Rio Olympics 2016 discussion

[DarloRich]

Another good day yesterday:

• Gold for mens cycling sprint team (Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner)
• Silver for Katherine Grainger and Victoria Thornley in double sculls rowing
• Silver for men's rugby 7's
• Silver for David Florence and Richard Hounslow in C2 double canoe

GB having their backsides handed to them by Fiji in the Rugby Sevens final. Half-time score is GB 0 - 29 Fiji.

still got a silver medal! Fiji are the best in the world and they have been streets ahead of everyone in that tournament.

 

[J-2739]

Another good day yesterday:

• Gold for mens cycling sprint team (Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner)
• Silver for Katherine Grainger and Victoria Thornley in double sculls rowing
• Silver for men's rugby 7's
• Silver for David Florence and Richard Hounslow in C2 double canoe

We've won a decent supply of medals too: 4 gold; 6 silver; 6 bronze.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

I'm disappointed that so many people seem to focus solely on medals being won by British athletes. To me the Olympics is a festival of sport and while we can't all like every sport I've always thought an important part of the viewing experience is to enjoy and admire excellence of performance regardless of nationality. As such I have to mention today's women's 10000m final. I won't bore you with all the details, you can look them up if necessary. Suffice to say it was possibly the greatest display of competitive distance running, by men or women, in the history of organised sport. I feel privileged to have been able to watch it.

On the Team GB front Jess Ennis has made a good start to defending her title.

 

[J-2739]

I'm disappointed that so many people seem to focus solely on medals being won by British athletes. To me the Olympics is a festival of sport and while we can't all like every sport I've always thought an important part of the viewing experience is to enjoy and admire excellence of performance regardless of nationality. As such I have to mention today's women's 10000m final. I won't bore you with all the details, you can look them up if necessary. Suffice to say it was possibly the greatest display of competitive distance running, by men or women, in the history of organised sport. I feel privileged to have been able to watch it.

On the Team GB front Jess Ennis has made a good start to defending her title.

You could have just said my name instead
And I know that the Olympics is a 'festive of sport', I just felt like entertaining this thread instead...
It's ironic that you criticize me for 'not seeing the true spirit of the Olympics' but yet you go on about people 'defending their title'.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Anyone remember the patronizing coverage of "Eric the Eel" a few Olympics ago? Glad there doesn't seem to have been much of that this time around...

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

You could have just said my name instead
And I know that the Olympics is a 'festive of sport', I just felt like entertaining this thread instead...
It's ironic that you criticize me for 'not seeing the true spirit of the Olympics' but yet you go on about people 'defending their title'.

Apologies if you felt picked upon, you're by no means the only one! And in your defence our media is much worse so if people are influenced by them it doesn't really surprise me. It's also worth pointing out that if like me you have access to all the BBC's red button feeds there is much more choice and often free from the whims of commentary. I take it you're not suggesting any lack of excellence on the part of Jess Ennis?!

 

[J-2739]

Apologies if you felt picked upon, you're by no means the only one! And in your defence our media is much worse so if people are influenced by them it doesn't really surprise me. It's also worth pointing out that if like me you have access to all the BBC's red button feeds there is much more choice and often free from the whims of commentary. I take it you're not suggesting any lack of excellence on the part of Jess Ennis?!

No, no, I think Jess N. is a great sportswoman! And sorry if I came across as arrogant in the top post. I suppose I was too carried away posting the medal results!

 

[backontrack]

Please get rid of Clare Balding, Beeb! What qualifications does she have????

 

[J-2739]

Mo Farah just won gold in 10,000m today in 27:05:17!!

Kudos to him and everyone else who took part in this exciting event!!

 

[Harbornite]

Mo Farah just won gold in 10,000m today in 27:05:17!!

Kudos to him and everyone else who took part in this exciting event!!

He now has three golds to his name, which I believe is a record for British runners.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Please get rid of Clare Balding, Beeb! What qualifications does she have????

The very fact that horses feature in these Olympic Games and the fact that the commentary team covering those events need someone with a deep insight into equine matters, make her an ideal candidate. Have a look at her past history. She was a leading amateur jockey in her early days and family wise, her uncle Toby Balding was a noted personage in horse riding circles.

She has commentated on a number of sporting events in the past.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

No, no, I think Jess N. is a great sportswoman! And sorry if I came across as arrogant in the top post. I suppose I was too carried away posting the medal results!

Age eventually does catch up with you and there are new younger competitors at each Olympic Games and the fact that her efforts won a silver medial is something to be very proud of.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

There are the Olympic Games and then there are World Championships.

Was the original idea of the Olympic Games to encourage personal performances of athletes, regardless of any team ethos?

This was one of the early postings that I made upon this thread and the fact that the xenophobic BBC TV commentary team totally are enamoured with the Great Britain team medal haul and love to compare how "the team" stands in the medal table totally loses sight of the fact that it was the individual performances in the true spirit of the Olympic Games that led to the award of every medal won.

 

[backontrack]

The very fact that horses feature in these Olympic Games and the fact that the commentary team covering those events need someone with a deep insight into equine matters, make her an ideal candidate. Have a look at her past history. She was a leading amateur jockey in her early days and family wise, her uncle Toby Balding was a noted personage in horse riding circles.

She has commentated on a number of sporting events in the past.

And yet she has never actually competed in an Olympics.

Besides, she's dire! She just goes on about how emotional all the athletes must be, what they must have come through to get where they are...it's ridiculous! And she's not just on the dressage, she presents the whole lot! She does it clumsily and patronises her colleagues, the athletes and the viewers.

 

[ExRes]

And yet she has never actually competed in an Olympics.

Besides, she's dire! She just goes on about how emotional all the athletes must be, what they must have come through to get where they are...it's ridiculous! And she's not just on the dressage, she presents the whole lot! She does it clumsily and patronises her colleagues, the athletes and the viewers.

I believe she's competed in the same number of Olympics as Matt Baker, Helen Skelton, John Inverdale and Hazel Irvine actually, while I'm pretty sure that patronising your colleagues, athletes and viewers is part of the job requirement these days

 

[backontrack]

I believe she's competed in the same number of Olympics as Matt Baker, Helen Skelton, John Inverdale and Hazel Irvine actually, while I'm pretty sure that patronising your colleagues, athletes and viewers is part of the job requirement these days

Hazel Irvine and Helen Skelton are good commentators at least, mostly because they don't say anything stupid. But the other two are abysmal.

 

[Harbornite]

This was one of the early postings that I made upon this thread and the fact that the xenophobic BBC TV commentary team totally are enamoured with the Great Britain team medal haul and love to compare how "the team" stands in the medal table totally loses sight of the fact that it was the individual performances in the true spirit of the Olympic Games that led to the award of every medal won.

Are you sure that you can describe the commentary as xenophobic? Of course the Olympics are partly about individual achievement, but there's nothing wrong with British commentators being supportive of team GB.

 

[backontrack]

This was one of the early postings that I made upon this thread and the fact that the xenophobic BBC TV commentary team totally are enamoured with the Great Britain team medal haul and love to compare how "the team" stands in the medal table totally loses sight of the fact that it was the individual performances in the true spirit of the Olympic Games that led to the award of every medal won.

Really? Over at the gymnastics they can't shut up about Simone Biles.

 

[richw]

Team GB now 2nd. It may be about individual performances however the clue is in the name team GB that there is a team element.

1st and 2nd in the men's horse gymnastic thing. A sport I would never watch normally, as is the case with many events. Murray is up next in the final of the tennis.

 

[ExRes]

Hazel Irvine and Helen Skelton are good commentators at least, mostly because they don't say anything stupid. But the other two are abysmal.

I rather think you're missing the most relevant point though, Balding, Irvine, Skelton, Baker and Inverdale, even though Inverdale does attempt to, are not commentators, they are presenters, as such they do not need the knowledge that a true commentator does, if the BBC find them personable while you don't rather leaves you in the position that we are all in, put up or use the mute

 

[Butts]

I rather think you're missing the most relevant point though, Balding, Irvine, Skelton, Baker and Inverdale, even though Inverdale does attempt to, are not commentators, they are presenters, as such they do not need the knowledge that a true commentator does, if the BBC find them personable while you don't rather leaves you in the position that we are all in, put up or use the mute

David Coleman is sadly missed a knowledgable commentator and presenter the like of which is sorely lacking today. Des Lynam , Frank Bough, David Vine, Harry Carpenter, Dan Maskell, Ron Pickering, Hazel Irvine, Archie Macpherson, Brendan Foster,et al.... all BBC trained and tested at numerous events.

The fractured broadcasting market has not improved the caliber of todays presenters and commentators.

 

[backontrack]

Don't forget Colemanballs!

 

[Butts]

Don't forget Colemanballs!

His worst ever faux pax coming in Mexico in 1968 when David Hemery won the hurdles for GB and he commented "who cares who came third" - in fact it was a fellow Britain John Sherwood

Seriously Coleman in my view is unsurpassed as an all round Sports Presenter / Commentator.

 

[backontrack]

John Acres, BBC1:

"He's crestfallen...on his knees as he walked off."

 

[adrock1976]

Some thoughts of mine regarding the Olympic Games.

The original founding principle was for athletes at the amateur level to be given a chance to perform as an individual, before turning professional.

While it is good for participants from England, Wales, and Scotland (I'm not into corporate mutt's nuts) to be awarded medals, and with no disrespect at all, they are all professionals now. Even Paula Radcliffe has made plenty of money out of it when she turned professional.

You could say that the Olympic Games are far removed from the original founding principles nowadays, but it is where you draw the timeline in the sand that could be debated. For example, it could be 1988 Seoul, where the men's 100 metres final is often referred to "The dirtiest race in history" due to almost all of the participants testing positive for substances.

Another alternative could be 1968 Mexico City, where Tommie Smith and John Carlos did the Black Power Salute, supported by Peter Norman. The Australian government were very disgraceful in their treatment of Peter Norman after that event, despite them imposing an apartheid regime on the Aborigines similar as how what was happening in South Africa at the time.

David Coleman is sadly missed a knowledgable commentator and presenter the like of which is sorely lacking today. Des Lynam , Frank Bough, David Vine, Harry Carpenter, Dan Maskell, Ron Pickering, Hazel Irvine, Archie Macpherson, Brendan Foster,et al.... all BBC trained and tested at numerous events.

The fractured broadcasting market has not improved the caliber of todays presenters and commentators.

Is that the same Frank Bough who used to present BBC Breakfast alongside Selina Scott in the 1980s? If so, he was in the headlines for liaising with call girls and snorting cocaine.

 

[Butts]

Is that the same Frank Bough who used to present BBC Breakfast alongside Selina Scott in the 1980s? If so, he was in the headlines for liaising with call girls and snorting cocaine.

That does not mean he was not an accomplished presenter....Breakfast Time, Grandstand, Nationwide etc.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

There's no doubt that the BBC's style of sports presentation has changed over the years; whether that is for the better or not is of course a matter of opinion! One thing interesting about the Olympic coverage is the use of its Red Button channels. I think I can guarantee that BBC1/2/4 will not be showing any meaningful coverage of handball but it's been on the RB. The RB channels have also been streaming the live feeds without any commentary at times or sometimes using commentators who appear not only to be non-BBC staff but often not British either. Last night BBC1 had the usual style of coverage of the athletics with regular studio analysis and discussion while a RB channel had uninterrupted coverage of the men's long jump showing every leap with commentary by a couple of New Zealanders. I have also heard a number of Australian and American voices: I wonder if the BBC has some sort of resouce sharing agreement with other English language broadcasters.

My favourite moment so far was Monica Puig winning the first ever gold medal for Puerto Rico in the women's tennis singles. Quite surprising that PR has taken so long (first Olympic participation: 1948) to achieve this considering how sports mad its people can be, like a small version of Cuba.

 

[Domh245]

And Scottish British Tennis star Andy Murray wins the gold in Tennis to put us back into second in the medals table

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Some thoughts of mine regarding the Olympic Games.

The original founding principle was for athletes at the amateur level to be given a chance to perform as an individual, before turning professional.
While it is good for participants from England, Wales, and Scotland (I'm not into corporate mutt's nuts) to be awarded medals, and with no disrespect at all, they are all professionals now. Even Paula Radcliffe has made plenty of money out of it when she turned professional.

You could say that the Olympic Games are far removed from the original founding principles nowadays, but it is where you draw the timeline in the sand that could be debated.

The point that I was at pains to point out in my original posting, is that we now have World Championship events, so why the need to stage Olympic Games with vast sums of infrastructure involved as an excuse as the ethos originally envisaged no longer applies. Those protesters in Brazil do appear to have a valid point about the cost of the current Olympic Games being held there when poverty is rife and favelas exist.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Team GB now 2nd. It may be about individual performances however the clue is in the name team GB that there is a team element.

Who was it in their infinite wisdom decided to coin the phrase "Team GB", which is meaningless in the true nature of the Olympic Games. Ignoring the recent Russian doping scandal that was to enhance the "Russian medal count" of that country, look back to the times of the East German teams who participated in past Olympic Games, where the sole aim was the team "medal count" in attempt to challenge the Americans at the time of political divide in Europe.

Sorry, but if you want to focus on the team rather than the individual performances, there is always the World Championships in which that can be said to be the main feature. To me, the example of all those months of training and the personal performance of Joe Clark winning the gold medal in the Kayak event is far nearer the true ethos of Olympic Games than any artificial team medal supremacy or otherwise.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

It's an interesting discussion, the contrast between the original Olympic ethos of individual athletes demonstrating their prowess against the modern organisation of sport with a strong focus on the team element, and at times an apparent obsession with the medal table. However it should be remembered that just 20 years ago in Atlanta the total medal count for GB&NI was just 15 (Pinsent & Redgrave winning the only Gold). And now as a country we are generating the same level of success as the mighty Chinese. Much of the change is due to the significant funding of many sports from the National Lottery. Not everyone may be happy with that use of the money but it does mean that sports administrators are aware of the need to justify the expenditure; the ultimate justification, at least at the "elite" level, is in the level of success which for which the medal count is very useful as a general reference. It may seem a little cynical but it's probably unavoidable. And it also shows how things have significantly changed over time; where are all the Australian and German medals?

As to the use of Team GB when it really should refer to the UK there are two main reasons for this. Firstly the IOC historically has used GBR as our national code and there would be significant resistance to changing it. Secondly it's a marketing tool which is easily sold to potential sponsors, etc.

Whether the Olympics should continue to consume such huge sums of money to organise every four years is another matter for debate. Some sports do indeed have their own world championships which could be argued to make the Olympic competition superfluous. The inclusion of some sports might also be questionable, particularly those whose participants are already earning fame and fortune. On the other hand there are some sports which only get global coverage due to the Olympics. I remember prior to London 2012 there was a lot of negativity around including on this very forum: it all seemed to dry up when the Games actually started. And the very fact that Team GB is doing so well again might well suggest that the London Games did indeed leave some worthwhile sporting legacy.

 

[Greenback]

The Olympics can never be anything but a massive corporate event. It's the world we live in. I have no interest in it myself, so I wouldn't care if it was stopped, but it's not going to happen. Not while there's money to be made from it somewhere along the way.

 

[Butts]

The Olympics can never be anything but a massive corporate event. It's the world we live in. I have no interest in it myself, so I wouldn't care if it was stopped, but it's not going to happen. Not while there's money to be made from it somewhere along the way.

To be fair you could say the same about any big event of this nature - World Cup, Euros, Rugby World Cup etc what differentiates the Olympics ?

Well done to Andy Murray the GBR Flag Carrier retaining his Olympic Title following in the footsteps of Chris Hoy in London. A worthy recipient of this undoubted honour.

When you look where we were 20 years ago in Atlanta the progress of team GB is something we should all be proud of.