Each day during the Olympics, THE DAILY offers our take on the business performances of some of the people, sponsors, broadcasters and other entities around Rio.
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GOLD: PUMA -- It is hard to outshine Nike in virtually any sporting arena, but Puma’s sponsorship of several Caribbean teams has done just that. Whether it is the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller winning the 400 meters with her dive across the finish line or Jamaica’s brigade of medal-winning sprinters and hurdlers, led by the Lightning Bolt himself, Puma’s signature cat has been front and center for many major moments during Rio’s track and field competition.
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SILVER: NBC'S DAYTIME COVERAGE -- NBC has taken hits for mixing live and tape-delayed coverage in primetime, but its daytime coverage has been a breath of fresh air. Seamlessly hosted by Rebecca Lowe and Mike Tirico, the late mornings and early afternoons have featured a variety of live sports -- qualifying heats in old standards like swimming and track and field mixed in with lower-profile sports such as water polo and equestrian. And we can never get enough of the unique perspectives of Tara Lipinksi and Johnny Weir.
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BRONZE: ABBEY D'AGOSTINO -- The American distance runner displayed the true Olympic spirit yesterday when, after getting tangled up in a fall during the women’s 5,000 meter heats, she stopped to make sure New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin was OK, helping Hamblin get up and finish the race. Despite finishing far back, both runners were advanced to Friday’s final. D’Agostino tore her ACL in the fall, so her Olympics undoubtedly are over without a shot at a medal, but she still delivered an unforgettable Olympic moment.
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TIN: RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE -- How much better would Rio’s track and field competition be if Russia had not sponsored a state-run drug program? How much less talk would be about that during the entire Games? Last night was just the latest example, with Russia being stripped of a gold medal from the '08 Games for doping. By not meeting even the slightest standards of sporting ethics and morals, the country deprived itself, the Olympics and the world during these three weeks.
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