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Do we have an Olympic Games Thread yet? Searched. Couldn't find one.
Delighted to have bagged some Athletics tickets this morning at last. Had BMX tickets in basket too but they had been bought by the time I got through the checkout process.
So that's one evening filled. There for a week with my wife who is spending several days watching Dressage. I've agreed to one day of dressage.
Found getting a hold of tickets - without spending big! - to be some right bother.
Looked into renting a bike but the charges to get a bike delivered to versaille, where we are stsying, were eye watering.
Anyone else going across the water?
We managed to snag a few cheap tickets to the less popular games back in 2012. It was an experience for sure.
I'm looking forward to the opening ceremony. Hundreds of middle-aged men with pastel shade jumpers draped around their shoulders doing synchronised shrugging. Awesome stuff.
Russian athletes being there and this truly awful story are not really aligned with the Olympic values:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/c2v0j0j6nqlo
I feel sorry for the athletes that have trained for years to be at the same games as these people.
I'm in Paris, hoping to catch a glimpse of the road events. Not strictly Olympics related is that the increase in cycling ifrastructure is incredible. Formerly busy roads have been reduced to quiet streets with half the lanes turned into bike lanes. And they are being used. Cyclists of all ages and all social groups are pedalling away. Near us is a complicated roundabout where vehicles of all descriptions meet with pedestrians, and although it seems chaotic it is working fine and nobody is dying. Why can't we have nice things like this?
TBF, there’s a great cycle route in Harrogate. Great as in it starts then stops then merges into unmarked lanes, onto footpaths and back off when there are trees in the way, then suddenly stops about 150m from the top of the hill (and the hill is the one used in the WC). Laughable.
Was watching (bits of) the 2012 Opening Ceremony today. Still goosebump-inducing in places.
There was so much negativity in the run up, how expensive, how shit it was going to be, etc. Then the Opening Ceremony started and everyone was like 'WTF is this?'
and then...... boom. IDK at what point exactly, but something clicked and it's still some of the most electric TV I've ever seen.
I’ve enjoyed watching the Olympics and Paralympics for years, but this year I’m particularly keen on watching the archery, because for the first time in my life I’m able to do a sport that’s in the Olympics, and I’m using the same equipment as the athletes, just not as refined or expensive as theirs, same specification bow and technique, Olympic recurve. Nothing like the ability, though I’ve only been doing it for a year. We’ve got a full quota of six in the GB team, all in their teens, IIRC, so fingers crossed!
I see there's a programme on Channel 5 this evening at 9:00 about the 1948 London Olympics (a London with still a lot of unfilled bomb craters) and where the "make do and mend" attitude adapted stadia, velodromes, swimming pools. The budget to do all this was very small.
and then…… boom. IDK at what point exactly, but something clicked and it’s still some of the most electric TV I’ve ever seen.
When the 1,000 drums and the Underworld kicked in!
I was the same, expecting the opening ceremony to be a massive cringefest, and while I can take or leave quite a bit of it, some of it was an absolute theatrical and musical masterpiece.
there's a surprisingly large amount of tickets left, given how difficult it was to get any in the earlier rounds.
We're in france anyway, I managed to get a pair of tickets for myself and my boy (8) to earlyish rounds of the athletics for 25 euros each.
The ticket sales have felt like a farce from the pint of view of someone wanting to buy them.
Tranche one sales were done in a way I assume was to sell tickets for lesser watche sports. For example if you wanted 4x Athletics tickets, you'd have to buy 4x handball tickets and 4x archery tickets. We couldn't find any cheaper tickets for our choice of sports at this stage.
Then tickets have been released on random blocks. Every Thursday there was meant ot be new tickets.
There hospitality tickets a ailable for just a out every session. We looked into them. As an example 3x3 basketball. Ticket €85. The same seat with hospitality €195. What does hospitality get you? Access to a lounge outwith the arena and a maximum of TWO drinks! Jeezo! And if you attend with someone who doesn't take their drinks, they can't be transferred. Shove it.
I was a performer in the 2012 Opening Ceremony (hence my moniker) - I remember much of the media pre-event being quite disparaging of the whole thing, predicting disaster. It was only when the Opening Ceremony blew them away did they get behind it.
Was watching (bits of) the 2012 Opening Ceremony today. Still goosebump-inducing in places.
I think 2012 UK was actually quite a nice place. How far we've fallen since then. 🙁
I remember driving to London while the opening ceremony was on. Super quiet roads. Arrived at my Mum's house (my Mum being fairly elderly with zero interest in televised sport) and she was so excited.
Quick, come and watch the rest of the show! The Queen parachuted out of a helicopter and it's all amazing and there's flying bicycles and...and..."
I was like "OK, Mum has finally lost it..." and then I had to go back and watch the entire show on full on iPlayer the next day. Wow.
I was working on the London Olympic track cycling and the atmosphere in the velodrome was incredible. Like no other track event I've ever seen. Same races, same riders as any World Cup / Championship but off the scale crowd noise!
Danny Boyle did a great job on the opening ceremony. I think there is actually a TV programme about it somewhere.
STW was equally nonplussed on the run up to it with things like "spazzed out sheep" being mentioned. I just remember it being bloody brilliant.
Tranche one sales were done in a way I assume was to sell tickets for lesser watche sports.
Yeah, we're going to water polo as well as the hockey and athletics we wanted to see.
I don't mind seeing something new, some of the best events we went to at 2012 were "lesser" events.
I heard something on the radio, about the tickets and also accommodation issues; the context was that the BBC travel guy was taking his wife for a bargain weekend in Paris because they've so overpriced rooms, that there are thousands unfilled and you can now grab them for buttons. I just googled and 2 nights close to city centre in an apartment type room for about £140/ 2 adults
Here's a bit more from 2012! Get a bit emotional every time I rewatch, TBH. I hope as a country we can get back to how we felt about ourselves at that moment.
(IOC grinches mean you have to click through!)
Pretty excited about the Paris games though. Been a long time between 'proper' Olympics.
I've no qualms going to see something new either but I'm not paying over the odds for something I might not even enjoy.
Same races, same riders as any World Cup / Championship but off the scale crowd noise!
We took the kids to Wimbledon for the Olympic tennis. I've been lucky enough to go to Wimbledon itself, and like you say it was chalk and cheese.
Wimbledon was all stuffy shirts, strawberries, elderly ladies and etiquette. Great as a British sporting centrepiece, but very of it's type.
Olympics was kids running around on fizzy pop and sweets, players being accessible giving sweatbands away and signing hats, mexican waves (divisive), chanting and so on. As a joyous place to be, wonderful.
If I had to choose between them I'd go Olympic version every time.
I totally agree with the nostalgia of 2012, when despite all the negativity in the run up, the whole country was won over after the opening ceremony and it seemed like a "where were you when" moment. Honestly feels like the peak of UK national pride during my lifetime, downhill since.
For a nice recap, I enjoy Charlie Brooker's summary starting from 26:40 here:
You can even see the mood change here. We were a proper bunch of sneering miserable gits until the rings got forged and flew into the air during page 4 and we decided it was alright.
Then by page 5 once the queen had jumped out the helicopter it was the best thing ever.
One of the horsey folk is out because of a video 'showing an error of judgement'. *Grabs popcorn
not just any, Charlotte Dujardin. Joint most decorated female British Olympian.
Does that mean Laura Kenny gets at least another four years as 'joint most decorated', with the added appeal of not beating up horses?
beating up horses?
up or off?
Lots of over hyped prima donnas ,how green is this event?
up or off?
All we know is that she ends up with a perky dancing horse at the end of each 'error of judgement'.
Lots of over hyped prima donnas ,how green is this event?
It's the greenest one ever, of the later era at least. Others will have been greener because they were basically walked to by some Greek people, or they were before people could fly to participate. And probably not as green overall as the last one because Covid. But greener than others. The derny bike will be e-, probably, the transport will be e, they even cleaned up the Seine which is consequently both greener and not as green as it was.
What is your metric for greenness?
What is your metric for greenness
Not ruining the planet through climate change and biodiversity loss is always a good ball park!
The video of dujardin is 4 years old. She shouldn't have done it. Obviously. Its not acceptable. And everyone knows there are cameras everywhere these days. Plain stupid.
But sitting on this video for 4 years then "investigating" in the lead up to the Olympics is shoddy. It was fairly well distubuted in horse circles back when it surfaced.
@tom-b there'd be no organised sport beyond your neighbourhood if that were applied across the board
Anyone know when or where the start sheets for the road TT will be published? I’ve looked on the official site but it’s a bit … French ;-(
she should have owned it & dealt with the fallout at the time then instead of doing nothing and (presumably) a competitor "leaking" it at the worst possible moment.But sitting on this video for 4 years then “investigating” in the lead up to the Olympics is shoddy. It was fairly well distubuted in horse circles back when it surfaced.
there’d be no organised sport beyond your neighbourhood if that were applied across the board
Possibly, possibly not.
Anyway, if we can't get past mistreating animals for sport, then wider issues a probably even further down the agenda.
The first 45 minutes of the 2012 opening ceremony were incredible (after that, it's fast forward to Mr Bean and don't bother with the rest).
Love the Olympics - always a great opportunity to obsessively watch fantastic sports like handball that you won't see again for another 4 years. Gymnastics is always great (last time I discovered rhythmic gymnastics as well, which is actually ace - somewhere between traditional gymnastics and circus performance, but the standards are ridiculously high). Can't beat the athletics either (triple jump, pole vault and hammer are my favourites). Boxing is also great.
The thing with horses is the difference in perception of care between what the general public who’ve never even seen a horse in real life and those who’ve actually kept or work with horses.
Coming from a horse background myself (and my daughter works as a groom for an event rider) I’d be amazed if Dujardin was abusing a horse. It doesn’t sit with her style or the dressage world.
As humans we control every animal we have domesticated and 600kg of pure muscle like a top horse takes a lot more to control than a Jack Russell.
But until the video is in the public domain no one can judge.
Snoop Dogg to carry Olympic flame - admittedly just as part of the relay but what the heck!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/clkyjlm97p3o
Are we sure the massive cone shaped thing with one end on fire he'll be carrying is the Olympic Torch?
The Olympics has an ability to create memories. I can remember the Rocket Man from La 84 when I would have been ten! Steve Redgrave winning his 5th gold medal watching it on a tiny tv in a rubbish hotel.
My wife worked at the Horse events at 2012 for both the Olympics and Paralympics and the feeling in London at that time was amazing. I managed to get some athletics and Judo tickets and had a greta time watching it. However kind of gave up on trying to get tickets for Paris as seemed just too expensive.
Will still enjoy watching it
enough to get her a 6 month ban from the international governing body ?
She's not been banned, she's been suspended while the incident is investigated.
It appears she crossed the line and it's been caught on film. I'm more curious as to who and why it's been leaked right before her chance to break the female medal record.
Allegedly a Dutch lawyer submitted said video, not wanting her to be winning Medals whilst conducting herself in this manner... 4 years ago.
The video was taken during a lesson charlotte was teaching in the Netherlands.
The official complaint included a video which shows Dujardin "beating the horse excessively with a whip. This not only breaches FEI regulations, but can also be considered a very serious form of animal cruelty," the lawyer stated.
The video has not been made public.
The video is almost one minute in length and shows Dujardin on the ground, training a rider on a horse in canter. With a cracking lunge whip she is hitting the horse against its legs and hindquarters. Approximately 23 lashes can be counted within the time frame of the clip.
Just a momentary lapse in judgement...to allow her cruel nature to be captured on film.
Coming from a horse background myself (and my daughter works as a groom for an event rider) I’d be amazed if Dujardin was abusing a horse. It doesn’t sit with her style or the dressage world.
We've got two horses (rescue animals, not ridden these days, though my wife has in the past). Whipping a horse 24 times in a minute so that it'd lift it's legs up higher....yep no abuse there. It's the none horse folk that just don't understand.
As humans we control every animal we have domesticated and 600kg of pure muscle like a top horse takes a lot more to control than a Jack Russell.
As Princess Anne discovered to her cost, almost certainly smacked in the face by a horse suddenly swinging its head sideways - in a horse/human interaction of that nature, it’s guaranteed the human comes off second best!
ITV have got the video of the lovely woman whipping the horse.
I'm not sure she'll be going to any more Olympics, after that.
Just saw the video on ITV.
That's not the video that was shared previously.
Outright wrong.
Good riddance.
(Still disagree with the timing of this. Should have been dealt with at the time)
this comment aged well!Coming from a horse background myself (and my daughter works as a groom for an event rider) I’d be amazed if Dujardin was abusing a horse. It doesn’t sit with her style or the dressage world.
I don't believe for a second this was a one-off. Watch the video, she's super relaxed about it (you can hear laughter). This is standard practise.
yeah not sure equestrians should be in the olympics. completely uneven playing field, immensely privileged people due to a huge cost associated with entry.
But I've seen the video. It doesn't look like a momentary lack of judgement. That would suggest some kind of anger/frustration towards the horse but her behaviour was fairly calm while smashing the horse with the whip and suggests that it was fairly normal behaviour for her.
It's not really a surprise given some horse owners and dressage riders that we see.
beating the horse excessively with a whip
What's the acceptable amount of horse whipping?
It appears she crossed the line and it’s been caught on film. I’m more curious as to who and why it’s been leaked right before her chance to break the female medal record.
It's either tactical, or someones just pissed off hearing how great she is and generally having smoke blown up her arse. No doubt the outcome of the investigation will be the same as the one recently where the woman was caught punching her horse in the face ( and as in the response above - which was hopefully tongue in cheek )
Whipping a horse 24 times in a minute so that it’d lift it’s legs up higher….yep no abuse there. It’s the none horse folk that just don’t understand.
To clarify, yes tongue in cheek. Just seen the video. Let's not postulate on the motivations behind the timing of the perk. Let's challenge this 'momentary' lapse of judgement narrative. I call bollocks. No way is it the first time that she's acted like that, and it's safe to assume that it's widespread within equestrian events. Absolutely vile and blood sports should be removed from the Olympics.
Reminds me of that video from a couple of years back where the horsey toff was beating a horse with a tree branch, and all his horsey toff mates were standing around laughing and cheering. It's obvious that for a certain set, this is not only acceptable, but the [I]correct[/I] way to treat an animal.
Heard someone from Horse and Hound magazine on the radio earlier whose main concern seemed to be the motivations of the whistleblower and how they had ruined the Olympic team, and that the British public 'needed to be educated' on the training methods necessary for success in dressage.
I suspect that the British public being educated further on the training methods being used behind closed doors would have the opposite effect to the one she wants. I'd rather not have the medals, thanks.
I imagine giving our track and field team a damn good thrashing would up our medal tally significantly. I can't believe we haven't tried it, I mean there must be incremental gains to be had switching from plane whips to a cat' o Ninetails, and I don't even know anything about it
Hitting animals? Just no
and that the British public ‘needed to be educated’ on the training methods necessary for success in dressage.
The training methods necessary for success in dressage.
Dressage is a totally unnecessary pursuit in the first place so no "training methods" are necessary especially if these are indicative of the methods used.
To be honest, and I am certain everyone would agree, we swap out dressage for sheep dog trials.
As soon as you involve animals (or children, in the case of sports such as gymnastics and swimming, given the age at which training begins), the vulnerability means that training methods, physical and psychological, need to be monitored closely.
If you need to torment a horse or a child to achieve 'excellence', that sport should not exist.
I imagine giving our track and field team a damn good thrashing would up our medal tally significantly. I can’t believe we haven’t tried it
I believe the Chinese had similar training methods for their gymnasts. Allegedly ?
Heard someone from Horse and Hound magazine on the radio earlier
I think that was the same interview that I listened to, and I had a similar reaction. What she also said is that the FEI ‘ should have sat on it till after the olympics’ or word to that effect because of the timing. Hmmm
Not ruining the planet through climate change and biodiversity loss is always a good ball park!
On that basis there will never be a green anything. This Olympics maybe less harmful as I understand they are using a much higher proportion of existing venues rather than building everything new. Even in the narrow assessment of the games it will be heavily populated
I think that was the same interview that I listened to, and I had a similar reaction.
Were you shouting '**** off!' at the radio too?
the British public ‘needed to be educated’ on the training methods being used behind closed doors
People that mistreat animals, in normal life or in the pursuit of 'sporting excellence' could probably do with a bit of behind closed doors education of their own.
In the words of the late Brian Clough*
* slight tenuous given he used to whack his players with a squash racket and make them run around in the nettles for getting things wrong.
So I have just seen the video – it seems excessive compared to how I have ever seen a horse being trained (daughter has a horse and does a bit of dressage, jumping, cross country etc with weekly lessons), but, to be honest, it wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be given the outcry – even after stricter controls were brought in over excessive whipping in horse racing, the way jockeys whip their horses is often far, far worse.
even after stricter controls were brought in over excessive whipping in horse racing, the way jockeys whip their horses is often far, far worse.
Apparently the dressage whips are thinner and are designed cause more pain than the whips the jockeys are still (inexplicably) allowed to use.
I'm interested in what is seen as 'normal practice' in training, if 20+ strikes with a whip in a minute is excessive.
Apparently the dressage whips are thinner and are designed
I did wonder about that - are they essentially the same as lunge whips or are they different? From what I can see, it looks like a lunge whip but I am by no means an expert. TBF, I don't recall any dressage tutors using a whip of any kind when watching my daughter in training.
Thinking about it more, the whip in the video was being used on the legs (which I have *never* seen) rather than the rump as is the case with horse racing so I guess it must hurt more.
No that's not normal at all.
The dressage whip normally used whilst on the horse should be used to touch rather than whip. It's a reminder tool rather than a punish tool. Negative reinforcement is a very out dated practice.
I did wonder about that – are they essentially the same as lunge whips or are they different? From what I can see, it looks like a lunge whip but I am by no means an expert
Someone on the radio earlier, who appeared to be knowledgeable, said it was a lunge whip
Personally, I'd like to see her prosecuted for animal cruelty. Like others have said, I'm extremely sceptical that this was a one off "lapse of judgement"
In case anyone's interested in cycling - the TT and RR courses are on Strava:
https://stories.strava.com/articles/paris-2024-road-cycling-routes-strava
The dressage whip normally used whilst on the horse should be used to touch rather than whip.
Yeah – that's how we usually use the (lunge) whip (when lunging our horse) – I can imagine there will be quite a bit of force through one of those – they are about 1.5m long. But I have seen some tutors encourage some pretty hard whipping (ie, telling the person on the horse to whip the rump, not beating the horse with a lunge whip) if horses aren't doing as they are being told (usually this is when they are refusing a jump).
yeah not sure equestrians should be in the olympics. completely uneven playing field, immensely privileged people due to a huge cost associated with entry.
Doesn't this apply to pretty much any sport that relies on equipment? Boats, bikes, bows and arrows (I'm guessing that they aren't cheap)? But anyone can run, so that must be fine, although can poorer nations afford the expensive footwear that rich nations can? That's without thinking about nutrition, training regimes, the cost of good coaching, the huge amounts of drugs necessary ( 😀 ).
You know, I'm not sure that the Olympics, as a whole, is an even playing field.
Having said that, very tongue in cheek, I've watched a bunch of Kenyan Olympic-standard runners go past me in a marathon at twice my speed. Barefoot. They didn't need any equipment!
if horses aren’t doing as they are being told
Do you speak horse?
I'm confident that nobody gets into horse riding because they hate animals, but surely by the time you get to the point where you're hitting them to achieve whatever it is you're after perhaps the overall activity should be questioned?
I guess it's just been fully normalised though. I bet you don't get dog owners whipping their animals through Crufts or whatever their local equivalent is.