And now the "2020" Olympics

[hairpuller]

Yes, that was awesome! I believe she’s on her way to college.

The reaction of the Alaskan crowd was almost as good as the race!

[Kerbie]

So sorry to hear Simone Biles is out of the team competition.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by AndreF

Terrific race. The kid must be over the moon about her win.

I loved how the announcers were gushing over the other two before the race and then tried to back peddle when Jacoby won. I was yelling at the tv, I'm interactive when I watch the Olympics, "come on guys, just say it, you didn't give her a chance in hell of winning."

[frankmcr]

Carissa Moore of Honolulu wins the first ever Gold for women's surfing.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by rllink

I loved how the announcers were gushing over the other two before the race and then tried to back peddle when Jacoby won. I was yelling at the tv, I'm interactive when I watch the Olympics, "come on guys, just say it, you didn't give her a chance in hell of winning."

Yes, I noticed that too and agree they should have owned up to it. Not a single mention of her name until the last 25m when she nudged her head ahead of the favorites and finished strong. And then, total 180, it was only about her.
(Although I haven't yet watched the race on the NBC channel, with Gaines or Phelps helping the announcers out. Maybe they cued in earlier).

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Carissa Moore of Honolulu wins the first ever Gold for women's surfing.

Very happy to see an American winner in surfing! The conditions however, were not great for spectators. Blown out and poor shape for most of the competition, but i guess that's how it goes. I guess conditions are going to be pretty fickle depending on where the Olympics are. Not sure where they'd have held it in say, the Atlanta games. Or even Barcelona. They'd have had to go to a whole other region of each country. Not sure it's going to survive in the Olympics, as tremendous as the sport is in terms of skill and endurance needed.

Skateboarding on the other hand I fear will survive, cause it's easy to hold the competition. But man, that was a bit of a letdown.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Very happy to see an American winner in surfing! The conditions however, were not great for spectators. Blown out and poor shape for most of the competition, but i guess that's how it goes. I guess conditions are going to be pretty fickle depending on where the Olympics are. Not sure where they'd have held it in say, the Atlanta games. Or even Barcelona. They'd have had to go to a whole other region of each country. Not sure it's going to survive in the Olympics, as tremendous as the sport is in terms of skill and endurance needed.

Skateboarding on the other hand I fear will survive, cause it's easy to hold the competition. But man, that was a bit of a letdown.

Sorry the clip I posted got taken down. I put another one up.

Good point about location. I suppose it would be possible to set up artificial waves at inland Olympic sites. Not desirable, but possible.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Sorry the clip I posted got taken down. I put another one up.

Good point about location. I suppose it would be possible to set up artificial waves at inland Olympic sites. Not desirable, but possible.

No prob, updated my quote. Hadn't thought of that! Kelly Slater could make some bucks selling his weve pool tech to any number of countries! Would make for a lot better event. there's also this crazy thing from Australia.

[Gitfiddlemann]

If they awarded gold medals for sympathy, Simone Biles would be a shoo-in.
As frustrating and upsetting as it was to see the US fall short of repeating as gold medalists in the team event, it must be a lot more so for her. And she also withdrew from the all-around individual competition, arguably another gold medal that would have been hers.
It just proves that extreme pressure can even get to the very best. I have to think she made the right call about pulling out after that awkward vault attempt. She could have really hurt herself physically, never mind blowing chances for any team medal. If your mind isn’t right, best to keep your hands off the steering wheel, especially having to navigate gymnastic apparatuses at that level of execution and speed. Fortunately, she still had enough on the ball to realize what was happening. She summed it up best: At the end of the day, we're all human beings.
On a more positive note, great to see Ledecky win the 1500m. Looking forward to another rematch with Titmus in the 800m. Should be a good one.

[Brucebubs]

Men's rowing - Great Britain veered off course nearly hitting the Italians, apparently Lewis Hamilton was steering.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Men's rowing - Great Britain veered off course nearly hitting the Italians, .

Whereupon the Italian crew fell out of the boat clutching their knees and moaning in pain.



(Mi dispiace! Perdonami!)

[frankmcr]

Sunisa Lee, from St Paul, Minnesota, the first Hmong-American US Olympian, wins the all-around gymnastics Gold medal.

[M19]

a You Betcha from Minnie-land!

[RP]

Just because an athletic endeavor is challenging shouldn't necessarily mean that it should become an Olympic event. Without singling out any events in particular, I often think that less is often more and maybe the Olympics should strive to simplify and showcase events that are more in line with the original games. That would include pankration, a blend of boxing and wrestling....

Pankration was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and was an empty-hand submission sport with few rules. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques, but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint-locks, and chokes on the ground, making it similar to modern mixed martial arts.

Although Pankration was not reinstated as an event when the Olympic Games were revived in 1896, there are modern Pankration tournaments and it is considered a form of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

[frankmcr]

Caeleb Dressel, from Orange Park, Florida, sets a new world record on his way to winning a Gold medal.