Beijing Olympics Thread

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Antithesis

Sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their foreheads!

Well, I am glad to be eating some crow after being so disappointed earlier in the games. Some excellent results for Canada in the past few days.

There was a problem getting the Sharks...and the Lasers. But the fish in the water around Beijing....Are mutated and ill tempered.

In a way the schedulling has been a bit odd. Just shows that you need to know which events are when and which events have the best chance for a medal before you go too overboard being disappointed. I know the athletes say they focus on their own events but hopefully now that a few have delivered medals the ones still competing can focus more on their own preparation and not have any external distractions like those printing what is wrong with Canada and why do we have zero medals stuff.

[moon]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Given how crazy some of the comments in the media and in the public were through the first week, it's great to see that Canada is right on pace for what the Olympic program predicted: 14 medals and a top 16 performance. WIll Chambers or Baumann give a big 'told you so' to the Canadian public and media? Probably not, but they'd be justified if they did.

I am not sure how any of these results change the fact that in first 5-6 days of the Olympics our results were pathetic.

It is great to see that we are starting to see good results now, but in my view that does nothing to change the fact that people were finishing 25th with Canadian records.

Not sure why anyone would feel justified in saying I told you so as but if it makes them feel like big men to ignore the fact that despite the recent results there is still huge problems with the program then I guess they should go ahead and do that.

[MccM]

Can anyone find a video of the 2008 Olympics Women's 100m final? I've searched everywhere and I can't find one.

[fredr123]

Laser sailing sounds way better than one-man dinghy sailing.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by Antithesis

Sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their foreheads!

Well, I am glad to be eating some crow after being so disappointed earlier in the games. Some excellent results for Canada in the past few days.

I hope i don't get some bits of laser stuck in my teeth after some shark fin soup. hehe.

Hey did any one else catch the marathon where around the half way mark, one of the british ladies took a dump in a sewer and then kept on running?

I guess if you have to go, you have to go.

haha Reminds me of the time when my friend won this ultimate F1 package from the Bay. He got flown to the Montreal grand prix and got to meet Michael Schumacher. He asked him what happens if you have to pee when you are racing.
"You just go!"

10 minutes later as one of the prizes he was given one of his old racing suits! haha.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by MccM

Can anyone find a video of the 2008 Olympics Women's 100m final? I've searched everywhere and I can't find one.

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

Can't link directly to the video. I searched for "women's 100M" (without the quotes). The fifth result (currently) is what you want: Day 9: Athletics - Women's 100M Final. Probably only works if you're in Canada though.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by moon

I am not sure how any of these results change the fact that in first 5-6 days of the Olympics our results were pathetic.

It is great to see that we are starting to see good results now, but in my view that does nothing to change the fact that people were finishing 25th with Canadian records.

You just don't understand.

In the first week the Canadian athletes weren't expected to medal. So why is it pathetic when none of them go far and beyond themselves and take home a medal?

I don't see a problem with Canadians finishing 25th and breaking Canadian records. It requires more analysis than that. Being a winter country you think it should be a little more expected that there's going to be plenty of summer events that Canadians just don't compete in very often, but apparently not.

I simply don't see how people expect people ranked way down in the world rankings to somehow transform themselves into a powerhouse in their sport for the Olympics.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by moon

I am not sure how any of these results change the fact that in first 5-6 days of the Olympics our results were pathetic.

It is great to see that we are starting to see good results now, but in my view that does nothing to change the fact that people were finishing 25th with Canadian records.

Not sure why anyone would feel justified in saying I told you so as but if it makes them feel like big men to ignore the fact that despite the recent results there is still huge problems with the program then I guess they should go ahead and do that.

Well because Baumann and Chambers had set the 14 medals goal well before the games, and then after a week of competition, media and public was jumping all over them, telling them that their expectations were way off from what their athletes were delivering. They declined to change their predictions. And it looks like they'll be proven right. If that isn't an I-told-you-so situation, I don't know what is.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by JayP

You just don't understand.

In the first week the Canadian athletes weren't expected to medal. So why is it pathetic when none of them go far and beyond themselves and take home a medal?

I don't see a problem with Canadians finishing 25th and breaking Canadian records. It requires more analysis than that. Being a winter country you think it should be a little more expected that there's going to be plenty of summer events that Canadians just don't compete in very often, but apparently not.

I simply don't see how people expect people ranked way down in the world rankings to somehow transform themselves into a powerhouse in their sport for the Olympics.

True but should we really be sending that many athletes that finish 40th?
Sending 300+ athletes for 15 medals is too many I think.

I would say if you didn't finish in the top 20 in your sport's previous World Championships then you don't go. Exceptions could be made for someone under 21 who finished lower and could go to gain experience at a young age for future games.

[moon]

Originally Posted by JayP

You just don't understand.

In the first week the Canadian athletes weren't expected to medal. So why is it pathetic when none of them go far and beyond themselves and take home a medal?

I don't see a problem with Canadians finishing 25th and breaking Canadian records. It requires more analysis than that. Being a winter country you think it should be a little more expected that there's going to be plenty of summer events that Canadians just don't compete in very often, but apparently not.

I simply don't see how people expect people ranked way down in the world rankings to somehow transform themselves into a powerhouse in their sport for the Olympics.

I at speaking about the athletes in general but the fact that the best that we have to offer are so low that 25th is the best that we have to offer.

I realise that we are not a Summer Olympic powerhouse but that doesn't mean that we have totally suck at events.

My issue is not with the individual athletes and their results but the overall ineptness that Canada has at so many events in these games.

[moon]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Well because Baumann and Chambers had set the 14 medals goal well before the games, and then after a week of competition, media and public was jumping all over them, telling them that their expectations were way off from what their athletes were delivering. They declined to change their predictions. And it looks like they'll be proven right. If that isn't an I-told-you-so situation, I don't know what is.

I guess I don't think the media and public were wrong to "jump all over them" as in the first week of the Olympics Canada showed that it was not able to compete with other nations.

As I said above I don't see how getting medals changes those earlier results.

They certainly could say I told you so on the total medal count but that doesn't change the fact that we had many more awful results than we did positive results.

For me the results aren't really good enough that anyone should be saying I told you so, they don't really have anything to be proud of or to be cocky enough to say I told you so.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

True but should we really be sending that many athletes that finish 40th?
Sending 300+ athletes for 15 medals is too many I think.

I would say if you didn't finish in the top 20 in your sport's previous World Championships then you don't go. Exceptions could be made for someone under 21 who finished lower and could go to gain experience at a young age for future games.

Why? Not everything in the world is about winning.

Either way, it's a pretty stupid argument. I mean, Canada has funded the athletes for their training already. What possible benefit is there to saying "you're not the absolute best in the world so you can stay home while athletes from other countries who are worse than you can go"?

[JayP]

Originally Posted by moon

I realise that we are not a Summer Olympic powerhouse but that doesn't mean that we have totally suck at events.

My issue is not with the individual athletes and their results but the overall ineptness that Canada has at so many events in these games.

Actually the two go hand-in-hand. Since we're not a powerhouse it's pretty logical to assume there's going to be a great deal of events we're not very good at.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by JayP

Why? Not everything in the world is about winning.

Either way, it's a pretty stupid argument. I mean, Canada has funded the athletes for their already. What possible benefit is there to saying "you're not the absolute best in the world so you can stay home while athletes from other countries who are worse than you can go"?

Agree with this point, considering that 95% of the cost of funding athletics has nothing to do with the actual costs of physically sending them and putting them up in Beijing, we might as well send anyone who qualifies. Also many young athletes competing in their first olympics this year might turn out to be our medal favorites/hopefuls in 2012 and drawing upon/learning from their experiences in Beijing could help them perform better in London.

[moon]

Originally Posted by JayP

Actually the two go hand-in-hand. Since we're not a powerhouse it's pretty logical to assume there's going to be a great deal of events we're not very good at.

I guess I had more expectations of 10-20 rather than 25-60. Powerhouse or not. If that is unreal then perhaps I should lower my expectations, but just because we reached some random medal count does not change the fact that there have been a ton of bad performances in these Olympics and that something should, in my view, be changed in the way that we approach the Summer Games in the future because based on these Olympics we are not doing a good or even adequate job at all.

Again Baumann and his buddy can say I told you so all they want it doesn't change the overall crappy performance by Canada at these games.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by moon

I guess I had more expectations of 10-20 rather than 25-60. Powerhouse or not.

Is there not 6 days of competition left? You must have octothorp on ignore because his daily breakdowns clearly indicate Canada will be comfortably in the 10-20 range by week's end.

If that is unreal then perhaps I should lower my expectations, but just because we reached some random medal count does not change the fact that there have been a ton of bad performances in these Olympics and that something should, in my view, be changed in the way that we approach the Summer Games in the future because based on these Olympics we are not doing a good or even adequate job at all.

Outline some of these bad performances. Because I don't think a 25th ranked athlete finishing 25th is a bad performance at all. Not going above and beyond expectations doesn't mean you've performed poorly at all.

Again Baumann and his buddy can say I told you so all they want it doesn't change the overall crappy performance by Canada at these games.

Again, why is it so crappy? We are right on pace to meet expectations.

[fredr123]

Link possibly NSFW: http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9...2145468ez3.jpg

Seriously, if this is what our athletes have to contend with I will forever keep my mouth shut. At least with respect to wrestling.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by moon

I guess I had more expectations of 10-20 rather than 25-60. Powerhouse or not. If that is unreal then perhaps I should lower my expectations, but just because we reached some random medal count does not change the fact that there have been a ton of bad performances in these Olympics and that something should, in my view, be changed in the way that we approach the Summer Games in the future because based on these Olympics we are not doing a good or even adequate job at all.

Again Baumann and his buddy can say I told you so all they want it doesn't change the overall crappy performance by Canada at these games.

I realize you've got about three people discussing your points so I don't want to seem like I'm dogpiling you here, but I think this bears more discussion. I think it would be easier for me if I understood which athletes in particular you think shouldn't have been sent. Focusing just on the swimming program, here's what I see:

Hortness: relay member.
Hayden: ranked 1 in the world.
Greenshields: relay member.
Russell: finished in the top 16 in his event.
Cochrane: medalist.
Tapp: relay member.
Beavers: top 8, top 16.
Oriwol: top 16
Bois: no top 16 finishes.
Bartoch: relay member.
Soui: relay member.
Johns: top 8.
Poon: no top 16 finishes.
Morningstar: top 8.
Wilkinson: top 8, top 16.
Pierse: top 8, top 16.
Tyler: top 16.
Lacroix: top 16.
Horner: relay member.
Saumer: relay member.
Seeman: no top 16 finishes.
Hunks: no top 16 finishes.
King: no top 16 finishes.

Out of 25 athletes, only 5 did not swim in at least a semi-final. Of these, some have top 16 finishes in the last year (Poon, Hunks), and some are under 22, (King-16, Bois-21, Seeman-16) and this experience will be crucial if they're trying to medal in London.

Who from this list would you have kept home, without the foresight to know who would underperform?

I'm not saying there aren't disappointments here. Hayden was a big disappointment, and it would have been great to see either freestyle relay team medal. But in the end, in most of these swimming events, there are 64 entries, and lots of those who never get beyond the opening round are from countries with excellent medal programs: Australia, China, Germany, etc. Why should we hold our athletes to a higher standard than any other country in the world?

[moon]

Originally Posted by JayP

Is there not 6 days of competition left? You must have octothorp on ignore because his daily breakdowns clearly indicate Canada will be comfortably in the 10-20 range by week's end.

Outline some of these bad performances. Because I don't think a 25th ranked athlete finishing 25th is a bad performance at all. Not going above and beyond expectations doesn't mean you've performed poorly at all.

Again, why is it so crappy? We are right on pace to meet expectations.

Again there is more than just looking at how many medals we win to judge the results. The good performances that came later, in my mind don't overshadow the poor performances later.

I have a problem more with the fact that we were 25th going in. So while it may not be a bad performance based on where they are ranked, it is bad that they are ranked that low and the best that Canada has ever had to offer.

For me if reaching 15 medals, with the results that we have had in many events, is looked at as good or meeting expectations then we either have too low expectations or too narrow expectations.

The appologists may be happy that they can point to the medal number and act as if that masks the earlier performances but for me (and that is key as it is my opinion that the results were poor) even if we hit the mythical 15 medals the Olympics were still a disappointment.

[moon]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Out of 25 athletes, only 5 did not swim in at least a semi-final. Of these, some have top 16 finishes in the last year (Poon, Hunks), and some are under 22, (King-16, Bois-21, Seeman-16) and this experience will be crucial if they're trying to medal in London.

Who from this list would you have kept home, without the foresight to know who would underperform?

I'm not saying there aren't disappointments here. Hayden was a big disappointment, and it would have been great to see either freestyle relay team medal. But in the end, in most of these swimming events, there are 64 entries, and lots of those who never get beyond the opening round are from countries with excellent medal programs: Australia, China, Germany, etc. Why should we hold our athletes to a higher standard than any other country in the world?

Perhaps I am arguing the wrong point or coming across with the wrong point but my problem isn't with choking athletes or underperforming athletes but with the fact that so many of our athletes are not competitve at all.

I keep harping on the 25th finish as a Canadian record result because to me that is awful.

My problem with this Olympics is just how uncompetitve we are in so many events.

I actually have no problwm with the performance of a Hayden or Brown as at least they were competitive in their events. It is the folks who are finishing 40+ or 20+ with Canadian records that is my probelm.

Early on the chokers were a high point for the Olympic team not something to be down on.