Paris Olympics 2024 (non-cycling) thread

[Tricycle Rider]

Meanwhile drone spying scandal in the football.

Am I the only one who think this is actually *** cool

It's pretty marginal gains at the very least, and also kinda creepy.

 

[Penninepeddler]

Dude what??????
Canada won that series, its still talked about today. Its like an iconic part of Canadian culture

'HENDERSON HAS SCORED FOR CANADA!!!!'

Also, my last hockey post here as an avid hockey follower...

in USSR vs Canada best-on-best from the 1972 to 1988? I.E. Super series and Canada Cup?

Canada: 10-10-3, 95 GF, 103 GA
USSR: 10-10-3, 103 GF, 95 GA

They were incredibly closely matched over that time period... tbh the edge was slightly to the USSR. I think if they had played each other 100 times USSR win 55 or so...

BUT yeh, the Olympics pre-1988 in hockey do have an asterisk next to them... as the 2nd best team in the world could not send their C team... and neither could the 4th best team in the world!

(the US also went 2-1-1 vs Czechoslovakia in the Canada cup games they played... they were probably slightly worse BUT very close ran...

and Sweden, with their full team?

1-3-1 vs USSR (15 GF, 19 GA)
1-3-0 vs Canada (10 GF, 15 GA
3-1-0 vs Czechs (11 GF, 10 GA)
2-3-0 vs USA (18 GF, 19 GA)

in the Olympics, with half their team gutted?

Sweden lost 9-2 and 10-1 to the USSR in the two games they played in that era.

And still won 4-2 and lost 2-0 to the Czechs...

There were FIVE teams in the world between the 1970s and 1988 that could pretty much beat each other on their day with a full team. The Soviets were the best overall... but the reason they won 6/8 Olympics between 1956 and 1984 was not because they were so, so dominant. It was because 2 of the best 5 teams in the world could only send C-D teams... and then from the mid-1970s Sweden could only send their B+ team... and then from 1980 Czechoslovakia could only send their B+ team! While the USSR had their best team every tournament.

I guess they still win ~3-4 of those 8 Golds in a best on best... but it would not have been as easy.

 

[Unchained]

US has a population of @335 million.. Not sure why TV and radio think that British and Australian accents are a thing on American TV!! Why does NBC have a Brit doing the commentary for Olympics is puzzling.. I pray to God that in Australia, England, Ireland , New Zealand they don't have Americans doing the announcing for their sporting events!!! Or local news!!

 

[scribers]

Airball fest in this Serbia vs dream team game

 

[Tricycle Rider]

US has a population of @335 million.. Not sure why TV and radio think that British and Australian accents are a thing on American TV!! Why does NBC have a Brit doing the commentary for Olympics is puzzling.. I pray to God that in Australia, England, Ireland , New Zealand they don't have Americans doing the announcing for their sporting events!!! Or local news!!

I think Carl Lewis used to (or still does?) commentate for the BBC or some other Brit channel.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I'm catching some rowing right now, the word repechage cracks me up to no end. Think they use it in fencing also, so each time a commentator says repechage mirth will be had!

 

[jono]

It's pretty marginal gains at the very least, and also kinda creepy.

Widespread in football, by the sounds of it. Stupid to do it by drone at the Olympics, when flying drones for any reason is subject to criminal punishment.

If a bigger federation Canada were the ones caught you can expect the punishment would have been different.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I think Carl Lewis used to (or still does?) commentate for the BBC or some other Brit channel.

Michael Johnson is the one you're thinking of, he's been on the BBC coverage of athletics for years.

Meanwhile in France, they cut away from a swimming final while the competitors are literally in hold before the start, to cut to an interviewer talking to some fans in the fan zone about if they are happy Léon Marchand just won, and then come back to the studio to ask Antoine Dupont if he's happy Léon Marchand just won and they seem completely oblivious that any swimming is still going on tonight, after all no French athletes qualified for that final.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I'm a big fan of Zambia's football WE football team. Great at attacking, but absolutely horrible at defending. I thought it was over when they went 5-2 ahead against Australia with only 35 minutes left, but the Aussies scored 4 goals before the final whistle.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Michael Johnson is the one you're thinking of, he's been on the BBC coverage of athletics for years.

Meanwhile in France, they cut away from a swimming final while the competitors are literally in hold before the start, to cut to an interviewer talking to some fans in the fan zone about if they are happy Léon Marchand just won, and then come back to the studio to ask Antoine Dupont if he's happy Léon Marchand just won and they seem completely oblivious that any swimming is still going on tonight, after all no French athletes qualified for that final.

Ah, Michael Johnson it is then, thanks for the correction. (Carl Lewis is apparently the track coach for the U of Houston now, I didn't know that till I googled him.)

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Status update: France-2 have remembered there are events taking place in the La Défense Arena - but only as they are showing Marchand's medal ceremony. Still no sign of any news let alone any coverage of what happened in the medal paying race they cut away from on the starting blocks.

Edit: we are now being treated to the medal ceremony for the race we didn't see so at least we find out who won, but I'd rather see the race than the ceremony.

Edit 2: spoke too soon, they cut away to the French women's handball team before the captions came up, but at least we can see who won the medals I guess.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Status update: France-2 have remembered there are events taking place in the La Défense Arena - but only as they are showing Marchand's medal ceremony.

He failed to beat his WR, but he got his gold medal awarded by Martin Fourcade, and that is of course a higher honour.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

He failed to beat his WR, but he got his gold medal awarded by Martin Fourcade, and that is of course a higher honour.

Considering how much I disliked him when he was active, I did mark out quite a bit at seeing him there, I admit.

 

[KZD]

I've got to say Tahiti looks like a stunning place.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Harvey and Weinstein swimming next to each other here.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Sharing medals like a primary school sports day

At least the Dutch race directors had the good sense to rig the thing in one riders favour (Van Aert), rather than besmirch the sport with a joint winner.

 

[jmdirt]

I've enjoyed everything that I've watched so far, but I'm not accomplishing much else!
Walk the dog, ride my bike, watch the Olympics!

 

[jmdirt]

Anyone know was posts to this thread, and to any of the threads in the Non-cycling Discussions subforum, don’t show up in New Posts? Yeah, I know it’s not cycling but neither is the moderator thread yet those will show up in the New Posts list (as will posts in the Clinic).

shrug?

 

[jmdirt]

I'm catching some rowing right now, the word repechage cracks me up to no end. Think they use it in fencing also, so each time a commentator says repechage mirth will be had!

It could be a drinking game!

 

[tobydawq]

Djokovic - Nadal at the 2024 Olympics.

I almost can't believe it's happening.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Tennis fans being hyped for Rafael Nadal getting embarrassed at Roland Garros is a bit funny.

 

[tobydawq]

The comeback is on!!!

 

[SHAD0W93]

Beat down by Novak though had some hope when Nadal started coming back. Nadal still has a chance for gold with Alcaraz.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Caught some of the women's gymnastics qualifiers, apparently Simone Biles had somehow injured her calf prior to the competition, I didn't really hear what had happened. But, she had to land all her routines on a bum leg... she had the most difficult routines with the most point values anyway, so all she needed to do was land halfway okay, she didn't have to stick it perfectly. And she delivered. (I was kinda worried because this gave me Kerri Strug vibes from the '96 Olympics.)

Some of the Italian and Brazilian ladies look very promising, hopefully they'll give the American gals a run for their money. At least for individual event medals I mean.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Considering it's supposed to be an extreme sport, the surfing is kind of relaxing to watch, not a lot really happens for vast stretches of time and you can just watch some scenery go by and revel in the idyllic backdrop of Tahiti. Olympic skateboarding is still wretched, by contrast, doesn't feel like it's got enough depth of competition to feel like an elite sport, while putting it into a uniform format robs the sport of much of the freedom that gives it its appeal.