A thread for your stupid Olympics questions

[FriendlyNeighbourhoodAccountant]

If you have any "stupid" questions about the Olympics here's the place to ask them. Hopefully some knowledgeable people will know the answers.

At this temperature it's too hot for me to walk my dog but the horses are participating in the jumping events. Does the heat not impact them in the same way? Is it because they're bigger? Is it just because they're horses?

My question is why do the women's diving team wear such skimpy swimsuits? I saw one this afternoon where it was right up her bum crack. She adjusted the front and left the back up her crack!

I swear that some of the poses they have to pull they are going to flash more than bum cheeks at some point.

They drop the masts to tow them. And the boats aren’t huge - an ILCA (Laser) will fit on top of a car. The hull weight of a 49er is < 100kg, a 470 is just over 120kg and a Nacra 17 is approx. 170kg. Can be towed behind a car.

Everyone will run in shoes by one of two or three sports companies, because they have invested millions in developing shoes that give a few percentage points advantage.

Some of the top stars probably get paid to wear them, others will just get free shoes and some are probably buying their own!

The men wear very skimpy suits too 🤷‍♀️

I believe the bright orange shoes are Nikes, so yes, very possible that they all get their shoes from Nike.

Odd this one, isn't it?

I watched France v Brazil football the other night; Brazil happy to wear white shorts, it would seem, but France changed theirs to blue.

It seems many European women won't wear white shorts any more, internationally or domestically.

I've watched a lot of women's sport over the years and have yet to notice blood on any woman's white/light-coloured shorts.

Ever.

I would have thought there were more important/relevant things to think about and acid, tbh, but...

Dunno...

Hmmm...poor show from you on this issue, I reckon.

We'll have to agree to disagree.

If we were talking about a transgender athlete, you might have a point.

But we aren't.

You are aware of that, aren't you?

Does anybody remember an incident where an athlete (I think a hurdler?) couldn't complete their race but without somebody competing the whole team would be disqualified so somebody random stepped in and gave it a whirl?

Perhaps not even an Olympics question but I'm hoping somebody knows...it's bugging me now!

Yes, it was their shot putter, wasn't it?

It was a Belgian shot putter at the European Team Championships.

So it was, sorry not Olympics at all!!
Thanks for replying though.
I've found the YouTube link now...love that story 😄

@crazyunicornlady73 xould you share that link please!
Also stop with the boxing opinions, not in the joyous spirit of the thread.
And how DO the synchronised swimmers get the gel stuff out of their hair?

Oh yes, here we go.

How long do the participants get to stay in the Olympic village?

I’d have thought that they’d want to be there for quite a while beforehand - to get over jet lag and to acclimatise (especially those doing outdoors events)

And do those doing longer events walk the course beforehand - I’m thinking of things like lapped triathlon running and cycling, not a whole marathon! - so they know when to expect turns and gradients and plan their race strategy accordingly

It depends on the team in question - Team GB have a policy that you have to leave within 48 hours of your event ending. I'm assuming this is to ensure athletes still competing aren't distracted.

I think other countries, especially those with smaller teams, are more relaxed. I'm assuming some athletes will take every opportunity to enjoy the Olympic experience for as long as they can, I know I would!!

A lot of teams will have holding camps in the same time zone to get over jet lag etc before going to the village. The US has a huge training centre setup, the alternates for the gymnastics team got to stay on there when the team moved to the village and were mixing with loads of other sports as they arrived.
I wonder if some athletes will go back there until closing ceremony.

Why do the women runners wear what are essentially bikinis and the men all covered up?

Why do the horses have such stupid names ?

Isn't "Lord Fotherington Smyths the Thirds Trousers" a bit of a mouthful when you are trying to encourage it ?

It will be Smiffy when it's being shouted at encouraged

I think like actors they have to be registered with a unique name so Bob and Dave will have been already been taken!

They have formal registered names from sponsor/breeder/stable and day to day names.

This woman is my hero

Other posters are right but you also have things like breeder prefixes - no different from a pedigree dog or cat breeder using a prefix or suffix in their animal's show names so everyone knows who bred the animal.
Sometimes as well you might want to make your horses' name a combination of their parent's name, especially if they are descended from an especially good or significant horse.
An example of this; Lucinda Fredericks, a former world class and Olympic 3 day event rider, had an incredibly talented mare called Headley Britannia. She has several horses which are related to Headley Britannia and most if not all have "Britannia" as part of their name. Her former event stallion is Headley Britannia's son and is called Britannia's Mail. But around the barn he's Marley 😃

They choose their kit from what's available.

Lots of woman prefer to run in briefs as they don't ride up your arse 😂

Yes but why is what is available quite different for men and women?
Would also be interested to hear from runners? Are the bikini or tankini type outfits easier to run in for women? Personally I would find it easier to run in proper shorts but I am not a runner.