[Closed] Who still hates the Olympics?

Watching my 8 year old daughter going mental shouting for Jess tonight made me temporarily forget my air of world weary cynicism. Quite Frankly I'll never forgive them for that! Bastards! 😉

i think its great, loving it as are all my friends & family

I hate to be a douche bag who couldn't enjoy it, how grim would that be 😈

WE ARE DOING GREAT

Let's not spoil it by wheeling out old leatherface McCartney to close it all off, . . . .coneverse hi-tops in your 60's , . . . . just get lost

Macca fail, . .get the Who on, . .half original, but still kicking ass, failing them the Weddoes . . . this Bowmore is effecting me . .. lol

Thats effin it... Got to moan about the Olympic HIGHLIGHTS coverage on the BBC: I have not seen anyone given a medal unless they are team GB. I have only be shown sports where we are winning. From where I am sitting the Olympics is only cycling, rowing and now heptathlon. I am not shown highlights. I am shown slow motion, highly edited cuts (brit out in front, no one else in shot) with motivating pop music, inane commentators, dumb questions and this is the grind.... not the actual race.

And then a sports celebrity commentator "goofs" across the studio (oh look we have a crazy and whacky side too) to a spandeau ballet tune and moves the gold-o-meter up a notch. This is not reporting. This is not journalism, this is not even sport. This is crap and nothing more than sloppy nationalist propaganda at best.

When I tune in for highlights, for me, a highlight is a good race/event, and I pretty much don't care for the nationality of any of them. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics they were probably kinda selective over who got coverage. Meaning I don't think Jesse Owens got much recognition within Germany. Hands up, certainly an extreme example. But the point is sport is sport, it should not be anything more and I fear it's being used for other purposes here. The worst economic month in 100 years of UK peace time history is not news (inferring we only had it worse when we had food rationing, bombs falling on us, and hitler was 26 miles off the South coast) but a gold in rowing is the top of the news.

Yes the olympics are still shit, the IOC are still corrupt scumbags as seen in the recent Azerbaijan match fixing (boxing), continuing sponsorship by corporations with appalling human rights records, co-operation with nation states that have appalling human rights records, continual doping by sportsmen, the fact that the games are turning out to be a vain ornamental fish pond for the political elite as opposed to something that actually helped our economy, the fact that most of the Olympic sports are just another form of nationalistic war/competition that don't really contribute to human advancement except in the ability of certain individuals to jump 1 cm further (oooh ****ing yay, someones proved that their boring enough to spend hours a day jumping in sand to gain a cm length instead of doing something useful).

So yep they are self masturbatory shit and If I wanted to hear about that I'd listen to avant-garde jazz.

Loving all the negative comments guys....sigh.

As for the cost: all the transport infrastructure was going to be built regardless, the aquatics centre and the velodrome were also going to be built even if we didn't get the Olympics ( part of the reason London won the bid...)

It's still costing less than two big boats that the navy is getting built, one of which is going to be mothballed as soon as its built...or to rebuild a knackered old plane for £4Bn and then scrap the whole thing becasue we dont really need them and cant afford it...and I am also pretty sure that the Lottery isn't funding those...

As for the rather pathetic comments about how all the money gets spent in the south...

I am pretty sure Manchester (commonwealth Games) and soon Glasgow ( ditto) had or are having a rather large boost from something similar

I think that if we work on it, we can prove that was a complete waste of time, effort and money.
I had a passing interest in the games, but seeing the emotion in seeing British athletes winning in a British games has had me forgetting al about the politics and petty point scoring that's going on in the background.

Bunch of moaning gits.

Bunch of moaning gits

True, but at least this thread (almost) keeps all of the moaning in one place!

Team nz not won much then?

conversely do we all love Tony Blair ? there is no doubt that his glad-handing brought us the games.

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NZ has done quite well really on a per capita basis thanks, as a plastic kiwi I get to celebrate GB and NZ. Being honest we're spanking Aus in the golds so the is all that matters. Be proud, you have a beautiful country, a stunning history and a chance to shine.

It was noted that Blair was there in the velodrome t'other day. As the Guardian noted ''driven, no doubt, by nothing more than his life long love of track cycling'"

Indeed

to come back to a couple of points, if paris had won what difference would it have made to the UK?

Other than the obvious of not having to spend large amounts on a stadium that no one is actually sure what to do with, an olympic village that will have to be substantially remodelled, a vast security bill etc.

What would have benefitted if we hadn't spent the money on what is politicians vanity project? Spend the money on infrastructure and on sport, but the olympics? a self appointed bunch of blazer wearers who i suppose aren't as corrupt as FIFA.....

I suppose one good side, but i doubt politicians will pay any notice, G4S have been publicly displayed as being incompetent before a global audience.

Does anyone really think that a couple of weeks of sport is actually going to change anything? yes a few people will be inspired to get off their arses, and in a few years some of those people will win things, but most will have another beer, pick up the remote and go back to the footie.

Nz col. Thank you ,you are a nice man.

I certainly dont hate the Olympics.
Its not that important to me to give it that attention.

Still think its a total waste of money though.

charliethebikemonger

Pick your own highlights, its the digital age 😉

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/live-video

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/sports

There's always been nonsense on telly in the middle of the night, don't blame the Lympix for that.

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Can't be all bad
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8511061

I'm off to our office tomorrow where we have a whole bunch of Aussies - I'll be diplomatic 😉

bwaarp - Member

Yes the olympics are still shit, .....

So yep they are self masturbatory shit and If I wanted to hear about that I'd listen to avant-garde jazz.

One of two things at work here -

Returned from the pub pished and what followed was this drunken effluvia?

Or

Cat run across the keyboard before you did a spell check and hit send post?

poor ol' KP sensational innings at Headingley smashing the best and fastest bowling attack in the world to all parts of the ground and he hardly gets a mention.

Am I following the argument right:

(1) "We" aren't happy that this country has a culture which means participating in sport is weird.*
(2) "We" aren't happy that this country is investing in a massive sporting event that might just change some attitudes to sport.

Is there actually a fear that participation in sport will become mainstream and STWers will need to find a new niche to set themselves apart as being different?

I was never excited about the Olympics coming to London but I'm impressed so far, and hope Glasgow can follow on the coat tails with the Commonwealths in 2 yrs time.

If we really expect it to have an effect on 'the man on the street' though we will need to do something about the number of top level athletes who come from privileged backgrounds and private school education.

* Personally I find the concept of competitive sport a bit weird, I'm not sure where our compulsion to beat our fellow man comes from, but I'd love to see a change in culture where the majority of people were active in some way; even if that means we need to encourage bizarre competitions for people to challenge each other in.

Ioum: the highlights show is crud,

I could pick my own highlights but I would pick what I am familiar with.

I also don't wanna sit through everything, sit down for an hour at the end of the day. I want to see the best bits, the highlights, and I want to see sports I am unfamiliar with. You have the best (insert any sport here) players in the world, so even the tiddly winks should be good viewing.

The bbc has editors, it is there job to pull the best bits from the day and present them to us. They spend their time on sickly montages, rather than showing the actual race.

Red button detailed coverage does not excuse the highlights programme.

Not complaining about the Olympics, just highlights coverage that does not show highlights or coverage well.

Does anyone really think that a couple of weeks of sport is actually going to change anything?

Very unlikely. It simply means that some fat lardy slob laid sprawled on a sofa in front of his TV clutching a can of lager and cheering, can bask on the personal glory of a dedicated sportsmen/sportsmen, who through their own tireless determination have spent countless hours training every day for years, claiming pride and credit for their achievement on the basis that they too are British.

And those same fat lardy slobs are just as likely to have enthusiastically voted for politicians who in the last 20 years have shamefully sold off over 5,000 school playing fields to developers, with the pointless short term one-off aim of saving themselves a few pennies in tax.

Yes it doesn't matter whether the Olympics costs Britain £8 billion or £16 billion just as long as people are "enjoying" themselves, but God forbid that school kids should run around enjoying themselves playing games and sports on fields which can be sold off to developers.

I've seen tonnes of other stuff that I'd never seen before, with other nations competing. Of course the BBC is going to be GB biased, but it's nowhere near as skewed as some are making out.

So... If we are such a great sporting nation, why does Mo have to train in the US?

Because that's where His Cuban coach (Alberto Salazar) and the Nike Oregon Project are based.

If the offer was extended to them, do you think the Aussies would move their cycling program to Manchester under Shane Sutton.

OK, I haven't read a lot of the above although I do agree with the comments about the journalism and reporting from a lot of it, it's very jingoistic and with a tendency to use "celebrities" rather than people who actually know what they're talking about. I hate the hype around it all and the corporate love-in.

But the actual event itself - WOW.
I've been in the velodrome for a lot of it and (to me) it's frankly no different to a lot of the World Track Championships or World Cup events I've worked on - same athletes, same officials, same (very good) atmosphere.

But outside that, walking round the Olympic Park with people from literally every nation on earth, hearing the roars from the stadium, the crowds sitting on the grass watching the big screen, everyone friendly and smiling and helping each other - that's priceless.

Being on the train or tube when the driver reads out a result from an event and everyone cheers. Being out and about on the bike and people stopping to talk about Wiggins or the team pursuit. I know this sounds corny but it has brought out the best in people however it's something you need to be actually there for - even watching on TV you just don't get the feel for it that being in the Olympic Park with 200,000 others gives.

To all those " haters " who remain unconvinced I would say ... it's your loss ...

BUT

If you are determined not to watch any of it at least get a copy of Isles of Wonder ... I defy any one not to be impressed by the soundtrack of the opening night ... having been there and loved every minute I can say listening to the CD brings great memories flooding back of the best show I have ever EVER seen live .. and that includes a lot of concerts including Queen at Knebworth, Bruce Springsteen, U2 at their best , The Who , Rolling Stones etc etc

I would also encourage folks to take a look at other sports while there is chance, I went to a basketball match last Tuesday and had no idea just how physical it is

😀 😀 😀

So... If we are such a great sporting nation, why does Mo have to train in the US?

Altitude training .Loads of Athletes go abroad to get above 6000ft or so where they condition themselves to a lack of oxygen .Its either that or sleep in an oxygen tent in the spare room

Very unlikely. It simply means that some fat lardy slob laid sprawled on a sofa in front of his TV clutching a can of lager and cheering, can bask on the personal glory of a dedicated sportsmen/sportsmen, who through their own tireless determination have spent countless hours training every day for years, claiming pride and credit for their achievement on the basis that they too are British.

Ah well, so long as you feel you are better than them its probably OK! That attitude becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Does anyone really think that a couple of weeks of sport is actually going to change anything?

Its not just about 2 weeks though. Theres been a huge investment in team GB leading up to this, and there is definitely a feel good about british sport right now, and not just about football like it usually is - that has to have some positive legacy.

It may be too late for the 'adults' but I genuinely believe that it (and its spin off effects) have helped motivate my 8 and 4 yr old. The older one has been doing stuff all year that culminated in all the local schools have a "Local Olympics" (although they did have to change the name at the last minute for fear of getting fined!). The youngest came home from nursery last week with a gold medal and claiming to have been in the olympics - because the staff had decided to run some sports. Would they have bothered if the olympics were not in London - past experience would say no! Will my kids end up in the olympics - not likely with these genes but they have been motivated to pay attention to sports they didn't know about, they have been doing exercise they wouldn't have done otherwise etc.

Does it mean that if a teenager today aspires to get to the top level that his teachers, parents, coaches, etc might believe it is possible for someone from the UK to achieve that, and encourage him/her - I hope so!

Quite frankly i couldn't give an old mans nutsack either way. I don't knowingly avoid at much as i don't watch it. I'm sure i'm missing out, but i find 90% of it boring regardless where it's held. I'll maybe catch the mountain biking and i'll watch the closing ceremony like i watched the opening, drunk, so i forget how much it's costing

If the offer was extended to them, do you think the Aussies would move their cycling program to Manchester under Shane Sutton.

Probably not but they do have a lot of athletes in the US
The Chinese swimming team pretty much live and train full time in Australia

I'm going to carry on running, gymming, riding my bikes, enjoying my sports regardless. Up to others if they choose to participate or not...

Very much looking forward to getting on that track when it opens to the public and making the best of whatever legacy there is...

It won't make money, promises will be broken, it may not turn us into a nation of participants but who cares... why not just make the best of it?

Can't say I hate the Olympics. Do find it jolly boring though, not really sure why people are suddenly interested in sports they generally have no interest in(generalization I know)

Good luck with Olympic legacy, Olympic success does not translate to sporting development of the population.

Most successful Olympic country : USA
Fattest developed country : USA

Some of the coverage has been pretty crass. Like the rower guys who got silver at the last minute, beaten by some Danes. They were very unsporting, didn't even try to hide what a tragedy this was for them, in spite of the fact they had just won silver for their country. The interviewer should have cut away, not shove a mic and camera in their face. Worse poor losing than the Aussies, and that's a significant achievement.

And interviewing obscure relatives of British bronze medal winners during the presentation ceremony, when the winning anthem is played. That's just disrespectful !

I thought Olympics extra with the medalometer and cardboard cutout faces of medal winners was a bit tacky. I thought I was watching Blue Peter or Going Live.r

The crying like babies thing, Adlington pleading behind teary eyes for the public to understand how hard it is to medal in swimming and everything being 'unbelievable' and 'amazing' have annoyed me, but other than that I've enjoyed it.

I'm waiting for one of the track side beeb presenters to get angry if tears aren't forthcoming. It will happen.

Most successful Olympic country : USA

Presumably you are basing that on the US's huge population, which doesn't exactly suggest an Olympic success story.

The US has a population 5 times that of the UK, and yet it has less than twice the amount of Olympic medals that the UK has. At this present moment in time Great Britain would appear the "most successful Olympic country".

nah, just basing it on medals won throughout the history of the games

Well it looks as if their "fattest" status which you refer to, has finally caught with them then.

We are not far behind them on the chubster front though, hmmmm crisps

Presumably you are basing that on the US's huge population, which doesn't exactly suggest an Olympic success story.

The US has a population 5 times that of the UK, and yet it has less than twice the amount of Olympic medals that the UK has. At this present moment in time Great Britain would appear the "most successful Olympic country".

So, New Zealand is the real success story of the Olympics then?

According to the Guardian yesterday NZ tops the table of medals per head of population. But who cares, we are beating the Aussies on the proper table, that's what counts !

And we have the coolest uniforms out of anybody, no contest there. We beat the Aussies at that, too:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10820940

According to the Guardian yesterday NZ tops the table of medals per head of population.

Fair enough, I only based it on what it appeared to me - that Britain topped the medals per head of population.

So, are New Zealanders particularly fat then ?

Moaners are missing the point. It's not going to change Britain by having better sportsmen and women.
Change comes from people feeling a sense of pride and happiness.

When people are happy, however fleetingly, they rarely do wrong to their fellow man.
It is this that helps change things for the better on a national level.

Jeez, I'm turning into a right happy clappy hippy!

Moaners are missing the point. It's not going to change Britain by having better sportsmen and women.
Change comes from people feeling a sense of pride and happiness.

And will it, when in a few weeks people remember they haven't had a payrise for a couple of years, the weather is still shite, they still get stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work, etc.

I return to the phrase Panem et circensis.

IF you want progress and people to feel happy, maybe people need to feel that they belong to society, things like the olympics are distractions and work for a while. I believe it was Engels who observed the reason why there was never a revolution in the UK was that the people felt they were a part, that they benefited from the empire.

Compare now, how many people feel they benefit and how many that they are being shat on by politicians, business leaders, trade unionists, etc?

So, are New Zealanders particularly fat then ?

Dunno, give 'em an Olympics and see what happens.

Think you have to host the bugger to get the legacy!?

So, are New Zealanders particularly fat then ?

According to that faultless source of all knowledge Wikipedia, Kiwi's are a right bunch of fat knackers

26.5% obese

I'm hungry

Of course, there are issues of the moral bankruptcy of the Olympic movement, the sham sportsmanship and the vulgarity of the commercialism that goes with it. But once those are put aside, there is a priceless and invaluable lesson to all this that has been forgotten too easily in our celebrity culture.

Success is the reward for hard work and sacrifice. It does not come on a plate nor is it a fundamental right. Individual success is also built on strong foundations and support. Compare the quiet professionalism of GB cycling and rowing with our celebrity sports. When the pressure is on, who delivers? The true professionals. How odd that many of our winners are articulate and self-effacing. 😉 Oh, and surprise, surprise, competition matters. Listen to the successful and how they all commented on the constant drive towards higher and higher standards, the challenges and expectations of being part of Team GB. Let's hope this message is re-learnt by our educational system. Of course, non of this fits well with those of a certain persuasion and little surprise that their posts are largely negative. A bitter pill to swallow, perhaps?

I dropped some kids off at Gatwick in the early hours today and on the return R5L were repeating the commentaries and crowd reactions from yesterday. For inspiration, that was priceless.

When people are happy, however fleetingly, they rarely do wrong to their fellow man.
It is this that helps change things for the better on a national level.

I agree with this sentiment but it is, as you say, fleeting. Whilst it would be nice to think there will be something long standing after all this, I do think this feeling of collective happiness/pride etc will come to a grinding halt once the closing ceremony is over.

As you were and back in line. Would be great if that wasn't the case and would love to be proven wrong but I cannot see any legacy beyond the games.

I won't disagree with much you have written THM,

but do we have a system in place that finds the best, or a system where we are lucky and when someone good appears we can support them? Do we have a system that gets the best from people or just muddles through? Why should we be happy with third in the table? I see no reason why the UK can't come away with more medals than anyone else if that is the aim. Look at cycling for proof of that.

Equality is never going to be possible, but a system that gives opportunity, in my opinion is. Thing is someone has to pay to give those born with less opportunity a chance of making it, and this might be at the expense of the funders own children.

At the end of the day i don't hate the olympics, i am just indifferent, i have no real interest in sailing or athletics so why should i change this for a fortnight once every four years?
Do i think the money could have been better spent, yes, why should we be funding the IOC and their hangers on? why should we be paying for political vanity projects? and i do include aircraft carriers in this as well.

If you enjoy it fine, i just don't believe that in 6months it will have made any real difference to most peoples lives, and for me that is what really matters.

Loving the Aussie medal stats. 1 gold and 11 silvers. pedal faster mate!

Some of it is pretty grim... Like Percy and Simpson earlier today, apologising for [i]only[/i] getting silver. "We feel so bad for everyone watching and supporting." That's a ropey state of affairs, sure they could have taken gold and maybe were expected to but any medal at this level is a huge achievement. "Sorry we're only the second best in the entire world"

"Sorry we're only the second best in the entire world"

yes, to be blunt they were the first looser.

Its a competition, you go for experience or to win. they were there to win they didn't.

This is not to denigrate what they have done, and it is far more than i could ever hope to do, but if what drives you is winning, which it is for most top level athletes, then they lost. There are only two positions, first and other.

I must admit Im really enjoying it 🙂 But i like the. Olympics but i still dont like London and Never will.

Some of it is pretty grim... Like Percy and Simpson earlier today, apologising for only getting silver. "We feel so bad for everyone watching and supporting." That's a ropey state of affairs, sure they could have taken gold and maybe were expected to but any medal at this level is a huge achievement. "Sorry we're only the second best in the entire world"

I'm glad they were so devastated with Silver. It demonstrates their absolute determination and drive for success. We need more of that sort of the attitude in the UK when it comes to sport.

Whilst it would be nice to think there will be something long standing after all this, I do think this feeling of collective happiness/pride etc will come to a grinding halt once the closing ceremony is over.

well, the Olympians have "done their part" now it's up to those who want a lasting legacy to do their bit.
Mebbe take that "race face" off for the commute and smile at a few people
see if your local school, youth club, sports club etc would want a talk on cycling (or other sport/activity you're involved in - there's been plenty of cracking bike trip photo threads here for instance that deserve a wider audience)
start a local beginners bike club and lead some pootles around your local trails
if you have a half decent LBS see if they may be able to run occasional maintenance classes for kids/families
join Sustrans and help maintain your local cycleways

one thing for sure, it is probably the best opportunity we (as a society) may have for a long time to actually make a difference 🙂

(not aimed at the poster I've quoted btw, just thoughts in general)

We need more of that sort of the attitude in the UK

Shortened that for you....

It's not just in sport that we need more of that sort of attitude! 🙂

Shortened that for you....

It's not just in sport that we need more of that sort of attitude!

I agree totally.

Being disappointed with Silver is rude, churlish and offensive to all the other participants. How does that make the people in Bronze feel ? Or those that made the final but didn't get a medal ?? Michael Phelps showed the world how good sportsmanship is done !

fervouredimage - Member

I'm glad they were so devastated with Silver. It demonstrates their absolute determination and drive for success.

Disagree... Yes they should be proud to be able to aim to be the best but the bottom line is, not everyone is going to win and if you distill a sport down to first place being the only thing worth competing for, and everything else being devastating failure, then all you do is make less successes.

There's a reason that there are silver and bronze medals. To compete at the highest level of a sport, do your best, and take home bronze is an achievement so far above what most people will ever contemplate. Not something to apologise for.

Agreed, Northwind.

Prizes for all, hels? Can't have someone losing, can we?

Disagree... Yes they should be proud to be able to aim to be the best but the bottom line is, not everyone is going to win and if you distill a sport down to first place being the only thing worth competing for, and everything else being devastating failure, then all you do is make less successes.

I agree they didn't need to apologise. What has anyone here done to get them into the Olympics? It's their graft and hard work, not mine.

If you're an athlete in any sport then your aim should be to be the best. That's what makes these people stand out from mere mortals like you and I. There absolute determination and will to succeed whereby second is meaningless and first is all that matters.

To compete at the highest level of a sport, do your best, and take home bronze is an achievement so far above what most people will ever contemplate. Not something to apologise for.

And that's the point. They are not 'most' people. They are the best of the best in their discipline. Winning should be all that matters to them. It's what sets them apart.

I despair when any athlete says 'it's great just to be here'.

However, if you are defending Olympic champions, and leading the event with one race to go, maybe, just maybe, you'd feel that gold is what you wanted?
Good on them, they are bloody nice people (I've spoken to both) and were driven to WIN, not come second.

Hopefully the overwhelming positivity right now will run off on the haters, because I feel really sorry for how much they're missing out!

Are the apologies from the silver medallists due to the realisation that their sport will lose out in future funding (more appropriate for sailing and swimming than rowing or cycling). Sport England or whatever they are called now are notoriously hard-hearted if a sport does not deliver on the medal expectations.

I agree it is poor form though to appear churlish when losing to a better team.

Ffs, they are just unhappy that someone beat them. No different to 2nd place at the world cup, Wimbledon, a grand prix etc. completely understandable.

Success is the reward for hard work and sacrifice.

No it isn't, you can work as hard as the man next to you but if your genes are not as good you may end up losing out on a medal.

And that's the point. They are not 'most' people. They are the best of the best in their discipline. Winning should be all that matters to them. It's what sets them apart.

Horsecrap, suicide rates would be unbelievably high in atheletes if they were hell bent on being the best and couldn't deal with not being world number 1. What about domestiques? How do you explain their existence with your crap logic? There are hundreds of excellent tennis players and golfers who make money out of the sport but know that they will never be quite the same standard as Federer or Woods etc.

....well Bwaarp, that may be true, in which case meritocracy is a partially flawed idea since it also depends on the random distribution of natural ability!

But I think the point is that, success cannot be achieved without hard work and sacrifice, but they alone still do not guarantee it!

I can sympathise with Hunter and Purchase and frankly reactions to silvers will always depend on individual circumtances. But Roger Federer was very classy in his interview with Sue Barker today. Perhaps he has had the advantage of walking on to Centre Court so many times and reading Kipling's famous lines!

I still hate the whole farce, and especially the way the BBC 'news' channel has gone completely doolally over it. Flash floods? no. Syria, what? Oh look we've won another medal!...

And speaking of farce, the Australian news don't have much positive to say about it either (SFW, except for the snorting)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-02/sharing-the-olympic-blame-with-clarke-and-dawe/4173114

😆 ..

Ohno - winning medals is much more newsworthy than a bit of rain. Rain happens all the time, floods quite regularly, the Olympics don't.

So why not just report the facts as part of the sports news rather than the gooey saturation worship on the BBC?

I've had a thought about uses for the stadium afterwards. And it'd placate some chippy northerners. Liverpool have been banging on about moving out of Anfield into a new stadium for years. How about....

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fervouredimage - Member

I despair when any athlete says 'it's great just to be here'.

Sorry if I'm taking you out of context here, but surely for some athletes just getting to the games is a massive achievement, and whilst they may have goals (getting in the top ten, making the final, whatever), getting a medal will not be a realistic aim.

To give an example - Katarina Johnson-Thompson, 19 year old heptathlete. Came and set a couple PBs in a couple of events, huge learning exercise for someone who will hopefully be a contender in the future. D'you thnk she went home thinking 'I didn't beat Jessica Ennis/win gold, so I have failed'?

Or in the real world - I enter a few CX and XC races. I'm never going to win one but I do occasionally worry the lower reaches of the top ten and am chuffed when I achieve that sorted of result. Should I be (unrealistically) expecting to win, and gutted with anything but first place?

Horsecrap, suicide rates would be unbelievably high in atheletes if they were hell bent on being the best and couldn't deal with not being world number 1. What about domestiques? How do you explain their existence with your crap logic? There are hundreds of excellent tennis players and golfers who make money out of the sport but know that they will never be quite the same standard as Federer or Woods etc.

Touched a nerve by the looks of it there Bwaarp.

I'm assuming you are shit at an awful lot of things to be satisfied with failure.

There there, never mind.

No it isn't, you can work as hard as the man next to you but if your genes are not as good you may end up losing out on a medal.

Let me guess. You're short, fat with stumpy legs, oversized head, small feet, small hands, small.....

especially the way the BBC 'news' channel has gone completely doolally over it

There was some guy on there on Friday, possibly Irish, talking utter nonsense about the cycling.

Its only sport.....