2012 Summer Olympics - London, England (1 Viewer)

[Ockeghem]

Well, that sure was a test for the U.S. men's basketball team!
http://scores.espn.go.com/olympics/boxscore?gameId=1065

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Disappointed that Bravo didn't air any Tennis this morning, since there were a lot of great matches, including back to back mixed doubles victories for Great Britain's Andy Murray and Laura Robson that catapulted them into the gold medal match. Murray, an athlete from the host country, became the first man to win two tennis medals in an Olympics since Gonzalez and Massu in 2004 and NBC apparently didn't feel it was worth televising. NBC itself will be airing the men's singles gold medal match tomorrow, but I can't seem to find the mixed doubles gold medal match anywhere on the schedule. Are repeats of "Million Dollar Listing" really more important than a gold medal event?
EDIT: Looks like the mixed doubles final match will air on the NBC Sports Network, so I'm a happier camper at this point.

 

[Walter C]

Originally Posted by Ockeghem /t/322614/2012-summer-olympics-london-england/60#post_3958102
Well, that sure was a test for the U.S. men's basketball team!
http://scores.espn.go.com/olympics/boxscore?gameId=1065

I know, it was very close, if Lithuania was not so turnover-prone, which ended up killing them, as the big difference was points off of them. I was kind of hoping the US would lose the game, not that it would have mattered, because they will still end up with the gold.

 

[Ockeghem]

I know, it was very close, if Lithuania was not so turnover-prone, which ended up killing them, as the big difference was points off of them. I was kind of hoping the US would lose the game, not that it would have mattered, because they will still end up with the gold.

Walter,
And the U.S. missed a ton of free throws, which kind of explains Kevin Love's tweet after the game:
"Shaq on the free throw line today!!! My bad USA. Good win for us. Needed a game like that. On to the next."
http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/basketball/story/_/id/8233394/2012-london-olympics-lebron-james-late-rally-puts-us-men-lithuania

 

[Walter C]

Yeah, I forgot about the free throws, or lack therefore on the part of the US. Just hard to believe that they were actually trailing in the 4th quarter, after destroying their previous opponents. Probably one of the few times that I would watch the US team game to the end.

After not getting any gold in the first days, the UK has been tearing it up, and currently 3rd in the overall medals. And watching the gold medal match in women's team epee in fencing online,


ETA: China won, destroying Korea, and wins yet, another gold in this clash of East Asian rivals.

 

[Citizen87645]

I just watched the Magnificent Seven story and agree it was very moving to revisit that competition. Strug's back breaking fall prior to the Olympics also looked horrendous physically and emotionally. I don't recall if that footage of the accident was ever shown, but it definitely created some amazing context for Strug's story.

Seeing the gymnasts as adults also makes you realize how young all of them were.

 

[Citizen87645]

This story about Dominique Moceanu's memoir might be of interest since she was interviewed in the story: http://www.npr.org/2012/07/30/157594377/for-gymnast-moceanu-life-threw-her-off-balance

 

[Ockeghem]

Cameron,
Thanks for the link. I had never seen that 1994 footage of Strug's injury before last night either. It made a few of us cringe watching it, but as you say, it did provide some amazing context.
There was some incredible action tonight in track and field. It never fails to amaze me that these athletes can run that fast in the 400. When I was running competitively, I could get to around 60 seconds during my interval (speed) workouts. But some of these athletes are running 45 second and 50 second laps -- and sometimes even over the hurdles at blazing speeds. Astonishing.

 

[Ockeghem]

Cameron,
Thanks for the link. I had never seen that 1994 footage of Strug's injury before last night either. It made a few of us cringe watching it, but as you say, it did provide some amazing context.
There was some incredible action tonight in track and field. It never fails to amaze me that these athletes can run that fast in the 400. When I was running competitively, I could get to around 60 seconds during my interval (speed) workouts. But some of these athletes are running 45 second and 50 second laps -- and sometimes even over the hurdles at blazing speeds. Astonishing.

 

[Walter C]

The last day of swimming, and the last time we get to see Phelps race. It has been a remarkable run, ending by going out on top. That's assuming he does not change his mind for Rio.

Watching the women's marathon, just absolutely miserable weather to run and even be a spectator.

Originally Posted by Ockeghem /t/322614/2012-summer-olympics-london-england/60#post_3958317
It never fails to amaze me that these athletes can run that fast in the 400. When I was running competitively, I could get to around 60 seconds during my interval (speed) workouts. But some of these athletes are running 45 second and 50 second laps -- and sometimes even over the hurdles at blazing speeds. Astonishing.

I remember doing those 400m sprints back in high school, and those races are no joke. I often got tired very quickly, usually slowing down by the 300m mark.

 

[Ockeghem]

Walter,
Any idea what the temperature is during the women's marathon? I ran my best marathon time when it was raining lightly and the temperature was about 55-60 degrees. It may not be good for spectators, but if it's raining (lightly) and cool, that could bode quite well for the runners.

 

[Brian Sharp]

18 to 19 Celsius or about 64 Fahrenheit.

 

[Ockeghem]

18 to 19 Celsius or about 64 Fahrenheit.

Brian,
Thanks. And I appreciate you including Fahrenheit!
I would love to know what Flanagan was saying to her American comrade a few moments after she finished the marathon. Flanagan looked spent, and her time was not a PR for her. Is London a tough course? I have no idea, as I've never run that particular marathon. I have toyed over the years with trying to enter the London-to-Brighton ultra, but I don't think I could afford the costs. It still would be a lot fun, with a ton of great sights to see there.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

Phelps needs to retire now while he's on top. Don't even think about Rio

 

[Brian Sharp]

Olympic marathon course is basically flat. No severe gradients. The Olympic course is not the same course as the one used for "The London Marathon".

 

[Ockeghem]

Brian,
I see. I was actually hoping that the Olympic marathon finished inside of Olympic Stadium, but realized that that wasn't going to happen around the 26-mile part of the race. I love it when Olympic marathons finish inside of the track-and-field stadiums.

 

[Walter C]

Originally Posted by Ockeghem /t/322614/2012-summer-olympics-london-england/90#post_3958530
I see. I was actually hoping that the Olympic marathon finished inside of Olympic Stadium, but realized that that wasn't going to happen around the 26-mile part of the race. I love it when Olympic marathons finish inside of the track-and-field stadiums.

Yeah, I was a little surprised that it did not finish in the stadium, and even made the same loop 3 times, which included coming back to the starting line, and by some of the landmarks more than once.

I know the announcers made a big deal of the water stations being on the same side on a narrow street, and the u-turns that may affect the runners. I never ran one, so I don't know for sure.

And it looked like it was raining really good for a while, then the sun peeked out. Though the temperature was definitely be more ideal to be out there (at least it would be for me). A lot better than it was in the Olympic marathon in Beijing, which was steamy hot.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Heartbreak for Murry and Robson in the mixed doubles gold medal match. They came so close. Looking forward to the vault finals tonight even though the results were already spoiled for me.

 

[Dr Griffin]

I haven't had too much time to watch this weekend but I've been trying to catch some track and field when I can. Every time I turn the tv on it's nothing but women in their underwear running around in the sand with their ass cheeks hanging out (wink, wink NBC). Miraculously I did see some track but no field. They must cut to it for a few seconds when the chicks need to take a break to pull their panties out of their cracks.

 

[DavidJ]

David,
Absolutely great. I watched it once, then my daughters came into the room and we watched it again. My wife, who was making a dress in another room, heard 'oohs and ahhhs' from my girls coming from our family room, so she came into the room and we watched it a third time! It's my favorite piece thus far. Like you, that image (and for me, that Olympics in general) is seared into my memory as well. My children learned a neat part of sports history tonight, and it was gratifying to see how engaged they were seeing it unfold for the first time.
I watched some Olympics DVR'd from yesterday as well as much of the action tonight, including volleyball, swimming, and track and field. I also caught some rowing and (finally) judo. The track and field, which is my very favorite event(s), was awesome, and these were (for the most part) only heats. The 10K was riveting. When I saw Dibaba in the final pack of four, I knew the race was hers to win. I saw a couple of surges by the two Kenyans, but to win this race they would have had to have had about a 200 meter lead during the final lap, and that wasn't going to happen tonight. Dibaba's kick is truly wonderful to watch. They way she separated herself from the other three runners (and the length she eventually led by) during the final lap was amazing.

Scott, we had a very similar experience watching it. What did we do before DVRs?
And Cameron and Scott, I think, but am not sure, that the footage of Strug was shown before. Regardless, it was something to see and definitely made me cringe.
I too like it when the marathon finishes in the stadium. It gives you moments that you don't really have otherwise. One of my favorite moments (that I read about, I'm not that old):
http://speedendurance.com/2007/07/15/how-to-finish-a-marathon-1968-olympics-in-mexico-city/