so...diving.... US 1st, China 2nd, and GB 3rd....... china was like so devastated, US should be happier they got gold...!! but the diver was really modest i think and GB was like wow yay we got a bronze........O_O..... mixed reactions......totally not liking BBC commentary...so biased imo
Needless to say, I was very surprised that US edged out the PRC on this one. Qiu Bo, the Chinese diver was heavily favored to win, at one point his skills being afforded deferential nicknames such as 'diving machine' or 'robot' by adversaries during the lead up to the finale. Moreover, the US diver, Boudia, less than a decade ago, was afraid of heights and reportedly 'petrified' at having to even climb up the 10 meter tower, much less to dive off of it. I'm sure that millions of Chinese fans were probably sitting there slack jawed, stunned for a few moments that their man was nudged off the top roost. LINK Disappointingly, the Canadians, who haven't had much luck in this series with only one gold; had to heartbreakingly give back a bronze as one of their relay men in the 4x100's apparently stepped on a line, disqualifying their third place win. LINK Usain Bolt (above), the electrifying Jamaican runner that has lit up the track scene both during Beijing and London, had an embarrassing moment when, after winning the race for the gold, was forced to hand back his relay baton (threatened with disqualification) which he presumably wanted to retain as a souvenir. He later claimed that British officials did finally have a change of heart and allowed him to keep it. LINK
so much fail in this olympics anyways i found an interesting comment on some random forum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_athletics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_sport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stripped_Olympic_medals
In your above statistics, do they relate to the number of doping cases only in this particular Olympiad or are they supposed to be an aggregate of all historical Olympic numbers? I find the China listing to be odd at first blush; it seems to be amazingly conservative. Also, what forum did you pull this from, aside from the wiki links is there a source link available? Also, in a clear act of attempting to politicize the game venue, should the ROK medalist be disqualified; should his whole team be disqualified? LINK Of course, ROK officials stated that the political banner came from a 'spectator' and the Korean player took it up during the heat of the moment. I personally find this aspect to be rather suspect as the ROK's President Lee MyungBak, two days ago, on the eve of this Olympic match against Japan, 'coincidentally' visited the disputed island to vehement protests by Japan. That frankly, is a little too much coincidence for me. And even if it were totally innocent happenstance, I think that at a minimum, the player should automatically be disqualified and made ineligible for any award. Moreover, the IOC should seriously consider disqualifying the whole ROK team of their bronze win, as it was their member who clearly violated long established Olympic rules against use of the venue for overt political reasons. My view is, that while some athletes may risk personal punishment, they may not be so eager to do so, if it meant shaming their entire team or their whole nation. In this case, if Park JongWoo (the cited player) knew beforehand that he would be simply barred from the awards ceremony, he may have thought that that is a small cost to pay for his being now seen as a national hero (as the issue has extreme resonance with the ROK public). Plus he and his team still get to keep their medals; for him, it's literally a win-win situation. But, it would have been a whole different set of risks if he knew beforehand that both he and the team would be disqualified and stripped of any award. If that were the case, his act would not be seen as a source of national heroism; but rather as a national shame. Hence IMHO, to prevent further or future political hijacking of the Olympic venue, the IOC should come down hard and disqualify the entire ROK team for the politically motivated stunt of their member. I have no proof, but it is my personal suspicion and opinion that this was politically orchestrated by the highest levels of the ROK government, to use this world wide media opportunity to showcase their land dispute against Japan. For those that aren't aware, the issue of using the Big O for political demonstrations is not new, neither are the punishments. The most famous was the 1968 'Black Power' salute by US track stars T.Smith and J.Carlos. LINK Spoiler: In a New York Times Special Report from 1968 2 Black Power Advocates Ousted From Olympics [SIZE=+1]U.S. Team Drops Smith and Carlos for Clenched-Fist Display on Victory Stand [/SIZE]U.S. Team Suspends Smith and Carlos By JOSEPH M. SHEEHAN Special to The New York Times Mexico City, Oct. 18--The United States Olympic Committee suspended Tommie Smith and John Carlos today for having used last Wednesday's victory ceremony for the 200- meter dash at the Olympic Games as the vehicle for a black power demonstration. The two Negro sprinters were told by Douglas F. Roby, the president of the committee, that they must leave the Olympic Village. Their credentials also were taken away, which made it mandatory for them to leave Mexico within 48 hours. The decision to dismiss the athletes was made early this morning after the committee had been summoned into a conference by the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee. Members of the United States committee, who were divided on the question of whether action should be taken, emphasized that the dismissals were by edict of the international unit. The I.O.C. had indicated, it was said, that it might bar the entire United States team from further participation if the athletes were not disciplined. The action obviously tempered the behavior of Negro American athletes who were involved in victory ceremonies today. In accepting their medals for their one, two, three sweep of the 400-meter run, Lee Evans, Larry James and Ron Freeman wore black berets, but in no way conducted themselves in a manner to incur official wrath. Ralph Boston, who finished third in the long jump, went barefoot during his portion of the ceremonies and said: "They are going to have to send me home, too; because I protested on the victory stand." He conceded that the suspension of Smith and Carlos was "an action the Olympic Committee had to take." But he maintained that "the way to have done it was to sit down and talk with Carlos and Smith and hear their side of the story before taking some punitive action against them." In the same ceremony, Bob Beamon went to the platform for his gold medal in the long jump with his sweatsuit legs rolled up to display black socks. He said he also was "protesting what's happening in the U.S.A." In a statement issued early this morning, the United States Committee said in explanation of its action: The United States Olympic Committee expresses its profound regrets to the International Olympic committee, to the Mexican Organizing Committee and to the people of Mexico for the discourtesy displayed by two members of its team in departing from tradition during a victory ceremony at the Olympic Stadium on Oct. 16. "The untypical exhibitionism of these athletes also violates the basic standards of good manners and sportsmanship, which are so highly valued in the United States, and therefore the two men involved are suspended forthwith from the team and ordered to remove themselves from the Olympic Village. "This action is taken in the belief that such immature behavior is an isolated incident. However, if further investigation or subsequent events do not bear out this view, the entire matter will be re-evaluated. A repetition of such incidents by other members of the United States team can only be considered a willful disregard of Olympic principles that would warrant the imposition of the severest penalties at the disposal of the United States Olympic Committee." This statement was read by Roby to Evans, James and Freeman before they took the mark in the 400. Evans and Freeman had been identified with Smith and Carlos as black power advocates. After their grand slam, the athletes, smiling, accepted their medals from John J. Garland of Los Angeles, one of the three United States delegates to the I.O.C. While three United States flags were raised on the flagpole atop the stadium rim and the Star Spangled Banner was played, they removed their berets and stood erect facing the flags. On arriving at the victory platform and on leaving it, they did raise clenched fists, but they were smiling and apparently not defiant as they did so. Clenched Fists Raised At Wednesday's 200-meter victory ceremony, Smith, the winner, and Carlos, who finished third, wore black scarves around their necks and black glove (Smith on his right hand and Carlos on his left). After receiving their medals from the Marquis of Exeter the president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, who was an Olympic 400-meter hurdles champion in 1928, Smith and Carlos raised their gloved hands with fists clenched and kept their heads deeply bowed during the playing of the national anthem and raising of the United States flag in their honor. This demonstration produced a mixed reaction among United States officials and members of the United States squad, black and white. Some hailed it as a gesture of independence and a move in support of a worthy cause. Many others said they were offended and embarrassed. A few were vehemently indignant. Press emphasis of the incident, which actually passed without much general notice in the packed Olympic Stadium; undoubtedly had much to do with the vigorous I.O.C. reaction and the U.S.O.C.'s rather reluctant compliance with the order to discipline the offenders. Among other things, Smith and Carlos were quoted by news services as saying they would not have accepted their medals if the presentation had been made by Avery Brundage, the 81-year-old president of the I.O.C. As it happened, Brundage was not even in Mexico City that day. He had gone to Acapulco to watch the Olympic yachting competition.Ruby said today he had tried to arrange a meeting with the two athletes, but had been rebuffed. No attempt will be made to deprive them of their medals, he added, because "we have no right to take away their medals." The 24-year-old Smith, a rangy, long-legged athlete who stands 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 185 pounds, is from Lemoore, Calif., and is a student at San Jose State University, where Harry Edwards, who initiated the black power manifestations in athletics, was a teacher last year. Smith is the listed world-recordholder for the 200-meter and 220-yard dashes, both around a curve and on the straight. Carlos, 23, was born and raised in New York, but now lives in San Jose, and also attends San Jose State. He is 6-4, weighs 200 pounds and wears a beard. A brilliant performer, but more erratic than Smith, he has a pending application for a world record for the 200 meters of 19.7 seconds. Smith's listed mark is 20 seconds flat. His winning Olympic time was 19.7 seconds. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1018.html
lol it was a interesting games to say the least...so much controversy i hope they get their act together for the next games in Rio. Spice Girls to close out the games...excited for that:trollface2:
can't believe i overslept for the USA / Spain gold game. :( definitely looking forward to the closing ceremony though!
Hu Ya Dan - Future Dive Queen Just accidentally saw this at youtube: Those dives...so perfect [video=youtube;SFZ_5qhVaik]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=SFZ_5qhVaik&NR=1[/video] The funny of her [video=youtube;aIzFOpXo0ms]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIzFOpXo0ms&NR=1[/video] Too bad she did not overcome her mental power, otherwise Gold was her's. So 2016...is gold for her and Wang Hao and Chen Ruolin...not sure the big sister(Wu Minxia) will contest again .
