2016 Olympics

[HoonDing]

USA 100 - 97 France

 

Is France that good?

[Malcador]

 

 

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?

Based on some information from McLaren last week apparently.

[Raithe]

And of course, yet more Olympic Athletes get held at gunpoint and robbed on their way back from the beach...

 

I think we can safely say Rio is doing its best to leave a lingering impression on everybody this go around.

[kgambit]

 

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.

 

 

   Any athlete has to demonstrate sufficient skill to be offered a scholarship (full or partial) at a US university.  That means foreign athletes have already demonstrated a proficiency level or the potential to raise their skill level to a standard comparable to comparable US athletes. That can't be done without some substantial infrastructure at least in some disciplines although it is more likely to come thru club competition.   More than 16,000 foreign athletes dotted NCAA rosters in 2006-7, nearly two-thirds of them in Division I and the number has steadily increased. 

 

   Among the top 25 women tennis  teams in Division I, approximately 40 percent of scholarships go to international players. The top 25 schools in Division II award roughly 70 percent of their scholarships to female players from abroad.   Track and field and swimming are comparable. Others sports are lower.

 

 

@Malcador - Okay.  I wasn't aware that McLaren had offered any information beyond his original report but I could be wrong.    Decision should be coming soon.

Edited August 14, 2016 by kgambit

[HoonDing]

Mustafina, such elegance and grace.

[Keyrock]

With TI6 over I can watch Olympics more freely.  I'm checking out some track cycling today.  It's swell.

[HoonDing]

Diving is interesting to watch; the Chinese girls just too good.

[HoonDing]

Apparently to beat Biles the North Korean vault girl tried a very risky new move that backfired. It cost her the podium while she could've easily gotten silver if she had done her normal routine.

The Supreme Leader is only content with gold medal. Hopefully she won't be punished too severely upon returning. Just defect to China, they haven't had a good vaulter since Cheng Fei.

Edited August 15, 2016 by HoonDing

[Gromnir]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/08/14/russias-klishina-at-hearing-seeking-to-compete-at-olympics/88717100/

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Leferd]

HOLY #$@%!

 

Wade Van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson's 400m record! ...BLIND FROM LANE 8!!!

 

MJ: 43.18

WVN: 43.03

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gNQHIf9EC4

 

...from Lane 8....

 

Lane 8.

 

 

[213374U]

Mustafina, such elegance and grace.

 

Yeah, she's great, but she didn't seem as confident as I'd have expected in the singles final, especially on the balance beam. Such a different style compared to that of Biles' raw power (not that she's lacking skill...), and yet still perfectly competitive. You don't see that in the men's contests.

[Gfted1]

How the greatest athletes stack up against average animals in various fitness trials.

[HoonDing]

Biles nearly fell off the beam.

[HoonDing]

American gymnasts just lack refined grace. It's 99% power acrobatics. Wevers gold.

[Leferd]

American gymnasts just lack refined grace. It's 99% power acrobatics. Wevers gold.

Team USA gymnastics isn't out there to impress with their artistry. They are only concerned about winning.medals. So they game the points system.

[Malcador]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/08/14/russias-klishina-at-hearing-seeking-to-compete-at-olympics/88717100/

 

HA! Good Fun!

Good, that whole thing had a nice aura of BS. Will have to check but I am sure some Canadians will comment that this is another sign of how corrupt the IOC/IAAF is.

[Hiro Protagonist]

Best Korea wins another gold medal.

 

[HoonDing]

How did Raisman lose against Biles?? Her exercise was just better.

[Gromnir]

we like the olympics, but am getting annoyed by the sensitivity level.  got numerous athletes open weeping 'cause o' social media comments. so much for mental toughness o' elite athletes, eh? and how many stories need we endure that ain't 'bout the sport, but rather 'bout the commentators, social media pundits, or random guy on the street who were insensitive.  didn't give a female athlete enough credit?  made too much o' athlete being female, thus diminishing her accomplishments? can't win. is ok to highlight the first african-american gold medalist swimmer or is doing so racist? a commentator is awed by biles power and mentions that she is getting more air than the men on her bar dismounts... and the commentator then needs apologize ad nauseum.  why exact?  nbc exec mentions that women viewers o' the olympics outnumber men and that they are more intrigued by the human stories surrounding the olympics than they is 'bout the actual competitions.  *shock*  etc.

 

olympics would be better for us if there were absolute no social media related stories, and the threshold for culture and gender insensitivity need be adjusted a fair amount.  its freaking sports for chrissakes.

 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Meshugger]

we like the olympics, but am getting annoyed by the sensitivity level.  got numerous athletes open weeping 'cause o' social media comments. so much for mental toughness o' elite athletes, eh? and how many stories need we endure that ain't 'bout the sport, but rather 'bout the commentators, social media pundits, or random guy on the street who were insensitive.  didn't give a female athlete enough credit?  made too much o' athlete being female, thus diminishing her accomplishments? can't win. is ok to highlight the first african-american gold medalist swimmer or is doing so racist? a commentator is awed by biles power and mentions that she is getting more air than the men on her bar dismounts... and the commentator then needs apologize ad nauseum.  why exact?  nbc exec mentions that women viewers o' the olympics outnumber men and that they are more intrigued by the human stories surrounding the olympics than they is 'bout the actual competitions.  *shock*  etc.

 

olympics would be better for us if there were absolute no social media related stories, and the threshold for culture and gender insensitivity need be adjusted a fair amount.  its freaking sports for chrissakes.

 

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

Sometimes it's good to be willfully ignorant. I haven't heard on aiota about that before you mentioned it.

[HoonDing]

The West can't deal with anything anymore. It's why ISIS are winning.

[Zoraptor]

Pretty much zero social media/ SJWish coverage here either, then again we don't get US commentators at all so far as I can tell, mostly Brit/ Canadian/ Aussie if not NZer. Closest we've come to such coverage is stories about athletes and officials being robbed or about favellas, which are at least 'proper' news stories. I've seen a few such stories on the BBC though at least they've been mostly limited to their social media focussed programming where they do fit.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Zoraptor

[Amentep]

When ABC lost the Olympics ages ago, NBC was considered dumb for picking it up.  Conventional wisdom was that people didn't want to watch a bunch of no-name athletes compete in sports no one had heard of (except every 4 years).  So NBC, over the years, has increasingly made a point to cover who the people are - to tell a story - to make people interested in the competition.

 

To the point now that instead of showing the full competition they usually only show you the bits with people they've told you their stories.

 

While I consider 'social media' to be generally one of the worst forms of communication enabling created by mankind, and I think the news coverage of what happens on social media to be misguided (at best), I really see the stories of the "online bullies" as more of NBC's attempt to sell the people, not the sports.  Because as proven with ABC all those years ago, people in the US just don't really care about the sport.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Amentep

[Malcador]

Germany - Canada game was painful to watch. Tancredi needs to sign up with Tony Pulis ASAP

[HoonDing]

Almost as much sailing events as cycling and swimming.