Rio Olympics

[unc.si.]

Is it just me, or is Rio the least anticipated Olympic games in living memory.

Maybe its because we had London fever for months 4 years ago, maybe its because the news has been dominated by other things recently, but I've hardly seen it mentioned at all (apart from some Golfers using Zika as an excuse not to have to bother to turn up).

[Dennisthemenace]

Is there a football competition in it this time and are there any Prem players involved?

[unc.si.]

No idea.

I don't mean on FISO. There is a world outside the internet you know.

[Tacalabala]

I agree, it is strange. I think perhaps the journalists are not looking forward to this given the multitude of problems they are going to potentially face just covering it, and this has shown in the under-reporting. I suspect also that the IOC are regretting the choice of host, because even without Zika there are problems not least that AFAIK the Velodrome is not yet finished and the transport infrastructure hasn't been improved as promised. It must seem a world away from London where, let's be honest, collectively we bend over backwards to pull out all the stops.

[Moist von Lipwig]

If it wasn't for the golf/zika on the news I think I'd have mostly forgotten about it.

Doesn't like its going to be getting much coverage in Russia either if the report later today doesn't go their way...

[Striker]

An Olympic Games failure may be no bad thing if it makes the administrstors stop and think especially regarding the vast expenditures committed to the Games and the idea that bigger is better.

The Olympics fifty/sixty years ago generated huge enthusiasm despite relatively modest opening and closing ceremonies etc.

As regards zika, it's just a convenient excuse for those who don't want to go. If it was at a different time of year further north, there'd be a strong case for cold shouldering the games, but it seems that the probability of getting the virus in Rio in August is infinitesimal.

[murf]

As regards zika, it's just a convenient excuse for those who don't want to go. If it was at a different time of year further north, there'd be a strong case for cold shouldering the games, but it seems that the probability of getting the virus in Rio in August is infinitesimal.

I doubt half of them even realise it BUT golfers are most at risk as they are spending long times outside where the virus could be. Still an infinitesimal chance as you say.

No sport should be in the Olympics if it is not the pinnacle of that sport. Some sports (tennis, road cycling) at least half care but sickening to see the Olympics thinking they need to include golf to be popular when we all love the traditional athletics etc and getting into sports we don't care about for the other 3.99 years per cycle (eg shooting, canoeing).

Is it me or are there fewer ads on the BBC etc than you would expect (I fast forward ads these days so don't really see them)

[unc.si.]

Well that didn't go well for Russia.

[liquidfootball2]

Well that didn't go well for Russia.

Well that went extremely well for Russia.

http://news.sky.com/story/ioc-decision- ... w-10511710

It brings the Olympics into disrepute and really ends my interest in them. The IOC and FIFA under Blatter have remarkable similarities.

[liquidfootball2]

[

No sport should be in the Olympics if it is not the pinnacle of that sport. Some sports (tennis, road cycling) at least half care but sickening to see the Olympics thinking they need to include golf to be popular when we all love the traditional athletics etc and getting into sports we don't care about for the other 3.99 years per cycle (eg shooting, canoeing).

Exactly this, Golf (and in my opinion Tennis) have several majors each, of which all are bigger than their Olympic events, far from being the pinnacle of these sports they're more like fairground sideshows. They should be nowhere near the Olympics and a few others like football shouldn't be either.

[forestfan]

Well that didn't go well for Russia.

Well that went extremely well for Russia.

http://news.sky.com/story/ioc-decision- ... w-10511710

It brings the Olympics into disrepute and really ends my interest in them. The IOC and FIFA under Blatter have remarkable similarities.

I guess a few things must have gone on behind the scenes... I wonder if this will prompt any boycotts by other nations, at an individual sport or entire team level?

[Tacalabala]

Bach is basically cut from the same cloth as Blatter. Why are they so afraid of Russia, it makes no sense, the Games would be fine with them in my opinion.

[DAREEL]

No idea.

I don't mean on FISO. There is a world outside the internet you know.

[forestfan]

Why are they so afraid of Russia...

Perhaps they're worried about being served a cup of polonium tea...

[unc.si.]

Shocking decision.

Proof, if any were needed, that money and entertainment is more important than fair play and integrity.

Passing the buck to sporting federations that have demonstrated that they don't care about anything but the promotion of their sport. Most don't even really bother testing and certainly don't want any of their stars getting caught - bad for the image of the game.

Will be interesting to see if any federations make a stand. Even if they had any will to do so the IOC have made it very difficult for them.

The worst part of it is that the whistleblower gets punished the most. What sort of message does that send out?

WADA may as well just give up. No-one really wants to stop doping in sport.

[unc.si.]

Does seem that they've also provided guidance that federations should ban individual Russian athletes that were implicated in the whistleblower case or who haven't undertaken enough tests in the run up to the Olympics (that obviously causes a bit of an issue for sports like football and tennis which don't really do dope testing), so there may only be 40 or 50 Russians there.

Stronger than I first thought - suspect its an attempt to tread the line between not 'insulting' Russia and avoiding lawsuits from 'clean' athletes but keeping the number of Russian athletes at the games to a minimum.

[bluenosey]

After watching the anniversary games on Friday, and Saturday, I can't wait

It's very difficult to know what to do about Russia. Innocent athletes may suffer if you ban the whole team but some cheats may get away with it if you don't. I am surprised that Stepanova has herself been banned, when she lifted the lid on the whole thing and someone like Gatlin, who has cheated twice, will line up on the blocks That's where the rules seem inconsistent.

[CR9]

I think there is an element of making an example of Russia at play here. But it is hard to feel sympathy.

[Shaggy365]

I must confess I can't get excited despite I've been trying to run my fantasy competition. It may be different when it all starts, but with the lack of build-up, talk, general excitement, I too fear that it may not be the world-wide (excluding Russia) sporting spectacle that may brain tells me it should be.

[Mav3rick]

I'm starting to look forward to it, but speaking as someone who had tickets to the London games, it's really hard to match that level of anticipation and feeling that those games created for me.

It will still be a great spectacle for me, but I know it can't compare to what I experienced four years ago. I think that's why there's less excitement and anticipation, around me and my family and friends anyway.

[Shaggy365]

Just noticed on the beeb website that the Olympics has actually started already. Because there are so many games in the women's football to get in before the closing ceremony, it has already kicked off. Won't be sat glued to the screen watching Canada v Australia or Sweden v South Africa. I'm sure there'll be enough continuous sport over the next 3 weeks that I shouldn't really be starting now.

[forestfan]

Just noticed on the beeb website that the Olympics has actually started already. Because there are so many games in the women's football to get in before the closing ceremony, it has already kicked off. Won't be sat glued to the screen watching Canada v Australia or Sweden v South Africa. I'm sure there'll be enough continuous sport over the next 3 weeks that I shouldn't really be starting now.

Yeah, and there's Leicester v Barca or Celtic v that cycling team from Kazakhstan as well...

[bluenosey]

Fantastic men's road race in the cycling. The Italian and favourite Niboli came a cropper on the descent, wiping out the Columbian rider at the same time, leaving victory seemingly to the Pole Majka but he was reeled in by Van Avarmeat and Fugland, the Belgian winning the sprint to the line from the Dane. Geraint Thomas was in contention but also came a cropper on the steep - somewhat terrifying - descent. My only gripe was that some of the fans got a bit over excited and it seemed a miracle some fat bloke with a mobile didn't wipe out a rdier The scenery was spectacular though.

Adam Peaty has just smashed the men's 100 breastroke world record in the swimming . Let's hope he hasn't peaked too early.

[Tacalabala]

Fantastic men's road race in the cycling. The Italian and favourite Niboli came a cropper on the descent, wiping out the Columbian rider at the same time, leaving victory seemingly to the Pole Majka but he was reeled in by Van Avarmeat and Fugland, the Belgian winning the sprint to the line from the Dane. Geraint Thomas was in contention but also came a cropper on the steep - somewhat terrifying - descent. My only gripe was that some of the fans got a bit over excited and it seemed a miracle some fat bloke with a mobile didn't wipe out a rdier The scenery was spectacular though.

Adam Peaty has just smashed the men's 100 breastroke world record in the swimming . Let's hope he hasn't peaked too early.

The race was fantastic from start to finish, that Nibali-Henao wipe out incident will be talked about for years, it was almost cinematic how the the descent meant that the collision was revealed to us in what felt like a crime scene. Majka played the race very well to come in 3rd.

[Mav3rick]

The fans on that road race (on the ascent) were mad. Thank God they weren't messing about like that on the descent!!

Feels like we need a "currently watching, currently drinking" thread for the Olympic timetable

I quite enjoyed the 10m shooting earlier on, having never watched a full event of that before. The shooters did look a bit like cyborg soldiers from the future and the way the eliminations worked was pretty engrossing.

Currently on the rugby sevens, but there's quite a gulf in class and skills between the teams in the pools.

[Tacalabala]

I'm sure one of the cycling bods on here will be able to answer this:

When we entered the last 8km and Majka was out on his own, what was going on in the chasing group which Van Avermaet and Fugland broke away from? Would VA and/or Fugland have spoken to the others in the group to see who had enough left in the tank before making the breakaway, or is it a chase of waiting for someone to go and then see who follows?

[Moist von Lipwig]

I'm sure one of the cycling bods on here will be able to answer this:

When we entered the last 8km and Majka was out on his own, what was going on in the chasing group which Van Avermaet and Fugland broke away from? Would VA and/or Fugland have spoken to the others in the group to see who had enough left in the tank before making the breakaway, or is it a chase of waiting for someone to go and then see who follows?

Its a cutting your nose off to spite your face situation. fuglsang/GVA went after Majka of his own volition and no colusion(i forget who went first) and the other was quick enough to grab his wheel. What you saw before that was no-one willing to head the chase for Majka as the person expending energy at the front (its about 30% more) is the least likely to have any left at the finish as tactically the rest would just sit on his wheel and do no work and be fresh for the finish. Rider A would rather not give himself a chance to get a medal because it would also give riders B,C,D etc a chance of one too... If they'd all played fair and taken a turn Majka would have been caught by them all easily - but there's always someone who just sits at the back which causes a domino effect of others soing the same. You could see Rodruigez gesticulating at the others. Also should there be someone who is easily faster than everyone else in the group in a sprint (in this case GVA) then whats the point in helping him to the finish and catching the leader just for him to beat you....

After those two jumped, the same still applied - no-one wanted to be the one to go into the red to chase them down/join the move, they just sit there and brinkmanship hope someone else will do it.

Edit - and chapeau to GVA on the win, I genuinely didn't think a puncheur would have enough to make it today and the climbers would make it too hard but he was just too strong. I wonder if Sagan now regrets sidestepping it.

[Tacalabala]

I'm sure one of the cycling bods on here will be able to answer this:

When we entered the last 8km and Majka was out on his own, what was going on in the chasing group which Van Avermaet and Fugland broke away from? Would VA and/or Fugland have spoken to the others in the group to see who had enough left in the tank before making the breakaway, or is it a chase of waiting for someone to go and then see who follows?

Its a cutting your nose off to spite your face situation. fuglsang/GVA went after Majka of his own volition and no colusion(i forget who went first) and the other was quick enough to grab his wheel. What you saw before that was no-one willing to head the chase for Majka as the person expending energy at the front (its about 30% more) is the least likely to have any left at the finish as tactically the rest would just sit on his wheel and do no work and be fresh for the finish. Rider A would rather not give himself a chance to get a medal because it would also give riders B,C,D etc a chance of one too... If they'd all played fair and taken a turn Majka would have been caught by them all easily - but there's always someone who just sits at the back which causes a domino effect of others soing the same. You could see Rodruigez gesticulating at the others. Also should there be someone who is easily faster than everyone else in the group in a sprint (in this case GVA) then whats the point in helping him to the finish and catching the leader just for him to beat you....

After those two jumped, the same still applied - no-one wanted to be the one to go into the red to chase them down/join the move, they just sit there and brinkmanship hope someone else will do it.

Edit - and chapeau to GVA on the win, I genuinely didn't think a puncheur would have enough to make it today and the climbers would make it too hard but he was just too strong. I wonder if Sagan now regrets sidestepping it.

Thanks Moist. I just found it perplexing that they were happy to let the chance go rather than fight as a group - where is the glory in coming 4th/5th/6th after all? Especially so given the way that the chance fell in their laps and it was obvious that Majka was well within reach, if you are that close then my instinct would be to go legless for what is a percentage chance at least rather than 0% before Nibali-Henao happened.

EDIT - Hard knocks indeed: http://www.eurosport.co.uk/cycling/olym ... tory.shtml

[thelip]

Fantastic men's road race in the cycling. The Italian and favourite Niboli came a cropper on the descent, wiping out the Columbian rider at the same time, leaving victory seemingly to the Pole Majka but he was reeled in by Van Avarmeat and Fugland, the Belgian winning the sprint to the line from the Dane. Geraint Thomas was in contention but also came a cropper on the steep - somewhat terrifying - descent.

Hmm. Just sat through 5 hours of the coverage of this terrific race which I recorded on Sky+ on one of the BBC dedicated channels and got as far as the Nibali crash before the recording ended prematurely! The Beeb are incapable of doing anything correctly, it's no wonder that they have lost almost all of their sporting jewels in the crown. Will Wimbledon and the Olympics be next?

[bluenosey]

Gutted for Hannah Miley, lost Bronze on the touch in the individual medley Probably her final Olympics too.