I too, would openly question the sudden explosive power of anyone who is able to gain a five second improvement from her previous best and more importantly, was able to sustain a burst of speed faster than the best time performed in the men's. That isn't hating, but rather red flags in just about any sport. If Lance Armstrong can cheat, then little girls from country's where face is of paramount importance can too. That said, as for Chinese Olympians being accomplished? Remember Amy Chow? She was a member of the 1996 dream team that took the US women's gymnastics. She later took up pole vaulting, then high tower diving and is considered a possible contender for the sport. Oh, and in between all that, she also graduated from medical school and is a pediatrician. IMHO, a true Chinese, and a true Olympian. LINK Here's a Youtube video of her falling from a beam in the pre 1996 Olympic qualification trials; after one watches it, one comes away with a clear understanding as to why she is so accomplished: [video=youtube;s9zxC2v1pG0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9zxC2v1pG0&feature=relatedMissy[/video] Missy Franklin would do great if she could do only half as well with her life.
no because they figured no one would stay up til 4 am to watch it live because of time difference lol.
That certainly didn't stop US viewers during the last big O from Beijing -tongue2 Honestly, IMHO the whole handling of the media has been horrid thus far. I suspect that NBC wants to have residual telecast rights, hence they're not releasing anything except in dribs and drabs in order to prevent public accessible venues (ie youtube copies) from building up. Hopefully foreign media sources will fill in the gaps. And how about this latest twist; Big O Badminton players suspected of throwing games? Say it ain't so, Joe... Say it ain't so! [video=youtube;KQveng3Wxz8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQveng3Wxz8[/video] Spoiler: Big O Badminton Players Suspected Of Throwing Matches Olympic badminton players face charges over lackluster matches By Jethro Mullen and Hilary Whiteman, CNN updated 6:55 AM EDT, Wed August 1, 2012 (CNN) -- Eight Olympic women's badminton players face a disciplinary hearing after being accused of "not using one's best efforts to win a match" in doubles contests that drew boos from spectators. The Badminton World Federation says it will hold the hearing on Wednesday. The players -- four from South Korea, two from China and two from Indonesia -- have also been charged with "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" during matches on Tuesday, the federation said in a statement. The charges result from two lackluster contests in London that angered the watching crowds as the doubles pairs appeared to be trying to lose the matches in order to ensure a more favorable draw later in the competition. British sports fans going into the Olympic Park on Wednesday called it "shocking" after seeing parts of the matches on television. "It's not in the spirit of the thing," said Kevin Button, from Ashford in Kent, just outside of London. "And it's so disappointing for the people who came to see it," his wife Tina said. "It leaves a bit of a sour taste." The eight players concerned had all already qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament before the final matches of the group stage on Tuesday night. But the results of the last group matches mean the Chinese pair, Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang -- ranked No. 1 in the world -- avoid potentially facing another top Chinese duo until the final on Saturday. The Chinese Olympic delegation is also investigating the Chinese players' conduct, it said in a statement Wednesday. "Upon learning the incident, the delegation leadership has ordered an investigation into what and why it happened," the statement said. "The Chinese Olympic Committee has always advocated athletes carrying forward the Olympic spirit during competitions. We promote the spirit of fair and equitable competitions, and oppose any violations of such sports spirit and ethics for any reason or in any form," the delegation said. In the first of the Tuesday matches under scrutiny, China's Wang and Yu played South Korea's Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na in a game in which "neither side seemed to be exerting themselves," the official Olympic news service said. After a several serves by both pairs went into the net, the tournament referee Torsten Berg was called to the court, the news service reported, "where he warned all four players amid a chorus of boos from the crowd." The South Koreans eventually won the "repeatedly interrupted match," securing first place in their group, according to the news service. But that puts them in the same side of the draw as Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, a Chinese duo who are ranked No. 2 in the world. The second match in question took place about an hour later, pitting South Korea's Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung against the Indonesians Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii. Play in that contest was "sluggish early on," the Olympic news service reported, and Berg was called onto the court at least twice "with the crowd calling for the players to be sent off." The South Koreans finally won the contest and will face the top-ranked Chinese pair Wang and Yu in the quarterfinals. The Indonesian duo will meet South Korea's Jung and Kim Ha-na, who are ranked eighth in the world. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/01/sport/olympics-badminton-scandal/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
INCREDIBLE story regarding a korean fencer Shin Ah Lam. She was stripped of her chance at gold due to a bad referee call, and consequently unable to get any medals. http://www.buzzfeed.com/ktlincoln/an-olympic-fencer-refuses-to-leave-the-floor-after Regardless of the results, her determination is incredibly admirable. As a fencer, there's a matter of honour involved, and what the judges did was to demonstrate a lack thereof. I love this gif lol: http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enh...5/anigif_enhanced-buzz-28964-1343675863-0.gif
im just too lazy to paraphrase so i took it from wikipedia but why's she gettin all the flak and but not Stephanie Rice who i believe was racing with her too.
the tennis has actually been alright.. The William Sisters are doing well, saw Federer's match today ~ good stuff
"Shin, who said through an interpreter that she had slept for only about two hours last night, could still win a 'real' medal in the team event on Saturday - and could face Heidemann once more in the final." A second chance!
Not the best coverage, but for people who missed some events. http://eztv.it/shows/678/london-2012-olympics/
^ actually...... if you watch the replay of when the annoucer says allez there is a beep if you can time it perfectly it is actually closer to .9 seconds, according to my iPhone stop watch, to the second beep you hear when the touch was made.
Man the Olympics have turned into a meetup of capitalist asshats. The idea of good sportsmanship is gone. People care more about medal counts than the real purpose of the Olympics: the Olympians and their individual successes themselves. Shin Ah Lam (Korean fencer) didn't win a medal, but she displayed conviction, determination and incredible valour. Great Britain (Men's Gymnast team) managed to get silver ranking, before being bumped down to bronze due to review. However they were extremely satisfied to make the podium. Ukraine (Men's Gymnast team) didn't win a medal, but they showed their best, and walked off humbly. The Olympics is more of a chance to display Olympian, the behaviour which makes these Olympians better than the rest of us. When all you do is train for 12 hours a day like a machine, ignoring the enjoyment of the sport, you might as well throw in a machine to compete instead. Medal counts means nothing when all you see is a machine perform, with no sense of sportsmanship, humility, play the sport for enjoyment of the sport, and aim to be better than your competitors. edit: another shitty ref call http://www.reddit.com/r/olympics/comments/xj9d0/iranian_boxer_makes_a_scene_after_being/ edit2: Recent events kind of make me wonder if medal counts are really that more important than friends and family, sportsmanship, honourable wins and losses, the enjoyment of the sport and the Olympic Spirit. http://now.msn.com/family-keeps-secrets-from-chinese-diver-until-she-wins-gold-medal edit3: What the FUCK?!!?!? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...oung-boys-hang-bars.html?ICO=most_read_module
Tough being Chinese in the Olympics. When the Chinese win, they're accused of cheating. When the Chinese lose, they're still accused of cheating.
it's normal to throw games in badminton? lawl...can't imagine this happening in league sports like NBA, NHL, or NFL. There will be riots!!
Just finished watching Chinese Pair Vs Russian Pair, women double seems to have attitude problem...they fight with temper...women chill.
What? Chinese cheat? NEVER!!! Chinese lie? NEVER!!! Chinese be anything less than honorable? NEVER!!! LOL... One should learn to ignore the obvious -detect as in: [video=youtube;YWyCCJ6B2WE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE[/video] LOL... One of things that I've personally understood about the PRC is her similarity to a cheating wife; she swears to be faithful and promises never to sleep around on you again, getting angry if you should even question her about it, talking about trust, yada yada... that is, until you catch her at it again, the next time. The reason that so many people don't believe that PRC sports are clean is the same as it was historically with East Germans sports; they cheated and even as you caught them at it, will cheat some more. Why? Because the value of their 'winning' was always considered politically more important and valuable than your having caught them at it. Hence, there is a national philosophy to cheat and then do the Shaggy: [video=youtube;2g5Hz17C4is]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g5Hz17C4is[/video] ie. deny, deny, deny... Hence, instead of celebrating the awesome accomplishments of a 16 year old swimming prodigy, many are pulling out the PRC's dirty laundry from their past infidelities. Trust, indeed is a very fragile thing. IMHO, it would take about 20 years of clean no doping results from their winners to remove the taint that they themselves repeatedly earned during the 90's. If every one of their winners today comes back (in all subsequent tests) clean for this big O, then maybe the perception of their integrity will be better in 2016. Of course, there are a whole slew of people who are now waiting for the other shoe to drop; ie. the finding of dope evidence a few years from now. To be honest, I'm holding my breath over Phelps too; time will tell. But frankly, this really isn't an anti-China thing; if one really wanted to get a sense of sports or the Olympiad's dirty history, then explore the long record of cheating in the Big O; there is a trail of evidence all the way back to Ancient Greece. Unfortunately, the power in the need to win can and does pull not only participants, but many nations too, over to the dark side.
Perhaps, but even if China didn't cheat (i.e. no doping etc), another angle why some condemn China has to do with their ethics.. I mean, yes, the goal of the Olympics is to bring home as many medals as possible for one's country, but it seems like China will do anything to get as many as they can. Many athletes have full time jobs, and participate in the Olympics as a side thing. However China breeds and raise kids from a young age, with the specific goal of winning gold: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...oung-boys-hang-bars.html?ICO=most_read_module Also, they would even hide critical news such as family deaths to ensure that the athlete isn't distracted from the goal of winning gold: http://now.msn.com/family-keeps-secrets-from-chinese-diver-until-she-wins-gold-medal Though this is my own interpretation of what the Olympics represent: Olympians should embrace the Olympic spirit, the drive to be better than the best athletes from other countries, and most importantly, advocate for great sportsmanship. Over the course of the 2012 Olympics, there are plenty of times where athletes have a more political agenda, discarding what it means to be an Olympian. I'm not going to go in depth into the badminton scandal, but that's one of them. Let's assume countries aren't cheating. However the tactics these countries are taking just for the purpose of winning gold goes against the Olympic Spirit. //end obsessive idealist
I absolutely agree. This was another reason why the Olympiads needed to be made open to professional sportsmen too, as the level of sponsorship that politically driven nations poured upon their athletes (for all intents and purposes) rendered their existence that is no different than that of a professional. One has to realize that the Olympics isn't about sports, it's about people and ideals. Some people are honest and hold their ideals above all else, even life itself (shout out to Socrates?), some however fall onto a scale of lesser distinction. All are human, but insofar as integrity goes, its the separation of the wheat from the chaff that is the conundrum.
YES. On a side note, I was just informed that there are a group of athletes without a country to represent. They participate for the sport. My heroes. LOL.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ese-athletes-genes-altered-make-stronger.html ^China gene doping is totally plausible, but some of the major countries just sound mad that they no longer dominate.
