olympics deprecation thread

Morning George,

It's Sunday morning, the sun is out and the glass is very much half full.

Best,

Chris

Zoe Smith, British weight-lifter:

"There are people who hate female weightlifters because we apparently all look like men," she said. "But we don't. I'm a girl, I wear make-up and lip gloss and things like that.....

It's two fingers up to them, basically," she added. "'What are you doing with your life? I've just competed at the Olympics!'"

And judging by her interview on BBC this morning, she's pretty gorgeous too.

Meet Denise Lewis, former Heptathlete, 40, married, with a gorgeous family -

I could, I suppose also now post pictures of various famous women who were never athletic in their lives and who also now have families (Katie Price?) but this will do just fine for me.

I have a suspicion that the fiance of Jess Ennis may have a bit of a giggle at of some comments here?

Well done Andy Murray - truly astonishing.

Andy Murray (yes!!!!!) ...

Men like that don't have babies. They fall for men...

Nothing very naturally male about ultra-athletic males in my view.

Though they can be fanciable in an impossible way ...

Err...

Or possibly just a fantastic sporting achievement to make us all proud!

Okay! I was in a real grump over the wall to wall coverage of something that bores me to tears, and my comments were intemperate!

We can all make mistakes and that post of mine was definitely badly judged. 

I shall just be glad that the whole thing is over in a a few days, and normal can return.

If sport really was clear of cheating and the influence of big money [and politics, including armchair patriotism/nationalsim], then it might be of more interest to me, though I'd rather play a few rallies of tennis - however bad a spectacle it might be for anyone watching - than get very excited at watching any sporting activity for a broadcast. 

ATB from George

Ben Ainslie was absolutely unbelievable in the way he came back to capture the Gold

The greatest sailor ever ... not 'arf

And what an incredibly nice Guy he is ... proving once and for all nice Guys can win

And then what about Andy Murray ... did everything right ... beat Djockovic 2-0 and Federer 3-0 ... I'm stunned and amazed ... the greatest performance I have seen from a British men's tennis player

[Roger Federer was ever the perfect sportsman and remains the best tennis player I have ever seen - he is still rightly world number 1 and will remain so for some time to come - his after match interview and behaviour in the medal ceremony was exemplary - I have nothing but admiration for the greatest Wimbledon champion]

But two more Golds for GB - let's hope for more in the mixed and at the Velodrome. 

So let us us all rejoyce and enjoy what the remains of the greatest show of our lives

It'll only happen once so make the most of it. 

Colin ('Lord') Moynihan was on TV at lunchtime exhorting more investment in school and youth sports, and mentioned that there should be no selling of school playing fields.

Colin Moynihan was Sports Minister under Margaret Thatcher from 1987 to 1990, when their policy was.... to sell off school playing fields.

Tesco, to take one case, applied to build a superstore on Bristol Grammar School's playing fields in 1988. Bristol City Council rightly rejected the application.

Nicholas Ridley, Thatcher's environment minister, over-ruled them and allowed the building of the store and the destruction of the playing fields and a row of 300-year-old lime trees.

Ridley and Thatcher were close to Dame Shirley Porter.... heiress to the Tesco company.

I find it amazing that as a Nation, we are capable of great things.

However when we do actually achieve (ie actually hosting the Olympics) there seems to be a small minority who fails to accept it for what it is an somehow turns it into political diatribe.

SKD

That is always the way .... yet the Olympics cost next to nothing compared with the money we waste on wars around the world: so let us hope this is a new dawn and we are shoeing everybody what we can achieve as nation. 

All the best, Guy

SD - I remember Ridley and Thatcher: two of the dullest opening batsmen I've ever seen - block this, block that, leave alone anything outside leg stump, leave alone anything outside off stump ... what was done to Bristol Grammar School was a travesty ... I don't shop in Tesco - horrible place full of frozen food. 

George,

Top post and regards to you. All the best to you. Enjoy a Wodca or whatever it is and kick back!

What exactly, is your point? That people from the UK are better than those from China and the the US? That you, in particular, or other Brits deserve special credit for this statistic?

(B.T.W. I think it will be hard to out-do Jamaica on a per-capita basis.)

Andy Murray is gay? Who knew?

I thought his victory was fantastic. A long time coming and very well deserved. The interviews I saw revealed a very modest and level-headed individual. Pure class. Really.

My beef isn't with GB's efforts in hosting the event (although the Lisa Simpson Blowjob logo, mascots and font are a cruel joke that the "designers" are still laughing about from their new yachts on the Mediterranean). My beef is with the corrupt executive of the IOC and their political and corporate cronies; and what they perpetrate on the people who suffer the major inconvenience and who do the really hard work (public, athletes and volunteers).

Don't try to add something to support your own agenda wonky. It means what it means. Considering you are a perfect tit I feel I ought to like you more. I am merely drawing attention to the massive population disparity. 

In general competing Olympians appear to have greater respect for the other competitors and greater respect for officials than in other sports environments.

The atmosphere that creates is part of the uniqueness of the Games I reckon. Witness Phelps' warmth and kindness to the South African who defeated him, Bolt and Blake laughing and supporting each other just minutes before their final, Ennis leading the entire field of heptathletes in a salute to the crowd.

I say this because I heard a trailer for the Premiership football season which starts later this month, and felt a shiver of...revulsion. Genuinely.

Bruce

There hasn't been any suffering here ... everybody is having a great time - public, athletes and volunteers - so I think your argument is floundering. Everybody's happy nowadays. 

I. too, think that the table should be normalised and measured per capita because if you do so then Team GB is #1. I also think we should get some extra Gold medals for our organisation and opening ceremony .... in case you think I'm biased then let me add I thought the Jamaican atheletes were superb

+1 ... the circus will start again soon. 

+1 .... Over paid girls falling over a lot.

Jono

According to the medals per capita website.   

TOTAL MEDALS

1. Slovenia (4 Total)
2. New Zealand (7 Total)
3. Jamaica (4 Total)

GOLD MEDALS
1. Jamaica (2)
2. New Zealand (3)

3. Slovenia (1)

WEIGHTED MEDALS

1. Jamaica (11)  
2. Slovenia (8) 
3. New Zealand (16)

Australia's attempts to ignore or adopt NZ's medals has been widely reported over here.  First there was the TV channel who switched from their 'Top 10 + Australia'  medals table to a 'Top 9 + Australia' table when NZ was tenth.

Now their are they are combining the NZ + Australia medals totals to reflect Oceania medals or even more bizarrely "Aus Zealand " medals 

New Stralia (or New Straya even)? is a good one, too! 

Surely the Aussie's will have a medal haul coming soon? Surely.

If not, it'll be the LA Olympics all over again vis-a-vis NZ and Australia medal tallies.

I think we should start a new campaign called 'Hug an Aussie'. After their dire performance to date - finishing second to the Poms - they don't even have cricket to fall back on. Go on, find your nearest Antipodean cousin, give them a big hug and tell them not to worry as it's the taking part that matters.

They will thank you for it.

Jono

Too funny. I was born in NZ, and grew up in Australia. This performance by the Australian media does not surprise me in the least. 

To be fair to the Australian media though, the coverage here in Canada is similarly parochial and biased.

Fortunately (?), to keep this in perspective, we also have access to US coverage. This takes it to another level altogether. We have seen swimming races where the only athlete shown AT ALL before the race is the american, no close-ups of any other athlete swimming (the rest of the competitors only feature in the wide shots), and no footage of the winner celebrating unless that winner was 'merican. Instead we get the american that didn't win looking all displeased and stuff. Only 'merican fans and family shown in the crowd. We've seen medal ceremonies where we don't get a close up of the winner, only the 'merican. The next logical step is that they electronically place MacDonald's logos over all non-american athletes so as not to pollute the US spectating experience. I don't think it is too far away.

This practice was really noticeable back in 1984 at LA when non-USA competitors were roundly ignored.

The thought of replacement of non's with suitable logos or images of undesireables cannot be far away as you suggest.

Jono

Relayed to me at work....

What's 12cm in diameter, silver and dusty?

The Australian National Anthem CD.