I've noticed the World Ploughing Championship is being held next week in Estonia. Now, that's a field event I'd like to see introduced at the Olympics. Moreover, the chap representing England is a guy from Sussex called Will Tupper. I wonder if he's known as "Tough of the Tractor"?
Depends on what you consider to be the origins, I guess.
Originally, ancient Greece, the games only featured naked male runners.
In more modern times they featured poetry, pottery, sculpture and all manner of arts.
That said I wouldn't watch breaking or even break dancing even if you paid me.
But if they ever introduce a mixed relay event featuring the sack race, tossing a bean bag into a bucket, the egg & spoon race and a three legged run I'm entering.
I know I’m not the demographic but it was cringeworthy. The Australian contestant was an insult especially.
When you consider she will be able to call herself an Olympian the same as some of the superhumans we have seen over the past 2 weeks it’s pretty shitty
The Australian breakdancer was so bad I genuinely felt sorry for her. Not sure how you can make it to the Olympics performing at that level. Like watching a toddler 'do their funny dance' for visiting grandparents.
The Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn has a PhD in cultural studies, with a speciality in the gender politics of movement and breakdance. That either explains the whole thing to you or it doesn't.
Actually yeah, that makes sense. All a result of a female "sprinter" who ran the 100m in >25 seconds somewhere a while back, making a mockery of being her nations top runner.
If they are being clever with new sports that might not be around for long they let whoever runs the closest thing they have to a world championship run it largely by their own existing rules.
I'd argue any sport that doesn't regularly have some kind of global competition and commonly accepted rules shouldn't be anywhere near the Olympics.
Sifan Hassan has Olympic medals from 1500m to the marathon now. Three of the four are gold. She ran 5k and 10k this week for two bronzes and ran a cheeky Olympian marathon record this morning. She came to the Netherlands as a refugee in her teens.
Four of the 6! Golds in 5000 and 10000 in Tokyo, bronze in the 1500, then the two bronzes at 5 and 10 this year with the gold in the marathon. First athlete since 1952 to medal in the 5, 10, and marathon at the same olympics. Absolutely phenomenal athlete
Are we slightly disappointed with how many gold medals we won and 7th in the medal table? I’m sure we were told we were targeting 19 golds…or did I mishear that before the games?
British Olympic Association now crowing about the ‘total medal count’ and ‘best haul on foreign soil’, but the medal table is about gold medals…isn’t it? And the BOA has a whole heap of money thrown its way.
I think ‘overall medals,’ is probably a better metric for success. The margins between gold and silver, or even gold and fourth can be tiny.
This has been our fewest golds for a while, even as we were on pace with total medals. There were maybe as many as half a dozen silvers that could easily have been gold, and it felt like other nations have caught us in cycling which probably cost us a few too.
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How on earth has break dancing made it to the Olympics? I think the origins of the Olympics have been lost!
I've noticed the World Ploughing Championship is being held next week in Estonia. Now, that's a field event I'd like to see introduced at the Olympics. Moreover, the chap representing England is a guy from Sussex called Will Tupper. I wonder if he's known as "Tough of the Tractor"?
They really haven't. See the post higher up, it has had all sorts over time, as ridiculous as some of them seem in the context of recent games.
Depends on what you consider to be the origins, I guess.
Originally, ancient Greece, the games only featured naked male runners.
In more modern times they featured poetry, pottery, sculpture and all manner of arts.
That said I wouldn't watch breaking or even break dancing even if you paid me.
But if they ever introduce a mixed relay event featuring the sack race, tossing a bean bag into a bucket, the egg & spoon race and a three legged run I'm entering.
I know I’m not the demographic but it was cringeworthy. The Australian contestant was an insult especially.
When you consider she will be able to call herself an Olympian the same as some of the superhumans we have seen over the past 2 weeks it’s pretty shitty
The Australian breakdancer was so bad I genuinely felt sorry for her. Not sure how you can make it to the Olympics performing at that level. Like watching a toddler 'do their funny dance' for visiting grandparents.
It was funny though
I think the competitors only have to rank in their national top 10 or top 30 worldwide to qualify for an event in any competition.
Something like that anyway.
Presumably she really is one of the best they have at the "sport"?
There's normally some sort of minimum standard on top of rankings as well isn't there? Like sub 2.08 for a marathon etc
But how you set that for a dancing competition like this is another question.
The Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn has a PhD in cultural studies, with a speciality in the gender politics of movement and breakdance. That either explains the whole thing to you or it doesn't.
Blame the husband, he's her coach
Actually yeah, that makes sense. All a result of a female "sprinter" who ran the 100m in >25 seconds somewhere a while back, making a mockery of being her nations top runner.
If they are being clever with new sports that might not be around for long they let whoever runs the closest thing they have to a world championship run it largely by their own existing rules.
I'd argue any sport that doesn't regularly have some kind of global competition and commonly accepted rules shouldn't be anywhere near the Olympics.
Sifan Hassan has Olympic medals from 1500m to the marathon now. Three of the four are gold. She ran 5k and 10k this week for two bronzes and ran a cheeky Olympian marathon record this morning. She came to the Netherlands as a refugee in her teens.
Legend is an over used word. Not for Sifan.
Four of the 6! Golds in 5000 and 10000 in Tokyo, bronze in the 1500, then the two bronzes at 5 and 10 this year with the gold in the marathon. First athlete since 1952 to medal in the 5, 10, and marathon at the same olympics. Absolutely phenomenal athlete
Yes I meant to say she has a gold at three of the four distances.
What next - win Badwater outright in ‘28 then pop over to LA for a warm down over the steeplechase?
Are we slightly disappointed with how many gold medals we won and 7th in the medal table? I’m sure we were told we were targeting 19 golds…or did I mishear that before the games?
British Olympic Association now crowing about the ‘total medal count’ and ‘best haul on foreign soil’, but the medal table is about gold medals…isn’t it? And the BOA has a whole heap of money thrown its way.
thoughts welcome.
I think ‘overall medals,’ is probably a better metric for success. The margins between gold and silver, or even gold and fourth can be tiny.
This has been our fewest golds for a while, even as we were on pace with total medals. There were maybe as many as half a dozen silvers that could easily have been gold, and it felt like other nations have caught us in cycling which probably cost us a few too.
Pretty sure I heard over all total medal target was between 60 and 70, so bang on.
Perhaps we should use the same method the USA does, and use over all medals, in which case we came 3rd !
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-mbcGLSg8i/?igsh=NHVuMnNyajRmYWV2