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... disliking French things and slagging off French athletes on STW isn't racist.
Please feel free to evidence that.
Your own post on this page slagging off Julia Simon and questioning the "ethics" of her selection for the French Olympic team, kilo.
We had a similar spat last week, what was it "swoon". You type provacative unpleasant stuff and then act all offended when you predictably get called out.
It's just negative use of the forum.
How about some celebration of the Olympics eh, others on the thread are being positive about great performances whatever the nationality of the athletes.
Leave it out boys....
Let's rather laugh at the Norwegian guy who admitted to cheating after winning a medal.
Trying to lighten the mood, 'She's going to lose a point or two for an untidy twizzle' is possibly one of the greatest comments ever said on TV with a straight face.
Trying to lighten the mood, 'She's going to lose a point or two for an untidy twizzle' is possibly one of the greatest comments ever said on TV with a straight face.
I particularly enjoyed the Chemmy Alcotts(?) attempt to demonstrate mogul technique by drawing on her knees with marker pen and trying to keep a pair of the yellow microphone muffs tucked under her ears.
Pic below of Lindsey Vonn’s leg after her crash and the 3rd operation. If they get the scaffolding out you know it’s a bad one. 😯 😯
I particularly enjoyed the Chemmy Alcotts(?) attempt to demonstrate mogul technique by drawing on her knees with marker pen and trying to keep a pair of the yellow microphone muffs tucked under her ears.
She looks like quite a wild one!
How about some celebration of the Olympics eh,
Can I offer some appreciation of the snowboard type stuff? I know nothing about it, but the competitors seem mostly like really nice kids with not so much of the ego and dramatics that are part of sport in general. Or at least that's what I picked up from watching at lunchtime while waiting for Bargain Hunt.
Thoughts on the Ukrainian skeleton athlete and his helmet?
Whilst I obviously have massive empathy for him, I feel there has to be a line and he's probably made his point. Letting him would make it much harder to prevent others support causes that you don't agree with in the future.
Race in a black helmet with a black armband if they would let him.
She looks like quite a wild one!
I understand looks are not decieving!
Thoughts on the Ukrainian skeleton athlete and his helmet?
Whenever I hear someone parroting, 'Keep politics out of sport' my blood pressure rises a little bit. If you really want to keep politics out of sport then stop having flags and anthems.
Other athletes were allowed to have remembrance pictures:
His friends are dead and he wants to honour them. The problem seems to be the manner in which they were killed. Neither he nor his friends had much choice in that.
**** the IOC.
Race in a black helmet with a black armband if they would let him.
They would allow it, in fact they suggested a black armband. They would also allow him to wear/have the helmet in the mixed zone and press conferences. The only place they said he couldn't wear it was on the track itself.
Other athletes were allowed to have remembrance pictures:
He was offered exactly that - displaying his helmet (that doesn't sound great) at the end just like the skater displayed his photo after he completed.
What makes this one feel harder to me is that most right thinking people agree with his sentiments. If this was an Israeli competitor wanting to display fallen Israeli troops who died on their assault of Gazza.....or a Russian athlete competing under AIN displaying images of Russians killed in the Ukrainian war...the ethics would be much harder to untangle.
That's why I'm probably down with a clear line for athletes actually competing to steer clear.
Of course a far more subversive route would have been to not used it in training and do a last minute switch for the actual event. Ideally the helmet would have passed scrutineers prior to being stickered up just before the run. Would probably have resulted in a DQ still.
Although I see his point I do think the IOC do have to draw a line in the sand and, unfortunately, he's on the wrong side.
On the plus side he's probably getting more worldwide exposure from his stand than if he'd just competed wearing an armband. 👏
Apparently he's out of the games now.
Again though, this idea that you can separate sports and politics is ridiculous and hypocritical. The IOC themselves took a political stance when they banned Russia (but not Israel).
So political statements/gestures are fine so long as they are IOC approved?
Yeah, maybe the Israeli team will decide to compete with pictures of IDF soldiers on their uniforms. Good. It will let the world know they are a bunch of ****s.
Maybe I'm alone on this one, but the idea that politics and sport can ever be separated is pure fantasy and pretending it can is damaging.
Like i said, if you really want to separate sport and politics then ban all flags and 'teams' from the competition.
The IOC themselves took a political stance when they banned Russia
Counterintuitively, I'd say banning Russia was an act to try to make the actual games less political Having a Russia Vs Ukraine ice hockey match for example would have had massive political implications. Just removing Russia as the aggressor was designed to defuse the politics at the event by removing opportunities for blow up.
I forget though - had they been allowed back after the mass institutionalised drug cheating at Sochi before they got banned again or have they just had their existing ban extended.
Disapointed by the coverage so far, there's no highlights programme on BBC and iplayer only has a limited selection (no biathlon etc).
Boardercross excellent racing as ever.
(Remind me why on earth we dont see proper UCI world series 4x racing alongside the DH and XC any more.... 😥 )
It's difficult. As someone above said would it be okay for Russian or Israeli athletes to have pictures of people in their armed forces who have been killed? I'd imagine most people on this forum would say no, as they're deemed to be the "bad guys". Is that a political protest, as they died in a war/special operation, which is all about politics. Rules then become massively subjective.
Either way it's been happening for a while.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute
no highlights programme
This has to be licencing rights or bizarre cost cutting measure. For a lot of people (most?) with only a passing interest surely a one hour "Today at the games" evening/streamable programme would be ideal.
I have not read the whole thread, but can I take a moment to big up Ed Leigh, Tim Warwood and (when they let her on) Chemmy Alcott. It just goes to show that really knowledgeable commentators are just brilliant. I went and read up on Ed as he seemed to know every competitor personally - and he pretty much does in his other job of selecting participants in some global snowboard competitions...
I knew Ed back in the 90s when he was a watersports instructor and still have lots of friends in common. He is a properly lovely bloke and if anything the real Ed is slightly watered to make him suitable for telly.
He got sacked back then in possibly the most spectacular way imaginable which only adds to the charm 😀
I'd assumed that that the BBC wasn't having a 'Today at the games' update programme due to the fact that the time zone is more favourable than the last couple of games but I've really missed it. I keep tuning in somewhere between 8pm and 10pm and it's either some samey version of sledging or ****ing dancing.
Cos I'm working during the day it appears I'll miss most of the good stuff - ski and boarder cross, speed skating, virtually all of the skiing etc.
It sucks.
Are the various sports tucked away on iplayer somewhere for those of us who miss events we want?
I'm a bit annoyed with iplayer, when you're hunting for the event it has a glaring headline underneath with the winner/s. I wanted to watch the ladies Super G and there was the winner's name. Arrggh
Agree (although I did mention it earlier in this thread) that Eddie, Timmy and Chemmy are superb commentators. Their enthusiasm for the winter sport of choice is infectious.
Tim & Ed - 'he has the patience of montessori teacher'.
Top stuff..
Luge relay currently on the BBC
"Luge is mental, what could be dafter?"
Double luge guys - beat that!
Entire luge team - hold my beer!
Bonkers isn't it, we just had the same thoughts sat here watching it.
I presume the ideaof doubles predates the luge itself being so low/small/aero and originally it was more like two mates on a traditional sledge.
If not, who on earth was lying fully down on their carbon tray and decided getting their mate to lie on the would be a good idea 🤣
Are the various sports tucked away on iplayer somewhere for those of us who miss events we want?
Yes, but only highlights, so you might miss some of the less interesting runs/actions. Eg the womens' super-G today is just 11 mins in the highlights and shows just the top runs of the bigger names.
On the phone app you can search by day (this may be the BBC Sport app actually) and see the different segments. I think there is potentially the full day feed if you want to trawl through 14 hrs of coverage
If you go to BBC iPlayer you can watch the daily programmes in their entirety on demand. Just go to TV Guide and select BBC1 or BBC2.
Re. biathlon, there has been coverage but just not very good (really only the shooting elements), same with cross country. I suppose those of us prepared to sit and watch full races in those disciplines are in a minority.
Come on Charlotte Bankes. You can do this 🏂
For those of you watching and engaging with the 'lympics, do you have difficulties reconciling your conscience with the deplorable views and acts of the IOC?
I haven't read the thread but I'm guessing at least some of you have been notionaly against the pogrom out eastwards and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Does it not worry you that you are supporting that which you profess to decry?
For those of you watching and engaging with the 'lympics, do you have difficulties reconciling your conscience with the deplorable views and acts of the IOC?
I haven't read the thread but I'm guessing at least some of you have been notionaly against the pogrom out eastwards and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Does it not worry you that you are supporting that which you profess to decry?
The Russians are banned, Israel not big on snow sports, I'll enjoy the action and burn in hell for it later
Let's celebrate Matt Weston. Hopefully his win will spur on the other team GB athletes, giving them much needed confidence.
Go Mia, Kirsty, Dave Ryding and anyone else I've left out.
Not sure if its on TV but USA play Denmark in the ice hockey today, I'd guess it could get pretty rowdy for some reason 🤔
Ed and Tim have been an absolute highlight for me, along with the brilliant relaxed attitude of the snowboarders. Been brilliant viewing.
Let's celebrate Matt Weston
That final run was brilliant, I hardly saw a foot move.
Never thought I'd be hanging on to my chair watching a Brazilian down a GS !
Let's celebrate Matt Weston
That final run was brilliant, I hardly saw a foot move.
In a sport measured in fractions of a second, tjat winning margin was incredible.
Apparently I've missed some foul mouthed confrontations in the (checks notes) curling?
Random question - how would Torville and Dean's 'perfect' performance from Sarajevo be marked now? Essentially I'm asking whether they'd have won this year with the same routine.
Apparently I've missed some foul mouthed confrontations in the (checks notes) curling?
Some bloke touching his stones.
Some bloke touching his stones.
Worse. It was the handle on the top of the stones. And it was caught in video.
the important point is it wasn’t the handle (that would have been legal before it crossed the hog-line and detected by the inbuilt sensors after) - he touched the granite which is never allowed and is not detected by the sensors. It’s not clear it actually gives an advantage, but denying it and swearing when called out for it is considered much worse than any technique error. His female counterpart had a stone removed today for the same thing and also argued the toss with the officials - the video is less clear there but it does look like she may also have touched it. It’s possible they have learned a bad habit that nobody in Canada has realized is technically wrong (lots of reports this has happened elsewhere) and other teams are unhappy. It then raises the whole VAR debate.Some bloke touching his stones.
Worse. It was the handle on the top of the stones. And it was caught in video.