OLYMPICS 2021 Chat Thread #2

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Following on from here.

@HalleLouja

I am starting to get Olympics Withdrawal Syndrome. I think it might be a real thing.

Well done to Lauren and Jason. Looks like Jason was thinking of retiring until he got his gold in the Kieren.

Watch the water polo on red button, its quite good, I've never watched it before.

@AbsolutelyPatsy

in the past we had so few contenders i guess it must be thanks to 2012 and the national lottery.

Yes , they really are lottery medals, it's not just the fact that the olympians are paid a wage but that there is funding for coaches and physio etc. Also the lottery supports grassroots which also feed through.

and GB medal tally equals that of 2012
marvellous

grassroots support is so important

@AbsolutelyPatsy

wiki tells me in 1997 there was a mass of lottery funding

That was in the wake of the disastrous 1996 Atlanta games, where GB won 1 gold, 8 silvers and 6 bronzes. GB woke up to the fact that relying on athletes to try to train whilst working full or part time to fund themselves was never going to allow them to be competitive against full time professional athletes. UK Sport was created and put in place to distribute lottery funding.

There was a good BBC series about it recently - Gold Rush.

thanks, i should watch that.
however the BMX gold charlotte worthington had to crowd fund for support

what about paralympics?

Yes she did - but then managed to persuade British Cycling to provide some funding too. I suspect now that BMX did so well in Tokyo more funding will go to cycling disciplines other than track and road.

I'm just watching back the rythmic gymnastics final rotation with the ribbon. Absolutely love it!

The Bulgarian gymnast did half her routine to classical music and then switched to Metallica! It was fab!

Paralympics is funded by UK Sport via the various National sporting bodies and by fund raising.

who is showing paralympics this year?

I'm sure it's C4 again?

There you go :)

www.channel4.com/press/news/channel-4-sets-out-its-most-ambitious-ever-paralympic-plans-multi-location-studios-and

thank you

I have a not inconsiderable crush on Sir Chris Hoy now. I keep imagining he's wearing his semi-formal pundit kilt just out of shot.

@AppleWatched

I have a not inconsiderable crush on Sir Chris Hoy now. I keep imagining he's wearing his semi-formal pundit kilt just out of shot.

Same. I met him at a work event a couple of years ago. He's just as gorgeous in the flesh and a really lovely man!

Is he tall?

The Gold Rush documentary on the BBC was very interesting. The lottery funding seems quite complicated, they fund athletes with medal chances so BMX women lost out because they had never won one before.

I think I read somewhere that they are going to change that as it puts a lot of pressure on athletes to win at all cost and coaches taking advantage of that or something.

And then there are stories like this www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-58088648
An entrepreneur who sponsored Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson after she failed to get funding by British Athletics says she is "phenomenal"

i thought Chris Hoy has been looking so tired

@JacquelineCarlyle

Is he tall?

Yes he was pretty tall! I'm 5ft 7 and DH is 5ft 10 and he was definitely taller than him. I would guess a good 6ft?

Chris Boardman looked absolutely shattered this morning!

Thanks @cricketmum84 - I also think he's very attractive and looks tall but wasn't sure if he would be in real life. Glad he didn't disappoint!

@AbsolutelyPatsy Chris Hoy said last night on Today at the Games that he would be doing pretty much a 24hr shift as he was live on that show at 7.30pm, then live through the night with the cycling and then on throughout today until after tonight's Today at the Games, so not surprised he's looking tired!

The Paris 2024 games will be much better for times, no night shifts

Wow that light show is impressive!

If it's Discovery Plus again, then I'll be upgrading to that as with practically no time difference, I'll be watching everything and sadly if the BBC is as limited then too as it was this time, that just won't cut it!

thanks @JacquelineCarlyle, that explains it