Rio Olympics: How to sound smart when talking about the Games

By Benjamin Blum, CBC Sports

How many events are in the heptathlon? What is dressage? How do you pronounce coxswain?

The Olympics are hectic enough as it is without the added mental gymnastics required to learn about a wide array of sports in a short time period. I mean, you could just Google everything, but data plans are expensive and it looks much cooler when you drop some arcane trivia on your friends.

Here are 16 things you can say to sound smart when talking about the Rio Olympics.

Men's soccer is under-23, with 3 overage players allowed

While this limits the number of instantly recognizable players, you'll have a first glimpse at tomorrow's top players. Want proof? Back in 2008, A 22-year-old Lionel Messi led Argentina to gold at the Beijing Olympics.

If you aren't a soccer scout or soothsayer, don't worry. Brazilian superstar Neymar will captain the Selecão on home soil.

Sports taught me to speak ancient Greek

Today's Olympics are very different from the Games of antiquity (no more naked wrestling, for starters), but the legacy of the Greeks can be found in the names of certain sports.

Pentathlon (five events), heptathlon (seven) and decathlon (10) all owe their prefixes to the Greeks, with the marathon event a tribute to the legendary Battle of Marathon.

There are 3 different types of Olympic fencing

Foil, épée and sabre each require different skill sets and, naturally, specialized equipment.

And no, the sabre event does not involve Cossack-style blades despite petitions from an unnamed journalist.

Canada's 112-year gold-medal golf defence

At first glance, it would seem like Canada is the best golfing country in the world, until you realize golf hasn't been a part of the Olympics since 1904.

With the sport's reintroduction this summer, Brooke Henderson is Canada's best shot at keeping alive the streak started by George S. Lyon.

The 8-person rowing event is a misnomer

Yes there are eight people rowing, but the crew consists of nine people.

The coxswain (pronounced cox-un, not cox-wane) steers and regulates the rowers' rhythm.

The fastest runner isn't always the relay anchor

Don't believe me? Glenroy Gilbert, Canada's relay coach and a 4x100m gold-medallist himself, can attest to this strategy.

"You're trying to pair them up based on strengths in terms of the way the track is designed," Gilbert told CBCSports.ca in June. The first and third legs take place on the curved part of the track, with the second and fourth on the straightaway.

Rugby 7s is the perfect sport for binge-watching

The Olympics' newest sport is high-octance, full-contact event that is over in a flash. With 12 matches on the first day, you'll be able to see a full complement of countries in one sitting.

If you're unfamiliar with the sport, just remember: seven-on-seven playing seven-minute halves.

Modern pentathlon isn't exactly modern, but it's still cool

When the sport was introduced at the 1912 Olympics to simulate calvary skills, soldiers on horseback were still a practical part of the military. So yes, 'modern' may be an oxymoron, but name me another sport that involves shooting, fencing, horseback riding and swimming all in the same day. Go ahead, I'll wait.

'Horsing around' is part of the Olympics

Humans aren't the only ones who compete for Olympic medals. The equestrian events require as much skill from the horses as the people riding them.

As for the three events, jumping involves an obstacle course, dressage is literal horse-dancing, and eventing combines the previous two with cross-country to form an equine triathlon.

Michael Phelps is great, but I'm excited about Katie Ledecky

Everyone knows about Phelps, the record-shattering five-time Olympian who is entering his final Games. But, if you want to be ahead of the curve, talk to people about Ledecky. The 19-year-old already owns a gold medal from London, and is heavily favoured to win more hardware in Rio.

That is, unless Canadian swimmers like Penny Oleksiak have anything to say about it. 

Athletics wide open after Russian ban

Russia's athletics team, save for one long jumper based in the U.S., will not compete at the Rio Olympics. This absence creates opportunities for several countries (including Canada) to capitalize, especially considering Russia finished second overall in total track and field medals at the 2012 London Olympics.

Another U.S. basketball sweep? Not so fast

The U.S. women have won five straight gold medals and the men are looking for their third consecutive gold. Another top spot on the podium isn't a sure thing; Australia, Spain and Canada could play spoiler in the women's tournament while Argentina, France and Lithuania could push the American men.

Either way, it should make for two entertaining basketball tournaments.

Watch potential UFC fighters go for gold 

As mixed martial arts continues to grow as a mainstream sport, combat sports at the Olympics double as a launching pad for future UFC fighters to show their skills before stepping into the octagon. 

Ronda Rousey, the former women's bantamweight champ, won bronze in judo at the Beijing Olympics. As well, reigning men's light heavyweight title-holder and fellow American Daniel Cormier finished fourth in freestyle wrestling at the Athens Games.

Men's volleyball and field hockey return after absences

Yes, Canadians will play hockey even at the Summer Games. The men's team, who return after missing the 2012 Olympics, should entertain diehard NHL fans until the puck drops for the regular season.

As for volleyball, it's been a considerably longer wait. Led by Gavin Schmitt, the men's team returns to the Olympics for the first time in 24 years.

Youth movement critical for Canadian women's soccer

It won't be easy for the Canada's women's team. Christine Sinclair and Diana Matheson will once again be relied on for leadership, but young players like Deanne Rose, Ashley Lawrence, and Shelina Zadorsky will need to step up if the team wants to reach the podium again.

The issues are important, but are only part of the Olympic narrative

Corruption, doping, Zika, and security issues have been a large part of the coverage leading up to the Rio Olympics and will likely carry over into the Games. While these are important discussions, they only comprise one part of the overall narrative.

Stories of perseverance, opportunities seized and lost, and competition of the highest calibre will be on display over the next few weeks. This isn't to dismiss the more serious issues, but rather to reinforce how captivating and memorable the stories that come out of the Olympics are.