The Unofficial Olympic thread

[janaage]

He got silver.  In the relays the men and women yank teams both dropped their baton, ha ha I hear you say until you hear that our kj anchor man started his leg about 5 seconds too soon and by the time the 3rd leg geezer caught him up he was past the permitted area to pass the baton on.

[JPC82]

got the silver JFW

[alanmayes]

I see that Jacques Rogge is now having a pop at Usain Bolt;


Deluded Jacques Rogge fails to see the champion in Usain Bolt

Blind fury: Rogge’s views are stuck in the past

If you want to know just how out of touch the IOC is then listen to Jacques Rogge, a deluded individual who is the organisation's president. Commenting on Usain Bolt, the man who is single-handedly dragging athletics' reputation from the gutter back into the mainstream, Rogge was a tad miffed that he had not taken a break from redefining the parameters of physical endeavour to shake hands with his rivals.

"That's not the way we perceive being a champion," Rogge said. "I have no problem with him doing a show but I think he should show more respect for his competitors and shake hands, give a tap on the shoulder to the other ones immediately after the finish and not make gestures like the one he made in the 100 meters."

Which goes to show how little Rogge knows about sport. He might be good at garden parties and probably has impeccable table manners, but he is a lone voice of dissent. Sport is a show and Bolt has become P.T. Barnum. His celebration as he crossed the line in the 100 metres was an indelible Olympic image. For Rogge it lacked the stiff upper lip he would have preferred.

"The way it was perceived was 'catch me if you can'," Rogge continued. "You don't do that. But he'll learn. He's still a young man." Rogge is an old man but will never learn. People love a winner with character and Bolt has it. He danced, he made his signature lightning gesture and he waved his gold shoes around. These have been his Games. Rogge's attitude sums up a myopic approach to sport. He wants it played by some draconian code of ethics instead of enjoying the beautiful drama and mind-boggling entertainment of the moment.


Bolt runs away with his second gold
A gifted few have claimed the sprint double of 100m and 200m, but never has anyone done so in two world record

He is also wrong. Bolt is both a generous and magnanimous individual. He is utterly deferent to his coach, Glen Mills, respects his elders and said last night that he had just changed the sport a bit, whereas Michael Johnson had revolutionised it. After another brilliant run here, he stopped in the mixed zone to speak specifically to the British media about Germaine Mason, the high jumper who was born in Kingston, Jamaica, but was draped in a Union Jack after winning a surprise silver medal.

You could draw up a list of things wrong with the Olympics as long as the 10,000 metres. It is a corporate carve-up where Visa is king. There have been several books devoted to corruption within the ranks. And then Bolt comes along with his harpsichord grin, laidback manner and god-given talent. In many way, he is the man who saved the Games, but Rogge is more concerned that he stops when crossing the line at breakneck speed and then waits for his rivals to finish before shaking hands and saying, "Well done,old chap."

Sprinting, the boxing of track and field, has been dominated by a timeline of braggarts and egos. Even here one Briton, Tyrone Edgar, was introduced to the crowd before his race and nodded his head, indulging in the whole "I'm the man" tosh. He wasn't. Bolt is.

With his dancing, his talk of nuggets and his wonderfully lackadaisical manner, Bolt is the best thing that has happened to the Games in decades. All the suspicion and finger-pointing that has plagued the Games have been forgotten, however briefly that may last.

"Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the earth," Dale Arden said in the film Flash Gordon. Bolt says he is not Flash Gordon and, indeed, it has only taken him 9.69sec to save his sport.

Rogge is too consumed by his own importance and a deeply simplistic view of sport to realise all this. As for Bolt, he must feel like shaking his head rather than hands.

[janaage]

And he said "meters" (sic) wrong.  Learn to speak English correctly if you're going us it Jacques.

[Jamiesfuturewife]

ahhh good he got silver - I like his jazzy red hair

[nevillew]

Less time at the hairdressers and a little more practice and we could have been looking at gold ?

Not too many cyclists ,rowers or sailors with dodgy barnets were there ?

[JPC82]

Less time at the hairdressers and a little more practice and we could have been looking at gold ?

why do people say stuff like that? thinking of it logically how long would it take to dye his hair? 30mins? i dont think 30mins extra would have won him gold

[nevillew]

why do people say stuff like that? thinking of it logically how long would it take to dye his hair? 30mins? i dont think 30mins extra would have won him gold

How many times do you reckon he's dyed his hair in the last 4 years then ?
If someone sets themself out to be different, there could easily be this sort of criticism

[JPC82]

Ronaldo has a haircut before every Man Utd home game, didnt do him much harm!!!

[Cookie]

The ruskies are nearly past us in the medals, at least we're still beating the convicts.

[Arriba]

it was nice to see someone gutted at coming second.

[janaage]

Another gold for GB!!!!  Tim Brabant in the kayak, he's got a good chance of another gold tomorrow in the 500m kayak!!!  Also one of the boxers is through to a final, with 2 still to fight in the semi's, also a martial arts geezer is favourite in his weight, although we know what happens to favourites - see female bmx'er.

[flammableBen]

Watched the Taikwando (sp) two fights this morning. Seemed pretty good. Got a bit untidy at the end of his second fight but he was always pretty comfortable.

[janaage]

I'm no expert at these events Ben, I'm still in the if they got through then fair enough school of thought, but I know what you mean.  Did you see De whatshisname in the boxing against the Irish lad, he was a bit of a cocky git, tapped the paddy on the head three times, which seemed a little disrespectful, he absolutely dominated the fight from the 2 round on though.

[Reg Smeeton]

Another gold for GB!!!!  Tim Brabant in the kayak, he's got a good chance of another gold tomorrow in the 500m kayak!!!  Also one of the boxers is through to a final, with 2 still to fight in the semi's, also a martial arts geezer is favourite in his weight, although we know what happens to favourites - see female bmx'er.

 How can you get excited about an Englishman getting a gold?

 Had to laugh when among all this GB excitement, the Hampden crowd were booing the Ulstermen singing Rule Britannia in the week.....think it shows what they think of the UK.