2020 Summer Olympics

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Post by Catspaw »

I missed the triathalon restart. That must have been frustrating for athletes.

Last night I stayed up late to watch the Canadian women win softball bronze.

I tried to watch a little surfing in between innings on a different channel but it ended up just being a lot of shots of a little swimmer in a lot of water trying to get to a good spot to surf from every time I looked over, so that was quite dull. I never watch surfing so I don't know if this was an above-average amount of boring stuff or if I just had terrible timing, but I definitely got the impression that a highlight reel was the best way to watch surfing. ;)

I'm looking forward to more swimming soon tonight! \:D/
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Post by bookworm »

Yikes, a typhoon reached the Games site.


Back to back walk off wins for USA softball on their way to the gold medal game.


First men's backstroke loss for USA since 1992, wow.


Is... is USA men's gymnastics actually reliable now? They looked pretty decent in the team competition; not medal contenders, but cleanly completing their routines.

The utter implosion in Rio broke me, the last straw in a series of inexplicable collapses that went back for as long as I could remember. I don't know how to process watching the team actually capably perform. I'm daring to hope there's a chance they can actually put up a respectable showing in the individual events for once.


Speaking of the men's team final, it was decided by one tenth of a point; the closest margin ever in Olympic competition! The Russian Olympic Committee edges out the gold, with a gymnast who three weeks ago reportedly couldn't stand. He had a major leg injury and is only three months out from surgery, should not be anywhere near training yet, let alone competing, but he refused to wait for doctors to clear him because they wouldn't do it for many more months.

On one hand I get it, this is a once in a lifetime thing so you're going to insist on doing it if you really think you're able to and he clearly did. But at the same time it's so incredibly irresponsible, more than just to your own personal health, but to your team since if you defy medical advice and something goes wrong you ruin all of their chances in the event.
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Post by Catspaw »

Wow, that is a big risk to take health-wise. Scary stuff. I'm sure it feels worth it now to him. It might not at some point in the future.

I am proud of Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak! She just won bronze in the 200m freestyle, making her Canada's most decorated summer Olympian with six medals between Rio and Tokyo, with several races left to go in the next week! \:D/ I realize that for a country like the US, that isn't super impressive. ;) Any other Canadians or citizens of smaller countries who don't excel at all summer sports who want to celebrate with me? :cheerleader: I was cheering loudly for Penny from my living room, and they had just shown a men's 100 m semifinal right before, so when the girls hit 100 m I was all excited, trying to figuring out what place we finished in, and then quickly realized they were still swimming because it was a 200 m race. Oops. :anxious:
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Post by bookworm »

Absolute shocker in women's gymnastics as the pressure gets to Simone Biles, she messes up on her first vault and abruptly pulls out of the competition citing mental health. Without her Team USA finishes second, an amazing feat with the other members needing to do rotations they weren't planning on.

Simone's explanation: "After the performance I did I just didn't want to go on." Asked if she was injured: "No, just a little injury to my pride." Not a good look; it sounds like she was upset about not doing as well as expected and withdrew to pout leaving her team shorthanded. What's being said now is her routines are so difficult that if she's not mentally there she could get hurt trying to do them, which I'm sure is true and you can maybe read that into what she said before, but it's very poor original wording. Understandable in the flood of the emotions at the time, I just wish for her sake she would have phrased things better; there's going to be criticism however something like that plays out, I'm afraid those statements may make it worse than it already would have been.

The Russian Olympic Committee gets the gold, so they sweep the team events.
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Post by Catspaw »

Yes, she is so dominant that her absence will definitely be commented on excessively. I think that someone with her lengthy list of accomplishments deserves the benefit of the doubt. She is the one who knows best if she is able to compete, whether it is something physical or mental preventing her from safely doing what she is there to do. To me it sounds like she was originally trying to downplay the situation and/or hoping that it really was something she could overcome in time for future competition and then expanded later when she had more time to consider her wording and had a better idea of how she was doing. Good for her for being honest about struggling and for continuing to support her teammates.
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Post by bookworm »

Simone Biles has pulled out of the individual all around; she'll be replaced by the team's third place qualifier. (Who should have already been in the event anyway if not for the outdated two per country rule; her qualifying score was well high enough.)


First ever American medal in 10m platform synchronized diving!


Japan beats USA for the softball gold. It's kind of neat for them to get this medal since they were the ones that requested it be added back for these Games in a one off appearance since its removal after 2008.


Team dressage silver, best finish for USA since 1948!


50th straight win for USA women's basketball.


Great Britain gets gold in the men's 4×200 relay for the first time since 1908, the Olympic debut of the event.


USA gets the inaugural gold in women's surfing!
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Post by Catspaw »

Canada currently has 10 medals and all of them have been won by women. Pretty impressive! The medal chance we have in the pool tonight is....the ladies again, in the 4 x 200 m relay. I'm sure the guys will get some medals soon but c'mon guys, get a move on. ;) There have been multiple fourth-place finishes, which is great, but not great enough to get a medal.
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Post by Danadelfos »

I'm pretty into beach volleyball, since I generally play once or twice a week during the summer, and I generally cheer for the United States, definitely on the women's side and more or less on the men's. I've been impressed with Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne as they really haven't played much together professionally and yet have won their first two matches! \:D/

I feel like this is the only sport I care about in the Olympics. :anxious:
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Post by bookworm »

USA takes the inaugural gold in women's 3x3 basketball! \:D/


Incredible 4x200 women's relay; all three medalists broke the world record!


USA doesn't medal in the men's 4x200 relay for the first time ever.


5th straight women's all round gold for the USA! It was a wide open competition without Simone Biles participating, but Suni Lee got it done!


Scary crash in one of the BMX races, the reigning gold medalist was stretchered off.


Track and field has started.
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Last night I stayed up to watch Canadian Rosie MacLennan in trampolining. She won the gold medal the last two Olympics and I had high hopes for a three-peat, so I decided that I would stay up to enjoy the gold medal live, when it's the most fun. Long story short, I went to bed unhappy around 1:30 a.m. One of the announcers revealed right before the finals started that Rosie had shared with him confidentially about a serious ankle injury she had suffered a couple of months ago and told him he could share the news when the finals were happening. She didn't want it to be a distraction or excuse, but obviously an injury that prevented her from having proper practice time prior to the Olympics is a factor. Rosie ended up fourth, going around to immediately hug the medalists with a big smile right after being knocked out of medal contention by the final competitor. I really wish she had won a medal (preferably gold) ;) and at the same time it's stuff like this that brings the bigger meaning to the Olympics. Rosie did her best under difficult circumstances, showed what good sportsmanship looks like, and is somebody I'm proud to have representing my country.
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Post by bookworm »

That's a good story, thanks for sharing Catspaw; I wouldn't have known about any of that otherwise, NBC hasn't shown any trampoline.


Some controversy in the Olympic debut of the 4x400 mixed gender relay when gold favorite USA was disqualified from their heat for passing the baton outside the legal zone, which they definitely did, but they said the race official positioned them incorrectly and were reinstated after appealing.


Caeleb Dressel takes gold in the 100m butterfly and sets a new world record! \:D/


Katie Ledecky becomes the first female swimmer to win six individual gold medals.


First ever mixed gender swimming event, pretty neat. Unfortunate incident for the US in the final though as the second leg swimmer's goggles fell down her face as soon as she jumped in and it really hindered her performance.


Simone Biles has withdrawn from the vault and uneven bars, status in beam and floor still uncertain.
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Post by Catspaw »

bookworm wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:39 pm That's a good story, thanks for sharing Catspaw; I wouldn't have known about any of that otherwise, NBC hasn't shown any trampoline.
If they haven't shown it by now, then they won't. The men's final was last night (which I did not stay up late for since there were no Canadians in contention) so it's over. It's really fun to watch! It's amazing what they all do. I'm sure you can watch clips somewhere if you're interested.

bookworm wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:39 pmFirst ever mixed gender swimming event, pretty neat. Unfortunate incident for the US in the final though as the second leg swimmer's goggles fell down her face as soon as she jumped in and it really hindered her performance.
I watched the mixed 4 x 100m medley relay too and thought it was a great event! It was interesting to see the different strategies. The US was the only team to have a guy doing the last leg, and you could tell he was closing, but not enough. The goggle issue was unfortunate for Jacoby - I didn't realize until the announcers pointed it out. I only watch swimming during the Olympics so I don't know how unusual it is but this is the only time I have ever seen this happen, and it must have slowed her down. Good for her for pushing through regardless.

I'm enjoying watching the track and field events now that they're under way. I have high hopes for Andre de Grasse of Canada for the men's 100m! \:D/
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They did show the men's trampoline final (taped) after I posted that. And I clearly don't understand how it works. They said it's a deduction every time they come down outside of that center box, but the Belarus gymnast was all over the place, he actually came less than a foot from landing off the entire trampoline, but his score gave him the gold medal over the Chinese gymnast who had seemed to do a flawless routine.


FloJo's 100m Olympic record was broken after 33 years as Jamaica sweeps the medals.


Stunning upset in the 4x400 mixed relay final as USA only gets bronze. Still great to medal in the event's debut, glad they had that disqualification reversed.


First US gold in the men's 1500m freestyle in 37 years! \:D/ The women also swam this for the first time ever and Katie Ledecky won that, so USA sweeps the event!


Caeleb Dressel's 50m freestyle gold comes in Olympic record time and the largest margin of victory in Olympics history!


The US has never lost the men's 4x100 medley relay and gets gold again here! And they break the world record! \:D/ And they did it out of lane one after having a worrying prelim performance that saw them barely make the final, though that race had a completely different team lineup from who swam here.


Swimming has concluded; what an absolutely outstanding performance by Team USA! Great success by the men and the women, in team and individual events, in established and brand new events, multiple world and Olympic records broken; all around fantastic swimming!
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bookworm wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:04 pm They did show the men's trampoline final (taped) after I posted that. And I clearly don't understand how it works. They said it's a deduction every time they come down outside of that center box, but the Belarus gymnast was all over the place, he actually came less than a foot from landing off the entire trampoline, but his score gave him the gold medal over the Chinese gymnast who had seemed to do a flawless routine.
I'm no expert, and I only watched the women, not the men. I assume that there was a difference in the degree of difficulty that was attempted. There are also scores related to how high they jumped and stuff, so maybe the deductions were taken but the other factors still let to a higher score.

I agree that the swimming events were great! They're a lot of fun to watch. Caleb Dressel was impressive - he always seemed to get an immediate lead and then kept the lead.
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Post by bookworm »

Weird incident in the USA and Canada beach volleyball elimination game; a critical out call was challenged and after review overturned to in, but then immediately put under reviewed again and changed back. Got clarification after the match that there hadn't actually been two reviews, apparently the challenge was always unsuccessful but the operator pushed the wrong button to display ball in instead of out when transmitting the review result.


Heartbreak in the 800m as two runners collide in the semifinal. They show great sportsmanship, helping each other up and finishing the run together despite their devastation. One ends up actually still advancing to the final after the incident is reviewed. Neither was really at fault, but I guess the officials decided it was extra unfair to the second runner or something. If I had to assign blame to one of them I would have actually put it on the one they decided to advance so I was surprised by the decision, I didn't expect them to advance either one and if they did decide to I thought it would have to be both of them.


There was also a great display of sportsmanship in high jump. After finishing the regular set of attempts in a tie, rather than have a jump off for the gold the two athletes decided to share it. Both of them had recovered from potentially career ending injuries to make it here, one brought his cast to the venue. It was such a wonderful moment, their celebration is surely going to become part of the set of iconic Olympic imagery that people's memories and media's highlight clips go back to year after year.


US men's gymnastics returns to familiar form in the individual events, faltering on pommel horse which has been their bane for as long as I can recall. The gymnast in floor also messed up in typically inexplicable fashion, nailing all of his crazy jumps and tumbling but falling on of all things a standard flair skill. I should have known better than to get my hopes up.


MyKayla Skinner gets silver on the vault; due to the two per country limit she would not have been competing if Simone Biles hadn't withdrawn.


Suni Lee gets bronze on bars, the only American in the event as none qualified high enough to replace Simone.


The BMX gold medalist became the first female to land a 360 backflip in competition.


Neat projector stuff on the running track before the 100m final.


Simone Biles has also withdrawn from floor exercise, but will compete on balance beam.
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Post by Catspaw »

I thought the high jump story was great! It sounds like the last two competitors are good friends. What could be better than tying for gold with a friend at the Olympics? Definitely a feel-good story that will be remembered for years to come.

As someone who does not like sweating or exercise, watching people run around in crazy heat and humidity is impressive! It seems like it is getting to some people in track and field, though apparently a lot of runners like some heat and humidity. Maybe not this much!
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Post by bookworm »

There was a seven-man playoff for the golf bronze!


For the first time ever (over a hundred years!) the US doesn't earn a single rowing medal.


Canada beats the US women's soccer team for the first time in 20 years. Their only shot on goal came from a penalty kick, so a really weak call ended up deciding the game. It wasn't an objectively bad call, but it was definitely a questionable one.


A Canadian diver gets a rare zero score after abandoning her planned dive due to a misstep on the approach.


First US medal in 3m springboard in 33 years, and first in anything for a female US diver in 20 years!


Brazil and France had the longest volleyball match in Olympic history! 5 sets, one of which had 15 set points and went to 37-39 my goodness!


Dutch runner Sifan Hassan fell on the final lap of her 1500m heat but still won the race! :o


There was a tie for first in the men's vault! Not two golds though, there's a tiebreaking procedure.


Jade Carey gets gold in floor exercise! Again only one American in the final as no other qualified high enough to replace Simone Biles. There was a tie for bronze and here there were two medalists because after the tiebreaking procedure they remained even.
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Post by Catspaw »

Fun fact hat might not have made American programming - Canada's first 13 medals were all won by women! The 14th was won by a man, and hopefully there are more medals coming. Andre De Grasse won bronze in the 100 m sprint and he's got a good chance to medal in the 200 m too. The semifinals for the 100m were at 5:15 a.m. or something like that (no thanks!) but the finals were at 7:45 Saturday morning, so I was willing to wake up to watch that live. It's always more fun to see the wins as they happen - and also more disappointing to stay up late or get up early for an epic failure. ;)
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Post by bookworm »

There's been quite a range of conditions out on the track, some races have been run in high heat and others in heavy rain.


An ongoing issue in volleyball has been the interpretation of the lift rule, which has caused multiple controversial moments in several of the US games and I'm assuming in games for other countries as well I just haven't watched anyone else play. Apparently it's not being officiated here consistent with how it is on the international circuit.


One of the pole vaulters was injured when her pole broke, that's really scary.


The men's 400m hurdles is one of the biggest stories of these Games. The top two finishers in the final both broke the world record, posting times that apparently people didn't think possible. The tv commentary was going absolutely crazy over it.


Australian equestrian Andrew Hoy became the oldest Olympic medalist at 62.


Speaking of age records, this was Oksana Chusovitina's last Olympics. 46 years old, 8 Olympic Games; that's beyond remarkable for any athlete, and unimaginable for a gymnast.


The sport climbing debut was on tv today, it was much more compelling viewing than I had expected it to be.


Simone Biles gets bronze on balance beam in her return to competition for the final gymnastics event.


First US women's 800m gold in 53 years! \:D/
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Post by Catspaw »

bookworm wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 7:31 pm
The men's 400m hurdles is one of the biggest stories of these Games. The top two finishers in the final both broke the world record, posting times that apparently people didn't think possible. The tv commentary was going absolutely crazy over it.
Yes, I was watching and the commentary I was hearing involved a lot of "Wow, this is amazing beyond all belief!" kind of stuff too. The gold winner from Norway seemed pretty pleased with the result too! ;) Awesome. It's fun to watch those big moments. Just minutes ago the women's 400m hurdles happened and the gold and silver were both awarded to people who broke the world record (both Americans). I always thinks it sucks to be the person who breaks a big record and should be on top of the world - except for the other person just ahead of them with an even better record-breaking time.
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