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?

@TeresaCrowd thank you...

Anyone?

Watching the Pole Vault on Eurosport atm, do they have their own poles, which they bring with them to the games or are the poles provided by the organiser?
Are the poles identical?
if they have their own, how are they transported?
Do they come apart into several pieces or are they made as a single piece, and what are they made from?

They have their own poles and I'm 99% sure they don't come apart, but I don't know the answers to the others.

BBC are notorious for this with the field events. They show them back as if live, when we’ve all heard the cheers from the crowd 20 mins previously.

Pole vault poles can be transported by air as long as the aircraft holds are suitably sized….not all are which can lead to problems.

Edit to add this link:

https://sports.yahoo.com/pole-vaulters-biggest-challenge-getting-their-poles-to-paris-112739358.html

Sorry if this has already been asked ....

Why do some runners wear sleeves? ie like long gloves without the hand/fingers?

GB didn't have the same cox in the men's and women's eights.

According to Team GB they had Henry Fieldman for both and I watched him crew both.
He won a medal in both and is the first cox to have done so.

Yes I can't understand the cycling! This morning I switched on the TV and there were five cyclists but the one in the lead was on a motorbike. I thought what a cheat🤣

Just wait until they get to the omnium!

Why do the BBC studio presenters/punters (Gabby Logan, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill etc) use handheld microphones, whereas you don't see news presenters like Sophie Haworth using them?

As a non-elite runner, I wear them as a way of layering (v useful in spring/autumn when it’s not chilly enough for long sleeves, but not quite warm enough for a t-shirt)

For elites athletes, every bit of their body matters - including arm carriage. The sleeves provide compression, which can be useful. It’s a bit like how you see some athletes wearing tape - it’s just that extra bit of support. Especially if they’re only wearing one (which suggests they might have been a little unlevel in arm action and this is a nudge to keep them straight).

in similar fashion, I sometimes wear calf sleeves on just one leg because of an old, old injury that seven now sometimes aches a bit

No-one understands the bicycle races

except MAMILs

(sorry)

--not sorry—

Perhaps there are a few bits missing in whatever Team GB have put out or it's been misinterpreted.

Henry Fieldman coxed the men in Tokyo and having coxed the women in Paris, became the first to do both at the Olympics and indeed win a medal in both.

He absolutely did not cox the men in Paris. I think Harry Brightmore might have something to say about that assertion.

Ahhh yes it's very misleading then.

Their post on SM just has the announcement I posted and it shows him with the woman's team.

Why do they need to make headlines misleading when we are trying to get questions answered and can't even find the answers easily 🤦‍♀️

Thanks for explaining.

The derny is a thing of beauty! You need a special licence to drive them on the track. They are used to get riders up to speed. You can go frighteningly quick behind one. It’s like slipstreaming on steroids.

Professional road riders train behind motorbikes outside a lot too for the same reasons but on the track it’s just a race all on its own.

@itsgettingweird You're welcome! Heaven forbid clarity of facts get in the way of social media output 🤷‍♀️

After endless threads about women wearing skin-tight clothing, I’d noticed that nearly all the male runners have adopted that too (I know we’ve not seen the marathon yet, but at elite events such as London and Boston, the front runners are in tighties too, so expecting the same)

Except now in the steeplechase. Any particular reason for that?

Interesting, thanks @TeresaCrowd

stumbled across this video - Irish swimmer answers a question that I don't think anyone has asked yet "what free stuff do you get given at the Olympics?' (only 2mins long)

Why does the taekwondo referee have to wear a tie? Seems very risky in essentially a wrestling ring!

That’s really interesting!

Other than the phone, it seems rather underwhelming.

Brilliant, thanks @AlecTrevelyan006 😁
Good old Daniel.

Why don’t runners streamline themselves like swimmers or cyclists do?
I’ve seen runners with long necklaces banging around on their chests/necks and long hair extensions. Why don’t they wear some sort of equivalent of swimming hats and no jewellery to make them streamlined?

I did too, first time I’ve ever complained to the bbc. It was just really unacceptable.