Tokyo Olympics 2020 - Taking place in 2021

[Gryffindorian]

I'm learning to accept NBC's airing practices. If they showed live telecast of my two favorites - gymnastics and swimming - I would not be able to watch at 3:00 in the morning on a workday.

And since I watch only these two sporting events, I realize now I shouldn't complain about the limited coverage. I still think there's too much focus on Team USA.

It sounded like Simone Biles had an anxious moment. I wonder how many other competitors and athletes get the same feeling of "I don't want to mess this up for everyone else, so I'm just going to walk out."

 

[Kilana2]

Katinka Hosszu - swimmer from Hungary - is also not at the top of her game.

Meanwhile Chad LeClos did a Haraki swim over 200m butterfly, fading in the end. Milak is going to win this.

German record over 800m freestyle by Wellbrock.

Two German gold medals in the night. By a canoeist from Ahrweiler (where the flood killed and distroyed) and by the Equestrians. Big haul the last night.

 

[cardinal biggles]

It sounded like Simone Biles had an anxious moment. I wonder how many other competitors and athletes get the same feeling of "I don't want to mess this up for everyone else, so I'm just going to walk out."

They put so much pressure on these athletes, I can't even begin to imagine what that's like. The pressure of competition is hard enough, and then the media piles on all this hype and amplifies these great expectations.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

They put so much pressure on these athletes, I can't even begin to imagine what that's like. The pressure of competition is hard enough, and then the media piles on all this hype and amplifies these great expectations.

Maybe, just maybe, the media will finally listen to women of color athletes and fucking lay off already.

But they'll probably whine about how Biles "failed" her team and that Osaka couldn't "hack it" or some fucking bullshit.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Maybe, just maybe, the media will finally listen to women of color athletes and fucking lay off already.

But they'll probably whine about how Biles "failed" her team and that Osaka couldn't "hack it" or some fucking bullshit.

Oh it's already happened. My local conservative radio talk show host spent fifteen minutes talking about how Simone Biles wasn't "man" enough to work through her problems and take one for the team.
He also went off on the Norwegian beach handball team and their refusal to wear the skimpy bikinis.
P.S.
I know I shouldn't be listening to him, but since I share a delivery vehicle with another driver, he usually has it tuned to that station and I have to spend a minute or two be I change the channel.

 

[Orac Zen]

Happy with Owen Wright winning a bronze, with what he has been through.

I'm not the least bit interested in surfing so I wasn't aware of his back story until yesterday. How brilliant. I'll be following his career from now on.

Really disappointed for Jess Fox, but she has another event. Hoping for the best for her, whatever the result.

They put so much pressure on these athletes, I can't even begin to imagine what that's like. The pressure of competition is hard enough, and then the media piles on all this hype and amplifies these great expectations.

Throw in all the "experts" on so-called "social" media - who then feel free to abuse anyone who "fails" and claim athletes should be able to deal with anything because sporting competition isn't the "real" world - and it makes their performances even more remarkable.

But they'll probably whine about how Biles "failed" her team and that Osaka couldn't "hack it" or some fucking bullshit.

Most, if not all, of which comes from people whose greatest athletic achievement is probably something like walking to the fridge and back. It's disgusting and pathetic. Biles and Osaka don't owe anyone anything, but unfortunately there are a lot of people incapable of seeing that.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Everyone's a critic or an expert nowadays, thanks to the Internet.

She would still have been criticized had she stayed on and not been in the right competitive spirit.

 

[cardinal biggles]

A friend shared this Facebook post, and I think it's worth reposting here. I'll put it behind spoiler code for anyone who doesn't feel like reading.

Spoiler: about Simone Biles, Kerri Strug, and history not repeating itself this time

This realization I had about Simone Biles is gonna make some people mad, but oh well.

Yesterday I was excited to show my daughters Kerri Strug's famous one-leg vault. It was a defining Olympic moment that I watched live as a kid, and my girls watched raptly as Strug fell, and then limped back to leap again.

But for some reason I wasn't as inspired watching it this time. In fact, I felt a little sick. Maybe being a father and teacher has made me soft, but all I could see was how Kerri Strug looked at her coach, Bela Karolyi, with pleading, terrified eyes, while he shouted back "You can do it!" over and over again.

My daughters didn't cheer when Strug landed her second vault. Instead they frowned in concern as she collapsed in agony and frantic tears.

"Why did she jump again if she was hurt?" one of my girls asked. I made some inane reply about the heart of a champion or Olympic spirit, but in the back of my mind a thought was festering:

*She shouldn't have jumped again*

The more the thought echoed, the stronger my realization became. Coach Karolyi should have gotten his visibly injured athlete medical help immediately! Now that I have two young daughters in gymnastics, I expect their safety to be the coach's number one priority. Instead, Bela Karolyi told Strug to vault again. And he got what he wanted; a gold medal that was more important to him than his athlete's health.

I'm sure people will say "Kerri Strug was a competitor--she WANTED to push through the injury." That's probably true. But since the last Olympics we've also learned these athletes were put into positions where they could be systematically abused both emotionally and physically, all while being inundated with "win at all costs" messaging. A teenager under those conditions should have been protected, and told "No medal is worth the risk of permanent injury." In fact, we now know that Strug's vault wasn't even necessary to clinch the gold; the U.S. already had an insurmountable lead. Nevertheless, Bela Karolyi told her to vault again according to his own recounting of their conversation:

"I can't feel my leg," Strug told Karolyi.

"We got to go one more time," Karolyi said. "Shake it out."

"Do I have to do this again?" Strug asked.

"Can you, can you?" Karolyi wanted to know.

"I don't know yet," said Strug. "I will do it. I will, I will."

The injury forced Strug's retirement at 18 years old. Dominique Moceanu, a generational talent, also retired from injuries shortly after. They were top gymnasts literally pushed to the breaking point, and then put out to pasture. Coach Karolyi and Larry Nassar (the serial sexual abuser) continued their long careers, while the athletes were treated as a disposable resource.

Today Simone Biles--the greatest gymnast of all time--chose to step back from the competition, citing concerns for mental and physical health. I've already seen comments and posts about how Biles "failed her country", "quit on us", or "can't be the greatest if she can't handle the pressure." Those statements are no different than Coach Karolyi telling an injured teen with wide, frightened eyes: "We got to go one more time. Shake it out."

The subtext here is: "Our gold medal is more important than your well-being."

Our athletes shouldn't have to destroy themselves to meet our standards. If giving empathetic, authentic support to our Olympians means we'll earn less gold medals, I'm happy to make that trade.

Here's the message I hope we can send to Simone Biles: You are an outstanding athlete, a true role model, and a powerful woman. Nothing will change that. Please don't sacrifice your emotional or physical well-being for our entertainment or national pride. We are proud of you for being brave enough to compete, and proud of you for having the wisdom to know when to step back. Your choice makes you an even better example to our daughters than you were before. WE'RE STILL ROOTING FOR YOU!

Source

 

[Gryffindorian]

I'll be honest. I was surprised when I heard the news that she walked out. Disappointed? No. This is a young woman who has already demonstrated her talents and abilities countless times, and she's got the medals to prove them.

All this has shown is that Simone Biles is human, just like the rest of us. One doesn't have to be a mega athlete to be able to relate to her and understand what she was going through.

Yay! Another gold for Katie Ledecky!

These young women (U.S. team) are wise beyond their years. They were saying they (particularly Simone) didn't owe it to anyone to win an Olympic medal, and they were completely supportive of her.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

A friend shared this Facebook post, and I think it's worth reposting here. I'll put it behind spoiler code for anyone who doesn't feel like reading.

Spoiler: about Simone Biles, Kerri Strug, and history not repeating itself this time

This realization I had about Simone Biles is gonna make some people mad, but oh well.

Yesterday I was excited to show my daughters Kerri Strug's famous one-leg vault. It was a defining Olympic moment that I watched live as a kid, and my girls watched raptly as Strug fell, and then limped back to leap again.

But for some reason I wasn't as inspired watching it this time. In fact, I felt a little sick. Maybe being a father and teacher has made me soft, but all I could see was how Kerri Strug looked at her coach, Bela Karolyi, with pleading, terrified eyes, while he shouted back "You can do it!" over and over again.

My daughters didn't cheer when Strug landed her second vault. Instead they frowned in concern as she collapsed in agony and frantic tears.

"Why did she jump again if she was hurt?" one of my girls asked. I made some inane reply about the heart of a champion or Olympic spirit, but in the back of my mind a thought was festering:

*She shouldn't have jumped again*

The more the thought echoed, the stronger my realization became. Coach Karolyi should have gotten his visibly injured athlete medical help immediately! Now that I have two young daughters in gymnastics, I expect their safety to be the coach's number one priority. Instead, Bela Karolyi told Strug to vault again. And he got what he wanted; a gold medal that was more important to him than his athlete's health.

I'm sure people will say "Kerri Strug was a competitor--she WANTED to push through the injury." That's probably true. But since the last Olympics we've also learned these athletes were put into positions where they could be systematically abused both emotionally and physically, all while being inundated with "win at all costs" messaging. A teenager under those conditions should have been protected, and told "No medal is worth the risk of permanent injury." In fact, we now know that Strug's vault wasn't even necessary to clinch the gold; the U.S. already had an insurmountable lead. Nevertheless, Bela Karolyi told her to vault again according to his own recounting of their conversation:

"I can't feel my leg," Strug told Karolyi.

"We got to go one more time," Karolyi said. "Shake it out."

"Do I have to do this again?" Strug asked.

"Can you, can you?" Karolyi wanted to know.

"I don't know yet," said Strug. "I will do it. I will, I will."

The injury forced Strug's retirement at 18 years old. Dominique Moceanu, a generational talent, also retired from injuries shortly after. They were top gymnasts literally pushed to the breaking point, and then put out to pasture. Coach Karolyi and Larry Nassar (the serial sexual abuser) continued their long careers, while the athletes were treated as a disposable resource.

Today Simone Biles--the greatest gymnast of all time--chose to step back from the competition, citing concerns for mental and physical health. I've already seen comments and posts about how Biles "failed her country", "quit on us", or "can't be the greatest if she can't handle the pressure." Those statements are no different than Coach Karolyi telling an injured teen with wide, frightened eyes: "We got to go one more time. Shake it out."

The subtext here is: "Our gold medal is more important than your well-being."

Our athletes shouldn't have to destroy themselves to meet our standards. If giving empathetic, authentic support to our Olympians means we'll earn less gold medals, I'm happy to make that trade.

Here's the message I hope we can send to Simone Biles: You are an outstanding athlete, a true role model, and a powerful woman. Nothing will change that. Please don't sacrifice your emotional or physical well-being for our entertainment or national pride. We are proud of you for being brave enough to compete, and proud of you for having the wisdom to know when to step back. Your choice makes you an even better example to our daughters than you were before. WE'RE STILL ROOTING FOR YOU!

Source

Thank you for sharing that post. That really dug into what I've been thinking but hadn't the words to express.

 

[tomalak301]

I've gone back and forth on the whole Biles thing, and the one thing I keep coming back to is I wonder when Simone was feeling the mental stress. I really haven't been following it, but if she was having these feelings before arriving in Tokyo, she should have given her spot to the next contender who didn't make it. I can understand if she was really feeling the pressure while in Tokyo then it was a bad situation all the way around and respect her decision, but if it was before, she should have stayed home.

I hate how we as a society only pay lip service to mental health when we are told. I appreciate the idea gaining more traction (I follow Hockey, and Robin Lehner, a goaltender, has told his stories about mental health) and I just hope people come to understand and learn why Mental Health is an issue. I don't begrudge Biles for quitting (Even though I wish the media wouldn't call it stunning and brave, which seems hyperbolic to me) and hope she takes care of her self. I do applaud her to knowing her limits, and if she were to perform under pressure, that heightens the risk of injury and ruining her career in the long run.

 

[UssGlenn]

I can understand if she was really feeling the pressure while it Tokyo then it was a bad situation all the way around and respect her decision but if it was before, she should have stayed home.

The G.O.A.T. stuff didn't really kick into high gear until the games started. A couple days ago I saw the interview where she is basically asked point blank, "What's it like to be the greatest of all time?" Talk about setting her up to fail.

 

[tomalak301]

The G.O.A.T. stuff didn't really kick into high gear until the games started. A couple days ago I saw the interview where she is basically asked point blank, "What's it like to be the greatest of all time?" Talk about setting her up to fail.

I think that's what I didn't like the most. It's putting her on a pedestal so high (No pun intended) that anything less than gold would be failure. If you go in with that mindset, I can understand the mental stress and pressure. I would even say the Media is just adding fuel to the fire that was that story that @cardinal biggles posted.

 

[Jack Wolfe]

A friend shared this Facebook post, and I think it's worth reposting here. I'll put it behind spoiler code for anyone who doesn't feel like reading.

Spoiler: about Simone Biles, Kerri Strug, and history not repeating itself this time

This realization I had about Simone Biles is gonna make some people mad, but oh well.

Yesterday I was excited to show my daughters Kerri Strug's famous one-leg vault. It was a defining Olympic moment that I watched live as a kid, and my girls watched raptly as Strug fell, and then limped back to leap again.

But for some reason I wasn't as inspired watching it this time. In fact, I felt a little sick. Maybe being a father and teacher has made me soft, but all I could see was how Kerri Strug looked at her coach, Bela Karolyi, with pleading, terrified eyes, while he shouted back "You can do it!" over and over again.

My daughters didn't cheer when Strug landed her second vault. Instead they frowned in concern as she collapsed in agony and frantic tears.

"Why did she jump again if she was hurt?" one of my girls asked. I made some inane reply about the heart of a champion or Olympic spirit, but in the back of my mind a thought was festering:

*She shouldn't have jumped again*

The more the thought echoed, the stronger my realization became. Coach Karolyi should have gotten his visibly injured athlete medical help immediately! Now that I have two young daughters in gymnastics, I expect their safety to be the coach's number one priority. Instead, Bela Karolyi told Strug to vault again. And he got what he wanted; a gold medal that was more important to him than his athlete's health.

I'm sure people will say "Kerri Strug was a competitor--she WANTED to push through the injury." That's probably true. But since the last Olympics we've also learned these athletes were put into positions where they could be systematically abused both emotionally and physically, all while being inundated with "win at all costs" messaging. A teenager under those conditions should have been protected, and told "No medal is worth the risk of permanent injury." In fact, we now know that Strug's vault wasn't even necessary to clinch the gold; the U.S. already had an insurmountable lead. Nevertheless, Bela Karolyi told her to vault again according to his own recounting of their conversation:

"I can't feel my leg," Strug told Karolyi.

"We got to go one more time," Karolyi said. "Shake it out."

"Do I have to do this again?" Strug asked.

"Can you, can you?" Karolyi wanted to know.

"I don't know yet," said Strug. "I will do it. I will, I will."

The injury forced Strug's retirement at 18 years old. Dominique Moceanu, a generational talent, also retired from injuries shortly after. They were top gymnasts literally pushed to the breaking point, and then put out to pasture. Coach Karolyi and Larry Nassar (the serial sexual abuser) continued their long careers, while the athletes were treated as a disposable resource.

Today Simone Biles--the greatest gymnast of all time--chose to step back from the competition, citing concerns for mental and physical health. I've already seen comments and posts about how Biles "failed her country", "quit on us", or "can't be the greatest if she can't handle the pressure." Those statements are no different than Coach Karolyi telling an injured teen with wide, frightened eyes: "We got to go one more time. Shake it out."

The subtext here is: "Our gold medal is more important than your well-being."

Our athletes shouldn't have to destroy themselves to meet our standards. If giving empathetic, authentic support to our Olympians means we'll earn less gold medals, I'm happy to make that trade.

Here's the message I hope we can send to Simone Biles: You are an outstanding athlete, a true role model, and a powerful woman. Nothing will change that. Please don't sacrifice your emotional or physical well-being for our entertainment or national pride. We are proud of you for being brave enough to compete, and proud of you for having the wisdom to know when to step back. Your choice makes you an even better example to our daughters than you were before. WE'RE STILL ROOTING FOR YOU!

Source

Spot on. Absolutely spot on. Thank you for sharing this.

On a different note:
A crazy idea, I'm sure, but maybe NBC's Olympics "numbers guy" might be a little less annoying if he could 1) adopt a posture that looks a bit less like he's trying to pass an eight-pound pumpkin, and 2) wear clothes that don't give the impression he's been sleeping in them for the past month.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I'm so sick of NBC's coverage at this point. Sadly, they've got a monopoly on the Olympics through 2032.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Amazing swim by China in the 4x200 freestyle relay. Was thinking that Australia would win. But nope. Came third, after the USA in second. Top 3 under the old world record.

I find the Australian coverage to be pretty good. Having multiple channels on the online channels - all free this time, plus having expert commentators like Ian Thorpe.

 

[Skywalker]

Katie Ledecky almost turned that 4x200 completely around for the US, but the Chinese were just so far ahead of the pack. Insane that all three medal winning teams beat the old world record.

Also apparently I really love archery now. I've been watching it whenever I can find it on one of NBC's channels. It's surprisingly entertaining.

 

[Orac Zen]

A friend shared this Facebook post, and I think it's worth reposting here. I'll put it behind spoiler code for anyone who doesn't feel like reading.

Spoiler: about Simone Biles, Kerri Strug, and history not repeating itself this time

This realization I had about Simone Biles is gonna make some people mad, but oh well.

Yesterday I was excited to show my daughters Kerri Strug's famous one-leg vault. It was a defining Olympic moment that I watched live as a kid, and my girls watched raptly as Strug fell, and then limped back to leap again.

But for some reason I wasn't as inspired watching it this time. In fact, I felt a little sick. Maybe being a father and teacher has made me soft, but all I could see was how Kerri Strug looked at her coach, Bela Karolyi, with pleading, terrified eyes, while he shouted back "You can do it!" over and over again.

My daughters didn't cheer when Strug landed her second vault. Instead they frowned in concern as she collapsed in agony and frantic tears.

"Why did she jump again if she was hurt?" one of my girls asked. I made some inane reply about the heart of a champion or Olympic spirit, but in the back of my mind a thought was festering:

*She shouldn't have jumped again*

The more the thought echoed, the stronger my realization became. Coach Karolyi should have gotten his visibly injured athlete medical help immediately! Now that I have two young daughters in gymnastics, I expect their safety to be the coach's number one priority. Instead, Bela Karolyi told Strug to vault again. And he got what he wanted; a gold medal that was more important to him than his athlete's health.

I'm sure people will say "Kerri Strug was a competitor--she WANTED to push through the injury." That's probably true. But since the last Olympics we've also learned these athletes were put into positions where they could be systematically abused both emotionally and physically, all while being inundated with "win at all costs" messaging. A teenager under those conditions should have been protected, and told "No medal is worth the risk of permanent injury." In fact, we now know that Strug's vault wasn't even necessary to clinch the gold; the U.S. already had an insurmountable lead. Nevertheless, Bela Karolyi told her to vault again according to his own recounting of their conversation:

"I can't feel my leg," Strug told Karolyi.

"We got to go one more time," Karolyi said. "Shake it out."

"Do I have to do this again?" Strug asked.

"Can you, can you?" Karolyi wanted to know.

"I don't know yet," said Strug. "I will do it. I will, I will."

The injury forced Strug's retirement at 18 years old. Dominique Moceanu, a generational talent, also retired from injuries shortly after. They were top gymnasts literally pushed to the breaking point, and then put out to pasture. Coach Karolyi and Larry Nassar (the serial sexual abuser) continued their long careers, while the athletes were treated as a disposable resource.

Today Simone Biles--the greatest gymnast of all time--chose to step back from the competition, citing concerns for mental and physical health. I've already seen comments and posts about how Biles "failed her country", "quit on us", or "can't be the greatest if she can't handle the pressure." Those statements are no different than Coach Karolyi telling an injured teen with wide, frightened eyes: "We got to go one more time. Shake it out."

The subtext here is: "Our gold medal is more important than your well-being."

Our athletes shouldn't have to destroy themselves to meet our standards. If giving empathetic, authentic support to our Olympians means we'll earn less gold medals, I'm happy to make that trade.

Here's the message I hope we can send to Simone Biles: You are an outstanding athlete, a true role model, and a powerful woman. Nothing will change that. Please don't sacrifice your emotional or physical well-being for our entertainment or national pride. We are proud of you for being brave enough to compete, and proud of you for having the wisdom to know when to step back. Your choice makes you an even better example to our daughters than you were before. WE'RE STILL ROOTING FOR YOU!

Source

Thanks for posting that. Terrific, and rather unsettling, read.

I've read a few articles which mention Biles is dealing with what gymnasts call the "twisties" - where she's in the air and loses track (so to speak) of where she actually is, making landing safely very difficult. One of those articles pointed out how dangerous gymnastics actually is and how the potential for serious injury is very real if everything isn't exactly right. On that basis alone her decision to withdraw was the correct one, and the carping about when this problem started and the armchair arseholes calling her a coward or whatever else is / are contemptible. As a former gymnast pointed out in one of another of the articles I saw put it, gymnastics is what Simone Biles does, not what she is.


On another note, absolutely stoked for Jessica Fox who finally has a complete set of Olympic medals. Good on her.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Katie Ledecky almost turned that 4x200 completely around for the US, but the Chinese were just so far ahead of the pack. Insane that all three medal winning teams beat the old world record.

Some people were saying that Australia stuffed up ... but China deserve that win.


Loved that Jessica Fox won today - as she campaigned hard for the Kayak event to be included for the women, so they could compete in that event.

Loved that they had mixed 4x100 medley relay in this event. Hopefully it continues in other Olympics.

 

[JD]

I've actually been pretty impressed with how supportive most of the reactions I've seen to Simone Biles backing out of the rest of the competitions have been. So far the only person I've heard about criticizing her is Pierce Morgan, but he's an asshole, so he can fuck all the way off.
EDIT: One other thing that bugs me, and it has with other Olympics too, is when the TV and internet announce the results of the events that haven't been shown on TV yet without any kind of warning. My mom said they actually said on the NBC Olympics program this who when won the Gymnastics stuff they're showing tonight, and then I saw it online later. I really wish they not announce the results on TV and put them in the headlines on the news sites. I understand it's news, and they want to talk about it, but you'd think they could at least have to decency not to just spoil it for those of us who want to watch it without knowing what happens.