Olympic Games

[Paul T]

And had to laugh at some of the sailing last night......  they have all the points races in the qualifications and Australia and New Zealand were so far out in front that all they had to do was start the race to get their gold and silver respectively.  That's a fine level of domination by both pairs. 

[Anthony Darby]

My niece, who turned 18 last month, was in the Wallace High School (between Dunblane and Stirling) team that won the Scottish Schools sevens championship and the under 18 Stirling County girls team that won the bowl on the same day as NZ won the sevens at the same venue. http://www.stirlingcounty-rfc.co.uk/go/club/womens.aspx?ArticleID=961

[johnw]

Plenty of men's syncronized swimming on youtube....some more elegant than others.

[Paul T]

John,

After that glowing endorsement, I don't think I'll be searching the internet. 

I've just been watching the womens artistic gymnastics.  I've always dismissed it in the past.... someone poncing about on the floor with a ring, ball, ribbon or stick (complimentary, aren't I?  ), but after fast forwarding through a heap of it I stopped at one point and watching an amazing performance by Daria Dmitrieva of Russia with the ball.  Absolulety stunning!  At one point the ball was pretty much stationary and she was virturally cartwheeling around it.  So NOT what I remember on seeing artistic gymnastics before.  So far they're part way through the ball and hoop routines and both have been very impressive.  Just seen Daria's hoop routine and that was beautiful as well.  There's good reason that she's scored top in both apparatus so far.  I'm amazed at just how good this has been to watch.... maybe I'm just getting old. 

Anyway, heading toward midnight now and I need to get some sleep.  I keep staying up late to watch olympics, tape the rest of the night and watch it tomorrow.  I tend to just start taping the braodcast when it starts and then watching it as I can between doing other things.  Handy to be able to fast forward through the boring bits (particularly the adverts.  )

[ChrisB]

I'm sure its excellent entertainment Paul, but is it sport?  Its the sort of thing you might expect at a Cirque du Soleil performance, so do we next have high wire walking?

[Paul T]

Chris,

Exactly the question I've always asked myself about it.     First time I've ever actually enjoyed watching it, to be honest.   

[Paul T]

The Men's 10m platform diving semi-finals have been on this evening (here, morning where they are).  Some beautiful diving.  I was starting to feel like I was in an old fashioned laundromat though, given the amount of washboards there were.   Great Diving. 

Go Tom Daley!! 

[ronm]

Apologies for being parochial, but ....... C'mon u 'ull, Luke Campbell, 'essle Rd. #1 in the world. Thank you all for your indulgence.

[ronm]

Another Yorkshire GOLD . 
I must admit I was incredibly sceptical before these games began, but I was wrong. The best of people has been in evidence in all its forms. Very good. 
Best ever sporting triumph? ................. Mo

[Lesley Cox]

So - it's all over now and the closing ceremony was really great, a pageant as only the Brits can do. It was wonderful that there were no hitches or real problems, certainly not to the onlookers anyway and everything went as smoothly as could be hoped for. So pleased the UK team did so very well in the medal count and as someone from somewhere said, the whole of Great Britain turned out to welcome their visitors and everyone was made to feel welcome and wanted. It seemed all of London was in party mood, and determined to enjoy themselves. Well done everyone in the UK.

[Maggi Young]

Bitter old cynic that I am. I still worry about how long it'll take for the ( undeniably fun) spectacle of these Games to be paid for.

It was a spectacle,  though, from the opening ceremony through to the razzamattazz ending.So many dedicated athletes from  som any coiuntries, working their hearts out to compete. And yes, there is pride here for the successes of the UK team and extra pleasure about the number of Scots who added to that glorious display from our proud country.

It was especially exciting here in the North East, not only because of the medal winners from this area, but for the participation in both the opening and closing ceremonies of Emile Sande from Alford - a friend of my great chum's daughter, who really was magnificent, and of course, Annie Lennox who I went to school with in the last century! 

Feeling quite keen now to enjoy the Paralympic Games to see more dazzling sports stars.

[jomowi]

Even for a non-sporting person like me, I enjoyed the Olympics immensely and agree with everything you say Maggi.  You talk about the 'last century' - in 1948 my father sent me out with a £1 note to buy him a set of commemorative Olympic stamps to put in his stamp album.  As a child I though it was the height of extravagance for anyone to spend a whole pound on stamps to put in an album!  I had this album until comparatively recently when it went to a charity shop, having established that there was nothing of any value in it, - not even the 'penny browns' and sets of stamps from countries like Abyssinia which no longer exist under that name.

[Casalima]

Only one medal for Portugal - a silver in K2 1,000 metres, but one of the medal-winners is from our town (from my son's canoeing club!). He carried the Portuguese flag at the closing ceremony last night and is arriving back home this evening to a hero's welcome - and it's his 23rd birthday. We have British style postboxes here - now where can I find some silver paint to deface one ...

[Maggi Young]

Fewer medals for Portugal, than previously, yes, but one good silver won with courage.... you can't say fairer than that and I am sure Fernando Pimenta and Emanuel Silva will have a wonderful welcome on their return.
I hope the  birthday cake is very large- and has silver icing! 


The British post office set of Olympic stamps to commemorate British Gold medals is costing my friend's daughter a fortune- she promised her Dad a cover of each one!

[Casalima]

Fernando Pimenta is from our town and Emanuel Silva from about 20 km south. They missed a gold medal by 53 thousands of a second - Rio de Janeiro here we come