The Week That Was: Paralympic Games Come To A Close

Photo Courtesy: Luc Percival

This week saw a record-breaking 2016 Paralympic Games come to a close in Rio de Janeiro, in addition to revelations about a recent hack into WADA’s database from the Rio Olympic Games. Check out all the stories below to catch up on The Week That Was!

The Week That Was #5 – Inaugural CSCAA National Collegiate Open Water Championships Held

Photo Courtesy: CSCAA

The first CSCAA National Collegiate Open Water Championships were held this week, with the University of Kansas women and the Cincinnati men taking home the team titles. 35 women and 33 men took part in the inaugural 5k event, with the University of Kansas hosting. University of Kansas sophomores Haley Bishop and Libby Walker both took home the individual title, tying for first place with matching times of 1:05:48.32. Kansas freshman Jenny Nusbaum was not far behind, grabbing third in 1:05:48.85 to make it a Jayhawk sweep of the podium. Stanislas Raczynski from Emmanuel College won the men’s individual title, leading the entire race despite going slightly off course around the first buoy. Marcelo Figueiredo of Carson-Newman University finished second in the men’s race, while the Cincinnati Bearcats grabbed third through sixth positions to claim the team title. Full results of the open water championships can be found here.

The Week That Was #4 – New Olympic Quad Brings Coaching Changes

Photo Courtesy: Steve Christo/Swimming Australia

This week saw two big coaching changes in the international swimming scene, with Australia’s Mitch Larkin and South Africa’s Chad le Clos both announcing a search for new training bases this week. Both men entered this summer’s Olympic Games as gold medal threats, Larkin the defending world champion in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, le Clos the defending world champion and 2012 gold medalist in the 200 butterfly. However neither stood on top of the podium, with Larkin grabbing a silver and a bronze while le Clos captured two silver medals but was off the podium in the 200 butterfly. Larkin has been training with the St. Peters Western club in Brisbane under Michael Bohl for the last seven years. The 23 year old cited continuing motivation into the next Olympic quad as a major reason for the change. Le Clos will be searching for a new training base away from long-time coach Graham Hill, who has been coaching the 24 year old since he was 8 years old. Neither athlete has chosen a new training site as of yet.

The Week That Was #3 – Anti-Doping Agencies Make Recommendations to WADA

This week Copenhagen hosted a group of National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) which met in order to issue a series of recommendations to ensure a clean sport. 17 different countries, including the United States, met to discuss recommendations for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), including strategies to make the organization more transparent, more independent, and to give the agency more authority in investigating and imposing punishments. The full statement from the NADO groups can be found here. WADA will begin think tank meetings next week on September 20th to generate proposals for improvement, acknowledging they were “encouraged by this support.” The organization hopes to have a “roadmap” for the future of the anti-doping movement by November. WADA’s statement on the recommendations can be found here.

The Week That Was #2 – WADA Database Infiltrated By Russian Hackers

This week it was confirmed that a cyber espionage group out of Russia hacked into World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) databases during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) was infiltrated by the hacker group Tsar Tsar (APT28), also known as “Fancy Bear.” WADA confirmed that the cyber attack came from Russia, and condemned the attacks as “an attempt to undermine WADA and the global anti-doping system.” The anti-doping agency also connected the hack to the McLaren Report that was released prior to the Rio Olympics, stating “Let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia further to the outcomes of the Agency’s independent McLaren Investigation Report.” The system was accessed via the International Olympic Committee’s account that was created for the Olympic Games. 25 athletes from 10 different countries, including 10 athletes from the United States, were targeted in the cyber attack.

The Week That Was #1 – Paralympic Games Swimming Comes To A Close

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher- USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 Paralympic Games came to a close this week in Rio de Janeiro, ending a record-setting portion of the swimming competition. Home-country hero Daniel Dias was one of the highlights of the Games, as he became the most decorated Paralympic male swimmer in history with 24 total medals to his credit. He picked up his fourth gold medal of these games when he touched first in the men’s S5 100 free (1:10.11) on the 10th day of competition before grabbing a bronze as part of Brazil’s 400 medley relay to pick up his record-breaking 24th Paralympic medal. American Jessica Long walked away with six medals from the Games, with her final individual race earning her first gold medal in Rio in the women’s SM8 200 IM (2:40.23). That is her third straight gold in this event at the Paralympic Games, and her fourth gold medal across four Paralympic Games. That also gives Long 23 total Paralympic medals. For full coverage of the swimming at the 2016 Paralympic Games, head over to our Event Landing Page.

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