Rio 2016 Olympics - countdown and discussion

[Orac Zen]

Given Brazil's economic woes it's not really surprising - but very unfortunate - that so many events haven't been very well attended. It's a real pity the Paralympics has missed out as well as a result. My mind boggles at how Brazil was ever going to to be able to afford to run the second biggest sporting event in the world only two years after hosting the biggest (ie the football World Cup). Something had to give and apparently it'll be the Paralympics.


Well, several of our more fancied individuals / teams may not have lived up to their own (and more unpleasant, over-the-top media-driven) expectations in Rio (happily a few unknown and unheralded people did their bit - take a bow, Chloe Esposito), but we're near the top of the gold count for people behaving stupidly and we've definitely swept every gold medal on offer for the most pathetic, embarrassing and downright idiotic commentators. Just one cringeworthy example; from the men's 4x100m final, a complete cretin gushing over Usain Bolt:

"It's the end of the most beautiful story we've ever seen in Olympic history."

Really??

 

[MacLeod]

Given Brazil's economic woes it's not really surprising - but very unfortunate - that so many events haven't been very well attended. It's a real pity the Paralympics has missed out as well as a result. My mind boggles at how Brazil was ever going to to be able to afford to run the second biggest sporting event in the world only two years after hosting the biggest (ie the football World Cup). Something had to give and apparently it'll be the Paralympics.


Well, several of our more fancied individuals / teams may not have lived up to their own (and more unpleasant, over-the-top media-driven) expectations in Rio (happily a few unknown and unheralded people did their bit - take a bow, Chloe Esposito), but we're near the top of the gold count for people behaving stupidly and we've definitely swept every gold medal on offer for the most pathetic, embarrassing and downright idiotic commentators. Just one cringeworthy example; from the men's 4x100m final, a complete cretin gushing over Usain Bolt:

"It's the end of the most beautiful story we've ever seen in Olympic history."

Really??

Doesn't that all depend on how we are defining biggest. In terms of hosting the Olympics is the biggest given the sheer number of athletes invovled vs the number of football players that compete at the World Cup finals. At the London 2012 there was almost 11 000 athletes compared to just over 700 for the World cup finals in Brazil in 2014.

 

[Orac Zen]

I'd always been under the impression that the football World Cup is generally considered to be the "biggest" sporting event in the world, with the Olympics next. However it is defined, though, there can't be much question that hosting both events in two years has to put a massive strain on any one nation's economic (and other) resources.


Very glad Brazil won the football gold, regardless of anything else.

 

[publiusr]

And here, it's over (tonight), and I had only really started watching...

 

[MacLeod]

Well it's all but over for another four years with Tokyo up next. Just the closing ceromony to begin. Of course there is still the Paralympics in a fortnight.

As was expected the USA topped the medal table, but I don't think many people would have expeced the UK to come second in the table, in the process becomming the first country to exceed the medals won at an Olympic games after hosting the previous one.

 

[tomalak301]

The thing I will miss about the olympics is seeing sports you wouldn't normally see and having to endeur the whole "nobody cares" argument. I enjoyed seeing little of the Handball, for example, and even saw a little bit of the field hockey. I do think they need bigger sticks for field hockey (Does this sport cause back injuries ) but it was fun while it lasted.

 

[Kronos]

Longer sticks would apparently lead to less control and more injuries.

 

[Brolan]

NBC failed as usual giving us the worst coverage of any nation. The tweets with hashtag #NBCFail have been hilarious.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I posted my two cents on Facebook.

This is bittersweet. The Summer Olympic games are like an old friend I get to see only every four years. I always look forward to the events with eager anticipation and feel sentimental when it's all over. The games have been there before I was born and surely will continue on after I've drawn my last breath.

The players and the venues are ever changing, but they always reflect the spirit of competition and serve to inspire generations of spectators, wowing us with their greatness and athleticism and the best humanity has to offer.

To the people of Brazil and the beautiful city of Rio, thank you for the memories of the past two weeks.

As for Ryan Lochte, I can't help wondering if his swimming career is indeed over. I hear he may receive not a temporary ban, but a suspension, which could ban him from ever competing. In four years' time, he'll be 36 anyway. Not terribly old, but this may as well be his final Olympics.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I never would've known about the three Brazilian guys' Skype "chat videos" if I hadn't taken notice of my Olympic crush, Arthur Mariano. He's such a cutie.

 

[SPCTRE]

However it is defined, though, there can't be much question that hosting both events in two years has to put a massive strain on any one nation's economic (and other) resources.

it definitely overburdened an already ailing national economy, in that regard I feel sorry for Brazil (that is, the Brazilian citizens/taxpayers) that got taken advantage of by both FIFA and the IOC - not to mention the corrupt politicians and industry leaders in the country that are the only ones that actually profit of these kinds of events.

it's a good thing they at least won Gold in the men's football tournament, it's a small comfort, but it's at least something positive for the national psyche.

 

[MacLeod]

We have to remember that the winning host is announced years before had, something like 6 years in the case of the Olmypics, so the economy of the winning host might have been in a better shape back then. And also no one forced Brazil to bid for either the World Cup or the Olympics. And lets not forgot that FIFA aren't exactly the most corruption free organsiation in the world.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Athletes may suffer from post-Olympic blues. I thought I was the only one.

“Think about the rollercoaster ride prior to the Olympics, and just how fast and hectic that mad dash is,” Goldman says. “This ninety-mile-per-hour or hundred-mile-per-hour ride comes to a screeching halt the second the Olympics are over. … [The athletes] are just exhausted; it was such an onslaught to their system. And when it’s all said and done, they’re just physiologically depleted, as well as psychologically.”

...

“The result is not who you are,” she said from Rio, where she’s working with a female athlete who barely missed qualifying in 2012, and has spent the last four years preparing mentally and physically for Rio. “You have to separate the individual from the result. This is something you do, something you enjoy—it’s a gift, enjoy the process, enjoy this moment. … If you can get a medal, amazing, but look beyond that to a bigger life objective than just being an Olympian.”

 

[RAMA]

The biggest in terms of total athletes is the Arnold Sports Festival

http://www.columbussports.org/events/calendar/arnold-fitness-expo-2016/

http://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/splash/

I'd always been under the impression that the football World Cup is generally considered to be the "biggest" sporting event in the world, with the Olympics next. However it is defined, though, there can't be much question that hosting both events in two years has to put a massive strain on any one nation's economic (and other) resources.


Very glad Brazil won the football gold, regardless of anything else.

 

[Kilana2]

One of the German swimmers posted his new post Olympic tattoo on Facebook. Tattoo artis are obviosly busy right now.

 

[GreenDragonKnight]

I'm going to take this opportunity to brag a little: I've been doing judo for 19 years now, and I have indeed had the privilege to train with some Olympians, going back as far as 2000, when I trained with some of the American judo team who were on their way to Sidney (I was a brown belt then). And, while I didn't go to Rio, I did get to listen to some commentary from Leo White, one of the many excellent judo instructors I've had over the years, and I got to see Kayla Harrison, who I actually know - well, OK, I've met her once, I guess that counts - who some of you may know became the first American to ever win gold in judo in London in 2012, and she did it again in Rio.
So, as you can see I've been very fortunate in the training I've had.
Looking forward to Tokyo!

 

[MacLeod]

Well first up are the 2018 winter games in Pyeongchang