With the eight-day swimming competition wrapping up in Rio this weekend at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the United States of America topped the medal count with 33 total medals, including 16 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze. This is no surprise, however, because USA Swimming has always had a dominance in the pool.
The Olympics are an important time for swimming in America it seems like. For the period of about two weeks, people actually care about the sport and become fans, following intensely on social media and watching on NBC in prime time. It's one of the biggest sports in the Olympics, and although swimming is done for now, Olympic swimming is not over yet.
Come September, the pool will be raced in again as the Paralympic Games begin.
The Paralympics are the equivalent to the Olympics. The only difference is that in the Para world, every competitor has some type of disability.
The United States has had great success in Paralympic swimming. At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the United States won several gold medals from multi world record holder Jessica Long, 8x Paralympic medalist Cortney Jordan, and U.S. Navy veteran Brad Snyder. With only 24 days until the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, the USA Para swim team is thirsty for more.
Unfortunately, the hype of the Olympics dies down by the time the Paralympics roll around. The media coverage in the U.S. is significantly less for the Paralympics than it is for the Olympics. NBC barely shows any coverage for Para sports, but for the past week at the Olympic Games it's been non-stop reporting, live streaming and interviews with athletes from Rio. There have been thousands of articles about athletes, sports, venues and even entertainment ones. For example, BuzzFeed had workers try on swimsuits that elite swimmers wear and give feedback.
There is a significant lack of social media interaction, articles and interviews with Paralympic athletes. The 2012 Paralympics was a major breakthrough for coverage in the U.S. and around the world, but there is still more work to be done for the Paralympic movement to get the same respect and attention as the Olympics. This year NBC has agreed to release 66 hours of unprecedented coverage on the Rio Paralympic Games, which is a remarkable breakthrough for the movement in the United States.
So, if you're bummed out that the biggest sports event in the world is halfway over, do not fret! The Paralympic Games are September 7-18 in Rio and are looking to be the biggest Games in the history of the movement.
