baxus Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 How would you compare Phelps's results to, for example, Sir Steve Redgrave's? Over 5 Olympics, Redgrave has won a gold medal in each. He even did what is extremely rare in rowing and competed in two events in Seoul, winning another bronze. He was an absolutely dominant figure in his sport for almost two decades. On the other hand, you have Phelps who's won 23 gold medals out of 28 events plus whatever he competed in in Sydney. They are both GOAT in their own respective sports, there's little doubt about that. Comparing them against each other is ridiculous, since their sports are way too different. It gets event worse once you add GOATs from other sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkash Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 That pole vaulting competition was among the most intense moments of the games, definitly ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfell is Burning Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 16 hours ago, Arkash said: That pole vaulting competition was among the most intense moments of the games, definitly ! Yeah, I never thought freakin' pole vaulting could be so tense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyoshi Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 On 15/08/2016 at 7:46 AM, BigFatCoward said: Fu Yuanhui. performance wise the mens 400m world record last night. personal satisfaction, the cycling team being freaky again as usual. and all the whining and moaning from the anti GB brigade about how we must be doped up to the gills. I know I'm late but the first part of your post kind of surprised me. Expected you to credit doping. Anyway, the 400m world record has been my favourite part so far. Everyone in South Africa has been extra patriotic as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyoshi Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 On 16/08/2016 at 9:44 AM, baxus said: How would you compare Phelps's results to, for example, Sir Steve Redgrave's? Over 5 Olympics, Redgrave has won a gold medal in each. He even did what is extremely rare in rowing and competed in two events in Seoul, winning another bronze. He was an absolutely dominant figure in his sport for almost two decades. On the other hand, you have Phelps who's won 23 gold medals out of 28 events plus whatever he competed in in Sydney. They are both GOAT in their own respective sports, there's little doubt about that. Comparing them against each other is ridiculous, since their sports are way too different. It gets event worse once you add GOATs from other sports. It gets even more ridiculous when you consider that some sports , like cricket, aren't in the Olympics. (Even within cricket alone it sort of gets ridiculous since you can't really compare a bowler to a batsman IMO). So using the Olympics as the only key is a bit limited. There are other championships that happen in the interim four years. And some bodies and sports, like FIFA and soccer, don't allow the more "elite" divisions into the Olympics. I think they only send the U21/U23 division with an allowance for 3 senior players. I know that's the team South Africa sent. I think it's more accurate to say Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 7 hours ago, Kyoshi said: I know I'm late but the first part of your post kind of surprised me. Expected you to credit doping. Anyway, the 400m world record has been my favourite part so far. Everyone in South Africa has been extra patriotic as a result. i don't discard doping as a possibility, but even then it was a monumental performance. also, i don't discard doping as a possibility for the british cycling team, but i love how much it upsets so many people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mladen Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 I really enjoyed the bits of Kohei Uchimura's gold medal performances at gymnastics... Loved tennis tournament. Del Potro was amazing, Nishikori too... The last couple of matches were truly impressive. As for Serbia, the highlight for me was that outstanding game of our basketball players against US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Northman Reborn Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 I just find the variety of sports somewhat contrived. For example, swimming. Surely the idea of the Olympics should be to see who is the fastest swimmer, just like it should be to see who is the fastest runner, highest jumper, strongest weightlifter etc. Sure, divide that into different distances, to see who is the fastest swimmer over 100m, 200m, 400m, etc. Just like in running. But where it gets silly, in my view, is when you now start introducing different styles of swimming. Why? Why try to see who is fastest when swimming on his back? Or swimming breastroke, or butterfly or whatever other styles you can come up with? Surely the point is to see who is the fastest swimmer fullstop. That guy should get a medal. Now, because you make them also swim on their backs, breastroke like a frog, etc., the guy who should get one medal, now suddenly has 3 or 4. That's artificial. Why not make them all swim with one hand tied behind their backs, call it a style, and give a medal for that too? It makes more sense to just measure the fastest swimmer over each distance. Full stop. I guess that's my problem with the Olympics. Too many pointless sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Saying there shouldn't be styles in swimming is like saying there should be only one of hammer, discus and javelin throw in the athletics. Full stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyoshi Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 43 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said: I just find the variety of sports somewhat contrived. For example, swimming. Surely the idea of the Olympics should be to see who is the fastest swimmer, just like it should be to see who is the fastest runner, highest jumper, strongest weightlifter etc. Sure, divide that into different distances, to see who is the fastest swimmer over 100m, 200m, 400m, etc. Just like in running. But where it gets silly, in my view, is when you now start introducing different styles of swimming. Why? Why try to see who is fastest when swimming on his back? Or swimming breastroke, or butterfly or whatever other styles you can come up with? Surely the point is to see who is the fastest swimmer fullstop. That guy should get a medal. Now, because you make them also swim on their backs, breastroke like a frog, etc., the guy who should get one medal, now suddenly has 3 or 4. That's artificial. Why not make them all swim with one hand tied behind their backs, call it a style, and give a medal for that too? It makes more sense to just measure the fastest swimmer over each distance. Full stop. I guess that's my problem with the Olympics. Too many pointless sports. While I don't fully agree with you, I get your point. They also add freestyle over 400m, 50m, 100m etc. And another 3 styles will also have all of these distances. Then there's the relay. Then there's the relay over 400m. Then there's the relay over 800m. Then there's the medley. Then there's the medley over some other distance. But these are just the heats, there's still more to come. And the swimming heats don't go as quickly as the qualifying rounds for other sports, nor are they nearly as entertaining/fascinating (like diving or gymnastics). I kept having to check the programming info just to make sure I wasn't repeat-watching some of the stuff. I think for me the lack of country variation also factored. I already knew, before watching the races, that the medal podium was going to have a combination of the following: China, Japan, USA, probably GBR, maybe Russia or France, sometimes Italy, and another European country. Every once in a while you'll get the odd Southern African thrown in there. But otherwise, I felt like I knew the results before the heats even started. So it just reinforced the illusion that I was really repeat-watching. Overall I think I'm an advocate of just doing everything freestyle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkash Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Okay, it's in French but the medal of humor goes to Pierre-Ambroise Boss after his 4th place at the 800 meters : the mention to his surely-disapointed cat (asking him to get his ass of the couch and take a beer from the fridge), or thanking his mates (one of them supposed to ask his girlfriend at Rio and then fearing he spoiled her if he hadnt done it yet), saying binge-watching Spartacus made him ready for the arena atmosphere and concluding all that with a very sharp analysis of his race ! Congrats PAB, you were hilarious ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 On 16/08/2016 at 11:05 AM, Arkash said: That pole vaulting competition was among the most intense moments of the games, definitly ! It was fantastic, I think particularly because nobody (maybe not even him) really expected him to get that last height, and his reaction to winning was also great. It was a pity parts of the crowd decided to boo the French runner-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfell is Burning Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 2 hours ago, williamjm said: It was fantastic, I think particularly because nobody (maybe not even him) really expected him to get that last height, and his reaction to winning was also great. It was a pity parts of the crowd decided to boo the French runner-up. The French runner-up compared himself to Jesse Owens and the crowd to the Nazis, so, yes, he deserves every boo he can get, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all swedes are racist Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 On August 15, 2016 at 1:46 AM, BigFatCoward said: Fu Yuanhui. Fuck yeah. she is making these olympics for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guess who's back Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 On 8/15/2016 at 4:26 PM, dbunting said: Team USA womens gymnastics / swimming - to see a team with several ethnic back grounds was cool. Until the last couple games it was basically a white wash and now you are seeing more and more of the population being represented. The look of joy on Simone Manuels face, after winning the 100m free was amazing. Wow, instead of bringing the best, we should bring diversity. That's what Olympics are all about isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 9 hours ago, Kyoshi said: While I don't fully agree with you, I get your point. They also add freestyle over 400m, 50m, 100m etc. And another 3 styles will also have all of these distances. Then there's the relay. Then there's the relay over 400m. Then there's the relay over 800m. Then there's the medley. Then there's the medley over some other distance. But these are just the heats, there's still more to come. And the swimming heats don't go as quickly as the qualifying rounds for other sports, nor are they nearly as entertaining/fascinating (like diving or gymnastics). I kept having to check the programming info just to make sure I wasn't repeat-watching some of the stuff. I think for me the lack of country variation also factored. I already knew, before watching the races, that the medal podium was going to have a combination of the following: China, Japan, USA, probably GBR, maybe Russia or France, sometimes Italy, and another European country. Every once in a while you'll get the odd Southern African thrown in there. But otherwise, I felt like I knew the results before the heats even started. So it just reinforced the illusion that I was really repeat-watching. Overall I think I'm an advocate of just doing everything freestyle. On the bolded part, it greatly depends on the person watching. For example, I love watching swimming and find it very entertaining and fascinating. Quite a few people around the world share my sentiment. Someone else may find American football entertaining and fascinating while I find it a tedious drag of three hours for 10 minutes of game time. The thing about that is that the viewers are ones with remotes in their hands and can change the channel to find something more to their liking. And at today's day and age, with all the streaming available, it's even easier to find stuff to watch. Saying swimming should be modified so you'd enjoy it more is so ridiculous I'm lost for words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guess who's back Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 10 hours ago, baxus said: Saying there shouldn't be styles in swimming is like saying there should be only one of hammer, discus and javelin throw in the athletics. Full stop. It needs to be revised BECAUSE there are too many athletes than can compete for 3 or even more individual event medals. It makes no sense. Should we add running 100m backwards, running with eyes closed, running with one hand behind back, running on all fours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 6 hours ago, Winterfell is Burning said: The French runner-up compared himself to Jesse Owens and the crowd to the Nazis, so, yes, he deserves every boo he can get, Leaving aside that they were booing him before this comment, he later apologised for the remark, saying he was caught up with his emotions after the ceremony. Which is totally understandable. He did not deserve to be booed at all, the crowd ought to be ashamed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacuna Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 100 m backstroke, M&W , 6 medals 200 m backstroke, M&W , 6 medals 100 m breaststroke, M&W , 6 medals 200 m breaststroke, M&W , 6 medals 100 m butterfly, M&W , 6 medals 200 m butterfly, M&W , 6 medals 50 m freestyle, M&W , 6 medals 100 m freestyle, M&W , 6 medals 200 m freestyle, M&W , 6 medals 400 m freestyle, M&W , 6 medals 1500 m freestyle, men , 3 medals 800 m freestyle, women , 3 medals 200 m medley, M&W , 6 medals 400 m medley, M&W , 6 medals 4x100 m relay freestyle, M&W , 6 medals* 4x200 m relay freestyle, M&W , 6 medals* 4x100 m relay medley, M&W , 6 medals* Marathon, M&W , 6 medals Please correct my math/info if it's wrong, but I think that's a total of 102 medals. Insane. *More in the literal sense, but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 1 hour ago, Guess who's back said: It needs to be revised BECAUSE there are too many athletes than can compete for 3 or even more individual event medals. It makes no sense. Should we add running 100m backwards, running with eyes closed, running with one hand behind back, running on all fours. It doesn't need to be revised because swimming one style is very different from swimming some other style. The fact an athlete can get multiple medals is of no importance in this argument. The fact you want it revised is also of no importance. You and people who feel the same way as you are free not to watch it as it is, and if audience numbers drop significantly then it will probably be revised. Golf, dressage, tennis and football (there's probably a few more I can't think of right now) should be removed from the Olympics before a single swimming event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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