London 2012 Summer Olympics |OT3|

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LQX said:
But would a country like Jamaica have means to come up with drugs able to beat all these sophisticated drug taste? I would level something like that on China or the USA before Jamaica.
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Production of the drug would not be done in for example Jamaica, but once it' s produced then it could be found all over the world. Competition tests are only useful for catching the stupidest dopers, the sophisticated ones use drugs that they don't (yet) have tests for or they do it in training. Doctors can monitor the athletes and make sure that they do not compete f anything shows up on tests. Random surprise tests are rare and probably hardly happens in some countries (like Africa). I just heard a commentator say during the womens 1500m that the Turkish girls mostly run local or small eastern european events during the season and then show up for the championships in top form....

And you have to remember that no one in the sport actually wants someone like Bolt (just an example) to be caught. His country, sports club, sponsors, IAAF, olympics all lose big if he was caught.
In cycling, the organizing committee UCI, is accused by doping agencys of protecting Lance Armstrong. http://t.co/GMxFEt82
 
kottila said:
Production of the drug would not be done in for example Jamaica, but once it' s produced then it could be found all over the world. Competition tests are only useful for catching the stupidest dopers, the sophisticated ones use drugs that they don't (yet) have tests for or they do it in training. Doctors can monitor the athletes and make sure that they do not compete f anything shows up on tests. Random surprise tests are rare and probably hardly happens in some countries (like Africa). I just heard a commentator say during the womens 1500m that the Turkish girls mostly run local or small eastern european events during the season and then show up for the championships in top form....

And you have to remember that no one in the sport actually wants someone like Bolt (just an example) to be caught. His country, sports club, sponsors, IAAF, olympics all lose big if he was caught.
In cycling, the organizing committee UCI, is accused by doping agencys of protecting Lance Armstrong. http://t.co/GMxFEt82
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Eh, Marion Jones was caught and stripped of 5 Olympic medals, she was a huge star. The sport continues to go on.
 
LuCkymoON said:
Its on TV right now.
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I'm watching it because 1) I fell asleep during the primetime airing, and 2) I really want to see the ending to see the camaraderie between May/Walsh and Kessy/Ross... if there is any. :p But still, can't believe that the US took gold and silver. A heck of a run.

Hopefully the US continues to do well in Track & Field to put China away. We just need a few more golds. Glad to see host Great Britain doing well, also.
 
I'm trying to find the words or a gif to describe the stupidity of the last few posts on this page.... but I'm coming up blank.
 
Psychotext said:
That's just stupid, you can't just randomly punch people because the other team is playing the ref. Well, not unless you want to risk sanctions / assault charges anyway.

The punch changed nothing in reality. Just proved that the tactic was probably as frustrating as they wanted it to be.
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flopping isn't a tactic it's cheating.
 
Can someone explain the lane disadvantage in running? I sort of get it for swimming. For swimming, can't it be mitigated by having a larger pool, so that nobody is in a wall-hugging lane?
 
numble said:
Can someone explain the lane disadvantage in running? I sort of get it for swimming. For swimming, can't it be mitigated by having a larger pool, so that nobody is in a wall-hugging lane?
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Lanes are only an issue in the 200 and 400 m. Inner lanes can be too tight to sprint full-speed, in the outer lanes you can not see the competition (due to lane staggering). Lanes 3-6 are ideal.
 
I'm Canadian and I just don't feel that connected to these summer Olympics. I thought perhaps it's because my country doesn't do that well in the summer olympics and I'm just being envious / self-centred, but I think it's the more personal side of Winter olympics without so many events and without the political angle (USSR and allies vs USA and allies, China vs USA) that makes it more impactful to me.

Like for example, I find it hard not to get emotional watching this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz8tzP3oeDg (please watch it before responding, especially past 4 minute mark)

There's no story so far out of these olympics that makes me feel that way. Am I just being self-centred as a Canadian and missing the heart-warming side of these olympics? Londoners, do you feel the same as that video?
 
numble said:
Can someone explain the lane disadvantage in running? I sort of get it for swimming. For swimming, can't it be mitigated by having a larger pool, so that nobody is in a wall-hugging lane?
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The first few lanes are harder to run, because of how tight the curve is on them. When running the curve(especially the 200) you want to hug the curve to give you the least amount of distance to run it. The wider the curve the easier it is to run it close.

But being too wide, like in lane 9 can make it hard to know how hard you have to run. Because the rest of the runners are behind you, so you are usually running blind on the curve.
 
BrokenSymmetry said:
Lanes are only an issue in the 200 and 400 m. Inner lanes can be too tight to sprint full-speed, in the outer lanes you can not see the competition (due to lane staggering). Lanes 3-6 are ideal.
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Why do they have 9 lanes and only seem to use 2-9? If 1 is too tight, why not just make lanes 2-9 and number them 1-8? Isn't there some kind of IAAF standard for tracks?
 
numble said:
Eh, Marion Jones was caught and stripped of 5 Olympic medals, she was a huge star. The sport continues to go on.
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She never "caught", but admitted to lying to a federal court long after her carreer had ended.

Some countries/federations are much better than others. In the fuentes (doping doctor) case in spain, lists of patients included athletes from many sports including football, tennis, cycling etc. Only the cyclists were ever investigated, even though the doctor said he worled with tennis players and footballers as well.

Cheating has existed since the day sports and will always happen. Even in the american masters cycling (old people racing for "fun"), people are caught with epo

Ps. for fun, one of the women implicated in the BALCO case, a track cyclist. convicted for false statements, not for doping:

mSTpUfEd



and a great timeline for the doping problem in cycling: http://www.cyclismas.com/2012/08/the-myth-of-the-uci-it-is-time-for-a-change/
 
mrklaw said:
Why do they have 9 lanes and only seem to use 2-9? If 1 is too tight, why not just make lanes 2-9 and number them 1-8? Isn't there some kind of IAAF standard for tracks?
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Kind of gives incentive for people to not dog it in the qualifying heats I guess. And lane 1 isn't horrible, just a bit more work is required in it is all. And still it really only matters on the curves, straightaways are all equal no matter the lane number.
 
mrklaw said:
Why do they have 9 lanes and only seem to use 2-9? If 1 is too tight, why not just make lanes 2-9 and number them 1-8? Isn't there some kind of IAAF standard for tracks?
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If two people tie in a heat or something, they can throw another lane in the next round.
 
Tabris said:
I'm Canadian and I just don't feel that connected to these summer Olympics. I thought perhaps it's because my country doesn't do that well in the summer olympics and I'm just being envious / self-centred, but I think it's the more personal side of Winter olympics without so many events and without the political angle (USSR and allies vs USA and allies, China vs USA) that makes it more impactful to me.

Like for example, I find it hard not to get emotional watching this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz8tzP3oeDg (please watch it before responding, especially past 4 minute mark)

There's no story so far out of these olympics that makes me feel that way. Am I just being self-centred as a Canadian and missing the heart-warming side of these olympics? Londoners, do you feel the same as that video?
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It really depends on how the media depict it.

Here in the UK the media has really made an effort to show the personal, human side of the British athletes, what it means for them to take part in their home olympics.
There have been stories about overcoming adversity, injuries, past disappointments etc etc.

Outside of the athletes, the theme of the olympics has been diversity and building for the future.

Understandably, we didn't get any of that for the winter olympics so it didn't really mean anything to us. And it's not surprising that other countries (especially those more interested in winter sports) would not feel what the British are feeling about their home olympics.


Also, it must be a cultural thing, but I found that segment you linked to be quite cheesy. I suppose other countries would find our BBC segments and the London opening ceremony to be cheesy too.
It's easier to overlook cheesiness if there is some kind of nostalgia or tradition attached to it.
 
Cheesy? It may be the nostalgia, but the cheesy lines like "Admit it, it feels good to let your heart show" is very accurate to what was occurring those 17 days. I high fived and hugged random strangers during that period. I had a smile across my face the entire time. My heart was full of pride. When I was downtown after the "golden goal", I had never felt closer to random strangers before in my life. It was an unreal experience and one I don't think I'll ever experience again. Is that cheesy? That's what you guys should strive to recreate.
 
krYlon said:
It really depends on how the media depict it.

Here in the UK the media has really made an effort to show the personal, human side of the British athletes, what it means for them to take part in their home olympics.
There have been stories about overcoming adversity, injuries, past disappointments etc etc.

Outside of the athletes, the theme of the olympics has been diversity and building for the future.
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You can't forget that the London riots was just last year. Maybe there hasn't been a Hollywood personal story so far, but for the city I think this Olympics has been the most uplifting thing for a long time, more so than an Royal wedding or Jubilee.

There are columns and editorials in the papers everyday trying to claim the Olympics in their arguments about class or gender politics. I can't take them seriously though, maybe in a few weeks, when the mood has moved on, but it is hard to be cynical about it all right now.
 
Tabris said:
I'm Canadian and I just don't feel that connected to these summer Olympics. I thought perhaps it's because my country doesn't do that well in the summer olympics and I'm just being envious / self-centred, but I think it's the more personal side of Winter olympics without so many events and without the political angle (USSR and allies vs USA and allies, China vs USA) that makes it more impactful to me.

Like for example, I find it hard not to get emotional watching this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz8tzP3oeDg (please watch it before responding, especially past 4 minute mark)

There's no story so far out of these olympics that makes me feel that way. Am I just being self-centred as a Canadian and missing the heart-warming side of these olympics? Londoners, do you feel the same as that video?
Click to expand...
The Winter Olympics is a snooze fest for most countries, it's understandable why a Canadian would prefer it to Summer Olympics.
 
I'm glad the London populace got mostly behind the Olympics once it started, although I knew that they would. Sydney 2000 was a just a great big long feel good party - people from all over the world in my home town looking to celebrate and party was just amazing. I'm sure it's the same for any city that hosts an Olympics, be it winter or summer.

krYlon said:
It really depends on how the media depict it.

Here in the UK the media has really made an effort to show the personal, human side of the British athletes, what it means for them to take part in their home olympics.
There have been stories about overcoming adversity, injuries, past disappointments etc etc.

Outside of the athletes, the theme of the olympics has been diversity and building for the future.

Understandably, we didn't get any of that for the winter olympics so it didn't really mean anything to us. And it's not surprising that other countries (especially those more interested in winter sports) would not feel what the British are feeling about their home olympics.


Also, it must be a cultural thing, but I found that segment you linked to be quite cheesy. I suppose other countries would find our BBC segments and the London opening ceremony to be cheesy too.
It's easier to overlook cheesiness if there is some kind of nostalgia or tradition attached to it.
Click to expand...

From an Aussie (with English roots) perspective, I found the opening ceremony refreshing. After the impressive but somewhat sterile Beijing and Athens opening ceremonies, it was nice to get real and a bit quirky. The social media stuff was a bit superfluous though - the tech is already embedded in society. The only people it would seem remarkable to would be my grandparents, and mainly because they've been dead for some time.
 
numble said:
Eh, Marion Jones was caught and stripped of 5 Olympic medals, she was a huge star. The sport continues to go on.
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I remember hearing about a load of sample going missing from the 1984 games after new tests were developed? It looks like doping is pretty high tech and involved, even if every now and again a sacrifice is made.
 
Well that was an unexpected gold for Australia.

Whole race I was waiting for them to fade away like every other event.
 
I miss morning Archery, can't believe we have to wait another 4 years to see it. Would be great if they start streaming the World Cups and Championships.
 
perfectchaos007 said:
Good for Australia, they were becoming targeted by world media due to their poor performance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCu9mr3wBYE&feature=g-all-u
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Best thing I've seen in a long time. We had some Kiwis in our NZ office giving us shit a couple of days ago - I'm glad at least that is over.

What the GB medal count from Beijing and London demonstrates is just how under performing they had been for many years, considering their size and wealth. Australia, by contrast, is under performing now, but then again the medal count is always going to drop off 12 years after you host an Olympics. I'm actually happy that the Brits have the ascendancy - easy beats aren't much fun to compete against.

One thing I'd recommend to GB after these games - make sure your coaches are paid well, otherwise they're going to get poached.

(edit) We're above Kazakhstan now in the medal tally - for some reason that was bothering me :)
 
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