Olympics

[caulfield12]

Here in China, it's simply Eileen Gu 24/7.

She has 26 and counting sponsorship deals, climbing into the mid $30 million range and counting before starting freshman year at Stanford.

Then you have Kamila Valieva, arguably the greatest skater of all time for women at age 15, out doing the program of the 2010 US men's gold medal program in difficulty.  Like Serena Williams beating Federer at Wimbledon, crazy.

The days of Hamill, Fleming, Lipinski, Yamaguchi, Kerrigan and Witt are long gone...quads are in.  The Russians are simply running laps around the field, like South Korean female golfers.

Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim are off to promising starts, but Mikaela Schiffrin just wiped out a second time and Red Gerrard and Jamie Anderson failed to medal, and the US women's Hockey team lost to Canada while out shooting them 2-1.

Is this the nadir of American Olympic sports, or just an anomaly...that will be sorted out in France, Italy and LA the next three Olympics?

Edited February 9, 2022 by caulfield12

[CentralChamps21]

I'm pleased that NBC is not giving China a free pass on all the human rights violations.

[southsider2k5]

I can't get myself excited.  I have barely watched anything. 

[caulfield12]

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

I can't get myself excited.  I have barely watched anything. 

With limited fans, and partisans of one country…just not the same feeling at all.

[Chisoxfn]

I love the Olympics - but this all man made snow is crap. Just absurd to have an event like this in an area that doesn’t have the weather conducive to host such an event. 
 

As an avid snowboarder - there is a massive difference between man made and real and with varying temperature it also impacts conditions. I also think lack of fans hurts. 
 

That said - it is a long 2 weeks and I hope Mikela can bounce back and others step up. 
 

I will say the back drop of that plant/mill or whatever it is behind some of the ski/snow style events is pretty surreal.  

[Kyyle23]

9 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

I love the Olympics - but this all man made snow is crap. Just absurd to have an event like this in an area that doesn’t have the weather conducive to host such an event. 
 

As an avid snowboarder - there is a massive difference between man made and real and with varying temperature it also impacts conditions. I also think lack of fans hurts. 
 

That said - it is a long 2 weeks and I hope Mikela can bounce back and others step up. 
 

I will say the back drop of that plant/mill or whatever it is behind some of the ski/snow style events is pretty surreal.  

Absolutely nuts to see a barren dreadful landscape around that ski jump.  

[whitesoxfan99]

9 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

I love the Olympics - but this all man made snow is crap. Just absurd to have an event like this in an area that doesn’t have the weather conducive to host such an event. 
 

As an avid snowboarder - there is a massive difference between man made and real and with varying temperature it also impacts conditions. I also think lack of fans hurts. 
 

That said - it is a long 2 weeks and I hope Mikela can bounce back and others step up. 
 

I will say the back drop of that plant/mill or whatever it is behind some of the ski/snow style events is pretty surreal.  

Yep, the IOC's corruption knows no bounds but just asinine to have the Olympics somewhere that doesn't have snow that also has the human rights issues that China has.  Politics should not make its way into the sports themselves but it absolutely should matter as to where the Olympics are held.  But at least Eileen Gu could be like all the American corporations that sell their soul to China for money so she can be used for propaganda there. 

Also still utterly ridiculous that the IOC is so corrupt and cowardly that Russia never received a real penalty for mass doping in 2014. 

I was glad to see Lindsey Jacobellis finally get redemption for her showboating mistake in 2006 and get her Olympic gold. 

[Quin]

14 minutes ago, whitesoxfan99 said:

Yep, the IOC's corruption knows no bounds but just asinine to have the Olympics somewhere that doesn't have snow that also has the human rights issues that China has.  Politics should not make its way into the sports themselves but it absolutely should matter as to where the Olympics are held.  But at least Eileen Gu could be like all the American corporations that sell their soul to China for money so she can be used for propaganda there. 

Also still utterly ridiculous that the IOC is so corrupt and cowardly that Russia never received a real penalty for mass doping in 2014. 

I was glad to see Lindsey Jacobellis finally get redemption for her showboating mistake in 2006 and get her Olympic gold. 

What are you talking about? Russia is not competing. The Russian Olympic Committee comprised of Russian athletes are, with Putin in attendance.

[CentralChamps21]

1 hour ago, Quin said:

What are you talking about? Russia is not competing. The Russian Olympic Committee comprised of Russian athletes are, with Putin in attendance.

Yes, but the only real punishments are no flag and no anthem, which are pretty superficial. Actually banning Russians from competing would have had more teeth and been more of a deterrent.

[StrangeSox]

FWIW I guess the man-made snow is more and more common in winter sports competitions, and it was used heavily in 2018 and 2014 as well.

Quote

Artificial snow was first used at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, but it has been growing in prevalence in the most recent Games. About 80% of the snow used in Sochi, Russia in 2014 was artificial, and that number went as high as 98% for the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea in 2018.

https://time.com/6146039/artificial-snow-2022-olympics-beijing/

 

 

It's only going to get harder to have natural snow competitions in the future.

 

Quote

 

Warm weather is becoming increasingly common in Winter Games. During the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, temperatures were slightly above freezing, but went as high as 52 degrees. Eight years later in Sochi, the average temperature was 50 degrees, making it one of the warmest Winter Olympics host cities. But more than being outliers, these temperatures may just bode the warming future of the Winter Olympiad.

In 2026, the Winter Games will return to Cortina d’Ampezzo and Milan in Italy after 70 years. When Cortina d’Ampezzo welcomed the Olympics in 1956, heavy snow fell on the first day. But an analysis from nonprofit research group Climate Central found that since the Olympics, the average temperature for Milan in February has warmed by 5.9 degrees in the intervening time.

If this trend continues worldwide, not even artificial snow can save the future of the Winter Olympics in a warming world. Orr co-authored a recent study about how man-made global warming threatens the future of the Winter Olympiad, and winter sports in general. In the study, the authors note the dwindling number of cities that will remain viable for winter games as global carbon emissions raise temperatures and make things like snowfall less predictable.

Beijing, according to the report, will no longer be able to reliably stage the Winter Olympics by 2050 under existing conditions—even artificial snow can only successfully substitute for natural snow if temperatures are low enough to keep it from melting. “If we have certain mountain regions that are just too warm, no amount of snowmaking is going to fix that,” Orr says.

 

 

[wegner]

I've actually enjoyed watching the mixed doubles curling matches.  The strategy they use is interesting and I enjoy hearing them yell "SWEEP" at each other in all the different languages.

[whitesoxfan99]

1 hour ago, CentralChamps21 said:

Yes, but the only real punishments are no flag and no anthem, which are pretty superficial. Actually banning Russians from competing would have had more teeth and been more of a deterrent.

I believe his post is what you would call sarcasm.  
 

But yes, not flat out banning any and all Russians from competition for a number of years was clearly the proper response and the fact it didn’t happen is a joke because I’m positive Russia learned there is no consequences to state sponsored doping and is still doing it.  I’d bet heavily China does it as well and is just better at hiding their tracks.  

[CentralChamps21]

14 minutes ago, whitesoxfan99 said:

I believe his post is what you would call sarcasm.  
 

But yes, not flat out banning any and all Russians from competition for a number of years was clearly the proper response and the fact it didn’t happen is a joke because I’m positive Russia learned there is no consequences to state sponsored doping and is still doing it.  I’d bet heavily China does it as well and is just better at hiding their tracks.  

Oh, no, they learned their lesson. They're not going to do it aga . . .

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/33249419/team-figure-skating-medal-ceremony-beijing-olympics-delayed-legal-issue

Quote

The winners in the team figure skating competition at the Beijing Olympics still have not received their medals, with reports saying the delay has been caused by a positive drug test from one member of the gold-winning Russian team.

 

[whitesoxfan99]

9 minutes ago, CentralChamps21 said:

Oh, no, they learned their lesson. They're not going to do it aga . . .

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/33249419/team-figure-skating-medal-ceremony-beijing-olympics-delayed-legal-issue

 

It’s a pretty safe assumption that every Russian athlete is doping (either knowingly or unknowingly).  

[Quin]

3 hours ago, whitesoxfan99 said:

Yep, the IOC's corruption knows no bounds but just asinine to have the Olympics somewhere that doesn't have snow that also has the human rights issues that China has.  Politics should not make its way into the sports themselves but it absolutely should matter as to where the Olympics are held.  But at least Eileen Gu could be like all the American corporations that sell their soul to China for money so she can be used for propaganda there. 

Also still utterly ridiculous that the IOC is so corrupt and cowardly that Russia never received a real penalty for mass doping in 2014. 

I was glad to see Lindsey Jacobellis finally get redemption for her showboating mistake in 2006 and get her Olympic gold. 

Don't worry man, we have World Cup to look forward to!

Looks up anything about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Nevermind.

[whitesoxfan99]

53 minutes ago, Quin said:

Don't worry man, we have World Cup to look forward to!

Looks up anything about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Nevermind.

Yep, FIFA may somehow be even worse.  Just totally garbage organizations. 

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, CentralChamps21 said:

Oh, no, they learned their lesson. They're not going to do it aga . . .

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/33249419/team-figure-skating-medal-ceremony-beijing-olympics-delayed-legal-issue

 

Unreal.

[caulfield12]

22 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Unreal.

It’s a disaster for Russia if it’s Valieva at only age 15.

But then one has to wonder about all these quads when someone like Karen Chen seems like she’s skating a decade ago in comparison.

That said, they’re eight to ten deep behind her.  The Gold medalist in Alina Galitova from 2018 that did like seven triples the last two minutes of her routine is still only 19.

 

I guess things would even be worse in Kazahkstan with a coup almost taking place.

Many are now suggesting a permanent Greek/European home that’s got different countries or regions for different sports … more decentralized and neutral.

Then again, almost every winter host site going back decades will be unable to sustain natural snow by the year 2050 or something like that.

Also glad psychological issues getting more attention with Biles, Schiffrin, Vincent Zhou, etc.  

Edited February 9, 2022 by caulfield12

[wegner]

30 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Unreal.

Not to be the greedy opportunistic bastard but would this move the US team up to Gold?  It would be nice if Zhou came home with a Gold medal...the guy was crushed after getting removed from the individual event due to covid.

[whitesoxfan99]

9 minutes ago, wegner said:

Not to be the greedy opportunistic bastard but would this move the US team up to Gold?  It would be nice if Zhou came home with a Gold medal...the guy was crushed after getting removed from the individual event due to covid.

Yes it would.

[southsider2k5]

13 minutes ago, wegner said:

Not to be the greedy opportunistic bastard but would this move the US team up to Gold?  It would be nice if Zhou came home with a Gold medal...the guy was crushed after getting removed from the individual event due to covid.

From a technical standpoint, yes, everyone would move up a slot.

[caulfield12]

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/33254263/russian-figure-skater-kamila-valieva-tested-positive-banned-drug-according-reports
 

The Olympics just got even more political.

If they disqualify her, Putin just might be crazy enough to threaten war with Ukraine and his new buddy buddy relationship with Xi Jinping will quickly be tested.

If they let it slide due to her age and no clear performance-enhancing effect (from a sample taken two months) ago…no matter what, the Americans or Russians will be complaining big-time, especially someone like Vincent Zhou knocked out of performing due to those inconsistent/supposedly stricter Covid tests here in China.

[whitesoxfan99]

28 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/33254263/russian-figure-skater-kamila-valieva-tested-positive-banned-drug-according-reports
 

The Olympics just got even more political.

If they disqualify her, Putin just might be crazy enough to threaten war with Ukraine and his new buddy buddy relationship with Xi Jinping will quickly be tested.

If they let it slide due to her age and no clear performance-enhancing effect (from a sample taken two months) ago…no matter what, the Americans or Russians will be complaining big-time, especially someone like Vincent Zhou knocked out of performing due to those inconsistent/supposedly stricter Covid tests here in China.

Lol.  If she tested positive for a banned substance they should lose the medal.  Just like the USA didn’t let Richardson compete in the summer games when she tested positive for weed (which is clearly not performance enhancing).  Only a piece of shit like Putin could make it political. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by whitesoxfan99

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, whitesoxfan99 said:

Lol.  If she tested positive for a banned substance they should lose the medal.  Just like the USA didn’t let Richardson compete in the summer games when she tested positive for weed (which is clearly not performance enhancing).  Only a piece of shit like Putin could make it political. 

We shall see.  They’re taking days and days to decide what to do.

We’re talking a 15 year old getting glowing accolades from American sports writers as already the GOAT in her sport.

To Russians, this and ice hockey are the sacred sports, along with gymnastics. 
 
Nothing will shock.

 

looks like Chloe Kim is restoring a sense of normalcy to these games unless someone really steps up the next couple of minutes…almost landed a 1260 just for the challenge of it, couldn’t quite hold the landing

Edited February 10, 2022 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

They’re going to have no way out this, as it wasn’t declared she was taking it for a heart condition or anything related to Covid.

 

“Only a med student but this is a very odd drug for a 15 year old to be taking for actual legitimate health reasons. The drug treats angina which essentially only occurs when your oxygen delivery can’t keep up with demand which will almost always occur in patients with a history of coronary artery disease. Someone at her age and physical ability definitely does not have angina or coronary disease. The only thing I could think of this drug potentially doing is increasing coronary artery blood flow which may potentially improve her overall cardiovascular endurance and help her get through a program. However, there aren’t any studies that demonstrate this being true and honestly am not sure why the Russians would even risk it. The drug may at best have marginal benefits but maybe the Russians know something everyone else doesn’t.”

“Minors under 16 are treated differently by WADA. Hopefully she doesn't get banned but the adults surrounding her do.“

reddit boards

 

 

Also, if Nathan Chen holds on for gold against the Japanese, the US would pretty much be in a dead heat with Norway and Germany for points if you count golds as 3, silvers as 2 and bronze at 3.  Pretty decent considering the perception is a disappointing performance because of Schiffrin (mostly).

That’s also assuming the US gets the gold medal for team figure skating.

Of course, it’s also going to open up the ladies’ figure skating singles to anyone winning next week.

Edited February 10, 2022 by caulfield12