RIO DE JANEIRO — Imagine spending four years training for Olympic moment. And then, on the night of your event, it begins to rain.
And not just rain but pour, as it did during early events here at the Olympic Stadium before an official delay after less than 30 minutes of nighttime competition.
“It’s track and field,” said Jeffrey Julmis of Haiti, one of four runners to advance through the first heat of the men’s 110-meter hurdles. “Any given day anything can happen.”
It’s almost assuredly unfair, in the grand scheme of things: Athletes pushing themselves for a shot at Olympic gold only be slowed — and drenched — by a downpour.