2008 Beijing Olympics

[ralphwiggum 6]

Let's start the thread. We only get this once per 4 year.

Keep the politics out of the thread.!

first gold goes to...

Katerina Emmons

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008....cnn=yes

Quote[/b] ]Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republic won the 10-meter air rifle Saturday, spoiling China's bid for the games' first gold medal. Emmons, the wife of American shooter Matt Emmons, finished with an Olympic record of 503.5 points after shooting a perfect 400 in qualifying.

Czechs...Beer woman, and guns...and games.

[Rhodite 3]

Don't know about anyone else but the opening of the games were nothing short of amazing.

[scubaman3D 0]

I missed the ceremony. Maybe I'll wait for it to be uploaded to youtube.

[Dwarden 1124]

it's funny because Chinese got high hope to get first gold

but again ... Czech won

also her performance was amazing ... perfect shots ...

[sparks50 0]

Congrats to her.

[ralphwiggum 6]

I missed the ceremony. Maybe I'll wait for it to be uploaded to youtube.

They took it down ASAP. So you probably missed it.

The opening ceremony was good. It would definitely be difficult for London to top it, but who knows?

[MehMan 0]

Were there strippers or something that everybody's saying it was good?

[-Snafu- 77]

Well that's one way London could top it.

[BOP_101TFS 0]

it's funny because Chinese got high hope to get first gold

but again ... Czech won

also her performance was amazing ... perfect shots ...

yes, but when high hope is history, everything will go better next:)

[Blackhawk 0]

The opening was amazing! Never seen anything like it before.

Also, The UK got it's first gold today!

[kmossco 9]

I liked the opening too Chinese culture is very interesting and was nice to see parts of it.

What I found very interesting was the Angola exhibition against France in women handball. Never had seen them playing and they are really rough

Swimming competition is here! Let's see if Phelps lives up to expectations.

[4 IN 1 0]

so far the best rip is the NBC one, good angle, good visual effect

but some part have been cut out(ie.the muppet part)

the other one are mainly from CCTV, which have a rubbish angle, but at less they are in full lenght

[monty67t 0]

USA: 101

CHINA: 70

Nobody can touch us on the court.

[SHWiiNG 0]

Ive been trying to watch the olympics but all i get is grey smog  

Nooo seriously ive been away at i34 and eager to get down to some supporting

Just a comment on the OP. similarly...

Archery. What on earth has happened to it? in my opinion we should go back to just the bow and arrow. None of this fancy Scopes, rests, ergonomics etc.

Im sure im going to get flamed by saying this but, where's the raw skill involved. Im more impressed and Wow'ed if someone uses the bare bones of a Bow and arrow rather than a kitted up piece of modern technology.  

[klavan 0]

@SHWiiNG

I agree with you about the archery "issue".

It looks more like modern sniping than ancient practice.

I really appreciate more the medieval tournaments with simply wood longbows and arrows wich happens during the summer in my country.

[[aps]gnat 28]

lol ..... I knew it looked a little odd when I saw it ..... a big part of the fire-works was faked so its been revealed ..... they computer generated the "foot-steps" leading to the birdsnest. Only the last foot-step outside the birdsnest was real ... LOL

So in 2048 we'll have the Virtual Olympics Opening (all computer generated, becuase fuel will be too expensive to fly anyone anywhere, through the global storms) and the olympic participants will simply "suit-up" at home, jump on the OVR server (Olympic Virtual Reality) and run/perform their event.

As spectators we'll online purchase a virtual seat in the arenas to watch the events "close-up"

[SHWiiNG 0]

And apparently (i didnt actually see it) a little girl who was singing was miming, it was not her real voice!

How much is this Olympics is faked? its absolutely outrageous!

What are they trying to prove? yes we are an economic power and a wonderful nation, Oh but we fake Olympic events?

i done think this has happened ever in the olympics history has it?

[kmossco 9]

And apparently (i didnt actually see it) a little girl who was singing was miming, it was not her real voice!

Yeah, saw that too on the news.

[4 IN 1 0]

i think the point is not about how many things is "fake" in the opening

as the matter of fact no one ever said in the first place that the opening needed to be "real" rgr

maybe ppl have to learn how not to get picky

[kmossco 9]

WoW! Have you seen the swedish wrestler attitude?

Quote[/b] ]UPDATE 4-Olympics-Wrestling-Angry Swede throws down medal, quits

BEIJING, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw down his Olympic bronze medal in protest on Thursday after his bid for greco-roman gold was ended by a decision denounced by the Swedish coach as "politics".

Abrahamian took the bronze from around his neck during the medal ceremony, stepped from the podium and dropped it in the middle of the wrestling mat then walked off.

"I don't care about this medal. I wanted gold," he said.

A bitter Abrahamian, silver medallist at Athens 2004 who had high hopes of top honours in the 84kg competition in Beijing, announced he was quitting the sport.

"This will be my last match. I wanted to take gold, so I consider this Olympics a failure," the 33-year-old said.

The Swedish wrestler had to be restrained by team mates earlier when a row erupted with judges over the decision in a semi-final bout at the Chinese Agricultural University Gym with Andrea Minguzzi of Italy, who went on the take gold.

Abrahamian shouted at the referee and judges then went over to their seats to speak to them up close. He angrily threw off the restraining arm of a team official then turned and left.

Swedish fans booed loudly as the judges filed out of the arena. Abrahamian said nothing to waiting reporters but whacked an aluminium barricade with his fist as he left the hall.

The gold medallist, who kissed the Chinese medal bearer after receiving his gold, said Abrahamian's walkout "did in a way spoil the victory ceremony for me".

"Certainly one can always question decisions made in the course of refereeing, but in sports it is appropriate to show sportsmanship and accept the results," Minguzzi said.

Hungary's Zoltan Fodor, an outsider who said he "never dreamed of reaching the final" won the silver.

The International Olympic Committee said it was investigating the dispute with the wrestling federation FILA, which Abrahamian said "does not play fair".

"We are in contact with the wrestling federation to establish the exact facts," IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said.

Abrahamian later said he believed his loss to the eventual gold medallist Minguzzi was "totally unjustified". The wrestler said his friends "called me just 20 minutes before the (bronze) competition, begging me to compete".

"I decided that I had come this far and didn't want to let them down, so I wrestled," he said.

Swedish coach Leo Myllari said: "It's all politics."

Myllari did not say if he intended to lodge a formal protest over the decision by referee Jean-Marc Petoud of Switzerland, judge Lee Ronald Mackay of Canada, and mat chairman Guillermo Orestes Molina of Cuba. (Additional reporting by Simon Denyer; editing by Keith Weir)

Source

[Daniel 0]

maybe ppl have to learn how not to get picky

Ha, I think it was the Chinese official being picky by replacing the original "ugly" singing girl with a prettier miming one.

Anyone see the video of that Ukranian weight lifter popping his elbow? Gotta hurt. And I liked the way the helpers sheilded his inury from the audience while the cameras replayed the accident from several angles in slow-motion...

[SHWiiNG 0]

i think the point is not about how many things is "fake" in the opening

as the matter of fact no one ever said in the first place that the opening needed to be "real" rgr

maybe ppl have to learn how not to get picky

Think about it for a moment. In the history of the Olympics, the hosting nation has gone to great lengths to ensure that the opening ceremony is for lack of a better word perfect. All this time has been done without the use of Computer generated imagery.

Whats the difference?

Well heritage and tradition, the Olympics opening ceremony is not something which should be done in the comfort of a computer chair.

I cant say, but im sure there are many of those who watched the olympics opening ceremony and feel ever so slightly conned into thinking it was as good as im sure it was.

But i feel so sorry for that poor lass who was told sorry you are too ugly to represent china as a singer. She has a gift of fantastic vocals and her looks should not compromise other peoples attitudes, she should have been the one on that stage

Period.

I would love to hear from any chinese members we have here to express their opinions about the opening ceremony.

EDIT: i dont mean to cause any offence, i'm mearly expressing my opinion

[[aps]gnat 28]

yep, agree SHWiiNG

Olympics is about "real" performance, not on drugs, not computer enhanced

[monty67t 0]

Even an old man like me got excited watching this competition.

We are on top of the total medal count but China still has the most gold medals.

[SHWiiNG 0]

is she just short or is that medal ribbon just very long?