How has the Olympic Games been for you and your country?
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Yeah Khai, I understand this is one of the downsides. I have been told that its a nightmare getting to and from work. I suppose London Town was never designed to handle such an event. Still as you say, your hardship will be over very soon
Yes, Csaba, Hungary's achievements are excellent. I was surprised to see that quite a few medals were from water related sports! Never knew there was a tradition in this area.
I've just watched one of the toughest events, the 50km Race Walk. Many of the guys finishing gladly availed of wheelchairs at the finish. It was also bitter sweet to see our Roy Heffernan coming in forth .... now if that was boxing he would have got a Bronze
One of the highlights for me was seeing Oscar Pistorius (double amputee) from South Africa taking part.
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@mike lucey said:
Yes, Csaba, Hungary's achievements are excellent. I was surprised to see that quite a few medals were from water related sports! Never knew there was a tradition in this area.
We have lots of water here!
@mike lucey said:
I've just watched one of the toughest events, the 50km Race Walk.
Well, if I have a look at the first three guys and imagine they are race walking after me in a dark street at night, it1s a scary thought...
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..... Race Walking is strange to watch. I've seen some local guys road training here and its funny to watch. But 50km / 30 miles of doing this is definately a killer. The Bronze winner from China needed a chair and medical assistance after the race. I think our Roy Heffernan from Cork will get a medal in Rio as he is a young guy with at least another Olympics in him.
The only frighten thing here is that I think there will be loads of girls now taking up boxing! I pity young lads out on dates with them
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I have been really enjoying these games, and have a lot of respect for the amount of work these athletes put in to their sports. There are no real losers here, as the experience must be amazing.
I have also been really impressed with the camaraderie between the athletes of all nations.
As for Canada, well a few surprises, and disappointments but all in all were doing pretty well. -
I think Hungary are by far the greatest achievers based on the amount of athletes participating, I'm also very pleased with South Africa too based on the same reasoning. GBR has been impressive and great in front of a home crowd, all in all it has been a great Olympics well done London.
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I am proud for Mr. Pistorius, Mr. Bolt, all of the athletes, London, the sportsmanship and amazing talent displayed by all, the magnificent opening, and of course, my countrymen.
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Mr Pistorius is taking part in the Special Olypics next week which is also in London. I'd imagine the experience he earned here will filter through to this inspiring event also. A great representative and heart warming to see the admiration his fellow competitors had for him.
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Here is an interesting article, Discontinued Olympic Sports, http://www.topendsports.com/events/discontinued/
I see that the Tug-of-War is and rugby is coming back. I'd imagine this would suit many of our athletes
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Well guys, the Olympics are over for another 4 years. I really enjoyed the last couple of weeks watching favorite sports and learning about other sports that I was not familiar with.
While Irish competitors are not coming home with a load of medals, the small collection, including one Gold will be held in high esteem.
During the games I learned about an Irishman, a Brother Colm O'Connell, that has been behind 29 global champions including Kenyan world-record holder Rudisha http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/olympics/4478196/Irish-missionary-fires-David-Rudisha-to-top-ahead-of-800m-final.html
It was a pure pleasure watching David Rudisha breeze through the 800m to win gold and at the same time achieve a world record time. David is also a member of the Massai tribe and as we all know those guys start running as soon as they are able to stand! Training at 6000 feet also helps
On a different but connected note, I have also just learned today via AVAAZ that there are plans afoot to evict parts of the Massai tribe from their traditional lands to make way for rich sport hunters. Check out the details here, http://www.avaaz.org/en/index.php and make up your own mind.
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@gaieus said:
Well, at this very moment, Hungary is #8 by gold and #13 "total" - which is not bad for a small country like this.
http://www.london2012.com/medals/medal-count/(Just in case it changes after my post, here is the screenshot)
Damn you, Csaba! you guys beet us by one place...
Australia appears to have had it's worst games results for over 30 years... already the blame game has begun and asking the question: why are all our best coaches working in China...? Seems it worked well for them...
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Crazy, crazy stuff - apparently, if Yorkshire were a country we would have finished 12th in the medal tables. And if Leeds were a country, it would have finished 49th. Must be something in the air here.
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Andrew, On the subject of coach poaching! This is happening quite a lot these days I believe. Good coaches are just as hard to come by as good athletes and should be rewarded. Most start off doing the job for the love of it and I imagine they would not have huge demands when it comes to remuneration, just something decent.
I hope our Irish boxing coaches aren't poached but they will be unless they are treated decently with some kind of a security package, pension etc. The pension element is important as from what I see it also takes time the develop good coaching skills and the best of them are over the 50 mark!
Currently they are on a year to year contracts so who would blame them for wanting the grab some security cash before they retire.
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You are right John about the air! I also am interested in learning more how and why certain areas of the planet produce certain attributes in athletes. Also there is the gene build up in certain sectors of populations around the World.
If you want the find a good fly weight boxer, go the Belfast! If you want the find a good sprinter go to Cuba! If you want to find a good long distance runner go to Kenya.
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I'm a proud kiwi (New Zealander) we are currently standing at 12th place after we were awarded another gold because of a winner testing position for drugs. So from a country of 4m I think that's a job well done. Really enjoyed this Olympics. Look forward to Rio now.
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@mike lucey said:
Andrew, On the subject of coach poaching! This is happening quite a lot these days I believe. Good coaches are just as hard to come by as good athletes and should be rewarded. Most start off doing the job for the love of it and I imagine they would not have huge demands when it comes to remuneration, just something decent.
I hope our Irish boxing coaches aren't poached but they will be unless they are treated decently with some kind of a security package, pension etc. The pension element is important as from what I see it also takes time the develop good coaching skills and the best of them are over the 50 mark!
Currently they are on a year to year contracts so who would blame them for wanting the grab some security cash before they retire.
And there in lies the problem, Mike. Our clever government cut millions from our sports funding but found it somehow right in there mind to give billions on foreign aid......... don't get me started.
A little balance doesn't hurt.
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@rich o brien said:
Mr Pistorius is taking part in the Special Olypics next week which is also in London. I'd imagine the experience he earned here will filter through to this inspiring event also. A great representative and heart warming to see the admiration his fellow competitors had for him.
Correction: Oscar Pistorius is taking part in the Paralympics, which are for athletes with physical disabilities; the Special Olympics are for those with intellectual disabilities. I was surprised, though, when I heard he was to be in the paralympics; although he meets the qualifications (amputee), by making it into the olympics, it seems to me he's proved he's not physically disabled. Anyway, hopefully we'll see him in Rio in four years.
Watching Pistorius race was one of the highlights, for me. And, seeing Lochte beat Phelps in their first race. The Summer and Winter Olympics are the only time I "get into" sports, and look forward to them with anticipation. Unfortunately, this go around, NBC's coverage of them left much to be desired, so I didn't see as much as I had hoped. Now there's Sochi in 2014 to look forward to; their promotional piece showed some very nice looking venues.
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