2020 Summer Olympics (2021)

[Gelion]

Its happening! Video of the olympic torch being lit in Olympia:

I wasn't able to find a way to re-watch the ceremony officially, so if anyone knows where its possible, let me know.

 

[J-man]

The dutch olympic delegation had 3 olympians tested positive for COVID-19. I wonder what the games will mean for COVID in Japan, which is largely unvaccinated.

Edit: 4 people tested positive now.

 

[EnglishEdward]

I dare say that when they make a computer game of the Olympics there will likely be a
random Covid monster attack that will eat your icon just before crossing the finishing line.

 

[Edmund Ironside]

I am normally all about the Olympics. I always love watching the big world sporting events such as the Olympics, (soccer) World Cup, Rugby (union) World Cup, etc. However finding it hard to get into this Olympics. Mainly because it just doesn't feel the same without the spectators, and the general 'buzz' around it. I guess we will have to see where things are in a years time, but it feels like postponing it another year might have been better option then the current pandemic Olympics we are stuck with. Such a shame as I was so psyched for these Olympics just from the little bit they did at the end of the Rio closing ceremony with the Mario and the Japanese prime minister! Maybe I will be won over by the end of the current Olympics, we shall see.

 

[shadowplay]

I was watching the triathlon earlier. Should probably have barf bags ready and waiting at the finish line next time.

 

[EnglishEdward]

I watched the latter 2/3 of the skateboarding down a metal safety rail last night.

The short Japanese contester won and a Brazilian came second.

I was amazed at the stoicism of the contestants, and relieved
that none were carried off on a stretcher with a broken spine.

During the intervals I closed my eyes and maliciously tried
to imagine Johnson, Macron, Merkel and such others trying it.

 

[Sofista]

Yeah, I noticed skateboarding has somehow become part of the Games.

Am I to call the local slackers 'ambitious young perspective Olympians' now?

 

[EnglishEdward]

And C02 neutral transport environmentalists too !

 

[EnglishEdward]

Fiddlesticks, the upside down kangaroos have overtaken us:

Australia 6 Gold; 1 Silver; 9 Bronze; Total 16
Great Britain 5 Gold: 6 Silver; 4 Bronze; Total 15

This is embarrassing.

 

[Sofista]

At least you're winning gold medals. It looks like we're going to quote De Coubertin at the end - a sure sign of frustration.

 

[EnglishEdward]

Let us consider the overall picture:

England/GB/UK v Italy

Football: Italy won at Wembley
Covid-19: UK losing total death count; gap widened from 500 to 1500 in Italy's favour
Olympics: UK ahead at the moment
Absurd PMs: ??

 

[Sofista]

Absurd PMs: if we can go back in time, I don't think you had a PM who foraged what basically constituted a harem...

 

[Hrothbern]

Let us consider the overall picture:

England/GB/UK v Italy

Football: Italy won at Wembley
Covid-19: UK losing total death count; gap widened from 500 to 1500 in Italy's favour
Olympics: UK ahead at the moment
Absurd PMs: ??

And then to consider that the UK spends money like water on its olympic teams to get more medals...
A BoJo London effect ?

Here a cost analysis of the last Rio games:

Number of medals per kind of sport and as function of money for the UK. Japan and the US.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/T...Olympic-medals-pays-off-in-swimming-and-track

 

[shadowplay]

The amount of time the Olympic golf coverage is eating up on the sports channels in lieu of more traditional athletic events is pissing me off.

That, and I never want to see children skateboarding as an Olympic event ever again.

 

[EnglishEdward]

A BoJo London effect ?

Nope, in my opinion it is the complete reverse.

The politicos simply couldn't agree on an approach and didn't want to fund it out of government funds
so they settled for an arms length management approach using national lottery funding.

The success in 2008, 2012 * , 2016 is in my opinion due to the UK political class not getting involved.

* The government funding for holding it in 2012 in London is separate from that of training teams.

USA and China ignored UK success because they were more successful. Europe ignored it because
obviously not invented there, and so the UK must have cheated although they can't quite work out how.

The Australians noticed the UK success and I believe they had their people inquire how the UK
had organised things and New Zealand followed suite, and now they are doing even better.

I am regretting not making a prediction in this thread, however the outcome does not surprise me.
Having typed that, there is some variance between my expectations and what has happened so far.

 

[Sofista]

The amount of time the Olympic golf coverage is eating up on the sports channels in lieu of more traditional athletic events is pissing me off.

I just realized golf is an Olympic sport at all.
I'm glad I can choose between our tv, Austrian, German and Swiss.

That, and I never want to see children skateboarding as an Olympic event ever again.

Amen to that. But I fear we're in for e-sports sooner rather than later...

EDIT: but I want to show an incredibly... lackluster show I witnessed, even though it somehow netted us a medal.
It's a mix of choreography and screaming, a parody of combat sports somehow mislabeled as 'karate'. Good thing Paris 2024 already said no.

 

[red_elk]

Team sports are IMO less medal-efficient regardless of investments.
Compare swimming, wrestling or boxing with volleyball or basketball.

 

[Sofista]

I fear we're in for e-sports sooner rather than later...

Pardon my self-quoting, but if you want a good laugh, look at what the 2024 Olympics are going to see instead.

(I'm so out of touch, I thought it had died with the Eighties...)

 

[EnglishEdward]

At least you're winning gold medals. It looks like we're going to quote De Coubertin at the end - a sure sign of frustration.

Italy didn't do so badly.

You won 10 Gold Medals to match Germany, France and the Netherlands.

 

[Sofista]

No, once athletics began we had a surprisingly good run.

But by the end of July (when I wrote that) we had only two golds, and it looked as if we were collecting enough bronze to cast some new bells.