Rio Olympics 2016

[BigMac]

August 5 to 21

Thread to discuss the Olympics in general and all sports other than cycling. Just over one week to go.

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[BigMac]

Australia refuses accommodation at olympic village. Delegation chief cites unacceptable conditions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/sports/olympics/rio-olympic-village-australia.html

 

[Sciocco]

Summer Olympics have nothing on the Winter Olympics. I think the only things I'll possibly be watching are the cycling road races, tennis, and women's football. Go go good races, good matches, and team USA!

 

[sienna]

I'm hanging for the sync swimming, archery and dressage.

 

[gooner]

Obviously cycling but other than that, athletics, a bit of football(men and women), might take in the triathlon this time, swimming, and boxing to see how some of the Irish lads do. I fancy a couple of medals there.

 

[Netserk]

Being from Denmark, I will obviously watch some of the handball matches (men, of course). France will win again, though. I hope to see Croatia play well.

 

[Robert5091]

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympic...ed-by-police-at-gunpoint-20160725-gqcwy9.html
A New Zealand sportsman was forced into a car by armed police and made to withdraw the equivalent of $800 in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend, just 13 days before the Olympics are set to start in the city.

The police, who warned him not to report the incident and made efforts to avoid being seen, detained Jason Lee after pulling him off a highway into the city on Sunday.

UPDATE -July 29 2016 http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympic...ra-mcquillan-flee-brazil-20160728-gqg92x.html
Kidnapped New Zealand-born athlete Jason Lee and his partner are now safe in Toronto after a harrowing week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In their first interview since leaving Brazil, Lee and his partner, journalist Laura McQuillan, revealed what sent them packing so fast - a second visit to their home.
"The impetus for us leaving the country was when the military police visited our house again just before midnight," Lee, a Jiu-Jitsu champion, said.

 

[jsem94]

How they got the Olympics to begin with is a complete debacle. Will probably only watch cycling and a few other things..

 

[BigMac]

Think that appart from cycling I'll watch rowing, all of the gymnastics, synchronised swimming and volleyball. Oh and football too.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympic...ed-by-police-at-gunpoint-20160725-gqcwy9.html
A New Zealand sportsman was forced into a car by armed police and made to withdraw the equivalent of $800 in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend, just 13 days before the Olympics are set to start in the city.

The police, who warned him not to report the incident and made efforts to avoid being seen, detained Jason Lee after pulling him off a highway into the city on Sunday.

No words.

 

[Red Rick]

Still somewhat suprised Qatar or some emirate isn't hosting the Olympics in 2020. Or this year for that matter. But luckily the Dubai is on the list for 2024, and I have no doubt they'll be the hightest bidder

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

Still somewhat suprised Qatar or some emirate isn't hosting the Olympics in 2020. Or this year for that matter. But luckily the Dubai is on the list for 2024, and I have no doubt they'll be the hightest bidder

Nah, the IOC have always loved at least partly classic locations: Rio is the furthest out (from heartlands) they've ever gone I believe and Rome and Paris are also on the list. It's also the centenary of Paris' one. I think (hope) we can say ciaone to dubai for a while.

Also August in Dubai? No way. 40+ degrees every day, and you can't have air conditioning for a marathon or everything at night like the world cup in 2022 might be. The IOC won't want to recreate the furore of when FIFA gave it to Bahrain either, since it was the beginning of their downfall. The IOC won't want to risk a similar collapse.

 

[BullsFan22]

It seems as if these days the Olympics, any Olympics, cannot go without some or a lot of controversy. That's a shame, but it's the truth and the truth hurts. Be it doping (global problem), bribes (probably a global problem, if you have the money and the right references and resources), zika viruses (hopefully not a global problem and hopefully a problem that will be solved for Brazilians in the not too distance future-and I mean not just during the Olympics, but I mean the health concerns after the Olympics for the people there will become less of a concern!), etc. This is the precedent that's been set by the powers that be (whoever they are). Anyway, if I have the time, I'll try to watch as many sports and events as I possibly can. That's what I've always tried to do. Track and Field, Swimming, Gymnastics, and the team sports are what I usually watch the most. So, handball, basketball, volleyball, water polo, football...

Hopefully there are no controversies or at least no new controversies, all the athletes, organizers, spectators and tourists stay safe and we have a good Olympics!

 

[Robert5091]

Swedes are complaining too about the OS Village conditions - no hot water and the toilets don't work. Dutch and Italians have complained too. Only 12 of the 31 new buildings have passed final quality tests.
http://www.dn.se/sport/os/stora-sakerhetsproblem-i-os-byn/

 

[movingtarget]

Olympic Future

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/27/biggest-threat-future-olympic-games-rio-2016-ioc-thomas-bach-hosts

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Great article, Movingtarget. I have the exact same sentiment.

Olympic resistance has become mainstream. What we’re seeing is that the more information citizens have about how the IOC works, the less likely they are to want to engage in that kind of business contract.

And anyone who knows anything about economics, knows how risky such a thing is. There's enormous speculation involved in an area that's extremely expensive and uncertain.

Political and civic leaders have to look at such "investments" compare to any numerous other options, be that spending money on infrastructure and education, targeted zone tax breaks for emerging businesses or housing development, or just cutting taxes period, or floating bonds to build or expand current sports facilities that have potential long term ancillary revenue streams, such as baseball stadiums or multi-use arenas, and what future events can be potentially hosted there or in the region. When you think like a mayor of a city for example, nearly every one of those options seems like it's a better long-term use of the city's resources than hosting an Olympic games.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Great article, Movingtarget. I have the exact same sentiment.

Olympic resistance has become mainstream. What we’re seeing is that the more information citizens have about how the IOC works, the less likely they are to want to engage in that kind of business contract.

And anyone who knows anything about economics, knows how risky such a thing is. There's enormous speculation involved in an area that's extremely expensive and uncertain.

Political and civic leaders have to look at such "investments" compare to any numerous other options, be that spending money on infrastructure and education, targeted zone tax breaks for emerging businesses or housing development, or just cutting taxes period, or floating bonds to build or expand current sports facilities that have potential long term ancillary revenue streams, such as baseball stadiums or multi-use arenas, and what future events can be potentially hosted there or in the region. When you think like a mayor of a city for example, nearly every one of those options seems like it's a better long-term use of the city's resources than hosting an Olympic games.

Yes no problem. Plenty of food for thought in that article.

 

[jmdirt]

Good article movingtarget! I read something after the Salt Lake winter Olympics: SL's payoff plan was 15-20 years, but its looking like it will be 25-30 actually (some of the numbers are hard to compile-ie: did these tourist come to SL/UT because they saw the Oly's?). The citizen support for the Oly's was between 40-60% before, up to 80% during, but 25-30% after. 365 days after the Oly's, 90% of citizens said that, in hind sight, it was a bad investment.

EDIT: several of the facilities in/near SL are used for USA training as well as public recreation now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnTxXopwV_0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwaJwaTyOB4

I enjoy watching the Olympics, and its the only time I watch most of those sports. I would hate to see them stop because no one is willing to take on the debt, but things have to change or that could happen. Host cities should already have the facilities to host the games instead of building them just for the games (the pictures of unused facilities rotting is shameful in many ways). Most major cities can do this. The athlete's village might be the one exception, so maybe the village could be designed to be used as affordable housing after the games (?).

EDIT: the single location idea isn't bad, and could actually be a multiple set locations. For example, SL has the infrastructure for hosting winter games, and LA is set up to host summer games in the USA, while I'm sure that there are cities/countries on all continents that could host without needing much prep (especially if they know that they will host every eight to 12 years).

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Good article movingtarget! I read something after the Salt Lake winter Olympics: SL's payoff plan was 15-20 years, but its looking like it will be 25-30 actually (some of the numbers are hard to compile-ie: did these tourist come to SL/UT because they saw the Oly's?). The citizen support for the Oly's was between 40-60% before, up to 80% during, but 25-30% after. 365 days after the Oly's, 90% of citizens said that, in hind sight, it was a bad investment.

I enjoy watching the Olympics, and its the only time I watch most of those sports. I would hate to see them stop because no one is willing to take on the debt, but things have to change or that could happen. Host cities should already have the facilities to host the games instead of building them just for the games (the pictures of unused facilities rotting is shameful in many ways). Most major cities can do this. The athlete's village might be the one exception, so maybe the village could be designed to be used as affordable housing after the games (?).

I think in Sydney they converted the athletes village to not so affordable housing ! Sydney is still one of the most expensive places in the world for real estate. From what I remember they came up with a new suburb name and away they went. I wonder what happened to the sci fi looking stadium they used in South Africa for the World Cup final. I remember hearing that that was going to become a white elephant as well after the World Cup finished. Maybe other sports now use it, I'm not sure.

 

[jmdirt]

Re: Re:

Good article movingtarget! I read something after the Salt Lake winter Olympics: SL's payoff plan was 15-20 years, but its looking like it will be 25-30 actually (some of the numbers are hard to compile-ie: did these tourist come to SL/UT because they saw the Oly's?). The citizen support for the Oly's was between 40-60% before, up to 80% during, but 25-30% after. 365 days after the Oly's, 90% of citizens said that, in hind sight, it was a bad investment.

I enjoy watching the Olympics, and its the only time I watch most of those sports. I would hate to see them stop because no one is willing to take on the debt, but things have to change or that could happen. Host cities should already have the facilities to host the games instead of building them just for the games (the pictures of unused facilities rotting is shameful in many ways). Most major cities can do this. The athlete's village might be the one exception, so maybe the village could be designed to be used as affordable housing after the games (?).

I think in Sydney they converted the athletes village to not so affordable housing ! Sydney is still one of the most expensive places in the world for real estate. From what I remember they came up with a new suburb name and away they went. I wonder what happened to the sci fi looking stadium they used in South Africa for the World Cup final. I remember hearing that that was going to become a white elephant as well after the World Cup finished. Maybe other sports now use it, I'm not sure.

That's OK too as long as the tax payers get a return on their investment (I realize that 'tax payer' means different things, in different parts of the world). My thought was that many/most USA cities need more affordable housing, that will likely get built anyway so if, for example, LA builds the athlete's village with that in mind it could save the taxpayers a lot of money while also having a very useful end product.

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/28/olympic-flame-extinguished-rio-de-janeiro-protesters
The Olympic torch relay was disrupted by striking teachers after it entered Rio de Janeiro. Video footage of the demonstration suggests the flame was extinguished while the runner carrying the torch had to be bussed to safety.

The incident forced a temporary halt and prompted some runners to quit the relay. Protesters stoned cars and police responded with tear gas and pepper spray. To avoid further problems, a stretch of the relay was missed out.

The demonstration was staged by striking teachers, who are angry at not being paid for two months as a result of the near bankruptcy of the Rio state government.
(So a near bankrupt state government can somehow afford to put on the Olympics? )

 

[Robert5091]

Aussies predict end of the Olympic games
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fit...end-of-the-olympic-games-20160728-gqgaee.html
Hands up, now, who has confidence in the integrity of both the IOC and the Russian athletes?

OK, let me count, that's just about none of you. And now hands up who has confidence in an IOC president, who, just last year, swore the IOC would have "zero tolerance" for drug cheats? As I thought, a human sea of folded arms. For after all the evidence presented of all the systemic, state-sanctioned, doping pursued by Russia, who can have any confidence that any Russian gold medallist is clean?

The repercussions will go on for years, as the stories will inevitably emerge of outrageous cheating, just as they did with East Germany. As to whether Rio itself can cope with the influx of athlete and visitors, we will see, but certainly no Olympics has ever had a more shambolic lead-up and the reports from AOC Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller this week on the disgraceful state of the Olympic Village were sobering to say the least

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Aussies predict end of the Olympic games
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fit...end-of-the-olympic-games-20160728-gqgaee.html
Hands up, now, who has confidence in the integrity of both the IOC and the Russian athletes?

OK, let me count, that's just about none of you. And now hands up who has confidence in an IOC president, who, just last year, swore the IOC would have "zero tolerance" for drug cheats? As I thought, a human sea of folded arms. For after all the evidence presented of all the systemic, state-sanctioned, doping pursued by Russia, who can have any confidence that any Russian gold medallist is clean?

The repercussions will go on for years, as the stories will inevitably emerge of outrageous cheating, just as they did with East Germany. As to whether Rio itself can cope with the influx of athlete and visitors, we will see, but certainly no Olympics has ever had a more shambolic lead-up and the reports from AOC Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller this week on the disgraceful state of the Olympic Village were sobering to say the least

It's already looking like a farce and it has not officially started yet. Not to mention the robberies and assaults that have already happened to news crews and competitors. It seems security is struggling as well and that's before the majority of the spectators have turned up !

 

[sienna]

Re: Re:

Aussies predict end of the Olympic games
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fit...end-of-the-olympic-games-20160728-gqgaee.html
Hands up, now, who has confidence in the integrity of both the IOC and the Russian athletes?

OK, let me count, that's just about none of you. And now hands up who has confidence in an IOC president, who, just last year, swore the IOC would have "zero tolerance" for drug cheats? As I thought, a human sea of folded arms. For after all the evidence presented of all the systemic, state-sanctioned, doping pursued by Russia, who can have any confidence that any Russian gold medallist is clean?

The repercussions will go on for years, as the stories will inevitably emerge of outrageous cheating, just as they did with East Germany. As to whether Rio itself can cope with the influx of athlete and visitors, we will see, but certainly no Olympics has ever had a more shambolic lead-up and the reports from AOC Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller this week on the disgraceful state of the Olympic Village were sobering to say the least

It's already looking like a farce and it has not officially started yet. Not to mention the robberies and assaults that have already happened to news crews and competitors. It seems security is struggling as well and that's before the majority of the spectators have turned up !

FIFA is suddenly looking a lot better.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Re:

Obviously cycling but other than that, athletics, a bit of football(men and women), might take in the triathlon this time, swimming, and boxing to see how some of the Irish lads do. I fancy a couple of medals there.

I'll watch the athletics intermittently, and take the chance to look at a bit of the sports I don't normally see at all, but only for as long as curiosity demands it, so not to the final stages in all likelihood. I'll watch the Road Race, and a fair bit of the track. But much of my interest will be in the Modern Pentathlon, as my nephew, a very promising 1500m runner (3:54 at 15 years of age) has gone over as training partner for Ireland's entrant in the event.

 

[The Hitch]

My only hope is that Gatlin can "save the olympics"