10 metre air rifle apparently is a sport in which most competitors regularly achieve the maximum possible score, so I'm not sure how the Olympic judges distinguish.
Still, fair play to her and I celebrate the first gold medal going to a woman.
Meanwhile in Rowing, the Serbian mens' coxless pair capsized during qualifiers and Did Not Finish, but they are in the repechage race so they could make it back in.
It looks like their stroke side blade hit a buoy and was sprung out of the swivel, which, a pair having only two oars, made a capsize practically inevitable.
It is the oars or sculls out to each side that give a racing shell most of its stability.
Ouze wrote: I hope they kept their mouths closed as they went under.
It will all be fine ... two of the demonstration competitions this year are projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhoea (as in greatest distance reached) so they should be able to apply for these medals too now.
Ouze wrote: I hope they kept their mouths closed as they went under.
It will all be fine ... two of the demonstration competitions this year are projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhoea (as in greatest distance reached) so they should be able to apply for these medals too now.
The Capsize and Recovery training that rowers get instructs them to try to avoid swallowing water. While many lakes and rivers are possible sources of infection, the more important reason is to minimise one of the effects of Cold Water Shock, which tends to make you inhale involuntarily.
The main GB Rowing training centre is at Redgrave-Pinsent Rowing Lake near Caversham but they actually train at lots of different places.
You get waves on lakes, of course. The thing about the tideway is the tides, though it is rough as well. (I was bred up on the tideway.)
Watching the iPlayer rowing coverage from yesterday, the wind got up and by the time the women's single sculls heats were on, it had got very rough. The Sunday heats have been cancelled due to water conditions.
I saw a couple of Rugby 7s games yesterday. I'd never seen it before but I loved it. All the best bits of normal Union without any of the boring stuff. If they had a professional comp I'd seriously consider going along and watching a game or two.
Other than that... I saw some Judo, it was kind of interesting but very strange. I have absolutely no idea how anyone can tell what is going on in fencing. And there's been endless coverage of the swimming, which sucks because it really very boring, bring on week 2 and the track events.
insaniak wrote: The coverage down here always focuses heavily on the swimming, as it's one of the places Australia generally does best, so rates well.
Boring as all get out to watch, though.
Yep. And it isn't even like, say soccer, where I personally find it dull but I accept that loads of people really enjoy watching the sport. No-one, and I mean no-one enjoys swimming as an actual spectacle. They like winning gold medals and so they like watching, but the actual sport itself could be rollie pollies for all it matters.
Ouze wrote: I hope they kept their mouths closed as they went under.
It will all be fine ... two of the demonstration competitions this year are projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhoea (as in greatest distance reached) so they should be able to apply for these medals too now.
The Capsize and Recovery training that rowers get instructs them to try to avoid swallowing water. While many lakes and rivers are possible sources of infection, the more important reason is to minimise one of the effects of Cold Water Shock, which tends to make you inhale involuntarily.
Yeah... I was just being facetious, it wasn't meant to be taken as a serious comment...
The road cycling course seems brutal. All over with now, but that climb just seemed unrelenting and the descent caught more than its fair shair of victims. Annemiek van Vleuten's crash was just sickening to watch. Fortunatly she seems to be ok.
Shame the UK did not do so well, but I think all the climing did not play well, and the lack of teamwork from the peloton and in the breakaways did not help. The finish of both races was close fought and good to watch, but only for the front 4.
That descent was pretty lethal, only one bad crash for the women, but a few for the men. The chase group of three worked so well together, but I really felt for Abbott.
@sebster, there is professional rugby sevens, at least for the men, the sevens world series. Australia takes it pretty seriously for the women as well, hence why they're the number one seed.
sebster wrote: I saw a couple of Rugby 7s games yesterday. I'd never seen it before but I loved it. All the best bits of normal Union without any of the boring stuff. If they had a professional comp I'd seriously consider going along and watching a game or two.
They have quite a few international matches and a fairly decent international circuit.
Sevens is the best form of rugby, after league of course, and it fits perfectly into the Olympics in permitting a fairly high turnaround of games
grrrfranky wrote: That descent was pretty lethal, only one bad crash for the women, but a few for the men. The chase group of three worked so well together, but I really felt for Abbott.
Ye, she raced so hard. To be beaten at the end like that was harsh, but they eventualy worked together well. It took them a while to work out a rhythm, but in the end they got there and still had the legs to out sprint Abbott at the end. She just had nothing left to sprint with after having been out on her own for so long. It's just a shame that no one in the peloton managed to do the same and form a second breakaway. They had the chance a few times to hunt down the first group, and could have latched on to the back of them, but never seemed to capitalise when they started to get going and they just broke down before getting a flow going.
sebster wrote: I saw a couple of Rugby 7s games yesterday. I'd never seen it before but I loved it. All the best bits of normal Union without any of the boring stuff. If they had a professional comp I'd seriously consider going along and watching a game or two.
Other than that... I saw some Judo, it was kind of interesting but very strange. I have absolutely no idea how anyone can tell what is going on in fencing. And there's been endless coverage of the swimming, which sucks because it really very boring, bring on week 2 and the track events.
If they had a professional comp!!!!! What the feth!!!!
No disrespect Seb, but rugby 7s has had a professional world tour for the last 25+ years, including stages in Australia
It's a very popular sport around the world, and even this nation called Australia has a team. Ever heard of them?
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stanman wrote: Hardly surprising because if there's one thing Americans know, it's how to shoot guns
Actually, and very surprisingly, the USA doesn't feature that much when it comes to shooting events at the Olympics, which is surprising.
A nation with such a cultural heritage of gun ownership, has bound to have thousands of shooting clubs and events, so it's always been a surprise to me that the USA has never done that well at Olympic shooting. I wonder why that is?
But that could be because a lot of medals are won by members of the Chinese army, and sooner or later, we'll have to bow before our Chinese overlords, who will be very welcome
stanman wrote: Hardly surprising because if there's one thing Americans know, it's how to shoot guns
Actually, and very surprisingly, the USA doesn't feature that much when it comes to shooting events at the Olympics, which is surprising.
A nation with such a cultural heritage of gun ownership, has bound to have thousands of shooting clubs and events, so it's always been a surprise to me that the USA has never done that well at Olympic shooting. I wonder why that is?
But that could be because a lot of medals are won by members of the Chinese army, and sooner or later, we'll have to bow before our Chinese overlords, who will be very welcome
I get the feeling that target shooting in the US is seen more as training than a sport in itself, or as a hobby. Most of the shooters in the US seem to either shoot targets to set up guns and practice for hunting or self defence, or plinking for fun, rather than training for events. Also the olympic sports are air rifle and rim fire. In the US they are seen much more as childrens guns. It's like playing soft ball.
stanman wrote: Hardly surprising because if there's one thing Americans know, it's how to shoot guns
Actually, and very surprisingly, the USA doesn't feature that much when it comes to shooting events at the Olympics, which is surprising.
A nation with such a cultural heritage of gun ownership, has bound to have thousands of shooting clubs and events, so it's always been a surprise to me that the USA has never done that well at Olympic shooting. I wonder why that is?
But that could be because a lot of medals are won by members of the Chinese army, and sooner or later, we'll have to bow before our Chinese overlords, who will be very welcome
I get the feeling that target shooting in the US is seen more as training than a sport in itself, or as a hobby. Most of the shooters in the US seem to either shoot targets to set up guns and practice for hunting or self defence, or plinking for fun, rather than training for events. Also the olympic sports are air rifle and rim fire. In the US they are seen much more as childrens guns. It's like playing soft ball.
Or perhaps the USA is not as good and/or knowledgeable with firearms as they make themselves out to be...
Or perhaps the USA is not as good and/or knowledgeable with firearms as they make themselves out to be...
Rimfire is for girly boy Europeans...sorry. In America we deliver Freedom at bullseye rifle and shooting events with actual firearms. Airguns are cute but they aren't firearms. The first firearm I shot was an M1 Garand. Holding a .30-06 like they do would send yon rifle skittering across the floor.
Now the winter Finnish Winter War competition (whatever they call it where you ski 20 kms then shoot a rifle then ski away) now thats a shooting competition. Strangeley Russians don't like this competition...
Now back to the Olympics. Am I correct in that golf is now again an event?
I tried to turn on the judo but they had two guys playing table tennis and I became royally ticked off.
Or perhaps the USA is not as good and/or knowledgeable with firearms as they make themselves out to be...
Rimfire is for girly boy Europeans...sorry. In America we deliver Freedom at bullseye rifle and shooting events with actual firearms. Airguns are cute but they aren't firearms. The first firearm I shot was an M1 Garand. Holding a .30-06 like they do would send yon rifle skittering across the floor.
Now the winter Finnish Winter War competition (whatever they call it where you ski 20 kms then shoot a rifle then ski away) now thats a shooting competition. Strangeley Russians don't like this competition...
Now back to the Olympics. Am I correct in that golf is now again an event?
I tried to turn on the judo but they had two guys playing table tennis and I became royally ticked off.
You are correct in thinking that Golf is an Olympic sport, but instead of making it amateur, which would have been a good thing IMO, they made it a pro event, and crammed it in the middle of a busy schedule
Predictably, the vast majority of pro players have given it a wide berth.
As to my earlier point Frazz, you're missing the big picture here. People like me sleep easy at night, safe in the knowledge that the American eagle watches over us, gives us freedom.
But now, the Chinese Communists have scored a massive propaganda victory over the USA, because we know that by winning shooting medals, they're better shots.
Now I don't sleep easy at night, now I look for reds under the bed...
It's a new cold war Frazz, we need American freedom and pistol gold medals like never before
Tennis upsets have blown me away. Venus Williams loses in singles, Williams sisters getting drubbed in 2 straight Doubles sets and Djokovic getting knocked out. Methinks the lack of moolah may have prevented said individuals from training and preparing seriously...or it may have been over confidence.
Even though Djokovich recently won another tournament, dropping out of the olympics early and the very peculiar performance he put out at Wimbledon this year suggests something is not right with the hyper-flexible fellow. Should be Murray's to retain gold with ease.
Back to the Rowing, and the UK men's and women's eights are through to their finals, as is the men's quad. The USA women's eight blew away the opposition in their heat to get a place in the final, as befits an outfit that hasn't lost for 10 years.
Great race by the UK womens' 8 who powered through from 3rd (last) place at the half-way to win by 3/4 of a length (an eight is a very long boat.) It will be a great final to watch between these two crews.
The US colours are interesting. They seem to have deconstructed the Stars and Stripes to a slightly faded blue, reminiscent of the deconstructed Union flag from the 2012 games. Their blades are decorated with the Czechoslovak air force insignia, which looks a lot better than the imperceptible GB blades featuring a very small Union Jack on a white background with a red stripe on the tip of the spoon.The UK uniforms also are rather undistinctive.
I like the NZ uniform with its white spray of fern leaf reaching round the black torso.
While adulating the Team GB success I also applaud the various nations for whom this is their first games in Rowing, such as Iraq.
I am pleased to see that traditional gentlemen's pursuits such as fencing, pistol shooting, and horse riding are well represented in these games
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Kilkrazy wrote: Back to the Rowing, and the UK men's and women's eights are through to their finals, as is the men's quad. The USA women's eight blew away the opposition in their heat to get a place in the final, as befits an outfit that hasn't lost for 10 years.
Great race by the UK womens' 8 who powered through from 3rd (last) place at the half-way to win by 3/4 of a length (an eight is a very long boat.) It will be a great final to watch between these two crews.
The US colours are interesting. They seem to have deconstructed the Stars and Stripes to a slightly faded blue, reminiscent of the deconstructed Union flag from the 2012 games. Their blades are decorated with the Czechoslovak air force insignia, which looks a lot better than the imperceptible GB blades featuring a very small Union Jack on a white background with a red stripe on the tip of the spoon.The UK uniforms also are rather undistinctive.
I like the NZ uniform with its white spray of fern leaf reaching round the black torso.
While adulating the Team GB success I also applaud the various nations for whom this is their first games in Rowing, such as Iraq.
At least the Iraq team won't have to worry about being shot by Saddam's son on their return home.
Sadly, the same probably can't be said about the North Korean team. They'll probably end up in the salt mines or something
Assuming America and Canada meet in the women's football knock out rounds or final, it'll be a game not to miss. That match up from the 2012 olympics is one of the most exciting games I've ever seen.
The best thing in these games so far was the Australian swimmer calling out the Chinese swimmer as a drug cheat. For those who missed, the Chinese star swimmer and favourite in the 400m freestyle was caught taking performance enhancing drugs. Chinese authorities gave him a whopping three month ban, which happened to conclude just before the Chinese trials for the Olympics. Quite the coincidence.
Anyhow, the Australian swimmer Mack Horton called him out as a drug cheat, and then beat him in the 400m freestyle, and then didn't back down on his comments. Chinese twitter went insane. Some guy in England with a similar twitter got a hundred thousand tweets from China abusing him.
There seems a growing attitude among athletes to speak out about drug cheats, and demand real penalties. This is great, and long overdue.
grrrfranky wrote: @sebster, there is professional rugby sevens, at least for the men, the sevens world series. Australia takes it pretty seriously for the women as well, hence why they're the number one seed.
I'm going to look around and if it comes to Perth I'm going.
No disrespect Seb, but rugby 7s has had a professional world tour for the last 25+ years, including stages in Australia
It's a very popular sport around the world, and even this nation called Australia has a team. Ever heard of them?
No disrespect taken. Perth is not a rugby place. We have a team in the tri-nation comp, but I do not know a single person who has ever gone to a game that didn't get a free ticket. A few years back I went to a corporate event for an international rugby union game, in the dinner and drinks before hand they had a segment with some sporting stars. They had two AFL players, because there is no such thing as a rugby sporting star in Perth.
Nothing new, just goes to show when it comes to international things like this it's kind of dumb to leave the punishment solely up to the country they represent cause it'll usually be a slap on the wrist just big enough for them to feel like they've somewhat saved face and if anyone's been showing it lately it's that China cares only for what China wants.
If someone is caught even once as a drug cheat, they should be flat out banned from ever competing in the Olympics again.
I feel like missing a drug test should be maybe a 2-strikes and you're out thing, maybe, seein as missing a test isn't really "proof" of cheating, per se - but if they can prove you had drugs in your system, I'm with n0t_u, no more Olympics for you ever again.
At least the Iraq team won't have to worry about being shot by Saddam's son on their return home.
Sadly, the same probably can't be said about the North Korean team. They'll probably end up in the salt mines or something
Apparently North Korean athletes who do not win are subject to the disciplinary process of the WPK party. Apparently this is normaly going for criticism sessions. During a session, members of a small party group critique one's performance, with several people upbraiding the individual for their substantive performance (or lack thereof) and their perceived ideological failures. At the end, the person being critiqued then engages in self-criticism and resolves to do better in the future.
Whilst it sounds silly, I don't suppose it is any worse than a lot of coaches in any other nation.
Dark Apostle 666 wrote: I feel like missing a drug test should be maybe a 2-strikes and you're out thing, maybe, seein as missing a test isn't really "proof" of cheating,
Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. swimmers were robbed early Sunday morning by individuals posing as armed police officers, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The four swimmers — including Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen — were in a taxi traveling from France’s hospitality venue to the Olympic Village when the incident occurred, the USOC said.
“We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over,” Lochte told NBC Sports in an interview. “They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn't do anything wrong, so — I'm not getting down on the ground.
“And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, 'Get down,' and I put my hands up, I was like 'whatever.' He took our money, he took my wallet — he left my cell phone, he left my credentials.”
The USOC added in its brief statement on the matter that the four athletes are safe and cooperating with authorities.
Bentz later tweeted: “We are all safe. Thank you for your love and support.”
Later Sunday, Lochte said on Twitter that "what is most important is that we are safe and unharmed"
The morning began with reports that Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medalist who won a relay gold medal at these Games, texted his mother, Ileana, and said he had been robbed at gunpoint. Not long after that was reported, the swimmer said the story wasn’t accurate. International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said that he understood from the USOC that the report was “absolutely not true.”
Then Lochte's mom again said he was robbed and a Brazilian swimmer confirmed it. That was followed by Lochte telling NBC Sports it was true.
The IOC later referred comment on the matter to the USOC and didn't immediately respond to a request to clarify the organization's initial comment on the matter.
Feigen and Lochte room with Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, in the athletes’ village. Phelps said he has visisted Brazil multiple times and never felt unsafe.
In a question-and-answer session on Reddit last week, Feigen sounded excited about the possibilities to enjoy in Rio de Janeiro after the eight-day swimming competition ended Saturday.
“Once the games are over the party begins!” he wrote. “That is outside the village though.”
During a previously scheduled news conference Sunday, U.S. swimmer Nathan Adrian said he's not concerned about security in Rio de Janeiro.
"Rio's an amazing city and there's going to be problems anywhere you go," he said. "We have been briefed on how to mitigate those risks as well as possible."
Was happy to see Dorian van Rijsselberghe taking the Gold two olympics in a row, surfing legend. He'd already secured the gold before the final started.
Truly, these Olympics are the story of mismanagement that keeps on giving.
It was great that Bolt won. Not just because its awesome to have a great sprinting career capped off with a world first three time 100m win, but because it kept two time drug cheat Justin Gatlin out of first place. Any bet on how long it will take before Gatlin's silver medal is handed back?
Irate Irish Olympic boxer flips everyone off before slamming federation as ‘f****** cheats'
Irish boxer Michael Conlan didn’t hold back when he was interviewed ringside after losing 3-0 to Vladimir Nikitin of Russia in the Men’s 56-kg bantamweight quarterfinals. After losing he flipped off officials at ringside in Rio and those watching the bout felt that Conlan landed more clean punches, but judges didn’t see it the same way. That led to Conlan going off.
"AIBA are cheats. They’re fu***** cheats. Sorry about that, but that’s me. I’ll never box for AIBA again. They’re cheating bastards paying everybody. I don’t give a f***, I’m cursing on TV. My chance at Olympic gold is over. My dream’s been shattered, but you know what — I’ve got a big career ahead of me and these, they’re known for being cheats. They’ll always be cheats. Amateur boxing stinks, from the core right to the top."
This isn’t the first time Conlan has had a problem with the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA). He won bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London and felt at the time that he was robbed of a chance to compete for the gold medal then too.
He remains the AIBA world No.1 in the rankings, but it seems Conlan had no problem burning bridges on his way out the door. Also, he's tweeting Vladimir Putin in anger.
Irate Irish Olympic boxer flips everyone off before slamming federation as ‘f****** cheats'
Irish boxer Michael Conlan didn’t hold back when he was interviewed ringside after losing 3-0 to Vladimir Nikitin of Russia in the Men’s 56-kg bantamweight quarterfinals. After losing he flipped off officials at ringside in Rio and those watching the bout felt that Conlan landed more clean punches, but judges didn’t see it the same way. That led to Conlan going off.
"AIBA are cheats. They’re fu***** cheats. Sorry about that, but that’s me. I’ll never box for AIBA again. They’re cheating bastards paying everybody. I don’t give a f***, I’m cursing on TV. My chance at Olympic gold is over. My dream’s been shattered, but you know what — I’ve got a big career ahead of me and these, they’re known for being cheats. They’ll always be cheats. Amateur boxing stinks, from the core right to the top."
This isn’t the first time Conlan has had a problem with the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA). He won bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London and felt at the time that he was robbed of a chance to compete for the gold medal then too.
He remains the AIBA world No.1 in the rankings, but it seems Conlan had no problem burning bridges on his way out the door. Also, he's tweeting Vladimir Putin in anger.
I have to say I watched the third round of the Conlan/Nikitin fight and Conlan clearly was beating the gak out of the Russian lad.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Very sad our lads lost to China in the Badminton Mens Doubles semi-final.
How exactly does one cheat in boxing (meaning that the accusation from the one guy seems to not be about performance enhancing drugs, but rather about rules and regs).
LordofHats wrote: How exactly does one cheat in boxing (meaning that the accusation from the one guy seems to not be about performance enhancing drugs, but rather about rules and regs).
In amateur boxing you score a point every time you land a good hit. There is some subjectivity in exactly what is a good hit and what isn't, but no more than any other sport.
I don't follow boxing at all so I won't even begin to claim whether the Irish guy should have won or not, but the people I know who do follow boxing say it was about as clear a win to the Irish boxer as you'll ever see, and the judges were obviously corrupt.
Chinese media is not happy with China's low medal tally.
Let's hope those Chinese athletes don't have to spend the rest of the year in a re-education camp...
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LordofHats wrote: How exactly does one cheat in boxing (meaning that the accusation from the one guy seems to not be about performance enhancing drugs, but rather about rules and regs).
As others have said, you can't get a knockout and bribing the judges is normal practice if you want to influence the result, but individual fighters can also lower their guard a bit to let their opponent score more hits, and make sure their own punches aren't connecting as well as they should...
What's up with members of the US women's football/soccer team being salty as gak about Sweden beating them and going on to beat Brazil? I mean, I can understand that one gets disappointed at losing, but continuing to antagonize the opposing team when they win against someone else?
AlmightyWalrus wrote: What's up with members of the US women's football/soccer team being salty as gak about Sweden beating them and going on to beat Brazil? I mean, I can understand that one gets disappointed at losing, but continuing to antagonize the opposing team when they win against someone else?
USA womens football has expected gold, have had gold, been hyped for gold, so they are disappointed to be forced to play for bronze.
Simone is fething amazing to watch. I can't remember the last time something had that much hype and delivered. Well, maybe DeathWatch Codex, but still. She's a tiny ball of fire and energy.
4 golds and a bronze, and this was her first Olympics.
Simone is fething amazing to watch. I can't remember the last time something had that much hype and delivered. Well, maybe DeathWatch Codex, but still. She's a tiny ball of fire and energy.
4 golds and a bronze, and this was her first Olympics.
Lived up to the hype? Bolt. His 100m was unbelievable. Phelps certainly showed up as well.
Orlanth wrote: I wonder if athletics will top out soon and breaking world records will suddenly no longer be common.
Nah. Considering you can have the same performance in a swimming event and knock off 0.01" of a second and get a new record, you can do that in 10 straight olympics before you knock off 0.1" of a second, and that's 40 years.
Besides, while a lot of records are being broken, not every event is. I expect we'll continue to see incremental records in many/most events for the remainder of my lifetime.
Rio 2016 Olympics: US swimmers 'invented robbery story'
Spoiler:
Four US Olympic swimmers in Rio de Janeiro invented a story about a robbery in an effort to disguise a dispute over a damaged petrol station door, Brazilian police say.
One or more of the Americans broke the door to the bathroom and a row ensued when attendants asked them to pay for the damage, Rio's police chief said.
After armed security guards were called in, the Americans paid and left.
Three of the swimmers remain in Brazil and are being questioned by police.
The fourth, gold medallist Ryan Lochte, returned to the US on Monday.
Lochte robbery: What do we know?
Before it emerged that Mr Lochte had left Brazil, a judge ordered that the four should have their passports confiscated pending further inquiries, amid inconsistencies in the men's accounts of the alleged robbery.
Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Media captionA lawyer for Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger said the pair were "shaken"
Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger were taken off a US-bound plane at Rio de Janeiro airport on Wednesday night and were seen entering a Rio police station for questioning on Thursday afternoon. Team-mate James Feigen has also remained in Brazil.
The swimmers - who have repeatedly changed their accounts of what happened - could face charges of falsely communicating a crime.
What is said to have happened?
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro told the BBC's Wyre Davies that at about 06:00 (09:00 GMT) on Sunday, the four men had arrived by taxi at a petrol station in Barra da Tijuca, 16km (10 miles) from the Olympic Park.
One of the athletes broke the door to the bathroom, the police said, and petrol station attendants asked the Americans to pay for the damage.
A verbal dispute is said to have ensued with the attendants, and security guards were called to contain the incident. The police were also called.
Ryan Lochte's life outside the pool
While police were on their way, another customer at the petrol station served as interpreter for the athletes and helped agree payment for the damage.
When police arrived, the athletes had already gone after paying for the broken door, and they returned to the Olympic Village.
Video from CCTV appears to show the athletes being detained and ordered to sit on the ground.
What have the swimmers said?
Ryan Lochte attends a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: August 2016Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Ryan Lochte said a man robbed him at gunpoint while returning in a taxi to the Olympic village
Mr Lochte admitted on Wednesday to some inaccuracies in his original account of being robbed at gunpoint in the early hours of Sunday, but vehemently denied making the story up.
"I wouldn't make up a story like this nor would the others - as a matter of fact we all feel it makes us look bad," he told US TV network NBC.
Accounts of what happened to the swimmers have been confusing from the beginning.
News of the incident emerged after Mr Lochte's mother told US media about it.
Mr Lochte himself gave an initial account of the events to NBC on Sunday, saying he and the other swimmers had been in a taxi returning from a club in the early hours when they were pulled over by men wearing police badges.
He said they had pulled a gun and told the swimmers to get on the ground. "I refused... and then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead..."
Mr Lochte has since slightly altered his account, telling NBC on Wednesday that the taxi had not been asked to pull over - they had been robbed while making a stop at a petrol station - and he said the gun had not been pointed directly at his forehead.
He called the inconsistencies a "traumatic mischaracterisation" caused by the stress of the incident.
Police and the judge investigating the case found inconsistencies in the men's accounts.
CCTV footage of their return to the athletes' village appears to show the swimmers laughing and joking, and handing over their wallets, phones and accreditation, as they go through the security screens. The judge said they had not shown signs of being affected by a robbery.
What has been the reaction?
US Olympic Committee (USOC) spokesman Patrick Sandusky said in a statement that Mr Bentz, Mr Conger and Mr Feigen were co-operating with authorities and looking to speak to them on Thursday.
Mr Lochte's lawyer told the BBC he had returned to the US two days ago before the controversy broke.
"He was never asked to remain for further investigation or for any other purpose after he met with Brazilian authorities after he gave a statement," said Jeffrey Ostrow.
Who are the swimmers?
Lochte is one of the most successful swimmers in history, with 12 Olympic medals, and he once had his own reality television show in the US. In Rio, he swam in two events, winning gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
Feigen won gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Bentz competed in the 4x200m preliminaries, but not the final. He still received a gold medal after the US team's win.
Four US Olympic swimmers in Rio de Janeiro invented a story about a robbery in an effort to disguise a dispute over a damaged petrol station door, Brazilian police say.
HAHAHAHAHA!
Dunken donkey-cave US Olympians acted like donkey-caves and blamed it on armed robbers.
kronk wrote: Four US Olympic swimmers in Rio de Janeiro invented a story about a robbery in an effort to disguise a dispute over a damaged petrol station door, Brazilian police say.
HAHAHAHAHA!
Dunken donkey-cave US Olympians acted like donkey-caves and blamed it on armed robbers.
To be fair, blaming it on crime in Rio wasnt that far fetched
kronk wrote: Four US Olympic swimmers in Rio de Janeiro invented a story about a robbery in an effort to disguise a dispute over a damaged petrol station door, Brazilian police say.
HAHAHAHAHA!
Dunken donkey-cave US Olympians acted like donkey-caves and blamed it on armed robbers.
To be fair, blaming it on crime in Rio wasnt that far fetched
more far fetched then it wasnt what was expected. Lets face facts US is not know for being good guests.
I do hope they get the three years and community service.
Orlanth wrote: I wonder if athletics will top out soon and breaking world records will suddenly no longer be common.
Nah. Considering you can have the same performance in a swimming event and knock off 0.01" of a second and get a new record, you can do that in 10 straight olympics before you knock off 0.1" of a second, and that's 40 years.
Besides, while a lot of records are being broken, not every event is. I expect we'll continue to see incremental records in many/most events for the remainder of my lifetime.
As the video shows, the improvement in sports science in the past 60 years has been massive. Training techniques, physiology, nutrition and psychology have all gone through enormous improvement.
Clearly there must be some limit to natural ability. In fact, top level athletics passed the point several years ago where environmental conditions such as track texture, wind and so on, may make more difference to record performances than improvement of the athletes.
Mr. Burning wrote: This is why we need a separate event for 'superhumans'. Any drugs any enhancements any time.
I don't agree. Why not just attack motors to the bicycles or whatever? They would go faster, but it wouldn't actually be the same sport.
I don't think the interest and drama of sport and fitness depends on people constantly breaking records. It should be based on maximum participation and friendly competition "on the day". That's why it is so sad to see all these examples of bad sportsmanship, like the French guy being booed by 40,000 Brazil fans, the US Ladies football team slagging off the Swedes, and so on.
From personal experience, there can be as much fun in Boxing Day "Pudding" races as in the Olympics.
We need Phelps and Ledecky to create a new race of super human babies that will swim across the pool at a pace of 10 seconds per lap. They'll have gills, webbed feet, and shoulders like Space Marines.
Mr. Burning wrote: This is why we need a separate event for 'superhumans'. Any drugs any enhancements any time.
I don't agree. Why not just attack motors to the bicycles or whatever? They would go faster, but it wouldn't actually be the same sport.
I don't think the interest and drama of sport and fitness depends on people constantly breaking records. It should be based on maximum participation and friendly competition "on the day". That's why it is so sad to see all these examples of bad sportsmanship, like the French guy being booed by 40,000 Brazil fans, the US Ladies football team slagging off the Swedes, and so on.
From personal experience, there can be as much fun in Boxing Day "Pudding" races as in the Olympics.
I agree that breaking records isn't the be all and end all, however records are a consequence of elite athletes putting it on the line against each other. Friendly or otherwise, competition is essential.
I don't mean that competition is meaningless, it's essential to sport. What I mean is that record-breaking increasingly will become meaningless as the human body's capacity for improvement is reached. We already see this in a number of events. To be frank, if someone ran the 100 m in 0.01 of a second faster than last year, because his shoe laces are a new design with less air resistance, why would anyone care?
In other sports, such as sailing and rowing, the changeable conditions of the natural venue make record-breaking chancy for a different kind of reason.
kronk wrote: We need Phelps and Ledecky to create a new race of super human babies that will swim across the pool at a pace of 10 seconds per lap. They'll have gills, webbed feet, and shoulders like Space Marines.
Kilkrazy wrote: I don't mean that competition is meaningless, it's essential to sport. What I mean is that record-breaking increasingly will become meaningless as the human body's capacity for improvement is reached. We already see this in a number of events. To be frank, if someone ran the 100 m in 0.01 of a second faster than last year, because his shoe laces are a new design with less air resistance, why would anyone care?
In other sports, such as sailing and rowing, the changeable conditions of the natural venue make record-breaking chancy for a different kind of reason.
Too bad they can't just constantly change the weight classes around to establish new records like they do with weightlifting.
The snatch record and total record for the 105+ kg class were 'broken' this year...well nope...Salimi just tied the snatch record from 1987 and the total record is still 2kg higher than the new 'record.'
It's a bit funny. It seems like testing for every other sport has gotten looser, while it has increased for weightlifting. I believe the records for Ilya Ilyin (Clean and Jerk and total at both 94kg and 105kg) are going to be thrown out since his sample for 2012 was retested and came out positive.
More on weightlifting records for anyone interested:
Spoiler:
In this Olympics the 56kg record was actually improved by 2kg. Breaking 32 year old record!
The current 62kg record is 9kg lower than the old 60kg record... :-(
The 69kg total is slighter higher than the 67.5 kg total.
The current 77kg total is lower than the old 75kg total, but the snatch is 8kg heavier. It just happens that the man with the 77kg total and snatch records (Lu Xiaojun) is mediocre at the clean and jerk...well by comparison to the record holders...
The current 85kg record total (set this year) is still 9kg lower than the 82.5kg record.
Ilya Ilyin, the holder of the current 94kg record total (and 105kg total as well), is heralded by many fans as the best weightlifter of his generation...or maybe even ever. I call BS. His record at 94kg is 4.5kg lower than the old 90kg record. For Yanks, that means he weighs about 9 pounds heavier and totaled 10 pounds less. Big difference in weightlifting.
His 105kg total is 3kg lower than the old 100kg record...how absurd is this? He weighed 11lbs heavier and total about 6.5 less...but here is where it gets good.
There used to be a 110kg class. The total record for that class is 455kg vs the record for the 105kg class at 437kg. Weighing 11 pounds more, Yury Zakharevich lifted a whopping 38.5~ pounds more weight! His lifts were so impressive that he would have placed second in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total in this years 105kg+ class, thus earning a silver medal, DESPITE weighing just 110kg (242lbs) against 3 medalists that weighed in at 135-157kg (297-345lbs).
Mr. Burning wrote: I think the only time anyone cares about weightlifting is when internal organs are pushed out of the lifters poop shute.
That's powerlifting.
And considering that there are 1.1m comments on a single photo on the International Weightlifting Federation's instagram it's pretty obvious someone cares. Just not people in the Americas. And not you.
Track Controversy!
The U.S. men’s 4x100m relay team crossed the finish line in Rio in third place, but they will not be taking home any medals. The team was disqualified after it was ruled that the first exchange between Mike Rodgers and Justin Gatlin illegally took place outside of the takeover zone.
It was the ninth time since 1995 that the U.S. men have been disqualified or failed to get the baton around at an Olympics or world championships, according to the Associated Press.
Jamaica won the gold medal for the third consecutive year. Japan took silver, and the bronze medal went to... Canada.
Read more - http://www.nbcolympics.com/…/us-mens-4x100m-team-disqualifi…, and watch the video of Team USA's illegal baton pass that resulted in a disqualification in the 4x100m relay and cost them a bronze medal. here - https://www.facebook.com/nbcolympics/videos/10154956588135329/ Seth Rubinroit / NBColympics.com
It isn't a new trend for people to suddenly care about certain sports when the Olympics are here and then forget about them once a short time has passed.
Ahtman wrote: It isn't a new trend for people to suddenly care about certain sports when the Olympics are here and then forget about them once a short time has passed.
Certain sports, yes. Does anyone really care about sprinting in the lull between Olympics? I have no idea. I never care about probably half the sports actually in the Olympics, but seeing how fast rowers can push their boats was pretty impressive.
Weightlifting remains fairly prominent even outside the Olympics in certain countries, Russia, China, Iran, and that collection of countries jokingly referred to as the 'stans. The popularity of Crossfit in America has increased local focus on weightlifting, but I really doubt more than a minority of crossfitters follow weightlifting year round.
Edit: Interesting tidbit for anyone from Ireland or the UK...an Irish weightlifter could have medaled and potentially won gold in the 94kg weight class. He just isn't interesting in competing.
A bloody world elite athlete gave up on a chance to win an Olympic medal because it didn't interest him...
Spoiler:
>403 would have earned him a gold.
>395 would have earned him a silver.
>392 would have earned him a bronze.
He's done a very clean 395 total in training.
Here's where it gets interesting...he's come within inches...literally...inches of doing a 413 total in training (10kg over the gold medalist) earlier this year...but dialed back on training for other hobbies...
kronk wrote: We need Phelps and Ledecky to create a new race of super human babies that will swim across the pool at a pace of 10 seconds per lap. They'll have gills, webbed feet, and shoulders like Space Marines.
Wont breeding Phelps with Ledecky be cheating?
Oh, have an exalt!
On the US relay disqualification, I watched the replays and am not an expert, but they muffed that one. Rules are rules.
That article says the US sprinters have been DQed 9 times since 1995. That seems high.
Ferris Buehler's mom "9 times?"
Principal "9 times."
The gold medal winning time in the 100m freestyle in 1896 was 1 minute and 22 seconds. If you swam that time today you probably wouldn't qualify for the swim team of a fairly competitive high school.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
trexmeyer wrote: It's a bit funny. It seems like testing for every other sport has gotten looser, while it has increased for weightlifting. I believe the records for Ilya Ilyin (Clean and Jerk and total at both 94kg and 105kg) are going to be thrown out since his sample for 2012 was retested and came out positive.
Huh? Testing isn't getting looser in any sport. What's happening is we're finally talking about all the problems that have existed in drug testing and expecting them to be better. A lot of people are assuming that because they didn't used to hear about athletes bypassing testing or whole sports programs working to avoid testing regimes then it never happened. But it did happen, in some cases at least as bad as Russia's program, and now we're finally starting to address it.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Jehan-reznor wrote: Was surprised that the Japanese won 3 in the 4*100m event (then i remembered that the Russian track & field team wasn't there because of issues
The Japanese are investing big money in their sports program in anticipation of the Tokyo games. They want wins in the track and field events, and have identified the relay events as a way to get it.
The biggest mystery is that Japan's indoor cycling team continues to go nowhere. Japan invented the kierin, and its the only country where there is a strong professional comp (with huge amounts for betting). And yet their riders can't even make the final.
Kilkrazy wrote: Baton exchanges are what makes the relay race more difficult.
Thing is...it's not hard. You can coach high school athletes to do blind handoffs well.
This streak the U.S. has going on with the 4 x 100 has gone well past astounding ineptitude at this point. It's not as if the U.S. needs perfect exchanges -- just get the baton around cleanly and they'll probably medal thanks to their talent level.
Methinks a healthy chunk of the blame goes to the personalities and egos involved, and maybe what USA T&F has to consider is fielding a team of lesser sprinters who are willing to put the time into becoming a bonafide team. Look at what precision and teamwork did for the Japanese, who most certainly are NOT blessed with great sprint talent.
That's probably no way to beat the Jamaicans, but then I don't think anyone's going to do that anyway until they find a way to bust up the fairly obvious institutionalized cheating going on there. Yes, cheaters have been found everywhere, including the U.S. and Canada. But for a small island nation to be not just winning against, but DOMINATING the rest of the world AND rolling out top athlete after top athlete...that just doesn't add up.
gorgon wrote: That's probably no way to beat the Jamaicans, but then I don't think anyone's going to do that anyway until they find a way to bust up the fairly obvious institutionalized cheating going on there. Yes, cheaters have been found everywhere, including the U.S. and Canada. But for a small island nation to be not just winning against, but DOMINATING the rest of the world AND rolling out top athlete after top athlete...that just doesn't add up.
That's a pretty big accusation. The first problem is that the US relay team included Justin Gatlin, a two time drug cheat that we're being asked to believe just happens to running faster than he ever has before now that's clean and aged 34.
But then if we just look at Jamaica, they won 6 gold medals. That's a lot for a small island nation, but two of them were to Bolt for individual races, and another was a relay with Bolt. Then you have Elaine Thompson winning the 100m and the 200m. So what we're actually looking at is two elite sprinters in one country. Neither of whom have ever even looked like testing positive for anything.
I'm not saying that Jamaican athletics is certain to be clean, because ultimately who the hell knows? But it also isn't that hard to believe that a country which focuses its athletics almost entirely on sprinting might just happen to have two elite sprinting champs at the one time.
gorgon wrote: That's probably no way to beat the Jamaicans, but then I don't think anyone's going to do that anyway until they find a way to bust up the fairly obvious institutionalized cheating going on there. Yes, cheaters have been found everywhere, including the U.S. and Canada. But for a small island nation to be not just winning against, but DOMINATING the rest of the world AND rolling out top athlete after top athlete...that just doesn't add up.
That's a pretty big accusation. The first problem is that the US relay team included Justin Gatlin, a two time drug cheat that we're being asked to believe just happens to running faster than he ever has before now that's clean and aged 34.
But then if we just look at Jamaica, they won 6 gold medals. That's a lot for a small island nation, but two of them were to Bolt for individual races, and another was a relay with Bolt. Then you have Elaine Thompson winning the 100m and the 200m. So what we're actually looking at is two elite sprinters in one country. Neither of whom have ever even looked like testing positive for anything.
I'm not saying that Jamaican athletics is certain to be clean, because ultimately who the hell knows? But it also isn't that hard to believe that a country which focuses its athletics almost entirely on sprinting might just happen to have two elite sprinting champs at the one time.
I guess the use of weed making them relaxed and without anxiety
There was a good article about Jamaica making public health improvements over the decades, and one of the big areas of focus being excercises programs for chilsren. Turns out having them run around the dirt was cheap, so track became a countrywide program for all children.
Obviously you guys don't follow track much, or else you'd know that Jamaica has come under fire for cheating. They had a bunch of runners test positive a few years ago, and there's been talk recently about how their national testing program has serious issues.
They haven't nailed them to the wall yet on it being a systemic thing, but it almost has to be. It ends up becoming almost mathematical -- countries with populations the size of a large city shouldn't be producing sprinters on both the men's and women's side at the rate they do. They have FAR deeper teams than just Usain Bolt. Five of the top 8 men all-time in the 100m are Jamaican! And all in the last 6 years.
When you see big leaps in performance well outside the norm...there's a good bet someone's cheating. See McGwire and Sosa jacking 70 homers, or (more on topic) FloJo going from being a really good 200m runner to crushing the field and setting records in the 100m that no one's gotten close to in almost 30 years.
While there's definitely technique and plenty of coaching involved with individual sprinters, it isn't like some sports where 'good enough' athletes can be coached up and perform at an elite level based on technique. Pure athletic talent is the main thing, and Jamaica is pushing out more elite talent than it should.
The city of Chicago (about the same population as Jamaica) could spend $1 billion on exercise programs and it wouldn't allow it to dominate the rest of the planet in sprinting, fer crissakes.
Well, if the Jamaican government is cleverer at drug cheating than the Russian government and various US programmes, you kind of have to hand it to them.
Kilkrazy wrote: Well, if the Jamaican government is cleverer at drug cheating than the Russian government and various US programmes, you kind of have to hand it to them.
I propose a new Olympic Gold Medal; "best cheater." We'll just funnel all the dopers there and have them compete to see who can best hide that they're doping
gorgon wrote: Obviously you guys don't follow track much, or else you'd know that Jamaica has come under fire for cheating. They had a bunch of runners test positive a few years ago, and there's been talk recently about how their national testing program has serious issues.
Fair enough. I just did some reading and things do seem very suss. Whenever you get athletes caught by WADA in-competition testing, but never caught by their national programs outside of competition... that is pretty much always a sign that something fishy is going on.
Kilkrazy wrote: Well, if the Jamaican government is cleverer at drug cheating than the Russian government and various US programmes, you kind of have to hand it to them.
I propose a new Olympic Gold Medal; "best cheater." We'll just funnel all the dopers there and have them compete to see who can best hide that they're doping
That would be the All Drug Olympics. It's already a thing.
Beauty 2nd goal.
