LOL. And we can even see Russia now!

And we really did get a medal today, by the way. Bronze in synchro diving.

Mendalla

Synchro diving? That's a sport now?? I thought it had been in synchro swimming.

Hopefully we'll soon start winning some medals in what I consider to be real sports.

It was also a record for medals in consecutive olympics!  It's been a sport for quite a while, Jae.

There is competition for medals in many events at the olympics.  Some people question if some fall into the definition of sports.  What do you consider a 'real' olympic sport?  

Seelerboy once said that he required a winner that could be determined objectively - somebody jumped higher, ran faster; a feam scored the most goals, an archer was closest to the bullseye.  He wouldn't include any sport that was judged on artistic performance or (as he called it) who had the best smile at the finish. 

He has since relented somewhat. 

Me, I think I"d go for athletic ability.  Syncro swimming, gymnastics, (or in winter figure skating) certainly require strength, percision, balance, coordination  - as well as a pretty smile.

Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel could crush you like a pop can, and do it simultaneously so your bruises would be completely symmetrical. Same with the entire synchro swim team, each of whom could wipe the floor with you, literally without breathing for the entire duration. These are all remarkable athletes. But, of course you knew that. You're just being a twit.

There are sports where speed and strength and endurance are not required in abundant supply, and could be argued to not relate to the Olympic motto of "Faster, Higher, Stronger". You chose two sports that require remarkable strength and speed and endurance.

We must add that Emilie is now one of our most successful Olympians, having won medals at four consecutive games, the only woman diver to have done so and the only Canadian summer athlete in any event to have done so (Clara Hughes has won over several Olympics as well but does both Winter and Summer). She has a silver (2000) and 2 bronzes (2004 & 2012) in synchro, each time with a different partner, and a silver in individual 10m platform (2008). Oddly, I thought her Chinese rival Wu Minxia would be up to four Olympics as well, but apparently she didn't start until 2004 making London her third.

So, cut the snark Jae and celebrate one of this country's top Olympic athletes.

Mendalla

I agree with Seelerboy's earlier position.

I never said they couldn't. I'm sure they are physically capable of doing so. They may not be morally capable of doing so. 

Agreed that the activities require speed, strength, and endurance. There are many things that require speed, strength, and endurance but are not sports. Synchronized diving is as much a sport as tap dancing is imho.

Rich blessings.

I congratulate the divers on their achievement.

Where do you get off judging an Olympian's morals, jae. You need a life.

Huh? What's your problem crazyheart?

What I basically said is that the Olympic athletes may not be morally capable of beating me up. That is to say that they may refrain from beating me up because they think doing so immoral. There is no question in my mind that they have the physical strength to cause me harm, however I would hope they would have the moral strength to choose otherwise.

And you object to this because...?

Rich blessings. 

Jae, are you aware that when you post stuff like this...

...That it isn't funny, and it only has the effect of making anyone within earshot want to punch you?

Sometimes I wonder if you think you're being clever or witty, or if you're intentionally pissing people off.

I'm not going to defend these sports against your objections any more, because I have no reason to believe that you'd recognize a sport if it hit you in the jewels. Suffice to say that the rest of the country is quite proud of our athletes like Emilie and Jennifer, and recognize the training and work they put into these dives.

Some of those women have no necks...

Pretty impressive stuff, at the height of humanity :3

I like your descriptions, chansen (and your public lusts for MC jae); MC jae, I'm glad WC is here so that you can learn the proper way to take the piss.

I congratulate Jennifer and Emilie on their achievement.

So, jae, I assume you also dismiss figure skating and the achievements of people like Elvis Stojko as well?

Synchro diving actually requires a fair bit of skill in my books. Keeping yourself moving in perfect sync with your partner while falling at high speed from a tower. If that's not athletic, I don't know what is.

Now, don't get me started on the equestrian events (dressage, show-jumping, etc.). IMHO, it should be horse getting the medal since they do most of the work and take as much of the risks (and this year has been  a bad year for spills already) as the riders but since horses quite wisely don't care about medals, perhaps we should just retire the sport entirely. Not to mention it's basically the pet sport of the Western (largely English and English-speaking nations) aristocracies and many other parts of the world only participate in it at all because it's an Olympic sport, not because anyone in that culture really cares. Witness that it's the only Olympic event in which members of the British royal family have competed (Princess Anne in '76 and her daughter this year). I believe it's also one of the Queen's favorite events.

In the end, we can probably all pick events in the Olympics that we don't like or object to on some level and would rather see out of the Games. However, that's the decision of the IOC (a clique if there ever was one) and as long as the events are in the games, I'm going to accept and honour the winners of them.

Mendalla

Bronze in syncro swimming and Judo

Mendalla

I agree with you Mendalla, but I love equestrian events... I wouldn't be sorry if they were no longer Olympic events, though, as I don't think that they fully embody what I see the Games to be about.  I live near enough to Spruce Meadows that I can see all the horse jumping I can handle this summer!

Update to CH's update:

We've added another bronze in Women's 53kg Weightlifting today.

And a correction: it was synchro diving again, not synchro swimming.

So that's three bronzes so far today and four total since the Olympics began.

Mendalla

I just came back to change it to diving. Thanks Mendalla. Notice how many are from Quebec?

By the way, are we ( collective) being fair to the young Chines swimmer? Any ideas or thoughts?

If Quebec ever does separate and starts competing as a nation of their own, our Olympic results are going to be affected. A lot of our top athletes are Quebecois. Just think how different our results in diving over the last decade would have been without Despatie and Heymans. Not a reason to hang on to them if they really want to bail on us, but something we'll definitely notice if it happens.

Mendalla

Innocent until proven guilty, but this result is completely freakish, and out of left field. I mean, a final leg faster than the fastest of the men in the same event? Historically, when this sort of thing happens, it's the result of drugs, so I can understand the cynicism.

Haven't seen the race but some of my colleagues were discussing it at lunch. Even if she's cleared, there'll likely be some suspicion that it's a new doping technique that WADA just hasn't found a test for, yet. The battle they're fighting is rather like my profession's battle with viruses and hackers. The techniques are always just far enough ahead of the enforcers to mean someone's going to get away with it somehow.

"Read" (well, listened to) an s-f story not long ago that revolved around a future Games where, basically, it was accepted that people are going to try to boost their capabilities and it was worked into the system. Records listed based on what enhancements were used and that sort of thing.

Mendalla

I don't consider figure skating to be a sport. I do congratulate Elvis Stojko on his achievements.

I'm sure it does take a lot of skill. So does plate twirling.

At least with the horse jumping there's the question of did the horse successfully jump over the obstacles or not.

Rich blessings.

Excellent, now there's something I consider to be a sport. Congratuations to Canada's bronze medal winner!!!

Some people did not think curling should be in Winter Olympics. I would suggest that now hockey and curling are two of the most watched sports in Winter Olympics.

I think that the hockey at the Winter Olympics should be not be played by pro hockey players

And curling is a skill-intensive sport -- a perfect sport for Canada -- subtle and patient

Update: silver in men's eights rowing this morning.

On hockey - the problem ultimately lies with the definition of pros. During the period when pros weren't allowed, the old Soviet Union used "amateur" players who were given commissions of various sorts in the Red Army. They weren't being paid to play hockey, so were considered amateurs, but put in as much as time as any NHL'er. Letting the NHL in simply levelled the playing field. Notice how Russia's domination of Olympic hockey faded fast once other countries, including us and USA, could field pros? Of course, with the fall of Soviet Union, Russians could start coming over to play in the NHL and I think they have a pro league at home now, too, so they are now able to field, quite legitimately, their own pro players. So, if we can put in rules to ensure that the "amateurs" really are "amateur" and not pros in disguise, then by all means go back to that Olympic ideal. Of course, are our Junior A's legitimately "amateur" given that they get stipends to cover costs and sometimes are already drafted by the NHL? It may simply be that to have a Olympic tournament that includes the best of the best, we may have no choice but to stick to allowing the pros in.

Mendalla

Mandella - that's true of hockey.  But thinking of other sports, weren't the rules of amateurs only put in to keep out the rift-raft (those poor people who have to work for a living).  

Only the wealthy could afford to spend time perfecting their sport, while the majority had to earn a living.  My son, who did a masters' thesis on this, could argue this much better than I can.  - apparently at one time an amateur hockey team from the Martimes earned the right to represent Canada. But some of the players were working men.  They couldn't afford to take the time off to attend the games, even though the rules said that their expenses could be covered.  They asked if their families could be taken care of during that time - and were immediately disqualified for even asking for money.

Another time a member of a yachting team was discovered to have worked on a ccommercial ship rather than spending his leisure perfecting his yachting skills - disqualified. 

I for one, am glad that the distinction between amateur and professional has been lifted.  It doesn't exactly even the playing field, but it does give us a chance to some working men and women.

Seeler, I'm confused.  Professional athletes get paid for playing their sport.  Wouldn't the rule of no professionals make it easier for those who have to work to make it to the Olympics?

Overall, I agree that everyone should be allowed in.  There are athletes who avoided going pro when they should have, simply because they wanted to compete at the Olympics.  I think there were even a few who managed to flip-flop their professional status.

I think Clara Hughes deserves some congratulations!  Coming in 5th after breaking a vertebrae counts as winning in my opinion!  Especially with the great attitude she has.

And, to be honest, even the sports that are still technically mostly amateur can be pretty lucrative. I mean, track athletes may not get paid huge salaries the way basketball or hockey players do but sponsorship contracts and, for the really big guns like Bolt, appearance fees do add up. Not to mention governments and/or corporate sponsors paying incentives to medal winners and paying for training costs.

Mendalla

How can you not celebrate that?

Leave it to Jae to find a way.

With the career she's had, she has nothing to be ashamed of and lots to be proud of. There aren't many athletes good enough to rack up medals at both Summer and Winter Games at the rate Clara has. Hope she can land a good post-competitive career in broadcasting, or coaching, or something. In fact, if there are any Senate seats open, I'd urge Harper to appoint her. She needs the rest .

Mendalla

That is neat Jae. How did you do it?

It's an animated GIF image (an older standard than the JPG you commonly find on the Internet). Very old school. He probably picked up in an image library somewhere.

Mendalla

I've come to recognize that there really is no such thing is an amateur Olympian any more - and, honestly, I'm kind of glad about that. I like knowing that these athletes are truly the best of the best.

Quebec may be home for many of our Olympians, but I've also noticed that BC has a disproportionate number of Olympians - apparently approximately 40% of the team were either born here or train here. This includes the entire rowing team - I've been past their training facility thrice in the past week.

Yes, that's right. 

Gold this morning in trampoline.

Congratulations Rosie MacLennan!!! You made your Gramps proud!!!

Trampoline -- as of this year my favourite Olympic event.

And, amazingly, I saw it live on CTV. First time I've actually had time to just sit and watch the coverage.For me, who am rather acrophobic, seeing how high they go when they're first building up steam is rather scary, esp. the really good ones like the Canadians and Chinese.

Missed Cochrane's swim, though, until the evening re-runs. He probably would have been in contention for gold against anyone other than Sun Yang. Of course, since I also cheer for China, I'm quite cool with the final result. Ditto on the trampoline (1 Canadian, 2 Chinese).

Mendalla