Olympic Roundup: Carmelo Anthony Shatters a U.S. Record

Team USA once again had a great night in Rio, staying on top in the medal count (now 32). Here are the most important stories for marketers to know about the last 24 hours of the Olympics: Medal Count: Team USA Still Leads in Both Golds and Overall On Wednesday, Kristin Armstrong won the gold in the women's cycling time trial, and Daryl Homer earned a silver medal in fencing. Also, the United States' Sam Dorman and Mike Hixon brought in a silver medal for the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard event. But the United States' success didn't end there. (SB Nation) Here's the leaderboard as it stood going into Thursday: United States: 32 China: 23 Japan: 18 Russia: 15 Great Britain: 12 Carmelo Anthony Becomes Leading Basketball Olympic Scorer in U.S. History During the first quarter of the United States' game Wednesday, Carmelo Anthony became the country's all-time leading scorer, with 276 points. He ended the game with 31 points, making his total 293. (NBC Olympics) Katie Ledecky Adds Third Gold as U.S. Wins 4x200 Freestyle Relay Americans beat Australia by just 0.90 seconds Wednesday in the 4x200-meter freestyle, giving Katie Ledecky another gold medal—her third at the Rio Olympics. The U.S. was trailing during the first three legs of the race, but then Ledecky entered the pool. (ESPN) Why Do Olympic Pools Keep Turning Green? The Olympic water polo pool has joined the diving pool in turning green, and Rio officials don't seem to have a clear answer for why. Possible explanations include an algae bloom, a sudden change in alkalinity or a lack of proper water treatment chemicals. (CNN) This Company Is Creating Branded Highlight Videos for Canada's Olympic Coverage Canadian sports retailer Sport Check is using real-time footage of the Rio games for its 90-second spots in its #WhatItTakes campaign. The spots, which highlight Canadian Olympics accomplishments, appear first on social feeds and then on television, and the first spot saw 2 million views across social media. (Adweek) In Defense of Yulia Efimova Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins wrote a compelling piece in defense of demonized Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, who drew snide looks and comments this week from U.S. swimming star Lilly King. "The facts of Efimova's case aren't nearly so clear cut despite the self-righteous Cold War shunning of her," Jenkins writes. "It's worth looking a little more closely at the human face of Efimova and maybe even standing in her place for a minute." (Washington Post) Rio's Biggest Moments Around the Pool Help Attract Swimming's Future Stars The U.S. swim team has seen amazing success in Rio from athletes like Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Lilly King. According to USA Swimming CMO Matt Farrell, moments like this make his job a lot easier to stoke membership on swim teams. (Adweek) Chance the Rapper Pens Nike's New Anthem to Unite USA's Basketball Teams Chance the Rapper stars in Nike's latest ad "United Together," created by Wieden + Kennedy New York. He also wrote the lyrics for "We the People," the song inspired by The Star-Spangled Banner, featured in the ad, which aims to bring together U.S. basketball teams. (Adweek) Comcast Has Combined Its Linear and Digital Olympic Feeds to Make Watching the Games Easier NBCUniversal is providing 6,755 hours of linear and digital Rio Olympic programming, but subscribers to Comcast's Xfinity cable service who have upgraded to X1 cable boxes will be able to sort through the content a bit easier than others. Subscribers have access to NBC Olympics' linear and digital feeds in a Rio Olympics hub through the X1 cable box. (Adweek) Bubba Watson's Jetpack: The Story Behind Oakley's Latest Insane Golfing Vehicle Bubba Watson is featured with an insane jetpack golf cart in his latest viral video for Oakley sunglasses. The spot, which has almost 1 million views on YouTube, is also an Olympics promo for Oakley. (Adweek) Nationwide's Jingle Gets a Modern Tune-Up in Ogilvy's Olympic Spots Brad Paisley and Rachel Platten are "on your side"—the pair performed expanded versions of Nationwide's jingle in the insurance company's new spots from Ogilvy & Mather. The spots tell "the whole story of what Nationwide is and how we can support our members through their life stages," says client CMO Terrance Williams. (Adweek)

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Olympic Roundup: Carmelo Anthony Shatters a U.S. Record

Meanwhile, pools keep mysteriously turning green

Tim Sohn

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Tim Sohn