2016 Rio Olympics

The full footage of the Tokyo 2020 teaser, for those who missed it. It'll probably be up in Youtube in a few hours anyway.

Now, I call upon the tropers of this site, to assemble in two years time, to discuss the 2018 Pyeong Chang Winter Olympic Games!

I need to mention that the English seem to be good at sportsmanship only when they are winning. I tried to check a couple of articles on the Yoka/Joyce heavyweights finals, and holy crap, suddenly the entire boxing federation seem to want nothing more than to screw the Brits and reward the French (24 hours after, you know, awarding a Gold medal to a Brit boxer...against a French opponent who got the silver).

I saw the fight, and while it was tight, I am not even sure Joyce managed to hit Yoka in the head three times. Since the beginning of the competition, accurate moneyshots have always been rewarded more than bulldozers hitting the flanks and the torso - which is why cuban boxers, who made "sting like a bee" a national motto, got excellent results - but now that a Brit loses because of that actual fact, it seems to be shameful.

During the competition, France lost a couple of boxers against the very same kind of counterattacking opponents that Yoka was in the finals. And every time, the commentators (including Brahim Asloum, who got a gold in Sydney) admitted that the judges preferred to reward quality over quantity.

The only time they said the decision was really shameful was during Tischenko's win, because unlike Yoka, he got hit in the head, a lot.

edited 22nd Aug '16 2:16:40 AM by Julep

My sister and I are planning on becoming figure skating fans in time for the Winter Olympics. So I'll have another sport to be obsessive and annoying about

I recommend obsessing over skicross and snowboard cross, both being mighty entertaining to watch. Although Olympics-wise, the closest thing the Summer Olympics have are the BMX competitions.

Cross-country, Biathlon and Ski Jumping FTW. (And Nordic Combined, I suppose.) But Curling and the Alpine events are fun as well.

I love watching Biathlon, because the shootings are incredibly tense when you know what's going on, but I understand if other people find it...somewhat lacking.

So, what was your favourite event at the Olympics this year? The one you either decided in advance that you weren't going to miss, or the one you started watching via channel hopping and couldn't turn away from?

Mine was Andy Murray defending his Gold from London 2012 against Del Potro.

Volleyball, both inside and beach. There's something about those long rallies that make only the edge of the seat useful.

Sevens rugby, men and women. Match made in heaven with the Olympics. I bet many are wondering why it wasn't added earlier now (on the other hand, golf has nothing to do in the games IMO).

As for a single event, the heavyweights in judo both taking the gold, with Riner being expected and Andéol coming out of nowhere.

Low point is undoubtedly Ryan Lochte. Fuck that man. Also a couple of refereeing decisions, from Mekhissi taking the bronze in 3000m steeplechase by having Kemboi being DQ'd, to the US women's 4x100m getting another try with a lame excuse, to the keirin rules suddenly changing when Jason Kenny was threatened to be kicked out of the finals. Oh, and Tischenko getting the gold in boxing.

edited 22nd Aug '16 12:36:24 PM by Julep

Will this thread also discuss the Paralympic Games or is there/will there be another one?

Heh, maybe it can be discussed here. Though I doubt there will be many people paying attention to it, apart from some key events (and I'm definitely not gonna triplepost podiums after podiums this time).

Table tennis (I found myself having a "sports crush" on Ding Ning, so to speak, and I felt sad for our 3 players not being able to reach further than they usually do, both individually and as a team) and football, right from the start. I watched a fair few basketball, volleyball and beach volleyball matches, as well as plenty of judo (Telma Monteiro, our single bronze medallist this year, is another "sports crush" of mine). The only sports I ended up not watching (because the two channels in charge here couldn't cover everything) at all were shooting and archery.

edited 22nd Aug '16 2:11:39 PM by Quag15

Volleyball (including beach) and water polo; but I've followed many events.

Women's handball, easily. Lots of intense action-packed matches. But on the whole I didn't get to follow a lot of sports this year because I was so busy with work, which is a bit of a bummer.

edited 22nd Aug '16 10:06:10 PM by Lemurian

I think everyone knows what my answer to that question is.

I hope my artistic gymnastics obsession wasn't that annoying...

Oh, Ryan...you picked the wrong time to be a dumb jock. Exactly when society's patience for the so called "antics" of dumb jocks was at its lowest point.

Just want to agree with Julep here - Sevens Rugby works perfectly, and it's a perfect event for nations such as Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to show off their stuff.

Hell, even Japan showed their capabilities and came quite close in both Men's and Women's Sevens.

I will say though that golf does NOT work for the Olympics, and I say this as a regular golf player who has managed Albatrosses before. It should be taken out.

Why do you think golf doesn't work for the Olympics? I don't know enough about golf to form an opinion myself

Because the form of golf used for the Olympics just doesn't work the same way that Rugby sevens or regular soccer does, or even how say five-a-side football/soccer could. Golf is also generally active all the way through the year in between the Olympics, where some aren't. Even those such as football/soccer and Rugby sevens which do play around the year are changed because of how it turns from a club event to a nation event.

What they should have gone for is a format such as the 'Lagging' format where points are awarded based on who is closest as taken from the edge of the 'green', or done a 'short course' format which is similar but limits either how many shots you can take per a smaller selection of holes, or is done over say 18 holes but are all much shorter but still present the same challenge, and usually limits what equipment can be used for the extra challenge.

edited 28th Aug '16 6:18:26 AM by RatherRandomRachel

Golf suffers from the same issue tennis did when it arrived (and still kinda does sometimes), in that the Olympics are there for glory, not for the cash prize - and golfers play all over the year for the cash.

They have little to win in participating in an Olympic competition, both figuratively (because it is only one of many sports at the olympics, and will not be featured as prominently as athletics or swimming - plus other golf tournaments are much more prestigious as a Gold Medal) and literally (because even if they win...they won't earn much money).

Tennis now has most of the best players in the world participating in the tournament...but most of them left Rio as soon as they lost to take part in other tournaments, instead of staying to cheer for their mates. They are not really in the "Olympic spirit" (Nadal being one of the main exceptions as Spain's flagbearer, then again, he had to play over the two weeks because he didn't lose).

Super-rich athletes for whom the Olympics is "just one more tournament" don't fit well into the Olympic Games. It's the case for golf, and it would be the case for football if all players were allowed to play instead of just the youngsters. They have little to gain, and a lot to lose, by playing in a tournament "for glory".

Some swimmers or track runners are super rich and famous, but the Olympics are THE competition in their careers. It doesn't come in Nth position after Grand Slams or Champions Leagues. So they go well with the Olympics - except for Ryan Lochte, but he is just an idiot.

edited 28th Aug '16 6:27:37 AM by Julep

Just to add to this, but the reason that Rugby sevens is to me perfect for the Olympics is because in many ways the sport is played simply for the glory, and as a thing for which the Olympics really IS the height of glory for it. While there are sevens series and tournaments, none of them will quite compare to the Olympics, especially given what it means for nations like Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

One awesome Olympian.

Of course, golfer Justin Rose was super excited for the Olympics. He's the model of an Olympic athlete by his spirit, though he's a millionaire golfer.

Sports that should be in the Olympics: squash and cheerleading — how are they not, but golf is??

I don't know about those specific sports, but the reason a lot of sports aren't in the Olympics is because there aren't enough countries that participate in the sport. You need a certain amount of countries participating in order to justify making it an Olympic sport. I know cheerleading is big in the US, but is it as big in other countries?

edited 2nd Sep '16 11:45:06 AM by Cailleach

Yeah, it is massive in loads of countries but pretty much only amongst cheerleaders. In the US, of course, it's loved by everyone. But it is true that only four countries have ever won at the World championships of cheerleading (US, Canada, UK, Mexico). Sure, other countries do really well — some claim only because they can't afford to take their teams to Florida do they not win, and some Caribbean Islands have come close — but the podium would likely be dominated by the four.