Olympic Glory

[GoktimusPrime]

For any discussion related to the 2012 Olympics (regular or disabled) :)

Question: Which team will you be rooting for at the London Games?

I've decided to go with Tanzania, cos when they lose, they lose in style! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51OPmKXPqVQ) :D I love this story as it demonstrates the true spirit of sports... victory measured not in points or places, but with courage and relentless determination. We often tell kids that it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game -- and I think this is an excellent example of that noble ideology.

[Decepticon]

Whens the opening ceremony? Its the best thing about the whole olympics....oh, apart from the closing ceremony.....thats even better.:p

[Bartrim]

Steven Bradbury's gold medal is my favourite olympic moment. That is the true Australian spirit. Put in your best effort, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes you fluke your way into olympic glory:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAADWfJO2qM

[i_amtrunks]

I love the choice of Lauren Jackson as the flag bearer. She is the top female basketballer in the world and a fitting leader.

Being a teacher, and thus unable to take 2 weeks off to watch the olympics, I made sure that we did an intensive month long Olympics unit so we can watch all the highlights in school time!

[LordCyrusOmega]

The older I get the less interested I am in the games. a world in wich physical feats are more highly covered then mental ones is just sad.

Though having said that I do enjoy the swimming.

[5FDP]

I have NO interest in the Olympics whatsoever and probably won't watch any TV for the next two weeks.

[Decepticon]

Is it on 7? I hope not as Mrs Browns Boys is on Wednesdays. Its the only T.V Im watching atm.:p

[5FDP]

It's on Channel 9 and GEM.

[Trent]

I hope the coverage is good. If all I see is swimming and swimming highlights in the first week and then swimming replays in the second week I'll be disappointed.

[i_amtrunks]

I hope the coverage is good. If all I see is swimming and swimming highlights in the first week and then swimming replays in the second week I'll be disappointed.

If you only have 9/GEM, that is very likely. Just like 7 in Beijing, if it's not got an Aussie in it, you are unlikely to see much of it.

even if foxtel goes the more heavy handed "only aussie" approach, at least the gold medal events will all be shown, no matter the competitors.

Bring on the volleyball, handball, gymnastics and archery!

[griffin]

Heard about this today (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flag_bearers_for_the_United_States_at_the_ Olympics#Flag_dipping) on TMZ, which is disappointing that they don't respect the purpose and protocols of the Olympic games, to salute the host nations and dignitaries. Every other country apparently does.
The games are intended to be "politics free", and aside from a few individuals making statements (as well as the agenda of the 1936 games), this is one political statement that is intentional and pre-planned.
If a country has a political issues, or agenda (or just mere arrogance), at least boycott the games, so that it doesn't spoil it for others.

[canofwhoopass_87]

Heard about this today (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flag_bearers_for_the_United_States_at_the_ Olympics#Flag_dipping) on TMZ, which is disappointing that they don't respect the purpose and protocols of the Olympic games, to salute the host nations and dignitaries. Every other country apparently does.
The games are intended to be "politics free", and aside from a few individuals making statements (as well as the agenda of the 1936 games), this is one political statement that is intentional and pre-planned.
If a country has a political issues, or agenda (or just mere arrogance), at least boycott the games, so that it doesn't spoil it for others.

Interesting read. Though I don't see a problem with the United States dipping their flag at the 1936 Olympics. To salute a tyrant would go against everything the stars and stripes stands for

[edit] don't see why they continue to do it however...does seem a bit arrogant

[griffin]

I agree with not saluting a tyrant... but the concept is the athletes collectively saluting through their flag, the host nation, through it's current representative. It was unfortunate that Hitler came to power after Berlin/Germany was chosen, but the athletes are saluting the host city/nation, not its leader. (how many games have even been hosted by the leaders/head-of-states who obtained the games for their country... probably one or two - so saluting a current head of state doesn't make much sense if they had little or nothing to do with securing the games)
And just about every Olympics has had at least one country participate that had some ideological/political dispute with the host nation, but their athletes are there to compete, not make political statements.

[KaRNiV8L PRiME]

I'm in Manchester now, head to London on Monday for 3 days of full events, should be amazing

BTW

No new TF sightings over here but with the $AUD not bad at the moment there are some nice prices.

Oh Lego fans, they do have Lego UK Olympic mini figs series in the Lego store which was cool

[GoktimusPrime]

Guh... enough mud-flinging at Shiwen Ye already... she's passed every drug test that's been thrown at her, so as far as anyone knows, she's clean. Innocent until proven guilty -- unless someone can provide concrete evidence that she's cheating, then I say she deserves to have the benefit of the doubt and just let the girl enjoy her victories.

As far as I can see, there's only two possibilities here, either:
A) She's using some kind of drug that can't be detected by current testing methods, or...
B) She's clean and just a damn good swimmer!

...but until anyone can actually PROVE that she's cheating, I say critics should just kindly take a cup of STHU and just celebrate this girl's achievements.

Anyone else tired of hearing people criticising Australians who "only" get silver?? This (http://p.twimg.com/AzM0joFCMAAD5u7.jpg:large) puts things in a bit of perspective. ;)

[Trent]

Guh... enough mud-flinging at Shiwen Ye already... she's passed every drug test that's been thrown at her, so as far as anyone knows, she's clean. Innocent until proven guilty -- unless someone can provide concrete evidence that she's cheating, then I say she deserves to have the benefit of the doubt and just let the girl enjoy her victories.

As far as I can see, there's only two possibilities here, either:
A) She's using some kind of drug that can't be detected by current testing methods, or...
B) She's clean and just a damn good swimmer!

...but until anyone can actually PROVE that she's cheating, I say critics should just kindly take a cup of STHU and just celebrate this girl's achievements.

Anyone else tired of hearing people criticising Australians who "only" get silver?? This (http://p.twimg.com/AzM0joFCMAAD5u7.jpg:large) puts things in a bit of perspective. ;)

There is one more option, one that I have suprisingly heard on and off from a few different sources for quite a few years now.............. SHE IS THE FIRST OF A RACE OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SUPER HUMANS BRED EXCLUSIVELY TO DELIVER MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF PWNAGE TO AUSTRALIA AND USA IN ALL SWIMMING EVENTS!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!1!!!1!!!!!!!!!1!! NEXT IS THE SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING!!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek:

Throw my vote in that camp:p

And as far as I can tell, the media are the only ones upset about our lack of gold. Channel 9 would be especially bummed because now they actually have to show more of the track and field events next week as opposed to just replaying OUR MIGHTY GLORY AND ALL CONQUERINGNESS OF THE SWIMMING!!!! and passing it off as olympic coverage.:mad:

[GoktimusPrime]

Bioengineered mermaid. ;)

[jazzcomp]

Guh... enough mud-flinging at Shiwen Ye already... she's passed every drug test that's been thrown at her, so as far as anyone knows, she's clean. Innocent until proven guilty -- unless someone can provide concrete evidence that she's cheating, then I say she deserves to have the benefit of the doubt and just let the girl enjoy her victories.

As far as I can see, there's only two possibilities here, either:
A) She's using some kind of drug that can't be detected by current testing methods, or...
B) She's clean and just a damn good swimmer!

...but until anyone can actually PROVE that she's cheating, I say critics should just kindly take a cup of STHU and just celebrate this girl's achievements.

Ever heard of Marion Jones or Michael Johnson? These were favorites and expected winners. Marion enjoyed the victories but admitted later she was taking the "clear". Even these cheated.

Having some unknown beat her personal record by 7 seconds in the olympics is just somewhat suspect. To be considered faster than a man, it's definitely possible but unlikely. That's why we separate the men from the women. If men and women were physically equal, then we'd only have one event instead of two.

The only reason why people can't accept this is because she wasn't on the radar of contenders. If people knew about her before the olympics, this would be a non-issue even "if" she was cheating.

Only time will tell when a whistle blower or she herself admits if there's truth to these allegations or not.

[Trent]

We could potentially find out up to 8 years from now as they take and store blood and urine samples to test with the more sophisticated methods that the future will bring. So watch this space.

[i_amtrunks]

I hope that Ye is clean, but surely 7 seconds is more than "olympic hype" can bring. Saying that, she is only very young and has the perfect body shape for a swimmer, from the underwater shots she looks like a seal. Her power to weight ratio would be enormous, so her very smooth technique just glides her across the water.

Sadly the French team has been a much larger surprise packet, China has a history of decent swimming results in recent times, whereas France has come from nowhere, yet no drugs allegations on the French team (nor should there be).

China's drug addled past, and constant stories of ex Chinese medicos and trainers talking about rampant drug use in beginning athletes in dubious media circles keep fuelling these fires.

[GoktimusPrime]

Ever heard of Marion Jones or Michael Johnson? These were favorites and expected winners. Marion enjoyed the victories but admitted later she was taking the "clear". Even these cheated.
Just because they cheated doesn't automatically mean that Shiwen Ye has cheated. If evidence crops up later that shows she's cheated, then the IOC will strip her of her medals and then fine, we can call her a cheat. But what I'm saying is that she deserves the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Cos atm the only "evidence" that people seem to have is "she's too good to be clean." :rolleyes:

Also... she's 16... she's a _kid_. How would you feel if you were a clean athlete and got accused of cheating for being too good?


Having some unknown beat her personal record by 7 seconds in the olympics is just somewhat suspect. To be considered faster than a man, it's definitely possible but unlikely. That's why we separate the men from the women. If man and women were physically equal, then we'd only have one event instead of two.

The only reason why people can't accept this is because she wasn't on the radar of contenders. If people knew about her before the olympics, this would be a non-issue even "if" she was cheating.
She's only recently become known to the world media, but she's not completely unknown in swimming circles. She's been training in Brisbane under Australian coach Ken Wood and she swam the fastest time in the 200m IM and 2nd fastest in the 400m IM at the 2010 Asian Games. She also beat both the American Ariana Kukors and Stephanie Rice at last year's World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai. Ye has won 15 medals in the past 2 years so far, 12 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze.

Also, the comparison between Shiwen Ye and Ryan Lochte is kinda retarded because it was taken out of context; when examined in context, Ye's fastest time is still 23 seconds slower than Lochte's, and she also had to swim a lot harder to reach the finish, whereas Lochte had a far more comfortable lead (reference (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19062639)). Anything can look bad when taken out of context. :rolleyes:


Only time will tell when a whistle blower or she herself admits if there's truth to these allegations or not.
She's already stated that the allegations are untrue (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/london-games/im-not-like-a-cheat-from-the-past-says-world-record-breaker-ye-shiwen/story-fne39r9e-1226439272662), saying that her results come from "hard work and training." She's also passed every drug test thrown at her. What more do people want? A witch hunt?

"It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."
- Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal in Bohemia


I hope that Ye is clean, but surely 7 seconds is more than "olympic hype" can bring. Saying that, she is only very young and has the perfect body shape for a swimmer, from the underwater shots she looks like a seal. Her power to weight ratio would be enormous, so her very smooth technique just glides her across the water.
Ian Thorpe has come out in support of Ye, saying that when he was her age (15 to 16) he also improved his personal best in 400m freestyle. Ye has also experienced a growth spurt since her performance in the 2010 Asian Games -- growing from 160cm to 172cm (only 3cm short of the average height of an Australian man, making her pretty tall for an Asian girl). Former British swimmer Adrian Moorhouse has said that he experienced a similar growth spurt when he was 17 which significantly improved his swimming.

Why Teen Athletes Can Make Big Improvements (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19061026)


China's drug addled past, and constant stories of ex Chinese medicos and trainers talking about rampant drug use in beginning athletes in dubious media circles keep fuelling these fires.
I know, but it kinda sucks how Ye - a kid - has to suffer because of her country's shady past. Some of the Chinese athletes in the 1992 games were suspected of using steroids, and some of them failed their doping tests and were caught out.

Criminals get to enjoy the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. It'd be nice if this kid could also enjoy the presumption of innocence in her sport.

[jazzcomp]

Just because they cheated doesn't automatically mean that Shiwen Ye has cheated. If evidence crops up later that shows she's cheated, then the IOC will strip her of her medals and then fine, we can call her a cheat. But what I'm saying is that she deserves the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Cos atm the only "evidence" that people seem to have is "she's too good to be clean." :rolleyes:

Also... she's 16... she's a _kid_. How would you feel if you were a clean athlete and got accused of cheating for being too good?

Being a kid doesn't exempt you from anything. Kids can kill too.


Also, the comparison between Shiwen Ye and Ryan Lochte is kinda retarded because it was taken out of context; when examined in context, Ye's fastest time is still 23 seconds slower than Lochte's, and she also had to swim a lot harder to reach the finish, whereas Lochte had a far more comfortable lead (reference (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19062639)). Anything can look bad when taken out of context. :rolleyes:
Don't think so. The context was in the last leg of the IM wherein supposedly you're probably the most tired. Though it's the easiest style.

Quote below:

"In the 1990s, the Chinese did more drugs than Guns N’ Roses. Chinese swimmers have failed 40 drugs test since 1990. That’s three times as many as any other country.", claims David Whitley (Sporting News) . Of course, stuff that happened in the past is not proof that the same thing is happening today. It's the fact that Ms. Ye's final lap was faster than Ryan Locke's, 28.93 to 29.10 seconds, when he won the men's 400-meter IM Gold Medal that is rasing eyebrows.

Anything that comes out as unbelievable to previous winners is always suspected first. If I came out and say a found a cure to this disease, wouldn't other medical experts test it first before believing. Or do you believe first before proving? What do we say when something is too good to be true even with TFs?

What's ridiculous is comparing her to Michael Phelps. The autism in Michael is what prevents people from pre-judging him with cheating and also his history. Did you see the amount of food he ate in the previous olympics just to get the energy to win? There isn't even any hype about this girl.


She's already stated that the allegations are untrue, saying that her results come from "hard work and training." She's also passed every drug test thrown at her. What more do people want? A witch hunt?
The winners I mentioned also denied taking drugs. And Marion Jones probably wouldn't have been caught if she didn't admit the truth.
Here's a quote from another article -

Mind you she has been tested many times and always clean. But…… so had been Marion Jones, or even Lance Armstrong. I agree that you can’t ascertain one never doped just because s/he was tested clean. So whatever is accused of Ye Shiwen can equally and quite possibly more rationally be put on a lot of superstar swimmers whom I’d rather not name.
Blood samples are kept for eight years by the IOC. The war against doping goes on long after the closing ceremony.



Criminals get to enjoy the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. It'd be nice if this kid could also enjoy the presumption of innocence in her sport. Nice-yes. But it's because criminals go to jail or worse executed. The worse this kid will lose is her medal and not be allowed to compete.
Generally, the worse/worst punishment needs presumption of innocence.

[jazzcomp]

You should look at the fencing korean girl who lost out on a medal and then offered a consolation medal. That's just sad.

This girl cried and protested and waited over an hour.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19073420

[GoktimusPrime]

So jazzcomp... as far as you're concerned Shiwen Ye is guilty until proven innocent? :confused:

[jazzcomp]

So jazzcomp... as far as you're concerned Shiwen Ye is guilty until proven innocent? :confused:
Nope. She got the medal. It's the doubt in viewers, other sports experts and fans that she has to remove. I have no proof she's guilty so she's innocent. She's got more tournaments to prove that. There's always doubt. Doubt inherited from country's past and from how great she performed. Most of us do not follow her career.

There's time and enough competitions and drug testing to prove the doubters wrong.

Another olympic blunder -

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--ishanguly-meretnyyazov-satoshi-shimizu-magomed-abdulhamidov-knockdowns-corruption-judges-.html

[jazzcomp]

Why did the opals change their uniform? It was unique.

http://www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/dl-sport/new-womens-uniforms-aim-to-cut-perve-factor-20120329-1vzi5.html

[GoktimusPrime]

What I'm more impressed by is Elizabeth Cambage's slam dunk -- the first female slam dunk in Olympic history (not hindered by her massive 203cm stature! :eek:). :) Cambage was also a victim of bullying at school -- kids teased her for being tall, and was also a victim of racism (as her mother explained in a TV interview that I saw last week). I hope all those people who teased her at school are enjoying their humble pie right now... served with a nice warm cup of STHU. ;)

[Bartrim]

So Kobe Bryant thinks this USA Olympic basketball team could beat the dream team of 92.:rolleyes:

[jazzcomp]

So Kobe Bryant thinks this USA Olympic basketball team could beat the dream team of 92.:rolleyes:
He said that they could beat them in one game. Not definitively beat them in every game. Taken out of context to make controversy. As a competitor, of course he thinks everyone is beatable at least once.

[jazzcomp]

Just don't agree with the Qantas commercial - athletes are the reason they fly?

Can't enjoy the olympic basketball games :( 9 coverage sucks. I wish SBS could've shown coverage as well instead of exclusive to 9 :(

[GoktimusPrime]

Just don't agree with the Qantas commercial - athletes are the reason they fly?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole


Can't enjoy the olympic basketball games :( 9 coverage sucks. I wish SBS could've shown coverage as well instead of exclusive to 9 :(
I agree. Rather than giving the entire Olympic coverage licence to Nine, they should give separate licences for different events -- like Nine could cover the opening and closing ceremonies plus the "popular" events that they want, and other stations can vie for the events that they're not interested in covering, and viewers can channel surf to watch the events they want. One of the ABC or SBS channels can cover the "least popular" events I suppose. Either way, I'm not fond of the whole exclusivity thing. And would it hurt for Nine to replay the opening ceremony during prime time??? Ya know... for the benefit of us who can't stay up late or are home in the middle of the day to watch it...

[Trent]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole


I agree. Rather than giving the entire Olympic coverage licence to Nine, they should give separate licences for different events -- like Nine could cover the opening and closing ceremonies plus the "popular" events that they want, and other stations can vie for the events that they're not interested in covering, and viewers can channel surf to watch the events they want. One of the ABC or SBS channels can cover the "least popular" events I suppose. Either way, I'm not fond of the whole exclusivity thing. And would it hurt for Nine to replay the opening ceremony during prime time??? Ya know... for the benefit of us who can't stay up late or are home in the middle of the day to watch it...

The part that s&@ts me is the fact that the 9network have 2 channels, 9 and GEM, and 99% of the time they are both showing the same thing!:mad::confused: Which moron though that was a good idea??

[i_amtrunks]

Some terrible officiating in these games, two of the worst were last night, where the athletes made massive mistakes yet were given second chances and both ended up medalling.

The Great Britain rower who fell off his seat should have the medal stripped, he and his teammate benefited greatly from their stuff up and subsequent restart. At least they only achieved silver after conning the officials.

The biggest stuff up last night was in the pool, where after a huge false start (no other swimmer even twitched on the blocks) by the race favourite Sun, he was allowed to restart. He went on to win his third Gold and break the WR too. Should not have even been in the water.

At least the badminton officials got it right and punished the cheating teams for rorting the competition.

On the flipside I think these games will be know as our Silverlympics! only the sailing, cycling and a miracle gold or two from other events might get us past the gold counts of NZ and South Africa.

[GoktimusPrime]

...to think that the last time Australia performed this badly, the world hadn't heard of "Star Wars" yet. :rolleyes:

[jazzcomp]

What I'm more impressed by is Elizabeth Cambage's slam dunk -- the first female slam dunk in Olympic history (not hindered by her massive 203cm stature! :eek:). :) Cambage was also a victim of bullying at school -- kids teased her for being tall, and was also a victim of racism (as her mother explained in a TV interview that I saw last week). I hope all those people who teased her at school are enjoying their humble pie right now... served with a nice warm cup of STHU. ;)
Because I know Lisa Leslie can dunk. It wasn't a big thing for me. :)
For an impressive olympic dunk, Vince Carter's dunk (www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp6qJ7LZNlg) comes to mind.

[Trent]

...to think that the last time Australia performed this badly, the world hadn't heard of "Star Wars" yet. :rolleyes:

I fail to see the problem here. The best athletes Australia has to offer have gone over to the Olympics and have tried their best. What more would you ask of them? We have put so much pressure on them that when they get a silver/bronze medal, they feel they have let their country down! How screwed up is that??

The media in this country are a bunch of tools.


On an unrelated note, awesome 100m final this morning!!

[jazzcomp]

Yup, Bolt won again. I'm pretty sure he'll win the 200m as well. His teammate won silver but the other one broke down at the finish line.

[i_amtrunks]

Yup, Bolt won again. I'm pretty sure he'll win the 200m as well. His teammate won silver but the other one broke down at the finish line.

Powell finished with something torn I am sure.

I was very pleased that my brainwashing of my students has worked, almost the entire class woke up early to watch the race, but they loved Bolt pre my Olympic brainwashing programme began!

getting to the interesting end for most of the team sports, where games get awesome.

[jazzcomp]

I fail to see the problem here. The best athletes Australia has to offer have gone over to the Olympics and have tried their best. What more would you ask of them? We have put so much pressure on them that when they get a silver/bronze medal, they feel they have let their country down! How screwed up is that??

The media in this country are a bunch of tools.


On an unrelated note, awesome 100m final this morning!!
It's all about expectation/hype. They have history from Beijing and past olympics of performing well. So now it comes out as a disappointment.

I certainly agree with you. No pressure if you are unknown qualifying for a medal. Just look at that 19 year old who made the final. Just to make the final is an achievement for him. No medal expectation from him. Yet everyone is proud of him.

[jazzcomp]

Olympic entertainment

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/YWW12ld.Iz2bud9R6b.IcQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusolyexperts/149434513.jpg

Also the usual complaints about women :)
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/fat-fit-over-women-athletes-193539328--spt.html

[Sam]

Did Australia just get a second gold from sailing?

[Raptormesh]

Did Australia just get a second gold from sailing?

Indeed we did.

[jazzcomp]

Indeed we did.

Did Australia just get a second gold from sailing?
And expecting more gold, that's why it becomes a disappointment when they don't get gold & have to settle for silver or bronze or top x finish.

Just look at the jamaican hurdle who broke down cause she hit a hurdle & lost @ qualifiers. That's disappointment and @ 37 yrs old.

[jazzcomp]

I fail to see the problem here. The best athletes Australia has to offer have gone over to the Olympics and have tried their best. What more would you ask of them? We have put so much pressure on them that when they get a silver/bronze medal, they feel they have let their country down! How screwed up is that??
The media in this country are a bunch of tools.

Maybe this is why? Even the athletes themselves are disappointed with their silver medals.

http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/olympics-silver-medal-expressions-slideshow/olympics-day-9-gymnastics-artistic-photo-1344256222.html

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/_o1Oca.XPBxwGcQ3CvAQBw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/388/2012/08/06/149818078-jpg_180323.jpg

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/6EI0Del0wZbXFoUDQTvO7A--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjE7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-07-29T215014Z_83533987_LM2E87T1ONRDB_RTRMADP_3_OLY-SWIM-SWM4X1-MEDALS-DAY2.JPG

[i_amtrunks]

Should have a third gold tonight, with the 49 class boats.
Kids went mental this morning when they saw the size of the laser class boats!

We should have had another medal with Diamond in the shooting, but he choked like the Aussie tennis players did.

I feel for the hockeyroos, they had a decent tournie, but missed out on the quarter finals after the draw with argentina this morning. The loss to NZ first up really hurts now!

And Good on patty Mills for a buzzer beating 3, he needs more of those performances to show the NBA he is worth a place on the bench.

[griffin]

Of course silver can be personally disappointing, but that's because the mindset of an athlete is to win, not to aim for second. Anything less is still an amazing acheivement, which they often acknowledge, but missing out on being number one is always disappointing if they thought they had a chance. If it wasn't a sure thing, getting any medal (or even being at the Olympics) is still something they cherish and are proud of.
Just look at the 19 year old guy in the 400 meters... he came last in the final, but was still over the moon for being at the Olympics, and "being the 8th fastest in the world on the day" in that event.

People need to remember that this is the Olympics. The best of the best in the world as of this week...
Even participating is an achievement that 99% of the rest of the world could only dream about. But to obtain a medal of any sort, is a level of "eliteness" unmatched by EVERY other sports-person who didn't even get one.
There is a saying that you never remember who got second place, but to those people holding onto one, it is just icing on the cake of actually being at the "elite" Olympic games.



Realistically, our position (globally) should be kept in perspective here... of the major powers/countries in the world, isn't it a bit egotistical to expect Australia, a country that barely makes it in the G20 or has minimal influence/power on the global stage, to be expected to be top 5 or even top 10? Media and licence-holders (of the Olympics branding) are the ones blowing it out of proportion, just because we got a couple better-than-expected results in recent Olympics. Really... think about it - make a list of the 10 most powerful/dominant/important countries in the world, and does Australia rate in the top 5, or even top 10? Getting an Olympic Table result that has us beating more powerful countries than ours is something to be celebrated if it happens, but not expected.
We may be 19th on the Medal Table that sorts by number of Gold, but of total Medals, we are currently equal 7th. That means only 6 countries in the ENTIRE world have got more Medals than Australia... a tiny little country at the ass-end of the world. And who are those 6 countries? China, USA, GB, France, Russia, Japan.
Beating any of those, which include all 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council they are that "important", would be an achievement that is above our expected ability.
In 2008 we were 6th by way of Gold, and 5th by way of Total Medals.
In 2004 we were 4th by way of Gold, and equal 4th by way of Total Medals.
In 2000 we were 4th by way of Gold, and equal 3rd by way of Total Medals.
These results are an extraordinary achievement, compared to the rest of the world. Our tiny little country beat out major world powers... and now it is expected of us?
That's a heavy burden on our athletes, who have sacrificed so much just to get to the Olympics to begin with.
Our results in 1992 (10th), 1988 (15th), 1984 (14th), 1980 (15th), 1976 (32nd), would be more in line with our population/funding/resources.

Our politicians and media are over-stating our significance in the world, leading to disappointment later if we don't achieve that "punching above our weight (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=punch%20above%20your%20weight)" result we got in previous games.

We should be proud of being able to beat countries that have more resources, more money to invest, more people to have gifted athletes...

It should also be unwise to have our government throw more (tax) money and resources at something that occurs once every 4 years, and doesn't change anything here no matter where we are on the table. It only benefits big business, and the rich elite profiting off our athletes' success. To inspire the next generation of athletes, and get our kids more physically motivated, schools need to be including/increasing sporting time. Without that, this 18 days every 4 years isn't going to change the health and Olympic success of our kids.
If more money is to be "thrown" at elite sports programs to improve future Olympics results, it should come from the big corporations profiting off the Olympics brand and any of the successes that comes from it. The Olympics are now a multi-billion dollar business now, so the companies & media paying for exclusive rights to use the brand, or cover it, a percentage of those licensing fees should go into an AOC sporting fund. Then if the media wants to complain about failed performance, they can take responsibility for how much they invested to begin with.
Our Tax dollars should be spent on more important things, like feeding and housing the 100,000 homeless, or making it easier for the million-plus who are struggling with rising everyday costs.
Instead we have politicians spending Billions acquiring Commonwealth Games (in 2018, costing $1.1-2+ billion) and the G-20 summit (in 2014, costing $370million+) hoping to improve their voter support. How many starving, homeless children could those sort of dollars help... but then, those aren't voters, so the politicians will only "bribe" the ones who will get them re-elected.


Moral of the story - enjoy the Games if you are into that sort of thing, and congratulate/support the athletes, no matter where they come. Because none of them regret being at the Games.

[jazzcomp]

There are others in the olympics who just participate though. Not really best of the best.

[Raptormesh]

Eh as long as they do their best.

In anycase...

http://i.imgur.com/ExdS1.jpg

:D:cool:;)

[Autocon]

Any where that lists current medal tally???

[Raptormesh]

Here(Theage) (http://olympics-live.theage.com.au/asp/lib/event/summergames/default.asp?Page=medals&TaalCode=2)

[i_amtrunks]

http://www.london2012.com/medals/medal-count/

Official tally and plenty of interactivity.

we have overachieved as a nation in the last 3 games thanks to the extra funding we got due to hosting the games (worth every cent imo). We are now in a decline as funding decreases and other nations funding increases. South American countries should have a surge in and after Rio and Great Britain will have a decline in the next 3 Olympics or so as their funding cuts kick in.

Add to that we had some freaks in the squad who were near superhuman all at once over the last decade.

Per capita we overachieve compared to almost every nation (bar Kiwiland this time around!) and having a less dominant Olympics just makes each of the fewer medals all the sweeter.

[Trent]

Of course silver can be personally disappointing, but that's because the mindset of an athlete is to win, not to aim for second. Anything less is still an amazing acheivement, which they often acknowledge, but missing out on being number one is always disappointing if they thought they had a chance. If it wasn't a sure thing, getting any medal (or even being at the Olympics) is still something they cherish and are proud of.
Just look at the 19 year old guy in the 400 meters... he came last in the final, but was still over the moon for being at the Olympics, and "being the 8th fastest in the world on the day" in that event.

People need to remember that this is the Olympics. The best of the best in the world as of this week...
Even participating is an achievement that 99% of the rest of the world could only dream about. But to obtain a medal of any sort, is a level of "eliteness" unmatched by EVERY other sports-person who didn't even get one.
There is a saying that you never remember who got second place, but to those people holding onto one, it is just icing on the cake of actually being at the "elite" Olympic games.



Realistically, our position (globally) should be kept in perspective here... of the major powers/countries in the world, isn't it a bit egotistical to expect Australia, a country that barely makes it in the G20 or has minimal influence/power on the global stage, to be expected to be top 5 or even top 10? Media and licence-holders (of the Olympics branding) are the ones blowing it out of proportion, just because we got a couple better-than-expected results in recent Olympics. Really... think about it - make a list of the 10 most powerful/dominant/important countries in the world, and does Australia rate in the top 5, or even top 10? Getting an Olympic Table result that has us beating more powerful countries than ours is something to be celebrated if it happens, but not expected.
We may be 19th on the Medal Table that sorts by number of Gold, but of total Medals, we are currently equal 7th. That means only 6 countries in the ENTIRE world have got more Medals than Australia... a tiny little country at the ass-end of the world. And who are those 6 countries? China, USA, GB, France, Russia, Japan.
Beating any of those, which include all 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council they are that "important", would be an achievement that is above our expected ability.
In 2008 we were 6th by way of Gold, and 5th by way of Total Medals.
In 2004 we were 4th by way of Gold, and equal 4th by way of Total Medals.
In 2000 we were 4th by way of Gold, and equal 3rd by way of Total Medals.
These results are an extraordinary achievement, compared to the rest of the world. Our tiny little country beat out major world powers... and now it is expected of us?
That's a heavy burden on our athletes, who have sacrificed so much just to get to the Olympics to begin with.
Our results in 1992 (10th), 1988 (15th), 1984 (14th), 1980 (15th), 1976 (32nd), would be more in line with our population/funding/resources.

Our politicians and media are over-stating our significance in the world, leading to disappointment later if we don't achieve that "punching above our weight (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=punch%20above%20your%20weight)" result we got in previous games.

We should be proud of being able to beat countries that have more resources, more money to invest, more people to have gifted athletes...

It should also be unwise to have our government throw more (tax) money and resources at something that occurs once every 4 years, and doesn't change anything here no matter where we are on the table. It only benefits big business, and the rich elite profiting off our athletes' success. To inspire the next generation of athletes, and get our kids more physically motivated, schools need to be including/increasing sporting time. Without that, this 18 days every 4 years isn't going to change the health and Olympic success of our kids.
If more money is to be "thrown" at elite sports programs to improve future Olympics results, it should come from the big corporations profiting off the Olympics brand and any of the successes that comes from it. The Olympics are now a multi-billion dollar business now, so the companies & media paying for exclusive rights to use the brand, or cover it, a percentage of those licensing fees should go into an AOC sporting fund. Then if the media wants to complain about failed performance, they can take responsibility for how much they invested to begin with.
Our Tax dollars should be spent on more important things, like feeding and housing the 100,000 homeless, or making it easier for the million-plus who are struggling with rising everyday costs.
Instead we have politicians spending Billions acquiring Commonwealth Games (in 2018, costing $1.1-2+ billion) and the G-20 summit (in 2014, costing $370million+) hoping to improve their voter support. How many starving, homeless children could those sort of dollars help... but then, those aren't voters, so the politicians will only "bribe" the ones who will get them re-elected.


Moral of the story - enjoy the Games if you are into that sort of thing, and congratulate/support the athletes, no matter where they come. Because none of them regret being at the Games.

Epic post.

[GoktimusPrime]

Post #34 was in jest. As I said in Post #1...


I've decided to go with Tanzania, cos when they lose, they lose in style! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51OPmKXPqVQ) :D I love this story as it demonstrates the true spirit of sports... victory measured not in points or places, but with courage and relentless determination. We often tell kids that it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game -- and I think this is an excellent example of that noble ideology.
:) Go Tanzania!!

Tanzania's current medal count = 0. But I'm still rootin' for 'em! :D
http://www.london2012.com/country/tanzania/medals.html

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/tanzania.gifhttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/JohnStephenAkhwari.jpg

[Kazza]

HOORAY FOR SALLY:D

[GoktimusPrime]

AUS vs USA in men's basketball...

豪 (Gō) Aussie! :D

--------------------------------
豪 (Gō): the first Kanji for 豪州(Gōshū) which means "Australia" in Japanese ;)

[Spiritprime]

Goodness! Keep your fingers crossed boys and girls!

[i_amtrunks]

AUS vs. USA is happening in both mens and womens comps.

Mens in the quarters (I hope we only get beaten by 10 or so!) and the womens in the semi thanks to our loss to France (thanks for ruining the tournie bad officiating!). It's a replay of the last 3 gold medal matches, so will be an absolute corker. Hopefully they don't go all out against each other and leave nothing in the tank for their medal games!

[Autocon]

google olympics 2012 medal tally, comes up with a box out on top with the medals.

[jazzcomp]

AUS vs. USA is happening in both mens and womens comps.

Mens in the quarters (I hope we only get beaten by 10 or so!) and the womens in the semi thanks to our loss to France (thanks for ruining the tournie bad officiating!). It's a replay of the last 3 gold medal matches, so will be an absolute corker. Hopefully they don't go all out against each other and leave nothing in the tank for their medal games!
Didn't see it. But I guess the result was already known before the game was played.

Do the Boomers still have a chance at Bronze?

USA vs Russia in the finals and Oz beat Russia.

[GoktimusPrime]

http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/news-london-2012/valiant-boomers-beaten-by-us-20120809-23vht.html

[jazzcomp]

9 probably won't replay this game or the remainder of the basketball games.

[griffin]

Anyone been playing the daily games on the google search site? They're a bit of simple fun... but are fun to play.

[jazzcomp]

Different take on the olympics :)

most last place finishes (http://sg.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/nation-most-last-place-finishes-london-172255598--oly.html)

Athletes sent home (http://sg.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/athletes-were-sent-home-disgrace-205008104--oly.html)

[Kazza]

Anyone been playing the daily games on the google search site? They're a bit of simple fun... but are fun to play.

Yeah man I have, 4 games so far, hurdles, basketball, canoe and football. Post your score guys.

Hurdles 11.2s gold
Basketball 42 gold
Canoe 17.6s silver (can't get gold) :mad:
Football 46 gold

[5FDP]

So... it's finished now? I can come out of hiding? I actually achieved my goal of watching absolutely NO coverage of the Olympics :D

[jazzcomp]

So... it's finished now? I can come out of hiding? I actually achieved my goal of watching absolutely NO coverage of the Olympics :D
Replays :D

I still have to watch the gold medal basketball game. There were a lot of exciting games in basketball where the games weren't decided until the final moments.

Is there a decent coverage from 9 or look for download copy?

[Decepticon]

So... it's finished now? I can come out of hiding? I actually achieved my goal of watching absolutely NO coverage of the Olympics :D

YES!! WOOHOO, its over! Now I can watch something decent tonight (Big Brother).:D

[Kazza]

YES!! WOOHOO, its over! Now I can watch something decent tonight (Big Brother).:D

:eek: hope that was sarcasm, i hate how they are trying to rehash something that obviously failed back when it was on ten, it had its time, it failed and should be put away for good, i'm slightly interested in charlie sheens anger management, i wonder how much of it would be mocking and making fun on chuck lorre

[GoktimusPrime]

Hey guys, don't forget that the Olympics are quite over yet -- the Paralympic Games starts 29/8 and finishes 9/9. :) Hope we get some decent coverage of that; though we seldomly do because it's not as popular (re: commercialised) as the regular Olympic Games.

[Decepticon]

:eek: hope that was sarcasm, i hate how they are trying to rehash something that obviously failed back when it was on ten, it had its time, it failed and should be put away for good, i'm slightly interested in charlie sheens anger management, i wonder how much of it would be mocking and making fun on chuck lorre

Umm, Im serious actually.:)

[Bartrim]

I watched the womens handball final last night. Felt real bad for Montenegro. Those girls put in a real gutsy effort against the highly favoured Norway and to miss out on being the first gold medal for Montenegro by 3 points must of been heartwrenching.

Has anyone seen those funny memes of McKayala Maroney?:D

[i_amtrunks]

Hey guys, don't forget that the Olympics are quite over yet -- the Paralympic Games starts 29/8 and finishes 9/9. :) Hope we get some decent coverage of that; though we seldomly do because it's not as popular (re: commercialised) as the regular Olympic Games.

No 8 channel coverage on foxtel for the superior world games.

ABC always covers the Paralympics and I thank any and all deities that may or may not exist for that fact. SBS may have coverage too this time around, I know they were gunning for it a while back but have heard nothing else from it.

[Autocon]

I watched the womens handball final last night. Felt real bad for Montenegro. Those girls put in a real gutsy effort against the highly favoured Norway and to miss out on being the first gold medal for Montenegro by 3 points must of been heartwrenching.

Has anyone seen those funny memes of McKayala Maroney?:D

Post link? :D Ive seen some facial expressions of divers:D

[Bartrim]

Post link? :D Ive seen some facial expressions of divers:D

Just do a google image search for Mckalya Maroney. Thats what I did.

[jazzcomp]

it's just her smirk being copied :)

[GoktimusPrime]

USA - 1 medal in every 3 million Americans
China - 1 medal in every 16 million Chinese
GB - 1 medal in every 954 thousand Brits
Australia - 1 medal in every 657 thousand Australians! :D

So at least compared to the top 3, Australia has a higher per capita medal score. :)

[jazzcomp]

Hahaha!!!
How's this for olympic gold shirt?
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/HAKkwpHZG6D7Lj3zUenpiA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/blogs/partner/470_2471562.jpg

[griffin]

USA - 1 medal in every 3 million Americans
China - 1 medal in every 16 million Chinese
GB - 1 medal in every 954 thousand Brits
Australia - 1 medal in every 657 thousand Australians! :D

So at least compared to the top 3, Australia has a higher per capita medal score. :)

My earlier point of "punching above our weight", which is why it is disappointing (but not surprising) to have the media making it look like our team was a failure for not finishing in the top-5.
We finished 10th in the world by Gold, and 7th by total Medals.
If it weren't for some better-than-expected results in recent Olympics, the Media should be praising our efforts, and all those athletes that were standing on the winners' podium... standing there proud for their country, and not having it properly reciprocated by the media and the general public. A public (and media) who sat on their collective asses, while those athletes sacrificed hundreds of hours (and years) to earn that top-3 finish.

Shame on those journalists who looked at the negative of "failing to come first", instead of praising their achievements. :mad:

[i_amtrunks]

So the true games have begun, the Paralympics.

These are true athletes. Almost all of them have to work to support their training costs as the vast majority do not have sponsorship and have to buy all of their own gear.

I cannot tell you all how glad I am that the ABC have the television rights, they will do an absolutely stellar job that will focus on the Australians when they compete, but won't be one eyed biased and show barely anything else. The amount of hours of coverage is decent too, especially on ABC2. Too bad Foxtel couldn't put on a channel or three for it. :(

A friend of mine has just broken the World Record in her non-pet event, the C1-2-3 Pursuit by a whopping 6 seconds! She was the 8th fastest (all C1-2-3 race against each others times) but a WR on the first day should really give her plenty of encouragement for her pet event this weekend.
Hoping she can add to her Beijing bronze! :D

[5FDP]

So the true games have begun, the Paralympics.

These are true athletes. Almost all of them have to work to support their training costs as the vast majority do not have sponsorship and have to buy all of their own gear.

I couldn't agree with you more. If you want to see someone truly overcome adversity to be the best at what they do, this is where it's at.

[Sharky]

I Agree the Paralympics really does embody the true olympic spirit, they are not professional atheletes they do fit the amatuer bill and have to work twice as hard to compete.

it is disapointing these atheletes dont get the same respect, endorsments and coverage as able bodied professionals.

[GoktimusPrime]

Woo! Australia's currently #2 in the medal tally! :D Was anyone else stoked about Dr. Stephen Hawking participating in the Opening Ceremony? :D Here are some photos from the opening...
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/glanceview/252723/hawking-inspires-at-paralympics-opening.glance

[i_amtrunks]

Australia still #2 in the medals thanks to 12 gold.

My friend broke her second WR in her second (and pet) event, the 500m time trial. She ended up adding a second bronze to her Paralympic haul, one in London to add to her one from Beijing. It's an excellent result as she was reclassified after Beijing into the very competitive C class, she would have blitzed the D class riders and was once again only beaten by higher ranked C class (C2, C3) riders in this event.

I'm hoping she can pull out something amazing in the road races, but she is mostly doing them for the experience.

[GoktimusPrime]

*necromances thread*

Aussie BMX rider now in medically induced coma after sustaining head injury during competition in Brisbane. He's in a critical but stable condition.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/02/5adaf0714cb4-bmx-japanese-australian-olympic-hopeful-in-coma-after-injury.html