Julius Posted July 15 Posted July 15 (edited) Hot off the heels of Spain dazzling in Berlin and a Spaniard in the form of Alcaraz lighting up Wimbledon, it's time to set our sights on the next major sporting event in the calendar: the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris! The BBC have a pretty handy breakdown here on what's in store, and also handily point out that while the Opening Ceremony on the Seine doesn't take place until the 26th, the action actually begins on the 24th as ever with some of the earlier rounds of certain sports like the football, rugby sevens, handball and archery. So, does anyone else plan to tune in? Any particular events you love to check out, or any of the new events tickling your fancy? Any particular Olympics memories you have to share? Tokyo was a weird one for me a few years ago, especially with it being so sealed off due to COVID restrictions at the time, I didn't feel much enthused by it outside of the opening ceremony and the occasional clip of anime music being blasted in the background. Think I'm much more in the mood for it this year, though. I've always loved to watch the swimming, the track & field events are always a blast, but I think I'd like to check out more of the gymnastics and lifting this time around, as I always seem to miss out on those events! Of the newer stuff, think I'll be looking out for the 3v3 basketball because I'm curious to see how it shakes out, as well as sport climbing, which definitely made some waves last time out! Edited July 15 by Julius 1
drahkon Posted July 15 Posted July 15 As usual, and especially as I'm working from home and got no more uni stuff to do for 2 months, I will have this running in the background as long as I am at home Haven't really checked what I want to follow but I'm always up for handball and basketball.
sumo73 Posted July 15 Posted July 15 3 hours ago, Julius said:So, does anyone else plan to tune in? So, does anyone else plan to tune in? Tokyo was a weird one for me a few years ago, especially with it being so sealed off due to COVID restrictions at the time, I didn't feel much enthused by it outside of the opening ceremony and the occasional clip of anime music being blasted in the background. I don't have a TV license so won't be tuning in. I might watch a few clips via YouTube after the event or read the news about it online but that's it. Tokyo was such a muted affair that I lost a lot of interest in the whole thing, sorry.
Happenstance Posted July 15 Posted July 15 I'll probably watch the first week of events as usual then drop off when the track and field stuff takes over.
Will Posted July 20 Posted July 20 I’ve always loved the Olympics, I think with Tokyo I managed to watch pretty much everything and I intend to do pretty much the same again this time. It would definitely be on in the background the whole way through. From that BBC site the things I’ll actually make an effort to watch will be: Opening ceremony: 26 July, River Seine Archery: 25 July to 4 August, Invalides Athletics: 1-11 August, Stade de France (track & field), Trocadero (race walks), Invalides (marathons) Beach volleyball: 27 July to 10 August, Eiffel Tower Stadium Boxing: 27 July to 10 August, North Paris Arena & Roland-Garros Stadium Canoe slalom: 27 July to 5 August, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium - White water Canoe sprint: 6-10 August, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium - Flat water Cycling track: 5-11 August, National Velodrome Diving: 27 July to 10 August, Aquatics Centre Fencing: 27 July to 4 August, Grand Palais Marathon swimming: 8-9 August, Pont Alexandre III Modern pentathlon: 8-11 August, North Paris Arena (ranking round), Chateau de Versailles Rowing: 27 July to 3 August, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium - Flat water Sailing: 28 July to 8 August, Marseille Marina Shooting: 27 July to 5 August, Chateauroux Shooting Centre Swimming: 27 July to 4 August, Paris La Defense Arena Triathlon: 30 July to 5 August, Pont Alexandre III Weightlifting: 7-11 August, South Paris Arena Wrestling: 5-11 August, Champ-de-Mars Arena Closing ceremony: 11 August, Stade de France Actually that makes me realize just how much of it actually interests me. As a showcase for sports that don’t usually get much attention the Olympics is great.
Happenstance Posted July 20 Posted July 20 What's everyone's opinion on breakdancing being one of the new events then? Personally I think its a dumb addition that shouldn't be there. 1
Will Posted July 20 Posted July 20 15 minutes ago, Happenstance said: What's everyone's opinion on breakdancing being one of the new events then? Personally I think its a dumb addition that shouldn't be there. Feels like a weird one for me, I don’t particularly consider any form of dance to be something I’d expect to see nor be interested in at the Olympics. I’m not sure I could tell good vs. bad if I was watching it which basically takes away any reason to watch. I do understand trying to bring in younger more diverse sports but I’m not sure this is the right one. Also, I believe they’ve already dropped it from the next Olympics so seems like a bit of a waste if they want to make something of it. 1
Glen-i Posted July 20 Posted July 20 1 hour ago, Happenstance said: What's everyone's opinion on breakdancing being one of the new events then? Personally I think its a dumb addition that shouldn't be there. But Breaking is kinda awesome! It's not the stupidest sport at the Olympics. That would be Golf.
Jonnas Posted July 20 Posted July 20 The Olympics have plenty of "performance arts" sports already, between events such as artistic gymnastics, dressage, and synchronized/artistic swimming, I imagine breakdancing would count as just another one of those where they're judged by a panel of experts. In that sense, it's not a particularly odd choice. The real issue is that breakdancing still feels like counter-culture art, not a prestiged establishment. The Olympics is all about prestige, so it just doesn't feel like a good fit at all.
WackerJr Posted July 28 Posted July 28 On 7/20/2024 at 8:38 AM, Happenstance said: What's everyone's opinion on breakdancing being one of the new events then? Personally I think its a dumb addition that shouldn't be there. It’s an odd choice for me, but I’m ok with it as I’m a big proponent of as many sports getting recognition as possible. The query I have with it though is now that ‘dance’ genre, what does it mean for all the other forms? Having a sister who used to compete in Street Dance as well as others, does this mean they’ll be considered in future? I suppose it’s a little like gymnastics, where some types are in the Olympics (floor, trampoline, etc), whereas many others aren’t (TeamGym, Rhythmic). I’m not sure why they aren’t mind! I LOVE the Olympics. The actual sports so far have been fantastic, even ones I’ve had no interest in before. There’s so much I’m looking forward to (I’m heavily involved in Trampolining so slightly biaises towards that!).
Happenstance Posted July 28 Posted July 28 Is it bad that instead of watching the Olympics I'm currently watching an old Giant Bomb livestream of them playing all the Olympic video games instead? 😂 1
WackerJr Posted July 30 Posted July 30 Andy Murray’s not last match Sunday, the mountain biking yesterday, Andy Murray’s not last match tonight at the same time as the gold-winning GB relay team, Ireland’s Olympic gold in the pool, the skateboarders bus getting stuck in Paris, so they simply skated the 2km to their event… and so much more! I love the Olympics! 😁 2
Julius Posted August 1 Author Posted August 1 (edited) Haven't watched nearly as many events as I would like to live, but have been catching bits and pieces where I can, as well a lot of highlights. The Men's Tennis Doubles has been absolutely superb and full of drama so far, probably my favourite set of events at this Olympics up to this point. Murray and Evans the other day battling it out until the death and Murray digging them out again and again and again and dragging them into the quarters was insane, and despite going out in the quarters, Nadal and Alcaraz looked absolutely ridiculous at times for a casual pairing for Spain and could just as easily still be in it if it had been their day. The noise when they initially pulled it back from ADV-40 to 40-40 in the final game (which they ultimately lost) was immense, swear I've never heard the Philippe-Chatrier that loud before, not to mention the place looking virtually unrecognisable without the green of Roland Garros! The swimming has been great too (even if I'll always be more fond of the times when the US crushed anyone and everyone in their path, as was the case when I was watching the Olympics growing up), last night Marchand really turning up for France and winning two Golds in just one session (!!!) with the 200m fly and 200m breaststroke, and setting new Olympic records in both!! The chanting towards the end of the 200m breaststroke from the home crowd was INSANE, another time where I swear I've never heard the crowd quite like it. As has the gymnastics. Seeing China bottle it and Japan step up to the mark in the men's team stuff, and then, of course Simone Biles is just a freaking beast. Not surprised at the big American names in the crowd when she's on, she really puts on a show and adds flair in a way I don't feel like has ever really been the case at summer games before. Edited August 1 by Julius 1
Jonnas Posted August 3 Posted August 3 As someone who doesn't watch boxing, this thing about female boxers being disqualified (or stripped of their titles) due to some "excessive testosterone" nonsense was something I was completely unaware of. The Imane Khelif incident in the Olympics really drew attention to some fucked up transphobic hysteria going on in official competitions.
Cube Posted August 3 Posted August 3 31 minutes ago, Jonnas said: As someone who doesn't watch boxing, this thing about female boxers being disqualified (or stripped of their titles) due to some "excessive testosterone" nonsense was something I was completely unaware of. She doesn't even have particularly high levels of testosterone. Her previous "disqualification" is for reasons she doesn't know herself: the governing body refused to share details with her. Or, more specifically, the Russian (and ally of Putin) that was in charge chose to do so. As far as she knows herself, she's a cis woman. So all this harassment and abuse thrown against her is an example as to how these people treat cis women who don't look how they think women should look. 1
Julius Posted August 3 Author Posted August 3 46 minutes ago, Jonnas said: As someone who doesn't watch boxing, this thing about female boxers being disqualified (or stripped of their titles) due to some "excessive testosterone" nonsense was something I was completely unaware of. The Imane Khelif incident in the Olympics really drew attention to some fucked up transphobic hysteria going on in official competitions. Yep, absolutely appalling. The number of people sounding off about "him", and in some cases even "it" (people are freaking vile), are another level of inhumane. Like, just think about it, too – even if it were the case that Imane was a transgender woman, it would be just as bad to then be labelling her as the gender she no longer identifies as (or, again, completely dissolving her of the respect of a gender label entirely in some extreme cases). I'm no Italian but the fact that one of their top senate guys was sounding off about this BEFORE THE FIGHT and the dude has a freaking far right, neo-fascist background (as in, it LITERALLY SAYS SO ON HIS WIKIPEDIA PAGE!) talking about Imane being trans, and we've since seen the likes of Elon and JK Rowling sound off on the same disgusting side as him...like, how could you possibly look at that situation from the outside before educating it and just assume that these transphobic douchebags are the ones in the right?!?! 31 minutes ago, Cube said: She doesn't even have particularly high levels of testosterone. Her previous "disqualification" is for reasons she doesn't know herself: the governing body refused to share details with her. Or, more specifically, the Russian (and ally of Putin) that was in charge chose to do so. As far as she knows herself, she's a cis woman. So all this harassment and abuse thrown against her is an example as to how these people treat cis women who don't look how they think women should look. Yeah, I read into all of this the other day (my original post was much longer but I just kept finding more and more details about her treatment in the past) – like you say, by all means she's a cis woman who "failed" some tests by a corrupt organisation so bad that the Olympics actually wouldn't let them run the event in Paris and was never advised of the results, which has then painted her in such a negative light. It's also worth pointing out that she wasn't the only one to "fail" those tests at the World Championships only to be disqualified from that event but allowed to compete at the Olympics, as Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting has also gone through the same. I mean, freaking Taiwan – golly, I really wonder if any of the major powers that be would want to embarrass Taiwan on the world stage in such a way? And, look, on the extremely small chance that she actually does have some XY chromosomes – some cis women can be born in such a way, as a condition like Swyer's syndrome would literally explain how that would be the case. It would perhaps make the conversation a whole lot more complicated in some ways if she did have Swyer's (more XY, more test, etc.) but don't virtually all elite sports ultimately lean into people literally being genetically unique (the phrase "genetic freak" is thrown around at the top level a lot) in a way which would be advantageous? Think Phelps not being the tallest swimmer but having a crazy wingspan, basketball players being as tall as they are, runners with certain slow- and fast-twitch muscle fiber ratios. Are the people who want her banned from the Olympics and the sport in general basically just saying they want to watch a case study of some lab rats who are all genetically identical manage some feat, with the difference being...their attitude and training? On top of all of this, and not that it's really the greatest justification in the world, but Algeria as a nation is, by all accounts, transphobic as hell. Bottom line – if they had any reason to believe Imane was transgender, they wouldn't send her to the Olympics as a representative of their country, period. 2
Julius Posted August 6 Author Posted August 6 Imane Khelif has made the final of the women's boxing 66 kg weight class, after all of this nonsense surrounding her time at the Olympics, meaning she will at least be a Silver medallist. Going to be something else if she wins Gold. That would be sweet ass freaking retribution, and then some. 1 1
killthenet Posted August 7 Posted August 7 The fucking Americans again. I'm so gutted for Hudson Smith, he didn't do anything wrong at all - just got pipped on the line.
Julius Posted August 10 Author Posted August 10 She did it, she freaking did it! Despite all of the noise and drama surrounding her presence, Imane Khelif won Gold in the 66kg Women's Boxing: Wonderful. What a mountain she's had to overcome outside of the ring, let alone in it, very much deserved! 1
Glen-i Posted August 10 Posted August 10 4 hours ago, Julius said: Wonderful. What a mountain she's had to overcome outside of the ring, let alone in it, very much deserved! You have to love the big massive middle finger to all those idiotic TERF's trying to use her as some kind of tool of hatred against Trans people (Which I believe she's not even Trans? Which only makes the whole situation more ridiculous)! It's beautiful retribution!
Happenstance Posted August 10 Posted August 10 Unfortunately both sides will see this as a win. She of course will be thrilled to have won the gold while all the idiots who called for he to be kicked out will just see this as proving their point.
Glen-i Posted August 10 Posted August 10 (edited) She's filing legal complaints. Good, I wish her the bestest of luck. Boy, I would love for "She who must not be named" to get hit by this. I don't have much hope, but she utterly deserves it. Basically acted as a bloody ringleader for that campaign. Edited August 10 by Glen-i 2
WackerJr Posted August 11 Posted August 11 (edited) Congrats to her. The abuse hurled has been ridiculous and it was a great sight to see the medalists all celebrating together on the podium. I don’t think “trans” has ever been officially used, yet people have made assumptions on it and are constantly talking about it. There’s so much unknown with the whole story. Not helped when even the official explanations are contradicting each other. What a Games overall though. Thankfully the actual sport has been fantastic. I’ll be sad to see it stop. So pleased for Bryony Page of Team GB for her gold and in being selected to be flag bearer (ok so I’m slightly biaised being involved in Trampolining and being friends with her coach), she is so humble and likeable. Even today the Bhutan athlete who finished 90mins behind the marathon winner, while setting a new PB. The crowds were behind her, and she still did it in a time I couldn’t imagine doing in my wildest dreams! Edited August 11 by WackerJr 1
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