The Games of the XXXI Olympiad

[Stat Brother]

The pros should never have been invited into boxing, thankfully only 3 took up the challenge and have all lost.
Golf and tennis' inclusion is ridiculous as is professional basketball, esp when the likes of squash aren't involved.

Rugby, away from the UK and 'colonies' is very much a developing sport in need of a raise in profile.

Men's road cycling doesn't necessarily need to be in the Olympics but as all other aspects of cycling falls into the 'pinnacle' category not having those 2 medals there would be somewhat odd.

I have no idea where I'd go to consume top flight sailing, away from the Olympics.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

The pros should never have been invited into boxing, thankfully only 3 took up the challenge and have all lost.
Golf and tennis' inclusion is ridiculous as is professional basketball, esp when the likes of squash aren't involved.

Rugby, away from the UK and 'colonies' is very much a developing sport in need of a raise in profile.

Men's road cycling doesn't necessarily need to be in the Olympics but as all other aspects of cycling falls into the 'pinnacle' category not having those 2 medals there would be somewhat odd.

I have no idea where I'd go to consume top flight sailing, away from the Olympics.

An Olympic sailing gold IS a big deal to be fair. Your criteria was 'pinnacle' though. The Americas Cup is unquestionably the pinnacle of sailing, just as the TdF is the pinnacle of road cycling.

Boxing - a world title is the pinnacle, without doubt. If you start making distinctions to justify it (amateur v pro in boxing / U23 v senior in football) then its all a bit arbitrary.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

100m hurdles in the heptathlon. Solid start from KJT, 13.48s
Early points lead for Jess EH, 12.84s

 

[ManOfSussex]

I'd always seen Olympic boxing as the pinnacle of amateur boxing, so the invitation of pro's was pointless in my opinion. So many great pro world champions cut their amateur teeth through the Olympic tournaments down the years, so it shouldn't have been altered.

Football and golf - the absentees speak volumes. Olympic tennis was also given a major shot in the arm by the location of the last Olympic tournament. A cursory glance on Wikipedia of Olympic tennis champions since its re-introduction in 1988 show the names Graf, Williams, Agassi, Nadal, Murray, Becker, Federer, Wawrinka among others.

As for Basketball, is it not the pinnacle of international team Basketball to be Olympic champions, like in Ice Hockey? Sure the NBA & NHL are the club pinnacles, but the world cup in football is the pinnacle of international football, the Champions League the club game in my view.

 

[Pavilionaire]

The acid test of whether a sport deserves to be in the Olympics is how badly the players and participants themselves want it to be included.

A second worthy consideration is whether or not you get a full turnout from the world's best player and participants - for me, a sports like tennis or golf gets dropped next if at least 75% of the world's Top 32 fail to show up with the quotient weighted to account for top-seeded absentees.

The football competition is completely devalued by the absence of most of the top players. The same with the golf competition, although I'd give them another chance because of the poor venue in Rio. The tennis players seem to have embraced the competition and they give a sh1t - witness Djokovic's utter devastation at getting knocked out early and the effect Murray's gold in 2012 has had on his career.

 

[Stat Brother]

An Olympic sailing gold IS a big deal to be fair. Your criteria was 'pinnacle' though. The Americas Cup is unquestionably the pinnacle of sailing, just as the TdF is the pinnacle of road cycling.

Boxing - a world title is the pinnacle, without doubt. If you start making distinctions to justify it (amateur v pro in boxing / U23 v senior in football) then its all a bit arbitrary.

In the case of boxing I don't see anything arbitrary between amateur and professional.
U23's football is just a construct of the game by virtue of the global nature of the sport.

Comparing all sailing to the America's Cup is frankly laughable.
Of the 10 available gold medals, inc windsurfing, all are for 1 or 2 sailors.
There isn't even an America's Cup (or Millionaires plaything) class.

 

[ManOfSussex]

The acid test of whether a sport deserves to be in the Olympics is how badly the players and participants themselves want it to be included.

A second worthy consideration is whether or not you get a full turnout from the world's best player and participants - for me, a sports like tennis or golf gets dropped next if at least 75% of the world's Top 32 fail to show up with the quotient weighted to account for top-seeded absentees.

The football competition is completely devalued by the absence of most of the top players. The same with the golf competition, although I'd give them another chance because of the poor venue in Rio. The tennis players seem to have embraced the competition and they give a sh1t - witness Djokovic's utter devastation at getting knocked out early and the effect Murray's gold in 2012 has had on his career.

Tennis works in the Olympics for me. There will always be some players who prioritise other things in an Olympic year, but I think I'm right in thinking you have to have made yourself available for Davis Cup or Fed Cup to be considered for Olympic selection, so there's a positive knock-on effect there.

Be interesting to see what happens if T20 cricket is introduced.

 

[Stat Brother]

Tennis works in the Olympics for me. There will always be some players who prioritise other things in an Olympic year, but I think I'm right in thinking you have to have made yourself available for Davis Cup or Fed Cup to be considered for Olympic selection, so there's a positive knock-on effect there.

Be interesting to what happens if T20 cricket is introduced.

T20 will be buoyed by the success of the rugby, as they are pretty much different sides of the same coin.

 

[ManOfSussex]

T20 will be buoyed by the success of the rugby, as they are pretty much different sides of the same coin.

There was some concern by the ICC over whats happened with Golf - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/36796699

Fair enough, England will compete as Great Britain, what do you do with the WT20 champions West Indies in the Olympics?

 

[Pavilionaire]

One of the reasons Olympic football doesn't work for me is the endemic cheating in the game. The diving, the feigning injury, the shirtpulling and holding at corners, pressurising the officials etc. The inclusion of football taints the Olympic brand.

 

[ManOfSussex]

One of the reasons Olympic football doesn't work for me is the endemic cheating in the game. The diving, the feigning injury, the shirtpulling and holding at corners, pressurising the officials etc. The inclusion of football taints the Olympic brand.

How many footballers have failed a drugs test at an Olympics though?

 

[Seagull58]

An Olympic sailing gold IS a big deal to be fair. Your criteria was 'pinnacle' though. The Americas Cup is unquestionably the pinnacle of sailing, just as the TdF is the pinnacle of road cycling.

Boxing - a world title is the pinnacle, without doubt. If you start making distinctions to justify it (amateur v pro in boxing / U23 v senior in football) then its all a bit arbitrary.

But the Americas Cup is a very specific form of sailing involving very large and expensive boats with several crew members. It also only very loosely involves representing your country since, in most Americas Cup teams there are crew member from a number of different countries. For the "real" sailing world the Olympics is the pinnacle of the sport.

 

[Stat Brother]

For me the reason football (and Golf) doesn't work in the Olympics is my refusal to watch!!

For the second Olympics running and for reasons I'm still unable to fathom, give me 90 minutes of archery over football, all day long.
I genuinely can't explain that.

But scrolling through the available sports, at any one time, football, golf & basketball etc never get a look in over the likes of judo, fencing and wiff-waff even though I haven't got a clue what's going on, esp judo.

 

[Pavilionaire]

How many footballers have failed a drugs test at an Olympics though?

I take that point. The IOC bottled it, they lost sight of what the Olympic spirit is all about. That said, I think that through more rigorous testing the IOC can break the back of the problem, whereas the endemic cheating in football will never be removed.

 

[warmleyseagull]

For me the reason football (and Golf) doesn't work in the Olympics is my refusal to watch!!

For the second Olympics running and for reasons I'm still unable to fathom, give me 90 minutes of archery over football, all day long.
I genuinely can't explain that.

But scrolling through the available sports, at any one time, football, golf & basketball etc never get a look in over the likes of judo, fencing and wiff-waff even though I haven't got a clue what's going on, esp judo.

Football is Mickey but by far the most watched sport.

 

[warmleyseagull]

One of the reasons Olympic football doesn't work for me is the endemic cheating in the game. The diving, the feigning injury, the shirtpulling and holding at corners, pressurising the officials etc. The inclusion of football taints the Olympic brand.

You think all the other sports are free from cheating?

 

[Stat Brother]

"Oar inspiring rowing"

 

[KZNSeagull]

Golf and Tennis etc should still all be amateur only events I reckon. Loads of amateur golfers etc would bite their arm off to go and have a chance to play at the Olympics.

 

[ManOfSussex]

Gold!

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Gold!

Always believe in your so-oul.