Originally Posted by
Nagasaki Joe
I watched the women's 10,000-meter race and was surprised when the announcer went bananas over the fact that the Japanese runner Ririka Hironaka finished in the top 8 (she finished 7th). I couldn't understand why he was so excited, it was as though she had finished in the top 3. But after seeing the explanations here, I now understand. In the U.S., this kind of award would most likely be referred to derogatorily as a "participation trophy," even though it's only given to the top 8.
Everyone wins! Even the “woke” athletes who fail and quit! In this case, rejoice for 7th place!
In all seriousness, I’m glad to see the US trump
China in gold medals and overall. I may be a minority but after what happened with COVID (yes I believe the scientific data), I honestly don’t think they should have been able to participate in the revised 2020 summer games (especially after Russia’s participation verdict). Just my 2 cents and don’t need to get into a lengthy argument over it with anyone.