Winter Olympics 2010, Vancouver

[zapata]

What do you think of Bøkko in the 10.000 meters? Can he even come close to Kramer, or beat de Jong? I don't follow speed skating that closely outside of the olympics, pondering should I prioritize giant slalom or skating.

 

[Moondance]

Sven Kramer= EPIC FAIL

 

[zapata]

Sven Kramer= EPIC FAIL

DQ? What did he do? I'm watching giant slalom..

 

[Anonymous]

Gotta say, I am going to miss watching Nicole Joraanstad...especially the overhead shot of her sweeping...

 

[zapata]

Ah, the little known Babes on Ice.

 

[Moondance]

DQ? What did he do? I'm watching giant slalom..

Yes. Failed to switch lanes properly, his coach made some stupid gesture towards the center of the rink, and Kramer sort of responded by jumping into the inner lane when he needed to go to the outer. He would've comfortably won gold.

 

[zapata]

Yes. Failed to switch lanes properly, his coach made some stupid gesture towards the center of the rink, and Kramer sort of responded by jumping into the inner lane when he needed to go to the outer. He would've comfortably won gold.

Ach, that's too bad. Sounds like a pretty stupid DQ? I'll have to see that, guess it will be on the highlights shows repeatedly the next 24 hours. Too bad for Kramer, always sad to see the best man lose out from something like that,

 

[ak-zaaf]

Sven Kramer= EPIC FAIL

You have to admit that was pretty funny.

And already legendary.

 

[workingclasshero]

You have to admit that was pretty funny.

And already legendary.

sven's not gonna be a happy camper now is he

i hear he's a very single minded person who demands the very best from those around him

any interviews on dutch telly yet?

 

[python]

Yes. Failed to switch lanes properly, his coach made some stupid gesture towards the center of the rink, and Kramer sort of responded by jumping into the inner lane when he needed to go to the outer. He would've comfortably won gold.

may be. i sure was upset when sven confused lanes. but the truth is he ran the last 6 or 7 laps on the inside lane. im not sure the 4-6 seconds advantage he had on the korean would be 4-6 seconds if he ran on the outside as he should have.

damn, i never saw a fuck up like this.

 

[ak-zaaf]

sven's not gonna be a happy camper now is he

i hear he's a very single minded person who demands the very best from those around him

any interviews on dutch telly yet?

He was pretty professional about it, but he obviously stated his coach send him the wrong way. Not the end of this story, that's for sure.

 

[Moondance]

may be. i sure was upset when sven confused lanes. but the truth is he ran the last 6 or 7 laps on the inside lane. im not sure the 4-6 seconds advantage he had on the korean would be 4-6 seconds if he ran on the outside as he should have.

damn, i never saw a fuck up like this.

No, he began switching lanes properly again after his f@ck up. It probably gained him 1 second or so. But he wasn't tired in the slightest as he crossed the finish, if he really had to dig in and give his all he could've gotten more.

I've speed skated my whole life, including in rinks. This 'error in his favor' wouldn't have given gold, time-wise, if he didn't have the legs in the first place.

That's not to say Lee isn't worthy. He set an Olympic record for crying out loud, in his third ever 10km. He beat the defending Olympic champ, Bob de Jong, who had been incredible all season. This dude is an absolutely phenomenal skater, and he totally deserves this. I'm just hoping he decides to stick to long-track now, with his gold, instead of heading back to short-tracking.

 

[eric_vv]

may be. i sure was upset when sven confused lanes. but the truth is he ran the last 6 or 7 laps on the inside lane. im not sure the 4-6 seconds advantage he had on the korean would be 4-6 seconds if he ran on the outside as he should have.

damn, i never saw a fuck up like this.

He ran maybe 1 extra lap in the inside lane which would translate in about 1 second in the end. Besides he obviously let up in the final laps, not giving it his all because the margin was large enough. According to the interview afther the race he wasn't the race he wasn't even tired en felt this might have been his best race ever.

He was furious at Kemkers for directing him to the inside lane while he was on his way to the outside at the time.

 

[Moondance]

Anyway, Janka takes gold in the GS. Good for him, he's got serious talent this kid. Shame he has less personality than a rock, but whatever.

 

[Christian]

Certainly going to watch the relay tonight but Neuner won't be in it from what I understand, last I heard the individual events cost too much energy and she wasn't feeling up to it.

Well from what they said on Eurosport tonight it was more a nice gesture towards Martina Beck, who would not have been able to compete in the team, had Neuner competed. Since she already has 3 medals, she thought she should give the other team-members a chance to win one too, instead of going for a fourth. I think it was a really mature and admirable gesture, even though in Germany they did not appreciate it from what I understand.

Something was wrong with the German team tonight though - I mean they did well, but they were just so much slower than France and Russia. Don't know if it was the material or the form. France even dud 2 penalty laps and they finished 2nd! The only one who could go France and Russia's pace was Simone Hauswald, the bronze-medalist from Sunday.
With Neuner, they might have scored the silver medal, but I think gold would have still been out of reach.

@ Oncearunner8: Unfortunately, Russia won again ... (they were, however, by far the best, so I guess technically they'd deserve it, if it weren't for the fact that they're russian)

 

[Moondance]

He ran maybe 1 extra lap in the inside lane which would translate in about 1 second in the end. Besides he obviously let up in the final laps, not giving it his all because the margin was large enough. According to the interview afther the race he wasn't the race he wasn't even tired en felt this might have been his best race ever.

He was furious at Kemkers for directing him to the inside lane while he was on his way to the outside at the time.

DOUBLE POST. Insta-ban

 

[python]

DOUBLE POST. Insta-ban

refreshing to see that the dutch fans take this ‘national tragedy’ with some humor and grace.

 

[zapata]

He was pretty professional about it, but he obviously stated his coach send him the wrong way. Not the end of this story, that's for sure.

on norwegian tv, he just said that when he does a mistake, it it's normally his own fault, but "not this time". Continued to say that his run would probably have been the best olympic 10 km ever, and asked how that makes him feel, "It sucks".

 

[cartman]

Shame about Kramer, didn't really believe it when I first saw it on the replays. It actually got me feeling rather down, cause as always he was the best skater. Oh well, only 4 years 'till next time. Had hoped Bøkko would continue the form of the 1500m, but he didn't.

Also funny how USA are so good at nordic combined when they don't know how to ski or how to ski jump Always funny with more nations competing for medals though.

 

[Moondance]

refreshing to see that the dutch fans take this ‘national tragedy’ with some humor and grace.

What can you do? Stupid mistake from the coach. Kramer's got Olympic gold already. Maybe it would be more 'serious' if we hadn't had a good games in general so far. It's not as if all of a sudden he isn't one of the greatest speed skaters in history. Let him skate even better in the future. Let him go that extra Olympics in '18 to make up for it.

Throwing a hissy fit or self-flaggelation from the Dutch fans won't get him the gold he should've won. Plus, Dutch sports fans are always pessimistic in their outlook, so when something bad happens.... Meh. But when something great happens, like Tuitert winning a few days back, we go absolutely insane. I personally don't mind this mindset at all.

Also i think it's fantastic for the Korean guy. I seriously hope a bunch of these super-skating freaks from Seoul now decide to head into our sport. Will definitely be good for the sport.

 

[eric_vv]

What can you do? Stupid mistake from the coach. Kramer's got Olympic gold already. Maybe it would be more 'serious' if we hadn't had a good games in general so far. It's not as if all of a sudden he isn't one of the greatest speed skaters in history. Let him skate even better in the future. Let him go that extra Olympics in '18 to make up for it.

I'll just quote you to avoid another double post

Really looking forward to the pursuit. He still has a score to settle from last time and this will certainly fuel his fire.

I remember a race in Thialf where he let the team for 6 or 7 of the laps to prove a point. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again. He showed in the past that you don't want an angry Kramer skating against you.

 

[Moondance]

I'll just quote you to avoid another double post

Really looking forward to the pursuit. He still has a score to settle from last time and this will certainly fuel his fire.

I remember a race in Thialf where he let the team for 6 or 7 of the laps to prove a point. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again.

Hmmmm. He can prove his point best by winning, not silly deeds of needless heroics.

Although I'm actually kind of liking this. The fact that he doesn't have a perfect record at the games twice now, and that basically the two only serious f@ck-ups that he's made in his career have happened at the Olympics adds something to him as a character.

BTW, what if Lee and Kramer are matched together for the 10km in Thialf at the World Allround champs next month? I predict something like this from Kramer:

Might turn into the fastest 10k ever. Wouldn't put it past him. That's where he can prove his point IMO.

 

[theyoungest]

I'll just quote you to avoid another double post

Really looking forward to the pursuit. He still has a score to settle from last time and this will certainly fuel his fire.

I remember a race in Thialf where he let the team for 6 or 7 of the laps to prove a point. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again. He showed in the past that you don't want an angry Kramer skating against you.

Bummer he'll have to push Blokhuijsen to the finish line.

 

[eric_vv]

Hmmmm. He can prove his point best by winning, not silly deeds of needless heroics.

Might turn into the fastest 10k ever. Wouldn't put it past him. That's where he can prove his point IMO.

Fact is that that's probably the fastest way to do the race, let Tuitert do the opening lapt and Blokhuijsen a lap (or 2) in the middle and Sven can do the rest. He probably can't do it in all 3 races, but he doesn't need to, the rest of the team is trong enough.

I didn't get the impression he was going full throttle here in the end (he said he suspected something was wrong from the reaction of the crowd). He might have to do it at the world allrounds because his sprint and 1500 aren't good enough this year. If Bokko manages to stay upright he could be going into the 10000 with a healthy advantage on Kramer. I don't know how good Lee is on the shorter distances, but I would love to see the 10000 where Kramer has to gain time on him.

 

[flyor64]

Shame about Kramer, didn't really believe it when I first saw it on the replays. It actually got me feeling rather down, cause as always he was the best skater. Oh well, only 4 years 'till next time. Had hoped Bøkko would continue the form of the 1500m, but he didn't.

Also funny how USA are so good at nordic combined when they don't know how to ski or how to ski jump Always funny with more nations competing for medals though.

I actually think it makes a bit of sense. Nordic combined seems the perfect place for a guy who jumps well but not at the level of the best in the world. Ditto for the skiing side. I've watched a few documentaries on the US's program and they've been quite focused on it.

Todd Lodwick is no joke with 6 world cup wins and multiple olympic appearances. He even won here at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in 1998. Only the 3rd American to ever medal at that race.

Demong has 3 world cup wins, and Spillane was world champion in the 7,5kkm sprint in 2003.

Their current world cup rankingsare quite impressive as well