The Games of the XXXI Olympiad

[wakeytom]

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.

To me most water sports (plenty of jokes there) are toff and inaccessible to most, same with dressage you won't hear many inner city accents from the GB team in either. Sailing to me is summed up by how posh the commentators sound and as such it's not something I generally watch. That said football and basketball are a joke.

As someone said before I find tennis fits as the players seem to want it so much but over any sports I normally watch give me something like judo during the Olympics

 

[highflyer]

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.

I can't stand golf and all it stands for. I'd rather cut off my dangly bits with a bread knife than be forced to watch the game for any length of time.
It shouldn't be anywhere near the Olympics, as was amply demonstrated by the arrogant atttude of the top golfers refusing to go - giving flimsy excuses about health, but essentially because they saw it as a minor tournament, with no financial reward, that was below them and not worth their time.

That said, having listened to a couple of interviews I have grown to very much like Justin Rose. From the start he was obviously excited about the whole thing for all the right reasons. His enthusiasm to be part of something much bigger than one sport, his excitement about taking part in the opening ceremony, about meeting other members of the Olympic squad and getting to watch other events was evident. And he described the golf event itself as having 'small crowds but a big atmosphere' which i thought was a lovely, positive, way to spin it. He clearly understands that being part of an Olympics team is a fantastic opportunity that any normal person would give their right arm for and is appropriately grateful. He comes across as a very decent guy.

If I accidentally end up paying attention to golf events and results in future I'll be cheering for Mr Rose.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

To me most water sports (plenty of jokes there) are toff and inaccessible to most, same with dressage you won't hear many inner city accents from the GB team in either. Sailing to me is summed up by how posh the commentators sound and as such it's not something I generally watch. That said football and basketball are a joke.

As someone said before I find tennis fits as the players seem to want it so much but over any sports I normally watch give me something like judo during the Olympics

My granddaughter is 15 and qualified to sail with the Nautical Training Corps. She isn't rich or privileged. She wants to go into the Navy when she's finished her education so she may well get the chance to go further.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Gold!

Two in twenty minutes.

[tweet]764108263512301568[/tweet]

 

[ManOfSussex]

A sensation in the women's 10,000M final!

 

[Seagull58]

Unbelievable 10,000. Even better that the drug fuelled chinese runner is expunged from the record books.

 

[ManOfSussex]

Unbelievable 10,000. Even better that the drug fuelled chinese runner is expunged from the record books.

Exactly. I never thought I'd see that Chinese record broken. That was a sensational run! She smashed the world record.

 

[ManOfSussex]

Top 10 times in history:

Pos. Time Athlete Date Venue
1. 29:17.45 Almaz Ayana (ETH) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
2. 29:31.78 Wang Junxia (CHN) 8 September 1993 Beijing
3. 29:53.80 Meselech Melkamu (ETH) 14 June 2009 Utrecht
4. 29:54.66 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) 15 August 2008 Beijing
5. 29:56.34 Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR) 15 August 2008 Beijing
6. 29.59.20 Meseret Defar (ETH) 11 July 2009 Birmingham
7. 30:01.09 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 6 August 2002 Munich
8. 30:04.18 Berhane Adere (ETH) 23 August 2003 Saint-Denis
9. 30:07.00 Almaz Ayana (ETH) 29 June 2016 Hengelo [4]
10. 30:07.15 Werknesh Kidane (ETH) 23 August 2003 Saint-Denis

That was an incredible run.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Top 10 times in history:

Pos. Time Athlete Date Venue
1. 29:17.45 Almaz Ayana (ETH) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
2. 29:31.78 Wang Junxia (CHN) 8 September 1993 Beijing
3. 29:53.80 Meselech Melkamu (ETH) 14 June 2009 Utrecht
4. 29:54.66 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) 15 August 2008 Beijing
5. 29:56.34 Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR) 15 August 2008 Beijing
6. 29.59.20 Meseret Defar (ETH) 11 July 2009 Birmingham
7. 30:01.09 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 6 August 2002 Munich
8. 30:04.18 Berhane Adere (ETH) 23 August 2003 Saint-Denis
9. 30:07.00 Almaz Ayana (ETH) 29 June 2016 Hengelo [4]
10. 30:07.15 Werknesh Kidane (ETH) 23 August 2003 Saint-Denis

That was an incredible run.

Pretty sure the second (and third) from today's final should be on that list??

 

[ManOfSussex]

Pretty sure the second (and third) from today's final should be on that list??

It's just been updated on Wikipedia now:

1 29:17.45 Almaz Ayana (ETH) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
2 29:31.78 Wang Junxia (CHN) 8 September 1993 Beijing
3 29:32.53 Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
4 29:42.56 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
5 29:53.80 Meselech Melkamu (ETH) 14 June 2009 Utrecht
6 29:56.34 Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR) 15 August 2008 Beijing
7 29.59.20 Meseret Defar (ETH) 11 July 2009 Birmingham
8 30:01.09 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 6 August 2002 Munich
9 30:04.18 Berhane Adere (ETH) 23 August 2003 Saint-Denis
10 30:07.15 Werknesh Kidane (ETH) 23 August 2003 Saint-Denis

 

[Stat Brother]

Unbelievable 10,000. Even better that the drug fuelled chinese runner is expunged from the record books.

Sub Saharan middle and long distance running is hardly the bastion of clean and ethical athletics.

 

[ManOfSussex]

18 personal bests set in that 10,000m final too.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

It's just been updated on Wikipedia now:

1 29:17.45 Almaz Ayana (ETH) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
2 29:31.78 Wang Junxia (CHN) 8 September 1993 Beijing
3 29:32.53 Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
4 29:42.56 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
5 29:53.80 Meselech Melkamu (ETH) 14 June 2009 Utrecht
6 29:56.34 Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR) 15 August 2008 Beijing
7 29.59.20 Meseret Defar (ETH) 11 July 2009 Birmingham
8 30:01.09 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 6 August 2002 Munich
9 30:04.18 Berhane Adere (ETH) 23 August 2003 Saint-Denis
10 30:07.15 Werknesh Kidane (ETH) 23 August 2003 Saint-Denis

That looks a bit of a mess - whoever is updating is getting confused - see Dibaba's 2008 time has disappeared replaced by her 2016 time despite the fact the former should still be in there, whilst both of Ayana's times are still there. Also the Kenyan finishing fourth clocked 29:53:51 which would place her fifth on the list.

 

[Seagull58]

Sub Saharan middle and long distance running is hardly the bastion of clean and ethical athletics.

Yes, that is a concern and was in my mind but pushed to the back of it.

 

[ManOfSussex]

That looks a bit of a mess - whoever is updating is getting confused - see Dibaba's 2008 time has disappeared replaced by her 2016 time despite the fact the former should still be in there, whilst both of Ayana's times are still there. Also the Kenyan finishing fourth clocked 29:53:51 which would place her fifth on the list.

Yeah, it's not definitive is it. I think numbers 1 & 2 are the main story in town at present:

1 29:17.45 Almaz Ayana (ETH) 12 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
2 29:31.78 Wang Junxia (CHN) 8 September 1993 Beijing

There's breaking records and then theres that.

 

[vegster]

Silver medal for us in the tramapoline, as Homer would say,

 

[hart's shirt]

Silver medal for us in the tramapoline, as Homer would say,

It's got its ups and downs.

Silver with the dancing horses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_bJf3foa5I

 

[hart's shirt]

Skinner beat the OR...then Kenny smashed it.

It's all about GB in the velodrome.

 

[hart's shirt]

WR for Wiggo and the Men's Pursuit. Gold medal match v Australia.

 

[pb21]

Another WR in the TP!

And Wiggins