The 2016 Olympic Games

[Which Tyler]

So any sport which has participants which consider they should be an Olympic sport gets to partake?

Next you'll be trying to say horse dancing isn't an Olympic sport.

The dressage strikes me as an odd event, I guess it's hardly as key given the time we live in that horses perform to commands as once was the case. But just because I like tennis and consider tennis makes a brilliant TV sport, and have little interest in any equestrian event, doesn't alter my view that the Olympics is the pinnacle for the horse people in a way that the Slams, Olympics and perhaps the Davis and Fed Cup are for tennis.

FTFY

[OptimisticJock]

As if Steve Redgrave couldn't ve anymore of a hero, just reading that he's had an on air falling out with Invertwat. Some are born great.

I was about to launch into a rant about sportsmen being "heroes" but if he's ripping the pish out of Invertwat that's fine.

Good point, well made. Replace "hero" with "legend"?

yeah I can go along with that.

[Donny osmond]

I see the Irish women's javelin team had to rethink their training drills...



#racistandsexist

[canta_brian]

It looks like the tennis players don't agree with you, which rather resolves the argument.

So any sport which has participants which consider they should be an Olympic sport gets to partake?

Next you'll be trying to say horse dancing isn't an Olympic sport.

Expect to see a place in strictly come dancing. I hope for the horse.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[Digby]

Next you'll be trying to say horse dancing isn't an Olympic sport.

The dressage strikes me as an odd event, I guess it's hardly as key given the time we live in that horses perform to commands as once was the case. But just because I like tennis and consider tennis makes a brilliant TV sport, and have little interest in any equestrian event, doesn't alter my view that the Olympics is the pinnacle for the horse people in a way that the Slams, Olympics and perhaps the Davis and Fed Cup are for tennis.

FTFY

Not so much fixed as adding the word Olympics, and I had purposely skipped the Olympics, much like some players have skipped the Olympics seeing instead a chance to gain some ranking points which will be more beneficial to their career. And they have got events to play in away from the Olympics, there's nearly always a satellite event going on somewhere, but at the moment the Cincinnati Masters is on amongst other things and that's one of the big tournaments going.

[Which Tyler]

Not so much fixed as adding the word Olympics, and I had purposely skipped the Olympics, much like some players have skipped the Olympics seeing instead a chance to gain some ranking points which will be more beneficial to their career. And they have got events to play in away from the Olympics, there's nearly always a satellite event going on somewhere, but at the moment the Cincinnati Masters is on amongst other things and that's one of the big tournaments going.

Yeah, you're right; top players forgoing ranking points and cash in order to chase the dream of an olympic medal is definitive proof that the olympics has no real prestige within the sport... Erm...

[Digby]

Not so much fixed as adding the word Olympics, and I had purposely skipped the Olympics, much like some players have skipped the Olympics seeing instead a chance to gain some ranking points which will be more beneficial to their career. And they have got events to play in away from the Olympics, there's nearly always a satellite event going on somewhere, but at the moment the Cincinnati Masters is on amongst other things and that's one of the big tournaments going.

Yeah, you're right; top players forgoing ranking points and cash in order to chase the dream of an olympic medal is definitive proof that the olympics has no real prestige within the sport... Erm...

Top players have done just that. Not top ten players, but a number down the rankings who would have been in the Olympics had they so chosen, and the truth is there's no way they'd make a similar decision to skip say the Australian Open if they'd qualified. Maybe for some of them the concern was the zika virus and they were asked not to make that their concern, but it would appear the Olympics whilst a huge event isn't as important and such is evidenced by the decision of some to go after ranking points.

In saying that I'd have to acknowledge there aren't normally big events being run at the same time as a Wimbledon that would give some of the lower ranked players a chance to gain big points in the absence of the top 20-40 players, but that's because the sport doesn't schedule big events to compete with the slams, whereas they do for the Olympics and that is telling.

I have heard a number of players who put their Olympic career in tennis up with anything they've done at the slams, and there's that it's only every four years, one doesn't tend to hear though that the Olympics is the clear pinnacle of the sport with nothing coming close and players structuring their season around peaking for the Olympic games. Many of the best players, and probably all the fit players in the top 20, will rock up and give their best, but if they fail it's on to prepping for the US Open and not planning the next four years with a view to the next games.

[Mellsblue]

Yorkshire is currently sitting 13th in the medal table. Not sure where they sit in the per capita version; but, I doubt anyone's bothered as that's only really for those with low ambition.

[Digby]

Yorkshire is currently sitting 13th in the medal table. Not sure where they sit in the per capita version; but, I doubt anyone's bothered as that's only really for those with low ambition.

And with the brothers Brownlee to come

[Galfon]

Cav. sends a Korean to hospital..'his fault but not intentional..'.loose cannon a bit..needs to make a move soon with 90 of 160 to go.

[Galfon]

..Got silver, but seems gutted at not golding.Did well - even sent the winner on his pants in the crash but to no avail.Probs. will do Gold Coast for Man but unlikely to Olympiate in 4.

[Which Tyler]

Where does that put the isle of man on the medals per capita table?
Isle of Sark for that matter too (Carl Hester in pony prancing)

[Mellsblue]

I lol'd at Cav saying 'Brad wouldn't have to wait' as Douglas' mic suddenly came on stream.

Slowly falling in love with Laura Trott, utterly class act.

[Mellsblue]

Women's Black Sticks through to the semi final. An excellent opportunity for Team NZ to continue its run of 4th placings.

Looks like you'll be up against our girls. The way they are playing you will be playing for fourth.

Is it ok to be cocky when supporting GB or is it still English arrogance?

[Galfon]

Slowly falling in love with Laura Trott, utterly class act.

yes.the girl is different class and golden personality to match.
She seems to refuse to accept second best once she's on them wheels.

[Lizard]

Women's Black Sticks through to the semi final. An excellent opportunity for Team NZ to continue its run of 4th placings.

Looks like you'll be up against our girls. The way they are playing you will be playing for fourth.

Is it ok to be cocky when supporting GB or is it still English arrogance?

To be fair, I've not watched any teams other than those playing NZ but we've drawn with the world #1 and easily beaten the world #3.

It's English arrogance if the team has no more than one non-English in the starting side. Otherwise it's just your garden-variety twattery.

I hope the match is on at a somewhat reasonable hour in NZ.

[Lizard]

I've just checked. We've got the 8am slot (9pm for GB) rather than the 3am. It might be a bit tricky watching on my phone in my car so I'll commute by bus.

[Donny osmond]

..Got silver, but seems gutted at not golding.Did well - even sent the winner on his pants in the crash but to no avail.Probs. will do Gold Coast for Man but unlikely to Olympiate in 4.

He did well but I wouldn't have much sympathy for him not getting gold, he made too many mistakes, watched too many attacks go away. I'm talking about that final points race, didn't see the other 5 events.

[Numbers]

..Got silver, but seems gutted at not golding.Did well - even sent the winner on his pants in the crash but to no avail.Probs. will do Gold Coast for Man but unlikely to Olympiate in 4.

He did well but I wouldn't have much sympathy for him not getting gold, he made too many mistakes, watched too many attacks go away. I'm talking about that final points race, didn't see the other 5 events.

He wasn't great shakes in the Elimination race either, out quite early.

[WaspInWales]

A silver considering the drama isn't too bad at all. I still can't work out why he thought he needed to go on the cote d'azur in the elimination race. He wasn't in immediate danger even if he was boxed in a bit. Shame really as he may have been able to get gold otherwise.

[WaspInWales]

Slightly off topic but considering all the accusations about 'state sponsored' doping by the Russians, does anyone think there was anything a little suspect with the US team in the 1984 games?

83 gold medals and a total of 174 medals is staggering, even with home advantage. That's almost double the golds they managed in Atlanta. I've read that prior to the games, one third of the US cycling team received blood transfusions which is highly suspicious.

Just seen this which is a few years old and relates to 1988 to 2000:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/ ... ncanmackay

114 positive test results allegedly covered up.

[Which Tyler]

Slightly off topic but considering all the accusations about 'state sponsored' doping by the Russians, does anyone think there was anything a little suspect with the US team in the 1984 games?

83 gold medals and a total of 174 medals is staggering, even with home advantage. That's almost double the golds they managed in Atlanta. I've read that prior to the games, one third of the US cycling team received blood transfusions which is highly suspicious.

Just seen this which is a few years old and relates to 1988 to 2000:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/ ... ncanmackay

114 positive test results allegedly covered up.

1984? Basically everything athletics-related in the 70s and 80s is well beyond suspicion, and into undoubtedly doped up to the eyeballs. It's just that no-one really cared until the USA decided to get upset about Ben Johnson getting gold (as if Carl Lewis was any less doped up). That era is basically guilty until proven otherwise; and a proper investigation now would be both impossible, and fundamentally undermine sport - they'd probably need to go back to the semifinals, or even heats to find a clean athlete to crown instead.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Slightly off topic but considering all the accusations about 'state sponsored' doping by the Russians, does anyone think there was anything a little suspect with the US team in the 1984 games?

83 gold medals and a total of 174 medals is staggering, even with home advantage. That's almost double the golds they managed in Atlanta. I've read that prior to the games, one third of the US cycling team received blood transfusions which is highly suspicious.

Just seen this which is a few years old and relates to 1988 to 2000:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/ ... ncanmackay

114 positive test results allegedly covered up.

A LITTLE suspect?

The main reason though is the soviet bloc boycott and I think we had an african boycott as well. Take them out of the equation and that's going to be a lot more medals for the dominant country.

[Which Tyler]

An article everyone should know more about: http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/ ... hat-photo/

Sometimes photographs deceive. Take this one, for example. It represents John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s rebellious gesture the day they won medals for the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and it certainly deceived me for a long time.

I always saw the photo as a powerful image of two barefoot black men, with their heads bowed, their black-gloved fists in the air while the US National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” played. It was a strong symbolic gesture – taking a stand for African American civil rights in a year of tragedies that included the death of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

It’s a historic photo of two men of color. For this reason I never really paid attention to the other man, white, like me, motionless on the second step of the medal podium. I considered him as a random presence, an extra in Carlos and Smith’s moment, or a kind of intruder. Actually, I even thought that that guy – who seemed to be just a simpering Englishman – represented, in his icy immobility, the will to resist the change that Smith and Carlos were invoking in their silent protest. But I was wrong.

Thanks to an old article by Gianni Mura, today I discovered the truth: that white man in the photo is, perhaps, the third hero of that night in 1968. His name was Peter Norman, he was an Australian that arrived in the 200 meters finals after having ran an amazing 20.22 in the semi finals. Only the two Americans, Tommie “The Jet” Smith and John Carlos had done better: 20.14 and 20.12, respectively.

...

Follow the link to read more.

[Mellsblue]

Women's Black Sticks through to the semi final. An excellent opportunity for Team NZ to continue its run of 4th placings.

Looks like you'll be up against our girls. The way they are playing you will be playing for fourth.

Is it ok to be cocky when supporting GB or is it still English arrogance?

To be fair, I've not watched any teams other than those playing NZ but we've drawn with the world #1 and easily beaten the world #3.

It's English arrogance if the team has no more than one non-English in the starting side. Otherwise it's just your garden-variety twattery.

I hope the match is on at a somewhat reasonable hour in NZ.

Common twattery it is, then. Here's to an entertaining match.