Off-Season Olympics Coverage

[Rick Kitchen]

Spanish yachting gold medalist robbed at gunpoint on the streets of Rio.

[MyAimIsTrue]

9 hours ago, selkie said:

this was kind of the Summer Games equivalent of the Australian speedskater who won winter gold when his competition crashed out

Steven Bradbury.  Still one of my favorite Olympics moments ever for his sheer "what the fuck?" reaction.

[merylinkid]

So what happens when medals are "reallocated?"   They get the gold medal in the mail with a letter saying "By the way, you won."   It kinds of sucks they lost out on the podium moment in front of the world.   

[xaxat]

43 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

So what happens when medals are "reallocated?"   They get the gold medal in the mail with a letter saying "By the way, you won."   It kinds of sucks they lost out on the podium moment in front of the world.   

Meet Jared Talent. Who awarded himself a mock medal after he found out he was the 2012 gold medalist in the 50k walk.

The real one is hopefully in the mail.

[Mittengirl]

The IOC should invite the new winners and their families to Rio and have a podium presentation at the Opening Ceremony.

[merylinkid]

Well, maybe not Rio.  

Also considering they still refuse to honor the Israeli athletes killed at Munich, I wouldn't hold my breath for the IOC to do the right thing.

Edited May 29, 2016 by merylinkid

[selkie]

5 hours ago, merylinkid said:

So what happens when medals are "reallocated?"   They get the gold medal in the mail with a letter saying "By the way, you won."   It kinds of sucks they lost out on the podium moment in front of the world.   

In the case of shot putter Adam Nelson, he actually exchanged his silver for gold in a food court of Atlanta-Hartsfield airport. Hope the restaurant staff kicked in a free egg roll for the new honor. (USATF had given him a new victory lap at their national championships the previous month, but the medal itself hadn't arrived yet.)

http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2016/05/25/adam-nelson-olympic-trials-comeback-track-and-field-shot-put/

[Rick Kitchen]

The IAAF has banned the Russian athletics team from the Olympics because of too many failed drug tests and allegations that the Russian government was working to falsify results.  The IOC can vote to override, but tha has never been done. I wonder if Russia will boycott Rio.

[xaxat]

I have to admit, my level of cynicism with respect to international governing bodies is so high that I really didn't think they would ban Russia.

[Mittengirl]

Starting tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time, NBC Sports is airing live coverage of U.S. Olympic diving trials.  The channel is not "regular" NBC, but their sports channel, listed as NBCSP on my Comcast listings.  Coverage continues through the week.  Men's gymnastics trials coverage begins Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on the same channel.

[xaxat]

This can't be good. . . World doping watchdog shuts down Rio Olympic laboratory

Quote

The World Anti-Doping Agency has stopped its accredited laboratory in Rio de Janeiro from conducting tests just weeks before the Olympic Games open in the city.

WADA says the lab's accreditation has been suspended due to "non-conformity with the International Standard for Laboratories."

[legaleagle53]

I guess it's time to dust this thread off now that the Olympics have ended.

Rome may be dropping its bid for 2024 because the new mayor of Rome has voiced opposition to the bid, although she hasn't formally rejected it, either.  If Rome drops its bid, Italy will submit a new bid for 2028 with a different city.  http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2016/09/01/olympics-italy-rome-2024-2028-bidding-matteo-renzi/?utm_network=twitter&utm_post=6238359&utm_source=TW %40NBCOlympics&utm_tags=srm[article%2Colympics]

I'd say that if Rome drops out, look for Los Angeles to become the front-runner for 2024 by default.  Paris would really have to bring its security up to snuff, and I have to wonder whether Budapest even knows what it would be letting itself in for in trying to host the Games.

[Mittengirl]

Sort of on that note - do you think the Olympics, as we know them, will exist in 50 years? 

[SeanC]

3 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

Sort of on that note - do you think the Olympics, as we know them, will exist in 50 years? 

It's possible we're heading toward the Games doing something more akin to a fixed rotation between various major cities.

Los Angeles, for instance, is making the fact that it pretty much has all the stuff the Game need already.

[legaleagle53]

Indeed, the Los Angeles Bidding Committee just released this today, exactly one year before the IOC votes on the host for the 2024 Summer Games:

LA is taking this seriously!

[xaxat]

US athletes’ doping tests published by Russian hackers, agency says

Quote

The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed Tuesday that hackers accessed a database of confidential medical data and released the drug regimens of gymnast Simone Biles and three other top US Olympians. The agency went on to say the Russian government was behind the move.

[selkie]

The Brazilian shakedown of the Olympics continues. Remind me why we should trust the country's legal-judicial system about anything? 

http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1041835/brazilian-court-blocks-assets-of-olympic-broadcasting-services-following-rio-2016

Edited September 20, 2016 by selkie

[xaxat]

Is there any evidence that decision runs contrary to Brazilian law? 

Legal standards vary by region and country. Right now, the US is in a major debate with the European Union (France, Germany etc.) over a $14 billion dollar tax bill for Apple. Should we stop trusting the EU?

Brazil took a lot of crap for how they treated the US swimmers, but those guys are lucky they weren't in Singapore. A member of an F1 racing team was detained by the authorities and fined $700 for throwing a cigarette butt in the street.

Edited September 20, 2016 by xaxat

[selkie]

Lit smoking item tossed onto the ground can get you a several hundred dollar fine in many American states too- wildfires start that way. It's a criminal misdemeanor in Florida under certain circumstances. 

[xaxat]

Rome's mayor will not support the city's bid for the 2024 games. 

That leaves Budapest, Paris and LA.

[xaxat]

Olympics History Rewritten: New Doping Tests Topple the Podium

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After revelations of a massive, state-run doping program in Russia, sports officials have been retesting urine samples from the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, in Beijing and London. Their findings have resulted in a top-to-bottom rewriting of Olympics history.

More than 75 athletes from those two Olympics have been found, upon further scrutiny, to be guilty of doping violations. The majority are from Russia and other Eastern European countries. At least 40 of them won medals. Disciplinary proceedings are continuing against other athletes, and the numbers are expected to climb.

Anyone looking at the record books for the Beijing and London Games might think them an illusion. Medals are being stripped from dozens of athletes and redistributed to those who were desprived a spot on the podium.

[selkie]

Maclaren Report Part 2:  Systematic Russian Doping Boogaloo has been released

http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1044619/publication-of-part-two-of-the-mclaren-report

 

Quote

What happens next is the question on everyone's lips after substantial and "undeniable" evidence was presented here, including that over 1,000 Russian athletes were involved in the state-sponsored doping scheme.

This included medallists from Sochi and other major events, while McLaren said the Russian team at London 2012 "corrupted the London Games on an unprecedented scale, the extent of which will probably never be established".

[Silver Raven]

Usain Bolt has been stripped of the 2008 relay medal after one of his teammates was found to be doping.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/sports/olympics/usain-bolt-jamaica-stripped-2008-olympic-relay-gold-medal-nesta-carter.html

[selkie]

No real surprise- once Carter's retest turned up dirty, the medal stripping had to happen. I've always felt like Bolt was a clean genetic freak of nature, but a lot of other Jamaican runners of that era were definitely not, and Jamaica's anti-doping authority back then simply refused to do any domestic testing, trying to claim 'we're too poor of a country for that'. (Never mind that many countries with far fewer resources managed to run far better anti-doping efforts)  It wasn't organized like the Russians or Turks, but it was a problem for many years that no one really addressed. 

[Silver Raven]

American Lowell Bailey becomes the first American to win a World Biathlon Championship.

http://deadspin.com/lowell-bailey-newly-minted-american-hero-wins-usas-fi-1792461918
 

[Minneapple]

Here we go: NBC is going to broadcast the Olympics live across all time zones.

http://www.startribune.com/no-tape-delay-nbc-will-air-winter-olympics-live-across-u-s/417377123/

[dkb]

I wonder if the NHL, IIHF, and the Olympics can get a deal done to continue with NHL stars at the Winter Games? I really like watching the stars compete, and not the under 19s; they have their own tournament every year. I want to see the Crosby's, Stamko's, Ovechkins and Matthews competing. Men's and women's hockey is my must see event at the games and if their not their my interest would be wayyy down.

Anyone else feel that way?

[MyAimIsTrue]

I personally don't like having pros in the Olympics and wish it could go back to being strictly amateur athletes.  Yes, I realize many countries did not abide by that but I don't find it enjoyable to watch superstars play.

[dkb]

8 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

I personally don't like having pros in the Olympics and wish it could go back to being strictly amateur athletes.  Yes, I realize many countries did not abide by that but I don't find it enjoyable to watch superstars play.

Yeah, I can understand that. I feel that the Olympics are about the best athletes in the world, and in certain sports the best are professionals.

[selkie]

The original Olympic amateurism rules that claimed 'purity of the sport' were all about preserving them for rich white European dudes and not allowing those icky working class blokes who didn't have a family fortune to allow them to live a life of athletic leisure into the Games. It was designed to be an inherently classist and likely racist system, and I'm all for allowing professionals in instead of having the events be just a rich guys (and later 'little ladies') club. 

[selkie]

Poorly made Rio Olympic medals starting to fall apart:

https://swimswam.com/6-7-rio-medals-falling-apart/

 

Quote

France 24 estimates 2,021 medals were awarded last summer. Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada commented on the subject, mentioning any defective medals would be replaced.

“We’re seeing problems with the covering on between six or seven percent of the medals and it seems to be to do with the difference in temperatures.” Together with the IOC we’re setting up a system for replacing the defective medals,” he said. “The medals will either be repaired or replaced”.

[legaleagle53]

Now, why doesn't that come as a surprise to me?

[xaxat]

This story has been bouncing around for a while, but here's another account of how Nike track coach Alberto Salazar coerced Olympic level runners to take sketchy prescriptions of possible performance enhancing (but not banned) drugs. 

This Doesn't Sound Legal': Inside Nike's Oregon Project

Quote

The antidoping agency began investigating Salazar and the Oregon Project in 2015, after former team members and a staff member described cheating within the program in a report by the BBC and ProPublica.

United States antidoping officials now believe that Salazar and a Texas endocrinologist administered an infusion procedure in violation of antidoping rules, colluded to cover it up and then lied to their athletes about its legality.

[Mittengirl]

I got my Comcast bill today and after the usual outrage and nausea passed I noticed a note that said that on or around July 13 Universal HD would cease operations and on or around that same day Olympics Channel HD would be available.   I wonder how much actual coverage of Oly sports we will get to see and how much of it will be live.

[selkie]

I suspect it's going to largely be a reboot of the Universal Sports channel, which I always seemed to find some good stuff on. NBC currently has the rights to the Vuelta cycling grand tour, and I assume that will end up there along with assorted non-figure skating Olympic sports, which may or may not be rebroadcasts of English language Eurosport coverage, depending on how motivated NBC is to find its own announcing team for biathlon and such. Diamond League track and field may either stay on NBC Sports or move over (and I expect reruns of meets to be on the Olympic channel) and USA Swimming's grand prix series will probably end up on Olympic channel because USAS pays to have the meets broadcast, and it's probably cheaper that way. 

As for live, probably a fair amount of daytime coverage from other time zones like they've been doing for European events for a while now, and a mix of live western hemisphere events and reruns they think will get decent ratings during prime time. 

[ketchuplover]

Los Angeles and Paris will get the '24 and '28 games or visa-versa

[Silver Raven]

1 hour ago, ketchuplover said:

Los Angeles and Paris will get the '24 and '28 games or visa-versa

Assuming the two cities can come to an agreement as to which city gets which one.  I would think that LA should get 24 because they have most of the infrastructure already in place, and it would give Paris more time, but I have a feeling it's going to be the other way around.

[FrenchCheese]

@Silver Raven, we are going to disagree on this. But I am biased since I am french and living in Paris. For once Paris has also a lot of infrastructure already in place (or almost ready). We are mainly missing a swimming pool and an Olympic village. The main issue for Paris in 2028 is in fact the Olympic village. As per today it is planned to be built on a land that is blocked for 2024. Paris does not have the agreement for 2028 and is not sure to get it. That may be the point that will make the decision to choose which city get 2024.

From an emotional point of view, France did not have the Summer Olympic games since forever (Paris in 1924 is the last time). And Paris tried to get the games so many times (losing to London the last time) that 4 extra years of waiting seem unnecessary. 

[legaleagle53]

On 7/13/2017 at 2:47 AM, FrenchCheese said:

@Silver Raven, we are going to disagree on this. But I am biased since I am french and living in Paris. For once Paris has also a lot of infrastructure already in place (or almost ready). We are mainly missing a swimming pool and an Olympic village. The main issue for Paris in 2028 is in fact the Olympic village. As per today it is planned to be built on a land that is blocked for 2024. Paris does not have the agreement for 2028 and is not sure to get it. That may be the point that will make the decision to choose which city get 2024.

From an emotional point of view, France did not have the Summer Olympic games since forever (Paris in 1924 is the last time). And Paris tried to get the games so many times (losing to London the last time) that 4 extra years of waiting seem unnecessary. 

I imagine President Macron is pushing HARD for Paris to get 2024.

[FrenchCheese]

Macron has just been elected and thus he was not a big part of putting the bid together. In addition, he may not be president anymore in 2024 and every french people will have forget about that in time for the next presidential election. So I am not sur why Macron has to push so HARD for 2024. And I don't see his last move as pushing hard. Sure he was in Lausanne but as I said we lost so many times already that we are copying winning bid now. And the strategy for Paris is to say that the bid is not only interresting Parisian people it is for all french all over the country. So having the current president (and sports minister who is also an olympic gold medalist) is a good way of proving the point.  The president before him was also for the bid. The politician who is pushing HARD to get 2024 is the mayor of Paris actually. And to be fair she is the one who can politically win or lose most with this. As I said we have not see the summer Olympic games for 100 years, so maybe we are a bit more passionate about 2024 than Los Angeles (it is only 44 years for the city and 28 years in the country with Atlanta). 

[Mittengirl]

The Olympic Channel started on Comcast (Xfinity) today.  So far a lot of swimming and diving, volleyball, track and fencing on the schedule.

[legaleagle53]

1 hour ago, FrenchCheese said:

Macron has just been elected and thus he was not a big part of putting the bid together. In addition, he may not be president anymore in 2024 and every french people will have forget about that in time for the next presidential election. So I am not sur why Macron has to push so HARD for 2024. And I don't see his last move as pushing hard. Sure he was in Lausanne but as I said we lost so many times already that we are copying winning bid now. And the strategy for Paris is to say that the bid is not only interresting Parisian people it is for all french all over the country. So having the current president (and sports minister who is also an olympic gold medalist) is a good way of proving the point.  The president before him was also for the bid. The politician who is pushing HARD to get 2024 is the mayor of Paris actually. And to be fair she is the one who can politically win or lose most with this. As I said we have not see the summer Olympic games for 100 years, so maybe we are a bit more passionate about 2024 than Los Angeles (it is only 44 years for the city and 28 years in the country with Atlanta). 

I think the major hurdle Paris faces is convincing the IOC that it will have the improved security in place that it will need.  The terrorist attacks of last November are still fresh in people's minds, and there's no telling what terrorists may try to pull when the world's best athletes (and probably not a few world leaders, including President Macron) are all in one place at the same time.

[FrenchCheese]

Since the terrorist attacks in Paris, France held an European Soccer Championship without any security issue. I live in Paris and as shocked as I was by the attacks, I do not live in fear every day. And if we go by the terrorist attack fear, I don't see how Low Angeles will be more secure than Paris with all top athletes and few world leaders gather in the same city. Olympics games are always a security issue and have been the target long before November 2015 in Paris.  IOC thought Rio was safe enough, so security is probably not that much of an issue. In fact the IOC agreed to give the Games to both LA and Paris for 2024 and 2028. Only conditions is that both towns can be candidate for 2024 and 2028 and that both towns agree on which city hosts first. Negociations between both cities are ongoing and should end before September. If no agreement is found IOC will vote only for 2024. 

In french newspapers it is believed that Paris should get 2024 and Los Angeles 2028. And that a solution will be reached as the IOC does not have good candidates for 2028 and really need to save face. But they are probably a bit biased. I know for a fact that Paris main issue for 2028 is for the Olympic village location. As per today they have blocked some land until 2024 but are not sure to get the green light to wait 4 extra years. 

[selkie]

Le Tour has also been violent incident-free in recent years and is about as complex of a security event as anyone would try to manage. 

[legaleagle53]

4 hours ago, FrenchCheese said:

Since the terrorist attacks in Paris, France held an European Soccer Championship without any security issue. I live in Paris and as shocked as I was by the attacks, I do not live in fear every day. And if we go by the terrorist attack fear, I don't see how Low Angeles will be more secure than Paris with all top athletes and few world leaders gather in the same city. Olympics games are always a security issue and have been the target long before November 2015 in Paris.  IOC thought Rio was safe enough, so security is probably not that much of an issue. In fact the IOC agreed to give the Games to both LA and Paris for 2024 and 2028. Only conditions is that both towns can be candidate for 2024 and 2028 and that both towns agree on which city hosts first. Negociations between both cities are ongoing and should end before September. If no agreement is found IOC will vote only for 2024. 

In french newspapers it is believed that Paris should get 2024 and Los Angeles 2028. And that a solution will be reached as the IOC does not have good candidates for 2028 and really need to save face. But they are probably a bit biased. I know for a fact that Paris main issue for 2028 is for the Olympic village location. As per today they have blocked some land until 2024 but are not sure to get the green light to wait 4 extra years. 

Oh, if the IOC has already said that Paris and LA both get the Games, as long as the two cities can agree on which one goes first, then you're right. Security in Paris isn't a problem.  In that event, I hope both cities agree to let Paris get 2024 for the centennial of the last Paris Games, with LA getting them in 2028, which would give LA an extra four years to prepare.  And as much as I hate to sound greedy, I'd love to see Lake Placid get the 2026 Winter Games in honor of my country's Quarter-Millennial celebration that year.

[NUguy514]

Speaking as an Angeleno, we wouldn't need four extra years to prepare.  Honestly, we could almost host the Games today, if necessary (and I remember a year ago when everyone thought Rio wasn't going to be ready at all, there was talk of moving the Games to LA because it was the only city that could basically host the Games at the drop of a hat).  The only big thing that needs to be built is the new stadium for the Rams/ Chargers, which will be the stadium used for the opening/closing ceremonies and the track and field events; that should be completed by the start of the 2020 NFL season.  I'm not saying we should get the Games first, but we don't need more time to prepare for them.

[Mittengirl]

I think the perception of security issues may hurt Paris.  But, lets face it, trying to guess what political/terrorist issues might exist in 7 years is a fool's game.  Certainly no one foresaw the events of 9/11 happening so close to the start of the Salt Lake games.

Edited July 17, 2017 by Mittengirl

[legaleagle53]

4 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I think the perception of security issues may hurt Paris.  But, lets face it, trying to guess what political/terrorist issues might exist in 7 years is a fool's game.  Certainly no one foresaw the events of 9/11 happening so close to the start of the Salt Lake games.

Besides, as @FrenchCheese pointed out, the IOC has already tentatively awarded Paris either 2024 or 2028, depending on what it and LA agree to, so the issue of security really isn't that relevant.  It would only be relevant if the IOC ended up having to make the decision because the two cities couldn't agree on who went first, and given the fact that there really aren't any decent candidates for 2028 other than Paris and Los Angeles, Paris would almost certainly get 2028 if it didn't get 2024.  Moreover, I think that even if he's no longer President in 2024, I think Macron will definitely work with the mayor of Paris before then to make certain that Paris has the necessary security in place in time for the Olympics.

Edited July 18, 2017 by legaleagle53

[NUguy514]

It's official: Paris is hosting 2024, and LA is hosting 2028.

[Silver Raven]

20 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

It's official: Paris is hosting 2024, and LA is hosting 2028.

Damn.  I may be too old to go by then.  Good thing I got to see 1984.