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?

Something I’ve been wondering about since watching the mixed relay but haven’t been able to find the answer. If a team wins a medal, is it just the people who ran in the final who get a medal, or does someone who ran in a heat / semifinal but got replaced also get a medal?

They all get medals (but the ones in the final go on the podium). I'm pretty sure that's the case.
I think it's the same in the team sports too.

No, the ones in relay who weren't in the final still get a medal. There were 14 on the podium yesterday (four from one team, five from the other two).

It's certainly the case in swimming all get a medial but only those who swim the final relay event go onto the podium.

I would assume (hope) it's the same with all sports but they do all seem to do things differently.

I wish the commentators would spend more time telling us the rules and how the scoring and medal works rather than filling the time by reminding us what happened at Tokyo.

Just watched the 1500. Can someone please explain why runners lead right from the front in long races? It almost never pays off, does it?

Someone has to! The advantage is they can set the pace and they don't get boxed in. If they don't like it they can slow down and somebody else will take over.

Felt sorry for the Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrightson and Josh Kerr leading from the front, then overtaken by Carl Hocker.

I know I am being very stupid. I probably need to read more about race strategy. It seems a gamble.

Ingebrigtsen is famed for it - he's won lots of races doing the same thing (and was the reigning 1500m champion). He's good enough that it often pays off, but not always.

I know it's a weird sport but I really wanted to see it, and the BBC website isn't at all user friendly. What channel were you watching it on?

I didn’t watch it but if you go to the live page of the Olympics then go to watch and listen and it shows you the two live streams. I can only watch it on BBC too, I don’t have discovery+ which is what a lot more of the Olympic coverage is on

Ah OK. Sorry for completely misspelling his name.

I guess it sometimes pays off, so he took a chance.

Ooh, I have one. Why do the divers always go and sit in the mini hot tub thing after they’ve done their dive?

My husband was a competitor in LA the last time round.

I assume it's to do with keeping muscles nice and warm?
Would there be a risk of muscle cramps and spasms if they dive into cold water and then don't warm up quickly?

Why do the women boxers wear head guards but the men don't?

Ooohj Annie that's amazing. Well done him! What sport did he do?

I don’t know. I don’t actually know if it is hot, tbh.

Ah, well if we’re playing that game, my cousin’s wife was in the 400m hurdles at the Sydney Olympics. She is very cool.

There has been research to show there isn't any benefit (and might even increase the risk of harm) in men so it has been removed as a requirement. There isn't the same evidence for women so they have remained pending further research/information..

Just Googled

en.as.com/olympic_games/2024-olympics-in-paris-why-do-divers-get-in-a-hot-tub-after-diving-n/

Fantastic!!!

That's one of the hardest distances.

It's like the 200m in swimming - they are very specialist.

Paula Radcliff used to do it a fair bit (albeit in the marathon) and she didn't do too badly.
Keely H led from the front yesterday.

On the flip side, Kelly Holmes ran most of her 2 gold medal races at the back. She made us sit on the edges of our seats!

FFS why do the journalists shove microphones up the noses of athletes who have just failed to medal and are disappointed/frustrated and sobbing?

Then they have to try and be all gracious and sporting when all they really want (probably) is a hug and a chance to have a good cry!!

Totally agree. horrible to see Dina being stalked. Leave her alone dammit.