I have been rather pleased to see the first two French gold medals won by a refugee from South Ossetia, and a dual Togolese-French national.
But I noticed looking at the sports pages of the Guardian and Le Monde, they might have been reporting on two completely different events!
I admire her. I suspect it took more courage to admit this issue than actually compete, good for her. IMHO not only have Governments ruined the Olympic spirit but so has the IOC sellout to the media. We had another example in Wimbledon. I donât see why a superb athlete also has to be a slick media performer.
Youâll have to explain John as Iâm not sure I understand what that has to do with the mental health issues of SB or NO.
They donât like the media pressure that they have to sign up to take part I supppose.
I am trying to see tennis or equestrian events and the coverage on the B BC is abominable.
The Today programme was saying that Charlotte du Jardin was going for an individual gold at 9.30 UK time, so what we are watching on BBC 1, GB trying for a bronze medal in the rugby Sevens.
Total rubbish.
Magnificent achievement. The BBC wonât allow you to play the video but here it is from Youtube:
https://youtu.be/-Yj9_q4yUiI
I have just seen Carl Hester, an excellent performance for such a young horse.
Thank you, I did see that at lunchtime. Gio was not originally intended to go to Tokyo!
Another Allegro in the making.
Probably quite controversial, but does anyone else here think that the use (abuse) of animals in competitive sports is a bit repugnant?
Perhaps making elephants perform hand stands and such like, yes but horse equestrian events, no.
Marky Warky, why did you choose such a stupid name?
You obviously know very little about horses, I am assuming that it is horses to which you refer.
You know the saying that you can take a horse to water but canât make it drink, well that applies hundreds of folds to horses and sport.
If they donât want to do it they wonât.
Do you seriously think that you can train a horse to become a super star in dressage if it doesnât want to?
Do you know that polo ponies fallow the ball?
There is a bond between working animals and man and a trust and a bond that develops from working together.
Anyone who mistreats an animal is anethma to the rest of those who love and respect the animals they work and share their lives with.
May I suggest that you become better informed before making any more suggestions?
It has just come to me that you may have raised this before.
Never assume anything about someone you donât know
The clue is in the name team GB whilst we applauded individual success they are representing the nation, never has to be about nationalism they can represent themselves in the athletics Grand Prix which they do all year. So applaud you fellow countrymen/women on there achievements instead of turning it into a nationalistic racism trend.
@Jane_Williamson
Nasty, very nasty, and why exactly is my user name of the slightest concern to you
well actually, I was curious about the origin of your username too
I am so over the Olympics. Itâs been building a while, but the latest news have just made it so apparent how pointless the Olympic Games are to me. I worked on medical staff at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics (thatâs my thank you note from the IOC). It was always a big thing, and having that opportunity was just like⌠WOW! So what changed in the past 25 years?
We can start with nationalism, and quite honestly thatâs the official disease of the Olympic games. Weâre number 1! Weâre number 1! Medal counts by country? Yeah, the Olympic Charter set out competition between individuals and teams, but that whole dream to celebrate athletic excellence is now just a stage to put national pride and so-called patriotism centre stage. And where does this patriotism go in the games?
Letâs look at Simone Biles, and her recent decision to withdraw from the competition. Piers Morgan said she let down her country. Texas Deputy Attorney General Aaron Reitz called Biles a âselfish, childish national embarrassmentâ. Charlie Kirk called her âa shame to the countryâ. OK, I could go on but you get the point. A bunch of whiny, entitled, middle-aged, out of shape guys are wrapping themselves in the holy cloth of the American flag and attacking her. It seems that the right-wing media is having a field day with this topic: Right-Wing Media Launches Unhinged Attack on Simone Biles. And the athletic excellence of these commentators has been demonstrated âŚ. How exactly?
These pundits have accomplished nothing in this regard but they use the Olympics as an opportunity to spout their nationalist jingoism. But itâs not just the nationalism that is coming up front and centre, there are other topics that also make me realize what a crock of shit this is and how itâs just getting disconnected. I wonder how this would be different if Simone Biles was white? How many of these talking heads ripped into Larry Bird when he spent most of the â92 Olympics pretty much laying on the floor, because of his back problems.
Now then, letâs see what is going on with sexism, shall we. I am pretty dam happy to see women challenging the old men that govern high level sports, and in this instance itâs the Norwegian beach handball team, who chose to wear shorts instead of the mandated bikini bottoms. And they were promptly fined by the governing body. So then, can anybody tell me WHY the women are mandated to wear bikinis and such minimal tops, while the guys wear shorts and t-shirts? I looked at the executive committees of both beach handball and beach volleyballâŚthat sure is a lot of old men overseeing the sport. I can only imagine the titillation they derive from seeing so much female skin (this is probably not the moment to make a crack about a bunch of old codgers waxing their carrots, so Iâll let it go). So, kudos to the Norwegian athletes making a very public stand. And also I want to give a shout out to the German gymnasts who have opted for a unitard The German gymnastics teamâs unitard is just the latest example of fighting sexism in sports | Salon.com The women should be deciding how much skin they want exposed, not a bunch of creepy old men.
Sure, I grew up with the Olympics, I can remember the terrorist attack and murders at the 1972 Olympics. In that same Olympics, there was the whole debacle of the USA-Soviet basketball finale. (Read the recap here The Debacle That Was the 1972 Olympic Gold Medal Basketball Game | SportsEngine) So please donât get started on the myth that politics is not part of the Olympics. It always has been. Countries use it as a stage to promote themselves as âŚâŚ whatâs that chant âŚ. oh yeahâŚ. Weâre #1! Weâre #1! I donât see that changing any time soon. And I donât see how that benefits anybody.
But more to the personal point, especially as it concerns sports: I was an ATC. I spent several years working with athletes, of all levels, in the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of their injuries. Thatâs what got me to Atlanta, and those were good memories. But I suppose we all grow up. Most of us anyhow, And the news coming out of the Olympics lately, such as bikini bottoms and Simone BilesâŚ. Itâs just been enough to fully complete my disillusionment with the spectacle. I just canât be asked to give a ratâs hairy ass about something that seems to foster such negative aspects of life and where the values on full display are anathema to my own principles.
I agree with the points you make Paul, but note they are mainly aimed at commentators, administrators, and various hangers-on, rather than the athletes themselves - who (in the few bits Iâve seen on television) seem to talk about their families and their teams, rather than their countries.
Iâm reminded of Yeats:
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartanâs poorâŚ
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds.
Itâs not just that it is the whole amount of pollution and the cost to the world when we are all being tasked to keep our emissions down that really gets my goat.
But youâd have no global events at all, how effing sad would that be!
You could have national ones and then there wouldnât be all the hoo ha, âOh weâve beaten the Americans, Russians etc.â
It might be sad but our lives will have to change, and, for one, if there are no Olympics, no international football, even tennis etc. and it benefits our world and the world for our children to come, then that is all to the good.
We are now paying for the extravagant lifestyle of the few at the expense of the majority.
