Olympics

[cabanafrau]

Had the chance last night to look at some of the climbing events that were being discussed here. Speed climbing is kind of unbelievable to watch -- it seems inconceivable they can move that quickly. There was an American in the field that (apologies to the athlete for saying it) I would bet my bottom dollar was tripping on shrooms out there. Obviously I'm certain he was not, but I can think of no other way to describe his demeanor.

Bouldering was fascinating, and looks beyond frustrating and exhausting. We watched a women's qualifier I believe. I have to give the South African climber a good sport or participation medal or something. She got absolutely nowhere and returned time and time again to keep trying and always seemed to be positive and waved goodbye happily to the crowd every single round.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Can't believe this isn't being discussed, but I found the medal ceremony for the Womens Gymnastics Floor to be completely distasteful. OK, so the three women who won are besties, but Jordan won on a technicality. Simone's routine was far from perfect. Then to bring race into it? At least the two US women might want to check their privilege. Simone has a net worth north of $16 Million and is married to an NFL star. Jordan is a Sophomore at UCLA. Both have been competing in gymnastics since they were old enough to walk. Have you had your kids in gymnastics? It ain't cheap, especially as you get into competitions (that's where we drew the line).

MEANWHILE, in Romania;
Remember the two women who were kept off of the podium? It doesn't seem line Simone and Jordan did - but they are from Romania. The country is not quite dirt poor, but the average income is around $24k, well less than 1/2 what it is in the US. All the fancy-smancy gyms and training facilities the US women grew up in - Romania has none of that. Higher education for Olympic Gymnasts in Romania? You must be kidding. All the celebrities in the stands - ALL from the US, not Romania. Those women did this on their own - literally.

Just saying, have some perspective, have some compassion for God's sake. Don't act like the world owes you anything because of the color of your skin because it does not. Is that so much to ask? The whole thing left me feeling really icky. Ugly Americans indeed.

It was in poor taste. I hate putting people in a box but ''Ugly Americans'' too often deserve the label.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

You know what I havent seen the whole olympics. A false start. I remember them happening often years ago in both track and field and swimmimg. Has the rules changed? Do they still do restarts?

There have been a few across other sports. Of recent (Tuesday/Wednesday, etc) I'm watching canoe which has both canoe and kayak for distance races like 500 meter for example and there have been a good amount of false starts on those waters between single, double and quad. I don't know if part of it is the mechanism they are using in the water to position the boat is contributing or not. When I was watching the other rowing events I did not see false starts.

 

[BrianL]

All right - it's USA vs. AUS Water Polo time! It's on live now, USA Network on cable.

 

[nancipants]

It was in poor taste. I hate putting people in a box but ''Ugly Americans'' too often deserve the label.

I'm so confused by these reactions. It's ugly to show respect for the person who beat you?

 

[cabanafrau]

I'm so confused by these reactions. It's ugly to show respect for the person who beat you?

Apparently it's okay to toss around a slur about an entire nation because, well I'm not sure why exactly?

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[Lumpy1106]

It was in poor taste. I hate putting people in a box but ''Ugly Americans'' too often deserve the label.

I know mine was not the popular opinion here and that's fine - to each his own. Before you judge my opinion too harshly, just skim the headlines for this particular story in the US media vs. media in the rest of the world. It's like night and day.

 

[HopperFan]

I've been really enjoying track and field. The women's 5,000 meter race was crazy. The silver medalist got DQed after the race, but then got her medal re-instated after an appeal. The men's 10,000 meter race was super fast and so fun to watch. The men's 100 meters was a nail biter. World record in the pole vault! And of course, St. Lucia winning its first gold ever, for the women's 100 meters. I can't wait for the men's 200 meters to see if Noah Lyles can win both, and I'm rooting hard for Nikki Hiltz in the 1,500 meters.

Made me chuckle. As a family very involved with T&F and XC, when DD was running in college the 10,000 was always SO LONG, SO SO LONG to watch.

Her team's top distance runner (from Africa) was really good at distance but terrible about setting himself on the proper pace. Another runner (from Poland) was a great pacer but would never have placed. Both got entered into the race at the meets. Poland's only job was to get Africa on pace to win. After about 3200 he would have him settled in and then would just drop out of the race.

I remember when DD started Track in HS (telling her XC coach she didn't want to do it but he made her). Every day I picked her up and she'd say "It is so stupid. You just run in circles. So boring." Well about week three she got in and said "I get it. It is more than running. It is so mental, so much planning and shifting. I think I might be good at it." DS coaches and while there is tons of specific training and endurance, it is lots of mental training too.

 

[BrianL]

WHEW! I haven't watched a lof ot he Basketball, but Serbia was on their game. It was a nail-biter!

 

[irlandaise]

I know mine was not the popular opinion here and that's fine - to each his own. Before you judge my opinion too harshly, just skim the headlines for this particular story in the US media vs. media in the rest of the world. It's like night and day.

Oh?

BBC Sport:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/articles/ce9zz211zxno

Biles bows to 'queen' Andrade in iconic medal moment
US superstar Simone Biles said it was "just the right thing to do" after she and team-mate Jordan Chiles bowed down to Olympic gold medallist Rebeca Andrade after the floor final in Paris.

Biles had been hoping to win a fourth gold at these Games but a couple of mistakes meant she had to settle for silver behind the Brazilian.

However, the 27-year-old, who is the world's most decorated gymnast, was far from disappointed and instead joined Chiles in showing admiration to Andrade in one of the iconic images of these Games.

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Le Parisien:
https://www.leparisien.fr/jo-paris-...ade-05-08-2024-4TIAHQPN6ZA7VJVPJ3BVDXZ6AM.php

« C’est une reine », pourquoi Simone Biles s’est agenouillée devant Rebeca Andrade​

Seulement médaille d’argent au sol, l’Américaine a fait preuve d’un fair-play incroyable en s’inclinant sur le podium pour féliciter la médaillée d’or brésilienne.

[Only a silver medalist on the floor, the American showed incredible fair play by bowing on the podium to congratulate the Brazilian gold medalist.]

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El Mundo:
https://www.elmundo.es/deportes/juegos-olimpicos/2024/08/06/66b0f5c521efa0682f8b457d.html

El bonito gesto de Biles con Rebeca Andrade, la hija de una limpiadora que le arrebató el oro

[Biles' beautiful gesture to Rebeca Andrade, the daughter of a cleaner who snatched the gold from her]

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/articles/ce9zz211zxno

How about a mention to the Romanian girls? If the Romanian coach had contested the 0.1 deduction for stepping out (she did not), she would be 3rd. Instead she was 5th. The girl who came in 4th was bumped down because of a technicality that Jordan's coach did contest. It was that close. They did not run away with it, they are not that perfect. A little humility would have gone a long way.

Maybe the Romanian coach should protest himself for being stupid and not protesting the OB call that even the announcers picked up on instead of boycotting the closing ceremony.

 

[bcla]

Apparently Noah Lyles ended up with a bronze medal in the 200m even after being diagnosed with COVID-19 a couple of days ago. He was gasping for air after the end of the race and was wearing a mask when interviewed later. Apparently there are no specific COVID-19 protocols (other than an outbreak declared past a certain percentage of athletes testing positive for COVID-19) at the Olympics and it's up to the athlete whether or not they want to continue competing.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Apparently Noah Lyles ended up with a bronze medal in the 200m even after being diagnosed with COVID-19 a couple of days ago. He was gasping for air after the end of the race and was wearing a mask when interviewed later. Apparently there are no specific COVID-19 protocols (other than an outbreak declared past a certain percentage of athletes testing positive for COVID-19) at the Olympics and it's up to the athlete whether or not they want to continue competing.

FWIW - TdF had the same protocol. Timing sucks, but I feel worse for the athletes that had their moment of glory in front of empty stadiums in '21.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

WHEW! I haven't watched a lof ot he Basketball, but Serbia was on their game. It was a nail-biter!

Curry was a monster. He kept us in it, and then his steal was a dagger. He let the Serbian team, who was talking all game, know it too.

 

[bcla]

Curry was a monster. He kept us in it, and then his steal was a dagger. He let the Serbian team, who was talking all game, know it too.

He made the 3 that put the US ahead, and the lead was never relinquished.

 

[jdb in AZ]

NBC said tonight's prime-time coverage would be with limited commercials. If that was limited I sure wouldn't want to watch an unlimited broadcast.
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[cabanafrau]

FWIW - TdF had the same protocol. Timing sucks, but I feel worse for the athletes that had their moment of glory in front of empty stadiums in '21.

Just saw a report the other day where figure skater Nathan Chen commented about being grateful his family would be able to attend to see him receive his delayed team medal because not having them at the games in '22 really diminished the experience. Can't imagine being the parent stuck at home while your kid competes at the Olympics. Win, lose or draw, you want to be there to support and share every moment.

I don't even think we watched any of the Tokyo games coverage at all, despite having been so excited for those in particular because the Japanese had been so eager to welcome everyone and had put together one of the best-organized facilities, maybe the best the Olympics has ever had. Sad for what the athletes missed out on, sad for what the people of Tokyo missed out on as well. I hope they get a quick chance at a redo to host, if they want it.

 

[NotUrsula]

The Romanians have filed an official appeal of the gymnastics results: https://www.today.com/news/paris-olympics/romanian-gymnastics-floor-inquiry-response-rcna165615

 

[Planogirl]

I don’t mind seeing audience members celebrity or otherwise if it’s brief. Snoop is of course working for NBC so he is expected. I enjoy most learning about some of the athletes of any nation though. I have heard plenty about Simone Biles but I expect to hear a lot more.

 

[sasywtch]

Small world! We were in Chotaw back in June for a tournament. We used to play in USSSA events, but I've seen a shift away from that towards Triple Crown, anything that feeds into Alliance, PGF, and some of the well regarded regional ones like this one we attended in OK (and another around that time near Kansas City just to name a handful). As for the stadium, I'm used to calling it Hall of Fame Stadium, so the branding shift to Devon Park has also been an adjustment. Within the last few years, they actually expanded the stadium to allow for additional seating (4,000 seat increase in 2020) as well as some requested amenities upgrades. I recall them saying it was sold out for this year's WCWS games, but I know that's a small portion of the year. We've had friends and teammates play at the complex for the USA Softball All American Games and I know it doesn't fill up like it does for the college softball events. Although, I think the Oklahoma City Spark also use the stadium. They have enough former OU players on the roster that I've heard it's been seeing some crowds during the season. I can't find the info right now, but a few months ago I found something explaining why it's all in Oklahoma. It made sense, but obviously not enough for it to store in my brain!

While it would be nice for them to use a natural river for the canoe events, that park looks pretty neat. DD17 (non-softball) is moving into OU next week and we've been talking about checking out the park (I think it's called Riversport) at some point in our visits.

I saw that water park on a youtube channel recently. It was not there back in the day. Just curious where you were in Choctaw. We were practicing at the high school in Choctaw when the F5 tornado May 5th came through. We lived in the next town over, Harrah. I am honestly out of the loop regarding traveling softball. Back then it was ASA and USSSA. My daughter is in the USSSA Hall of Fame from the world championships in Muscle Shoals Alabama. When my daughter graduated high school and left traveling, I honestly thought I would not know what to do with myself. Now, I can't imagine going back to that. Detroit, Chicago, St Louis, Joplin, Alabama, Colorado. My head hurts thinking how much $$ we spent. I much preferred when she started in California as they have so many tournaments here, we didn't have to travel far. Back to the olympics. I'm sure OKC will do the USA proud. My daughter's friend works for a company that may be providing support so I'm thinking she's hoping to get tickets.