Beijing Olympics Thread

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by flamesaresmokin

If you're that bothered by the performance I'd say you should write the government and demand your loonie back then.

Some canadians need to ditch the logic that a lucky loonie is all the athletes need to compete with the worlds best. Its much like everything else in the world in the sense that you get what you put into it. With Canada we put in the minimum for a country our size and we are seeing the results.

For myself, I'm impressed that this group of athletes is actually making finals and producing top 20 finishes in many events where they have never been close in past years.

But we clearly have some athletes dissapointing. Athletes that have finished much higher in world events, but are peeing the bed at the Olympics.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Ruttiger

Curious if you feel the same way about the Flames when you buy a ticket or tickets to a game, given that a large chunk of that revenue goes to pay their salaries. I know they get critiqued, but do you feel they need to answer to you for their performance because you contribute to their pay? Are they directly accountable to you personally?

Have you seen the main board?

I would say most if not all fans feel this way whether they buy a ticket or not.

[LockedOut]

So are we putting all our medal hopes on the rowing teams. I can't think of any other sport where we are expected to win medals that has been contested yet. Maybe baseball/softball and women's soccer but that's it. Also I'm trying to remember the medal prediction before the Athens game by some Canadian official that was somewhat controversial from what I remember. What was it 40 or something at the time. What the heck is a Tajikistan? They have one more medal than us.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by fredr123

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/fencing/s...ng-schalm.html

Sherraine Schalm is out. She had a bit of a hissy after her loss and tossed out a few harsh words (CBC video). Here's how Mark Connolly described it:



I've never heard of this athlete until this morning when I watch an interview on CBC between her and Scott Russell(?) while I waited at the doctor's office. Schalm has a lot of personality and even wrote what promises to be an interesting book (Running with Swords), but the way she came across really irritated me. I really wish I could find a link to the video so you can all see it for yourself and tell whetehr I may be over-reacting but I guess I'll just have to go based on my memory.

Essentially, she apologized for letting Canada and everyone else down. Then she went on a bit of a rant about how she wasn't being treated fairly as a high-performance athlete in Canada. Apparently she's had to train overseas for the last seven years because it wasn't until this year that Canada got a national fencing coach and has actually put any money into the sport. She then went on to describe how she felt unwanted in Hungary and how Hungarians hate Canadians. A lot of generalities seemed to be tossed out at that point.

Yeah, I just saw the highlights of this, including her interview and to be quite honest, it was a little embarassing. Not so much her comments about letting Canada, her family and her coach down, but moreso when the reporter asked her about the penalty she took and she said something along the lines of, "I roughed up the delicate Hungarian".

I understand she was probably frustrated, angry and disappointed, but get a hold of your emotions and try not to lash out like that, jeez.

[icarus]

All of us who complain should spend the next four years volunteering at our local pool, track, velodrome etc. to help our athletes train! That's how we can make our contribution. Who's with me?!

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by JayP

How many realistic medal opportunities have been blown at this point?

I don't follow any of these sports so I'm not the one to answer that question. I have heard several times that most of Canada's best chances to medal are in the second week. There's definitely too many people who look on CBC and see 0 medals for Canada and then just make noise. If Canada was only expected to get 1 or 2 medals at this point is it really that much of a disappointment?

I had a list several pages back of how many medals I thought Canada should be able to win and how many they had an outside shot at winning. My definition is that a 'should' is someone who, on a good day, is top three in the world. An outside shot is someone who, on a great day and with others having off days, is one of the top three in the world.

Hayden fits into the latter category. He would have had to swim the race of his life to medal in the finals, so at best he was a medal longshot. It's certainly not a failure on par with the men's eights rowing or Perdita Felicien at the last Olympics. The men's synchro diving is another I'd put into that category of long-shots. Beyond them though, I wouldn't have listed any of the Canadian athletes to compete so far to be even long-shots.

Expected to medal:

Karine Sergerie in Taekwando
Karen Cockburn in Trampoline
Adam van Koeverden in 500 and 1000 Kayak
Marie Helen Premont in Mountain Biking
Men's Eights in rowing - qualified for final
Alexandre Despatie in 3m platform

Longshots:

Sebastien Michaud -Taekwondo
Tonya Verbeek -wrestling
Gary Reed -800m
Mark Oldershaw -canoing
Women's softball team - 2-0
Samantha Cools - BMX
Men's synchro diving - no medal
Blythe Hartley - diving
Cameron and Kok - rowing - qualified for semifinal
Frandsen and Calder - rowing - qualified for final
Women's eights - rowing - qualified for final
Chris Cook - sailing - 4th through 6 races
Brent Hayden - no medal
Chris Brown - swimming*
Synchro swim team
Simon Whitfield - triathalon

*not on my medal radar previously

[icarus]

Originally Posted by troutman

Too many medals are given out in swimming. A hockey player can win one medal after playing about 6 60 minute hockey games. A swimmer can win 8 medals for swimming 4 lengths of the pool 8 times. Too many events. Same for gymnastics and track.

This is a very good point. Every winter Olympics 6 medals are handed out in ice hockey. How many total medals are available in swimming?

But there are also a lot of medals handed out in speed skating and we tend to stock up on our ores there.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Longshots:

Sebastien Michaud -Taekwondo
Tonya Verbeek -wrestling
Gary Reed -800m
Mark Oldershaw -canoing
Women's softball team - 2-0
Samantha Cools - BMX
Men's synchro diving - no medal
Blythe Hartley - diving
Cameron and Kok - rowing - qualified for semifinal
Frandsen and Calder - rowing - qualified for final
Women's eights - rowing - qualified for final
Chris Cook - sailing - 4th through 6 races
Brent Hayden - no medal
Chris Brown - swimming*
Synchro swim team
Simon Whitfield - triathalon

*not on my medal radar previously

No women's soccer team?

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by icarus

No women's soccer team?

No, but they're definitely on the bubble, just a bit longer than a long shot. As the ninth-ranked in the world team, I didn't think they had much of a shot going in, certainly not on the same level as other athletes I listed. And given their loss to Sweden and tie with China (even though they were the better team in that game), they don't really show signs of advancing. However, I'll cheering loudly for them against the US, and I hope I'm wrong and they're able to beat the Americans, but they haven't looked confident yet. If they do win this next game, however, they have a great shot of advancing to the gold/silver game.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by octothorp

just a bit longer than a long shot.

I didn't know there was such a thing as longer than a long shot.

[Ruttiger]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

But we clearly have some athletes dissapointing. Athletes that have finished much higher in world events, but are peeing the bed at the Olympics.

If you're basing your disappointment and disgust on this basis, I'll go out on a limb and say more countries than not will experience this in every Olympics contested. This isn't a uniquely Canadian phenomenon.

And I'm going out on a limb and predicting Mike Brown will end the medal drought tonight. Qualified in second place for the finals and someone who has generally exceeded expectations when the lights are the brightest, not vice versa.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by icarus

All of us who complain should spend the next four years volunteering at our local pool, track, velodrome etc. to help our athletes train! That's how we can make our contribution. Who's with me?!

YEAH!

Somebody wanna sponser my soccer team? My ski trips? My wishful white water kayaking coach?

[flamesaresmokin]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

But we clearly have some athletes dissapointing. Athletes that have finished much higher in world events, but are peeing the bed at the Olympics.

That is simply things that happen, how many athletes thus far have legitimately lost out on a medal they should have been guaranteed to win? Canada has maybe 2-3 tops to now. Its not like its an outright disappointment.

No matter what its probably the hardest thing in all of sports to be prepared to perform the best of your life, on one particular day after many years of training, in front of millions of people. You can't expect athletes to repeat every event, phelps is an anomaly that comes around once every 15-20 years.

The thing is, Canada has very few sure bet medalists. This could change for london in 4 years but it would certainly improve if funding was given a kick in the butt.

[Ruttiger]

Dammit Brown!!!

[Otto-matic]

Shut out Shut out!
Canada's shut out streak!


Hopefully that breaks our curse

[Shawnski]

Originally Posted by Ruttiger

Dammit Brown!!!

9/100s of a second from bronze, 15/100 seconds from a silver, both less time (barely) than it takes fotze to drop a bodily function joke.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by fotze

I am starting to hope for 0 medals just to see jiri and others lose it.

Yeah me too. I am disappointed naturally, but other people seem like they are about to have an aneurysm.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Ruttiger

If you're basing your disappointment and disgust on this basis, I'll go out on a limb and say more countries than not will experience this in every Olympics contested. This isn't a uniquely Canadian phenomenon.

And I'm going out on a limb and predicting Mike Brown will end the medal drought tonight. Qualified in second place for the finals and someone who has generally exceeded expectations when the lights are the brightest, not vice versa.

I woudln't say I'm disgusted about Team Canada - that's a little strong.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by flamesaresmokin

That is simply things that happen, how many athletes thus far have legitimately lost out on a medal they should have been guaranteed to win? Canada has maybe 2-3 tops to now. Its not like its an outright disappointment.

No matter what its probably the hardest thing in all of sports to be prepared to perform the best of your life, on one particular day after many years of training, in front of millions of people. You can't expect athletes to repeat every event, phelps is an anomaly that comes around once every 15-20 years.

The thing is, Canada has very few sure bet medalists. This could change for london in 4 years but it would certainly improve if funding was given a kick in the butt.

The goal though was 16 medals and a top 16 finish (I believe) - are either a possibility still?

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by icarus

Yeah me too. I am disappointed naturally, but other people seem like they are about to have an aneurysm.

Ultimately I don't care too much, which others have suggested is part of the problem.