I enjoyed The Now Show's rant about the new verb that has entered the lexicon "to Medal" as in "We're all hoping for Tweddle to Medal" - of course they used it for a series of cheap inuendos - "the Brit who medalled in the pool" "We all like to see young women medalling with each other" etc. Just as well that 14 year old Tom Daley and his synchro diving partner finished outside of the top three.
BTW it was great to see a British woman (is she English or does she just live in England?) win in the pool today to go with the British woman who won the cycling yesterday (is she Welsh or does she just live in Wales?). For some reason National Lottery funding doesn't respect the tired old differences between the four home nations and tries to treat athletes as individuals so that they can achieve their best.
Andrew (yes my dad is mostly Welsh) Williams (but I live in England)
Personally, I will be glued to the athletics, am enjoying the swimming and cry at medal ceremonies, all medal ceremonies.
I think it's fabulous that we're going to get so much coverage. If you don't want to watch, read a book or watch a video (those bulky things available at a charity shop near you).
I have been swimming a bit this year I have good technique as I have been swimming longer than walking. I'm about 20 lbs over weight and have a dodgy back and no feeling in my lower right leg. Swimming is the safest way for me to try and loose weight, stay suppleish and just keep my body moving.
Over the last couple of months I have been increasing my lengths two a time, three times a week and am up to 80 on the way home today.
As a direct result of watching the olympics and the amazing physiques of the swimmers this week, I have half a half formed idea to pick up my training to +4 lengths each time and try to do the swimathon in spring 2009. If you saw me 30 lbs overweight and walking with a stick a couple of years ago, you never would have thought this possible.
If just one person per post code (kids OR adults) get off their fat arses to do something as a result of Olympic inspiration like I want to now, it's worth the rest missing a few episodes of Flog It on the telly.
I liked your review of the the gymnastics, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it yesterday, though not sure I could work out the rules for how the teams achieved their scores. The only very slight drawback of watching gymnastics is that unlike a race, where it's obvious who the winner is, and why, the viewer has to depend on the expertise of the judges to mediate for them. I'm not finding the gymnastics commentators explaining all that well about why certain moves have been done better than others, they seem to be falling back on on cliches quite a lot - unlike the synchronised diving this morning where it was explained very clearly what the judges would be looking for. I gather that commentator is an ex-swimmer. Maybe Beth Tweddle could line herself up a little job for when she retires?
I think the gymnasts have to state in advance what move/routine they are attempting for some categories, eg the vault. So the difficulty rating of the vault they have chosen effectively puts a cap on their score. Don't know how this works with the complex asymmetric bar routines, though.
I quite like the simple stuff that they pad out the routine with - they make it look so effortless. I don't really like the fact that the girls have to do their routine to music - partly because it seems sexist to attempt to prettify their amazing gymnastic skills, and partly because the level of musicality seems a bit dodgy to me. Those routines are not about interpreting music, they're about jaw-dropping physical virtuosity. I love all the tumbling but hate all those naff, cutesy little wiggles and poses they throw in to try to make it look like a dance, which it rarely does.Floor exercise
The tumbling the guys do is amazing - especially the guy who was tumbling in one direction and on when he landed on the 4th or 5th tumble then immediately flipped in the other direction. That is amazing......and then aaagh.....when the guys do a few moves kind of walking, posing, they are so stiff compared and it looks unnatural. The other thing which I find funny is when some of the guys do a forward roll - which looks so trivial compared to the heights of the tumbling.
Blimming 'eck, JiveLad, I don't think I've heard of a woman being referred to as a "chick" since about 1973, and in such a startlingly inappropriate context as well. Thought the usage had been stamped out in the Feminist Inquisition of the late 20th Century. Almost makes me feel young again.What struck me first was the lack of those butch East European ladies (ok the Belarus girl was a bit butch) - and a generally a more feminine quality to the athletes. I liked the Korean chick, the Thai girl ('Papparama -something or other.....) and best of all was the 19 year old German fraulein Julia Rhode - who apparently got bored with ballroom dancing and so decided to take up weightlifting (maybe would have been different if she had been doing Ceroc instead of Tango............).
And I felt a bit sorry for the 4' 11" Indonesian chick who kept having to rush to the platform with just 45 seconds left......I didn't quite understand why that was happening.
These were powerful women - and only 53Kg! That's less than 9 stones.
Good luck with swimming
seriously I didnt believe I could loose weisght, this year 1.5st and because I went and got a food intolerence test, now I know the food that makes me bloat, so I dont eat it and much better for it too. Cost about £200 to do, try the York tests!!
yes - it was slightly tongue-in-cheek.
To redress, here is my review of the Mens Weightlifting (63Kg)
I missed the snatch and just saw the clean and jerk. Off they went and the Chinese guy (Zhang?) came home winner easily. The roars from the crowd must have inspired him - although he miseed the world record (by that time he was Gold anyway). Most of the other guys seemed to get stuck on 168Kg - and the poor Korean guy missed all 3 of his lifts - (I suspect the Chinese weight adjusters sneaked on a few extra kilos for him - as he seemed a bit bemused by it).
The guy from Cuba (Ruiz?) (who had seemed to have more than a ham sandwich in a lunch box which was accentuated by his tight belt) excelled himself - but didn't get a medal.
I noticed that both in the women's and the men's weightlifting, the trainers would do a classic Morecambe & Wise face slap just before the lifter went on stage - I guess to get the adrenalin pumping.
Anyway Zhang seemed a good looking guy and I wonder if he went out for a drink (Powerade - official Olympic sponsor) with one of the female athletes that evening to celebrate.
(PS I notice that Gary Lineker is in a new ad in which he is flashed by a woman who is courting the new flavour of crisps.....Spring Chicken...maybe it is coming back into fashion)
I've had to arrange pieces for gymnastics routines in the past. After having to listen to Sky's version of the Nutcracker for the zillionth time to get the edits right, you really get to, ahem, appreciate the music .
I am still recovering.
But yes, it does often seem to be just background music, doesn't it?
Funny enough, it's Michaela Breeze's efforts in the Weightlifting that's my games highlight so far.
Competing with an injured back, she was attempting 100kg in the last lift. Which was for nothing but pride. She had no chance of a medal, as everyone knew.
So she walks to the bar, and as soon as she tries to crouch down to the bar, you know she's in serious trouble. She has her hands on her knees to avoid stressing her back, and she's doesn't look like she has any business trying to pick up a pencil, let alone 100kg.
The roar of the crowd when she drives into the clean, and slowly, slowly forces her legs straight is amazing, but it's nothing to the the noise when she jerks it overhead.
Again, the lift counted for "nothing". The Chinese crowd knew it counted for nothing. And yet they made as much noise for this foreigner lifting her heart out as they've done for their own lifters winning gold.
Amazing.
BBC SPORT | Olympics | Weightlifting | Video - Breeze battles against back injury
Yes - it was the true Olympic spirit - and great to see the Chinese crowd so supportive and understanding.
I saw it this morning and thought that Hazel Irvine (Irving?) was going to shed a tear.....
Anyway, back to today and the Women's Weightlifting 69Kg
The Chinese chick romped home. Her technique seemed very well honed - and she has a lovely clean snatch. She was so good that she did a World Record snatch - and looked like she could have gone much further. (They only get 3 lifts in total which makes the competition quite focused and short).
When it came to the clean and jerk, it was very easy for her. One of the competitors (a 16 year old) did a 'squat jerk' on the clean and jerk instead of the usual 'split' legs, which I hadn't seen before.
I like the camera shot which is right in their face which they sometimes show - it really shows the exertion. The camera is built into the platform on which they do the weights.
So far, this has been quite a revelation - the last time I watched weightlifting was when that guy Alexeev (?) Russian on steroids wobbled all over the fllor before toppling over.........
And good to see they have tried to clean it up by banning the whole of the Bulgarian team (I think I heard that anyway).
Last edited by JiveLad; 13th-August-2008 at 10:02 PM.
I liked the look on the face of the Georgian Judo competitor today, who managed to beat a Russian to the gold.
The Phelps diet.
Interesting to read about his diet. He wolfs down 12,000 calories a day...(as I recollect, that was about the same as Ranulph Fiennes and Michael Stroud were eating on their Antartic jaunt - but they did it with cocolate butter).
(see the Guardian I think....for his lunch and dinner...)
Breakfast
Phelps kick starts his day and his metabolism with three fried-egg sandwiches, but with a few customised additions: cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and, of course, mayonnaise.
Amuse-bouche out of the way, he throws back two cups of coffee and sits down to an omelette - containing five eggs - and a bowl of grits, a porridge of coarsely ground corn. He's not finished yet. Bring on the three slices of French toast, with powdered sugar on top to make sure there's no skimping on the calories. And to finish: three chocolate chip pancakes.
....So that is 8 eggs - just for breakfast. Wow!
...And it seems you can eat a shed load of food and not end up being obese.....just needs a bit of a dip in the pool and a nice tight swimsuit.........
Last edited by JiveLad; 14th-August-2008 at 12:10 PM.
Phelps gets up at 5am - I guess, to start on this eat-athon. And all he does is eat, train, sleep........so no dancing..........
Notes from watching the Olympics
First, it is good to see Steve Ovett on the early morning broadcasts. He is engaging - and just says what he thinks - and has a good laugh. Much better than Colin Jackson and Michael Johnson (they are a bit boring).
Adrian Chiles asked him a question the other day - about the 100m sprinters, which went: "Is it about what's between the ears - or what's between the legs....?".
His 'cheeky-chappie' stlye worked quite well when he went to see the Greco-Roman wrestling - another slightly homo-erotic sport....very strange rules - especially when they select a ball and the opponent has to crouch down. (The other homo-erotic sport, according to Simon Barnes in the Times is the mens synchronised diving).
One question about the diving I have is this: after the dive, you see the men (or "boys") under the shower whilst watching the scoreboard; then there is sometimes a camera shot of them in a kind of jacuzzi. My question is - do they change their trunks between dives? If so - do they do the locker room and get the key out of their trunks, dry themselves off and out on the next pair of dry trunks? Or how does it work? I can't imagine just standing around in wet trunks waiting for the next dive.....
Last edited by JiveLad; 15th-August-2008 at 10:45 AM.
I'm loving the action today! Phelps picked up his sixth gold. That's now thirteen over all in the last two games, with, potentially, another two to come. He's already shattered the previous record of 9 career Olympic gold medals and bearing in mind that he will almost certainly compete in London, and quite possibly in 2016, he could be looking at a lifetime haul of somewhere between 20 and 30 gold medals. That is simply incredible! It's nice to witness such a significant piece of history being made.
Team GB are also putting on an amazing show in the men's cycling today. They are through to the final and guaranteed at least silver in the team sprint, having already broken the world record, and Bradley Wiggins broke the Olympic record in his heat in the individual pursuit.
Things are looking good in sailing too, with at least two medals guaranteed and we have 10 teams through to the finals in the various rownig events. All in all, a successful day!
Well done Team GB!!
Gold for GB in the men's team sprint in the cycling.
Also we are guaranteed at least two silver medals in the sailing.
Was woken up in the night by what sounded like 'youths' of eastern european extraction walking raucously down the street. When I heard noises that sounded like metal panels buckling (jumping on cars), I called 999.
I thought I might get a knock from investigating policemen, so I decided to switch the telly on and caught the second lap of the Women's 800 metres freestyle live. I sat and watched the whole thing. At the risk of sounding a bit like old-Mrs-Minn-who-lives-with-10-cats, wasn't she amazing? Seems like she is having more fun than she knows what to do with and yet is mowing down the opponents like a Wehrmacht tank division.
By contrast I was pretty hacked off with Usain Bolt - what the hell was he doing at the end? Was there some point he was trying to make? Wouldn't he have been better off focusing on finishing the race and knocking another tenth of the world record?
Oh, hello Mrs Minn! I didn't see you there. No, I don't think I sound like you...
He should be able to break it again i think! He will get paid if he breaks it in the Grand Prix events as well. Sergey Bubka used to break the pole vault record a centimetre at a time to increase his pay. However, Bolt will be such a big star that i dont think money will be a big issue to him.
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