Christ the redeemer would have his benevolent eyes upon the single largest gathering of elite athletes from around the world. Rio will have the privilege to become the first South American city to host the summer games and while the almighty will survey the action from his lofty perch, us mere mortals will tune in from the various corners of the globe to witness the rise of new legends and some attain immortality. The cynosure of all eyes without a doubt would be the track and field events with Usain Bolt looking to make a run for the ages. A third successive sweep of the blue riband events of 100 m, 200 m, and 4x100 m will need a new adjective to be coined to qualify this trail blazer. In what is most probably his swan song at the Olympics, the "Bolt" is certain to electrify the track. Whether he can achieve the pinnacle never even in sight before is something Brazil and the rest of the world will wait for with bated breath. Another man on a mission would be Mo Farah. The affable Briton would want to etch his name in the annals of history with another double in the 5000 m and 10000 m races following on his exploits in London. Yelena Isinbayeva would want to go into the sunset with a third gold around her neck (and without the albatross of doping that the Russians are saddled with). The pool would also disclose if the most decorated Olympian of all time returns to his hallowed water one more time. While Michael Phelps has swum under the radar since coming out of retirement, he is certain to make a splash should he make a comeback. It would again be a race to the finish for the topping the medal tally between the traditional power houses of the US and Russia going against the new age leaders in China. The soccer mad country should go into a tizzy for two weeks celebrating the motto that drives the best exponents of sport "Citius, Altius, Fortius".
The grand slam of the Asia Pacific finished its first week of play today and while most of the usual suspects made it to the second week, Rafa had to contend with the ignominy of being bundled out in the first round. The last couple of seasons have been difficult for the Spanish matador and Novak's watershed performances have contributed in no small measure to that outcome. A game based on grind and run seem to have accelerated the downhill spiral and it remains to be seen if the clay court season brings any succor. Novak has been conquering all in his sights for the last couple of years and his mental strength to scrape through difficult situations has put him right at the zenith of his career. A golden slam is not out of the realms of imagination given his form and fortitude. Stefan may well look out for his papa's dream run. Roger has had a phoenix like regeneration and while he has not been able to add to his tally of majors, journeys to the deep end of grand slams have not dried up, the championship victory march only cut short because of the Serbian's dominance. With his friend Ivan on his side, there may be a few more weapons (other than the not so successful SABR) that the Swiss may try to put the debate about the greatest ever beyond doubt. His game, so different from the only man he has taken a hiding over his career has stood him in good stead. At 34, he still can run toe to toe against the undisputed world number one. His finesse and elegance still lights up the courts and despite every year bringing us close to the time when he leaves behind his beloved courts, the end certainly won't be in a whimper.
Serena Williams is one short of matching Steffi Graf for the number of grand slam wins at 22 but what would be in her lofty sights is something only the German has achieved in the history of the game, a golden slam. Steffi backed up her 4 majors in 1988 with the Olympic gold and Serena certainly will have a look at matching the legend. The ladies game remains in flux and her adversaries have managed to topple her only on very rare occasions. Vika Azarenka has shown that she may be back in the groove after being laid low with injury for the last two years and Maria Sharapova continues to be one of the leading lights but none have been able to match the consistency and power of the American. If she doesn't self destruct, this may be the year where records are rewritten to stay put for a long time.