Olympics 2021

[sir fly]

End of Karate in the Olympics. But they are keeping baseball, surfing, BMX, skateboarding, equestrian and sailing…OK

I assume it's gonna be introduced for good at the LA Olympics.
Other martial arts have gone through a similar path.

 

[BlueRoads]

One of the key elements of equestrianism is the special bond between the horse and its rider, which can last for a long time. But if you take that away from the competition and add riders, who aren't the best in the world, then it will potentially be disastrous, like we saw with Schleu today.

It speaks volumes though that only because Schleu was crying loudly and apparently all the time and losing the gold medal she thought she had some attention has been brought to this.
I mean, it wasn't just Schleu, at least every third ride is a complete disaster, with horses in fear totally disobeying and jumping into the barriers, because the riders are simply not able to get the timing and helps right so that the horse knows when to jump. That riders who are only a little bit better than me (if at all...) are allowed to use spurs (which almost all of them do in excess) is crazy on its own. And even if they don't get brutal on purpose, they often fall into the back of the animals after the jumps like sacks of potatoes.
Another aspect that upsets me is that all blame gets placed on the structures now, although they are definitely awful. But Schleu was already totally in tears when she had entered the parcours. Usually I'd be very sympathetic with someone under pressure crying, but if you are not able to stay a bit composed on a horse it's no wonder a horse that is already in fear doesn't calm down, and if you emotionally aren't able to handle such a situation, which you can expect if you chose this sport, you shouldn't persue this sport any longer. And then she followed the advise of her coach and just tried to be more brutal.
I have no sympathy for the people who are responsible for the structures of this sport, but also for most of the riders, including Schleu.

Hopefully they will change it to cycling. But since nothing improved after the last Olympics, I have no hope for that, the only hope is that this gets scratched from the Olympics for good, because it got already questioned for other reasons in the past.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

It speaks volumes though that only because Schleu was crying loudly and apparently all the time and losing the gold medal she thought she had some attention has been brought to this.
I mean, it wasn't just Schleu, at least every third ride is a complete disaster, with horses in fear totally disobeying and jumping into the barriers, because the riders are simply not able to get the timing and helps right so that the horse knows when to jump. That riders who are only a little bit better than me (if at all...) are allowed to use spurs (which almost all of them do in excess) is crazy on its own. And even if they don't get brutal on purpose, they often fall into the back of the animals after the jumps like sacks of potatoes.
Another aspect that upsets me is that all blame gets placed on the structures now, although they are definitely awful. But Schleu was already totally in tears when she had entered the parcours. Usually I'd be very sympathetic with someone under pressure crying, but if you are not able to stay a bit composed on a horse it's no wonder a horse that is already in fear doesn't calm down, and if you emotionally aren't able to handle such a situation, which you can expect if you chose this sport, you shouldn't persue this sport any longer. And then she followed the advise of her coach and just tried to be more brutal.
I have no sympathy for the people who are responsible for the structures of this sport, but also for most of the riders, including Schleu.

Hopefully they will change it to cycling. But since nothing improved after the last Olympics, I have no hope for that, the only hope is that this gets scratched from the Olympics for good, because it got already questioned for other reasons in the past.

Maybe hobby horses would be safer?

 

[roundabout]

I think baseball is out for 2024. But wait for it

wait for it

wait for it

wait for it

breakdancing is in.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I think baseball is out for 2024. But wait for it

wait for it

wait for it

wait for it

breakdancing is in.

Does that mean we can call the Breakdancing competition at the LA Olympics Electric Boogaloo?

 

[ciranda]

No hackysack

I want Crazy Legs and Ken Swift to be there to represent the Bronx and be even older first time participants than Rune Glifberg.

 

[RedheadDane]

Hopefully they will change it to cycling. But since nothing improved after the last Olympics, I have no hope for that, the only hope is that this gets scratched from the Olympics for good, because it got already questioned for other reasons in the past.

I'd like to see them go over the jumps on bikes!

 

[Pricey_sky]

End of Karate in the Olympics. But they are keeping baseball, surfing, BMX, skateboarding, equestrian and sailing…OK

I like several of those events you mentioned, especially BMX, equestrian and sailing, so I’m not particularly bothered by it.

It does seem a bit weird to drop it given the increase in new sports at the games.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Sadly nitric acid isn't called Salpeter acid in English, otherwise there would have been a joke in there somewhere.

 

[djpbaltimore]

NBC going to commercial with 1 mile to go just as the Kenyan makes her decisive move really sums up how terrible their coverage is.

 

[Koronin]

NBC going to commercial with 1 mile to go just as the Kenyan makes her decisive move really sums up how terrible their coverage is.

I swear their coverage gets worse every year/time they do it.

 

[Pricey_sky]

I swear their coverage gets worse every year/time they do it.

Several of the swimmers weren’t very happy that the finals were on early morning in Tokyo so they could be shown at prime time over in the US as well.

 

[jmdirt]

Speaking of judges...
Isn't boxing judge the easiest job on earth? Does it take any skill at all? At least other sports' judge involved technicalities and appear to do things average people need some learnings to do, these guys just judge rounds, confirm their bias, and disagree among each other. Or I miss something.



Yes, from Isinbayeva to local club level tall gymnast that I know, pole vault seems to be common suggestion.

Well, being a good boxing judge is not the easiest job on earth.

 

[jmdirt]

USA vs. France was pretty entertaining.

Congrats Allyson Felix!

 

[Pricey_sky]

Well, being a good boxing judge is not the easiest job on earth.

Agreed, it’s fairly easy when a fight is completely one-sided, but it’s a very difficult job when it’s a close fight and you have to pick through very small details.

 

[tobydawq]

Wow, San Marino have three medals in these games!! They had never won one before.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Wow, San Marino have three medals in these games!! They had never won one before.

Fantastic achievement. The same amount of medals as Argentina, South Africa and Greece.

 

[BullsFan22]

Well, being a good boxing judge is not the easiest job on earth.

What about when you give points to the guy that runs away from his opponent?

 

[yaco]

And Hong Kong has 5 medals with a possibility of a sixth - Yet, they'd previously won 8 medals in their history.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Congrats Allyson Felix!

Happy for Allyson because this is her Olympic swan song, it was a pleasure following her long and illustrious career. (Saw her run here at Hayward Field some years ago, along with a whole bunch of other star athletes that show up for the Prefontaine Classic each year.)

I'm really looking forward to the men's 1500m, and I'm going to take a very risky guess and say Kenya will win the marathon. Speaking of which, they specifically moved the marathon events to Sapporo because it was supposed to be cooler up there, but that isn't the case this weekend. Another few days and it will be cooler there, but by then the Olympics will obviously be over.

On a side note - I just found out they scrapped the men's 50km walk... not that I really follow racewalking, but that's a bummer for the walkers. Something about there not being an equivalent distance/event for the women.

 

[southwards]

Fantastic achievement. The same amount of medals as Argentina, South Africa and Greece.

Terrible Olympics by Argentina. They went some decades without a Gold, picked up that two golds in basketball (with Ginobili, Scola and co.) and football (with Tévez) in Athens and were pretty regular ever since, with three golds in Rio. Colombia also doing pretty badly.

 

[southwards]

Hopefully they will change it to cycling. But since nothing improved after the last Olympics, I have no hope for that, the only hope is that this gets scratched from the Olympics for good, because it got already questioned for other reasons in the past.

The idea of the sport was to simulate a soldier behind enemy lines in a war. But this was conceived in the 19th century, and war evolved since then. We should keep the military spirit and change hippics with drone guiding or something in this vein.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Well Argentina just got further up the medal table in the volleyball. The women's 10000m is now a brutal war of attrition, Gidey has no option but to just hope against hope she can drop Hassan, and I think she's going to end up with bronze.

Edit: and she does. Gezahegne an interesting one, historically a middle distance runner who has been off the radar for most of a decade after exploding onto the scene for Ethiopia in 2009-10. She's Asian champion at 5000m, and has absolutely destroyed her PBs at 10000 this year.

 

[Red Rick]

Dutch commentator saying Hassan is now a legend just like Dafne Schippers.

Uuhhhhhh

 

[djpbaltimore]

Gold, gold, bronze in the 3 distance events is one of the greatest Olympic achievements I've ever seen. I wonder if she regrets pace setting in the 1500m.