Beijing Olympics Thread

[troutman]

What are your expectations for the Beijing Olympics? What Canadian athletes and stories will you be following? I have a nagging feeling that something terrible is going to happen - like in Munich.

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/

Opening ceremonies are Friday - I imagine they will be spectacular. 5:00 am to 10 am MST. What is time difference to China? Are most live events going to happen while we sleep?

Canadians to watch (good to see we are still dominating trampoline!):

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/story/200...letesmain.html

Medal Hopes:

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/countdown...wn-medals.html

Team Canada captured 12 medals, including three gold, at the 2004 Athens Games — the country's worst showing since collecting 10 medals in 1988 in Seoul, and a far cry from the 22 podium finishes Canada had in 1996 in Atlanta.

The Canadian Olympic Committee hasn't set a hard target for medals in Beijing, but says it wants to finish in the top 16, which would be an improvement of three spots from Athens.

Kayaker Adam van Koeverden is the best hope for a gold medal. The Canadian flag bearer will be joined by four other world champions: swimmer Brent Hayden (100-metre freestyle) sprinter Tyler Christopher (400 metres indoor), Karine Sergerie of Ste-Catherine, Que., in taekwondo and the men's eight rowing crew. Other top Canucks like diver Alexandre Despatie and trampolinist Karen Coburn could also make the podium.

Athens medal standings:

http://olympic-museum.de/m-stand/mirror2004.htm

Australia won 49 medals in Athens (with a population of 20 M people).

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by troutman

What are your expectations for the Beijing Olympics? What Canadian athletes and stories will you be following? I have a nagging feeling that something terrible is going to happen - like in Munich.

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/

Or in retribution for the western world telling the Chinese how to run their internet, they totally cut off our supply of Ketchup...

[mykalberta]

On a side note, just watched the movie Munich on Bravo over the weekend - very good movie. Can't believe I had never heard any details about it given our worlds current state of affairs.

[GirlySports]

NBC has paid for swimming and gymnastics to be shown primetime in north america.

Beijing is 14 hours ahead of Calgary.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/schedule/

If you click on aquatics-swimming for example you will see something like:

10:00-10:07 Men's 400m Individual Medley Final

So Phelps will be racing in the morning over there.

I've also calculated the men's 100m final to be Saturday Aug 16 at 8:30am Calgary time.

---

I dont think there will be any incidents.

I predict 13 medals for Canada.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

On a side note, just watched the movie Munich on Bravo over the weekend - very good movie. Can't believe I had never heard any details about it given our worlds current state of affairs.

Never heard any details about the movie, or the situation? It didn't win anything at the Academy Awards, but it was nominated for several categories, including Best Picture. I remember it having quite alot of hype at the time(2005). Great movie, and good message at the end(revenge doesn't solve anything).

[Dion]

Pollution will be a problem during the Olympics dispite China's best efforts.

Some athlete will be wearing a Free Tibet shirt on the podium.

[Sainters7]

As much as I disagree with China's actions in recent events, once the Olympics start on Friday let's try to keep this thread about the Olympics, and not an on-going political debate. There's already a multi-page thread regarding this, if that's what people are seeking.

[GirlySports]

I'll be most interested in the women's soccer team.
I hope they can get a medal!

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Never heard any details about the movie, or the situation? It didn't win anything at the Academy Awards, but it was nominated for several categories, including Best Picture. I remember it having quite alot of hype at the time(2005). Great movie, and good message at the end(revenge doesn't solve anything).

The event, just bits and pieces, who cares about the movie when some of the events of Muich are known.

I dont think anything like that will happen here, if they do whoever does better watch out cause the Chinese arent a bunch of panzies like those who bungled Munich.

I will only watch Mens basketball and probably some womens soccer.

Sorry, forgot mens 100m of course, probably the only individual sport that interests me.

[Locke]

I'll probably be paying the most attention to soccer.

As for the event itself, well, I expect people will probably start to disappear at some point.

[octothorp]

I don't think anything will happen in Bejing beyond a few athletes wearing a 'Free Tibet' shirt, and then the Beijing officials cutting the TV feed or something like that. And charges of censorship by the press on a daily basis. But there will be more attacks in muslim parts of the country, and possibly marches or protests in Tibet.

For Canada, I think about 14 medals, but the ones I'll be excited about are the athletes who come out of nowhere, people the average Canadian has never heard of, who rises to the occasion and wins a medal.

[Boblobla]

I don't even think we will see that many Free Tibet t-shirts tbqh.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

I don't even think we will see that many Free Tibet t-shirts tbqh.

I wouldnt wear one at the risk of disappearing into some crazy Chinese jail.

Free Tibet T-Shirts are all well and good in safe countries, but you'd have to be insane to wear one in China.

People have been killed for less.

[troutman]

Here is an interesting chart - summer olympic medal standings (all-time) per capita:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/sp...ime-per-capita

Finland is #1.

Canada and US are doing about the same at #29 and #28.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by troutman

Here is an interesting chart - summer olympic medal standings (all-time) per capita:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/sp...ime-per-capita

Finland is #1.

Canada and US are doing about the same at #29 and #28.

I wonder what the biggest country not to ever win a summer medal is?

[habernac]

the only event I am even thinking about is women's mountain biking, where we have two solid chances at gold with Marie Helene Premont and Catharine Pendrel, who finished 1/2 in the last two World Cup races in quebec the last two weekends.

[GirlySports]

Can't be any worse than LA or Athens.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I wonder what the biggest country not to ever win a summer medal is?

DR Republic of Congo. 62 million people (21st most populous country in the world), 8 Olympics (1968; 1984 to present), no medals.

Edit: article on DRR Congo's best medal shot (and longshot at that), Gary Kikaya.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/sp...prod=permalink

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by octothorp

DR Republic of Congo. 62 million people (21st most populous country in the world), 8 Olympics (1968; 1984 to present), no medals.

Edit: article on DRR Congo's best medal shot (and longshot at that), Gary Kikaya.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/sp...prod=permalink

Thanks!

In Athens in 2004, Kikaya led a small Congolese delegation in the opening ceremony, carrying the flag. “It wasn’t planned,” he said. “When they called us to march, one of our Olympic people said: ‘You’re the most well known, you hold it.’ ”

I got a kick out of that

[OzSome]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

Or in retribution for the western world telling the Chinese how to run their internet, they totally cut off our supply of Ketchup...

Come on Ketchup is not made in China. I think in retributions to Western world, they will stop shipping crappy stuff for Chinamart(Walmart) and China Tire. We can only wish....