Olympics

[Big D]

Athletics has been unsurprising though- two of our hopes were badly crocked too close to the games. The 800m silver was a Bobby bonus. Hopefully get a boxing gold, but not sure what’s left in to get us up the table again- seem to be slightly adrift in cycling a la rowing.
It is great to see the range of sports where we are doing well; there will be some tough questions to answer in rowing, athletics and even cycling wrt funding.

Wee bit to go on cycling yet, but we have had a pretty golden generation of real class cyclists (Hoy, the Kennys, Wiggins, Clancy and others) that it is pretty hard to continue to dominate and not expect other countries to catch up a bit and generational talents to appear from elsewhere.

The Italian pursuit time was incredible.

True, went a bit early on the cycling, and as you say, phenomenal generation passing through, and this games a year late for Kenny J. But still feel we haven’t quite been doing the marginal gains stuff listening to Hoy and Boardman; there is also some implied criticism of the bike technology- though Brailsford always said that was a bit of kidology. And I think we have been a bit surprised by some teams standards: the lead Italian pursuiter was phenomenal to ensure riding down the Dutch, it’s true.
Perhaps we’ve been spoiled for over a decade!

There may be a little in the marginal gains stuff, but not sure it is sustainable to have so many stars as out track team have had. Some of our track guys have been road world champion, 2 Tour de France Champions, smaller Tour winners etc so extremely talented bike handlers. We really have been spoiled

[Big D]

Lovely to see Holly Bradshaw get a medal here. Hopefully will help her relax and go higher.

Already over her highest major competition jump.

[Numbers]

Anyone watching the Pole Vault, Bradshaw deffo in the medals.

[Banquo]

Good bronze

[Numbers]

Yeah, happy for her as she has finished 4th a few times iirc.

[fivepointer]

Great gold in the Omnium. Working out all the permutations whilst cycling at 50 kph is bloody impressive

it was. Walls wasnt highly fancied but scored consistently. The elimination race is terrific fun.

Carlin looking good in the sprints.

Yafai has done really well to make a boxing final.

[Big D]

This is pretty impressive by Archibald and Kenny. I haven't seen a huge amount of Madison racing but can't recall a team being this dominant.

[Mellsblue]

Imperious. Outstanding. World class. Probably impossible to use hyperbole.
Our women cyclists never cease to impress me.

[Banquo]

Amazing. Champagne moment of the games for me, Kenny racing away at the end.

[Mellsblue]

Amazing. Champagne moment of the games for me, Kenny racing away at the end.

Yep. Complete dominance. Love the mindset.

[Mellsblue]

That crash where the Bel cycles over the top of the Oz woman. That awful feeling when you can’t do anything about it but know is going to be bad.

Also, they’re a class act off, as well as on, the track.

[Big D]

Just dawned on me too that the mens sprint squad are missing Callum Skinner who retired to look after his mental health. He was a class sprinter too. Not sure it would have made a dent on the Dutch though.

[switchskier]

Laura Kenny will finish as the UKs greatest Olympian I'm pretty sure. The madison is never that straightforward but they utterly dominated. Her decision to only focus on track has really paid off.

[Which Tyler]

That was heart breaking for Schleu in the modern pent show jumping - never had her composure, never earned the horse' trust, and TBH, pushed the horse further than she should have done

[Big D]

That was heart breaking for Schleu in the modern pent show jumping - never had her composure, never earned the horse' trust, and TBH, pushed the horse further than she should have done

Brutal nature of the event.

Where the horse is clearly an issue (it has done the same for two riders) it is a shame they can't redraw.

Edit: Watching it again, she understandably panicked when it was the opposite of what the horse needed. Must be an awful feeling, although to be fair I don't think the horse enjoyed it a great deal either.

[Donny osmond]

That was heart breaking for Schleu in the modern pent show jumping - never had her composure, never earned the horse' trust, and TBH, pushed the horse further than she should have done

I couldn't watch, that was horrible. They say horses are sensitive to the riders.

Gold for Britain tho! Brilliant running and shooting at the end from French, left the others miles behind.

Sent from my CPH2195 using Tapatalk

[Galfon]

That was heart breaking for Schleu in the modern pent show jumping - never had her composure, never earned the horse' trust, and TBH, pushed the horse further than she should have done

It seems too much the luck of the draw for genuine medal contender to lose out due a jittery hoss, but suppose over time they'll win some/lose some....Olympic final is a real blow.
Great for French after years doing the business in the sport.

[Numbers]

Great silver for Laura Muir, if only our men were as good as the ladies.

[Mellsblue]

Yep. I know next to nothing about middle distance running but that looked liked a great run.

[Big D]

That is a very very good run by Muir. Delighted for her. To run that fast when she knew there was a lot of pressure on her is great.

[fivepointer]

Kenny and Archibald won the Madison quite brilliantly. You couldnt win any more emphatically than that.

Terrific silver from Muir.

55 medals plus 2 more guaranteed from the boxing. These games are turning out to be better than i hoped for.

[Which Tyler]

That was heart breaking for Schleu in the modern pent show jumping - never had her composure, never earned the horse' trust, and TBH, pushed the horse further than she should have done

I couldn't watch, that was horrible. They say horses are sensitive to the riders.

Absolutely agree. She was beaten before the clock even started, and pretty much everything she did made her lose the horse further. He was never going to perform for her, and she really shouldn't have tried to force him.
To my uneducated eyes, it looked like animal abuse.


Again, to my uneducated eyes - the "point" of the Pentathlon is to replicate the skills needed to escape if caught behind enemy lines (pre-WWI). Maybe there should be a line of 8 horses, and the you pick one of the 8 whilst the previous competitor is out there, rather than being assigned. That horse was obviously traumatised before Schleu reached him, and shouldn't have been sent out there. Equally, once he was, Schleu seemed to do just about everything wrong.

[Big D]

The mens 4x100 should really have won, but to be fair to them since 2016 as a group they have 1 gold and 2 silvers at major championships. That is a very decent and consistent return.

[Croft_No.5]

That is a very very good run by Muir. Delighted for her. To run that fast when she knew there was a lot of pressure on her is great.

Commentators should really engage brain before spouting forth, better to keep quiet at times. Just in the build up to the race, can't recall who..

"It will be tough for Laura it is such a shame she has so many world class competitors in the race"

Doh!!

[Banquo]

That was heart breaking for Schleu in the modern pent show jumping - never had her composure, never earned the horse' trust, and TBH, pushed the horse further than she should have done

Brutal nature of the event.

Where the horse is clearly an issue (it has done the same for two riders) it is a shame they can't redraw.

Edit: Watching it again, she understandably panicked when it was the opposite of what the horse needed. Must be an awful feeling, although to be fair I don't think the horse enjoyed it a great deal either.

I believe you can opt for another horse, albeit a ‘reserve’ horse.