Anna C Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I liked the idea that the GB team are using "magic wheels"! :-) Looking forward to watching the triathlon this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarriott Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I've watched an interview with Dave Brailsford this morning. He was saying that the French have been asking him about why Team GB has been so successful in the cycling over the last 4 years. The answer (paraphrased by me) is that the British use round wheels on their cycles!! Wonderful stuff! I think I heard on the radio this morning that the wheels are manufactured in France! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regattah Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 My husband was telling me that the American press is saying that we British seem to be good at 'sports that involve sitting down'! It's actually true when you think about it; rowing, canoeing, riding, cycling, sailing .... We do have some exceptions to prove the rule, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 Yes, like triathlon. Not too much sitting down there ... Ah, Fiona May. What a loss she was to the GB athletics team (married an Italian and started competing for Italy - and beating our remaining long-jumpers, I seem to remember). So, she speaks Spanish as well? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 That was a gripping triathlon! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamicro Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Ah, Fiona May. What a loss she was to the GB athletics team (married an Italian and started competing for Italy - and beating our remaining long-jumpers, I seem to remember). So, she speaks Spanish as well? isn't easier to think that an international top athlete like Felix Sanchez speaks English? if I remember well he lives in Los Angeles. Fiona May won 2 world championships for Italy (plus a silver and a bronze, and 2 Olympic silver medals) and is very popular in Italy, not just for her successes as a long jumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Anjuli - I hope you got to see some of the dressage event. It is such a beautiful discipline (and we won a historic gold!). The cycling has been enthralling and finished with a fantastic gold for Sir Chris Hoy in the Keirin. Not a dry eye in this house! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 There has been much blubbing here, not least for Victoria Pendleton, and tears of joy when Sir Steve Redgrave gave Sir Chris Hoy a huge hug. :-) And that dressage was outstanding! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 isn't easier to think that an international top athlete like Felix Sanchez speaks English? if I remember well he lives in Los Angeles. Ah, sorry, my mistake. The phrasing made me think otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 Interestingly enough, Yorkshire people have done so well in the Games so far that, the Telegraph reports, if Yorkshire were a country it'd currently be 10th in the medal table! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9458578/Yorkshire-athletes-propel-Great-Britain-up-the-medal-table-at-London-2012-Olympics.html Er, that's better than Australia ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Anjuli - I hope you got to see some of the dressage event. It is such a beautiful discipline (and we won a historic gold!). The cycling has been enthralling and finished with a fantastic gold for Sir Chris Hoy in the Keirin. Not a dry eye in this house! I, too, am hoping to see the dressage. I hope the winning horses at least get an apple or two. By the way, (can't resist after Alison's post) if Michael Phelps were a country....... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 Now there's an idea ... New British record in the women's hammer today (apparently she used to do ballet, and that has helped with her balance, technique and what have you). In all the excitement over medals, we need to remember that for many participants success will be measured in terms of personal bests, national records, placing higher in the competition than previously, just getting there in the first place and so on, and that's not to be sneezed at either. (The first Saudi female athlete ran this morning, in trousers, long-sleeved top and headscarf: good to see, even if she won't get any further) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 The first Saudi female athlete ran this morning, in trousers, long-sleeved top and headscarf: good to see, even if she won't get any further Good for her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 All it needed was a world record: congratulations to Kenya's David Rudisha for becoming the first person to run the 800 m in under 1:41.00. And the Jamaican men getting a clean sweep in the 200 m. Never realised before that dressage is now done to music, rather like ice skating. How long's that been going on? I always used to think of it as just the boring bit which comes before the cross-country phase ... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 The 800m and 200m were just awesome! The commentators were saying that our British entrant's time in the 800m was fast enough to have won a medal in the previous 3 Olympics! Well done to everyone in both scintillating finals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 The commentators were saying that our British entrant's time in the 800m was fast enough to have won a medal in the previous 3 Olympics! Well done to everyone in both scintillating finals. Yes, a PB for him, for sure. Their statistician also told him that he was the fastest person ever to finish 8th in a major race 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I am seeing some of the racing, no dressage (as yet) but maybe since the water polo and beach volley ball have concluded (HUGE congratulations to the USA women on the Gold Medal) maybe we'll see the dressage. I started to watch the marathon swimming - but it was a marathon to watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I'm genuinely confused as to how the Women's beach volleyball final ended up being USA vs USA. How did that work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I'm genuinely confused as to how the Women's beach volleyball final ended up being USA vs USA. How did that work? I haven't the foggiest idea how that happened. I posed the question on my FB page - maybe someone will answer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Wonderful freestyle dressage yesterday, I loved the choices of music. Double pirouettes to the Sugar Plum Fairy music!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 USA had 2 teams, apparently. I think it was a youth team and a senior team. How that was allowed to happen, though, I don't know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Glad I wasn't the only confused person! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul N Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 There were several countries that entered more than one team in the beach volleyball, not just the USA. Same thing in the badminton pairs. Perhaps best to think of it as pairs rather than teams. The rules on this are not consistent between the sports. The most ridiculous thing is that the track cycling rules were changed since Beijing to restrict each country to one entrant (and hence at best one medal) per event. So, we weren't able to enter Chris Hoy as well as Jason Kenny in the men's individual sprint and he certainly missed out on another medal because of that. It's like having Bolt but no Blake, or Phelps but no Lochte. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Thanks for explaining that, Paul. I suppose it's the inconsistency that annoys me - I get the feeling the cycling rules were changed to try to prevent the UK winning too many medals in the cycling, yet in other sports you can still end up with multiple entrants from the same country in the final. Never mind - I've loved watching. I'm a little worried about withdrawal symptoms on Monday! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Two words: MO FARAH!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyG Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Have just watched Mo Farah win his 2nd gold, he is an inspiration especially knowing the schools he went to. Congratulations 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Yeah MO FARAH!!! And a great Bronze for Tom Daley too, bless him. We were shouting Mo home in our living room! :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 Thanks for explaining that, Paul. I suppose it's the inconsistency that annoys me - I get the feeling the cycling rules were changed to try to prevent the UK winning too many medals in the cycling, yet in other sports you can still end up with multiple entrants from the same country in the final. They were . Very unfair. Just like the way they keep switching disciplines, dumping some and adding others, so people have to retrain. Rather like the sailing events, for that matter. Talking about inconsistencies, the other one that bothers me is bronze-medal playoffs. In boxing (and the other fighting sports, maybe?) two bronzes are awarded, yet we've just had to watch the two GB hockey teams, for instance, being delighted or broken-hearted at the result of the bronze-medal playoff. Ditto tennis, and I suspect the other court sports. Never mind - I've loved watching. I'm a little worried about withdrawal symptoms on Monday! I'm more concerned about half the nation going into a bleak post-Olympics depression! I watched some of the rhythmic gymnastics this afternoon, the discipline with the ball, assuming it doesn't have a fancier name. It must be some years since I last watched, and it's changed out of all recognition. Mind-boggling what those gymnasts can do now. And it's so complex and balletic. I suppose it's a bit like comparing Olga Korbut's routines with those of today's girls. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Yes, I watched that too. Absolutely amazing what they can do in rhythmic gymnastics! I haven't seen it in several years and was astonished at the complexity of the routines. I suppose everything evolves; gymnastics, diving, and ballet.... Yes, I hope the nation as a whole doesn't go into a post-Olympic decline - and that the Paralympics isn't consigned purely to a bit of coverage on the "red button". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 It won't: Channel 4 do the Paralympics coverage, so there won't be any red button. I've decided I think team rhythmic gymnastics is perhaps a step too far, though. No idea how the judges manage to mark that fairly. (Stunning to watch, though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 Just in case any UK-based readers aren't completely Olympic'd out already, you can catch up on anything you've missed here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/schedule-results I don't know how long they will be available, but I've just looked at something from over a week-and-a-half ago, so it's obviously not the 7 days which it sometimes is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirley Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I think I read somewhere that they will be available until January 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 Really? You mean we can extend the feelgood factor into next year? (and more importantly, I can actually get to watch some of it on my very limited monthly allowance?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now