Olympics 2024 - discussion thread

[sndef888]

Could be India is just bad at doping (doing it in a way that is more easily caught) rather than India doing it more. US likely doing it more and just getting away with it more (through combination of better/newer substances/regimens and political pressure/corruption).

After the revelations by WADA, there should be zero doubt that US is the top doping country on earth by far

Their "anti-doping agency" literally got caught covering up actual, proven doping.
Who knows what else they have been doing to help their athletes dope.

I bet that's why they conduct so little tests, they intentionally "miss out" athletes that they are helping to dope
This is the "widespread state sponsored doping" that they were accusing Russia of.

 

[Ringsword]

I'm increasingly convinced that achieving victory over the US at the Olympics is less of a sporting endeavor than an endeavor in national power and international politics. China wins 5/6 weightlifting golds? Cancel weightlifting. Chinese women win 3/6 boxing golds? Cancel boxing. Oh, you spent $50 million and 10 years hiring European champion coaches to train a team that can sweep the fencing golds? That's the last time fencing will be at the Olympics. It will be replaced with Redneck Twig Fighting, the official rules to be announced by the American Redneck Twig Fighting Federation a generous 3 hours before the start of the first match. US needs more medals? Add 250m, 350m, 500m running, 3 man team relay, 5 man team, etc...

And this isn't even America's final form (Frieza reference). America can't take China's gold medals, but it can sure as hell take those of Australia/UK/France, etc... Crony phone call is all that's needed: "This is bigger than you. Nobody cares if you win 18 or 15 or 12 or 9 golds; even your own people don't care. Who are you competing against? This is East vs West; we need you to throw those events to the US so we can beat China. Don't care if you need to make your athlete choke or if you wanna just transfer him to us under US citizenship. If you don't like that, I have a list of sanctions and property seizures for you to chew on and if you're still playing boy scout, don't be too surprised when your athletes and family members turn up dead in accidents. Think about it."

The key to beating America isn't making Asian people run faster than black people. The key to beating America is becoming more powerful so China can assert more influence in the world and the IOC so that it can determine the sports to be contested and prevent US blackmail, ensuring that American doping positives are always punished to the maximum degree. If everyone on the US team who has a positive or a false medical exemption were removed, their Olympic team would look like they came from a small Eurpean country of 80K people LOL. I have a feeling that American sports is just a Wizard of Oz image.

It was never "just" a sporting event-and showcasing national power and prestige was always the goal-if your old enough ,remember the Soviet Union's ferocious contests on the Olympic Stage with USA-Iwatched and wondered if China would be there to punch it out and even dominate-I am glad to have lived to see this day.Going to Olympics just to participate and be crushed and beatened down physically and spiritually -like India-under the eyes and heel of the whole world-esp the WEST is an unimaginable agony. I stayed up in 1984 to see China win many medals especially womens volleyball-love them girls-Iron Hammer!!-To grow into this what some commentators called the Big Red Machine.BTW it is a mark of intelligence and adaptability to enter new sports and conquer them-without golds/silver/bronzes from from synchro swimming,rhythmic gymastics canoeing,rock climbing BMXetc to bolster our count when some old stalwarts like volleyball and gymnastics falter-where would we be?

 

[tankphobia]

Wushu forms (many weapons forms and animal forms), Sanshou, dragon boat (? someone else said that one). Chess is a no-go; it's not a physical sport.

Dragonboat would be good, I think the concern for IOC is that team sizes are too big for dragonboat, there's a strict limit of total athletes and if even just 20 countries field a male and female team of 22 there's close to 900 extra people. If there are multiple dragon boat events countries might want to bring different teams specialising in different race length, hence blowing up the athlete count.

In comparison to other team sports dragon boat have a lower barrier of entry, so more countries will participate.

 

[Xiongmao]

Wushu forms (many weapons forms and animal forms), Sanshou, dragon boat (? someone else said that one). Chess is a no-go; it's not a physical sport.

Sanshou is perfect for the Olympics, being based on quick short rounds, points based scoring, and exciting to watch too. Also injuries do not occur very often.

 

[manqiangrexue]

It was never "just" a sporting event-and showcasing national power and prestige was always the goal-if your old enough ,remember the Soviet Union's ferocious contests on the Olympic Stage with USA-Iwatched and wondered if China would be there to punch it out and even dominate-I am glad to have lived to see this day.Going to Olympics just to participate and be crushed and beatened down physically and spiritually -like India-under the eyes and heel of the whole world-esp the WEST is an unimaginable agony. I stayed up in 1984 to see China win many medals especially womens volleyball-love them girls-Iron Hammer!!-To grow into this what some commentators called the Big Red Machine.BTW it is a mark of intelligence and adaptability to enter new sports and conquer them-without golds/silver/bronzes from from canoeing,rock climbing BMXetc to bolster our count when some old stalwarts like volleyball and gymnastics falter-where would we be?

It's still just a sporting event even if you're really into it because gold medals don't make you better at anything that matters; it's what the common people put into society every day that makes the country. If we boycotted the Olympics, China's rise would happen all the same just like if we won all the gold medals at every event.

I realize it's huge and I realize it energizes lots of people but we have to recognize the difference between the ultimate entertainment and real life power. If we don't, we start saying ridiculous things like @Petrolicious88 claiming that doping in sports is not wrong when even the US wouldn't say anthing like that in public.

Sanshou is perfect for the Olympics, being based on quick short rounds, points based scoring, and exciting to watch too. Also injuries do not occur very often.

Yes, and wushu forms are a pretty cool type of gymnastics even if they're not for combat.

 

[AssassinsMace]

Regarding the Jordan Chiles gymnastics kerfuffle... Team USA said they saw how the judges scored incorrectly the level of difficulty of the elements performed to which why the scores were wrong. Team USA only had a minute to protest from the time the score was posted. How did they know what the judges' scores were when according to a former gymnast no one is allowed to see how the judges came up with their scores except officials? It seems like Team USA had access to what the judges were scoring in real time. If it were all computerized you can see how that could be done but illegal still because they're not suppose to see that in the first place.

 

[Petrolicious88]

Woowwww that is stupid. You have confused a sporting event with the actual struggle in determining global power. The latter is an all-out effort no holds barred fight and that is where Chinese technology is overtaking Western technology regardless of what happens at any sporting event. Sports change nothing; they are just entertainment. 1 gold medal, 100 gold medals, no gold medals, a country chugs on economically and technologically unaffected. Cheating in sports shows pettiness and lack of integrity. Cheating in the global power struggle... well, there's no such thing because that's real life dominance where all is fair.

Even by your logic, the US still screwed up horrendously. Now WADA's testimony of American cheating is all over the world. Regardless of what you want or think, most people, even Americans, do not respect medals won by doping. So to that effect, this "ruthlessness" has backfired if it was for the purpose of prestige. Now all over the world, people call the US the asthma/ADHD team. That's what cheating in sports gets you.

I think the olympics by now is more than just a little sporting event. Why tell all the media to throw shade on Chinese swim team if this is not part of the wider test between US/China.

If it's true. Not if you assume, contrary to evidence, that others stole just because you stole.

Don't project your disgusting moral principles on me. All is fair in love and war; nobody said all is fair in sports. I give it all I've got where it matters but I don't cheat in games for entertainment. How American of you to just assume that others like me are lowly and petty like you.

I'm not projecting any morals. I don't view the contest between US and China from a morally relevant perspective.

 

[Ringsword]

It's still just a sporting event even if you're really into it because gold medals don't make you better at anything that matters; it's what the common people put into society every day that makes the country. If we boycotted the Olympics, China's rise would happen all the same just like if we won all the gold medals at every event.

I realize it's huge and I realize it energizes lots of people but we have to recognize the difference between the ultimate entertainment and real life power. If we don't, we start saying ridiculous things like @Petrolicious88 claiming that doping in sports is not wrong when even the US wouldn't say anthing like that in public.

Yes, and wushu forms are a pretty cool type of gymnastics even if they're not for combat.

Agree to a very large point and not arguing with you friend ,but ultimately when a country is developed to a point then these events are important-we always talk about the importance of soft power-this is it-4k colour.Most Joe Blow Americans have a view of China like out of "Platoon"-rice fields ,pajamaed people in straw hats just ripe for slaughter/rape etc.This what China !40 golds-how,what?China sticks in their throat-BTW if some new WIKIleaks gets ahold of the data from WADA(which I thought was neutral and respected-naive me)the lid just might blow off this doping scandal crap.You and I both know the country will go back to work,ever increasing in knowledge and strength but for 2 weeks we cheered oh how we cheered.

 

[Ringsword]

IDK, most traditional Chinese sports like archery and wrestling are there under different rulesets. SK is doing well in archery for some odd reason.

Funniest thing is how China has better gun shooting results than some gun obsessed countries.

Well ,shooting at a paper bullseye as a well trained disciplned athlete and shooting at screaming mothers and children or screaming classmates as a drugged out American loser-boy (Nicholas Cruz et al) is entirely different.BTW let's get our cricket team up and running-IIRC HK has one-can't wait to beat the jaihinds at their own game and strip them of their last shred of hope.

 

[siegecrossbow]

I learned that our dear Modi ji is bidding for the 2036 Olympics. A country with 1.4 billion people without a single gold medal is hosting the Olympics .... Good luck to them.

At least they’d be able to get gold in the triathlon event.