Top of the Games: Most searched sports stars at Rio 2016
From Dipa Karmakar’s stellar vault to Usain Bolt’s sprint that got hearts racing across the globe, here’s how netizens reacted to Rio 2016.
The Rio Olympics draws to a close. And what an extravaganza it has been, with sportspersons from across the world chasing the ultimate sporting glory. Social media was abuzz, as every feat was retweeted and every disappointment shared. Here, we track those who had the world rooting for them as they went for gold.
India connect
Most mentioned Indian sports stars
1. @Abhinav_Bindra
2 . @NSaina
3. @DipaKarmakar
4. @MirzaSania
5. @pvsindhu1
Source: Twitter
Top searched Indian sports stars
1. PV Sindhu
2. Sakshi Malik
3. Kidambi Srikanth
4. Dipa Karmakar
5. Sania Mirza
6. Saina Nehwal
7. Vinesh Phogat
8. Lalita Babar
9. Vikas Krishan Yadav
10. Narsingh Pancham Yadav
Source: Google
Top searched foreign sports stars
1. Usain Bolt
2. Lin Dan
3. Nozomi Okuhara
4. Michael Phelps
5. Wang Yihan
Source: Google
Top moments
1. Dipa Karmakar (above) lands the Produnova in the vault finals
2. Abhinav Bindra’s shoot off in the 10m air rifle finals
3.Srikanth Kidambi stuns Jan Jorgesen to move into the badminton quarter-finals
Source: Twitter
Most asked sports questions
1. How many medals has India won in Olympics?
2. What is repechage in wrestling?
3. Why do Olympians bite their medals?
4. How many games are there in the Olympics?
5. Where is the 2016 Olympics being held?
Source: Google
International flavour
Favourite athletes
1. Michael Phelps
2. Usain Bolt
3. Neymar
4. Rafael Nadal (right)
5. Simone Biles
Source: Rio 2016 app
Most talked-about athletes
1. Michael Phelps
2. Mónica Puig
3. Simone Biles
4. Gabby Douglas
5. Ryan Lochte
Source: Facebook
Top 10 Olympic sports
1. Soccer
2. Track and field
3. Swimming
4. Basketball
5. Gymnastics
6. Boxing
7. Volleyball
8. Tennis
9. Wrestling
10. Cycling
Source: Instagram
Top countries discussing Rio 2016
1. Canada
2. Brazil
3. USA
4. Vietnam
5. Great Britain
Source: Facebook
Read: Twitter congratulates Sindhu for stellar performance at Rio 2016
By the numbers
1. According to YouTube, in the 12 months prior to the Rio Games, more than 23,000 years of content had been watched on the video site for the four most popular Olympic Games’ sports — athletics, gymnastics, diving and swimming, and volleyball.
2. Across the globe, 52 million people had 109 million interactions related to the opening ceremony on Facebook.
3. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt posted the tweet, “Jamaica Stand Up!!! This for you my people (sic).” It got more than 66,000 retweets.
4. In the first seven days, 49 million unique visitors viewed Olympics content on Snapchat.
5. #olympics, #rio2016 and #olympiadas2016 are the most popular hashtags on Instagram.
Game changers
1. Gisele Bundchen’s (right) long strut made her the top trending person worldwide on Day 1
2. Archer Brady Ellison won bronze and shot past lookalike Leonardo DiCaprio in searches on Day 8
3. Michael Phelps became the most searched-for swimmer of all time on Day 9
4. Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian woman in Olympic gymnastics and vaulted to #1 in Indian search on Day 10
5. Searches for Usain Bolt’s speed flashed past searches for the speed of light by over 100% on Day 11
6. Wayde van Niekerk trended worldwide after setting a world record for the men’s 400m on Day 11
Source: Google Trends
Read:Rio 2016: Jitu Rai, Dipa Karmakar recommended for Khel Ratna award
Viral-worthy moments
Game face: When the most decorated Olympian of all time got his ‘game face’ on, memes began to do the rounds almost immediately
Retired hurt: Vines, videos and images of Samir Ait Said had the world grimacing in pain after the French gymnast broke his foot on the vault
Winner takes all: Sakshi Malik’s bronze-winning feat in wrestling was celebrated across the country
Usain bolts: An image of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt grinning cheekily as he approached the finish line was shared instantly by netizens
Dress protocol: Social media was buzzing the day Egypt’s beach volleyball team competed in hijabs in the Olympics. The move was applauded the world over.
(The results were calculated over set time frames and are subject to change)