The Official Athens 2004 Olympics Thread

[Leeloo]

?milie Heymans is my new love.

She was great! So good to see someone from another country no one expected take a gymnastics medal! I am really tired of it being all about the US-Russia-Romania-China. I'd love to see all different people win! But again I do believe in most cases the judges give higher scores to more well known and established people. I can't swear this in gymnastics but I am going by figure skating where that does happen.

On the 'skinny' Khorkina thing, I think there is a difference between just thin and thin and sick looking. She stood out from all other gymnasts on the floor and literally pales in comparison to her former self. I jump to no conclusions but would not be surprised if she had a problem. Hey we were right about Mary Kate.

 

[nbcrusader]

Men's 400 Final

Wariner leads first American sweep in men's 400m in 16 years

It is sick how fast these guys run.....

 

[DaveC]

She was great! So good to see someone from another country no one expected take a gymnastics medal! I am really tired of it being all about the US-Russia-Romania-China. I'd love to see all different people win! But again I do believe in most cases the judges give higher scores to more well known and established people. I can't swear this in gymnastics but I am going by figure skating where that does happen.

On the 'skinny' Khorkina thing, I think there is a difference between just thin and thin and sick looking. She stood out from all other gymnasts on the floor and literally pales in comparison to her former self. I jump to no conclusions but would not be surprised if she had a problem. Hey we were right about Mary Kate.

?milie isn't a gymnast...she's a diver.

 

[DaveC]

Just to add a little more fuel to the fire...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...22/bc.olympics.gymnastics.khorkina/index.html

Is it just me, or is that a little bit of cameltoe I see? Or is it just really weird lighting?

 

[Popmartijn]

BTW, the mayhem at yesterday's men gymnastics is also another reason to drop those 'jury sports' from the Olympics.


*never liked 'jury sports' anyway*

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Just to add a little more fuel to the fire...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...22/bc.olympics.gymnastics.khorkina/index.html

She's right, as anyone who watched last night's joke of a competition will agree.

 

[valentina]

Ehy, have you seen the gal? for the gymnastic?
It was great!
I'm in love with the performance the Italian girls did! Absolutely great! Especially when they were all together and moving just their arms as if they were just a single thing!

 

[Leeloo]

?milie isn't a gymnast...she's a diver.

Sorry, got her mixed up with the French gymnast who won gold in the uneven bars.

 

[Leeloo]

She's right, as anyone who watched last night's joke of a competition will agree.

Was the mens' or womens' the 'joke?' The men maybe, but not the girls. Svetlana did not win a medal because she didn't do well enough. So, did the French girl win because she was from France?

Back to the bitching over the balance beam score: Carly's routine was much more difficult. Her dismount and landing alone blew away anything in Svetlana's routine (which BTW unlike most gymnasts she never changes!) Carly somersaulted down the beam, then did triple tumbles into a blind landing, something no other girl attempted. That landing is incredibly hard to stick, and Carly did it. Sveltana sort of just, flipped off the end of the beam. She got a better score than she deserved. When she talks of judging on beauty and grace instead of athletics, that sounds like she knows she can't do those things and is bitterly jealous of the young girls who can. I don't even think she has the grace and elegance she had in earlier times, she has lost a lot of it, all I see are big long stick stork legs flopping around. Just doing the required elements is not enough, style does come into it.

Judging- I am not one to take up for the judges. For years Amercian and Canadian skaters were cheated for the Russians. It happens in scoring sports like football and basketball too. YES I do believe some judges are biased and unfair. But I don't think that's what happened to her this time, she just plain was not good enough and she can't accept that so she has to whine and blame somebody. She's damn lucky she got the silver in the all around. And if they really are against her, she should remember that her constant bitching, whining and criticism of them along with her prima donna attitude have done nothing to endear her to them.

It's been a great career, Svetlana. Don't ruin it now by whining and looking like a bitch and criticizing the other girls.

 

[zoney!]

The men maybe, but not the girls.

Funny how you call it "mens" and "GIRLS"!

It's too bad that by the time these "girls" become "women" - it is perceived that they are "washed up"

 

[Leeloo]

Male gymnasts have always been traditionally, mostly, several years older than female ones. But my lack of use of the word 'women' is a personal thing with me, I don't personally like it, use it, or want to be called by it. Why? Because most of the time when someone says 'girl' or 'female' it's nice but the word 'woman' is more often associated with the word 'bitch'

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Back to the bitching over the balance beam score: Carly's routine was much more difficult. Her dismount and landing alone blew away anything in Svetlana's routine (which BTW unlike most gymnasts she never changes!) Carly somersaulted down the beam, then did triple tumbles into a blind landing, something no other girl attempted. That landing is incredibly hard to stick, and Carly did it. Sveltana sort of just, flipped off the end of the beam.

It kind of amuses me to see the person who accused others of not being very interested in gymnastics showing an inability to use the correct names for the skills gymnasts included in their routines. But perhaps that's just me.

And that "Carly's routine was so difficult" line is precisely why I hated her performance. Her entire performance screams out "look how difficult this is!" when the gymnastics is supposed to look beautiful and effortless, no matter how difficult it actually is. Everything about her routines seems to focus on making everything look difficult as though that's supposed to be what the judges are looking for. Her floor routine has absolutely no choreography, it's just about jumping from one 'difficult' skill to the next.

When she talks of judging on beauty and grace instead of athletics, that sounds like she knows she can't do those things and is bitterly jealous of the young girls who can. I don't even think she has the grace and elegance she had in earlier times, she has lost a lot of it, all I see are big long stick stork legs flopping around. Just doing the required elements is not enough, style does come into it.

Well, sorry, but looking beautiful, graceful and elegant is actually kind of important to gymnastics. It's sad that when an incredibly successful gymnast points that out, she just gets accused of being jealous of younger gymnasts. Maybe you can explain why you think a graceful and elegant performance is less important than an "athletic" one. And while you're at it, perhaps you can explain why you think being tall is a bad thing.

And on the biased judging, the Russian delegation are protesting to the IOC about how prejudiced the judging has been in this Olympics. It's hardly as though just one gymnast thinks she was unfairly judged, it's an entire team. And given the fact that three judges were suspended for making huge and blatant mistakes, it's hardly as though it's unreasonable to suggest that the judging hasn't been of the fair, unbiased quality it should be.

 

[zoney!]

Because most of the time when someone says 'girl' or 'female' it's nice but the word 'woman' is more often associated with the word 'bitch'

This is YOUR OWN little hang-up!!!!! I have NEVER associated the term "Woman" with "bitch" and have no idea how you have conjured this up.

In my world, Woman is a respectful term of saying "adult female" - NOTHING to do with the female name for a dog (OR a derugatory name for a person).

This is one of the silliest things I have ever heard on these boards.

 

[nbcrusader]

"Subjective sports" will always leave someone unhappy

 

[Leeloo]

Oh good God, whatever!! This is the dumbest shit to fight over!

It's interesting how people who keep commenting on how 'silly' things are keep coming back posting on them again and again

 

[zoney!]

It's interesting how people who keep commenting on 'silly' things are keep coming back posting on them again and again

Are you asking yourself this question?

go re-read your posts.

 

[Bonochick]

I've never heard of "woman" being associated with "bitch".

"Female" is probably the most non-offensive term, though I've never heard of "woman" being thought as as offensive. If anything, more people are offended by "girl"...or, a choice not mentioned but has been the subject of debate before..."chick". I, however, don't mind "chick"...obviously.

I think this all comes down to personal preference, and there really isn't a need to continue an argument over it.

 

[DaveC]

So...how about those Olympics?

 

[beli]

Are the Olympics on?

 

[beli]

Rank
by
Gold NOC Tot.
1 USA 25 28 19 72
2 CHN 24 15 12 51
3 JPN 15 8 9 32
4 AUS 14 9 14 37
5 RUS 9 18 21 48
6 GER 9 10 13 32

 

[zoney!]

word is that US Olympic committee is not happy that the US is only beating the Chinese by 21 medals.

It is in the planning stages to increase funding to U.S. Table Tennis and Badmitton organizations to become a world power in these sports.

Uhoh:

 

[beli]

does anyone have alink to the medal tally that lists more than the top 6?

 

[beli]

found it:

Rank
by
Gold NOC NOC Name Tot. Rank by Total
1 USA United States 25 28 19 72 1
2 CHN China 24 15 12 51 2
3 JPN Japan 15 8 9 32 =5
4 AUS Australia 14 9 14 37 4
5 RUS Russia 9 18 21 48 3
6 GER Germany 9 10 13 32 =5
7 FRA France 9 7 9 25 7
8 ITA Italy 8 6 7 21 =9
9 ROM Romania 8 4 4 16 13
10 UKR Ukraine 8 3 6 17 12
11 GBR Great Britain 7 8 7 22 8
12 KOR Korea 6 10 5 21 =9
13 GRE Greece 5 2 2 9 17
14 NED Netherlands 3 7 8 18 11
15 HUN Hungary 3 6 1 10 16
16 SWE Sweden 3 0 2 5 =25
17 TUR Turkey 3 0 1 4 =28
18 CAN Canada 2 4 1 7 =21
19 BLR Belarus 2 3 6 11 =14
20 POL Poland 2 2 4 8 =18
21 SVK Slovakia 2 2 1 5 =25
22 BUL Bulgaria 2 1 5 8 =18
23 ETH Ethiopia 2 1 1 4 =28
24 GEO Georgia 2 1 0 3 =37
25 THA Thailand 2 0 2 4 =28
26 CHI Chile 2 0 1 3 =37
=27 NZL New Zealand 2 0 0 2 =43
=27 NOR Norway 2 0 0 2 =43
29 ESP Spain 1 7 3 11 =14
30 KEN Kenya 1 4 1 6 =23
31 CZE Czech Republic 1 3 3 7 =21
32 CUB Cuba 1 1 6 8 =18
=33 BRA Brazil 1 1 2 4 =28
=33 INA Indonesia 1 1 2 4 =28
=33 RSA South Africa 1 1 2 4 =28
36 ZIM Zimbabwe 1 1 1 3 =37
=37 LTU Lithuania 1 1 0 2 =43
=37 MAR Morocco 1 1 0 2 =43
39 DEN Denmark 1 0 5 6 =23
40 BEL Belgium 1 0 2 3 =37
41 SUI Switzerland 1 0 1 2 =43
=42 BAH Bahamas 1 0 0 1 =52
=42 CMR Cameroon 1 0 0 1 =52
=42 UAE U Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 =52
45 AUT Austria 0 4 1 5 =25
46 PRK DPR Korea 0 3 1 4 =28
47 CRO Croatia 0 2 2 4 =28
48 POR Portugal 0 2 1 3 =37
49 SLO Slovenia 0 1 3 4 =28
50 EST Estonia 0 1 2 3 =37
=51 TPE Chinese Taipei 0 1 1 2 =43
=51 KAZ Kazakhstan 0 1 1 2 =43
=53 FIN Finland 0 1 0 1 =52
=53 HKG Hong Kong 0 1 0 1 =52
=53 IND India 0 1 0 1 =52
=53 LAT Latvia 0 1 0 1 =52
=53 MEX Mexico 0 1 0 1 =52
=53 SCG Serbia/Monteneg 0 1 0 1 =52
=59 ARG Argentina 0 0 2 2 =43
=59 AZE Azerbaijan 0 0 2 2 =43
=61 COL Colombia 0 0 1 1 =52
=61 ERI Eritrea 0 0 1 1 =52
=61 ISR Israel 0 0 1 1 =52
=61 JAM Jamaica 0 0 1 1 =52
=61 MGL Mongolia 0 0 1 1 =52
=61 TRI Trinidad/Tobago 0 0 1 1 =52
=61 VEN Venezuela 0 0 1 1 =52

 

[DaveC]

Perdita Felicien

 

[indra]

Well, I'm not too fond "ma'am", but that's just cause it makes me feel old!

In the beach volleyball today I felt really sorry for the Aussie woman who had the injured shoulder, but I was also happy for the US woman who just won her first Olympic medal in three tries. A similar thing happened in the women's 100m hurdles -- the favorite fell, taking another runner with her, but the winner was so very happy. For me it's an interesting experience not to have any stong favorites, but be able to feel both the heartbreak and the tremendous joy. (I've had so much stuff going on in my life this year that I didn't follow any competitions leading up to these games, so I don't really "know" any of the athletes.)

 

[Leeloo]

Well, I'm not too fond "ma'am", but that's just cause it makes me feel old!

I hate ma'am too! It's so overused and phoney.

My problem with 'woman' (which IS my personal thing, I did mention the word PERSONAL twice in my post on it, and BTW it was the 'woman' 'girl' fight I thought was 'silly' not the gymnastics one) is that it is more often associated with negativity IMO that I have witnessed personally. For example:

If there's an old woman on the street who's a crank and everyone hates, they call her 'that old WOMAN' but if there's a nice one everyone likes she's an old LADY.

When people speak of disgust over something a female did, such as in traffic, I hear 'that woman ......' and not 'that girl, female, lady, etc.'

The word "woman" thanks to NOW has been associated with radical feminism which I do not care for.

My father called my mother 'woman' when he was mad at her and they got into a fight.

And for the person who said they associate 'woman' with 'respect' well, here's one right here waiting, I have yet to see any from you!

In the beach volleyball today I felt really sorry for the Aussie woman who had the injured shoulder, but I was also happy for the US woman who just won her first Olympic medal in three tries.

I was touched by the story of the girl who carried her mother's ashes in her backpack and spread some on the sand after they won gold. When she got a good bounce she was said to thank her mother's ghost. It was bizarre and kind of macabre but touching just the same.

 

[zoney!]

^give it up!!!!

Perdita Felicien

I was REALLY bummed watching this happen to her. Last winter, my lacrosse team would do our winter training in the "armory" on campus (she is a student at the university where I coach), and I would watch her do some traing...SO FAST and so amazing. I was really hoping that the Russians appeal would be accepted and she would have another chance. I wonder why the Track and Field Governing Board denied it?

 

[zoney!]

also...it is fun to see people competing on the Olympic level that you have covered as a journalist.

I had the opportunity right out of college to cover one of the U.S. women's indoor volleyball players (when she was still in H.S.). I wrote two or three features on her (she was also a basketball player, and ended up playing volleyball at UCLA). It was fun to see her compete on TV in front of the world (If you consider NBC the world ).

Also, I watched one of the U.S. long distance runners compete in a quarterfinal last night. I covered one of her two H.S. Cross Country State Championships.

 

[Salome]

they should do a medal ranking per citizen of the competing countries instead of just per country

I wonder by how much australia would win that one

 

[zoney!]

congrats to the Aussies for winning a Gold in "America's Greatest Past time" too!!!!