The Olympic Games Thread
 

We'll keep it here, I think, so that those who aren't interested can avoid it.......

This is not about London traffic disruption or ticket scandals - it's just for the sporting stuff.

I'll start by highlighting an astonishing performance at the US trials this weekend - Ashton Eaton breaking the decathlon world record (which had stood since 2001) despite cold, windy conditions. Difficult to see anyone coming close to him in London.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...85N00N20120624

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Have you watched twenty twelve? Very funny series about the UK getting ready for the Olympics..it is on TPB

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Brownlee Brothers, gold and silver....

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A Dubai-based friend of mine is running with the torch today. She has been asked to do it as she has been raising money for the paralympic team. We're really proud of her.

(If anyone would like to donate, I have the details.)

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Anyone know if England got selected or not then?

Seems a few athletes from my home town were in the running but are out through injuries, though at least one qualified :)

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My hero........ Roald Bradstock who came second in the UK Olympic javelin trials - at the age of FIFTY. I remember him competing at LA in 1984. Now look at what he does:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012...?newsfeed=true

:thumbsup:

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I havent seen the other stadiums but I have seen the tellytubby stadium in woolwich which is being used for shooting and archery- hopefully the rest do not look so ridiculous!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...EqXS0QX-9r2pAQ

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got delivery of my tickets yesterday

Greco-Roman baby...Greco-Roman

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The going for a beer sounds eminently sensible, unlike chucking fish and ipods.

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I like the look of that.

Modern, not too stupid and serves the temporary purpose.

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It reminds me of cheese.......

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The shooting arena or the smell of your cock today?

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Go to You Tube, and enter 'Roald Bradstock' and see the amazing range of things he does (I like the underwater javelin world record). He holds the 'normal' javelin world record for the Over-50 age group anyway.........

Commander would love to see some of his bench records.........

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Just popping in to point out that, at last night's Jamaican National Championships (which of course also serve as trials for Olympic selection), not only did Yolan Blake (9.75s) beat Usain Bolt (9.86s), but ALL EIGHT runners in the men's 100m achieved the Olympic 'A' qualifying standard.......... :ohmy::blink:

So - I wonder who will be the 4x100m relay favourites?

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clearly not the UK on recent examples...

By the way have you been reading the brilliant Guardian series on 50 Olympic stunning moments? Some great writing on amazing sporting events... one example http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog...ts-allan-wells

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Fastest 100m by any Brit this year from 18-year-old Adam Gemili to become World Junior Champion last night........... 10.05s (a record for the WJC - impressive considering the names that have won that title in the past).

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JAMAICA....the former pearl of the UK empire.
Funny the country's star is the proxy advert for UK 2012 where are the flag bearing UK athletes to carry the adverts:confused:

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I cannot accept that Oscar Pistorius should run in the Olympics, but Paralympics legend Tanni Grey-Thompson puts it far better than I can:

"Everything we have been trying to fight against in moving the Paralympics on to be equal to the Olympics would be knocked back if Oscar then competes in the 400m a few weeks later at the Paralympics [after racing at the Olympics]. That race becomes the event for people who weren't good enough to compete at the Olympics."

100% spot on.

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And...they complain about the UAE putting their labourers in slum camps :ohmy: :D
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-cleaners.html

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If anyone is interested I found an events schedule, link below.......

http://www.london2012.com/schedule-and-results/

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

having just got back from London, I predict an absolute nightmare ahead. I've never seen such high security in London even after the London bombing, i saw a guy pulled over by 6 undercover police cars with ak47s (or similar style guns) in the guys face, army boats going up and down the thames really quite intimidating armed police everywhere. Traffic was horrific as they are adjusting the traffic signals- taxi drivers are not happy with the olympic lanes as you can get fined 130 quid if you even ccross over one so you have to take long routes to get anywhere half the taxi drivers i spoke to are leaving for the duration of the games as they don't think its worth the hassle.(also the drivers they have bought in to drive the olypians aren't Londoners as they are currently driving tehir beemers around trying to learn the routes and generally cutting up traffic- disgraceful really) Most of my freelance friends are leaving london and those who can't gettime off are trying to work from home otehrwise allowing 3 times as long to get into work.

As much as Id love to see London host such as event I think its going to be horrendous if you need to get on with your life whilst this is going on.

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A Scotsman, an Englishman and an Irishman want to get in to the Olympics, but they haven't got tickets.

The Scotsman picks up a manhole cover, tucks it under his arm and walks to the gate. " McTavish , Scotland " he says, "Discus" and in he walks.
The Englishman picks up a length of scaffolding and slings it over his shoulder.. " Waddington-Smythe , England " he says, "Pole vault" and in he walks.
The Irishman looks around and picks up a roll of barbed wire and tucks it under his arm. "O'Malley, Ireland " he says, "Fencing".

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A German competitor was lost, and wanted directions to the Olympic village in Stratford, London. He was standing outside East Ham tube station when he saw two lads walking by so he stops them and asks, 'Entschuldigung, koennen Sie Deutsch sprechen?'

The two lads look at each other blankly and stare back at the German.

'Excusez-moi, parlez vous Français?' He tries.

The two continue to stare.

'Parlare Italiano?' Still absolutely no response from the two lads.

'Hablan ustedes Espanol?' The London lads remain totally silent.

The German Olympian walks off extremely disappointed and downhearted that he had not been understood. One of the boys turns to the second and says, 'You know, maybe we should learn a foreign language!'

'Why?' says the youth, 'That German guy knew four languages, and it didn't do him any good!'

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It’s 2012 and it’s the Olympics in London…..
The Press are gathered around the track’s exit tunnel waiting to interview anyone who seems important as they leave the stadium.
A tall man emerges carrying a long pole.
One of the reporters runs over to him and asks, “Excuse me, but are you a pole vaulter?”
The man replies, “Yes, I am indeed from Poland, but how on earth did you know my name?”

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This is a rather splendid anti-Olympic rant by a friend:


"Olympic lanes, threats to sue traders who offend sponsors, restrictions on what spectators wear and all endorsed by HM Government - indeed enshrined in our law! Such measures, if applied in other countries, would lead to moral outrage and indignation on the part of our political and chattering classes, but everyone seems seduced by the allure of the Olympic Games.

The thought of the odious Sebastian Coe and his lackeys, together with all the self-important crooks from the IOC being feted at the expense of ordinary citizens in London, makes me sick.

The 'games' have lead to unprecedented intrusions and restrictions on the population of London. We have more military personnel stationed here than are in Afghanistan, stinger missiles deployed in residential areas, impending chaos on our already stretched transport system and powers in reserve to intrude in unacceptable ways on our civil liberties. I could almost understand and support the need to smooth the path of competitors, their coaches and officials for the various events, if they were conforming to the 'olympic ideals', but they largely comprise highly paid professional sports men and women, who bear no relation to the amateur spirit of de Courbetin and look mainly to medals to enhance their individual brand and value to sponsors.

The restraint of trade gifted to the corporate sponsors for the event is obscene - particularly given the track record of some of the companies involved. The sycophantic approach of the government towards these entities is both as disturbing as it is obscene.

I know we had to be prepared to endure some upheaval in the city to host the Olympics - even those of us who have never been in favour of them being here are realists - but the level of intrusion into the lives of ordinary Londoners is beyond reasonable. This is compounded by the likelihood that the costs - increasing all the time, as with the latest fiasco with G4S - will be largely paid by tax payers in the capital for many years to come.

Let's hope the whole sorry mess passes and we can get back to London being a city for people to live and work in."

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That's tragic.

Greatest sporting month in the world that comes around every four years and to your own country once a lifetime if you're lucky and they moan about;

- Soldiers being there to make sure they are safe.
- Weapons being put in place to protect them.
- Transport issues that apparently are caused by the Olympics (London traffic flows freely normally you see)
- The sports people earn more than them
- Corporate sponsors getting exclusivity for the 10's 100's of millions of quid they've spent...shock.
- Londoner's lives being intruded on? Don't live in one of the biggest cities in the world if you don't like 'intrusion'.
- G4S can't find enough people to work as ticket-checkers...probably because most Londoner's wouldn't want to volunteer / be paid minimum wage.

Normally Meow, your posts are quality...and I know it's not you saying this so please don't take it personally. It's a shame that your friend has posted such narrow-minded, pathetic, whinging, NIMBY bollocks.

They'd probably be the first to moan if the Olympics had gone to Paris / Madrid before London.

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Actually he wouldn't. Does not one else not see that the olympic ideal has been consumed by money and corporate sponsorship? The restrictions on what people can and cannot do is very 1984. It really is not okay that G4S has ballsed this up and our soldiers should not be involved.

The cost to the country/taxpayer is excessive and the whole olympic circus has got out of hand.

Faster, higher, stronger has been replaced by richer, pricier, more litigious.

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There was always going to be a military element to security, with or without the G4S shambles. It's just that, now, it's going to be more obvious.........

Think of the alternative: major terrorist attack on the Games (i.e. on visiting Americans, Jamaicans, Chinese, etc) and a subsequent enquiry reveals the UK made no provision for such an eventuality......... unthinkable.

I'm with Scamp - I'm in the UK now and there is palpable excitement (plus I'm going to see the torch in Bexhill and Hastings this evening).

As for the Olympic lanes...... why are they needed so far from the site itself??

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What sporting event hasn't though?

Everything is like that, it's the way the world is now.

It's easy to knock shit like this, it's easy to say how expensive / commercial / wasteful it is.

But when Usain Bolt is smashing world records will the people watching on TV or in the stadium give a monkeys that they could only buy a Maccy D's outside the stadium really care that much?

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Palpable excitement? See Kitycat's post above. Most people I know have a vague interest, but that's it. Most Londoners are already fed up with disruption.

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I could not agree with you more.

But there is nothing more British than succumbing to the media and trying to destroy anything good before it has a chance to get going. There are far too many arm-chair bean counters in the world (said as a person employed as a bean counter), some things you cannot put a price too.

Not all Londoners are pissed off with it, I have many friends in London (where I used to live) and whilst they are not overjoyed by the disruption they will live with it and it will be forgotten when Olympic fever picks up.

The Olympics will be awesome in London and I am actually quite sad that I can't be there.

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I'm guessing Kittycat doesn't move in sporting circles........... anyone uttering those comments anywhere near any of my contacts would be given short shrift......

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Short shrift for having a different opinion?

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I don't know anyone who cares or is interested in us hosting the games. I voted for it and still believe it in. Not because it's a great event etc. but it has led to a reasonable amount of regeneration that would otherwise not have happened. Let's see if all the infrastructure becomes white elephants aka Athens or it gets used...

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Matt's cartoon in today's Nazigraf:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/matt/

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Also from the Torygraph a few days ago and possibly more relevant...

http://i45.tinypic.com/2edzh4j.jpg

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Don't get me wrong- I'll be watching some of the Olympics, anything where men wear lycra works for me. I was just saying its going to be a nightmare for anyone in london- its the first time ive been glad Im not there in 3 years, trying to get to work and live a normal life would be horrendous! Its a shame as it should be an incredible event, but everyone who lives in London seems thoroughly pissed off with it.

BTW I'm not anti sporting events; I always used to go and watch the London marathon, it always filled me with great pride- you cope with the public transport disruption as its a sunday and you end up in the pub but London at the moment looks non too appealing for the next few weeks.

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It's Vicky Pendleton I'm looking forward to seeing...........

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I dont think thats very hygenic deano

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:thumbup: View of the stadium this morning: