2024 Summer Olympic Games Discussion

[mcastillo356]

Hi
Olímpic Games just started
I have not the habit of switching on the TV. But I won't miss the marathon. You?
Best wishes!

 

[berkeman]

I'll be trying to watch the Shot Put competition, in anticipation of Ryan Crouser throwing another world record to win it. It was one of my sports in high school, and I watched Brian Oldfield break the world record here locally in the Bay Area back in the 1970s (amazing!). I love the way Ryan consistently throws near the far edge of the shot put landing pits in his competitions -- I hope they have an extra-long pit for this Olympic competition!

 

[mcastillo356]

I love how do these athletes get a while to prepare themselves before throwing the ball. And the throw itself constrained in such a small circle. They scream whenever they perform.

 

[berkeman]

And in one of the weirdest coincidences of the games so far...

In the hours before the Opening Ceremonies, there was a coordinated terrorist attack on the high-speed train network in France. It consisted of arson attacks to disable the train network, and luckily did not cause any injuries:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...ail-network-olympics-get-underway-2024-07-26/

The strange coincidence is that in the TV Opening Ceremonies, they tracked the last few km of the Olymipc Torch as it made its way into Paris through many hands and eventually to light the overall torch for the games. One of the legs was a man in a suit carrying the torch on the Paris subway...

 

[jtbell]

One of the legs was a man in a suit carrying the torch on the Paris subway...

I was amused to see that he got a paper ticket from the station attendant. Doesn't everybody over there use tap-to-pay from their smartphones now?

 

[berkeman]

When I was traveling in Taiwan recently on business, you could use either. Since my colleague and I did not read Chinese to work the ticket vending machines, we opted for the credit card tap option instead.

 

[Vanadium 50]

to disable the train network

How could they tell?

(I cannot recall a trip to Paris where the transportation system didn't have one critical leg down. Once I was working in Orsay, and decided to stay in Paris proper. After all, it's just half an hour on the RER. Big mistake. Big big mistake)

 

[Orodruin]

Did someone say “Armand Duplantis”?

Apart from the men’s pole vault, I’ll try to watch some other events where Swedish people actually stand a chance: Women’s 50/100 m freestyle swimming, men’s beach volleyball … kids might not leave much time to spare though …

 

[mcastillo356]

Hi, PF

I do like marathon race the best because I read somewhere that runners, or better said, human endurance no longer supports the effort, i.e. there is a point at which it is only human will that keeps the body towards the winnig post. I've been googling it but found no trace. Could you help me to find back up for this memory? Thanks!

Best wishes!

 

[Orodruin]

I never heard anything like that, but human endurance is absolutely excellent in comparison to other animals. Over long distances, humans will outrun basically anything, including horses and cheetah.

 

[PSRB191921]

One of the legs was a man in a suit carrying the torch on the Paris subway...

A man? No a football legend! Sorry a soccer legend!

 

[Orodruin]

A man? No a football legend! Sorry a soccer legend!

… and a violent assaulter?

(Yes, there is much more to him than that moment and he was verbally abused by Materazzi in the build-up, but it became very iconic as it was also the very end of his carreer and resulted in being sent off in the world cup final)

 

[PSRB191921]

let's remember this

 

[Orodruin]

let's remember this

Language has its own irony sometimes, but meaning goal in French and (head)butt being what he did to Materazzi.

 

[mcastillo356]

Hitting the wall, that's the point..It happens moreless at the 20th to 30th km, in a marathon

 

[Vanadium 50]

I haven't seen the opening ceremony. However, the reviews well....lets just say it did not review well.

 

[dwarde]

I thought a large portion of the opening ceremony looked like a Super Bowl Half time show.

 

[mcastillo356]

Hi PF, there goes some information about women and men's marathon races
https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/information/olympic-marathon-route
Best wishes!

 

[pinball1970]

I just watched Ireland and England rugby sevens ladies. Holy hell. Those guys are fit.

 

[Orodruin]

Surprisingly, the biggest Olympic scandal so far is not a case of doping. It is the use of drones by the Canadian women’s football team to spy on their opponents’ closed practices. It has already seen FIFA deduct 6 points from the team (making it extremely difficult to qualify for the knockout stage) with additional fines. Not to mention that the unauthorized drone flying itself may have been illegal in France.

In addition, it seems like something the coaching staff has been practicing for quite some time - including the previous Olympic games, which Canada won. Possibly calling into question whether or not the gold should be revoked depending on what investigations result in.

https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/a...one-scandal-tokyo-football-gold-bev-priestman

https://nationalpost.com/sports/oly...-soccer-team-lose-its-2020-olympic-gold-medal

 

[PeroK]

Surprisingly, the biggest Olympic scandal so far is not a case of doping. It is the use of drones by the Canadian women’s football team to spy on their opponents’ closed practices. It has already seen FIFA deduct 6 points from the team (making it extremely difficult to qualify for the knockout stage) with additional fines. Not to mention that the unauthorized drone flying itself may have been illegal in France.

In addition, it seems like something the coaching staff has been practicing for quite some time - including the previous Olympic games, which Canada won. Possibly calling into question whether or not the gold should be revoked depending on what investigations result in.

https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/a...one-scandal-tokyo-football-gold-bev-priestman

Cheating in football! Whatever next?

 

[Vanadium 50]

Canada's women' s soccer penalized for unsport manlike conduct? Unsportsmanlike conduct? Canada? What is the world coming to?

 

[pinball1970]

I do like that going into an olympic year, each country thinks that their guy will do well.
Olga Corbett 1972. Just amazing, artistic and athletic. That was my intro the Olympics and other countries. Just doing their stuff. Absolutely great for kids.

 

[PeroK]

Canada's women' s soccer penalized for unsport manlike conduct? Unsportsmanlike conduct? Canada? What is the world coming to?

There were probably a few men in the Canadian women's team, so either term would do.

 

[Vanadium 50]

There were probably a few men in the Canadian women's team, so either term would do.

That was East Germany.

Yung uns not only don't remember the famous East German teams and East German judges, but they weren't even alive when East Germany was a country.

 

[Orodruin]

That was East Germany.

Yung uns not only don't remember the famous East German teams and East German judges, but they weren't even alive when East Germany was a country.

Overheard in the Olympic village in Seoul (1988):

- Drat! I forgot my razor at home. Now I won’t be able to shave for two weeks!
- Why don’t you check if the DDR women’s shot putters have a spare?

 

[Vanadium 50]

I just read that the Olympic Village is in Saint-Denis. Yipes! Saint-Denis has an enormous crime rate - I don't think there is anything like it in the USA. It's ~2.5x the crime rate in Detroit. You do not wander at night, where the streets are illuminated by cars burning.

What were they thinking?

 

[berkeman]

Yipes! Saint-Denis has an enormous crime rate

LOL. I'm guessing that crime rate has dropped in the past couple of weeks, and will continue to be low for another couple of weeks.

Not that it helps the residents all that much, except for the temporary lull...

 

[Vanadium 50]

I was thinking in the other direction - staying in St. Denis gives people more sprinting practice.

 

[Orodruin]

Another outrageous scandal: A Brazilian swimmer has been sent home and another warned for visiting the Eiffel tower: https://www.reuters.com/sports/olym...-after-they-left-athletes-village-2024-07-28/
(Leaving the Olympic village without permission from their Olympic committee)