Summer Olympics 2020/1

[ElizabethT]

Watching Women’s Swimming, and not impressed with Lilly King needing to stare other swimmers down, and to slap her arms and legs loudly in order to ‘do whatever I can to intimidate other swimmers.’ (Her words not mine.)

Not an inspiring stance IMO.

ETA: Pleased that a USA athlete that doesn’t appear to engage in King’s theatrics just took the Gold in the 100M backstroke, while King took the Bronze. Congratulations to Alaska’s Lydia Jacoby

 

[RunningBum]

It's too bad almost all of the family and friends of the athletes can't be there, but I like to see the watch party crowd reactions.

 

[pb4uski]

Just enjoyed listening to Michael Phelps talking about Milak and how he has one less stroke per 50m than Phelps did in his prime and how gracious Phelps was about the likelihood that his Olympic Record will be broken in the 200m fly final.

 

[Morgan22]

I enjoy watching all of the equestrian events.

 

[RobbieB]

Nobody in the stands is distracting.

 

[tmm99]

Has anyone watched the Tunisian teenage swimmer (who barely qualified) winning the gold medal in men's 400m freestyle? He swam on Lane 8. The crazy/funny part is that there were over a dozen Australians cheering for the 2nd place winner, but this Tunisian teenager only had one supporter in the stands!

If this Youtube link only works in Canada, you can search "Tunisian swimmer Olympics" and you should be able to find videos on this.

 

[Sunset]

Nobody in the stands is distracting.

Maybe they could put a model or two up there to distract

 

[Popeye]

Watching Women’s Swimming, and not impressed with Lilly King needing to stare other swimmers down, and to slap her arms and legs loudly in order to ‘do whatever I can to intimidate other swimmers.’ (Her words not mine.)

Not an inspiring stance IMO.

ETA: Pleased that a USA athlete that doesn’t appear to engage in King’s theatrics just took the Gold in the 100M backstroke, while King took the Bronze. Congratulations to Alaska’s Lydia Jacoby

I’ll admit I enjoyed that race a little bit more than the others! They basically ignored the Alaska kid leading up to the race. Heck, even until about 25 meters to go!

 

[pb4uski]

Maybe they could put a model or two up there to distract

At least they don't have cardboard cutouts in the stands (that I have seen) and pipe in cheering crowd noise.

 

[audreyh1]

It’s been a very long time since I watched any Olympics.

 

[Car-Guy]

At least they don't have cardboard cutouts in the stands (that I have seen) and pipe in cheering crowd noise.

+1

 

[Popeye]

At least they don't have cardboard cutouts in the stands (that I have seen) and pipe in cheering crowd noise.

Wait until track and field starts. That’s going to be surreal in such a large but empty stadium.

 

[Popeye]

Is it me, or does it seem like NBC is putting the whammy on our athletes? Everyone they hype seems to step on a land mine.

 

[Gremlin]

Has anyone watched the Tunisian teenage swimmer (who barely qualified) winning the gold medal in men's 400m freestyle? He swam on Lane 8. The crazy/funny part is that there were over a dozen Australians cheering for the 2nd place winner, but this Tunisian teenager only had one supporter in the stands!

If this Youtube link only works in Canada, you can search "Tunisian swimmer Olympics" and you should be able to find videos on this.

We saw this “live.” These are my favorite kind of finishes! The relative unknown/underdog who captures the gold. He was so excited (understandably) it was fun to watch.

 

[SecondCor521]

Is it me, or does it seem like NBC is putting the whammy on our athletes? Everyone they hype seems to step on a land mine.

I'm wondering if they'll rethink their approach of essentially anointing the winners ahead of time. They've had problems in the past where the expected successes aren't the most memorable ones. And this year in one sport (won't mention it now to avoid spoiling it for those who haven't seen the news yet) it has really turned out poorly.

I'd rather they just say something like "Watch the Olympics to see who wins"

(To be fair, they have guessed right sometimes, like Phelps' 8 gold medals in Beijing.)

 

[Sojourner]

Well the 2020 (2021) Summer Olympics officially opened today in Japan.

Are you interested? (maybe not for this old crowd )

I can't remember ever being less interested in the Olympics (either summer or winter) than I am this year. Not sure exactly why... maybe all the COVID delays and hand-wringing, maybe my declining interest in sports generally, maybe because of all the other activities and hustle-bustle in my life this summer. Probably a combination of all the above. Haven't watched a millisecond of coverage nor read any articles about the goings on in Tokyo.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Wow. Simone Biles stepping away to "protect her mental well being."

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news...-27-21-spt/h_207227c9f2cfe758a89178ed3a405b90

 

[Car-Guy]

I can't remember ever being less interested in the Olympics (either summer or winter) than I am this year. Not sure exactly why... maybe all the COVID delays and hand-wringing, maybe my declining interest in sports generally, maybe because of all the other activities and hustle-bustle in my life this summer. Probably a combination of all the above. Haven't watched a millisecond of coverage nor read any articles about the goings on in Tokyo.

Interesting, thanks for your thoughts/perspective... In my case my interest in some of the more popular professional sports here in the US has fallen off dramatically in recent years (e.g. Baseball and Football) But my interest in the Olympics has stayed about the same for the most part.... While I like the traditional events the best, I'm finding I like some of the newer events too, like the mountain bike racing.... I much prefer the summer Olympics myself.... Probably becasue I can run, jump, swim, ride a bike, play volleyball, basketball, etc, etc.... Can't snow ski, or ice skate (very well)... YMMV ..

 

[tmm99]

I'm interested in the Olympics more this year than any other year, probably because there are so many things we still cannot do here due to the pandemic, and watching other people play sports seems to be the next best thing (I used to go play volleyball at least three times a week, including leagues and sometimes tourneys, so watching great players play volleyball on TV is exciting.)

Also, unlike in the past, I can just go to cbc.ca (I imagine nbc.com for the US folks) and pick and choose what I want to watch from multiple live events as well as past events.

 

[eytonxav]

I still prefer amateur athletics like the Olympics and college sports much more than professional sports and particularly dislike any politicization in sports. Although I have my favorite events, it is interesting to see some of the less well known events as well.

 

[CardsFan]

I still prefer amateur athletics like the Olympics and college sports much more than professional sports and particularly dislike any politicization in sports. Although I have my favorite events, it is interesting to see some of the less well known events as well.

Bold by me.

You do realize that most of the athletes in the high profile sports ARE pro's, don't you? Basketball, soccer, volleyball, etc. These athletes are all paid fairly well, either by direct compensation or by endorsements. Heck, the women's soccer team is in court right now suing for comparable pay to the men.

And, with the recent supreme court ruling against the NCAA, college athletes are not far behind.

Not commenting about whether this is "right" or "wrong", just saying this IS where we are at.

 

[easysurfer]

Just watched the 200M women's freestyle. Katie Ledecky got smoked and didn't even medal. Maybe due to old age in swimmer years. Or something else. Disappointing.

One noticeable difference from 2021 to 2016 is seems her physical build is more stocky, which I think was a bad decision. She used to be fit but not muscularly built. Maybe the bulk is good for the 800M and 1500M but not so for the shorter races. But what do I know?

 

[Car-Guy]

Just watched the 200M women's freestyle. Katie Ledecky got smoked and didn't even medal. Maybe due to old age in swimmer years. Or something else. Disappointing.

One noticeable difference from 2021 to 2016 is seems her physical build is more stocky, which I think was a bad decision. She used to be fit but not muscularly built. Maybe the bulk is good for the 800M and 1500M but not so for the shorter races. But what do I know?

Well whatever it is, it worked for her in the 1500... Just watched her win the gold.

 

[SecondCor521]

Just watched the 200M women's freestyle. Katie Ledecky got smoked and didn't even medal. Maybe due to old age in swimmer years. Or something else. Disappointing.

One noticeable difference from 2021 to 2016 is seems her physical build is more stocky, which I think was a bad decision. She used to be fit but not muscularly built. Maybe the bulk is good for the 800M and 1500M but not so for the shorter races. But what do I know?

She's a distance swimmer. It would be like Usain Bolt trying to run the steeplechase (well, the reverse of that).

 

[RunningBum]

I feel like we see perfection or something near to it in past Olympics from athletes like Biles and Ledecky and then put expectations too high for them this time around. Too much pressure. Phelps had a good perspective on that. It also seemed that Nastia Liukin had seen problems in warmups, and while she couldn't have predicted what would happen, it didn't come out of the blue.

Ledecky isn't finished here either. She got the 1500, and still has the 800, and a relay, I think. Biles may not be finished either.