Olympics 2021

[Tricycle Rider]

She just announced that the withdrawal was not related to an injury. Her participation in future events is TBD. In all honesty, this has been a long time in the making. As I noted above, she was barely keeping it together all the way back at the trials. You could tell something was not right with her. It will be interesting to see if she competes in the all-around as it may be less pressure than the team event, which has become the most anticipated event in the whole Olympics from a US standpoint.

Biles explained she has to focus on her mental health, which is important any day of the week, but for a gymnast absolute concentration is crucial because getting hurt is so easy. So I don't blame her one bit.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/57982665

 

[Koronin]

Silver in gymnastics. Silver for Ledecky. Silver in Softball. Lackluster start for the futbol team*. The US women juggernaut from Rio is showing a few cracks. Still terrific achievements nonetheless.

*US vs Netherlands in the quarters looks like a must watch. The stats from the Dutch team look like a misprint. 21 goals scored, 8 goals allowed in a group stage is wild. The group with GBR and Canada only had 11 goals in the entire 6 games played.

Actually the entire swim team isn't very good compared to the last 8 Olympic swim teams.

With Biles out of the Olympics the US women's gymnastics teams had no shot at all at gold. As for as the US women's gymnastics team the ONLY person I think is capable of winning a gold medal is anything at all is Jade Cary in the Vault and maybe floor. She has to be perfect to do it.

 

[BlueRoads]

Loved the music choice by Steffen Peters (German-born, but US) in the dressage-event. Quite bold and maybe a bit too dominant, with 80s/techno versions, but very fitting for Suppenkasper and hit the tacts and volumes perfectly.
Doesn't play a role for the points of course.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

So Biles has apparently pulled out of the individual all-around as well, I think this is an interesting article that sheds some light on a gymnast's mental state. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/us/simone-biles-olympics-gymnastics-physical-mental-health/index.html

Speaking of gymnastics... I watched a replay of the women's team competition (well, watched whatever NBC deemed important), I just can't get into it after decades of watching. The tumbling elements are obviously much more difficult nowadays, and I can appreciate that, but the artistic parts of the floor routines especially are just so boring and unoriginal I feel like I've seen them dozens of times before. I did like a couple of Russian gals because they looked elegant (and I liked Russia's leotards), but the rest of the competition I can just forgo till the next Olympics.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Loved the music choice by Steffen Peters (German-born, but US) in the dressage-event. Quite bold and maybe a bit too dominant, with 80s/techno versions, but very fitting for Suppenkasper and hit the tacts and volumes perfectly.
Doesn't play a role for the points of course.

Kudos to you for probably being the only poster here who follows dressage.

Speaking of following... does anyone here watch artistic swimming? Back in my day they called it synchronized swimming. Well, whatever they call it now it still looks goofy.

 

[sir fly]

And a direct medal clash extends the gap between Serbia and Belgium.

I'll look for other duelists now... until Belgians come closer again.

 

[BullsFan22]

How Equestrian is considered a sport is beyond me. Likewise skateboarding and surfing.

 

[sir fly]

I'm all about comparing the countries, @ebandit .
What else are the games for except to build the self-esteem of the nation?!

DDR was such a superpower...

 

[Black Betsy]

Reading Eurosport yesterday I was under the impression that Brits took the gold... (Banging head to Ozzy's Secret Loser)

 

[BlueRoads]

Well, dressage is a sport that, although I never did anything like these riders, I do at least have a more personal connection to, since I used to ride in my youth, like, at least in Germany, many girls from 5-15 do. It sure is a sport that requires some money, but at least here it's not really an "elite" sport, it goes deep into the middle class, and is probably, among girls, one of the most common sports, maybe even the most common one.
Of course the equipment requires money and only a few countries really compete, which downgrades it a bit, but that can be said about a lot of sports, from most winter sports to track cycling. (How many velodromes are there in all of Europe? While Germany at least is full of indoor riding arenas, there is at least one close to every small town.)

Then there is the question of "how much do you really exercise and do you have to push your body to the limit?" I'd say that it's definitely some very decent exercise and you need to be pretty fit, although a "peak physical performance" like in running, swimming, cycling... is not required. At one point it's more about concentration, body feelings, body automatisms and reactions. You could argue that that is not enough, but then you should get rid of many other sports first.

Equestrian surely is very problematic because the horses aren't always treated like they should be. That's my major problem with it. Better controls and actions in that regard are needed.

Skateboarding sure is a sport, why should it not be?? Likewise surfing. Although surfing is not really a viewer's sport when there are no waves... and in skateboarding I would like an age limit, that you need to be at least 15 to take part in WCs or Olympics, similar to figure skating. I fear that young people are pushed too much towards risking more and more for the fame while they may not have the distance to see that sports, winning and glory may not be everything. Instagram already has this effect, the Olympics shouldn't. (Of course young gymnasts already do as well, the risk seems to be greater in regard to other body parts than the head and spine, though.) But at least skateboarding is something that people really do in their free time, a sport that does have a broad base, not one of those nobody apart from competitive athletes ever does.

Synchronized swimming... yes, I watch a bit of that. I used to think it was hilarious, the make-up does have that effect. But then I realized what a hard sport it is and also, somehow, this video made me fall in love with it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhHzY_Au-9c

 

[sir fly]

I don't like that video completely.
It doesn't show all the beauty of athletes.

 

[djpbaltimore]

So Biles has apparently pulled out of the individual all-around as well, I think this is an interesting article that sheds some light on a gymnast's mental state. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/us/simone-biles-olympics-gymnastics-physical-mental-health/index.html

Speaking of gymnastics... I watched a replay of the women's team competition (well, watched whatever NBC deemed important), I just can't get into it after decades of watching. The tumbling elements are obviously much more difficult nowadays, and I can appreciate that, but the artistic parts of the floor routines especially are just so boring and unoriginal I feel like I've seen them dozens of times before. I did like a couple of Russian gals because they looked elegant (and I liked Russia's leotards), but the rest of the competition I can just forgo till the next Olympics.

The primetime block of coverage is really terrible to watch. Since I knew the result, I didn't watch with my full attention, but did they even show any other competitor perform other than the US and ROC teams? The saving grace is the live coverage of swimming, providing some drama. My interest really waxes and wanes depending on if the airing is live or taped.

That was a good article that sheds more light on what the mental block was. I hope she competes on some of the apparatus finals if she recovers.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Reading Eurosport yesterday I was under the impression that Brits took the gold... (Banging head to Ozzy's Secret Loser)

Yes, Melnikova is lovely, but I was especially impressed with Viktoria Listunova and Vladislava Urazova. They are both still quite young, but they already possess the elegance I like to see in gymnastics. I would be very surprised if they didn't have to take ballet lessons in addition to gymnastic training.

On that note, these were the leotards I was talking about the Russians wore during the team competition, the Italians were lovely too. But I can't find a picture of them.



Yay for GB winning the bronze, btw., the race for 3rd was actually more exciting than the battle for gold.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

The primetime block of coverage is really terrible to watch. Since I knew the result, I didn't watch with my full attention, but did they even show any other competitor perform other than the US and ROC teams? The saving grace is the live coverage of swimming, providing some drama. My interest really waxes and wanes depending on if the airing is live or taped.

That was a good article that sheds more light on what the mental block was. I hope she competes on some of the apparatus finals if she recovers.

Where to even start with NBC's Olympic coverage... I watched the streaming replay of the women's team gymnastics (not NBC's woeful primetime TV coverage), but they still only showed the top 8 teams. And then they whittled it down to just Russia and USA as the competition went on, I really would have liked to have seen some other countries even though they aren't as stellar.

NBC's Olympic coverage is, and for as long as I can remember always has been, pitiful.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Well, dressage is a sport that, although I never did anything like these riders, I do at least have a more personal connection to, since I used to ride in my youth, like, at least in Germany, many girls from 5-15 do. It sure is a sport that requires some money, but at least here it's not really an "elite" sport, it goes deep into the middle class, and is probably, among girls, one of the most common sports, maybe even the most common one.
Of course the equipment requires money and only a few countries really compete, which downgrades it a bit, but that can be said about a lot of sports, from most winter sports to track cycling. (How many velodromes are there in all of Europe? While Germany at least is full of indoor riding arenas, there is at least one close to every small town.)

Then there is the question of "how much do you really exercise and do you have to push your body to the limit?" I'd say that it's definitely some very decent exercise and you need to be pretty fit, although a "peak physical performance" like in running, swimming, cycling... is not required. At one point it's more about concentration, body feelings, body automatisms and reactions. You could argue that that is not enough, but then you should get rid of many other sports first.

Equestrian surely is very problematic because the horses aren't always treated like they should be. That's my major problem with it. Better controls and actions in that regard are needed.

Skateboarding sure is a sport, why should it not be?? Likewise surfing. Although surfing is not really a viewer's sport when there are no waves... and in skateboarding I would like an age limit, that you need to be at least 15 to take part in WCs or Olympics, similar to figure skating. I fear that young people are pushed too much towards risking more and more for the fame while they may not have the distance to see that sports, winning and glory may not be everything. Instagram already has this effect, the Olympics shouldn't. (Of course young gymnasts already do as well, the risk seems to be greater in regard to other body parts than the head and spine, though.) But at least skateboarding is something that people really do in their free time, a sport that does have a broad base, not one of those nobody apart from competitive athletes ever does.

Synchronized swimming... yes, I watch a bit of that. I used to think it was hilarious, the make-up does have that effect. But then I realized what a hard sport it is and also, somehow, this video made me fall in love with it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhHzY_Au-9c

I'm trying to stay away from thinking like a boomer, I have begrudgingly accepted that stuff that used to be in the X-Games is now part of the Olympics. Snowboarding, skateboarding, whatever... as long as the kids are enjoying it and it's keeping them busy and fit good for them. I just have the choice of not following their activities.

 

[BlueRoads]

I'm trying to stay away from thinking like a boomer, I have begrudgingly accepted that stuff that used to be in the X-Games is now part of the Olympics. Snowboarding, skateboarding, whatever... as long as the kids are enjoying it and it's keeping them busy and fit good for them. I just have the choice of not following their activities.

I know many here love motor sports, but honestly I think skateboarding or snowboarding are more of a sport than motor sports, although those have a longer history as a professional sport. I once got to know a girl, that's already quite some time ago now, she was 16 and did snowboarding on a high level, and she took it really serious, I remember her running for at least an hour pretty much each day in the summer, even when it was so hot you could barely go outside. I was pretty impressed with how serious she was about it, taking up a job where she knew she would still have enough time to do her sport.
For now I'm not really into watching the board-sports, though.

Well, in the end it's just good there are many sports we can choose to do or watch.

 

[gunara]

I love the fact that Fiji is still the only country to win gold in Olympic men's rugby sevens.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I love the fact that Fiji is still the only country to win gold in Olympic men's rugby sevens.

Woooo - yay for Fiji!

Think Bermuda also won something the other day - I think it's always nice when countries that aren't considered Olympic medal powerhouses win something. Doesn't even matter in which sport.

 

[Koronin]

Finally getting to see the Equestrian event (individual Dressage) on NBCSports. Do I really follow it, no. I LOVE horses and LOVE to ride horses. Next week is show jumping and that I do follow a little. I do have a small personal connection to show jumping as a friend of mine when I was college did local show jumping events with her horse and I went with her to support her.

NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been lacking for years now, but this year is worse than normal and their streaming coverage is horrendous.

Trying to find volleyball matches (indoor) is exceptionally hard. That is an event I played competitively and really enjoy watching. If we can afford to go to the LA Olympics that is an event I'd be looking for tickets to get into for at least a day to watch.

 

[Koronin]

Just read that yes Biles has at least pulled out of the All-Around individual finals tomorrow. Jade Cary will be the gymnast who will get the opportunity to compete in that event. Jade finished 9th, but couldn't compete due to the rules only allowing for 2 gymnastics per country in individual events.

 

[BlueRoads]

Thankfully the coverage here is quite extensive, you get a full stream of pretty much every event. Sometimes with bad commentary or just original sound, but there's hardly anything you can't watch if you want to - which makes it really hard for me, because there are always at least six events at the same time.

Today, when I was watching the time trial on Eurosport player though (because the cycling commentator in the public broadcasting is so awful) I was stunned because they interrupted their coverage constantly, for instance for a medal ceremony, okay, but then the moderators in the studio, before switching back, managed to get three major mistakes in two sentences, showing they had no clue what they were talking about (calling it the road race, calling Arndt Niklas Arndt and something else), then they interrupted it for some Rugby game (I honestly don't know who follows Rugby in Germany, I've never met anybody here who plays it and it's a complete niche sport here, it wasn't even with German participation), then for a match of Zverev I think... and then they seemed to stay with tennis, so I switched back to the public stream...

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Trying to find volleyball matches (indoor) is exceptionally hard. That is an event I played competitively and really enjoy watching. If we can afford to go to the LA Olympics that is an event I'd be looking for tickets to get into for at least a day to watch.

Do you get NBC's "streaming" Olympic service? That is where you will find indoor volleyball at (live or replay)... I'm currently making my old dad suffer through it, he'd rather watch some kayaking.

Btw., Koronin, what do you make of beach volleyball, specifically the women's? I mean, do they really have to wear what basically looks like a G-string before they can prove that they are actually athletic?

 

[Koronin]

Do you get NBC's "streaming" Olympic service? That is where you will find indoor volleyball at (live or replay)... I'm currently making my old dad suffer through it, he'd rather watch some kayaking.

Btw., Koronin, what do you make of beach volleyball, specifically the women's? I mean, do they really have to wear what basically looks like a G-string before they can prove that they are actually athletic?

It has horrible sound and the one match had Australian announcers (which was interesting).

Women's beach volleyball players are actually not required to wear bikinis at all. They have options for bikinis, one piece bathing suits, or what the guys wear. Their choice. Same article asked the US gals and all said they wear the bikinis they choice because for them it's what they are most comfortable playing in.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Wow, Paltrinieri got Mono after the EC, just made it into the final and won Silver in the 800m. Finke just crushed all life on earth on the final 50m, but that bodes well for the 1500m and 10k Swimming events, Greg could still end up with 3 medals in the end.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Finally getting to see the Equestrian event (individual Dressage) on NBCSports. Do I really follow it, no. I LOVE horses and LOVE to ride horses. Next week is show jumping and that I do follow a little. I do have a small personal connection to show jumping as a friend of mine when I was college did local show jumping events with her horse and I went with her to support her.

NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been lacking for years now, but this year is worse than normal and their streaming coverage is horrendous.

Trying to find volleyball matches (indoor) is exceptionally hard. That is an event I played competitively and really enjoy watching. If we can afford to go to the LA Olympics that is an event I'd be looking for tickets to get into for at least a day to watch.

I have a soft spot for volleyball. Half of our schools volleyball team that won the regionals and made it to the Italian NC was in my class, playing with them in PE class was very humbling, to say the least.