Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

[Fierce_LiNk]

I feel like this deserves its own thread. 

I wasn't feeling too much hype beforehand, but I've found myself glued to it this morning. Just watched the Judo and Swimming medley events!

[Julius]

I've only caught snippets of the opening ceremony and some of the swimming highlights so far.

Normally I'm pretty big on watching the Olympics, especially the swimming, but watching how the IOC have handled things and seemingly not giving Japan the chance they wanted to delay things further, coupled with the lack of crowds and just the overall lack of energy coming from it was a result, I just find myself left a bit unenthused. There's also that some of the events are at pretty awkward times for us in the UK, which is always a real shame. 

Will definitely try to catch the swimming highlights, though! 

[Emerald Emblem]

Sadly I'll be missing most of the Olympics due to early shifts, it looks as though the BBC coverage this time is severely limited too. 

[Fierce_LiNk]

Major congratulations to Tom Daley and company who won their medals today. I have to admit that even I was choking up a little watching him again on the news just a few moments ago, as he finally ended his wait for an Olympic Gold medal.

[Happenstance]

I haven’t had a chance to watch much so far but I need to get around to it. I’m usually much more interested in the first week’s events so I’d like to catch them.

[killthenet]

I had to catch up with the diving and the Mountain biking after the fact but I did see Peaty win his gold before I went to bed. Really fantastic day for GB, it was a shame that Lauren Williams couldn't keep the gold rush going in the taekwondo though - although she and Alex Yee in the Triathlon both did phenomenally for their Olympic debuts. 

I watched all of the triathlon last night too and it was pretty funny to see the Neo Geo logo on top of one of the buildings in Tokyo a few times and that massive Gundam statue played a starring role too 

Edited July 26, 2021 by killthenet

[Jonnas]

I usually like the Olympics for giving me an opportunity to check out a bunch of sports I usually don't watch. Sadly, with the nightly schedules, I haven't been able to keep up with them as much as I'd like, and to make matters worse, our Portuguese athletes have been eliminated at a faster pace than I expected. Still, I'm looking out for:

• Judo. I was sad to see our golden girl Telma Monteiro be eliminated early, but the newcomer Catarina Costa managed to make it 5th in her class, so I think our Judo boys and girls are still motivated. And since I was always fond of biggest boy Jorge Fonseca, and I'm hoping he can go far when his turn comes.
• Handball. First time our guys made it to the Olympics, and they already had two very exciting matches. If they can at least make it out of the group, that'll be immense! Plus, my sister used to play Handball, so I want to see the sport get more views in general.
• Table Tennis. A sport I always liked. Sadly, all of our single competitors have been eliminated already (our best player went against the #1 seed in the QFs, so that's frustrating), but I'm hoping the Men's team can still go places.
• Athletics. It's broad, but they have been historically kind to us. While we might see a surprise, there's no question our best chances lie in Triple Jump: Nelson Évora is a pretty awesome guy all around (doesn't matter if he's past his prime), and Patrícia Mamona is pretty cool, and also my Olympic crush, so I want them both to do well.
• Rowing. I don't actually like this much, but our guys have been so close to Gold before, I want them to finally get it.

So yeah. Coming from a country that never does well in the Olympics, this is usually the best we can hope for. And hopefully I can still catch some other sports during the weekends or lunch (like gymnastics yesterday, always a cool one to watch).

[WackerJr]

I have absolutely loved the Olympics so far! Ok, so the timing of most events happening during the night here in the UK is unfortunate, and the TV deal made by the IOC means that the BBC haven’t been able to show everything (but they’ve done a fine job of trying!), but it’s been great viewing.

So many events have had drama, excitement, heartache & triumph.  I know I’m biased towards Team GB, but just some of the memorable moments include:

• Nice guy Tom Daley finally winning Olympic Diving Gold & the sheer emotion he showed.

• GB Rugby 7s remarkable Quarter Final comeback followed by Argentina stunning South Africa after having a man sent off after 1 minute.

• Bianca Walkden losing in dramatic fashion in the final second of the Taekwondo Semi-Final.

• 46 year-old Uzbekistan gymnast Oksana Chusovitina receiving a standing ovation after competing in her 8th and final Olympic Games.

There have been so many other remarkable moments I won’t bore people any more, and we’re less than a week in!  I understand the controversy about whether they should be even happening, but now they are it’s addictive to watch.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I'm really enjoying the competition. Rugby Sevens, the gymnastics, and the hockey have all been highlights for me. However, it has been a pain trying to follow the coverage of it. It seems all over the place and it's very hard to tell what's live and what isn't, due to the timings. It's also tricky trying to work out who is on and when. So, if you wanted to watch, say, GB play Rugby Sevens, it's not easy to see what exactly that is. Or maybe there is a way that I haven't come across.

The actual competition side of things is great. Argentina beating South Africa whilst a man down was so exciting to watch. Tbf, there hasn't been anything that I've watched yet that I haven't liked.

[Jonnas]

On 27/07/2021 at 11:34 PM, Jonnas said:

• Judo. I was sad to see our golden girl Telma Monteiro be eliminated early, but the newcomer Catarina Costa managed to make it 5th in her class, so I think our Judo boys and girls are still motivated. And since I was always fond of biggest boy Jorge Fonseca, and I'm hoping he can go far when his turn comes.

He did it! Jorge Fonseca won Bronze, Portugal's first medal this year Really happy for him, and hoping he can do even better in 2024

[Will]

I always enjoy the Olympics and this one is no exception. It’s nice to finally be in the same timezone(ish) as the event and I’ve been able to have it on while I work and catch pretty much everything I’m interested in. For a country that doesn’t really do sport the coverage here has been fantastic. They pretty much give a full schedule of every sport and I’d say 95% of them are being shown live. There is something stupid like 30 channels showing this stuff here. If you’re using a VPN I’d really recommend watching Singapore’s coverage if there are specific things you want to see.

On a personal level this is also a really weird one for me. The Olympics was my ‘target’ when I moved to Japan to have done five years there and the time I’d be thinking about my next adventure. I ended up only doing two years and life took me on it’s own adventure. Moving away 2020 was always a target for a long holiday and then with COVID I’d hoped that this year they would finally sort of be an end point for this whole thing. I guess things never really work out quite how you plan them.

[Happenstance]

Anyone heard if the Olympic video game is any good this time? Kind of in the mood to play one. 

[Emerald Emblem]

37 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Anyone heard if the Olympic video game is any good this time? Kind of in the mood to play one. 

Not if you are looking for an authentic experience. Sounds like they went the Wii party game route and not even half the events are in it.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Emerald Emblem

[martinist]

I don't think i've watched any of the olympics this year. I didn't even watch the opening ceremony. I glanced at it and i heard the robo theme from chrono trigger then some sort of sonic music maybe? then i went to walk my dog and never turned it back on since. It doesn't help when most of the events take place around 1am ish.

Edited July 31, 2021 by martinist

[Julius]

Yeah, unfortunately I haven't caught as much as the Olympics as I would have like this year either. I've caught some of the highlights through BBC Sport's YouTube channel - the swimming, which we've been fantastic at; some of the football; and Tom Daley's gold in diving - but a combination of the time of the events and the fact that the BBC don't have full rights anymore in the UK (I think Discovery outbid them?) just makes it more hassle than it's worth for me to catch it live. 

Which is a shame, because I've loved the Olympics every time I've watched them growing up, and I think it's an excellent showcase not just of the amazing talent and commitment of people from all over the world, but also a great way to get people into more hobbies and trying new things out. For me when I was younger it was getting more into swimming and tennis, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear if others have had similar experiences.

The Philippines landing a gold medal definitely gave me a sense of pride, though I wasn't surprised at all to hear about how Hidilyn had to put up with some idiotic politicians - as the country is unfortunately corrupt to its core right now and has been for a long while - but it's the determination of the human spirit on show which is what the Olympics is all about for me. 

I'm honestly gutted for the competitors, to be honest, because it feels like this only went ahead and wasn't delayed because of the IOC (I get FIFA vibes from them these days) - I seriously doubt that Japan wanted to go ahead with these games in the middle of an ongoing pandemic. We've seen with the Euro's just how much having crowds in attendance sends a lightning strike through the souls of competitive people and supercharges them after a year without crowds, and while I think the event highlights I've seen still shows them being professional and getting on with it at these Olympics - as you'd expect - it's just not quite the same. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Julius

[Happenstance]

I always find these introductions to athletes where they come out one at a time and some showboat a bit weird. Kind of feels like either don’t do it or go full WWE with theme songs and pyro going off. This middle ground is always awkward.

[Fierce_LiNk]

2 hours ago, Happenstance said:

I always find these introductions to athletes where they come out one at a time and some showboat a bit weird. Kind of feels like either don’t do it or go full WWE with theme songs and pyro going off. This middle ground is always awkward.

Go full WWE. Every athlete to have their own theme music, pyrotechnics, ring announcements, the lot.

BAH GAWD, IT'S BOLT. BOLT WITH A CHAIR! DAMN HIM TO HELL!

[killthenet]

I've been watching as much as I can, really enjoyed the mixed triathlon relay last night but I had fallen asleep by the time the swimming finals were on. One of the events I was most excited for before the games started was the Women's 100m, there have been so many phenomenal performances from the big hitters all season and there was a real chance of a British medal from Dina Asher-Smith so needless to say I was eagerly anticipating the competition getting underway. Dina didn't look too convincing in the heats but I assumed she was just holding back - that when it got to the business end she would be right in the mix but her performance in the semi final proved that she wasn't as sharp as she would expect to be. It was disappointing for her not to make the final but it was gutting to hear in the post race interview about the severity of a recent hamstring injury and the impact it had on her preparations and that she wouldn't be contesting the 200m later in the week. It's heartbreaking for her, she had a chance at a medal in the 100m but she was one of the favourites for gold in the 200m - now she'll have to wait another 3 years for a shot at an individual Olympic title. 

The 100m final itself was a phenomenal race though, even at her sharpest Dina would have been hard pushed to get amongst the medals - Elaine Thompson-Herah stormed to the title in a new Olympic Record time of 10.61, lightning quick, and her Jamaican team mates came home behind her to make it a clean sweep. A final that absolutely lived up to the hype. 

It's obviously been a very different Olympics but the sport has really delivered, plenty of upsets and surprises - even without the crowds the athletes have been able to raise their game and keep the competition fierce. Very much looking forward to the rest of the athletics programme and the start of the track cycling later in the week - plenty of opportunities for GB to add to their medal tally there

[Happenstance]

Amazing win in the BMX freestyle. Loved seeing the fuck it, let’s go all out attitude.

[killthenet]

I got to watch the end of the BMX live, didn't expect to like it but it was fantastic - that run from Charlotte Worthington was amazing. 

The athletics this afternoon was great entertainment, the men's high jump was a really impressive competition but the moment when Barshim and Tamberi decided to share the spoils will be remembered as one of the defining moments of the games. The women's triple jump was less competitive but no less remarkable, Rojas from Venezuela smashing the WR with her last jump. I thought the men's 100m was going to be pretty poor but it was wide open and the quality improved with every round, the final was the best yet - Jacobs stunning the field to take Italy's first ever men's 100m medal, the celebration with him and Tamberi was another wonderful image. 

It was yet another great day for GB and there are still a lot of strong medal chances to come - they might well improve on the total from Rio

[Jonnas]

On 27/07/2021 at 11:34 PM, Jonnas said:

there's no question our best chances lie in Triple Jump: [...] Patrícia Mamona is pretty cool, and also my Olympic crush, so I want them both to do well.

Aw hell yeah, she got Silver! And we actually got to watch it this morning, it was pretty exciting stuff. The woman who got first had a sizeable lead, managed to break the World Record twice, and was Venezuelan, so I ain't even mad. Furthermore, the cherry on top of the cake was that Spain got Bronze, so hah! Very uplifting picture

On more bittersweet news, Portugal got 4th in Women's Shot Put (didn't even know we had chances. Maybe in Paris she'll get something), and far more annoyingly, the Handball team failed to qualify from their group by one measly point. Dangit, I thought for sure they'd do it.

I think the last big thing to watch from my end is Nelson Évora's olympic sendoff. He's sadly pretty beat up from injuries, but he's a stand-up guy, and an accomplished Gold medalist in his own right, so I'm hoping for a respectable performance.

[killthenet]

Keeley Hodgkinson smashed the British record to take silver in the 800m - another fantastic race and GB finally get an athletics medal to give the team a confidence boost. Can't look past the 400m hurdles final though, I woke up early to watch it and it didn't disappoint, the medalists all going below 47 seconds with Karsten Warholm absolutely demolishing his WR by 3/4 of a second, utterly ridiculous - unequivocally the most impressive athletics performance of all time. 

Plenty more medals for GB overnight and this morning, kind of disappointed we couldn't get a gold in the track cycling today but the Danes and the Germans were dominant - it would have taken a lot to beat either of them. 

[bob]

- unequivocally the most impressive athletics performance of all time. 

You really think that it is inarguably the most impressive performance of all time, or are you just being hyperbolic?

I mean, if you really think that nobody is going to argue with that statement, it must be your first day on the internet.

[killthenet]

19 minutes ago, bob said:

 

 

You really think that it is inarguably the most impressive performance of all time, or are you just being hyperbolic?

I mean, if you really think that nobody is going to argue with that statement, it must be your first day on the internet.


 

 

I can see how somebody could argue otherwise, Flo Jo's still unbeaten records from the 1988 Olympics, Bolt's WR double in 2009, Van Niekerk breaking Michael Johnson's 400m record in Rio and David Rudisha storming to 800m glory in 2012 are just a few of the iconic moments in track history but for me Karsten Warholm's feat this morning surpasses them all. I've watched athletics avidly since childhood and on so many levels that race was remarkable, Warholm smashed the WR (with 45.94) but he was pushed all the way by Benjamin (46.17), the top two were both half a second inside Warholm's previous WR of 46.70 and dos Santos in third ran 46.72 - to get it so right in such a technical event, under all that pressure, in an Olympic final I just don't see how anyone can deny what a remarkable feat it was.

Edited August 3, 2021 by killthenet

[killthenet]

Absolutely gutted for KJT, she was well on course for a medal in the Heptathlon when her achilles tweaked during the 200m and she had to pull up - it'll be a surprise if she even carries on. Injuries have really cast a dark cloud over GB's athletics hopes in these Olympics, such a shame that some of our most talented athletes couldn't compete to the level they are capable of. 

The Women's 400m Hurdles last night was phenomenal though, almost as good as the Men's race in the early hours of Monday - the top three were well clear of the field and the WR was smashed by almost half a second as Muhammad and McLaughlin pushed each other all the way to the line. Another huge PB for Femke Bol of the Netherlands to get the bronze medal too, she could well challenge for top spot in future. 

I stayed up into the morning to watch the skateboarding and it was another fantastic competition - the Japanese girls were dominant again but Sky Brown nailed her final run to sneak onto the podium. The camaraderie between the competitors was great to see, they were all so happy to be competing in the sport they love, cheering each other on and offering nothing but encouragement. It's mind boggling how talented they all are, and they're all so bloody young - incredible composure and maturity.