Paris 2024

[Sir Rols]

I’m waiting for Riyadh to hail the Tic-Tac-Bow GOAT

[sebastien1214]

12 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

I’m waiting for Riyadh to hail the Tic-Tac-Bow GOAT

In order to seduce the Arab countries, Thomas Bach is said to have agreed to replace the shooting event with the stoning event so that Saudi Arabia would agree to organize 2036.

[krow]

15 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

Every sport has different requirements for someone to shine, so these comparisons don‘t really make sense anyway.

Duplantis may be the most sensational pole vaulter while Biles is the most sensational gymnast. Then there‘s Phelps as a swimmer though however there‘s also Ledecky. Who‘s more sensational anyway? Etc etc.

All these people excel in their sports and that‘s it.

i guess, though this is kind of a weak and unimaginative response. i think we can safely say a 4-time gold medalist in gymnastics is a superior athlete to 4-time gold medalists in rowing or the third guy in the four-man bobsled. "each and every one of us is special in our own way" has its limits.  

[sebastien1214]

2 minutes ago, krow said:

i guess, though this is kind of a weak and unimaginative response. i think we can safely say a 4-time gold medalist in gymnastics is a superior athlete to 4-time gold medalists in rowing or the third guy in the four-man bobsled. "each and every one of us is special in our own way" has its limits.  

Well, it's mostly very cultural. For a country that doesn't give a damn about gymnastics, Simone Biles would be almost unknown.

The Swedes will certainly tell you that Duplantis is a star just like Simone Biles. We, the French, will probably tell you that the star of the Games is Marchand, not necessarily Biles. The question of the "most sensational athlete" is also and above all read through a certain nationalist prism (and it's very complicated to detach oneself from it).

[Sir Rols]

4 minutes ago, sebastien1214 said:

Well, it's mostly very cultural. For a country that doesn't give a damn about gymnastics, Simone Biles would be almost unknown.

The Swedes will certainly tell you that Duplantis is a star just like Simone Biles. We, the French, will probably tell you that the star of the Games is Marchand, not necessarily Biles. The question of the "most sensational athlete" is also and above all read through a certain nationalist prism (and it's very complicated to detach oneself from it).

You mean the rest of the world isn’t just there as a support cast for the Australians???

Edited August 5 by Sir Rols

[sebastien1214]

2 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

You mean the rest of the world isn’t just there as a support cast for the Australians???

Well, we do support Jessica Fox a little here, for obvious reasons; but be careful, at any time we can claim paternity on the medals she won.

[krow]

4 minutes ago, sebastien1214 said:

The Swedes will certainly tell you that Duplantis is a star just like Simone Biles. We, the French, will probably tell you that the star of the Games is Marchand, not necessarily Biles. The question of the "most sensational athlete" is also and above all read through a certain nationalist prism (and it's very complicated to detach oneself from it).

another overly placating response. yes, yes we all have our home country favorites, though i've never even been to norway and i have no problem saying bjørndalen is the most sensational athlete i've ever 'seen' (on TV) at the winter olympics, even over apollo ono or whoever i might be expected to say as an american. people are more objective when it comes to this kind of thing than you give them credit for. 

 

[sebastien1214]

3 minutes ago, krow said:

another overly placating response. yes, yes we all have our home country favorites, though i've never even been to norway and i have no problem saying bjørndalen is the most sensational athlete i've ever 'seen' (on TV) at the winter olympics, even over apollo ono or whoever i might be expected to say as an american. people are more objective when it comes to this kind of thing than you give them credit for. 

 

I'm not saying that we can't be objective on this subject, I'm just saying that it's more complicated than for another subject that would be free of nationalist passions.

But if you want a burning answer: well I think that Simone Biles is not the number 1 star of the Games, but that it's Léon Marchand. 4 gold medals at 22 years old in one of the king sports of the Olympics, including 2 in the same day, it's not everyone who does it.

But I fully assume that I am a little biased by my nationality on this opinion, and I'm not going to try to convert people to my opinion either, that wouldn't make sense.

[krow]

6 minutes ago, sebastien1214 said:

I'm not saying that we can't be objective on this subject, I'm just saying that it's more complicated than for another subject that would be free of nationalist passions.

But if you want a burning answer: well I think that Simone Biles is not the number 1 star of the Games, but that it's Léon Marchand. 4 gold medals at 22 years old in one of the king sports of the Olympics, including 2 in the same day, it's not everyone who does it.

But I fully assume that I am a little biased by my nationality on this opinion, and I'm not going to try to convert people to my opinion either, that wouldn't make sense.

i would accept that argument; simone lost on beam after all. but being the most sensational athlete is a career-wide accomplishment and she is older than 22.

[FYI]

Adam Peaty slams 'cheating' Chinese swimmers and warns Olympic officials, 'wake up and do your job':

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13709223/Adam-Peaty-slams-cheating-Chinese-Paris-Olympics.html

Adam Peaty: There are worms in the food in the Olympic Village

https://inews.co.uk/sport/olympics/adam-peaty-worms-in-food-olympic-village-3210419

[yoshi]

It's that time every four years where I wonder how & why we Brits never developed a handball culture. Fast, exciting, usually close finishes*, great sport to watch, & it's not like we don't have the climate 

*except the one right now 

Edited August 6 by yoshi

[olimpicgamer]

Athletes complain about lack of protein, long lines and low quality of food given to them at Paris Olympics. They have even found worms in their food. 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/aug/06/adam-peaty-claims-athletes-at-paris-olympics-found-worms-in-their-food

[Sir Rols]

They definitely over-estimated the appeal of vegetarianism/veganism. I wouldn’t be surprised if the percentage of veggie/vegan athletes is greater than the general population, but it’d still be a niche minority. Overzealous intentions that has turned out to be their main organisational fail.

[StefanMUC]

2 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

They definitely over-estimated the appeal of vegetarianism/veganism. I wouldn’t be surprised if the percentage of veggie/vegan athletes is greater than the general population, but it’d still be a niche minority. Overzealous intentions that has turned out to be their main organisational fail.

Can‘t judge the OV food obviously, but the food offered at the venues (with exception of a nice pizza margherita at La Défense) wasn‘t really good either.

I mean I‘m not expecting haute cuisine at an arena, but some of it was really pap and while there were a lot of veggie options on paper, my pescetarian offspring really struggled often to find anything that actually tasted ok so fries were the last rescue.

 

[Rob2012]

11 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

They definitely over-estimated the appeal of vegetarianism/veganism.

Estimate? How can they not have really accurate data on this? Across 10k athletes the proportions aren't going to have changed much in the three years since Tokyo. This should be very basic knowledge transfer.

I'm incredibly loathe to use the word "woke", but I'm edging towards it with this. Just do a quiet, decent job. Nobody needs to know about the food in the village. If we do, it's probably because something's gone wrong.

Edited August 6 by Rob2012

[sebastien1214]

Sodexo is in charge of catering at the OV and in competition venues for the general public. And let's just say that Sodexo doesn't have... a very good reputation in France.

A few years ago, they almost had a sort of "monopoly" in school canteens, except that it's so disgusting that in recent years more and more school canteens have started to cook their own meals again, and no longer subcontract to companies like Sodexo.

That said, it was pretty obvious that Sodexo would get this contract because there are very few French companies that have the capacity to take on this kind of contract, but I was hoping that they would improve a little. Clearly, it seems that this is not the case.

(afterwards, if it can tarnish Sodexo's reputation a little, that's fine with me : really their food is really crap, outside of the Olympics)

[Sir Rols]

4 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

Can‘t judge the OV food obviously, but the food offered at the venues (with exception of a nice pizza margherita at La Défense) wasn‘t really good either.

I mean I‘m not expecting haute cuisine at an arena, but some of it was really pap and while there were a lot of veggie options on paper, my pescetarian offspring really struggled often to find anything that actually tasted ok so fries were the last rescue.

 

Sydney and London’s venue offerings weren’t anything to rave about either. Just typical street van crap. Best was strawberries and cream at Wimbledon.

[Sir Rols]

24 minutes ago, Rob2012 said:

Estimate? How can they not have really accurate data on this? Across 10k athletes the proportions aren't going to have changed much in the three years since Tokyo. This should be very basic knowledge transfer.

Good point.

As much as I hate the culture war criticisms of the games, I think this is one case of proselytising being literally shoved down the athletes throats.

Edited August 6 by Sir Rols

[yoshi]

Is it now an Olympic tradition for some aspect of the Games to be let down by a duff contractor? G4S with security in London, I don't remember a specific example for Rio, Dentsu with basically everything they touched in Tokyo, now this Sodexo with the food in Paris 

[sebastien1214]

3 minutes ago, yoshi said:

Is it now an Olympic tradition for some aspect of the Games to be let down by a duff contractor? G4S with security in London, I don't remember a specific example for Rio, Dentsu with basically everything they touched in Tokyo, now this Sodexo with the food in Paris 

Actually, I think that given the scale of the Games and the number of subcontractors needed to organize the Games, it is unfortunately inevitable that there will be at least one of these subcontractors who is not very good.

 

[olimpicgamer]

The Paris Olympics have revealed serious issues. From athletes being hospitalized due to bacterial contamination, to poor service at the athletes' village, questionable scoring and decisions in competitions, and a disrespectful opening ceremony—the list goes on.

If these games were happening in a  developing or less influential country, such as Brazil or Greece, we would likely see a barrage of complaints in North American, European, and Australian media. Even this forum would be harshly criticizing everything about those countries.

The double standards are clear and shameful. But it is what it is, and it seems unlikely to change.

[sebastien1214]

10 minutes ago, olimpicgamer said:

The Paris Olympics have revealed serious issues. From athletes being hospitalized due to bacterial contamination, to poor service at the athletes' village, questionable scoring and decisions in competitions, and a disrespectful opening ceremony—the list goes on.

If these games were happening in a  developing or less influential country, such as Brazil or Greece, we would likely see a barrage of complaints in North American, European, and Australian media. Even this forum would be harshly criticizing everything about those countries.

The double standards are clear and shameful. But it is what it is, and it seems unlikely to change.

I just read your message history and I understand some things better.

[Sir Rols]

24 minutes ago, olimpicgamer said:

The Paris Olympics have revealed serious issues. From athletes being hospitalized due to bacterial contamination, to poor service at the athletes' village, questionable scoring and decisions in competitions, and a disrespectful opening ceremony—the list goes on.

If these games were happening in a  developing or less influential country, such as Brazil or Greece, we would likely see a barrage of complaints in North American, European, and Australian media. Even this forum would be harshly criticizing everything about those countries.

The double standards are clear and shameful. But it is what it is, and it seems unlikely to change.

Oh come on. The culture warrior trolls would have been circllng wherever they were held. They’ll do the same in LA in 4 years time.

Every games throws up complaints about scoring and judges. It happens with any scored sport. Why a lot of people don’t like subjective sports.

Aas for GamesBids, we’re equal opportunity critics and whiners. London got more than its fair share of critics and haters here - so much so that many British members here threatened or did leave because they were upset by some of the negativity. The Brisbane threads have been nothing but one big pit of complaining and criticising (even from the Aussies) with one lone notable cheerleader/defender. 

Edited August 6 by Sir Rols

[FYI]

Pfft

[Sir Rols]

Aussie behaving badly

Australian hockey player arrested trying to buy cocaine in Paris

An Australian hockey player has been arrested trying to buy cocaine in Paris.

The Australian Olympic Committee confirmed it was investigating allegations that a member of one of the field hockey teams was arrested by French police.

The story was first reported by Europe 1 and was confirmed to this masthead by French police and the AOC.

“A member of the Australian field hockey team was arrested last night after buying cocaine on a street in the 9th arrondissement of Paris,” the report read.

“The seller, carrying 75 ecstasy pills, 3g of 2 MMC and seven vials of cocaine, was also arrested.”

The AOC has been contacted for comment.