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Off Topic Thread 3.0

Zzippy

All things non-rugby related here.

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swiwi_

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Cycling in general has a bad reputation. Lizzie Armistead missed 3 tests with questionable explanations. Maybe the track cycling doesn't have the same reputation.

The worst is athletics. I've seen at least 2 athletes competing, Gatlin and I forget the other, who have already been banned twice. Personally, I would ban for life after the first failed test, but if they must give a 2nd chance, OK. But failing twice is just taking the piss.

As for Buer (or IBF, I forget which), mentioning the dodgy testing records in east africa, I would have zero tolerance there too: bad testing, country banned en masse.

irishbucsfan

"Everybody's on steroids" - Nathan Diaz Esq, 2016

swiwi_

bilston wrote: »

Agree, the track cycling has been brilliant. It has probably been the saviour of the games for me. The Atlhletics and Swimming were on too late unfortunately to really enjoy.

The 6-stage event was just great especially the race where someone is eliminated after each lap.

I'm personally hoping the women's hockey team take down the Brits tonight and secure at least silver.

The men totally choked, leading 2-0 with 4 minutes to play vs Germany, and losing 2-3, with 2 goals in the last 48 seconds of the match.

There's also a Kiwi in the women's pole vault final, I've always liked that event.

I've watched no swimming, I don't mind it, but not enough to stay up to 3am...I reserve that sort of thing for rugby...

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

bilston wrote: »

What question marks are there over the cyclists?

Cycling in general has a bad reputation. Lizzie Armistead missed 3 tests with questionable explanations. Maybe the track cycling doesn't have the same reputation.

bilston

swiwi_ wrote: »

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I don't know about that. Mo Farrah has a lot of question marks over him, cycling in general has questions hanging over it. GB have done well in some new sports though, their swimming team have had their most successful games, I think, and their gymnastics teams have done fantastically.

AFAIK there is only insinuation with Mo Farah, by association. Nothing concrete at all.

As for cycling the velodrome viewing has been fairly enthralling for me, the ridiculous keirin excepted. Sure there was the whole period round Armstrong, but in recent times cycling, especially track cycling, seems clean.

The most boring sport is judo that I've watched. Mind-numbing.

Agree, the track cycling has been brilliant. It has probably been the saviour of the games for me. The Atlhletics and Swimming were on too late unfortunately to really enjoy.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

swiwi_ wrote: »

AFAIK there is only insinuation with Mo Farah, by association. Nothing concrete at all.

Farrah has worked with 3 coaches who have serious links to doping. He denied knowing Jama Adan beyond Adan once holding a stop watch at his training as a favour. This despite the fact there are multiple photos of Farrah hanging out with Adan and his family over a period of time. British Athletics said they have not been working with Adan in any capacity in 2016. The one photo that Farrah has an explanation for is from 2016, which implies he was working with Adan off his own back. Then there's the accusations about the Oregon Project and then there's the two missed doping tests from just before the 2012 Olympics, where he blamed his doorbell not working properly.

There's no solid proof he's done anything wrong but there's a lot of questions he has no answers for.

bilston

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

swiwi_ wrote: »

Suppose as well it depends on how each country is going. Ireland not going great, if you're British this is a great 2 weeks of sport, total moral booster after Brexit.

I don't know about that. Mo Farrah has a lot of question marks over him, cycling in general has questions hanging over it. GB have done well in some new sports though, their swimming team have had their most successful games, I think, and their gymnastics teams have done fantastically.

What question marks are there over the cyclists?

swiwi_

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I don't know about that. Mo Farrah has a lot of question marks over him, cycling in general has questions hanging over it. GB have done well in some new sports though, their swimming team have had their most successful games, I think, and their gymnastics teams have done fantastically.

AFAIK there is only insinuation with Mo Farah, by association. Nothing concrete at all.

As for cycling the velodrome viewing has been fairly enthralling for me, the ridiculous keirin excepted. Sure there was the whole period round Armstrong, but in recent times cycling, especially track cycling, seems clean.

The most boring sport is judo that I've watched. Mind-numbing.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

swiwi_ wrote: »

Suppose as well it depends on how each country is going. Ireland not going great, if you're British this is a great 2 weeks of sport, total moral booster after Brexit.

I don't know about that. Mo Farrah has a lot of question marks over him, cycling in general has questions hanging over it. GB have done well in some new sports though, their swimming team have had their most successful games, I think, and their gymnastics teams have done fantastically.

swiwi_

molloyjh wrote: »

I have to say I struggle to give a damn about the Olympics. If there's a more crooked international event in world sport I'm not aware of it. Between the doping and the corruption the whole thing just seems a total shambles to me.

Depends on the sport for me molloy. The likes of weightlifting etc, just eastern bloc countries on roids, no interest at all. I've never really liked boxing, either.

On the other hand, sports like hockey, beach volleyball (and not just the women's...), the men's pole jump final etc, have been good viewing.

If the sport isn't prone to drug use for success or dodgy umpiring, it's generally ok.

Suppose as well it depends on how each country is going. Ireland not going great, if you're British this is a great 2 weeks of sport, total moral booster after Brexit.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

This is a pretty good read on Hickey.
http://www.independent.ie/life/pat-hickey-the-teflon-man-of-sport-34958282.html

irishbucsfan

Deleted User wrote: »

To be honest, he has done far far worse as IOC president. You will struggle to find current or former Olympic athletes that would have a single positive word to say about how the IOC treats athletes. It's been a sham for a long time and I really hope there is a long hard fall from grace here

It's amazing that people in these positions last so long, can't say I know too much about the organisation though.

[Deleted User]

awec wrote: »

I for one am delighted to see a ticket tout dragged through the courts.

Hope an example is made.

To be honest, he has done far far worse as IOC president. You will struggle to find current or former Olympic athletes that would have a single positive word to say about how the IOC treats athletes. It's been a sham for a long time and I really hope there is a long hard fall from grace here.

molloyjh wrote: »

I have to say I struggle to give a damn about the Olympics. If there's a more crooked international event in world sport I'm not aware of it. Between the doping and the corruption the whole thing just seems a total shambles to me.

Couldn't agree more. The games are horrendously tarnished and the last two days have pulled a small bit of curtain a small way back revealing just a fraction of the corruption that actually goes on.

Drugs have killed many sports but corruption has buried them all.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

molloyjh wrote: »

I have to say I struggle to give a damn about the Olympics. If there's a more crooked international event in world sport I'm not aware of it. Between the doping and the corruption the whole thing just seems a total shambles to me.

It certainly seems that way, this year in particular. I don't know if it's just since the rise of social media as a valid news source that everything is easier to expose or if it has always been this way.

Even a lot of the individual sporting bodies are crooked at worst, incompetent at best. It's hard to enjoy any sport even outside the Olympics.

molloyjh

I have to say I struggle to give a damn about the Olympics. If there's a more crooked international event in world sport I'm not aware of it. Between the doping and the corruption the whole thing just seems a total shambles to me.

thomond2006

awec wrote: »

I for one am delighted to see a ticket tout dragged through the courts.

Hope an example is made.

The irony is Ticketmaster own a secondary website (seatwave) which allows people to sell over face value and nobody seems to care.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

awec wrote: »

I for one am delighted to see a ticket tout dragged through the courts.

Hope an example is made.

Was watching the press conference on RTE News Now and the Communications Officer for the IOC was being asked a lot of questions about it. One interesting one from a Canadian journalist asked if there was any chance that other NOC's had been doing the same as the Irish, or intending to, and could that account for the large number of empty seats at a lot of events. Apparently there's reports in the local media about local people trying to get tickets for events but the websites saying they're sold out. They've been asked about the empty seats all week but don't seem to be able to give an answer. The other guy at the presser was even saying that they were just ripping tickets at some events rather than scanning them so they can't really tell if people are getting in with tickets that they shouldn't have.

awec

I for one am delighted to see a ticket tout dragged through the courts.

Hope an example is made.

CatFromHue

but not flashing??

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

So, Pat Hickey's been charged with "Ticket Touting, Forming a Cartel & Illicit Marketing"

Buer

I suppose there's a case for saying it hasn't been too bad but I'd struggle to say that the tournament has been anything above average/mediocre for us. It'll probably be our worst performance since 2004 unless things go our way in the next few days.

I think Harrington will be massively disappointed as a side note. This is a one off event that he was clearly very pumped for, had been playing decently and was in a very mediocre field but couldn't finish top 20 out of 60. That is poor for him. Power can be happy with his showing.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Buer wrote: »

The rowers, sailors, Oliver Dingley, Scott Evans and Thomas Barr have gone well.

I don't think anyone else will be returning home overly pleased with their showings. Possibly Shane Ryan who broke the NR in his backstroke heat which was great but was the only event a swimmer made it out of their heat.

Our boxing was a disaster. We had a solid chance of a medal in the golf but finished 15th and 21st in a really weak field. The equestrian team didn't go well. Athletics was pretty mediocre, Barr aside. Hockey, cycling, gymnastics...all just making up numbers in fairness.

Some of our athletes are never going to compete for medals though. Making SF's or setting PBs are the most they can hope for. You could argue should we bother sending them, I'd argue this with our pole vaulter tbh.

Golf, in my opinion, is such a random sport, anyone can win on any given day, regardless of how stacked the field is, or isn't. Some of the cycling road race guys might feel bad but it was a ridiculously tough course this year. Equestrian, I don't know enough about to comment.

Gymnastics, yes, we're making up the numbers but if you look at it in terms of promoting the sport we did well. Nobody for years, one guy in 2012, 2 people in 2016.

I suppose how you measure success is down to an individual but I don't think we've done too badly.

[Deleted User]

I am more than fine with some of our athletes making up the numbers.

Simply getting on that plane is an achievement beyond the realms of belief.

sydthebeat

Buer wrote: »

The rowers, sailors, Oliver Dingley, Scott Evans and Thomas Barr have gone well.

I don't think anyone else will be returning home overly pleased with their showings. Possibly Shane Ryan who broke the NR in his backstroke heat which was great but was the only event a swimmer made it out of their heat.

Our boxing was a disaster. We had a solid chance of a medal in the golf but finished 15th and 21st in a really weak field. The equestrian team didn't go well. Athletics was pretty mediocre, Barr aside. Hockey, cycling, gymnastics...all just making up numbers in fairness.

well "making up the numbers" is probably best that could have been expected of some of our competitors. The hockey team will be disappointed but one win was probably the best they could have expected.

india, germany, netherlands and argentina are all top 7 ranked countries while we are 12th.

Fionuala mc cormack finishing 20th and PBing in the marathon was brilliant.
Dingley making the final and finishing 8th was also an excellent return based on pre competition expectation.

fiona doyle was very disappointed in herself but a semi and PB was best she have expected.

our mens golfers were alright, power doing better than most would have though. Paddy battled bravely and both should be proud.

Our equestrian team was weird, they choose not to bring Allen for some reason, who would have been a better rider than rutherford (allen was ranked 10th, rutherford 252nd).. so something was going on there.

annalise Murphy was brilliant, delighted for her.

on the gymnastics, felt for kieran behan, has been though so much and got injured again. cant consider his performances disappointing as he PBed on the horse.

Boxing a disaster. track and field a bit poor apart from barr as you say, hopefully heffernan in the walking can medal again, but hes pushing on in years now.

Buer

sydthebeat wrote: »

outside of the boxing i think we have performed very well to be honest.

The rowers, sailors, Oliver Dingley, Scott Evans and Thomas Barr have gone well.

I don't think anyone else will be returning home overly pleased with their showings. Possibly Shane Ryan who broke the NR in his backstroke heat which was great but was the only event a swimmer made it out of their heat.

Our boxing was a disaster. We had a solid chance of a medal in the golf but finished 15th and 21st in a really weak field. The equestrian team didn't go well. Athletics was pretty mediocre, Barr aside. Hockey, cycling, gymnastics...all just making up numbers in fairness.

sydthebeat

outside of the boxing i think we have performed very well to be honest.

Buer

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

It's typical, we're actually having a not too bad Olympics, in terms of what people are achieving, if not actual medal count.

I really don't think we are.

There's a few people who have performed but I suspect the majority of Irish athletes are going to be experiencing varying levels of disappointment as they return home.

irishbucsfan

If the OCI are going to be corrupt they could at least have bought Conlan a medal while they were at it.

thomond2006

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Apparently Pat Hickey has been arrested in Rio this morning.

It's typical, we're actually having a not too bad Olympics, in terms of what people are achieving, if not actual medal count, and it's all going to be overshadowed by the clowns at the OCI.

Cowboys, Ted! They're a bunch of Cowboys!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Apparently Pat Hickey has been arrested in Rio this morning.

It's typical, we're actually having a not too bad Olympics, in terms of what people are achieving, if not actual medal count, and it's all going to be overshadowed by the clowns at the OCI.