The Official Athens 2004 Olympics Thread

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A few moments ago Mia Audina has won the silver medal in badminton. She lost to one of the Chinese players (she did beat the #1 ranked though, crushing her yesterday). Mia also won the silver medal in Atlanta in 1996. Then, she was competing for Indonesia, now she competed for the Netherlands.

:up:

And since there isn't a Dutch football team competing, go Mali!!! :)
 
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Leeloo said:
I am tired of Svetlana Khorkina's attitude. If not for her past rep I doubt a washed up 25 year old would even have gotten a medal at all. Carly blew her away on 3 of 4 apparatus. Carly's beam routine and perfect landing alone showed she deserved the gold.

I really dislike the word "deserved" - I think she "Earned" the Gold....but no one "deserves" a Gold Medal.

"Washed up 25 year old?" I think she EARNED the silver medal. She had some excellent events. Khorkina's attitude is not much different from any other athlete. After watching the team event, I got kind of sick with all of the talk of dissapointment in the US team for a silver medal. Get over it. Think of all the other countries that received NOTHING. Romania had an unbelievable event and really EARNED the Gold medal.

P.S. - Al Trautweig should NEVER be allowed in another gymnastics event again. Fish out of water. HORRIBLE decision on behalf of NBC to let him do the gymnastics.
 
zoney! said:


I really dislike the word "deserved" - I think she "Earned" the Gold....but no one "deserves" a Gold Medal.

"Washed up 25 year old?" I think she EARNED the silver medal. She had some excellent events. Khorkina's attitude is not much different from any other athlete. After watching the team event, I got kind of sick with all of the talk of dissapointment in the US team for a silver medal. Get over it. Think of all the other countries that received NOTHING. Romania had an unbelievable event and really EARNED the Gold medal.


It's clear you don't follow gymnastics. Sveltana's 'tude is indeed unique to the sport. We've been discussing it on PLEBA. I've seen ice skaters behave that way but not gymnasts.

Get over what? The US got the silver because they were good but not quite as proficient as the Romanians. The girls were not upset at all. I haven't heard any fans that were either. The only ones who seeme to have a problem were a few of the reporters and announcers. Carly even said "we won a silver medal at the Olympics, that's awesome!" but the woman reporter seemed to act like they should be ashamed, and didn't even say congratulations. But no one else felt that way. Don't blame us!

I know what you mean about the silver medal, but it does not apply in this case. I have also been disgusted by people crying and whining over silver medals and (as Svetlana was quoted as saying in 2000) wanting to throw them away! Considering how many people in the world who will never even make the Olympics in their sport, I consider the silver a major accomplishment and I'd be overjoyed with one.

Each Romanian athlete winning a gold medal recieves 2 cars, a free college education and $50,000 cash. That has to be an incentive and a reason to celebrate!
 
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Leeloo said:
It's clear you don't follow gymnastics. Sveltana's 'tude is indeed unique to the sport. We've been discussing it on PLEBA. I've seen ice skaters behave that way but not gymnasts.

There have been many gymnasts before khorkina with an attitude such as this....hers is magnified by the media though.

Leeloo said:
Get over what? The US got the silver because they were good but not quite as proficient as the Romanians. The girls were not upset at all.

Carly had a completely different temperment. Carly went from event to event with this horrible pouty look on her face. You CANNOT tell me their was "joy" in the responses they gave the reporter who interviewed them after the team competition. "Joy" is what you saw last night.

Again, you called a 26 year-old who won a silver in the individual "washed up." That is just as rude as the reporter asking Carly about her "defeat' (winning silver) during the team event. :down:
 
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zoney! said:


There have been many gymnasts before khorkina with an attitude such as this....hers is magnified by the media though.

They did try to play it up and I admire Carly for calling her 'gracious' even though she knows better. Smart girl not to give them any fodder.


Again, you called a 26 year-old who won a silver in the individual "washed up." That is just as rude as the reporter asking Carly about her "defeat' (winning silver) during the team event. :down:

First, I was referring to the story called "Too old too tall"

Second, personally, after watching the performances, I could name you several teenagers with more inspired and impressive performances. The way it looked to me, at times, she was given higher scores than she deserved based on her past rep. This happens in judged sports.
 
Leeloo said:


It's clear you don't follow gymnastics. Sveltana's 'tude is indeed unique to the sport. We've been discussing it on PLEBA. I've seen ice skaters behave that way but not gymnasts.

Get over what? The US got the silver because they were good but not quite as proficient as the Romanians. The girls were not upset at all. I haven't heard any fans that were either. The only ones who seeme to have a problem were a few of the reporters and announcers. Carly even said "we won a silver medal at the Olympics, that's awesome!" but the woman reporter seemed to act like they should be ashamed, and didn't even say congratulations. But no one else felt that way. Don't blame us!

I know what you mean about the silver medal, but it does not apply in this case. I have also been disgusted by people crying and whining over silver medals and (as Svetlana was quoted as saying in 2000) wanting to throw them away! Considering how many people in the world who will never even make the Olympics in their sport, I consider the silver a major accomplishment and I'd be overjoyed with one.

Each Romanian athlete winning a gold medal recieves 2 cars, a free college education and $50,000 cash. That has to be an incentive and a reason to celebrate!

I think perceptions of attitude depend greatly on if you like or dislike the athlete. Those that like Khorkina will find her attitude charming; those that don't like her will think she's a complete bitch. Same for any other athlete (musicians too -- just think of Bono). I do wonder, leeloo if you think that the 25 and 26 year old US gymnasts are washed up.

Actually, my problem with Khorkina isn't her attitude nor her performance, but that she looks waaaayyy too thin (even more than she used to). I know she is taller than most gymnasts and must be careful about her weight, but she looks positively emaciated.

Yeah, I get kind of miffed when people (athletes, the press, or the public) are disappointed with "only" a silver or a bronze. That whole second place is just first loser attitude just ticks me off. What I noticed after the team competition is that although the US gymnasts said all the right things, it was clear from their faces and their body language that they were disappointed with the result. They seem to have perked up a couple of days later, but they were not happy on the night and they showed it very clearly. The network didn't help though, as they pushed the US team as an almost lock for the gold for weeks leading up to the games.

Actually, this Olympics I'm just watching and enjoying the performances. I find I don't really care who wins. I mean every athlete has worked very hard and made sacrifices to get this good and make these games, so every one of them is making a dream come true.
 
beli said:
Yes but what where they both wearing at the time - thats the REAL issue. :D

And on that note, why when the female beach volleyball players wear such tiny little outfits, do the male players wear such sad baggy crap? C'mon guys, show a bit of skin!! What are you afraid of?
 
indra said:


I do wonder, leeloo if you think that the 25 and 26 year old US gymnasts are washed up.



Once again! I was referring to the link I posted! The story was called "TOO OLD TOO TALL!" I did not write it!

But yes, generally, 25 is 'washed up' for competitive gymnasts. Sometimes even 20 is. I think the reason she's so skinny is because she's trying to make up for her height (5'5" while most gymnasts are barely 5 feet or less) and her age by cutting back on her weight. As the other story I posted said, she is a smoker and a drinker too. She may have an eating disorder, I don't know.
 
Leeloo said:


Once again! I was referring to the link I posted! The story was called "TOO OLD TOO TALL!" I did not write it!

But yes, generally, 25 is 'washed up' for competitive gymnasts. Sometimes even 20 is. I think the reason she's so skinny is because she's trying to make up for her height (5'5" while most gymnasts are barely 5 feet or less) and her age by cutting back on her weight. As the other story I posted said, she is a smoker and a drinker too. She may have an eating disorder, I don't know.

Not to nitpick (but of course I will!), but.... You may not have written it in the first place, but you did use it (see your quote below). When you are quoting use quotation marks or specify that you are quoting someone. I wasn't talking generalities when I asked if you thought Hatch and Bhardwaj are washed up, I was asking if you thought they are washed up right now.

I am tired of Svetlana Khorkina's attitude. If not for her past rep I doubt a washed up 25 year old would even have gotten a medal at all.

As for Khorkina's weight, I think it's odd that it doesn't seem to even get mentioned. Eating disorders are a serious problem in sports such as gymnastics and figure skating (as well as dance and other such activities). The commentators would mention if a girl had gained weight.
 
Leeloo said:
Second, personally, after watching the performances, I could name you several teenagers with more inspired and impressive performances. The way it looked to me, at times, she was given higher scores than she deserved based on her past rep. This happens in judged sports.

Well...you are taking of your own personal opinion of what you saw via a television rebroadcast of an event. There are FAR more things that go into what is being judged than what you see, and have personally judged on.

And, like Indra said, you might be quoting this article, but you keep using this reference. How "washed up" are you when you are 26 and have beaten all but one of the "children/teenagers"???
 
indra said:


And on that note, why when the female beach volleyball players wear such tiny little outfits, do the male players wear such sad baggy crap? C'mon guys, show a bit of skin!! What are you afraid of?

The women wear those for support. Jumping around like that with your boobs flopping all over the place would (I imagine) be extremely uncomfortable. Think sports bra. The bottom is more for cooling than anything.

The men wear the baggy shorts because that's what men (at least normally) wear to the beach. You would not get men playing beach volleyball in speedos. Not only would it be impractical, it'd be absurd to watch, and you'd lose 90% of the male viewing audience. I know I sure as hell wouldn't watch grown men flopping around on the beach in Speedos. Although I suppose the beaters could probably go, it'd certainly be a lot less hot.
 
DaveC said:


The women wear those for support. Jumping around like that with your boobs flopping all over the place would (I imagine) be extremely uncomfortable. Think sports bra. The bottom is more for cooling than anything.

The men wear the baggy shorts because that's what men (at least normally) wear to the beach. You would not get men playing beach volleyball in speedos. Not only would it be impractical, it'd be absurd to watch, and you'd lose 90% of the male viewing audience. I know I sure as hell wouldn't watch grown men flopping around on the beach in Speedos. Although I suppose the beaters could probably go, it'd certainly be a lot less hot.

Dave, Dave, Dave, I understand the support thing very well, believe me! My question wasn't about why the women wear their outfits in Beach Volleyball, buy why the men insist on wearing such god-awful crap. I'm sorry but those outfits look like something their great-great grannies would wear (same with the basketball players). I'm not saying they need to wear speedos (although they could certainly support all "important" equipment in a speedo, so I don't think it would be impractical), I'd just like to see something that looked more athletic. I'd love to see a really nice lycra shorty body suit on the beach volleyball players (maybe a cross between what the swimmers wear and what the track sprinters wear. They would have great range of motion and would look wonderful too!


Oh, and although I said earlier that I didn't really care who won what events, I am pleased that Tyler Hamilton did so well in the individual time trial (cycling). He has such heartbreaking times in the past two Tour de France's. And his dog died during this year's tour too. So, nice to see good things for him.
 
Leeloo said:
25 year old gymnast = 40 year old football player

So Khorkina, Hatch, and Bhardwaj are washed up? That's my question. Not is a 25 year old gymnast generally considered old, I know that is the case, but are these particular gymnasts washed up.



Uh...Bono_man2002, what the heck is a boomer?
 
zoney! said:


Well...you are taking of your own personal opinion of what you saw via a television rebroadcast of an event. There are FAR more things that go into what is being judged than what you see, and have personally judged on.


Well... seems you have jumped to the defense of a person based on what you assume and it may not be correct either. Speaking of questioning the judging, Khorkina herself did that. She was quoted as saying if the judges had been Greek she'd have won gold, and that she lost because she was Russian and Carly was American, then stuck out her tongue!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...20/sp_wl_afp/oly_2004_gymnastics_040820111954

That's her opinion, mine is that her routines were awkward and not that good compared to other girls I saw, and that her scores were more than generous, and I do think that was because of her past rep, YES that happens in judged sports all the time.

But I can't understand how she gets off acting like the US gets all the favors- other than Mary Lou 20 years ago and the magnificent 7 in '96, maybe a few individual apparatus medals here and there, the US has not been a gymnastics powerhouse like Russia (or old USSR) and Romania. Speaking of judges giving 'favors' what about how the Americans and Canadians were cheated for YEARS in figure skating in favor of Russia, and this is just now coming out. So she needs to put her tongue back in her mouth and hold it!
 
The Ausse swim team did so well, here are a few snippets from the Sydney Morning Herald website,

The Australian swimming team has finished the Athens Olympics as the nation's most successful since the 1956 Melbourne Games.

Australia's won seven gold, five silver and three bronze in the pool to once again finish second on the medal table behind the Americans.

Grant Hackett leaves Athens as only the third swimmer in history to win back-to-back Olympic 1500 metre freestyle titles.

And for the first time since the 1972 Munich Games, the Australian women outswam the men.
Jodie Henry has started her Olympic swimming career with three gold.

Henry was the only woman to set an individual world record in the Athens pool, in the semi-final of the 100 metre freestyle.

Australia's new speed queen also anchored both the medley relay and the women's 4x100 metre freestyle relay to world records and gold medals.

And Ian Thorpe will fly home as the country's greatest Olympian after winning two gold, a silver and a bronze.



and then there is our new Olympic golden girl/world record holder cyclist.......again from the Sydney Morning Herald

Anna Meares heaved herself out of the gate and charged around two laps of the Athens Olympic velodrome to claim gold, a world record and all its glory in the 500 metres time trial early this morning Sydney time.
annameares_narrowweb__200x330.jpg


go Aussies go:wink:
 
Well I'm completely stuffed and bleary-eyed after waking up at 2.00am every night to watch the swimming, but what an awesome week it was, especially for our Australian women's team - you rock girls! My other highlights were: Michael Phelps, Yana Klochkova, Ian Thorpe vs Hackett in 400, Thorpedo and van den Hoogenband in the 200 freestyle, Hoogie taking gold in 100 freestyle, South African men's team winning 4 x 100 relay, Grant Hackett defending 1500.
 
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go read my olympic tennis thread... it was amazing today, with the bronze in singles and the gold in doubles... OH GOD, THIS COUNTRY IS SO HAPPY... TOMORROW THE SINGLES FINALS.... VAMOOOOOOOOOOOOS... LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO
 
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You wouldn't believe the amount of self-restraint I'm exercising not to comment on some of the crap that's been posted here about gymnastics. :p :evil:

But the judges were wrong wrong wrong.

And also, not every thin person has an eating disorder. So there. :p
 
FizzingWhizzbees said:
You wouldn't believe the amount of self-restraint I'm exercising not to comment on some of the crap that's been posted here about gymnastics. :p :evil:

But the judges were wrong wrong wrong.

And also, not every thin person has an eating disorder. So there. :p


If you want to post, do so. As for Khorkina's weight, she looks substantially thiner (and not in a good way) than she has in the past. Do you not think there is a major problem in women's gymnastics with eating disorders? And I didn't post about every thin person, just about her, because I was shocked at how bad she looks now compared with how she has looked in the past. I wasn't knocking her (or anyone with such a disorder), just noticing that she looks appallingly thin. The long distance runners also have higher rates of eating disorders also, and many of them face similar issues as the gymnasts (although the gymnasts also face the appearance issue). m

And just for the record, both my sister and one of my cousins have dealt with eating disorders, so I actually do have a clue.



Excessively Physically Active People

Highly competitive athletes are often perfectionists, a trait common among people with eating disorders.

Women Athletes and Dancers. Women in "appearance" sports, including gymnastics and figure skating, and in endurance sports, such as track and cross-country, are at particular risk for anorexia. Success in ballet also depends on the development of a wiry and extremely slim body. Estimates for episodes of eating disorders among such athletes and performers range from 15% to over 60%.
from University of Maryland Medicine

Another article, this time from Vanderbilt University


Great job by the women Aussie 10 meter platform divers! I felt so sorry for the marathon favorite from Great Britain...she looked so broken when she dropped out. (Speaking of excessively thin...the marathoners also qualify and distance runners are also more susceptible to eating disorders than the general population.) But what a great feeling for the ones who medaled (and the others that had personal bests...just finishing it was a real victory in my eyes). Very cool to see so many people fulfilling longtime dreams (in all sorts of events).
 
indra said:
As for Khorkina's weight, she looks substantially thiner (and not in a good way) than she has in the past. Do you not think there is a major problem in women's gymnastics with eating disorders? And I didn't post about every thin person, just about her, because I was shocked at how bad she looks now compared with how she has looked in the past. I wasn't knocking her (or anyone with such a disorder), just noticing that she looks appallingly thin. The long distance runners also have higher rates of eating disorders also, and many of them face similar issues as the gymnasts (although the gymnasts also face the appearance issue)

Sure there are plenty of people in gymnastics with eating disorders, but there are also plenty of people (and by plenty of people, I don't mean anyone here) who seem determined to prove that anyone thin must have an eating disorder. I was involved in gymnastics for fifteen years and if I'd gone out to dinner with every person who told me I was too thin I'd have weighed 130lbs within the week. I don't doubt that there are plenty of people in gymnastics who do have that problem, but that doesn't mean it's right to jump to conclusions about anyone who's thinner than average.

Oh I don't know. Maybe this is just a sensitive topic for me, it's already reminded me of people hiding cartons of ensure plus in my locker and telling me not to fall over in case I break. :p People have such a wonderful sense of humour. I'm going to shut up now because I'm almost sure I'm not saying anything of value anymore. :sigh:

But the judges were still wrong. :p
 
And a big applause for Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, who ended her professional carreer yesterday. She did that by winning the bronze medal in the women's individual pursuit (on the track).

BBC quote:
Holland's Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, a three-time gold medallist in Sydney, took the bronze, beating Australia's Katherine Bates.

It was the Dutch star's last Olympic race, retiring as the most successful cyclist in history with four gold, one silver and a bronze.

:applaud:
:bow:
 
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