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The Olympics -What olympic sporting event is your favourite?

kgb
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Like many of you, I...

- am a bit cynical/disgusted with the insipid marketing and 'fake' aspects of opening/closing ceremonies and other commentators (Snoop Dogg, really??)
- hate the doping (China, etc)
- DO enjoy watching sports that I have some familiarity with.

I will watch swimming, diving, gymnastics. Maybe a little soccer, basketball.
 
Watch my Whisky
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kgb kgb
Like many of you, I...

- am a bit cynical/disgusted with the insipid marketing and 'fake' aspects of opening/closing ceremonies and other commentators (Snoop Dogg, really??)
- hate the doping (China, etc)
- DO enjoy watching sports that I have some familiarity with.

I will watch swimming, diving, gymnastics. Maybe a little soccer, basketball.

What’s wrong with Snoop?
 
Evitzee
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Watch my Whisky Watch my Whisky
What’s wrong with Snoop?
Because he has no more expertise in commenting on the olympics than any other person. He's only there for his own self aggrandizement.
 
140dave
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Evitzee Evitzee
Because he has no more expertise in commenting on the olympics than any other person. He's only there for his own self aggrandizement.
Or maybe he is there to try to bring a younger demo and viewers to a slowly dying event? Why do you think they added breakdancing and skateboard… because the ancient Greeks did both so well?
 
Archer
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Just watched a nailbiter final for the women's team archery gold medal. Korea v China, and Korea won in a very tight shoot off. They nearly lost it, which would have been an upset of massive proportions. This is Korea's 10th consecutive gold medal in the women's team event. Amazing...

Mexico wins the bronze over the Netherlands.
 
Archer
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140dave 140dave
Or maybe he is there to try to bring a younger demo and viewers to a slowly dying event? Why do you think they added breakdancing and skateboard… because the ancient Greeks did both so well?

Exactly. What people don't seem to get is that there have been loads of "odd" sports in the modern Olympics over the years. It's never been just this "pure" core of sports that people seem to believe it is. As society changes, so do the sports, and some will fall out of favour (for example tug-of-war, rope climbing, croquet, deer shooting, and a bunch of others are no longer contested), and some new sports will come in.
 
Peemacgee
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I think rope climbing is sorely missed as a sporting spectacle - and they should bring back the standing high jump and standing long jump to add some excitement to track and field.

392896CE-8F0B-4EE2-A80D-55FB91B80F96.jpeg 922246AC-273F-4A95-8931-A821461E75F7.jpeg
 
wagudc
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I've been enjoying the Olympics and taking in those watch once every four years sports: Track, Swimming, and Gymnastics. I am also happy for another opportunity to watch our USA women's soccer team. They played really well against Germany, so I am liking their chances. Plus I just had a chance to see a few of the stars in the last professional game before the Olympics (Sophia Smith, Sam Coffey, Naomi Girma, and from Canada: Janine Beckie and Jessie Fleming). I also enjoy watching random sports, like today I saw whitewater kayaking slalom.
 
Trev
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We'll be watching archery, BMX freestyle, sport climbing, some gymnastics. A few friends here are big on the Surfing too.

Archer Archer
I've been out of it for a number of years now, but WADA has implemented a lot of things over the years. People are always very focused on in-competition testing, but that really only catches the people who have mis-timed their doping regime. What is far more important is the out of competition testing, which is done randomly, without notice, and requires athletes to provide whereabouts information, so they can be found for testing. Not being where you are supposed to be is an infraction, and can lead to sanctions if it happens multiple times. ...
I'm really hoping the Enhanced Games actually takes off and isn't just a gimmick/scam. No limits, the best that human athleticism and tech can provide:
https://enhanced.org/
 
texasmade
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Trev Trev
We'll be watching archery, BMX freestyle, sport climbing, some gymnastics. A few friends here are big on the Surfing too.


I'm really hoping the Enhanced Games actually takes off and isn't just a gimmick/scam. No limits, the best that human athleticism and tech can provide:
https://enhanced.org/
Big problem I see with the Enhanced Games is that it's going to be athletes juiced out of their mind that are past their primes. If it were athletes in their early to mid 20's, it would be great. But I'm guessing it'll be a bunch of athletes 35+ in age.
 
Geezer
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Really looking forward to sports climbing, specifically Boulder & Lead.

For the women it will be a huge upset if Janja Garnbret (Slovenia) doesn't win, but for the men it will be much harder to call. Sorato Anraku, Tomoa Narasaki (both Japan), Toby Roberts (GB), Adam Ondra (Czech Republic), Jakob Schubert (Austria)... Who knows, all competitors with quite different strengths.

For anyone new to watching sports climbing, I highly suggest watching the bouldering competition as it is generally more exciting to watch than Lead and Speed.

upload_2024-7-29_16-38-30.png
Edited:
 
RevZMan123
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Syrte Syrte
The end with Celine Dion was also extremely moving because she hasn’t performed in public for 4 years … she came out a couple years ago revealing she has a rare neurological disease called « stiff man’s disease » which has impaired her vocal chords and she’s been struggling to retain her voice - while singing has been her entire life.

One of the major themes of the ceremony as I understood it was the notion that unity in diversity allows us to face human challenges, which is why they included some paralympic athletes and the oldest living champion on his wheelchair among the final bearers of the torch at the Louvres pyramid.
Also my reading of it was that they made a point, in the face of mounting racism in France, to ask two black French athletes,
A man and a woman, to be the final torch carriers and to light the caldron.
The fact they asked drag queens to take part in the on going fashion show on that lit bridge on the Seine river to me fulfills the same functions, and to invite foreign artists to sing in French and partake in a joint celebration of culture in my opinion fulfills similar purposes.
You may find it quite « woke », but I find it pretty cool to ask the greatest international stars celebrate bonds of togetherness.
It was in such bad taste they had to issue an apology. But sure, so stunning and brave.
 
gbesq
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Good Lord, Erric. I'm getting you a moth eaten cardigan sweater with some of those leather elbow patches for Christmas. 😁
dana-carvey-grumpy-old-man.gif
 
lillatroll
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Been watching the Archery semifinals. France v Turkey Getting quite into this. It's quite tense. Those bows look like something out of the Terminator.
 
Archer
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lillatroll lillatroll
Been watching the Archery semifinals. France v Turkey Getting quite into this. It's quite tense. Those bows look like something out of the Terminator.

Yes, that is modern archery! It's a very technical sport as you can imagine.

France wins in the shoot off, by having the arrow closest to the middle after the scores tied...

France SF win.jpg

They will face Korea for the gold, while Turkey takes on China for the bronze. Bronze match about to start!
 
lillatroll
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Archer Archer
Yes, that is modern archery! It's a very technical sport as you can imagine.

France wins in the shoot off, by having the arrow closest to the middle after the scores tied...

France SF win.jpg

They will face Korea for the gold, while Turkey takes on China for the bronze. Bronze match about to start!
Tough mentally as well, you have just lost a chance at gold and you have to reset and focus on trying to win bronze. The pressure must be enormous.

Very enjoyable to watch.
 
Dsloan
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lillatroll lillatroll
Tough mentally as well, you have just lost a chance at gold and you have to reset and focus on trying to win bronze. The pressure must be enormous.

Very enjoyable to watch.

I defer to Archer's personal experience on what it must feel like in high-level competition.

For me, the mental part of the sport is the most rewarding. I found it very good for my overall stress levels and mental health. Especially when I could train outside - lots of fresh air, nature bathing around trees, trying to just focus and maintain consistency in my body movements.

I can't imagine how hard it is to do that with all those eyes on you, knowing that a tiny, momentary slip would mean the difference between being being on the podium or not.
 
Archer
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lillatroll lillatroll
Tough mentally as well, you have just lost a chance at gold and you have to reset and focus on trying to win bronze. The pressure must be enormous.

It is. Archery is fundamentally an individual sport, and the pressure of having team mates rely on you is unusual and immense. It's a particular kind of pressure that you don't have through most of the year when competing, as team events are generally only done at larger events on the calendar.

Turkey did very well to come back with good quality in the bronze match.
 
JwRosenthal
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Dsloan Dsloan
I defer to Archer's personal experience on what it must feel like in high-level competition.

For me, the mental part of the sport is the most rewarding. I found it very good for my overall stress levels and mental health. Especially when I could train outside - lots of fresh air, nature bathing around trees, trying to just focus and maintain consistency in my body movements.

I can't imagine how hard it is to do that with all those eyes on you, knowing that a tiny, momentary slip would mean the difference between being being on the podium or not.
I shot trap and skeet for many years (need to get back to it). It was all about focus and zen- when you started counting, you missed, when you started thinking about your lead, you missed, if you were thinking about anything, you missed. For those with overly active minds, these kinds of sports can be as much about mental health as they are competition.
 
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