Olympinonsense

[Old Grumpy]

I think the serious French newspapers have said much the same about every defeat since Crecy haven't they?

The French may not have been entirely happy had they won the 2012 Olympic bid.

See here regarding Le Foot in 2016

[scottycelt]

which clown scotty?

I see the headline has now mysteriously changed from 'Cameron' to 'Britain' ... maybe Cleggie had a quiet word with the BBC instead?

[JohnSkelton]

Well John, since he has now won 6 Gold Medals as an Olympian, I don't think you need our assistance in the identification of that supreme sportsman.

Think what you like, John, but I don't know who he is. I shall Google






Oh that's who he is. But I've no interest in cycling as a sport and simply because he cycles at Olympic Games don't see why that should change. From a further rapid Google Team GB appear to have cornered the market in medals in sports which previous to the Olympic Games most of the people getting excited about the medals barely knew existed. So I'm like, whatever.

The Olympic football seemed a bit daft so I didn't bother and cricket isn't in the Olympics. Otherwise - I'm like, whatever. Oh I just said that.

But if Christopher Hoy makes you happy that's cool .

[Lateralthinking1]

Lats, I think you've got hold of the wrong end of the stick here.

The judoka in question was standing in the crowd behind the man who threw the bottle and she says she hit him on the back with her flat hand after he had thrown it. This drew security's/police's attention to him & he was dragged from the crowd and down the competitors' tunnel. If anyone 'beat' him it was likely to have been the police/security.

It is easy with hindsight to dismiss the throwing of a plastic bottle but at the time it must have been quite alarming.

Ams, I respect your opinions but I don't agree with you on this one.

Professional sport as sacrosanct: Frequently things occur in the professional sporting arena that do not lead to arrest when they would lead to arrest if they occurred anywhere else, ie Nalbandian smashing his racket and a linesman requiring several stitches. Had that occurred on a street, had it even occurred in a local tennis club full of unknown people, the defence that the injury wasn't intended would not have been accepted and to use the jargon there would have been zero tolerance.

Gender: Had it been a 17 stone male weightlifter from Kazakhstan who had "hit" or "beaten" him, general attitudes would have been a little different. As it is, this is conveniently the feisty have-a-go woman - you can almost see an inference of "the little woman" in the story Coe presents - when it is really a vigorously trained athlete versus a stumbling drunk. Coe says he is against vigilantes and then for his own purposes is full of praise. That shows how those in authority truly view intervention of this kind.

Mob rule: The crowd cheered so Coe was onto a winner. The arrest was made, not because he was a danger according to the participants, most of whom hadn't noticed it, but because the crime of potentially creating a national embarrassment had been committed. Even when the mob is perceived as not being on side, there is more tolerance than in respect of incoherent individuals. Witness the homeless being arrested and yet hundreds of drunks creating havoc every Saturday on every high street.

Acceptability of physical aggression: Physical aggression is now deemed to be more acceptable than name calling or moderate disruption and often an acceptable response to both. While it might be more justifiable where it is a response rather than unprovoked, and while mitigating factors for physical aggression should be taken into account more than they are generally, it is not to me reasonable for people of sound body and mind to lash out just because they have decided almost to be the police.

Intolerance of protest: The incident might be seen in the light of the clampdown on legitimate protest in London during the Olympics. Security has been used as an excuse to prohibit that form of expression. We know that because the biggest fear has been of a cyber attack. Had there not been that policy, he might have been on a demo, that is if he is political at all.

Guilty before court hearing: The individual who has been arrested has denied that he threw the bottle and no film of the incident in the stands has been shown but the decision has virtually been made by the media with politicians' endorsement.

[John Wright]

Think what you like, John,

Oi, that's a bit rude. I'm just trying to be helpful, you DID ask a question !

but I don't know who he is. I shall Google

Oh that's who he is. But I've no interest in cycling as a sport and simply because he cycles at Olympic Games don't see why that should change .....So I'm like, whatever.

You are more than 'whatever', you asked who he was (OK sarcastically) and then you did google because I said he had won 6 medals. So, 6 medals was deemed worthy of investigation

But if Christopher Hoy makes you happy that's cool .

More than happy, I'm, well, very impressed and happy for him.

[John Wright]

The individual who has been arrested has denied that he threw the bottle and no film of the incident in the stands has been shown but the decision has virtually been made by the media with politicians' endorsement.

Lat, he can make that claim if there is no video evidence, but witness statements may be accepted, and held against him. There is a photo of an official holding the bottle in 'forensic exhibit mode', so hopefully the fingerprints will prove the assailant lied, and that will then be another offence to be charged with.

You have made no consideration of possible events if the drunk had not been apprehended by the quick-thinking woman. He posed no further threat to the sprinters who were probably 50 meters away by that time, but he may have then become upset at failing to stop the race and reacted unpredictably.

And we don't know your reaction had the race been interrupted.

[Lateralthinking1]

Lat, he can make that claim if there is no video evidence, but witness statements may be accepted, and held against him. There is a photo of an official holding the bottle in 'forensic exhibit mode', so hopefully the fingerprints will prove the assailant lied, and that will then be another offence to be charged with.

You have made no consideration of possible events if the drunk had not been apprehended by the quick-thinking woman. He posed no further threat to the sprinters who were probably 50 meters away by that time, but he may have then become upset at failing to stop the race and reacted unpredictably.

And we don't know your reaction had the race been interrupted.

JohnW - He may well have lied - I fully accept that - but we don't know yet. I think the latter is a crucial point.

Here are a couple of scenarios. You JohnW are today as you were physically when aged 30. You are either (a) walking along a street or (b) sitting watching football in a Premiership stadium. Very close to you, a man who is obviously drunk, shouts over a period of say 45 seconds and then throws a plastic water bottle. The bottle might have hit somebody but it doesn't. In the former case, traffic is not disrupted and in the latter it doesn't interfere with the game.

In each scenario, you leap on top of him, not merely pinning him down, but risking him injury as he falls and you then hit him on the back. Were you right to intervene, is it proportionate force, and would the police rightfully support your actions? In each case, I would argue "no". It isn't a citizens' arrest, you might have got the wrong person, you went beyond what was required by hitting him. You say you were angry and did what you could. It turns out that you are also an expert in a sport of controlled aggression. It might appear that anger got the better of you.

As for what happened in Stratford, had the race been interrupted, it would have had to have been restarted, just as races are restarted if someone jumps the gun. It would have been no big deal. He should have been removed from the stadium. She shouldn't have done anything other than report him, if indeed that was necessary given that the place is heaving with security people and cameras, but as she said she wanted to see the race. Appropriate action would have meant her missing it.

[scottycelt]

... and cricket isn't in the Olympics.

This is the worldwide Olympics not a boozy Sunday on an English village green ...

Apparently golf will return in Rio.

[JohnSkelton]

This is the worldwide Olympics not a boozy Sunday on an English village green ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VOGoiaZlX8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKVdAwsyYxM

Apparently golf will return in Rio.

Let me guess - they''ll destroy a couple of rainforests to build the course then claim the thing is environmentally sustainable, encourages biodiversity, and is an example of the IOC's commitment to the planet's future?

[Northender]

I enjoyed the Australian satirists whose work was briefly sampled on today's 'Today'. Lamenting their lack of success:
"I mean, who would have expected non-swimming countries like France to send swimmers to the Games. What's that all about? I tell yer, mate, the rule-book's been shredded"
In contrasting mood, 'Today' has now moved on to a discussion of Yorkshire's impressive medal haul.

[Flosshilde]

Let me guess - they''ll destroy a couple of rainforests to build the course then claim the thing is environmentally sustainable, encourages biodiversity, and is an example of the IOC's commitment to the planet's future?

& then complain because someone wants to build an off-shore windfarm?

[Flosshilde]

I enjoyed the Australian satirists whose work was briefly sampled on today's 'Today'. Lamenting their lack of success:
"I mean, who would have expected non-swimming countries like France to send swimmers to the Games. What's that all about? I tell yer, mate, the rule-book's been shredded"
In contrasting mood, 'Today' has now moved on to a discussion of Yorkshire's impressive medal haul.

[johncorrigan]

This is the worldwide Olympics not a boozy Sunday on an English village green ...

Apparently golf will return in Rio.

The question I would ask of any sports person is 'what would you rather win?'
Would Andy Murray rather have a grand slam than an Olympics Medal? I can't answer for Andy but I suspect he would rather have a slam.

Would any member of the Team GB footy crew rather have a World Cup, Euro, Champions League than an Olympic Medal? I suspect the answer would be yes. I suspect the answer will be the same for Golf.
These sports take our attention from the sports where people have trained only for the olympics, because that is the biggest moment in their sport - weightlifting, judo, gymnasties etc - they'll take an Olympic medal before all else, I suspect, and I'm sure any of the athletes in the stadium would take an Olympics medal before a world championship gong. I'm not against the 'big sports' per se - I love watching footie, tennis etc but I just don't think the Olympics is the place for them. I think Golf in the Limpicks is just ridiculous - shank it into the long grass.

[mangerton]

I think Golf in the Limpicks is just ridiculous - shank it into the long grass.

I think you're absolutely right. Neither the golfers nor the golf commentators - nor indeed the spectators - have the remotest clue how to comport themselves at limpick games.

They'll need to learn how to shout, scream, burst into tears, and ask inane questions.

[alywin]

"I mean, who would have expected non-swimming countries like France to send swimmers to the Games. What's that all about? I tell yer, mate, the rule-book's been shredded"

If that actually reflects the views of average Australians, all I can say is that they haven't been paying attention :)

The question I would ask of any sports person is 'what would you rather win?'
Would Andy Murray rather have a grand slam than an Olympics Medal? I can't answer for Andy but I suspect he would rather have a slam.

I suspect that Murray will regard his gold medal as absolutely equal to any Grand Slams he may win in the future (and I'm sure he will).

It's taken a while for tennis to settle into the Olympics, but watching Del Potro and Federer slug it out in the longest-ever 3-set match (nearly 4 1/2 hours) to qualify for the final last Friday is, I think, an indication of just how important both players feel the Olympics are. I am very glad that both got rewarded with medals - Del Potro really didn't deserve to go away empty-handed after that titanic struggle.

I don't really see golf as an Olympic sport, though ...