2021 Summer Olympics (Tokyo)

Sadly Britain unable to get another Rugby 7s medal, losing to Argentina in the Bronze medal match.

Argentina definitely deserved Bronze. It looks like they held their own against Fiji way more than GB ever did and had that amazing QF win over South Africa.
 
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Congratulations Fiji! Successful defence of the Rugby 7s title, valiant performance from New Zealand, but outclassed in the end.
 
Mills and Baynes been killing us now :(

Need a big 4th qtr from Mannion and Gallo on offence
 
Brilliant gold for Fiji rugby 7’s!

These guys are hard as nails ….smashed to the ground then get straight back up and running (no screaming, pretending to be hurt in 7’s)
 
They're just too big for us. Oh well
 
Badminton match is pretty entertaining. Never really watched this sport before. Hope this kid can bring home a medal for Ireland.
 
U99ted said:
Congratulations Fiji! Successful defence of the Rugby 7s title, valiant performance from New Zealand, but outclassed in the end.
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Fiji is having a really tough time with Covid and nice to see them have something to cheer. Love watching Fijian rugby teams.
 
Really happy for Roglic. I’m from Slovenia and lately, I guess understandbly, all the buzz was about Pogacar and Roglic was starting to be seen as an afterthought. He deserves this.
 
Brwned said:
Not sure about this one. She said she pulled out because she didn’t feel right after that first performance, and she wanted to protect her mental health. Yet it’s possible that pulling out of her last olympics, for that reason, might do more damage to her mental health in the long run.

Athletes before have talked about how common it is to fall into some kind of depression after the Olympics are over. If you add in a conscious choice to accelerate that process, it could easily intensify it. And it isn’t something you can easily see into the future. It might feel easier for her now and much harder in two weeks. She might think she could have turned it around if she just had more self belief.

Athletes shouldn’t push themselves past their limits but I’m not sure lowering the bar to this extent is helpful either. It is good that she has that choice and support structure though.
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She said she pulled out because her mind isn’t right and she risks doing herself serious physical injury.

I completely understand that, I don’t think people realise how dangerous gymnastics is and the fine margins between perfection and disaster. You have to be fully committed to every single thing you do and do it with a clear focused mind. A yip in most other sports might result in a missed shot, in gymnastics it could result in you landing on your neck from 3m with serious momentum from whatever twist you just executed. I did gymnastics from the ages of 4-12 and got the yips on the vault. This was when it was a pommel horse, length ways with no handles rather than this new shape thing they use now. One time I got my run up wrong and hit the spring board too low and went chest first into the end of it. From then on I just couldn’t get my run up right and never hit the spring board with any confidence and my vaults were dangerous from then on because I was barely clearing the vault and could easily have smashed my back on exit. Obviously that’s just a child doing low level gymnastics but the stakes are increased magnitudes with the level of difficulty, speed and power they achieve.
 
Pexbo said:
She said she pulled out because her mind isn’t right and she risks doing herself serious physical injury.

I completely understand that, I don’t think people realise how dangerous gymnastics is and the fine margins between perfection and disaster. You have to be fully committed to every single thing you do and do it with a clear focused mind. A yip in most other sports might result in a missed shot, in gymnastics it could result in you landing on your neck from 3m with serious momentum from whatever twist you just executed. I did gymnastics from the ages of 4-12 and got the yips on the vault. This was when it was a pommel horse, length ways with no handles rather than this new shape thing they use now. One time I got my run up wrong and hit the spring board too low and went chest first into the end of it. From then on I just couldn’t get my run up right and never hit the spring board with any confidence and my vaults were dangerous from then on because I was barely clearing the vault and could easily have smashed my back on exit. Obviously that’s just a child doing low level gymnastics but the stakes are increased magnitudes with the level of difficulty, speed and power they achieve.
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I used to know a gym coach when I worked at the NSC Crystal Palace and he said the retirement rate for young gymnasts was mental( pardon the use of the word). He refused to let his own daughter go into it but she became an international tri athlete instead.

Did you have similar knowledge of kids giving up because of injury and psychological burn out?
 
narnar said:
Dressage seems so peculiar a sport.
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Can someone explain to me how you get a horse to do that?

Like I know they're smart but how do you even let a horse know you need it do those exact movements? Little hops and stuff. A horse can't understand that.
 
Inigo Montoya said:
Not if you're an equestrian
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or if your a horse. The Simone Biles situation. It must also be awful competing for an association who stood by a let someone sexually abuse young gymnasts on an horrific volume. They were also saying on the radio just now about how yesterday the camera was never off her even when she had withdrawn. These athletes just love competing in sports, most do not do it for the publicity. Films stars, pop stars expect it.
 
Solius said:
Can someone explain to me how you get a horse to do that?

Like I know they're smart but how do you even let a horse know you need it do those exact movements? Little hops and stuff. A horse can't understand that.
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You have to communicate using horse code.
 
Solius said:
Can someone explain to me how you get a horse to do that?

Like I know they're smart but how do you even let a horse know you need it do those exact movements? Little hops and stuff. A horse can't understand that.
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Isn't it something to do with the reins, they say they do not rehearse a routine with the horse as it can anticipate and then make a mistake, they practice each move randomly.
 
Solius said:
Can someone explain to me how you get a horse to do that?

Like I know they're smart but how do you even let a horse know you need it do those exact movements? Little hops and stuff. A horse can't understand that.
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One day a really camp horse just started doing it. It trained the next generation and so on.
 
DomesticTadpole said:
or if your a horse. The Simone Biles situation. It must also be awful competing for an association who stood by a let someone sexually abuse young gymnasts on an horrific volume. They were also saying on the radio just now about how yesterday the camera was never off her even when she had withdrawn. These athletes just love competing in sports, most do not do it for the publicity. Films stars, pop stars expect it.
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That's the thing about the Olympics, it gives a chance for sports such as; Gymnastics, swimming, sailing etc to shine on the world stage and on TV.

Biles has transcended that and is one of the faces of sport globally, and one of the most recognisable women in the world. I doubt if USA gymnastics ever prepared her or their other sportspeople for that.
 
Solius said:
Can someone explain to me how you get a horse to do that?

Like I know they're smart but how do you even let a horse know you need it do those exact movements? Little hops and stuff. A horse can't understand that.
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'DO it or else it's the abattoir!'
 
Inigo Montoya said:
That's the thing about the Olympics, it gives a chance for sports such as; Gymnastics, swimming, sailing etc to shine on the world stage and on TV.

Biles has transcended that and is one of the faces of sport globally, and one of the most recognisable women in the world. I doubt if USA gymnastics ever prepared her or their other sportspeople for that.
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They won't have done and yet it's what she gets and likely doesn't want.
 
Solius said:
Can someone explain to me how you get a horse to do that?

Like I know they're smart but how do you even let a horse know you need it do those exact movements? Little hops and stuff. A horse can't understand that.
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Stick and carrot. And a lot of stick. It's animal torture dressed up like a sport.
 
Solius said:
Can someone explain to me how you get a horse to do that?

Like I know they're smart but how do you even let a horse know you need it do those exact movements? Little hops and stuff. A horse can't understand that.
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Most of the stuff in dressage is based on natural movements - especially on the way stallions behave, when they're showing off.
There are different cues consisting of the rider's legs, weight distribution and reins for every movement that encourage the horse to do it. In training it's basically a matter of rewarding the horse every time it comes close to what you want it to do and because horses learn quickly, it gets closer and closer until you get the exact movements.
 
Kubo is killing it for Japan. 3 goals so far in the group stages. I wonder if he'll get some playtime for Real this season?
 
Dressage immediately brings out the class resentment in me. Of all the sports it is the one that screams upper class privilege to me.
 
Bobski said:
Dressage immediately brings out the class resentment in me. Of all the sports it is the one that screams upper class privilege to me.
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What and you think it's cheap in the UK to take up sports like: tennis,rowing,sailing without the middle class privilege?

In other countries it'd be about money but here we scream upper class privilege?

On the flip side, I taught a kid who competed in dressage, and hopes to go to the Olympics. Maybe she was an exception but she was not from a 'posh' family. The family gave up a lot for her to compete; like foreign holidays etc.
 
DomesticTadpole said:
Probably not, which is criminal.
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Well it's coming home to roost now, isn't it? Big time!

The thing is we're not hearing anything about similar abuses in places like China and Russia. I think the penalty for whistle blowing over there is far worse than anything we can comprehend
 
Inigo Montoya said:
What and you think it's cheap in the UK to take up sports like: tennis,rowing,sailing without the middle class privilege?

In other countries it'd be about money but here we scream upper class privilege?

On the flip side, I taught a kid who competed in dressage, and hopes to go to the Olympics. Maybe she was an exception but she was not from a 'posh' family. The family gave up a lot for her to compete; like foreign holidays etc.
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From what I know of our dressage athletes, most of them aren’t super posh. Middle class probably, sure, but as you point out I think that can be the case with lots of the sports with high equipment or travel costs.
 
Inigo Montoya said:
I used to know a gym coach when I worked at the NSC Crystal Palace and he said the retirement rate for young gymnasts was mental( pardon the use of the word). He refused to let his own daughter go into it but she became an international tri athlete instead.

Did you have similar knowledge of kids giving up because of injury and psychological burn out?
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I never really thought about it to be honest, from memory though it’s the kids who were the bravest that progressed furthest rather than the ones with the physical assets. It’s a bit like skating or snow boarding or any sport like that, you get some people who will just throw themselves into whatever and don’t even think about getting hurt. I wasn’t one of those kids and didn’t have it in me to progress to the next level, the coaches quickly get bored of you then and move on to the next kid who shows some potential. I got bored and wanted to play football instead. It was a huge commitment, something like 15 hours a week at one point.
 
Agent Red said:
From what I know of our dressage athletes, most of them aren’t super posh. Middle class probably, sure, but as you point out I think that can be the case with lots of the sports with high equipment or travel costs.
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I think we get hung up on class here in the UK. A lot of our athletes depend on the Sports funding, which in turn depends on results.

I can't afford for my son to do rowing which he expresses an interest in because the nearest club that has a junior club is in the next county! We can't afford the time for all the travel etc.

Oddly enough, there are more stables around here and he could do show jumping if he chose...but then I'd have to hire a horse as I can't afford to keep one. You can see why so many kids find it easy to get into football, rugby even swimming.
 
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