Olympics All Format Spoiler Thread

rick_chasey

Pross said:

That crash seemed to really take it out of Laura, you don"t see her mess up the elimination race like that. From the interview it sounded like she was half on the plane home after the Madison. Not quite sure why she decided to go hard for the final sprint, it doesn't feel right to get involved and potentially affect the medal positions. Not sure why Wild didn't get relegated, dropping down for no reason onto the Japanese rider and forcing here to crash.

GB still top of the track cycling medal table. So much for the 'Vikings' who finished well below the Kenny family. 😉

Easy to forget Denmark is roughly 11x smaller than the UK

Pross

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

That crash seemed to really take it out of Laura, you don"t see her mess up the elimination race like that. From the interview it sounded like she was half on the plane home after the Madison. Not quite sure why she decided to go hard for the final sprint, it doesn't feel right to get involved and potentially affect the medal positions. Not sure why Wild didn't get relegated, dropping down for no reason onto the Japanese rider and forcing here to crash.

GB still top of the track cycling medal table. So much for the 'Vikings' who finished well below the Kenny family. 😉

Easy to forget Denmark is roughly 11x smaller than the UK

Finished well ahead of China, India and the USA then too if we're going down that route. I'm genuinely surprised to top the track cycling table as it really felt like a much poorer performance than the last 3 Olympics.

The overall medal table was a bit of a surprise, equalling the tally from London and 2 down on Rio but a bit lighter on golds. Felt like a wider spread this time too with rowing underperforming. Challenge for Paris is to upgrade some of the silvers and bronzes.

elbowloh

Plus medals in the BMX and MTB.

No_Ta_Doctor

Pross said:

That crash seemed to really take it out of Laura, you don"t see her mess up the elimination race like that. From the interview it sounded like she was half on the plane home after the Madison. Not quite sure why she decided to go hard for the final sprint, it doesn't feel right to get involved and potentially affect the medal positions. Not sure why Wild didn't get relegated, dropping down for no reason onto the Japanese rider and forcing here to crash.

GB still top of the track cycling medal table. So much for the 'Vikings' who finished well below the Kenny family. 😉

These things may be connected... 😉

Pross

It came as a bit of a surprise to come downstairs, turn the TV on and see Jason Kenny in that final. I thought he'd been eliminated in one of the early rounds. He rode it the only way he could get the win I think as he has been down on sprint speed. Still takes some talent and a bit of luck to execute it, drawing 1 and then having the Aussie who didn't seem to fancy his chances in 2 provided that bit of luck he needed.

rick_chasey

Always wondered what events Russia are winning medals in as I never see any of them

neonriver

Pross said:

It came as a bit of a surprise to come downstairs, turn the TV on and see Jason Kenny in that final. I thought he'd been eliminated in one of the early rounds. He rode it the only way he could get the win I think as he has been down on sprint speed. Still takes some talent and a bit of luck to execute it, drawing 1 and then having the Aussie who didn't seem to fancy his chances in 2 provided that bit of luck he needed.

Everyone seems to be blaming Glaetzer but the rest were happy to be towed by him for 2 laps as Jason was riding away!

rick_chasey

Netherlands ahead of France Germany & Italy

JimD666

Frankly I'd expected to come down to a Silver or Bronze from Carlin (Lavreysen winning the Gold), with Kenny having being eliminated in the semifinals. Honestly thought the extra year was working against Mr Kenny. Delighted to be wrong

TheBigBean

rick_chasey said:

Always wondered what events Russia are winning medals in as I never see any of them

Click on them and see. 4 golds in wrestling.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/ng-interactive/2021/aug/06/tokyo-2020-olympics-full-medal-table

Pross

neonriver said:

Pross said:

It came as a bit of a surprise to come downstairs, turn the TV on and see Jason Kenny in that final. I thought he'd been eliminated in one of the early rounds. He rode it the only way he could get the win I think as he has been down on sprint speed. Still takes some talent and a bit of luck to execute it, drawing 1 and then having the Aussie who didn't seem to fancy his chances in 2 provided that bit of luck he needed.

Everyone seems to be blaming Glaetzer but the rest were happy to be towed by him for 2 laps as Jason was riding away!

I'm certainly not blaming him. If he had tried to close the others would have come over him and given Kenny's form over the week I can certainly understand him thinking the main threat was from behind. Trying to get the others to do the chasing work was the right tactic for him from wheel 2. It was an event for rolling back the years with Awang taking silver.

No_Ta_Doctor

As for the Danish track cycling... We took 7 riders in total and all but Julius Johansen (unused TP rider) came back with a medal. They rode 5 events in all, only failing to get on the podium in both men's and women's omnium (5th and 4th respectively). The TP result was a bit of a disappointment, particularly as I'm fairly sure they were faster the day before. All in all a very successful games, but I don't see DK taking the overall track throne quite yet 😅

tailwindhome

Watching the women's omnium highlights now

Scratch race incredibly boring then crash chaos.

Pross

The tempo race surprises me, if you take a lap why not sit 5-10m off the back for as long as possible before finally making the catch? OK you don't get the full benefit of the drafting but you still get a fair bit of protection. Even more surprising are the riders who complete taking a lap just before the sprint in the points race or Madison. Only once did I see a rider just hold back for an extra few metres to get the maximum points and the lap.

he GB men in the Madison made some odd changes too, switching just as the sprint for points was starting which I'm sure lost them a few points.

No_Ta_Doctor

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

tailwindhome

Slightly off topic.

Whatever happened to the Colombian rider Gaviria?

There was a time he looked like he'd be a star

DeVlaeminck

rick_chasey said:

Always wondered what events Russia are winning medals in as I never see any of them

Women's high jump was one - quite exciting competition in the end.

First.Aspect

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

That crash seemed to really take it out of Laura, you don"t see her mess up the elimination race like that. From the interview it sounded like she was half on the plane home after the Madison. Not quite sure why she decided to go hard for the final sprint, it doesn't feel right to get involved and potentially affect the medal positions. Not sure why Wild didn't get relegated, dropping down for no reason onto the Japanese rider and forcing here to crash.

GB still top of the track cycling medal table. So much for the 'Vikings' who finished well below the Kenny family. 😉

Easy to forget Denmark is roughly 11x smaller than the UK

And reflected by GB finishing 4th and Denmark 23rd. NZ and AUS both did very well, possibly reflecting how they have handled covid?

The medals table is a tetra-annual national vanity contest though, that costs an 8 figure sum. It takes a certain national maturity not to get dragged into it.

blazing_saddles

neonriver said:

Pross said:

It came as a bit of a surprise to come downstairs, turn the TV on and see Jason Kenny in that final. I thought he'd been eliminated in one of the early rounds. He rode it the only way he could get the win I think as he has been down on sprint speed. Still takes some talent and a bit of luck to execute it, drawing 1 and then having the Aussie who didn't seem to fancy his chances in 2 provided that bit of luck he needed.

Everyone seems to be blaming Glaetzer but the rest were happy to be towed by him for 2 laps as Jason was riding away!

That's not just harsh, but plain wrong.

Glaetzer did exactly what everyone does and let a gap go out so that he had room to accelerate: standard practice.
What wasn't standard practice was for Kenny to hit the gas, even before the derny had pulled off.
If Glaetzer had then chased, with the rest of the field on his wheel, it would have been suicide.

That final was an exact replica of a successful late attack on the road.

focuszing723

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

That's good going, GB did much better than I thought they would, given the start we had.


Rowing not so good.

blazing_saddles

focuszing723 said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

That's good going, GB did much better than I thought they would, given the start we had.


Rowing not so good.

It's better than I expected, but still a big drop off from Rio.



Supplemented by the BMX, which despite being a different discipline, helps the overall look, I suppose.

Steve Trapmore and his new-look coaching team seem to have steered Britain's rowers in the wrong direction.

First.Aspect

focuszing723 said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

That's good going, GB did much better than I thought they would, given the start we had.


Rowing not so good.

Most amount of lottery funding of any GB olympic sport.

I gave a few reasons why earlier in the thread, including a focus on outright power like the US, who aren't even on that table.

It doesn't help having an Australian ex-triathlon coach in charge who thinks boat selection by committee is a cunning plan that no one else in the world has thought of. Most worrying interview of the Olympics was him giving a few excuses and explaining that they would look at what the other teams were doing and copy them.

Surest way to finish second is to follow someone.

focuszing723

First.Aspect said:

focuszing723 said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

That's good going, GB did much better than I thought they would, given the start we had.


Rowing not so good.

Most amount of lottery funding of any GB olympic sport.

I gave a few reasons why earlier in the thread, including a focus on outright power like the US, who aren't even on that table.

It doesn't help having an Australian ex-triathlon coach in charge who thinks boat selection by committee is a cunning plan that no one else in the world has thought of. Most worrying interview of the Olympics was him giving a few excuses and explaining that they would look at what the other teams were doing and copy them.

Surest way to finish second is to follow someone.

That's a fair point.

RichN95.

blazing_saddles said:

That's not just harsh, but plain wrong.

Glaetzer did exactly what everyone does and let a gap go out so that he had room to accelerate: standard practice.
What wasn't standard practice was for Kenny to hit the gas, even before the derny had pulled off.
If Glaetzer had then chased, with the rest of the field on his wheel, it would have been suicide.

That final was an exact replica of a successful late attack on the road.

Sure it's OK to leave a gap, but that one was so large they were going to bring out the man with the blackboard

DeVlaeminck

First.Aspect said:

focuszing723 said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

That's good going, GB did much better than I thought they would, given the start we had.


Rowing not so good.

Most amount of lottery funding of any GB olympic sport.

I gave a few reasons why earlier in the thread, including a focus on outright power like the US, who aren't even on that table.

It doesn't help having an Australian ex-triathlon coach in charge who thinks boat selection by committee is a cunning plan that no one else in the world has thought of. Most worrying interview of the Olympics was him giving a few excuses and explaining that they would look at what the other teams were doing and copy them.

Surest way to finish second is to follow someone.

I don't disagree with you but has he been in charge long enough to take full blame for the under performance ?

bobmcstuff

RichN95. said:

blazing_saddles said:

That's not just harsh, but plain wrong.

Glaetzer did exactly what everyone does and let a gap go out so that he had room to accelerate: standard practice.
What wasn't standard practice was for Kenny to hit the gas, even before the derny had pulled off.
If Glaetzer had then chased, with the rest of the field on his wheel, it would have been suicide.

That final was an exact replica of a successful late attack on the road.

Sure it's OK to leave a gap, but that one was so large they were going to bring out the man with the blackboard

Isn't the point that a track gap is normal, which is how it started, but Kenny was really pushing (stretching it) while the Australian was more interested in those behind.

You'd have to see what he has to say but I bet he didn't realise quite how big the gap was getting

First.Aspect

DeVlaeminck said:

First.Aspect said:

focuszing723 said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

That's good going, GB did much better than I thought they would, given the start we had.


Rowing not so good.

Most amount of lottery funding of any GB olympic sport.

I gave a few reasons why earlier in the thread, including a focus on outright power like the US, who aren't even on that table.

It doesn't help having an Australian ex-triathlon coach in charge who thinks boat selection by committee is a cunning plan that no one else in the world has thought of. Most worrying interview of the Olympics was him giving a few excuses and explaining that they would look at what the other teams were doing and copy them.

Surest way to finish second is to follow someone.

I don't disagree with you but has he been in charge long enough to take full blame for the under performance ?

Hard to say. There were a lot of 4th places.

He blamed a low number of returning athletes, yet they picked a 33 and 35 year old pairing that only had about 10 months to train together, for the women's pair. However impressive those two are as athletes, that wasn't sensible, but made for a good TV documentary.

JimD666

First.Aspect said:

DeVlaeminck said:

First.Aspect said:

focuszing723 said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

That's good going, GB did much better than I thought they would, given the start we had.


Rowing not so good.

Most amount of lottery funding of any GB olympic sport.

I gave a few reasons why earlier in the thread, including a focus on outright power like the US, who aren't even on that table.

It doesn't help having an Australian ex-triathlon coach in charge who thinks boat selection by committee is a cunning plan that no one else in the world has thought of. Most worrying interview of the Olympics was him giving a few excuses and explaining that they would look at what the other teams were doing and copy them.

Surest way to finish second is to follow someone.

I don't disagree with you but has he been in charge long enough to take full blame for the under performance ?

Hard to say. There were a lot of 4th places.

He blamed a low number of returning athletes, yet they picked a 33 and 35 year old pairing that only had about 10 months to train together, for the women's pair. However impressive those two are as athletes, that wasn't sensible, but made for a good TV documentary.

Who were European champions, so about as good as we could field

RichN95.

bobmcstuff said:

Isn't the point that a track gap is normal, which is how it started, but Kenny was really pushing (stretching it) while the Australian was more interested in those behind.

You'd have to see what he has to say but I bet he didn't realise quite how big the gap was getting

I don't think I've ever seen a gap that large when the derny peeled off. Two bike lengths would be the most.

First.Aspect

JimD666 said:

First.Aspect said:

DeVlaeminck said:

First.Aspect said:

focuszing723 said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Final medal table from the velodrome



Sorry Aussies, my screen wasn't big enough to capture you and Hong Kong, joint 15th place with a single bronze.

That's good going, GB did much better than I thought they would, given the start we had.


Rowing not so good.

Most amount of lottery funding of any GB olympic sport.

I gave a few reasons why earlier in the thread, including a focus on outright power like the US, who aren't even on that table.

It doesn't help having an Australian ex-triathlon coach in charge who thinks boat selection by committee is a cunning plan that no one else in the world has thought of. Most worrying interview of the Olympics was him giving a few excuses and explaining that they would look at what the other teams were doing and copy them.

Surest way to finish second is to follow someone.

I don't disagree with you but has he been in charge long enough to take full blame for the under performance ?

Hard to say. There were a lot of 4th places.

He blamed a low number of returning athletes, yet they picked a 33 and 35 year old pairing that only had about 10 months to train together, for the women's pair. However impressive those two are as athletes, that wasn't sensible, but made for a good TV documentary.

Who were European champions, so about as good as we could field

For that particular boat, possibly, but we will never know because two younger athletes didn't get to go to or try to go the olympics, which means that Paris will be their first. By bringing two retired athletes back into that boat, it will have had a knock on effect on the rest of the sweep programme, possibly disrupting the IV and VIII, but it will also carry though the next cycle.

But you have to understand that rowing is so technical that a national rowing programme needs to target specific events. A dominant crew can effectively block out an event for a whole cycle and force other nations to put top athletes in other boats. By suddenly switching focus to an event in that way, you can upset the whole applecart. There are only 3 events in total.