2016 Olympics

[Leferd]

 

While i haven't cared at all about basketball since the US "Dream Team" in Barcelona in '92, i have to admit that the Brazil - Argentina game was highly entertaining.

 

Had Yugoslavia not fallen apart it would have been truly an interesting game to watch.

 

 

Agreed. A united Yugoslavia in '92 could have been one of the greatest non-American national teams of all time - Drazen Petrovic, Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja. That's one hell of a core.

 

Hell, a combined Yuoglavian team today would be a heavy medal favorite - Milos Teodosic, Nikola Josic, Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric, Mario Hezonja, Goran Dragic, Jusuf Nurkic, Mirza Teletovic, and even Nikola Mirotic may have elected to stick around rather than play for the Spain.

[Bartimaeus]

But the US athletes are only subject to their own Anti-Doping agency and can not be independently tested, or so I heard. So I would image that helps more then any funding or reward.

 

Yeah, so unlike countries like poor Russia that can't get away with doping, the U.S...

 

...wait.

 

(...with no real reference point to compare against, it's pretty impossible to say where the USADA is more or less effective than other anti-doping agencies, anyways.)

[Guard Dog]

I wonder where Lebron James keeps his Bronze Medal?

[redneckdevil]

edif

Edited August 14, 2016 by redneckdevil

[Sarex]

Yeah, so unlike countries like poor Russia that can't get away with doping, the U.S...

...wait.

 

(...with no real reference point to compare against, it's pretty impossible to say where the USADA is more or less effective than other anti-doping agencies, anyways.)

 

Ok, ok, I was pocking for some fun. But I fully believe that all the major athletes are doping, be they state sponsored or just have good doctors to hide their results. Including our guys too...

 

As for the US I do find it odd that they would forbid any independent testing.

[Gromnir]

 

Yeah, so unlike countries like poor Russia that can't get away with doping, the U.S...

...wait.

 

(...with no real reference point to compare against, it's pretty impossible to say where the USADA is more or less effective than other anti-doping agencies, anyways.)

 

Ok, ok, I was pocking for some fun. But I fully believe that all the major athletes are doping, be they state sponsored or just have good doctors to hide their results. Including our guys too...

 

As for the US I do find it odd that they would forbid any independent testing.

 

kinda misleading. the testing that occurs at international competitions is handled by wada approved (and local) labs.  is not as if americans at rio is getting some kinda special consideration.  

 

"When Team USA arrives in Rio, members can also be subjected to additional testing at any time by the International Olympic Committee or the International Association of Athletics Federations."

 

so no, us athletes is not subject only to their own anti-doping policy and they routinely is tested by independent sources.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited August 14, 2016 by Gromnir

[Sarex]

kinda misleading. the testing that occurs at international competitions is handled by wada approved (and local) labs.  is not as if americans at rio is getting some kinda special consideration.  

 

"When Team USA arrives in Rio, members can also be subjected to additional testing at any time by the International Olympic Committee or the International Association of Athletics Federations."

 

so, no us athletes is not subject only to their own anti-doping policy and they routinely is tested by independent sources.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

Hmm, guess I'm wrong. Although I do not know what authority Jill Geer has on this matter and it's kind of iffy to take a quote from a mail, but ok. I wonder if there is a record of how many independent (non-US) tests have been done to the US athletes over their Olympic history.

[Gromnir]

 

kinda misleading. the testing that occurs at international competitions is handled by wada approved (and local) labs.  is not as if americans at rio is getting some kinda special consideration.  

 

"When Team USA arrives in Rio, members can also be subjected to additional testing at any time by the International Olympic Committee or the International Association of Athletics Federations."

 

so, no us athletes is not subject only to their own anti-doping policy and they routinely is tested by independent sources.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

Hmm, guess I'm wrong. Although I do not know what authority Jill Geer has on this matter and it's kind of iffy to take a quote from a mail, but ok. I wonder if there is a record of how many independent (non-US) tests have been done to the US athletes over their Olympic history.

 

*sigh*

 

http://www.antidopings.lv/uploads/2016/ioc_adr_final_rio_2016_games_of_the_xxxi_olympiad_ioc_anti-doping_rules.pdf

 

read section 5.2

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps the usada, as 'posed to wada, makes test results public.  wanna know how many times an individual American athlete were tested is far easier to discover than those from most other nations. 

Edited August 14, 2016 by Gromnir

[HoonDing]

US likely take something cutting edge that can't be detected anyway.

Look at Lance Armstrong.

[Fighter]

what a shocking misinterpretation.  nigeria and ethiopia gots relative large populations, so one would expect them to actual represent better than they has done.  and as for poor...

HA!

 

"Less than $15K annually is what about 50% of T&F (Track and Field) athletes who rank in the top 10 in the U.S. This is from all sources: sponsorships, grants, prize money, etc.). Anyone below top 10 ranking in the USA likely has little to no income or funding from their sporting activity."

 

am actual always surprised by how well the US represents at the olympics given just how little the US supports its athletes.  it is the sacrifice o' parents, spouses and children that makes it possible for most olympians to forgo a real job and train for olympics.  sure, phelps and a handful o' others got lucrative (VERY lucrative) advert and sponsorship contracts, but that just ain't the case for 90% o' our athletes.  US motto should be: tinstaafl. US ain't a socialist nation that grooms and supports its athletes.  families and communities is responsible for recognizing and supporting our athletes.  local church bake sales has done more to send American athletes to the Olympics than has our government.  

 

weep for those poor nigerians and ethiopians if you wish, but the typical american olympian won't be able to squeeze out many tears.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

It's not about total population or how much the elite can earn. It begins with how many average people have access to sport infrastructure, trainers, good diets, school/college sports programs, local competition, etc.

 

Sure some American athletes can be poor by American standards, but it's still incomparable to those African countries.

[Gromnir]

US likely take something cutting edge that can't be detected anyway.

 

Look at Lance Armstrong.

why should we look at lance armstrong?  he is the rarity o' US athletes we mentioned earlier: wealthy.  armstrong had access to all kinds o' cutting edge drugs, but the typical US olympian is having to make considerable monetary sacrifices just to continue training.  am not kidding 'bout the church bake sales. if you think the average US olympian has access to better doping options than those athletes from 'round the world who get state support, you is kidding yourself.  is actual depressing to Gromnir how little the US supports its olympic athletes. 

 

also, armstrong only competed in olympics once, back in 2000.  might not be best example.  that being said, doping in cycling has for decades rumored to be rampant.  testing /mongst cyclist is considered kinda a joke.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Hurlshort]

Not to mention Armstrong has completely fallen from grace, lost all his sponsors, and is basically jeered wherever he goes.  Not exactly a great example of a guy who beat the system, although he did still walk away with a lot of money.  

[HoonDing]

He was only caught because someone part of the system blew a whistle.

[Hurlshort]

Yep, that is usually how it happens. Nobody gets away with cheating forever.

 

 

I am loving the marathon. These girls are flat out sprinting for 2 and a half hours.

[kgambit]

 

what a shocking misinterpretation.  nigeria and ethiopia gots relative large populations, so one would expect them to actual represent better than they has done.  and as for poor...

HA!

 

"Less than $15K annually is what about 50% of T&F (Track and Field) athletes who rank in the top 10 in the U.S. This is from all sources: sponsorships, grants, prize money, etc.). Anyone below top 10 ranking in the USA likely has little to no income or funding from their sporting activity."

 

am actual always surprised by how well the US represents at the olympics given just how little the US supports its athletes.  it is the sacrifice o' parents, spouses and children that makes it possible for most olympians to forgo a real job and train for olympics.  sure, phelps and a handful o' others got lucrative (VERY lucrative) advert and sponsorship contracts, but that just ain't the case for 90% o' our athletes.  US motto should be: tinstaafl. US ain't a socialist nation that grooms and supports its athletes.  families and communities is responsible for recognizing and supporting our athletes.  local church bake sales has done more to send American athletes to the Olympics than has our government.  

 

weep for those poor nigerians and ethiopians if you wish, but the typical american olympian won't be able to squeeze out many tears.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

It's not about total population or how much the elite can earn. It begins with how many average people have access to sport infrastructure, trainers, good diets, school/college sports programs, local competition, etc.

 

Sure some American athletes can be poor by American standards, but it's still incomparable to those African countries.

 

 

Please.   The number of foreign athletes and eventual Olympic medalists that attend US colleges and universities on scholarships is far larger than you think.  

 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303830204577448620436755502        (Unfortunate title for this article)

 

http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2016-07-28/2016-rio-olympics-ncaa-olympic-student-athletes-school

 

There are 1,018 incoming, current and former NCAA student-athletes set to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, representing 107 countries and 223 NCAA member institutions across all three divisions.

 

Edited August 14, 2016 by kgambit

[kgambit]

Matt Kuchar at 18 - now one shot back of a 3-way tie for first.  Kuchar is 8 under par for the day.  Rose and Stenson tied at 14 under on 15. 

 

Kuchar misses to finish at 13 under (Bronze likely).  Rose birdies 15 to go to 15 under and Stenson answers with a dart on 16 to set up a birdie putt to tie it AGAIN.  This is great stuff.

Edited August 14, 2016 by kgambit

[Gromnir]

Not to mention Armstrong has completely fallen from grace, lost all his sponsors, and is basically jeered wherever he goes.  Not exactly a great example of a guy who beat the system, although he did still walk away with a lot of money.  

yeah, but is tough to use examples who got away with doping 'cause, y'know, they got away with it.

 

*shrug*

 

am thinking most folks outside the US assume that US sport is like their european or asian or wherever sports.  we don't have a analogous sports infrastructure.  you wanna be a gymnast, swimmer or wrestler?  is not as if your talent is discovered and groomed by the State.  we never once had a swim class at any public school we attended. parents and community gotta make sacrifices... and how likely is that gonna be when the payoff for becoming anything other than a sooper-elite athlete is negligible?  heck, if you got a lick o' athletic talent in this country and you ain't already rich, then chances are you is gonna consider professional sports opportunities rather than olympic.  you got the talent to be the one o' the top 20 sabre fencers in the US, or you got an extreme outside shot at making a pro baseball or football team?  if your low-income family is balancing whether or not to get you a membership to a local fencing salon and pay for all the expensive equipment necessary to develop your talent, or they spend that fantasy money on expensive summer football and speed/weight training camps, the choice is gonna be obvious to most.

 

we got major land grant universities with wonderful facilities, but foreign nationals got same access to those facilities too.  we got some o' the best PRIVATE sports training facilities and coaches too, but those requires money to access.  foreign and state supported athletes got same kinda access to those private facilities as does Americans.  the two russian olympians who has most been in the news o' late, the breaststroker and the lone russian track & field olympian, both train in the US.  

 

tanstaafl

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Malcador]

Banning that Russian lady on an allegation was odd.

[Gromnir]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/ryan-lochte-u-s-swimming-medalist-robbed-at-olympics-1471193123

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-oly-rio-2016-was-ryan-lochte-robbed-at-gunpoint-or-1471189256-htmlstory.html

[Hurlshort]

Kenya wins it!

 

Makes me want to put on my running shoes, but it is hot out. Maybe later.

Edited August 14, 2016 by Hurlshot

[kgambit]

Banning that Russian lady on an allegation was odd.

 

I thought she was originally allowed to compete based on having been tested outside of Russia since 2014 but was subsequently banned based on WADA's report by Richard McLaren and had filed an emergency appeal seeking reinstatement.  Or is there something else I'm missing.   I thought her appeal was still pending with a decision expected tonight? 

Edited August 14, 2016 by kgambit

[HoonDing]

Pity the North Korean is likely missing out on a medal on the vault.

[Fighter]

It's not about total population or how much the elite can earn. It begins with how many average people have access to sport infrastructure, trainers, good diets, school/college sports programs, local competition, etc.

 

Sure some American athletes can be poor by American standards, but it's still incomparable to those African countries.

 

Please.   The number of foreign athletes and eventual Olympic medalists that attend US colleges and universities on scholarships is far larger than you think.  

 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303830204577448620436755502        (Unfortunate title for this article)

 

http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2016-07-28/2016-rio-olympics-ncaa-olympic-student-athletes-school

 

There are 1,018 incoming, current and former NCAA student-athletes set to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, representing 107 countries and 223 NCAA member institutions across all three divisions.

 

 

 

I'm not sure where you're going with this. In order for a country to be accomplished in sports you need infrastructure across the country across multiple tiers. The fact that so many foreign participants got to where they are in America and not at home only proves the point.

 

"The number of foreign athletes and eventual Olympic medalists that attend US colleges and universities on scholarships is far larger than you think."

 

That sounds like a drop in a bucket in terms of what I'm talking about. The amount of people that can get to that level and get a US scholarship is still limited by the lack of training opportunities they have back home starting from the average kid in some remote town.

 

It's not about how many people a country has but how many people in that country have access to facilities and a quality of life that's at least not big detriment to their growth. I though all this should be obvious.

Edited August 14, 2016 by Fighter

[Volourn]

Boo hoo. Cry me a river. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[Fighter]

Boo hoo. Cry me a river. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

 

Is that directed at me?

 

You're the one who seems to be in perpetual state of some kind of pissie fit. I'm not sure why I would be crying for Nigeria.