Rio Olympics: What's Your Fave Sport?

[Sophia]

The Olympic games in Rio will start soon. Will you be watching them? What are your favourite disciplines?
I'm not sure how many sports will I be able to watch due to different time zones. But If I get the chance, I like watching gymnastics and I'm interested in trampolining and BMX which are disciplines that I've never seen before. But basically, I'll watch any sport except for equestrian (I'm always sorry for the poor horses!) and collective games and golf that I don't find very interesting.
Here's the list of disciplines http://www.aboutbrasil.com/modules/brazil-brasil/what_to_do_brazil_brasil.php?hoofd=4&sub=23&art=234
Feel free to discuss anything concerning the Games here

 

[PeroK]

Here are my four suggestions for improving the Olympics:

1) Swimming must be massively reformed. Far too many events with the same competitors in each. The number of gold medals available to the top swimmers is out of all proportion to other sports.

2) Teams sports like football should share 1 gold medal. Each of the winning football squad, which has 22 players, gets a gold medal. That's as many as all the individual athletics events. One medal between them would be fairer.

3) The equestrian events could stay only if the horses get the medals.

4) All the "artistic" events should be judged solely on technical and execution scores. The gymnastics has done this and is massively better as a result. Gone are the days of the perfect 10 and all the ridiculous subjective marking. The ice skating in the winter Olympics is a nonsense, with the top competitors being judged more by how good the judges believe them to be, rather than how well they perform.

 

[beamie564]

I don't really follow most of the sports played in the Olympics, but I'll still try to watch it all. Mainly I'm waiting for lawn tennis. The athletics events seem very impressive to me and I try to see as much of it as possible. There are some concerns over security and organization, hope it all works out (wouldn't want something like Munich '72 to happen)

2) Teams sports like football should share 1 gold medal. Each of the winning football squad, which has 22 players, gets a gold medal. That's as many as all the individual athletics events. One medal between them would be fairer.

I was wondering about this. When they count the medal tally of countries, do they add 22 gold medals to the winning team's country? Because that doesn't seem fair either
And I don't really think horses care about medals; maybe something else for the winners

 

[fresh_42]

I was wondering about this. When they count the medal tally of countries, do they add 22 gold medals to the winning team's country? Because that doesn't seem fair either

It counts as one. And beside the fact that it costs gold there are no further effects, so I don't bother. I mean, people eat gold! What a waste!

And I don't really think horses care about medals; maybe something else for the winners

Often they get a kind of wreath. But they usually don't look like a healthy food though.

 

[ZapperZ]

I don't know. This year's olympics has different categories that I will be following: the amount of floating garbage or human feces that we will be shown, the number of mugging or robberies on the athletes (we already have at least one right now), the number of complaints about the athletes' accommodations, etc... Y'know, the usual stuff!

Zz.

 

[Evo]

I don't watch the Summer Olympics. I might watch a few things in the winter like ice skating.

 

[dlgoff]

I don't watch the Summer Olympics.

I figured you may be taking part in them.

Oh wait. You're one of the Judges.

Well, you should at least take a peek. However, I agree that the Winter Olympics events are much more fun to watch.

 

[StevieTNZ]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11684780&ref=NZH_FBpage

Good grief!

I'll watch the Opening and Closing ceremonies, and possibly some sports here and there. Not sure if I want to watch anything that happens on outside water.

And the fact that part of the Olympic village isn't up to scrap, or wasn't but now fixed after teams have arrived, is concerning.

 

[davenn]

and a bomb detonated overnite in the stadium

an untended toolbox was found ... when police used a bomb disposal robot to check it
the toolbox exploded on contactDave

 

[StevieTNZ]

and a bomb detonated overnite in the stadium

an untended toolbox was found ... when police used a bomb disposal robot to check it
the toolbox exploded on contact

Yeah, just read this article https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/32200360/controlled-explosion-erupts-inside-rios-maracan-stadium/#page1

A ramp built for competitors' boats to reach the water hangs after collapsing at the Marina da Gloria sailing venue just days before the start of the Olympic Games.

What a joke.

 

[rootone]

In attempt to google what was going on my top listed links were for stuff like
http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-business/rio-2016-olympic-megastore-opens-in-copacabana/#

 

[Ygggdrasil]

and a bomb detonated overnite in the stadium

an untended toolbox was found ... when police used a bomb disposal robot to check it
the toolbox exploded on contact

This is false. Standard operating procedure to dispose of a suspicious package is to explode it in case it is a bomb, which is what happened in this case:

A controlled explosion was carried out on Sunday evening at Maracana Stadium, Rio’s main stadium which will hold Friday's opening ceremony, according to https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/32200360/controlled-explosion-erupts-inside-rios-maracan-stadium/ media outlets.

When a “suspicious toolbox” was discovered at the stadium, a bomb disposal squad was sent to the scene, and destroyed it with the explosion.

http://www.si.com/olympics/2016/07/31/controlled-explosion-rio-maracana-stadium-olympic-games

The toolbox did not explode on its own, it was detonated by security. There is no evidence that it was anything more than a misplaced toolbox.

 

[davenn]

This is false. Standard operating procedure to dispose of a suspicious package is to explode it in case it is a bomb, which is what happened in this case:

maybe, maybe not your media source could be just as wrong as my media source

it's extremely difficult to get a straight story out of any media these dayD

 

[Evo]

Yeah, just read this article https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/32200360/controlled-explosion-erupts-inside-rios-maracan-stadium/#page1What a joke.

Ewwwww, that is so disgusting. Olympic Athletes should not be expected to compete in such contaminated water!

I really wonder if Brazil bribed officials to get the Olympics. Would not surprise me.

 

[rootone]

Well for that matter did Tony Blair bribe them to get London ones?
Did Putin bribe anyone to get the recent winter olympics?

 

[fresh_42]

Just heard in the news. Athletes whose disciplines are in open waters are requested not to swallow water because of a too high rate of germs.
Not quite easy on long distance swimming competitions. Good luck, folks!

 

[nsaspook]

Ewwwww, that is so disgusting. Olympic Athletes should not be expected to compete in such contaminated water!

I really wonder if Brazil bribed officials to get the Olympics. Would not surprise me.

Budget overruns, collusion with authoritarian regimes, corruption and sometimes even bribery is nothing new.
http://www.pbs.org/program/nazi-games-berlin-1936/

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The media is definitely stirring up drama with the whole US swimmer King vs Russia and Phelps vs The South African swimmer. I kinda like it though. :D

 

[Janus]

The media is definitely stirring up drama with the whole US swimmer King vs Russia and Phelps vs The South African swimmer. I kinda like it though. :D

Now a host on Russian TV has tried to compare "cupping" with meldonium, one of the banned substances. Despite the fact that I seriously doubt that the practice has anything more than a placebo effect, it is a bit of a stretch to compare it to putting a foreign substance in your body. At best, it is a type of physical therapy like massage.

 

[Astronuc]

A glimmer of hope

Like dozens of athletes at the Rio de Janeiro Games, gymnasts Hong Un Jong of North Korea and Lee Eun-ju of South Korea met on the sidelines during competition and training.

The 17-year-old Lee, who is at her first Olympics, posed Thursday for a smiling selfie with Hong, a 27-year-old veteran. That friendly encounter and others between the two were captured by journalists - and immediately took on larger significance for two countries still technically at war.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/even-olympic-selfies-complicated-koreas-rivalry-162229503--spt.html

May there be peace and harmony.

 

[nsaspook]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/olymp...-explain-mystery-of-1470849989-htmlstory.html

 

[Pepper Mint]

Will all medal winners get any other prizes in cash for example later by the local government ?

 

[nsaspook]

Breaking the pool color barrier

http://nypost.com/2016/08/12/olympians-officially-terrified-of-green-fart-smelling-water/

The other pool color barrier.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-simone-manuel-glanton-20160812-column.html

 

[Pepper Mint]

Wait, Canada is coming up, she is now in 13th place.

 

[mheslep]

What are your favourite disciplines?

Rowing, though the US men's team seems unable to be successful in the Olympics more than once every fifty years or so.

 

[Janus]

One complaint I have about the network coverage of the games is that they've devoted way to much time to beach volleyball. It just now reached the knock-out round and I'm tired of it.

 

[mheslep]

There may be some countries or athletes that should not be at the games, as they don't seem to get the idea of the spirit of the Olympics:

Lebanese Team Head

On Sunday, however, the IOC issued a reprimand to the head of the Lebanese Olympic delegation after he blocked Israeli athletes from entering a bus that the teams were supposed to share to reach the opening ceremony.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/10/israeli-athletes-rio-olympics-endure-shocking-host/

Egyptian wrestler

Egypt’s Islam El Shehaby, blue, declines to shake hands with Israel’s Or Sasson, white, after losing during the men’s over 100-kg judo competition

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/1601...warned-him-not-to-shame-islam-by-taking-part/

Moroccan boxer

The Brazilian police arrested the Moroccan Olympic boxer Hassan Saada on Friday morning on charges of sexually assaulting two workers at the Olympic Village.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/06/s...-arrested-on-sexual-assault-charges.html?_r=0Namibian boxer

Another Boxer Faces Sex-Assault Charges
A second Olympic boxer has been arrested and jailed on charges of sexual assault, a Brazilian police official said Monday, raising concerns over safety at the athletes’ village for the locals who work there.

The arrest of the boxer, Jonas Junius of Namibia, came on Sunday after a judicial order requesting it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/08/sports/olympics/schedule-results-rio.html

Saudi judo

A Saudi judo competitor pulled out of her first-round match at the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro on Sunday, ahead of a prospective second-round bout tie with an Israeli rival.

However, Israeli and Saudi accounts offered different reasons for Joud Fahmy’s withdrawal...

http://www.newsweek.com/saudi-judo-competitor-forfeits-match-avoid-israeli-next-round-reports-488342

 

[dilletante]

As a point of interest, Olympic gold medals are mostly made of silver -- at least 92.5% by decree.

As far as giving away too many medals in swimming, it only looks that way because Michael Phelps is a freak of nature that likely will never happen again. If you ignore his results, the individuals with the most Olympic medals competed in the following sports:

Gymnastics (18)
Gymnastics (15)
Gymnastics (13)
Fencing (13)
Gymnastics (13)
Running (12)
Canoeing (12)
Gymnastics (12)

Then a few more swimmers with 12. As a former swimmer I can attest that mastering more than one stroke is rare, so it isn't as if a swimmer can enter all of the events to pile up medals. It is also rare to excel at more than 1 or 2 distances, just as it is in running. Only one runner has ever won both the 200 and 400 meter race in the same Olympics, for instance. No swimmer has ever won the 50 meter and the 200, I don't believe, even though they are both considered sprints. And I know of only one swimmer in history who has excelled in all four strokes, Tracy Caulkins.

Most of the posts here seem to be about issues with these Olympics or disinterest, so I guess there aren't many sports fans on the forum. There are a number of events that I enjoy watching, however, including:

Swimming (I particularly love the relays, and there have been some moving moments in this Olympics, including a 35 year-old man coming back after a 16 year absence to win gold in the 50. And also Simone Manuel, who became the first black swimmer in the history of the Olympics to win gold in an individual event)

I enjoy many of the track and field events, especially the sprints, the pole vault, hurdles and relays. From a physics standpoint my favorite high jumper was Dick Fosbury, who won gold at the 1968 Olympics. He invented a completely new technique for jumping which involved going over the bar on his back, which no one had ever done in the hundreds of years athletes have been jumping. Now all the top jumpers use his technique, called the Fosbury Flop.

I like some of the cycling events, especially the sprints in the velodrome. I was amazed at the level of skill in table tennis, and also in archery.

I appreciate all the athletes for the incredible dedication it takes to reach the top of their sport.

 

[mheslep]

More so than the athletes that gain many medals in the sports which offer multiple events for them, I'm impressed by the few athletes that earn a consecutive string of gold medals through four or five Olympics, i.e. unbeaten in their chose event. Sir Steve Redgrave comes to mind ('84, '88, '92, '96, '00), the only athlete in the history of the modern games to do so in an endurance sport (6-7 minutes).

 

[PeroK]

As far as giving away too many medals in swimming, it only looks that way because Michael Phelps is a freak of nature that likely will never happen again.

As a former swimmer I can attest that mastering more than one stroke is rare, so it isn't as if a swimmer can enter all of the events to pile up medals.

He can't enter all events but he can enter enough, including several team relays and Individual medleys.

if no one can master all four strokes, how come there is an individual medley at all?

You can't begin to compare swimming with most other sports where only one gold medal for one individual is possible.

All of Phelps's team medals should only count as a quarter.

Swimming makes a mockery of the Olympic medal counts. What's even the point of the various strokes if the freestyle is fastest?

It's like having running in all different styles, like running backwards.

This fuss over Phelps is nonsense. It's just the byproduct of a remarkable individual sure enough, but more of a ridiculously organised sport.

he's no greater an athlete than Ed Moses, say, who never had more than one gold to go for.

 

[mheslep]

"Swimming makes a mockery of the Olympic medal counts. What's even the point of the various strokes if the freestyle is fastest?"

I take your point, though wiping out all but the fastest stroke would be bit like wiping out the hurdles (and several other events) in track because straight sprints are fastest. There is a difference in skill set, less so in swimming perhaps.

 

[PeroK]

"Swimming makes a mockery of the Olympic medal counts. What's even the point of the various strokes if the freestyle is fastest?"

I take your point, though wiping out all but the fastest stroke would be bit like wiping out the hurdles (and several other events) in track because straight sprints are fastest. There is a difference in skill set, less so in swimming perhaps.

I would certainly get rid of the "walking" events, not least because it's impossible to say whether the athletes are truly walking the whole way.

I don't see the connection with hurdling as those are obstacles and athletes have to complete the course as fast as possible.

The same with the high jump. There's not a separate event for the Fosbury flop, straddle and western roll. It's how high you can jump, period.

 

[mheslep]

...

Egyptian wrestler

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/1601...warned-him-not-to-shame-islam-by-taking-part/

...

for which he's told to catch a ride home

Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby has been sent home from the Rio Olympics after refusing to shake the hand of Israeli Or Sasson following the end of their bout, the International Olympic Committee said on Monday.

El Shehaby, who was sent home by his own team, lost the fight on Friday and was reprimanded by the IOC for his actions.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-judo-egypt-israel-idUSKCN10Q1WC

 

[jtbell]

if no one can master all four strokes, how come there is an individual medley at all?

If no one can master ten different track and field skills, how come there is a decathlon?

 

[PeroK]

If no one can master ten different track and field skills, how come there is a decathlon?

Perhaps the greatest Olympic athletes are indeed swimmers, gymnasts, cyclists and sprinters. That could be true. Certainly that's the way it's portrayed. But, just maybe, they win more medals because their sports allow them to compete for more medals.

Perhaps Phelps is 11.5 times the athlete that Moses was. 23 Gold medals (and counting) versus 2. No contest. Or, Daley Thompson (only 2 Gold medals). Or Ashton Eaton (1 and counting).

Perhaps track and field athletes do pale in comparison to their swimming counterparts. Mark Spitz won 7 Gold medals at one Olympics and Phelps 8. How could you do that in track and field?

100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m, 4x400m, long jump and ... 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles perhaps?

Perhaps if Mark Spitz or Michael Phelps had taken up track and field, they would have done just that. Yeah, maybe! And, maybe not. Personally, I doubt it.