@Thrillho The women’s street was yet another little upset as well, with Aori Nishimura coming 8th and Leticia Bufoni not even qualifying. I watched that triathlon last night as it was on quite early and honestly it’s a shame Yee didn’t win as he was leading for most of the final stretch. The winner pushed onwards and nobody else could catch him though! And yeah, he immediately threw up and then collapsed when he went over the line.
God, I’ve just seen that Pamela Rosa didn’t make it past the heats in the skateboarding either, and she’s the world number 1 last time I checked! They were really struggling with the temperature though so it might throw up some funny results.
Watched Yee bring home a silver in great triathlon performance - looked like most struggled with the conditions. Then went to bed. Woke to find out three golds achieved while I was sleeping. Good to see GB now making an impression on the table. Hopefully it continues.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
@Sorteddan the difference between Adam Peacey and the rest of the field for his gold in the second 50 m was insane!! Crazy that such a short space of time could look so huge!! Yussain Bolt of the swimming pool 💪🏊♀️
Oh, and 3x3 is a nice addition to the Olympic sports.
Why is it called 3x3 by the way? I thought it was 3 teams of 3 people versus each other. But it was disappointed when I found out it was just two. Should've been called 3+3, or 2x3.
I’ve been enjoying watching some swimming, beach volleyball, and gymnastics. Gearing up for track and field to start.
Was really impressed by the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay. Great Britain was otherworldly yesterday with those last two legs leaving all other teams in their wake. I’m sure a lot of you all were excited to see such a dominant performance.
Team GB also had a great showing in women’s gymnastics with the bronze - a feat that was overshadowed by the US situation.
But overall, I’m really moved by what happened yesterday in women’s gymnastics with Simone Biles. I think it takes something like this where the greatest athlete in their sport, and honestly one of the greatest athletes of all-time in any sport, has to step back because of mental health concerns. The pressure that the media and the public put on these athletes is tragic. The culture of the “never lose” mentality really needs to be changed.
That’s not to say that athletes and fans need to settle for anything less than their best efforts, but the industry as a whole needs to wake up to the legitimate effects that the training and competing has on these athletes’ psyche. And for Biles, to have had this pressure applied relentlessly to her from childhood for the last many years, it’s just not healthy.
The keyboard warriors and toxic social media scum who criticize Biles for pulling out for mental health reasons calling it some kind of weakness, well… they should be ashamed. I like how one of Biles teammates said it in the post event interviews. I’ll paraphrase but it was something like “We don’t own anyone anything. We’re the ones out here training and sacrificing and our only commitment is to ourselves so we each have to take care of ourselves first”.
What an unexpected dramatic turn of events and I sincerely hope for the best for Biles. She’s gone up a notch in my book for her courage to do this, knowing the criticism that would follow. Thankfully Team USA and a lot of the former Olympians like Michael Phelps (who was open with his own mental health struggles during his Olympic runs) are coming out in full support.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Yeah, like you say, the pressure will have been on her since childhood. I don’t think anyone can really fault her for essentially sussing out that she wasn’t in a good mindset because at the end of the day, she’s got herself to look after. That mindset is how accidents and injuries happen too.
@nessisonett I was suspicious the day before the team final when I heard an interview with Biles where she said she was “concerned about not messing up” or something to that effect. It was an unexpected response from an athlete who is such a huge favorite and has been so dominant in her sport.
I read something once about sports psychology relating to the question as to whether the adrenaline and pressure cooker of competition actually improves or detracts from performance. Essentially, as I understand it, the extra juice of competition gives a natural boon to sports performance that relies merely on a sheer output of a repetitive physical action. So, say, running, weight lifting, etc. But for skill based sports that require precise technique, the extra adrenaline and stress will impede performance and the nerves make for shakier outcomes. Of course the more automatic an action becomes through practice and repetition, the less those nerves will affect competitive performance because it can be done through muscle memory without thinking. Nevertheless, once your head gets working on you in the heat of the moment, it makes you less accurate, less skilled, and worse at your sport. It’s why you see a 90% free throw shooter miss both free throws at the end of a close game.
In the case of Biles, her sport requires an enormous amount of mental concentration, and once the self-doubt crept in, then it became near impossible to overcome.
With some time and relaxation I wonder if she’ll be back in form and ready to compete for the individual events.
Wow, a really interesting Men’s 100m final! In the race for the fastest man on earth, congrats to the Italian speedster! Unfortunate that the British runner false-started and got the DQ. Awesome run for Italy though, nonetheless. And just moments after winning gold in the high jump as well! (Shout out to resident Italian @andreoni79 - haven’t seen them around in a few weeks)
What do you all think of the men’s and women’s mixed relays? I think it’s a really fun addition. I didn’t get to watch the latest track one (I think it was 4 x 400) but I watched the swimming mixed medley relay. I think it adds a fascinating strategy piece to the relays, especially in the medley.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Hey, thanks for shaking me out of apathy... The 100m gold medal was quite a shock being totally unexpected, and watching Tamberi going crazy happy 5 years after his injury was heartbraking.
@Octane what would you expect in a game of 1x1 lol? Id like to see that be an Olympic sport 1v1, max 3 dribbles per possession. Lets find the best basketball player in the world and settle the debates.
@Th3solution I stayed up for the mixed triathlon a couple nights ago and it was absolutely brilliant. I have to say, these mixed relay events have been really really great viewing.
It does make me laugh, how everybody's been surprised by Lamont Marcell Jacobs' performance. The way some of the professional commentators and headline writers have been reeling, you'd think he was the groundskeeper filling in for his sick friend or something. I'm not out to undermine his achievement for himself or his country (quite the opposite; I think I'd be offended if nobody expected me to achieve the target of my professional career) but I guess "man who trained and qualified for 100m Olympics event wins it, more at eleven" wouldn't sell many papers or generate many clicks.
Anyway, huge congratulations to him, and to Italy. Love it when sport isn't a foregone conclusion.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
Still the best in the world at hoops!! Great accomplishment after all the hate they received here in the states for being a team of "B" players minus a few. Proud to be a part of USA basketball. Although, I will say, I look forward to the day we matchup against Luka and Slovenia. I believe he delivers a gold to his country before his time is up.
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