Beijing Olympics 2008: 4x100 Men's Swimming Finish

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around various events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with a particular focus on the 4x100 Men's Swimming relay and other sports such as badminton, equestrian, and gymnastics. Participants share their experiences, opinions, and reactions to the events, as well as their preferences for viewing the Olympics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express excitement over the finish of the 4x100 Men's Swimming relay, highlighting Lezak's performance and the French team's unexpected loss.
  • Several users mention their desire to watch the opening ceremony, discussing difficulties accessing it on YouTube and NBC's website.
  • Participants share their thoughts on various sports, including badminton and equestrian events, with some expressing confusion about the latter's competitive structure.
  • There are discussions about the performance of the Women's 400m freestyle team from Britain, noting unexpected results and individual performances.
  • Some participants debate the fairness and competitiveness of equestrian events, questioning the impact of rider skill versus horse quality.
  • Humorous exchanges occur regarding the idea of banning swimsuits in swimming competitions to create a level playing field.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features multiple competing views, particularly regarding the nature of equestrian events and the accessibility of Olympic broadcasts. There is no consensus on the best way to view the Olympics or the fairness of various sports.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of interest in different sports, and some mention specific events they missed or wish to see. The discussion reflects a mix of personal opinions and experiences rather than established facts.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in Olympic sports, event performances, and the dynamics of viewing preferences during major sporting events may find this discussion engaging.

Gokul43201
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For all your Olympics related posting.

Who just watched the 4 X 100 Men's Swimming? What an amazing finish by Lezak!
 
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I want to see the opening ceremony but NBC won't let anyone post it on youtube. I missed it.
 
I saw some of women's singles badminton this morning...This chick from Mauritius (who looked fine) was doing badly...meh, to many sports to keep track of.
 
Cyrus said:
I want to see the opening ceremony but NBC won't let anyone post it on youtube. I missed it.

I also been googling for it for more than 2 days.

Damn everyone, they all embeded youtube on their pages...:shy:
 
That was a pretty incredible finish.

Btw, cyrus, nbc does have the opening ceremony footage on their website. http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/nbcencore/index.html

You have to download a buggy new MS plugin for it...
 
Last edited:
GO AUSTRALIA! =D
yay for tennis
 
The most unexpected results of the day, however, belong arguably to the Women's 400m freestyle team from Britain. Adlington stunning Hoff with a great comeback finish was one thing, but Joanne Jackson claiming 3rd place (beating out Balmy, Pellegrini and Potec) must be pretty sweet too.
 
Why do you all want to watch it on YouTube? NBC is still a free channel to watch. :confused:

I've watched some of it while inside, but a lot of it has been events I'm not particularly interested in...water polo (what a strange sport to watch), and I think it was some sort of boxing (they were in a ring with head protection on, I didn't watch any more than that). I caught some swimming the other night, some of it while sitting in a bar (so, yeah, even if you don't have a TV, all the bars are playing the olympics on their TVs too), but I can only watch a little of that before I get bored. I missed the gymnastics, which I usually enjoy. Will they televise any equestrian events, and if so, does anyone know the schedule? Those along with gymnastics are my favorite summer events (I'm more of a fan of winter olympics).
 
  • #10
Moonbear said:
Why do you all want to watch it on YouTube? NBC is still a free channel to watch. :confused:

I've watched some of it while inside, but a lot of it has been events I'm not particularly interested in...water polo (what a strange sport to watch), and I think it was some sort of boxing (they were in a ring with head protection on, I didn't watch any more than that). I caught some swimming the other night, some of it while sitting in a bar (so, yeah, even if you don't have a TV, all the bars are playing the olympics on their TVs too), but I can only watch a little of that before I get bored. I missed the gymnastics, which I usually enjoy. Will they televise any equestrian events, and if so, does anyone know the schedule? Those along with gymnastics are my favorite summer events (I'm more of a fan of winter olympics).

I never understood the equestrian events. I could understand if everyone rode the same horse, but as it is doesn't the person with the best horse win? How much difference can the skill of the rider make?
 
  • #11
Gokul43201 said:
For all your Olympics related posting.

Who just watched the 4 X 100 Men's Swimming? What an amazing finish by Lezak!
That was truly an amazing race. I do believe the French were actually dumbfounded that they lost. One of them had boasted rather loudly that they were going to beat the USA and Phelps out of a gold in that event.
 
  • #12
tribdog said:
I never understood the equestrian events. I could understand if everyone rode the same horse, but as it is doesn't the person with the best horse win? How much difference can the skill of the rider make?

You'd make one horse do the same run over and over again? That poor horsie :frown: ...
 
  • #13
Gokul43201 said:
The most unexpected results of the day, however, belong arguably to the Women's 400m freestyle team from Britain. Adlington stunning Hoff with a great comeback finish was one thing, but Joanne Jackson claiming 3rd place (beating out Balmy, Pellegrini and Potec) must be pretty sweet too.

Very interesting relationship between Pellegrini and Manadou (the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal winner that also made the finals). Pellegrini already had Manadou's ex-lover and was a big favorite to take her Gold Medal, as well. For a while, it looked like Manadou was going to have a truly inspired performance. I think she was still leading half-way through the race, but, eventually, physical reality set in and she wound up in last place way behind all of the other swimmers.

Hoff looked kind of shocked, too. She beat the person she had to beat (Pellegrini) by a decent margin. Who'd of thought Adlington and Jackson would put in that kind of performance?
 
  • #14
tribdog said:
I never understood the equestrian events. I could understand if everyone rode the same horse, but as it is doesn't the person with the best horse win? How much difference can the skill of the rider make?

The horse and rider are a team. Of course, the rider probably cares more about winning a medal than the horse. The horse would just like a carrot.

The training of the horse factors into how well the team does as well, so the rider actually does affect who has the best horse - more than a relay runner affects the performance of his team mates. I'd almost compare it to dog agility competition. The training of the animal has at least as much affect as the animal's natural abilities do.
 
  • #15
tribdog said:
I never understood the equestrian events. I could understand if everyone rode the same horse, but as it is doesn't the person with the best horse win? How much difference can the skill of the rider make?

The horse and rider train together, and the skill of the horse is a direct reflection of the skill of the rider in training that horse. Also, it does take a LOT of athletic skill to ride a horse at that level. You could not take a bad rider and put them on a good horse and get a good outcome. I also like it because it requires a true skill along with athletic ability to ask a horse to do what they do and get it to happen (especially events like dressage). Much better than people who win events by hundredths of seconds because they had a faster swimsuit.
 
  • #16
Moonbear said:
The horse and rider train together, and the skill of the horse is a direct reflection of the skill of the rider in training that horse. Also, it does take a LOT of athletic skill to ride a horse at that level. You could not take a bad rider and put them on a good horse and get a good outcome. I also like it because it requires a true skill along with athletic ability to ask a horse to do what they do and get it to happen (especially events like dressage). Much better than people who win events by hundredths of seconds because they had a faster swimsuit.

I agree. They should ban swimsuits so all of the swimmers are competing on a level playing field.

Maybe the field should be filled with water first. :rolleyes:
 
  • #17
BobG said:
I agree. They should ban swimsuits so all of the swimmers are competing on a level playing field.

Maybe the field should be filled with water first. :rolleyes:

:smile: I dunno, some of the swimmers may naturally have more drag than others without suits. :rolleyes: Though, hmm...I might be able to watch the swimming competition longer. :-p
 
  • #18
Moonbear said:
:smile: I dunno, some of the swimmers may naturally have more drag than others without suits. :rolleyes: Though, hmm...I might be able to watch the swimming competition longer. :-p

As long as this isn't the reason you like the equestrian events.
 
  • #19
Moonbear said:
Will they televise any equestrian events, and if so, does anyone know the schedule? Those along with gymnastics are my favorite summer events (I'm more of a fan of winter olympics).
The entire schedule is available at www.nbcolympics.com and there is a also a lot of high quality online-only broadcasts - thousands of hours worth. No equestrian today, but there is some tomorrow morning (you were just going to sit at your desk and pretend to work anyway, right?).
 
  • #20
russ_watters said:
The entire schedule is available at www.nbcolympics.com and there is a also a lot of high quality online-only broadcasts - thousands of hours worth. No equestrian today, but there is some tomorrow morning (you were just going to sit at your desk and pretend to work anyway, right?).

I'm on vacation, so don't have to worry about pretending to work. :biggrin: I don't have any morning plans for tomorrow other than staring at a coffee cup, so I should be able to watch before heading out for the day. Thanks.
 
  • #21
I was just checking out the online listings. Since when is trampoline an olympic event?
 
  • #22
Phelps just took the 200 like he could do it in his sleep!

And Grevers shaved today! And it showed.
 
  • #23
Not all of the events will be on your local NBC station. About an hour ago the "Oxygen" channel was showing the cross country equestrian event.
 
  • #24
Gokul43201 said:
Phelps just took the 200 like he could do it in his sleep!

And Grevers shaved today! And it showed.
Phelps said something like, "At the start of the race when I came to the top I noticed I was about half a body length ahead of anyone else." this was before he actually started swimming.
 
  • #25
tribdog said:
Phelps said something like, "At the start of the race when I came to the top I noticed I was about half a body length ahead of anyone else." this was before he actually started swimming.
That can't be right. Unless I'm misremembering, Phelps trailed for the first three quarters, and then he just flipped a switch and passed everyone.

Edit: No, I think you're right. I think I'm remembering the 200 fly. He always lead in the 200 freestyle.
 
  • #26
did he win two races today? i didn't see the race, just the interview
 
  • #27
China takes gymnastic gold last night!
 
  • #30
yahoo said:
Peiyi later told China Central Television that just having her voice used was an honor

What kind of crap is that? Do they seriously drill "honor" into these kids from birth or was it something the mother forced her to say?
 

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