Olympic Coolness (not the usual)

Danger

Cool. Perhaps because of my nationality, I tend to think of kayaks only in terms of whaling and seal hunting. (Not that there's much of either going on any more.)

Danger

Damn those Germans! Never mind steroids; I want to have them tested for a pulse. I'm sure that those buggers are cybernetically grafted to their boats.

We just found out something else inspiring today, especially since it's one of ours. Clara Hughes, who is our most-decorated Olympian from years past, came in 5th in the bike race, which is impressive enough. What really makes it special is what she revealed after the race: she trained and competed with a broken back that resulted from an accident earlier in the year.

I'm going to steal a joke here. Greg, I believe that this will fall under "fair usage" regarding copyright. I put it here just because it's sports-related. The funniest thing that I've heard from Jimmy Carr (a great English stand-up comic):
Q: Do you know why boxers don't have sex before a fight?
A: They don't fancy each other.

mathwonk

7th place at the 50 and he wins the 100? give it up!!! for phelps!!!

fourier jr

I think I get the idea. How about the amputee ping-pong player?

BobG

In 1996 at Atlanta, 28-year-old Stepanka Hilgertova won the Gold with 35-year-old Myriam Fox getting the Bronze.

In 2012 at London, Myriam got revenge when her 18-year-old daughter, Jessica Fox, finally beat Stepanka Hilgertova, who was competing in her 5th Olympics. Jessica Fox got the Silver with the 44-year-old Stepanka finishing 4th, just barely missing an Olympic medal.

While 44 is very old to still be a medal contender, 18 is extremely young to be a medal contender in a sport that requires as much experience as physical skill to be good at.

Danger

Uh uh. There's nothing special about his participation, in the context of this thread.

Fourier, yes about Natalia Partyka. Although most people use only one hand for table-tennis (I switched according to where the ball was, but I'm weird), the lack of her right arm must make balancing more difficult for her than it would be for a fully-formed person. I'm just going by basic mechanics with that assumption, though.
Bob, that's neat about Fox. It's rare for parent/child combinations to both be able to compete at that level.

cobalt124

How about Laura Trott. Won the omnium gold today. Double gold at 20, world champion at 18, fought illness all her life, the first few months in intensive care. Has a bucket handy after each race in case she needs to vomit. Sounds like a true fighter. And I think theres another potential gold to come.

Chi Meson

My favorite moment so far was Alberto Salazar's 2 proteges finishing 1st & 2nd in the 10k.

My least favorite part is the near vacuum of coverage for Galen Rupp's amazing surge in the final straightaway that passed 5 or six of the best runners in the world and grabbed the silver. NBC was all over Mo Farah, but essentially no time for the first American medal in the 10k since 1964.

cobalt124

Does being a 65 year old Canadian showjumper qualify for Olympic coolness?

Ken Natton

Well Danger, Manteo Mitchell’s story might be the very story this thread was created for. It is utterly beyond me how it is even possible for him to do what he did. I would think it will provide ample extra motivation for his American 4 x 400 relay team-mates to deliver gold for him in tribute to his extraordinary courage. But I have to say, it is rather hard on his competitors. Al that training, all that effort, putting every last ounce of energy into the actual race, only to get beaten by a guy with a broken leg!

BobG

Coolness is Iceland's handball team not winning a medal. After they won Silver in Beijing, a silver sculpture of the team was placed in an Icelandic museum - or at least a sculpture of the team's penises.

Chi Meson

Counting the medals by country has always been part of the games, evidently. But it has lost a lot of the (very little) meaning recently since people are more mobile these days.

Also, don't you think that a gold in a big team sport, soccer (football) for example, should be at least be worth the weight of 5 or 6 swimming medals? Nothing at all against Phelps, but it was one guy with a combined net time of about 15 minutes in the water, verses an 11 to 20 person team playing a total of over 12 hours.