A thread for your stupid Olympics questions

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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?

I think it's part of their contract they have to be interviewed straight after, which in some cases, where they are totally knackered, is bloody ridiculous.

Why do all the commentators have those enormous 'lollipop' microphones, and sit there even when not talking holding up to their mouths. Microphones can be really small now, why are they huge??

I found the interview with Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix earlier when she was crying and saying she just wanted to see her family really uncomfortable. She had already mentioned having mental health issues after Tokyo and they didn't leave her be. I switched off.

@Runningupthecurtains I agree. It was awful. And even when she said she wanted to see her family I’m pretty sure the interviewer said - you can in a minute. Even though by that stage she was needing the interview to be brought to a sudden end.

Im actually quite concerned about her as there was something about the things she said that came across as being the right things to say rather than actually feeling them. I hope she’s on over the next few months and it’s great she’s obviously so well loved by her family.

I don't how how the interviewer could carry on while she sobbed. I'd have dropped the mike thrown my arms around her and said 'darling your family are so proud of you, you have done brilliantly and anyway your worth is in no way connected to how well you dive.' while cover the camera lense / leading her towards Papa Fred.

I'm a bit late to the thread but I love it, thank you. I can answer a few qs.

PP asked why it's GBR not GB. All countries have a three letter code. Interestingly some use the Anglicised version e.g. GER for Germany, but some use the native spelling e.g. ESP for Spain. No idea how that's decided.

Also a pp asked about if boats are transported or borrowed. Rowing boats are transported. The singles, doubles, pairs, quads and fours are all taken "whole" in shipping containers and the eights, which are about 19m long, split into two sections.

GB didn't have the same cox in the men's and women's eights. They are an integral part of the crew and will train and get to know their crew inside out, what motivates them and what their race strategies are. I doubt that doubling up would have been possible anyway even if permitted because the men's race started when the women had just finished. It wouldn't have been possible to be in two both at once. What GB did have this time, was that the women's cox was a man for the first time ever and he had previously coxed the men. As with all of the athletes, the best person for the job is selected.

There is never a podium at rowing events. It's a great q and they could make them big enough, but they are almost always on a pontoon and the rowers pull in, receive their medals and row off again to take the boat back. It's a bit different now as they are all getting changed into those awful tracksuits and I couldn't work out where they are coming off the water and if they have to get back in the boats. I don't think so.

Why do rowers row backwards? It's because our strongest and biggest muscled are in our bums and legs. Much stronger than our arms. So a rowing stroke is actually pushing ourselves away in the water rather than pulling with much weaker arm muscles.

My q: how does the ball get placed back in the centre of the pool for each water polo restart?

The big mics are because there is so much background noise they need all the foam (or whatever it is) to minimize that. Lapel mics would just not work. There are clips on SM showing how the BBC studio at the stadium is virtually in the concourse, right by a food concession. It will be incredibly noisy.

I imagine they hold the mics up even when they're not speaking because its visually smoother for the viewer, rather than mic up/mic down constantly. It means the conversation can flow more naturally between the anchor and pundits too, as they're all ready to speak at any moment.

I can't work out why the presenters on Eurospprt (in a remote studio, not in a venue) are all using big mics though. No background noise issues there.

Why do they have weight classes in Judo? You either the best at Judo or your not. Being the best small person at Judo is pointless. Same with boxing, what the point in saying I'm the best boxer in the world, as long as my opponent isn't too big. Why not have weight classes in running, you've no chance at the 10k you've skinning with long legs. .

It isn't as straight forward as heaviest is best, certainly in boxing. If you put a feather weight in with a heavy weight what would probably happen is nothing. The feather weight would move and dodge a not getting hit but any punches they land wouldn't be powerful enough to affect the heavy weight. If the heavy weight did manage to catch them it would be lights out
Do you think we should scrap all the running apart from the 100m as a other runners aren't as quick as them?

Weight classes in boxing and judo etc are equivalent (in a very round about way) to the distance distance and styles of swimming and running (eg strokes and hurdles), different types of rowing etc.

All sports will suit body types and different muscle types. It's a way of differentiating it.

And I mean this in a very loose way of explanation! There are always exceptions!

When the difference between winning and losing can be 1000th of a second why do athletes have long hair/hair bows/ribbons etc nails/jewellery and watches- some wearing dangly waist jewellery 🥴
Surely this stuff can potentially make a difference to the aero dynamics thus speed of an athlete?
Cyclists shave legs and even wear special socks to be as aero as possible
Swimmers also do everything they can
I don’t get it 😵‍💫

Yes @Runningupthecurtains

I found the interview with Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix earlier when she was crying and saying she just wanted to see her family really uncomfortable. She had already mentioned having mental health issues after Tokyo and they didn't leave her be. I switched off.

This is exactly the one I was watching when I wrote the question.
It just felt so intrusive.

I didn't see the interview after the diving but I've seen Matt Pinsent say that it's always up to the athletes at rowing and athletics as to whether or not they stop in the mix zone to do the interviews. Sounds like the diving one was a bit pushy?

It was a sobbing teenager saying she didn't want to be alive after the last games - it was way beyond a bit pushy.

As it happens I don't really see why there is lots of categories of basically the same thing. Don't get me started on swimming. You have the whose best at swimming then whose best at swimming using a slightly slower method, then whose using an even slower method,,,, I think anything other than the quickest method should go. Its not like they have the best at running using a skipping style or whose best at running using a hopping style. It all seems designed to give people lots of medals.

What about.... who's the best at running while jumping? (over hurdles)

Just to clarify - I completely disagree with you! Otherwise why not only have one race?

I'm ok with that one :-) It is different enough to just running. Why do we only have one shot put category? Maybe there should be a lighter one for little people and heavier one for larger people.

Do you think the medal table is fair?

With such tiny margins wouldn't it be fairer to be judged on total haul?

Well, let's have a short Javelin and a long javelin competition too!

No, because some countries send 100 athletes, some send 3!

Also, if a country win 30 golds and another country win 31 bronzes, then the bronze country country would be "better" in your method? That can't be right?

Maybe it should be a ratio?

@llamajohn I was thinking 3 points for gold, 2 for silver, 1 for bronze. Or something like that.

It's the same as Alex Yee in the triathlon zooming past the New Zealand guy, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Also @llamajohn in your example, if one country sends 3 people and win 1 gold they would finish higher in the table than a country winning 100 silvers.

I have googled this to no avail.

On the BMX (not races) but where they do the flips etc. Why did some of the competitors stop after falling off or touching the ground, while others carried on?

I've actually put a complaint into the BBC about that interview. I was appalled by the way he kept pushing her, when she was clearly in no fit state to be interviewed in the first place.

Good idea I'll complain too.
It's not even like her answering 'how do you feel' told us more than her face did anyway. She was clearly devastated.