XXXth Olympiad - London

[Holdfast]

Yeah, Phelps is just business as usual...

But still, amazing. Sports careers are similar to political ones; they typically end in failure (or unwise comeback attempts). Knowing when to stop, and doing so while still on top of the pile is classy as hell.

Anyone else catch the men's tennis semi-finals? Federer and Del-Potro, epic match. Can't wait for Sunday's gold medal match...!

Murray/Federer Wimbledon rematch; you just couldn't write a better script.

... truly it's been a great few days for Team GB...

It really has been; remarkable stuff. What surprised me most was when the BBC threw up a graphic comparing medals now vs medals at this stage of Beijing. My recollection was that we got quite a lot of early medals in Beijing, but it turned out that it was only about a third of how many we've got so far this time. Huh. Good, though!

 

[Angel4576]

GB, France, Germany and Italy all seem to be having a pretty good games so far.

Australia, Canada and Russia, by contrast, look like they're struggling to get going.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Also, a great start for Our Jess in the heptathlon - setting a few new PBs in the process.

 

[Holdfast]

GB, France, Germany and Italy all seem to be having a pretty good games so far.

Australia, Canada and Russia, by contrast, look like they're struggling to get going.

I noticed Australia did pretty badly in the pool this time, relative to their traditional immense strength. I think their sports minister bet ours over which nation ranked above the other by the end of the games; ours is looking good for the bet.

Does Russia usually do well in the first week? They'll probably come back a bit stronger in the second. But yeah, it's interesting how the global centres of sporting success move around. A large part of it reflects financial investment I think (certainly the USA and China have poured money into sports, and GB has recently too, because of the home games), though I'm not sure whether that applies to the Euro nations you mentioned. Russia and Australia are probably feeling the fading of the big investments they made during the Soviet and Sydney Olympics eras respectively.

 

[Angel4576]

From memory, in Beijing, Russia did better in the latter half of the games than the opening week and a bit - they only overtook us in the medal table in the last day or so. That being said I'm sure they did better than they've done so far at a comparable stage in Beijing.

France already have more golds this time around than they got in Beijing, Italy are halfway to their 2008 total, although Germany are probably behind where they were 4 years ago at this stage.

Just a very quick look at the medal tables from 2008 and 2012 - New Zealand and South Africa doing well as well.

I think one of the biggest shames about the GB legacy after 2012 are the sports that we know will just drop off the radar - Handball, water polo, volleyball, even basketball to an extent as we're hardly likely to qualify - a shame really as without continuing to play these events we'll never get any good at them, and thus we'll always be at a disadvantage by not competing in half of the events open to us.

 

[eastman23]

Australia, Canada and Russia, by contrast, look like they're struggling to get going.

Compared to Beijing, we're on a roll. At this point in 2008, we had no medals.

We had at least one good chance today in the men's trampoline competition, but unfortunately he bounced too close to the edge and lost his balance.

We also have a smaller team this time around too.

 

[Angel4576]

Australia, Canada and Russia, by contrast, look like they're struggling to get going.

Compared to Beijing, we're on a roll. At this point in 2008, we had no medals.

We had at least one good chance today in the men's trampoline competition, but unfortunately he bounced too close to the edge and lost his balance.

We also have a smaller team this time around too.

Did well in the women's football earlier - thought we were in with a good shout of a medal there, but not to be. US vs Canada in the SFs.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Trampoline...get the fuck outta here. I do love the name "Dong Dong" though.

 

[Winged Victory]

Anyone else catch the men's tennis semi-finals? Federer and Del-Potro, epic match. Can't wait for Sunday's gold medal match...!

I caught the Murray and Djokovic match. Great result for the Scot, more than making up for his poor showing 4 years ago.

Sunday's final will be interesting indeed. Here's hoping his mixed doubles duties tomorrow don't tire him out.

Wimbledon Part II: Die Harder. If Murray were playing anyone else besides Federer, I'd agree with you about the tiring out. I felt bad that Murray lost Wimbledon. And I'm definitely rooting for him and Robson against Hewitt/Stosur.

But I'm a Swiss Maestro die-hard fan. Go Roger! Here's hoping for a high-quality match. No wait, here's hoping that NBC doesn't screw the US over in it's coverage.

 

[Gryffindorian]

This has been a good Olympic year for the U.S. swim team, which makes me wonder what happened to the Australians, who used to dominate the swimming pool in previous competitions.

On a side note, I must say that Katie Ledecky has a freakishly huge forehead. I know it's such a dumb thing to say, but I mean no disrespect to her, just an observation. Kudos to her for winning her first gold medal.

 

[tomalak301]

Trampoline...get the fuck outta here. I do love the name "Dong Dong" though.

How is Trampoline a sport but Baseball/Softball is not? Trampoline is something you do in your backyard, not something that should be in the Olympics.

 

[Shaytan]

How is Trampoline a sport but Baseball/Softball is not? Trampoline is something you do in your backyard, not something that should be in the Olympics.

And diving is something you do from a stool in an inflatable swimming pool...

If you want baseball in the games, it will have to stay at an amateurish level. It's not popular enough outside North America and some asian countries.

 

[tomalak301]

How is Trampoline a sport but Baseball/Softball is not? Trampoline is something you do in your backyard, not something that should be in the Olympics.

And diving is something you do from a stool in an inflatable swimming pool...

If you want baseball in the games, it will have to stay at an amateurish level. It's not popular enough outside North America and some asian countries.

I actually agree with you regarding the Diving, and over the years I've gone from liking it to finding it boring. As for baseball, I'm fine with it staying at the amateur level and it's gaining in popularity in the last several years. It should come back.

 

[Angel4576]

And back to the velodrome - another final, another gold, another world record.......awesome!

 

[tomalak301]

Spoiler: Mens 4X100 Swimming Medley - Phelps Final Race

And once again, Phelps goes out in style, winning gold in his final race. He pretty much brought the team back to the lead (Japan was leading half way through) and Nathan Adrian brought it home. Great race, and to Phelps, it's been extremely fun watching him compete for the last 12 years. I hope he enjoys Swimming retirement, because he's deserved it.

 

[Shazam!]

Jessica Ennis. Goodnight.

 

[Angel4576]

Jessica Ennis - totally, utterly, brilliant!

She didn't just win, she's completely destroyed her opposition.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Wonderful from Our Jess.

Greg Rutherford's doing well in the Long Jump too...

 

[Shazam!]

Come on, Mo!

 

[Angel4576]

Greg Rutherford!