big win by Leicester City previewed another historic victory, this time in the National Basketball Association. In late June, LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first title. It was the first major sports title for the city of Cleveland since its National Football League team, the Browns, won in 1964.

The Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors⁶ in a seven-game series.

James helped seal the victory in Game 7. He blocked a shot by Andre Iguodala. The play has been watched more than 500,000 times on YouTube since June 21.

As the NBA season was coming to a close, the European soccer championship was only just beginning. And one of the biggest stories came from Iceland.

No one expected Iceland to make it far in the tournament. Its team was ranked 34th in the world.

But, in one of the biggest upsets in European soccer history, Iceland defeated England, 2-1. People around the world learned names like Sigurdsson and Sigthorsson. They enjoyed watching Iceland’s players celebrate with their fans. But a week later, Iceland exited the tournament with a 5-2 loss to host nation France.

In the final game, Portugal defeated France, however, to win its first-ever major title. And the year of sports “firsts” continued.

Chicago Wins Major League Baseball World Series

As the seasons changed from summer to fall, Americans centered their attention on Major League Baseball. The Chicago Cubs⁷ were having one of their best seasons ever. The team had not won a World Series since 1908 and had not played in the series since 1945.

In 2016, the team made it back to the World Series. The Cubs played the Cleveland Indians in the seven-game series. The Indians had not won a title since 1948.

Cleveland won three of the first four games. The team was one game away from winning the series. But Chicago came back to win three games to clinch⁸ the World Series.

Muhammad Ali Remembered

Champion boxer Muhammad Ali died in June. He was 74 years old.

Ali was more than just a boxer. He was one of the first athletes to become a worldwide celebrity⁹.

Ali was born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942. He started boxing as a 12-year-old and won a gold medal at the Rome Olympics in 1960. In 1964, he won his first heavyweight boxing championship.

Ali became a Muslim after the fight. He changed his name. He followed the teaching of an American group known as the Nation of Islam, but later practiced a more traditional version of the religion. He spoke¹⁰ out against the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He was banned from boxing for three years.

Some of his most famous fights were outside of the U.S. He won memorable¹¹ matches in Manila, in the Philippines, and Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In his later years, Ali suffered from Parkinson’s Disease. The brain disorder¹² affects body movements and speech. But he remained a public figure and attended many major events. He lit the cauldron at the start of the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, with a shaking hand.

Don King promoted many of Ali’s boxing fights. He remembered Ali in this way. He “will never die. Like Martin Luther King, his spirit will live on. He stood for the world.”

I'm Alice Bryant, and I’m Dan Friedell.

Words in This Story

overshadow – v. to cause (something or someone) to seem less important or impressive when compared to something or someone else

infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly

medal – n. a piece of metal often in the form of a coin with designs and words in honor of a special event, a person, or an achievement

interview – n. a meeting between a reporter and another person in order to get information for a news story

migration¹³ – n. the act of moving from one country or place to live or work in another

confrontation¹⁴ – n. the act of opposing or challenging another person

odds – n. the possibility that something will happen : the chance that one thing will happen instead of a different thing

standings – n. a list that shows the positions of the players or teams that are competing against each other

compile – v. to gather items

clinch – v. to make certain the winning of something

celebrity – n. a person who is famous

neurological – n. the scientific study of the nervous system and the diseases that affect it

disorder – n. a physical or mental condition that is not normal or healthy

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

5 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

6 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

7 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

9 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

12 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

13 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

14 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。