Athens closing

[hotingzilla]

Athens Olympics 2004 will soon close. I have supported China - since I am Chinese, and they have done pretty well. So what do you guys think of this year's event?

[Despot of the English]

Best moments for me was Great Britain beating the Americans in the 4x100 metre relay and Kelly Holmes winning two gold medals in the 800 and 1500 metres :medievalcheers: .

[Essex_Cohort]

Pretty chuffed, Team GreatBritian betterd their Austrlia medal tally. ~:cheers:

[Odysseus]

Well, the Americans won for the 5th straight olympics I think? Or was it ten? ~:p

[exarchi]

I loved how the US made fools out of themselves, see: Paul Hamm, US BBall team... ahhahhaa...

[Odysseus]

I hate those idiots that did that. May they never come back again.(Except Duncan).

[exarchi]

I heard NBC called them the "dream team"... ehhheh

[Red Raptor Guy]

NBC is a idiot. That team had 3 of the like 50 all-stars.

[Sjakihata]

Denmark won gold in handball, that's the best achievement for us I think, that we did it in 2000 and 1996 welll ~:)

[exarchi]

Too bad handball isn't a real sport.

[mickyt694]

You shouldn't really be down on the US BBall team. At least they showed up and played, unlike the selfish dicks like Shaq and Tmac and KG. I have more respect for that group now than I did before the Olympics. That said, it was nice to see the Argentines win Soccer and BBall, congrats to them.

I thought that the Greek win in synchro diving was nice, especially the medal ceremony. NBC really played that up.

[william the bastard]

IMO ùTriumph of Hicham el Gerrou.. wath the best (sorry for spelling)bad missing ~:pissed:

[Colovion]

it's too bad for teh Brazilian Marathon runner.

First place at just about the 2 hour marker...... guy runs out of the crowd and pushes him

and the Greek president called the security "flawless" pffft

[Helot]

Myself being American, loved seing them dominate again this olympics. Though I was disapointed about our men's basketball performance, the women's softball made up for it. They went the whole entire olympics while only giving up a handfull of runs. Also for all of you who think Paul Hamm's gold medal should be taken away from him have good points, but how can we really strip a somewhat deserved gold medal from a rising star?

Well there are my two cents. I think this is good enough for a first post...

Be sure to visit Strategoi.net (http://www.strategoi.net/index.php)

[Soulflame]

Well America, China and Russia will always be among the top in the Olympics.. they are simply the largest developed countries.

For us Dutchies, I think our best moment was Pieter winning the king's race (100m) in swimming and Inge winning the 50m.
Odd that both our hockey teams entered the finals with nice win chances, but both lost... Funny was also our badminton player praising the Lord when she played a dream game in the semifinals and won hands down... but you didn't hear anything about that Lord when she was crushed in the finals.. heh.. (this is not meant as religious offence.. but just to show how 'strong' her faith was..)

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I heard that China claims they will win the most medals in the next olympics. Seems they have a ways to go.

[Colovion]

Well America, China and Russia will always be among the top in the Olympics.. they are simply the largest developed countries.

For us Dutchies, I think our best moment was Pieter winning the king's race (100m) in swimming and Inge winning the 50m.
Odd that both our hockey teams entered the finals with nice win chances, but both lost... Funny was also our badminton player praising the Lord when she played a dream game in the semifinals and won hands down... but you didn't hear anything about that Lord when she was crushed in the finals.. heh.. (this is not meant as religious offence.. but just to show how 'strong' her faith was..)

:inquisitive: WHy would she thank the Lord if she lost? And that didn't show anything besides you like jumping to conclusions. ~:doh:

[Papewaio]

G S B
1 United States 35 39 29
2 China 32 17 14
3 Russia 27 27 38
4 Australia 17 16 16
5 Japan 16 9 12
6 Germany 14 16 18
7 France 11 9 13
8 Italy 10 11 11
9 South Korea 9 12 9
10 Great Britain 9 9 12


Australia 17 gold and a population of 20 million ~D

So about 220 gold medals if it had the population of the USA.

Or if it had the population of China... about 1000 gold medals.

Norway, New Zealand and Canada all did better then the 'top 3' if you look at numbers of gold per head of population.

[KillerKadugen]

I wish they would have shown more wrestling. Granted, it was nice of NBC to show a match now and then, but where is all the love for one of the oldest sports in the world? ~:mecry:

[hotingzilla]

If olympics soccer could become a big international tournament, it would be quite interesting and exciting.

[Katana]

Well, speaking as a Canadian, I quite enjoyed these games. About 2 days into them, I had my wisdom teeth pulled and couldn't work for 3 days straight. I had nothing to do but sit around and watch the action. It was great...

Some random thoughts:

- Why is it that being American and a sprinter automatically makes you an asshole?

- Does anyone else think that Shawn Crawford has really big man-titties? Honestly, the next time you see him race watch his pecs bounce. They've gotta be like a C-cup or something.

- That Iranian weightlifter (the one who set the WR) is INHUMAN.

- I still feel bad for Perdita Felicien... and that poor Russian she knocked over.

- Sailing is possibly the strangest sport to watch. There is absolutley no feeling of speed among the boats. They don't even look like they're in a hurry. They just sort of mosey along in an agreeable mood.

- Lorri-Ann Muenzer r0x0r! As I live in Edmonton (where she's from) I was totally psyched to see her win.

- Those dang Chinese! Peng Bo and then Hu Xia (sp?) both wrecked Alexandre Despatie's hopes for gold. Espcially Bo. That guy was simply on another level for the springboard final.

- My Olympic Moment: Watching Scola HAMMER it on Richard Jefferson (my most hated ball player ever, next to Shaq). Ye gods, I could watch that clip for days and never get board.

[exarchi]

- Why is it that being American and a sprinter automatically makes you an asshole?Hmm, maybe because their ego's dwarf the length of the track they're running?



- Does anyone else think that Shawn Crawford has really big man-titties? Honestly, the next time you see him race watch his pecs bounce. They've gotta be like a C-cup or something.I'm fairly certain he can bench more than you can. And it doesn't matter, he can twitch those bad boys.



- That Iranian weightlifter (the one who set the WR) is INHUMAN.That's what gigantic amounts of animal roids (no joke) do to you. Just google for Ronnie Coleman and you'll know.



- Sailing is possibly the strangest sport to watch. There is absolutley no feeling of speed among the boats. They don't even look like they're in a hurry. They just sort of mosey along in an agreeable mood.Sailing is not a real sport. Only reason it's in the olympics is because sailors are usually rich... you get my point.



Do you hate Shaq because he has a bigger boo-boo than you do?

[Colovion]

I'm fairly certain he can bench more than you can.

who cares? not relevant



That's what gigantic amounts of animal roids (no joke) do to you. Just google for Ronnie Coleman and you'll know.

Let's do that ok?

Ronnie Coleman:

http://totalworkout.homestead.com/files/ronnie_coleman.jpg

Hossein Rezazadeh (World Record Holder)

http://www.jsonline.com/images/oly00/weightlifter0926.jpg

Huh, not the same person and one is in the Olympics - and holy crap he's strong. ~:eek:



Sailing is not a real sport. Only reason it's in the olympics is because sailors are usually rich... you get my point.

~:confused: No. No I don't.

[Despot of the English]

OK so us Brits will never top the medals table in the Olympics but we topped the medals table in the sailing for two Olympics running. Britannia rules the waves! :jumping:

[Soulflame]

:inquisitive: WHy would she thank the Lord if she lost? And that didn't show anything besides you like jumping to conclusions. ~:doh:

She thanked Him after the semifinals, because she won that game very easy, against the number 1 placed.

[Bigus_Dickus]

I liked the ancient Olympics.
I dont think there were medals for 2nd and 3rd place.
Nowadays its all this crap about,well at least we participated,at least we tried ,at least we got 3rd place,what a load a bull. lol
Winning means everything ,second place is for losers.
hehe cat-pigeons
go to it.

[Bigus_Dickus]

I`m jk,being there and doing something is good enough. ;)

[CherryDanish]

The games were good, no boycotts and some larger teams from countries that had not competed before and several countries won for the first time in like 50 years. Too bad about the drugs and the anti war protesting (I'll leave my own anti war views out of this, but the olympics are about competeing in peace and the things that we have in common, not about war or disputing war, not the place for it IMHO).

I only have one complaint and that's that it looked like (especially in track and field) that some atheletes dogged it when it looked like they'd win. Their goals seemed too focused on medals and not enough on breaking records. I didn't hear too many atheletes say things like "my goal was to break the world record and stretch the known physical limitations of humanity." The wins and loses are all largely irrelevant to me. I look for spirit and for people who are out to set the bar higher for the human race.

[Katana]

I hate Shaq because he's a big fat cross-eyed moron who succeeds because he just happened to be over 7 feet tall and weigh 300+ pounds. The refs also apparently have some agreement to let him break all the rules (i.e. just push everyone out of the way, then dunk it and have a foul called on them), like he needs any more of an advantage throwing his weight around.

And anyways, I don't have to justify my opinion to you, because (get this): my opinons are not inherently right or wrong. So what the hell, I have no valid reasons for hating Shaq! It's totally irrational! Too bad you still can't do anything about it. SHAQ SUCKS.

[Colovion]

I must say that watching someone break a World Record is one of the biggest reasons why I watch them. I mean watching the Iranian lift that much made my eyes go wide and thing "HOLY SHIT THAT"S HEAVY!" Meanwhile, watching some cocky 100m runner win a medal is just a "meh" experience because I've seen people do it before...

[Katana]

I'd say watching anyone lift anywhere near what Rezzazedeh lifted is impressive. To even get into the same catagory as him you've gotta be able to clean and jerk weight in excess of 500 pounds. Just plain insanity.

[exarchi]

Ronnie Coleman squats in excess of 800 lbs for 5+ times. That Iranian guy has absolutely nothing on him.

[Colovion]

Ronnie Coleman squats in excess of 800 lbs for 5+ times. That Iranian guy has absolutely nothing on him.

THe Iranian lifted that 581 pounds from the ground, to his shoulders, and then over his head - squats are simple compared to that kind of thing. Yes I know 581 lbs on a bar isn't 800 lbs on a machine.

and if Coleman is so strong why isn't he in the Olympics? ~:rolleyes:

[Katana]

So what? I can squat 200 lbs for 10 reps. Squats work different muscles than Olympic lifiting does.

Ronnie Coleman is not in the Olympics because he would inevitably be thrown out for steroid use.

[XiaoLi]

I have started to love the Olympics ever since Sydney 2000 because:

1- I lived in Sydney then, so it was exciting to have Marathon runners go pass your window, and live across the road from Olympic venues (Darling Harbor)

2- The Dream with Roy and H.G.: their commentaries on Greco Roman wrestling and gymnastics (spinning date, battered sav, hello boys, and FLAT BAG!!!) They were great in Athens as well. So many plates smashed.

Aussies will know what I am talking about ~D

3- I began to realize there are few things the world could do together: it was either the Olympics or another war or something.

Athens was great. I am quite glad China and Aus both had their best games ever YAY! Highlights for me will have to be Australian diving and cycling and men's hockey gold medals, as well as the 2 first ever Chinese athletics gold medals. Also the women's volleyball tournament was awesome. The final was great, especially when China came back from 2 sets down to beat Russia for the gold. BTW the Russian coach was so much fun to watch.

I am seriously considering going to Beijing 2008. Check out the crazy "Bird Nest" main stadium design finally chosen:

http://www.bjghw.gov.cn/forNationalStadium/b11/xiaoguo/302.jpg

[cutepuppy]

... Too bad about the drugs ...

I only have one complaint and that's that it looked like (especially in track and field) that some atheletes dogged it when it looked like they'd win. Their goals seemed too focused on medals and not enough on breaking records. I didn't hear too many atheletes say things like "my goal was to break the world record and stretch the known physical limitations of humanity." The wins and loses are all largely irrelevant to me. I look for spirit and for people who are out to set the bar higher for the human race.


Well, well, complaining about not focussing on breaking records and at the same time about drug abuse.
You seem to forget that many of the records in track and field are very likely set by athletes which used a lot of drugs. Examples of this are all the old 'communist' records (marita koch, chinese women on 1500 and 10000, 4*100 and 4*400 m,...). The WR holder on 100m (tim montgory) is suspected for drug abuse, WR holder 3000m steeple chase (brahim boulami) was tested positive when he broke the WR for a 3rd time, there are severe suspicions on the WR of 'Flojo' (100 and 200 m, women),...

My highlights for the Olympics: hicham el Gerrouj on the 1500 and 5000 m double (first time since 1924 someone does this), the last lap of Bekele in the 10000m race (a lap in 53.03!!! and a new OR), that chinese on the 110 m hurdles.

[Desiderata]

My highlights were watching Matt Pinsett, Ed Coode, Steve Williams and James Cracknell win the quad rowing - awesome display. There may be those who say that rowing isnt a sport; well try rowing 2 k in under 7 minutes, going at 44 strokes a minute for the first 300 metres, down to a mere 37 for another 1.5 k then up to 46 strokes for 500 metres!! Simply incredible athletes and they deserve it after the year they've had.

The other highlights were El Gour-sorry cant spel his name winning - wonderful. The mens 15,000 metres - damn that last lap was fast and Kelly Holmes winning her two golds