Originally published by Ian Bremmer on LinkedIn: This Week's #Winners and #Losers
My weekly look back at who won and lost around the world.
Olympic Debuts
Winner: Yusra Mardini—Fleeing Syria’s civil war, the small dinghy that Mardini was on began to sink into the sea. Most people aboard couldn’t swim—so Mardini jumped out and swam 3.5 hours in a freezing Aegean to push the boat to safety. Now the 18-year old swimmer is at Rio2016 as part of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team. #NoGoldIsGoldEnough
Loser: Russian Media—Russian TV says that “cupping,” the latest fad at the Rio Olympics, is basically the same thing as doping. In other news, Russia’s entire team was banned from competing in the Paralympics because of state-sponsored “cupping.” #NothingIsTrueAndEverythingIsPossible
Remembrance of Things Past
Winner: Michael Phelps—breaks Leonidas of Rhodes 2,000-year-old record with 13 individual Olympic wins. You know you’re killing it when people have to reach back thousands of years to place your athletic brilliance in context. #EndOfSportsHistory
Loser: Trump Supporters—hung a Confederate flag at a Trump rally in Kissimmee, Florida. Yep, that ought to help their man extend his appeal beyond the base. #RebelYelp
Family Matters
Winner: Japanese Emperor Akihito—the 82-year-old emperor announced his desire to abdicate his largely ceremonial post to make way for his son Naruhito. Akihito, the first Japanese emperor to marry a commoner, did much to modernize (and humanize) his role. #NeitherKingNorGod
Loser: Enes Kanter—the Turkish NBA player is an outspoken supporter of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses of orchestrating this month’s failed coup. Kanter’s father wrote a letter to a Turkish newspaper this week disowning his son for his political leanings. #BloodThinnerThanWater
The (Somewhat) Friendly Skies
Winner: Bruce Dickinson—Iron Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson piloted Air Djibouti’s first commercial flight in 14 years. Because, well, who knows? #Flight666
Loser: Swedish church Livets Ord—the Scandinavian evangelical church just announced its newest project: using military drones to drop bibles over Syria to convert Muslims. Next week, they appear on Family Feud vs. the Westboro Baptist Church. #MustSeeTV
You Keep Me Hanging On
Winner: Guy Scaling Trump Tower With Suction Cups—on his way to rescue the fair maiden Melania, trapped in the clutches of the evil self-declared King. After a week of non-stop Trump bluster and outrage, the country really needed this moment of total nonsense. #ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond
Loser: One Very Confused Chinese Tourist in Germany—a 31-year old Chinese tourist loses his wallet while traveling in Germany. Not speaking any German or English, he ends up filling out paperwork to apply for asylum. He then spends two weeks in a migrant hostel before the error is discovered. #WorstVacationEVER