The Olympic Games

[WarrenBee]

Am I the only one who couldn't give a stuff about the Olympic Games any more?It dosen't interest me in the slightest.

 

[Brickie Chap]

OG = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Luton Bee]

Is it sponsored by ICI?

 

[Aussie Bee]

couldn't give a toss

 

[RT]

suprised there are any athletes left with all this drug scandal going on.

 

[CJC]

Can't be bothered with it. The opening ceremony looked better than usual though.

 

[Aussie Bee]

I told a lie - I forgot about "the race of the century" @ 02:51 Sydney time tomorrow morning - the 400m Freestyle Swimming final with Thorpe, Hackett, that Dutch bloke and Phelps - that will be a race and a half - Glad I'm on nightshift lol

 

[Swinedonbee]

I used to look forward to it when we had individuals who could compete and challenge for gold medals - and there was competition between our own athletes like Coe and Ovett (I know - I'm showing my age!). Now it's not so interesting, particularly on the athletics front. I can't say I'm enthused. :sad:

 

[Beebop]

What a load of drivel,I guarantee that you'll all be watching it by the end of the fortnight.I shall be watching as much as possible so that I'm on top of any conversation down the pub,but then I did go to the 1948 Olympics at Wembley Unfortunately you would have missed the New Zealand ladies rowing pair catching a crab and being catapulted out of the boat.That's the kind of incident you don't get by just watching the Bees

 

[nocoat]

I like the second half (surely longer than a fortnight isn't it?) :scratch: ... especially the field events and my favourite is the weightlifting :bound: but I tend to ignore all the swimming.. and as for that Judo... WTF is that all about?!!

Oh yeah I like the rowing aswell! :blush But not the sailing or shooting

 

[Debbee]

I love it.....if there's any chance of us (GB) winning a medal, I'll be there glued to my telly, no matter what the sport.

 

[Aussie Bee]

I told a lie - I forgot about "the race of the century" @ 02:51 Sydney time tomorrow morning - the 400m Freestyle Swimming final with Thorpe, Hackett, that Dutch bloke and Phelps - that will be a race and a half - Glad I'm on nightshift lol

opps - I'm on about the 200m on Tuesday morning at 02:43 lol

 

[Jay Bee]

I used to look forward to it when we had individuals who could compete and challenge for gold medals

Bit of a generalisation, isn't it? We got something like 11 golds in Sydney, and most things I've read indicate our medal prospects are better in, say, swimming this time, where we got no medals at all in Sydney, and we seem to be a lot stronger than we used to be in cycling. Athletics isn't a strong point this time, but Paula Radcliffe is favourite for the marathon.

I see there's an American up for 8 gold medals in swimming, how many is Thorpe going for?

 

[Aussie Bee]

Thorpe is going in 200 m freestyle, 400 m freestyle for sure and a few relays I guess

 

[Swinedonbee]

Bit of a generalisation, isn't it? We got something like 11 golds in Sydney, and most things I've read indicate our medal prospects are better in, say, swimming this time, where we got no medals at all in Sydney, and we seem to be a lot stronger than we used to be in cycling. Athletics isn't a strong point this time, but Paula Radcliffe is favourite for the marathon.

I see there's an American up for 8 gold medals in swimming, how many is Thorpe going for?

I'm sure you're right - I read as well that our prospects appear to be better on the swimming front and my enthusiasm will no doubt reappear as the games progress.

 

[California Bee]

Thorpe is going in 200 m freestyle, 400 m freestyle for sure and a few relays I guess

How many times will he and Phelps compete? Those should be great races.

 

[California Bee]

I told a lie - I forgot about "the race of the century" @ 02:51 Sydney time tomorrow morning - the 400m Freestyle Swimming final with Thorpe, Hackett, that Dutch bloke and Phelps - that will be a race and a half - Glad I'm on nightshift lol

Phelps is going to be tough to beat.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Michael Phelps made the perfect start to his bid to win a record eight gold medals in Athens when he broke his own world record to win the 400 meters individual medley Saturday. The American teen-ager pulled away from his rivals to win the gold in four minutes 08.26 seconds and shave 0.15 seconds off the previous mark of 4:08.41 which he set in California last month. Erik Vendt finished second in 4:11.81 to complete a U.S. one-two while Hungary's Laszlo Cseh took the bronze in 4:12.15 but neither was able to mount a serious challenge to Phelps.

 

[Aussie Bee]

Thorpe wins the 400m

CB - Thorpe only swims freestyle - Phelps has more strokes - 200m is "the race of the century" but Thorpe will kill him

 

[Aussie Bee]

just found out Thorpe is also in the 100 free but he won't win that one

 

[Swinedonbee]

We've just won our first medal - a silver in the synchronised diving event. :bound:

 

[bees66]

We've just won our first medal - a silver in the synchronised diving event. :bound:

No it's :bound: :bound:

 

[California Bee]

Thorpe wins the 400m

CB - Thorpe only swims freestyle - Phelps has more strokes - 200m is "the race of the century" but Thorpe will kill him

It seems a shame that they run the 400m freestyle and the 400m nedley on the same day. That has to dilute the competition in both events.

 

[California Bee]

It seems a shame that they run the 400m freestyle and the 400m nedley on the same day. That has to dilute the competition in both events.

nedley...new event

 

[Hungerford Bee]

couldn't give a toss

I thought the Aussie's in the beach volleyball were quite "interesting".

 

[Debbee]

We've just won our first medal - a silver in the synchronised diving event. :bound:

:bound:

I watched that live on BBC interactive, as well as the medal ceremony which I wouldn't have seen live if I'd watched it on BBC 2. Naughty Beeb!

Anyway, let's hope it's the first of many! :yes:

 

[rock_on_u_bees]

got a good chance now with nicole cook in the womens cycling

 

[davebee]

I like the olympics but I am dissapointed with the facilities. An outdoor swimming pool which can get sh*t blown into it is not good for the swimmers. I would imagine the velodrome is also outside. In a sport decided by hundredths of seconds and where the slightest wobble can make a huge difference (sprint cycling) it would strike me as inappropriate to have the wind act as a factor. Amd as for the rowing arena.............

 

[bees66]

Good old Henman flying the flag for GB only just got knocked out the pr@t in the first round.

 

[BoroBee]

Nicole Cook screwed it up, I'm afraid - missed the break by the ozzie and the German on the last circuit.
I don't care about the swimming coverage as such, but we MUST have more air time for Sharron Davies' nipples to interview losing British swimmers!!
It's our right, I've paid my licence fee!!

 

[Jay Bee]

I'd heard that Thorpe had taken up one of the backstroke events "for fun", I think he'd have competed in that if he really had gone for 9 medals, as was suggested a couple of years ago, but presumably he's not now.

 

[West Ealing Bee]

Tonight is meant to be the 'best swimming race ever'.

Phelps, Thorpe and van den Hoogeband plus Hackett.

I can't see Phelps winning this one, judging by the relays the Dutchman will be the man to beat, but Thorpe will start favourite.

 

[West Ealing Bee]

Phelps quest to win 8 golds and Thorpe's to win 6 were finished last night by the South Africans winning the 4x100m freestyle relay and they obviously can't both win tonight.

I reckon one of them may get 4 golds but anyone who specialises will have the advantage later in the week. They will be fresher.

 

[West Ealing Bee]

Disappointing start for Britain too.

We would have expected more than 1 medal by now, although we look good for 2 or 3 in the sailing plus some in the eventing.

The swimmers haven't competed yet, although better events are to come I believe, 5 medals looks optimistic to me, we may not get 3.

The Olympics really come into their own when the Athletics start, and especially as it will be on prime time tv this time around.

 

[Jay Bee]

Melanie Marshall, reckoned to be a medal prospect, came 8th in her 200m freestyle semi.

However, Stephen Parry came from qualifying 16th out of 16 into the men's 200m butterfly semi, to win the semi, out-qualifying Michael Phelps! Phelps had swum the big freestyle final barely an hour earlier, so I'm sure he's still favourite for tomorrow's final, but he might be a medal prospect that wasn't forecast.

 

[nocoat]

yeah i saw that :bound: must have a good lane for the final and a bronze will do

 

[California Bee]

Thorpe wins the 400m

CB - Thorpe only swims freestyle - Phelps has more strokes - 200m is "the race of the century" but Thorpe will kill him

You got that one right AB!

 

[Mr Tree]

i must say, i felt very sorry for the british girl who finished last in her semi (i think?) after hitting an underwater camera in the pool and injuring her leg - not on

 

[West Ealing Bee]

Parry produced a great swim this evening, puts himself in a good lane and in with a chance.

I expect Phelps to win but other medals are up for grabs and if he can go even quicker gold isn't impossible.

 

[West Ealing Bee]

You got that one right AB!

I thought the Dutchman was going to take it, Phelps was always third at best in my mind. A better allround swimmer but not as quick.

Great race and Thorpe deserved it.

 

[Claire]

well we are doing well in the sailing leading in both the men and the womens.

 

[237bee]

Aussies are doing OK - probably something to do with their mental attitude and the fact that success breeds success. All the schools here do lots of sport and have playing fields, unlike in the UK where, if you can find a school playing field, the taking part is more important than winning.

One of my kids went to school at Hounslow town for a while – the school sports day involved no competition whatsoever, because if a child doesn’t win he may experience feelings of rejection.

Here he's been doing Aussie Rules training (they start at 5yrs old) and they have a match every week. You walk around the shopping mall on a Saturday and it seems every kid has been doing some form of sporting activity. I don't remember that sort of thing during my saturday morning perambulation down Hounslow High Street.

 

[Claire]

you dont expect any less of the aussies but winning lots of medals do we?

 

[California Bee]

I thought the Dutchman was going to take it, Phelps was always third at best in my mind. A better allround swimmer but not as quick.

Great race and Thorpe deserved it.

Ian Thorpe is superb and Michael Phelps was never in it today.

 

[Bee H]

Am I the only one who couldn't give a stuff about the Olympic Games any more?It dosen't interest me in the slightest.

Do your feelings also apply to the next couple of Winter Olympics bearing in mind ............ :shrug:

 

[Simon T]

It's about time they reduced the number of sports - far too many events which are just dull. Maybe we need a separate thread to come up with a list of 10 sports that should be eliminated from the Olympics .

Anyway here's a few to start the list:

3 day eventing/show jumping/dressage: if you are going to have events where you are effectively giving a gold medal to a horse then why not include horse racing as well. The only reason people want to watch 3 day eventing is to see posh women fall off their horses into a lake so unless they add more water based fences then it's

Women's basketball: I saw some of this last night, and while the Russian girlies and some of the Aussies were good looking, there were a few freaks and monsters out there (7 foot tall women are just wrong) and it was one of the worst basketball matches I've ever seen (I don't think either team made 50% with their field shooting).

Table tennis: if you are going to include ping pong as a sport, why not snooker or darts as well?

 

[Simon W]

Amir Khan in the boxing looks like a very good bet for a medal.
And he is only 17

He was awesome in his first bout yesterday against a local boy.

How can Great Britain send only ONE boxer to these games ?

Whats happening to all the lottery money being pumped into British sport to boost our chances of medals ?

 

[West Ealing Bee]

He's got teh European Champion in the next round.

He may make the Final but thatwill be the key fight.

I was surprised we took so few boxers, I guess many of our young guys turn pro very early.

I also don't see the point in sending people who will not be able to compete for medals.

 

[Gee Bee]

Amir Khan in the boxing looks like a very good bet for a medal.
How can Great Britain send only ONE boxer to these games ?

Whats happening to all the lottery money being pumped into British sport to boost our chances of medals ?

1. amateur boxing in the UK is almost non existent, because any good young boxers now turn pro at a young age.

2. When various sportspersons have been interviewed prior to the games, many said that they were only able to compete because of the Lottery funding. I think the sad fact is that in many minority sports in the Uk there are just not the people taking an interest and because of this there is no competition. Too many kids sit in front of a computer screen, vidieo game or TV and do not join local clubs, sometimes because their parents cannot be arsed to drive them 15 or 20 miles to their nearest minority sports club. However they are always prepared to drive the same distance to drag little Johnny round Lakeside etc on a saturday afternoon.
The other thing is that you receive more lottery money if you win more medals, so a bit catch 22 really.

 

[Bee H]

Whats happening to all the lottery money being pumped into British sport to boost our chances of medals ?

cue WarrenBee for a detailed and quite rightly bitter response !

 

[Scratchy]

Amir Khan in the boxing looks like a very good bet for a medal.
And he is only 17

He was awesome in his first bout yesterday against a local boy.

How can Great Britain send only ONE boxer to these games ?

Whats happening to all the lottery money being pumped into British sport to boost our chances of medals ?

He is fighting the European champion in his next bout.As for there only being 1 boxer well it's because he was the only one who made it through the qualifying tournaments for the Olympic Games.

We also have one boxer at the Games.