Olympics

[GoCubsGo]

Sign this kid up!

[Vrede too]

Katie Ledecky won another gold medal and then laughed in the face of a reporter who asked if she was retiring


https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/ ... 5380835328

If you look at the list of the fastest times ever recorded in the race, Ledecky now owns the top 24.

The headline makes it sound like she was rude. Nope.

https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/ ... 1239645187

Ledecky is not going anywhere, and with the way she's dominated the 800m, why would she?

This was the last race we'll see Ledecky contest this year in Tokyo, but as she said loud and clear, she'll be ready for more at Paris 2024.

Katie Ledecky Has Splashy Start At Olympic Swimming Trials
Katie Ledecky has won 6 individual gold medals and is an overwhelming favorite for a spot on this year's U.S. Olympics team.

... Competing in the home stadium of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, Ledecky blew away the field in the preliminaries of the 400-meter freestyle, touching the wall with a time of 3 minutes, 59.99 seconds.

Ledecky finished nearly five seconds ahead of Paige Madden, who was next fastest at 4:04.83. The top eight advanced to the evening final, with Ledecky an overwhelming favorite to claim a spot on her fourth Olympic team....

The 27-year-old Ledecky came into the trials with the top-seeded time in the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle events.

She already has six individual Olympic gold medals — more than any female swimmer in the history of the sport — and she’ll be looking to add to that haul in Paris....

Regan Smith Bounces Back With Stunning World Record At U.S. Olympic Trials
The 22-year-old Minnesota native's sensational 100-meter backstroke victory followed disappointment in the butterfly event.

[O Really]

Ledecky is an absolute beast.

[Vrede too]

Ledecky is an absolute beast.

Subsequent "race":

Katie Ledecky Hilariously Waits And Waits For Rivals To Finish In Olympic Trials Race
The swimming legend killed time at the end of the pool as she waited for the runner-up in the 1500-meter freestyle.

Safe to say it wasn’t a close one.

Swim champ Katie Ledecky won the 1500-meter freestyle race at the U.S. Olympic trials in Indianapolis on Wednesday, with a full 20 seconds to spare....

“Katie Ledecky doing @katieledecky things in the 1500m,” Team USA wrote, using a goat emoji on the video to indicate “greatest of all time.”

In a longer video of the race, Ledecky can be seen nearly a full pool length ahead of her competition as she starts her last leg.



“If there wasn’t a caption, I would have thought it was a clip of her practicing by herself,” one commenter wrote with a laughing emoji.

“Lol she had time to go win a whole different event,” wrote another.

“She got out, took a shower, ate dinner, took a nap, came back and the other swimmers were just finishing,” a third person joked.

She finished the 1500 in 15:37.35, the fastest time in the world this year. The previous fastest time? Also Ledecky.

She set the current world record of 15:20.48 in 2018....

Ledecky had already punched her ticket to Paris in two other events, with wins in the 200 and 400 freestyle trials.

She has indicated she doesn’t plan to compete in the 200 individual freestyle event at the Olympics.

[O Really]

In an article about celebrities who were Olympic-level athletes, we find:

"Caitlyn Jenner competed in the Olympic decathlon twice. Representing the US in 1972, she finished tenth, but in 1976, she won the gold medal."

No, "she" didn't. A more accurate (and less annoying) statement would be "Bruce Jenner (now known as Caitlyn), representing the US, finished 10th in 1972 and won the gold medal in 1976."

It was the "Mens Decatholon" back then, the person now known as Caitlyn was Bruce and "Bruce" is on the record books and medals. Things change, but they don't become retroactive.

[GoCubsGo]

In an article about celebrities who were Olympic-level athletes, we find:

"Caitlyn Jenner competed in the Olympic decathlon twice. Representing the US in 1972, she finished tenth, but in 1976, she won the gold medal."

No, "she" didn't. A more accurate (and less annoying) statement would be "Bruce Jenner (now known as Caitlyn), representing the US, finished 10th in 1972 and won the gold medal in 1976."

It was the "Mens Decatholon" back then, the person now known as Caitlyn was Bruce and "Bruce" is on the record books and medals. Things change, but they don't become retroactive.

You sure?

He sure was purty.

[O Really]

Yes he was. I had occasion to meet him in the early 80s and he was gorgeous. Much prettier than her current version, even adjusting for age.

[O Really]

"What are you going to do - charge me with smoking?

Spoiler:

"

Well, yes, sorta. We'll boot you off the Olympic team...

https://people.com/olympic-japanese-gym ... ll+Stories

[O Really]

Rejects 1 women's Olympic team 0

[GoCubsGo]

Rejects 1 women's Olympic team 0

Or not.

People that know better than I.

https://youtu.be/u3sAkEk4sZE?si=28_-IC__PhyciWN1

[Vrede too]

Rejects 1 women's Olympic team 0

Or not.

People that know better than I.
https://youtu.be/u3sAkEk4sZE?si=28_-IC__PhyciWN1

Team USA 109, Team WNBA 117

The rookies, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, did not dominate by a long shot, but taken together they had a decent game:
Rebounds 12, Assists 10, Steals 3, Blocks 1, Turnovers 2, Points 16 - triple double!
Net points while the player is on the court +5

[O Really]

You could probably pull 12 names at random out of WNBA rosters and come up with a good Olympic team. So picking veterans over rookies, even superstar rookies, isn't a bad plan. My beef is that Caitlin, and dragging Angel along with her, has single-handedly made the WNBA something people care about. If you're picking a "Team USA" to go to the Olympics, you're not likely to weaken the team much, if any, but giving your meal ticket a spot on the team.

[Vrede too]

Article

[GoCubsGo]

TIL

Dennis Rodman's daughter.




https://www.yahoo.com/sports/trinity-ro ... 10649.html

[GoCubsGo]

This could be good.

2024 Olympics: Paris prepares for a spectacular, first-of-its-kind Opening Ceremony in the heart of the city

Modern Olympic Opening Ceremonies have always been held inside a stadium. Paris is about to try something different

[O Really]

So Vrede, maybe it's because I only see the highlight features, but it seems to me that the goalie's main job is to fling themselves onto the ground every few minutes or so. Is that all there is, my friend?

[Vrede too]

TIL

Dennis Rodman's daughter.

https://x.com/TeamUSA/status/1816555986536267803

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/trinity-ro ... 10649.html

"Trin Spin"

Spoiler:

USWNT won 3-0

O Canada, oh!

Canada axes women's soccer coach from Olympics over drone use

Canada's women's national team head coach Bev Priestman has been removed from the country's Olympic team over a scandal involving the use of drones to spy on opponents' practice, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced Thursday.

The COC said it made the decision after Canada Soccer decided to suspend Priestman for the remainder of the tournament. The episode began earlier this week when Canada's opening opponent, New Zealand, complained to the International Olympic Committee's integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions....

I'm surprised we don't hear more about this cheating. Oh wait:

Canada’s men’s and women’s soccer teams have reportedly been using spying drones for years

... According to a new report from TSN’s Rick Westhead, Canada’s men’s and women’s soccer teams have been using drones to spy on opposing programs for years, including during the women’s gold medal run at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics....

Cool. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2024/07/paris- ... rings-moon

[Vrede too]

So Vrede, maybe it's because I only see the highlight features, but it seems to me that the goalie's main job is to fling themselves onto the ground every few minutes or so. Is that all there is, my friend?

It can be frustrating sometimes.

Since I'm not tall my main job was to fling myself "onto the ground every few minutes or so", at opponents feet, being sure to connect with the ball so I didn't draw a penalty kick and hopefully terrorizing players out of getting that close again. Hence, "Kamikaze Goalie" Maybe the Zambian goalie could have come out more aggressively, thus cutting down the angle of success. Maybe not, it was a beautiful attack.

[O Really]

Twenty-five athletes from San Diego County on the USA team, plus 8 more playing for other countries. Eight of the 12-member skate board team are from here, and there's a wide range of competitors from beach volleyball to dressage to archery, jumpers, runners and even field hockey and golf. California total has 160 on the team and there are more Olympic athletes from San Diego County alone than from 40 of the 46 states represented on the team.

[Vrede too]

The ability to train year round must be part of the reason. Never too cold, usually not too hot.

Twenty-five athletes from San Diego County on the USA team, plus 8 more playing for other countries....

So, 1/4 of the San Diegans are traitors


Stephen Curry endorses Kamala in Paris.
Oakland, represent!

Meanwhile:

Newt Gingrich Wins Doofus Gold Medal For Take On Jill Biden's Trip To Paris Olympics
The former House speaker and current right-wing gadfly left out a critical fact in his Olympics comment about Jill Biden.

... The president announced earlier this month that his wife would be attending Friday’s opening ceremony in the City of Light as the lead of a presidential delegation. She also served as an emissary at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Gingrich, a frequent commentator on the conservative channel, didn’t exactly stick the landing on his hot take.

“Jill Biden is still the First Lady for the next 6 months and still has a responsibility to [represent] America,” one user on X, formerly Twitter, reminded Gingrich. “Did Melania ... stop being the First Lady when it became clear that Trump had lost in 2020?”

“Hey, [Jill’s] still the First Lady, and you are irrelevant,” another snapped....

81 year old Newter, are you ok?