2021 Summer Olympics

[meecrofilm]

Love the track finals.

Was nice to see Biles get a bronze in beam. Changed her dismount (which is called a "Biles" since she's the only one who could do it) to a lower-scoring one that didn't have any twists. Her one teammate bawling her eyes out in the stands after the routine is a pretty good indicator how much these girls have each other's backs.

@eddy highly recommend checking out the BMX racing semis and finals. It's no Helltrack, but there's still some pretty good action.

[eddy]

@eddy highly recommend checking out the BMX racing semis and finals. It's no Helltrack, but there's still some pretty good action.

Oh, I was singing Thunder in your heart while watching. They made a huge mistake not getting Mike Miranda on the announcing crew.

[meecrofilm]

[Tomas]

Climbing finals are today. Being a parent of a young climber, I really love this sport.

my wife climbs a few times a week so we're really into it too. I'll say though, the bouldering was boring as ****.

That's why I don't let my daughter do bouldering! (Well, that plus I want her bones to stay unbroken.)

Interestingly, next OG in Paris will have all 3 disciplines (speed, bouldering, lead) separate, not in this crazy stupid combo.

[Today I found out that scoring at Tokyo OG is mega-stupid. Basically, the players will be scored AxBxC where A,B,C are their respective finishes in the 3 separate disciplines among the 8 finalists. Lowest score wins.

Inexplicably, though, the speed climbing will not be scored based on time, but as a play-off. Well, one of the climbers tore up his muscle during the very end of qualification, and will not be able to compete. Which means that his 1st round play-off opponent (Adam Ondra, who is otherwise considered the best climber in the world) will for sure end up at worst in the 4th place, even though he is by far the SLOWEST climber among the final 8. In other words, Ondra was able to slash his point total by 2 before the finals even started...]

[Spangler]

The Swiss women’s beach volleyball team

[blackjack68]

Watching USA channel track and field. Some monstrous shot put throws by the US.

[shmenguin]

I feel like Kerri Strug’s moment is somehow under rated. Like…i don’t think it’s hyperbole to put in on a short list of all time athletic achievements along with the Free Solo guy and the US Hockey Team, but it doesn’t really feel like it gets much attention that way.

[nocera]

I would say that’s because the coach that carried her out and is so closely tied to that moment, Bela Karolyi, has been super criticized for his coaching methods. He’s been accused of emotional abuse and withholding food from his athletes during competitions (so bad that other teams would sneak them food). He also owned the ranch where the majority of the sexual abuse took place and while he was never involved, many assume he knew and didn’t report.

Side note: I just learned recently that Strug’s vault while insane was ultimately unnecessary. USA would’ve won regardless. I don’t think that’s the reason it’s under rated though.

[shmenguin]

Wait what?!? That’s not at all how it was presented as you were watching it live.

I also don’t think anyone even thinks about the coach in that moment other than an unrelated photo lol

[nocera]

Wait what?!? That’s not at all how it was presented as you were watching it live.

I also don’t think anyone even thinks about the coach in that moment other than an unrelated photo lol

Right. That's why I said "ultimately unnecessary." The Russians were behind Team USA leading into Strug's vault and they had one more attempt after Strug. They ended up scoring so low that they would not have reached USA even if Strug didn't perform her second attempt. Again, I don't think that's the reason it's underplayed. And Bela was extremely tied to that moment. That's just silliness to act like he wasn't a major player.

[shmenguin]

I don’t get it. If Strug beefed it, you’re saying the Russians would have lost anyway no matter what? Or…??

[nocera]

I don’t get it. If Strug beefed it, you’re saying the Russians would have lost anyway no matter what? Or…??

Right. Russia would've lost even if Strug completely sat out her second (famous) attempt. They did not have the scores to pass USA regardless. Obviously it wasn't known at the time of Strug's vault that Russia's ensuing attempt wouldn't be good enough though. If I remember correctly, Russia was close to USA but not super close. Like USA would've really had to **** the bed and Russia would've needed to be perfect to pass them.

[shmenguin]

Nah dude. You can’t just say that the Russians would have scored low regardless of what Strug did. They had a chance to win but she dropped her metaphorical balls in their mouth and that might have thrown them off. If she beefed it they could have been fueled to take the reigns and get the gold.

This isn’t a good interpretation imo.

[dodint]

...by the time Strug prepared to vault, the American team had not been averaging their posted scores and so did not know how close they were to the Russians. By Karolyi's calculations, Strug, the final competitor in the final team event, needed to earn at least a 9.6 on the vault to secure the gold medal for the American team. On the first of her two vaults...her 9.162 score was posted. Strug believed that she would have to complete the second vault for her team to win...her courageous vault earned Strug a 9.712 score, more than enough to secure the gold medal for the American team....[Later] it was revealed that Karolyi's calculations were incorrect, and Strug did not even have to vault for the women's team to win the gold medal.

[nocera]

Nah dude. You can’t just say that the Russians would have scored low regardless of what Strug did. They had a chance to win but she dropped her metaphorical balls in their mouth and that might have thrown them off. If she beefed it they could have been fueled to take the reigns and get the gold.

This isn’t a good interpretation imo.

What do you mean you can't say that? That's literally the facts of the competition. I'm not going through some hypothetical of what the Russian team felt when seeing her vault or what they would've done had she sat out. I'm saying as the scores played out, this is what happened. I'm not interpreting. I'm not undermining her achievement either. I do not think this is the reason why this moment has been underplayed.

I think it's because the coach, who is so closely tied with the moment, turned out to be kind of a dick and his own team spoke out against him. Not to mention the sexual abuse stuff. Rewatch the coverage if you don't think he was a big part of that second vault. From the pep talk after her injury, to the hug afterward, to literally carrying her to the podium, he was a big time player.

[nocera]

...by the time Strug prepared to vault, the American team had not been averaging their posted scores and so did not know how close they were to the Russians. By Karolyi's calculations, Strug, the final competitor in the final team event, needed to earn at least a 9.6 on the vault to secure the gold medal for the American team. On the first of her two vaults...her 9.162 score was posted. Strug believed that she would have to complete the second vault for her team to win...her courageous vault earned Strug a 9.712 score, more than enough to secure the gold medal for the American team.

I'm not sure if that actually clears it up, since the Russians are not mentioned, but it speaks to her state of mind.

Yeah she killed it. She secured the medal for sure. It just so happened that they would've secured the medal regardless, just in a different way. But of course they had no way of knowing that.

[dodint]

I edited my post because I kept reading the article after hitting submit.

Another interpretation: Coach Pedo Bear sucked at math and made a tiny lady tear her ankle up for no reason.

[genoscoif]

I don’t get it. If Strug beefed it, you’re saying the Russians would have lost anyway no matter what? Or…??

Right. Russia would've lost even if Strug completely sat out her second (famous) attempt. They did not have the scores to pass USA regardless. Obviously it wasn't known at the time of Strug's vault that Russia's ensuing attempt wouldn't be good enough though. If I remember correctly, Russia was close to USA but not super close. Like USA would've really had to **** the bed and Russia would've needed to be perfect to pass them.

Right...So, she needed to vault in order to secure the gold. Had she not vaulted, Russia could've passed them on their final vault... So you can't say they would've lost anyway. Strug basically walked the bases loaded in the ninth on her first attempt, blew out her arm while walking everyone, then struck out the side leaving Barry Bonds in the on deck circle on her second famous vault.

She effing nailed it.

Yes, the conditions that those girls lived in were abhorrent, as we've learned. All the more reason to praise someone for finding a way to presevere. She wasn't a victim that day, she was a champion.

[nocera]

Source of the post Had she not vaulted, Russia could've passed them on their final vault...

But they didn't. They did not have the scores to pass USA even taking away her vault. I don't understand why this is so difficult.

Yes, it was an incredible moment. I'm not taking anything away from the "USA! USA!" pride here. I'm just saying it turned out it wasn't needed.

[genoscoif]

Source of the post Had she not vaulted, Russia could've passed them on their final vault...

But they didn't. They did not have the scores to pass USA even taking away her vault. I don't understand why this is so difficult.

Yes, it was an incredible moment. I'm not taking anything away from the "USA! USA!" pride here. I'm just saying it turned out it wasn't needed.

Lol... It's really not difficult at all.

Strug doesn't vault. Russian girl knows she needs a very high score to win. Adreline takes over and she nails her final attempt. Russia wins gold, Strug is labeled the biggest loser in Olympic history.

Vs... Strug vaults and, as shmengy so eloquently pointed out, Russian girl now goes into her final vault with Strugs balls in her mouth...knowing that Russia had already lost the gold. Defeated and heartbroken, she doesn't nail her final vault.

You're assuming that the final Russian vault is completed the same given a completely different scenario.

[dodint]

The actual math showed that the second vault could have been a 0.00 and USA still would have won gold regardless of the outcome of the Russian final attempt. The greatest coach ever did the math wrong to the detriment of his competitor.

[nocera]

Oh right we're going with hypotheticals vs what actually happened. Okay then I'll lose this argument every time. But what if Strug didn't compete and Russia was so confident that they could easily get the needed score (even though it was still going to be a tough go considering how behind they were), that the Russian gymnast **** herself under the pressure, over-rotated, and broke both of her legs while in the process bringing great shame to her country? Could've happened.

[nocera]

The actual math showed that the second vault could have been a 0.00 and USA still would have won gold regardless of the outcome of the Russian final attempt. The greatest coach ever did the math wrong to the detriment of his competitor.

I didn't even realize it was mathematically impossible. Score another one for the good guys.

[MWB]

...by the time Strug prepared to vault, the American team had not been averaging their posted scores and so did not know how close they were to the Russians. By Karolyi's calculations, Strug, the final competitor in the final team event, needed to earn at least a 9.6 on the vault to secure the gold medal for the American team. On the first of her two vaults...her 9.162 score was posted. Strug believed that she would have to complete the second vault for her team to win...her courageous vault earned Strug a 9.712 score, more than enough to secure the gold medal for the American team....[Later] it was revealed that Karolyi's calculations were incorrect, and Strug did not even have to vault for the women's team to win the gold medal.

I understand this was a few years ago, but how does a coach not have someone running the calculation so they know exactly what is needed in the end?

[dodint]

Hubris?