Olympics

[Tunescribe]

Jessica Springsteen: America’s Rising Equestrian Star

Rider skills notwithstanding, I consider it open to debate whether equestrian can be considered a "sport" and should be in the Olympics.

 

[IllegalContact]

Rider skills notwithstanding, I consider it open to debate whether equestrian can be considered a "sport" and should be in the Olympics.

I have no issue with it provided the horse gets the credit and not the person.

It's one of those things that hails back to when only rich people competed in the olympics

 

[tom444]

Rider skills notwithstanding, I consider it open to debate whether equestrian can be considered a "sport" and should be in the Olympics.

Well, humans have been playing one sport or another on horseback for at least two and a half thousand years. Personally, I hauled hoses like those in the Olympics as a job and therefore have seen a lot of Equestrian events/horse shows. I would say it's a sport. It's a very expensive sport and few have access to it, but in my opinion, it's still a sport. It's been in the Olympics for approx. 100 years and they would be up against a strong lobby if they tried to remove it.

 

[Tunescribe]

Well, humans have been playing one sport or another on horseback for at least two and a half thousand years. Personally, I hauled hoses like those in the Olympics as a job and therefore have seen a lot of Equestrian events/horse shows. I would say it's a sport. It's a very expensive sport and few have access to it, but in my opinion, it's still a sport. It's been in the Olympics for approx. 100 years and they would be up against a strong lobby if they tried to remove it.

In your opinion, how much of it is on the horse and how much the rider?

 

[tom444]

The times in the women's track amaze me. The top 2 in the semi-finals 400 meters were sub .50.

Semifinals

1. 
   
   Reuters / Aleksandra Szmigiel
2. 
   
   Reuters / Lucy Nicholson
3. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Today·Semifinal 3
COMPLETED

#Standing	Athletes	Time
	S.A. McPherson Jamaica	49.34
	A. Felix United States	49.89
3	S. Williams Barbados	50.11
4	N. Kaczmarek Poland	50.79
5	K. Constantine Canada	51.22
6	A. Brossier France	51.30
7	C. Azevedo Portugal	51.32
8	L. de Witte Netherlands	52.09

 

[Tunescribe]

I'm really enjoying the Olympics, always do. It's great getting to know about some of these super U.S. athletes and seeing them succeed. My dad was quite an athlete (AAU weightlifting champion) and also a highly honored high school track coach. Along with having a minor college degree myself in athletic coaching I know some of the ins and outs of what's going on. Fun stuff.

 

[Scotty]

Wow ......USA mens 100m relay team fail to make the Olympic final !!.........(since Sydney 2000)

This is a big surprise given past teams and runners. Whats gone worn here ?....colleges not churning out so many sprinters

 

[Tunescribe]

Wow ......USA mens 100m relay team fail to make the Olympic final !!.........(since Sydney 2000)

This is a big surprise given past teams and runners. Whats gone worn here ?....colleges not churning out so many sprinters

It's not an issue of talent or speed, it's a problem with coaching and/or discipline. The baton handoffs keep getting messed up and there simply is no excuse for it. They should be practicing to the point of being able to do it blindfolded. It's like the basketball team -- you bring highly touted players together who think talent will get them by without honing the finer points of teamwork.

 

[Scotty]

I hope to see the actual heat (this afternoon) where they were running.....I was just so surprised , normally the US team are the ones to beat.

 

[Scotty]

Just listened to Michael Johnson (ex US 200m runner) and watched the race on BBC UK. He backed up what you said but also emphasised how bad the team was (actually some team members are not that well known). Maybe pointing the figure at the selection process and practicing

 

[Tunescribe]

Just listened to Michael Johnson (ex US 200m runner) and watched the race on BBC UK. He backed up what you said but also emphasised how bad the team was (actually some team members are not that well known). Maybe pointing the figure at the selection process and practicing

They likely would have qualified for the final if the exchanges were clean.

 

[borg]

I was just so surprised , normally the US team are the ones to beat.

Men's 4 x 100 relay team hasn't won Olympic gold since 2000 and hasn't medaled since 2004 (silver).

 

[Scotty]

Thanks for the info , I am still surprised (shows you how out of touch I am)....Over the years I have always looked to the US for the best sprinters either male or female. Maybe I am going to far back but there was a regular conveyor belt of US sprinters that were household names and would dominate in races.

 

[IllegalContact]

Men's 4 x 100 relay team hasn't won Olympic gold since 2000 and hasn't medaled since 2004 (silver).

this country has been heading in the direction of success as an individual rather than a team for some time now

 

[tom444]

They used to be able to get away with poor exchanges, not anymore.

Carl Lewis:

“This was a football coach taking a team to the Super Bowl and losing 99-0 because they were completely ill-prepared,” Lewis said to USA TODAY.

“It’s unacceptable. It’s so disheartening to see this because it’s people’s lives. We’re just playing games with people’s lives. That’s why I’m so upset. It’s totally avoidable. And America is sitting there rooting for the United States and then they have this clown show. I can’t take it anymore. It’s just unacceptable. It is not hard to do the relay.”

 

[Tunescribe]

Thanks for the info , I am still surprised (shows you how out of touch I am)....Over the years I have always looked to the US for the best sprinters either male or female. Maybe I am going to far back but there was a regular conveyor belt of US sprinters that were household names and would dominate in races.

They used to be able to get away with poor exchanges, not anymore.

Carl Lewis:

I saw a lot of rudimentary (underhand) exchanges from several teams but the main factor is timing so both the runner handing off and the one receiving are at full sprint in the handoff zone. Ideally, it would be a perfectly timed "rocket pass" (that's what we called it): the receiver takes off when the incoming runner hits a certain point, takes a predetermined number of strides before putting his hand back palm-up and the incomer lays it on overhand. It's strictly no-look -- if the receiver has to look back for the exchange the race is lost, if the incomer has to slow down because the receiver isn't up to speed, the race is lost. When done right these sprint relays are things of beauty. The U.S. has the speed to win them, they just need to take prep seriously.

 

[IllegalContact]

View attachment 34382

she's pretty cute

 

[Jim Beankie]

Wife and I were watching diving yesterday and after a great dive, we thought the announcer said something like, "He's extraordinary. He doesn't get wet." We played it again and that's what it sounded like. We thought maybe it was diving slang that the kids say these days. CC said "give way," which was disappointing. Maybe we need to get our hearing checked.

 

[Scotty]

GB women blew a potential gold medal , baton changes were poor compared to the heats

 

[Scotty]

Sorry 100m relay