Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

I believe a Hairy Biker won the men's shot putt

http://i46.tinypic.com/2a0kpc5.png

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

The 71 year old Japanese chap, on the horse....thought that was pretty cool.

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Yes..people very often forget this. I just left the UK a few days ago and we had 1 gold..I wake today to 10 gold! Wooooooooooooo

But as I live in Norway now, I feel sorry for them..2 medals..but only 5 million people, and they are northern as ****.

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Double amputee makes Olympic history ; reaches men's 400m semifinals.

Wonder if the springy action confers some advantage; Britain Nigel Levine alludes to it. Even if they did give some advantage, the other downsides should more than take away from any advantage.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1740701.html

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

He said that he would quite like to compete in the 2016 Olympics, but his horse would be too old by then. :)

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Hahahaha...reminds me of Izzards epic joke about British world domination through the cunning use of flags.

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Team GB's medal count yesterday I believe...

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:thumbsup:

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:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Another notable achievement today:

Medal table: Australia total Gold - 1, position in table 19th.

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Proud to be british tonight. I see the millionaire footballers bottled it again. If they had an ounce of the pride and guts of the gold medal winners today they would of walked their match. The overpaid underworked can now slide back to their lavish lifestyles while the other Heroes of Team GB go back to 5am starts of training and constant work

The two faces of sport.

I know who deserves my praise and support

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

It is impressive how badly they've sunk....and to think they gave that swimmer so much stick :/

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Aye, Ramsey...

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

I'd forgotten how intriguing the distance races (5k and above) can be. The Ethiopians in the 10k had the most bizarre tactics - maybe focussed on containing the Kenyans. But it played into the hands of the fast finishers, Farah and Rupp. What a riveting last few laps as it looked like they were all going to bump each other off the track.

And while I'm not normally pleased to see the US grab yet another medal, how nice to see Rupp get in there. When he crossed the finish line behind Farah you could see him screaming "Mo" at his training partner whose face at that point looked like Munch's The Scream. What a fantastic climax to an amazing evening.

As a foreigner I think I'm not unusual in finding the English football and rugby teams very easy to dislike but Team GB (footballers excepted, Andy Murray definitely included) are a joy to cheer on.

And Jess Ennis is a total babe!

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Here's one I nicked from the Guardian comments pages:

A ginger, a Muslim immigrant and a mixed race girl walked into a bar. Everyone bought them a drink!

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Olympic fever has well and truly taken a grip..............

A few minutes ago, at 10.55am UK time, the BBC Sport website's live Olympic diary published the word 'piddling'........... :huh:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19083390

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Why did we not have anybody for the 20km walk?

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We did. He was patiently queueing at the back of the start line. It was over before he started.

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.... and here we are, almost one-third of the way into the women's marathon, and the plucky Brit girls are 45th and 65th........ the third one dropped out after only 5km.........

I'm ashamed to be British......... we're useless........... we never win any medals at anything......... etc........ etc............. :thumbdown:

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Is that the stupid bum-wiggling event where they all look desperate for the loo? Who'd want to do that?

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

I don't know, maybe countries who have had a really crap Olympics (like, say, maybe UK after Atlanta??) and realise that they will rarely be able to compete in the marquee events any more and so set about identifying some more obscure ones to focus on (like, say, a multitude of bizarre cycling and rowing events) that they can then dominate? Third place in the medals table didn't happen by accident.

I'm just sayin'......

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Synchronised swimming today............

Team GB will include Jenna Randall............

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

You are correct. There was certainly a shift in focus and British cycling's domination of the world scene (now on the road as well as the track) is not by accident. I think after Atlanta, we had to start again, identify potential area's and focus from the grass routes up. Cycling is an example of unmitigated success as is (i bloody hope tomorrow, Triathlon, where we have the 2 best Olympic distance triathlete's in the world, the world record holder and Ironman female world champion Chrissy Wellington who has never been beaten)

Rowing has always been a very British sport though has it not?

British Athletics are working on the grass routes level in all sports, who is to say that there isn't a 10 year old who is the new 'Bolt' at an amateur Athletics club in Brentford being nurtured and developed....fingers crossed.

As a nation we have had success in most sports over the years..Christie, Coe, Cram, Ovette, Sanderson, Edwards, Whitbread, Thomson, Redgrave, Hoy..

We are a bloody small country per capita so i think we bloody do well:thumbup:

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Agreed about the focus strategy being correct and brilliantly executed. Also agreed about GB outperforming but on that scale surely Jamaica (population: 3million) and other Caribbean nations must be the exemplars, especially as they are doing it in the highest profile events. This is, after all, the second Olympics running where Jamaica is totally dominating the sprint medals, men's and women's (arguably Jamaica's rise goes all the way back to Linford Christie in '92 and Donovan Bailey in '96 and the perennial great nearly-woman, Merlene Ottey-Page). The Economist had a chart during the last Olympics (or maybe the one before) showing medals per population and medals per GDP. If I recall Bahamas was number 1 on both tables.

On the cycling, I am still a bit mystified about Britain's dramatically sudden rise to prominence. Road cycling has been a huge sport across much of Europe for decades. It has been a minority sport at best in the UK. The fact that Bradley Wiggins was the first British winner of the Tour de France illustrates the point - even my little country (Ireland - population 4 million) has had a TdF winner and a few others who have contended over the years. Perhaps Team GB has filled the vacuum resulting from the big drop in popularity of cycling in Europe since the 1990's following all the doping scandals. But still, from where did all this UK cycling excellence spring so quickly?

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

We applied our world class F1 engineering practices to the sport - and invested heavily when others did not.

Personally, I think it's great. Cycling is a great sport.

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

You are spot on in my opinion about Jamaica..I think its a lot to do with genetics and tradition...These guys are simply born to be sprinters. They have the gene's and in a country that sporting wise isnt really on the map for anything else, the focus is 100% on making the next 100 or 200m champion...they dont really do very well at swimming or rowing or cycling or infact anything apart from sprinting.

Cycling for me is down to investment and a vision. I totally agree with you, Sky have filled a vacuum left after the doping scandals.

Not only has Dave Brailsford put British cycling on the map, he has (fingers crossed this doesnt come back to haunt me) shown all the doubters that you can, through hard work, dedication and the best training facilities in the world CLEANLY dominate a sport tarnished by cheats.

Even for non-cyclists, there is something romantic about the TdF. Not a lot of people actually understand the tactics and what is going on during the stages, but i think anyone who has watched a stage on Galibier or Alpe D'Huez cannot fail to recognise the absolute passion and dedication and synchronisation of man and machine..

Yet, this public affection was in general lost after the Festina and Op Puerto scandals..

Well thanks to team sky, its back!!

my favourite Phil Liggett moment 1987..."and just who is that rider coming up behind, because that looks like Roche!. That looks like Steven Roche!! IT'S STEVEN ROCHE COME OVER THE LINE..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQojh-wqL04

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

If Yorkshire were a country, they would be 7th in the medal table, above SA and Aus. :D

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What do you mean "if"? It is. God's own country.

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Thanks a million for that Commander. I can't believe I welled up a bit remembering Rocci's annus mirablis and Irish cycling's all-too-brief golden age in the mid-'80s (a lesson for the UK there perhaps?). Pity it turns out that the oxygen wasn't the only thing Rocci was taking... He now occupies a position in the annals of Irish sport somewhere slightly above Michelle Smith (or Michelle de Bruin as she is now always described on the few occasions her name ever crops up in the Irish media even though she was married to the same bloke when she won the medals).

Funny also then over the last week to hear Paul Kimmage do commentary and analysis on the cycling for Al Jazeera!

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1IS...layer_embedded

apologies if this has been posted but this for me cements the future of GB sport.

Ok, he shouldnt swear on Sky but what the hell, he is speaking so much sense.

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Team GB medal count!

at end of yesterday :-) hopefully lots more today!

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

'so engrossed in your own asshole'

Brilliant - What a nice down to Earth chap. Unlike, for instance, that arrogant pot of toss, Murray.

Pity about the swearing, but hey - he only did it twice, one was a quote and the other was funny.

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

The women's footie, both semi finals have been superb stuff....

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Winning a medal in the rowing is a very.... er.... pleasing experience....... :huh:

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

You can keep your 18 gold medals.....

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/...163836554.html

We've got KT!

Actually her bout with the British girl yesterday was marvellous entertainment and fought in fantastic spirit (and, ok, bizarrely, it was a little bit erotic...). It was like boxing used to be: the venue, the crowds, the passion, the lights, the intensity but without any of the nastiness surrounding it (so, yeah, maybe a little bit WoS wrestling but none the worse for it). And both Katie and Tasha are total sweethearts.

Indescribable. Catch it online if you haven't seen it - only four 2 minute rounds and put aside any reservations about women's boxing. I could only find this on Youtube which gives a flavour of the atmosphere:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyuzY...yer_detailpage

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Did you see the women's shotput finals? And the man who won?

http://i46.tinypic.com/ngbm07.jpg

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Saw most of USA + The Ref v Canada. Better football than GB's last game, but the ref might just as well scored USA's third goal herself.

And why were all the officials women? Isn't that sexist?

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

At least 'he' beat that one-woman-haka Adams into second place................

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Isn't that a bit beneath you, Meow, as you are so often the lone challenger of the sexism and misogyny that pervades these fora? I watched the contest and found Ms. Ostapchuk (a mother of three, incidentally, not that that should make any difference) to be an endearingly human character right up to the tearful medal ceremony.

Re: The Olympic Games Thread
 

Is it? Am I exempt from making any kind of comment? She is incredibly manly and butch as are many of the athletes. Interesting that the men of this board are permitted to make sexist comments every day, but my one comment is jumped on. Hmmm...