Olympic Daily News: 25 September 2020

Australians are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the legendary Olympic gold medal win by Cathy Freeman today. Freeman, whose iconic moment as the final torchbearer at those Sydney 2000 Games still gives us goosebumps, became the first Australian of Aboriginal background to become Olympic champion when she cruised to gold in the 400m final.

Part of the celebration even includes projecting that historic race onto the iconic Sydney Opera House. Take a look.

And don’t worry, we’ll be able to celebrate for years to come as the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) has embedded the race into DNA for safe keeping (seriously – it can last for 100,000 years!).

“We wanted to use the 400-metre race of Cathy Freeman because we think that this is part of the DNA of the country,” said Jan Müller, CEO of the NFSA. "If we want to store something on DNA, we would like to use something that’s the DNA of the country."

Chloe Dygert: “I’ll be back”

Following a scary crash and subsequent surgery Thursday at the UCI Road World Championships in northern Italy, American Chloe Dygert says, “I’ll be back.”

The declaration came in a Twitter post Friday where the Olympic silver medallist included photos of her race before and after the crash.

“I remember thinking what if I can get on my bike, can I still win?” Dygert said in the post. “The first thing I remember was asking [USA Cycling Chief of Sports Performance Jim Miller] if I was done… then, I looked down and saw my leg.”

A statement from USA Cycling says Dygert is expected to make a complete recovery.

Elena Eremina, Russian gymnast who won all-around bronze in 2017, eyes return

World gymnastics all-around bronze medallist Elena Eremina has struggled with injuries since finishing behind American Morgan Hurd and Canadian Ellie Black in 2017, having missed both the 2018 and 2019 global meets.

But don’t count her out of Tokyo 2020 quite yet.

“I will train and try to join the team,” Eremina told International Gymnast this week. “Time will tell.”

The 19-year-old, who underwent back surgery in early 2018, hopes that a strong performance at this fall’s Russian Championships will reignite her Olympic hopes.

“I need to get back in shape, do the all-around and be competitive,” she said. “I hope I prepare myself and perform well.”

Russian figure skater Elena Radionova announces retirement

2015 World figure skating bronze medallist and two-time European runner-up Elena Radionova of Russia has retired. The 21-year-old, who has not competed since October 2018, made the announcement this week on Instagram.

“Now I am finally ready to say what I have not dared to say for so long,” she wrote, according to a translation on Inside the Games. "Perhaps for some it will not be news, but still I want to say it officially. I am ending my sports career. The time has come when you need to open a new page in life.”

Twice the World Junior Champion (2013-14), Radionova missed the team for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, having finished 10th at the 2018 Russian championships.

"I want to express my deep gratitude to my fans and people who supported me,” she said. "Figure skating will forever remain in my heart.”

Trivia time

Yesterday, we asked who won the first Olympic medal for the Philippines. That’s Teófilo Yldefonso, who won 200m breaststroke bronze in 1928.

Here’s today’s question. Who was the first Russian woman to win figure skating singles gold?

1. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva

2. Alina Zagitova

3. Adelina Sotnikova

4. Yulia Lipnitskaya

Don’t worry if you’ve had a moment like our ‘Daily Dog’ this week

Because you’ve made it to Friday!