Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Well, I'd assume some people here will be following things around here.

So far, Belgium has already managed to get one silver medal! Huzzah! We've also seen some of our most likely medalists go out quickly, in skating, judo, taekwondo and tennis.
 
Well, Belgium has progressed to the Team finals (as fifth!) in gymnastics. For a country with the population of New York City, having one great gymnast is rare - managing the team finals is really an achievement! Nina Derwael is the favorite on the parallel bars (sorry Sunisa Lee :-P ), but more importantly, with Jutta we've got the (officially...) youngest athlete of the whole Olympics who also progressed to the allround finals. She won't achieve much there, but she really has some skills and the age to grow and learn. We have a gymnastics future again!

Oh, also, some other countries got some medals in other stuff, I dunno :-P
 
Germany is at place 31 with two bronze medals.

Japan ist pretty strong. They are right now at 2. place. Today they got gold in skateboarding (men), Brasil silver and the US bronze.
 
In the mean time she has put out a statement...
I'm absolutely in favor of accepting mental issues as a reason - it can be quite as devastating, if not as visible, as physical injury. I applauded Osaka for her withdrawal from Roland Garros a few months ago. But...the way Biles words it - a wound to her personal pride - made it come off to me more as a "I made a mistake which probably costs us the gold, so I don't want to continue" - which, well, doesn't seem the same to me. If you're a team player and you make a mistake, then you have to get yourself back together for the team. If Ronaldo decides he doesn't want to continue a match because they're 0-1 behind, that would not be considered him suffering from a mental problem, it'd be considered the shiny superstar who can't handle not winning.
I can't look inside Biles' head, and if she felt she couldn't continue, that's her decision. But her communication could definitely have been better to make it about the incredible amount of pressure she's under, rather than her pride being wounded at not performing as absolute number one.
 
If Ronaldo decides he doesn't want to continue a match because they're 0-1 behind, that would not be considered him suffering from a mental problem, it'd be considered the shiny superstar who can't handle not winning.
Yes, but what would it be like if the officials said, "If you have Ronaldo on your team, then your team's score starts at -1?" Ronaldo might decide to sit out just so that his team could start at 0 like normal instead of being, well, handicapped by having him. And that could definitely affect his mood.

I fully believe that there were at least some people actively employing the "shit on her until she quits" strategy.

--Patrick
 
A weightlifter from Taiwan won gold in the women's 59kg event.

Virtually all the media coverage in Taiwan has been about how she's much prettier and more feminine than most female weightlifters, instead of her athletic accomplishment.

Guys.
 
Simone Biles withdraws from the All-around.

When things go wrong and you're 10 feet in the air, upside down, and sideways, you're in for a bad time. She made the right call.
 
Am I the only one who get the feeling that this Olympic Games are particular filled with sexism towards the athletes?
 
Am I the only one who get the feeling that this Olympic Games are particular filled with sexism towards the athletes?
There's a lot of attention being paid to it, moreso than before, definitely.
Of course, some of it is real sexism, some of it isn't, some of it could be seen that way, etc.

For example, the outfits. It's all being thrown on one big pile and being dubbed as sexist and/or racist, but not each case is the same.
Beach volleyball? Yeah ,that's just ridiculous, those rules need to go.
Gymnastics? As long as the clothing doesn't interfere with proper judging, wear whatever you want - though there may have to be rules added for clear contrasts etc. I don't mind the German gymnasts wearing pants instead of leotards, because everything is still visible - in Basel last month, wearing black pants on a black background really did have a clear impact on the judges' capabilities to see every detail. And, to be clear, there are no rules to break: as long as it's body-fitting, any clothing is allowed.
Swimming? I can see why African swimmers would like to be allowed to use swimming caps that fit their "natural" hair (which, by the way, I think is a horrible term, even if I understand what they mean and where it comes from, but that's a matter for the Politics subforum, not Sports). But those regulations are there for a reason - while some styles of swimming cap for people with afro hair may even slow them down, others would give an unfair advantage because of their shape. You're not allowed to create a cone shape on your head, just like you're not allowed to wear gloves that can function as flippers.

The camera work has, in my opinion, improved when compared to Rio - but it's very much still an issue in some cases. There are plenty of shots of both male and female gymnasts sitting ,stretching, walking to and from their stations, whatever, but the men tend to be either filmed completely, or waist-up. The women still quite often get the cameras panning up their legs over their ass, shots from ass to shoulders, etc. The same holds true for the runners and vaulters and such. There's definitely been some improvement, but it's definitely still a thing. It's normal that in the course of some sports you'll occasionally see an ass or a chest. There's nothing wrong with that - not every time a (fe)male body is shown has to be (over-)sexualized or framed as such. But it's very often very much the camera work placing emphasis, or focusing on it beyond what's necessary or sensible.
 
LIVE Men’s basketball is only available streaming on peacock with a paid subscription (or you know, other streaming means). Replays will be on NBC or NBC sports laster that night. NBC is the devil.
 
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