AIBU to be surprised that Laurel Hubbard didn't register a lift in the Olympics?

[Gladiolixoxo]

I wonder if all the controversy around Laurel's participation led to her losing her nerve?

To what end though? How long will we have an Olympics where nobody ever gets a world record? I’m guessing not many.

To be the best in the world at the moment. Some records have taken decades to break. So what?

You talk about celebrating ‘talent’, yet cannot uniquely define categories that would make it fair for females to compete with males.

So exactly what talent is the model you are proposing celebrating?

What are you basing your assumption on, that humans' sports performance will go through a 50-year period of not improving? It's definitely not sports science!

Because we will eventually reach the limits of human endurance.

So what? Still great to watch.

Football fans don't watch football because a world record number of goals will be scored. Or tennis because a world record number of aces will be served.

@titchy

Ok, now it’s years into the future and anyone who ever broke a world record is dead. The world record for marathon time is 39minutes. You watch someone get a gold medal but they’re not the best of the best because fifty years ago someone ran a marathon in 39 minutes.

Yes people will still be watching even if they know a record isn't going to be broken. People watch now, in their billions, even when they know (due to course or season best or weather) that a record won't be broken. It's about the completion, watching elite sportsmen and women competing on a world stage.

The Olympics really aren't about world records.

I disagree. I think there would be very little value in watching sports where no world records have been beaten for decades yet the athletes were still being pushed to win a medal in a competition we’d seen hundreds of times before.

I disagree. I think there would be very little value in watching sports where no world records have been beaten for decades yet the athletes were still being pushed to win a medal in a competition we’d seen hundreds of times before.

Clearly not a sports fan then - who knew.

'To what end though? How long will we have an Olympics where nobody ever gets a world record? I’m guessing not many.'

There will still be medals. Olympic champion. Hardly a nothing?

Why are world records so important to you?

You also seem to have a narrow view on the different sports.

Eg this year there were some new ones. Including BMX freestyle.

Charlotte Worthington

Won gold for GB
Performed a move successfully that has NEVER been executed and landed before in women's competition
The first ever women's gold in this event (as it's new)

Also having this on s global stage will have increased the profile of it as a sport. And especially for girls.

Loads of good stuff!

If you're only interested in world records then genuinely you're missing a lot of great stuff.

@titchy

Because we will eventually reach the limits of human endurance.

So what? Still great to watch.

Football fans don't watch football because a world record number of goals will be scored. Or tennis because a world record number of aces will be served.

I’ve said this a few times now but there’s a theory that we should reduce the number of players per team in football because now the players are such elite athletes that the game is broken as they all fight for the ball, and we’d see more skill (and therefore a more interesting game) if there were fewer players on the pitch.

I would like someone to explain in a logical and non-tautological way what the argument is for allowing men into women's categories. I haven't yet heard anyone put forward a logical, consistent argument.

"Football is broken as they all fight for the ball" 🤣

I’ve said this a few times now but there’s a theory that we should reduce the number of players per team in football because now the players are such elite athletes that the game is broken as they all fight for the ball, and we’d see more skill (and therefore a more interesting game) if there were fewer players on the pitch.

I'm sure you have. And maybe five a side will become a spectator sport one day. In the meantime I don't think anyone actually thinks that will happen.

As I said - you're obviously not a sports fan. Perhaps this isn't after all something you have any knowledge of.

@titchy

I disagree. I think there would be very little value in watching sports where no world records have been beaten for decades yet the athletes were still being pushed to win a medal in a competition we’d seen hundreds of times before.

Clearly not a sports fan then - who knew.

I don’t believe for one second you’d watch gymnastics knowing that the best has passed. I read a brilliant article on Twitter about how incredible Simone Biles is because the speed of her repetitions means she can (and I’m sure you’ll excuse my lack of technical knowledge) backflip more times than anyone else in the same time frame. Amazing. But finite.

I’ll see if I can find it again.

@titchy

I’ve said this a few times now but there’s a theory that we should reduce the number of players per team in football because now the players are such elite athletes that the game is broken as they all fight for the ball, and we’d see more skill (and therefore a more interesting game) if there were fewer players on the pitch.

I'm sure you have. And maybe five a side will become a spectator sport one day. In the meantime I don't think anyone actually thinks that will happen.

As I said - you're obviously not a sports fan. Perhaps this isn't after all something you have any knowledge of.

Really no need at all for the snide comments.

I don’t believe for one second you’d watch gymnastics knowing that the best has passed. I read a brilliant article on Twitter about how incredible Simone Biles is because the speed of her repetitions

And yet somehow, billions of people are watching Olympic gymnastics even though she has pulled out. It's almost as if they like watching gymnastics isn't it?

@Kittii

I don't accept that the meaning of woman has changed, it still means adult human female. Some activists are campaigning for it to include any men that feel like they are women but I don't certainly don't accept that, and I'm pretty sure the majority of people don't accept that either. It's a very outspoken minority -sect- that is pushing for it.

I agree with you. But to argue based on whether TWAW is a trap because once triggered they can wave the bigot card and dismiss everything else. Better to sidestep it altogether.

"Well yeah, of course TWAW. But to expect trans women to fit themselves into stuff that was set up assuming all women are female is just horribly transphobic and we must do better. To truly respect trans women's male womanhood we need to untangle all that old stuff that got misdefined as women-only when they really meant female-only, keep that for the females whatever their gender, and build new mixed-sex woman stuff from the ground up ."

@titchy

I don’t believe for one second you’d watch gymnastics knowing that the best has passed. I read a brilliant article on Twitter about how incredible Simone Biles is because the speed of her repetitions

And yet somehow, billions of people are watching Olympic gymnastics even though she has pulled out. It's almost as if they like watching gymnastics isn't it?

Are they watching it only for her?

Smirking cheat Hubbard threw it. A place blatantly wasted that could have gone to a deserving female athlete. Shame on Hubbard and anyone supporting this fucking farce.

And the gold medal in inspid, ridiculous comments goes to...

It's ok. There's only one candidate in the catagory.

And look at the people who watched the 100m final even though arguably the greatest of all time wasn't there. Again, people enjoy watching elite athletes perform and compete.

@titchy

But just her being at the Olympics will have given confidence to and inspired hundreds talented trans women that they can aim to participate in the Olympics in Paris 2024 quit their sports because there's no fucking chance that they'll ever be able to compete with a biological male.

Fixed that for you.

Also agree with this sadly. So fucking unfair.

Are they watching it only for her?

Eh? She's not competing. Obviously they're not watching it only for her.

@swimlyn

Had problems with her snatch apparently.

Witty. 👍

www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/58044570

From 2'16 is charlotte- gold.
It's only 4 mins.
From start you see Charlotte come off first run. Then the American who was expected to stroll gold. What she does the commentators are. She's nailed it that's that.
Then... Charlotte omg!

If you haven't seen it then it's worth a watch, from the middle, the whole thing is only 4..

Honestly just brilliant!

@titchy

And look at the people who watched the 100m final even though arguably the greatest of all time wasn't there. Again, people enjoy watching elite athletes perform and compete.

I’m not sure how many times I can say it - how many years of Olympics would you watch if you’d already seen the best of it? And that’s coming - because we’re already pushing the athletes to the limits of human endurance.

I’m honestly amazed so many of you find this so controversial that you have to start slinging insults.

I’m not sure how many times I can say it - how many years of Olympics would you watch if you’d already seen the best of it? And that’s coming - because we’re already pushing the athletes to the limits of human endurance.

And I'm not sure how many times I have to repeat - YES YES YES YES YES. So fucking what about the records. It's not about the records.

Do you really not understand this at all?

Old "man" with knackered wrist could not accept his weightlifting career was over so took the place of a woman to continue in glory (albeit fake). And failed. End of story