2012 Olympics: Who are you following?

[Lamplighter]

NBC coverage is gathering a perfect storm today ... just for me.

More Men's Beach Volleyball AND Synchronized Swimming

But a bit more seriously, I have watched the Synchronized Swimming
and was surprised and impressed... well, at least surprised.

The routines have changed from the Busby Burkeley extravaganzas,
but the nose plugs/costumes with the facial makeup and
expressions are keeping it in the high-silly exhibition category.

[Sundae]

Damn.
Wrote a post, lost it. Made me cry. More below.

I've been following the Olympics mostly via radio. Partly because I am unfit to be with, partly because I do enjoy the coverage - they paint word pictures to explain why as well as what. No good in the 100m sprint, but excellent in something like cycling.

Today I watched the men's triathlon. I like the events where you get to see London and I knew we had two favourites in the race, the Browlee brothers. I cried when Alister crossed the line in a Union flag*. I cried when Jonny collapsed and had to be taken off on a stretcher. I cried at the huge roar when they got on the podium. Does that count as a tear-athlon?

Bro is in the velodrome today. I didn't cry when Victoria Pendleton was edged out by a sharp-elbowed Aussie. She was crying enough on her own. I did feel for her though.

Ste coined the term velodrama, although I've heard it since so he may have unknowingly cribbed it from elsewhere. Impressed me at the time though.

* for years I've been pedant enough to call it this. Historically it was only a Union Jack if flown by a ship. But that's anachronistically technical - popular useage has accepted Union Jack as a correct name for over a century. Imagine my chagrin to find the whole Olympics commentary team now calling it a Union flag! Boo, hiss. People will stop calling apes "monkeys" soon and I'll have no fun left whatsoever.

[Griff]

If you want more tears here is a full explanation of what happened to Shin A Lam in that epee bout.

http://shinalamandtheinfinitesadness.blogspot.com/

[Lamplighter]

Seems to be a well-reasoned presentation...
... are there dissenters to the sequence of events portrayed here ?

[Griff]

Fencers love a good argument. FIE has a statement here. I'll have to read more but the thread attached will probably indicate what the consensus is.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Noah Zucker · Hoboken, New Jersey

BREAKING: The Iraqi Information Minister found employment with the FIE.

Shameful.

[Griff]

Amusing rip and it does reflect how many American fencers feel about the FIE. USA Fencing is organization trying to recover from a lot of mismanagement, but it is at least transparent.

[Lamplighter]

OK, this post is NOT meant to about wounded vets, handicapped kids, or killing puppies.

I am uninformed about how decisions are being made with regards
to the Olympics, maybe and other sporting events.

To wit:


USA TODAY
By David Leon Moore,
8/9/12

Oscar Pistorius, South Africa back in the relay

LONDON —Oscar Pistorius, South Africa's double-amputee quarter-miler known as The Blade Runner,
is experiencing the full gamut of emotions at his first Olympics.<snip>

Disaster seemed to strike, however, Thursday morning when South Africa
failed to finish its opening heat because of a collision between one of its runners,
Oftense Mogawane, and a Kenyan runner during the second leg.
Mogawane was knocked down, and Pistorius, who was slated
to run the third leg, never got the baton.

OK, I'm ignoring the pun about running the third leg.

Now, consider this 2 minute video...



My first thought:
Is Pistorius being given special entry and consideration to events ?
That is, if a different team had failed to complete the race, would they also have been advanced in the standing ?

My second thought:
Where is this Mechanically-Assisted Athelete (MAA) development going in sports ?
That is, will winners have an * in the record books ?
Will MAA spread to other events, such as floor-exercise
Will MAA spread to arms (still rings) and feet (swimming)
Will there be completely new events (MAA-marathon)

In previous posts, I've poked fun at Syncronized Swimming and Beach Volleyball,
as being exhibitions and not really athletic competitions.
So be it.

But right now, I am needing some education or else I'm having a real problem
with the idea of MAA in direct competition with non-MAA.

[ZenGum]

Without bothering to look it up, I believe Pistorius was required to qualify as per normal, and that his blade legs are not allowed to be longer than legs would normally be for a person of his height, and thus do not give him an "unfair" advantage.

[ZenGum]

... but I actually came here to post this:

US sprinter Manteo Mitchell broke his leg during the 4x400m relay Olympic semi-final - but still managed to finish his lap.

The 25-year-old had slipped on a stairway in the Olympic Village earlier this week, and that misfortune reared its head after just 100 metres of his one-lap run.

"Three days ago I was going up the stairs and I kind of missed one and landed awkwardly," Mitchell said.

"I got treatment and I was fine. I did workouts, and when I warmed up today I felt really well. I felt I could go 44 (seconds)-low.

"I got out pretty slow, but I picked it up and when I got to the 100m mark it felt weird. I was thinking I just didn't feel right. As soon as I took the first step past the 200m mark, I felt it break."

Mitchell added: "I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn't hear it."

"I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half," he said.

"I knew if I finished strong we could still get it (the baton) around. I saw Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me. I didn't want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it.

"It hurt so bad. I'm pretty amazed that I still split 45 seconds on a broken leg."

Damn, that's gutsy.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

My second thought:
Where is this Mechanically-Assisted Athelete (MAA) development going in sports ?
That is, will winners have an * in the record books ?
Will MAA spread to other events, such as floor-exercise
Will MAA spread to arms (still rings) and feet (swimming)
Will there be completely new events (MAA-marathon)

That was my thought when I first read they were going to allow them to be used here, rather than forcing the use into the Special Olympics.

One guy claims...

According to Gailey, a prosthetic leg returns only about 80 percent of the energy absorbed in each stride, while a natural leg returns up to 240 percent, providing much more spring.

[Sundae]

Lamp, there has been a lot of controversy in allowing Pistorius to compete as an able-bodied man. He has had no special consideration - it had been tried and tested and accepted that his prothetics are intended to compensate for the fact that he is a double amputee, not to give him an advantage over those lucky enough to have legs made of flesh and blood.

The Olympics authorities wanted Pistorius to start the relay, as the first 400m is run in lanes and they felt this would be safer for other athletes because there is less chance of a collision (in which his madly flailing blades might cause harm). However the simple mechanics of movement mean Oscar is at a disadvantage racing from a standing start, and the South Africans stuck to their guns and put him in third. That suited his particular style better, but gave him no more of an advantage than any other runner chosen to start in that position. It's common sense - you put your best starter on the start line.

The irony being that it was a rogue able-bodied Kenyan that took out Mogawane, denied the SA team the chance of finishing the race and may in fact deny Mogawane the chance of competing in the final yet due to injury.

And yes, had any other team been knocked out of the competition by a runner wiping out a member of their team, they would have been allowed to compete again. The runner affected was not Oscar Pistorius, so neither he nor his legs have anything to do with the decision.

Then again, maybe they let have have another go because they're black. It's political cirrectness gone mad I tell you!

[Griff]

OMG!!! I just saw wrestling! Jordan Burroughs wins his way to the Gold medal bout by beating the Russian world champ.

...and then the ribbon twirlers

[Sundae]

American female football team.
Greatness shirts. Tacky, much?

Did not like.
You won a gold medal - you wear a gold medal. That's greatness.

[Griff]

It is an annoying idea borrowed from American pro-football and baseball champions. The fun part is that the losers had shirts made up as well, which lead to a meme.