OT - Aren't we Dutch......

[MadAmster]

............... incredible at this skating lark?

Long track
Women's 3000m Gold, silver and bronze
Men's 5000M Gold
Women's 1500m Gold and bronze
Men's 1500m Gold and silver

Short track
Men's 1500m Silver
Women's 500m Silver

That's 10 medals already and there are more to come on the ice.

Why are the Dutch serially brilliant at speed skating? I have no idea but they have a huge love relationship with skating. I do know what the reason isn't. A US commentator told his public it's because the Dutch skate to work every day...... we don't ;)

[ramAnag]

............... incredible at this skating lark?

Long track
Women's 3000m Gold, silver and bronze
Men's 5000M Gold
Women's 1500m Gold and bronze
Men's 1500m Gold and silver

Short track
Men's 1500m Silver
Women's 500m Silver

That's 10 medals already and there are more to come on the ice.

Why are the Dutch serially brilliant at speed skating? I have no idea but they have a huge love relationship with skating. I do know what the reason isn't. A US commentator told his public it's because the Dutch skate to work every day...... we don't ;)

Ah...so after a little Olympic glory it’s ‘we Dutch’. Yesterday you were British...’born and bred!’ ;D
Bet we’d thrash you at hill walking! DCFCA probably thinks it’s all a conspiracy anyway, but our speed skating Queen might be in line for a gold in sobbing. Didn’t think a lot of that tbh...not sure losing at sport should generate tears.

[roger_ramjet]

I tbink its down to the fact that there are no hills in Holland

[Manofpride]

In the winter they skate everywhere on the frozen canals instead of taking taxis! They share the fare they've saved and split it between them. It called going dutch!

[Romanis]

Well the English Monarch is related to the Dutch, Wilhelm of Oranje if I'm not wrong. So yeah we are Dutch.
And if you buy us all a beer, we're definitely all Dutch! >;)

[roger_ramjet]

As long as it isnt Dutch beer.....

[MadAmster]

As long as it isnt Dutch beer.....

You obviously haven't tried Texel Skuumkoppe then Rog. Tastes like an IPA and there are many micro breweries over here brewing IPA's these days so it's not all lager/pilsner. Palm, Hertog Jan and Jupiler knock the socks off Heineken and Amstel as well. As for DCFCs new international lager partner Bavaria, their beer is one of, if not the, worst Dutch beer. Their alcohol free beer is probably the best tasting of the Dutch 0% alcohol beers.

BTW - Ladies 1000m, Gold

Still to come, men's 500m, 1000m and 10,000m and there is a good chance of Gold in all 3
Women's 500m and 5000m and medals of any colour will be hard to get at either distance
Men's and women's team pursuit, good chance of gold in both
Men's and women's Mass Start - again very good medal chances

8 of the 12 gold medals 4 years ago. 5 out of 5 so far this Olympics and double figures are far from being a dream

[Romanis]

You obviously haven't tried Texel Skuumkoppe then Rog. Tastes like an IPA and there are many micro breweries over here brewing IPA's these days so it's not all lager/pilsner. Palm, Hertog Jan and Jupiler knock the socks off Heineken and Amstel as well. As for DCFCs new international lager partner Bavaria, their beer is one of, if not the, worst Dutch beer. Their alcohol free beer is probably the best tasting of the Dutch 0% alcohol beers.

BTW - Ladies 1000m, Gold

Still to come, men's 500m, 1000m and 10,000m and there is a good chance of Gold in all 3
Women's 500m and 5000m and medals of any colour will be hard to get at either distance
Men's and women's team pursuit, good chance of gold in both
Men's and women's Mass Start - again very good medal chances

8 of the 12 gold medals 4 years ago. 5 out of 5 so far this Olympics and double figures are far from being a dream

I love winter sports.
Cold winter night, lying in bed, having some sporty activity with a lass who's not the wife!

Hahaha.

[Romanis]

But 1 thing about the Olympics I like is the French:

Medaille d'or le champion Olympique represente Pay-Bays-----


Very cool

[MadAmster]

In the winter they skate everywhere on the frozen canals instead of taking taxis! They share the fare they've saved and split it between them. It called going dutch!

Last 30 years there have been no more than half a dozen winters where there has been sufficient frost to permit skating on the canals for more than 1 or 2 days. Only half a dozen more where the canals have been skateable for 2 weeks. Taxi profits have not been impacted.

[MadAmster]

Women's 5000m - Gold

Men's 10,000m - Silver. The gold was won by Dutch born Ted-Jan Bloemen who transferred to skating for Canada (his father is Canadian) a few years back as he couldn't get a place on the Dutch team

7 Golds on the 400m track so far, 6 went to the Dutch team and the 7th to a Dutch born skater...... Pretty damned dominant in my eyes.

Back to being British today. Lizzy Yarnold and Laura Deas currently 3rd and 4th after the 1st 2 runs of the skeleton respectively 0.1 and 0.17 seconds behind the leader. Very good chance of 1 and maybe 2 medals. Go girls!!

[MadAmster]

Now I have seen it all. Women's 3000m short track relay. Two finals. a B final to decide places 5 to 8 and an A final to decide 1 to 4. The Dutch girls won the B final in a new Olympic record. Then, two of the four teams in the A final were disqualified. The Dutch got the bronze.

The A final was won in a slower time than the B final. The Dutch were fastest by 4 secoonds but "only" got bronze.

Weird.

[Andy_Faber]

Now I have seen it all. Women's 3000m short track relay. Two finals. a B final to decide places 5 to 8 and an A final to decide 1 to 4. The Dutch girls won the B final in a new Olympic record. Then, two of the four teams in the A final were disqualified. The Dutch got the bronze.

The A final was won in a slower time than the B final. The Dutch were fastest by 4 secoonds but "only" got bronze.

Weird.

The enlightenment there is that it was a 'race', where the time is influenced by the actions of others, not a 'time trial' where it is not

I've just found a Norwegian great great aunt so expect a competing forum thread about Norwegian success this afternoon when I've worked out which one Norway is

[MadAmster]

The enlightenment there is that it was a 'race', where the time is influenced by the actions of others, not a 'time trial' where it is not

I've just found a Norwegian great great aunt so expect a competing forum thread about Norwegian success this afternoon when I've worked out which one Norway is

A Norwegian won the men's 500m yesterday. Dutch 7th, 9th and 10th.

[ramAnag]

Just watched that Short Track Relay, MA...had no idea what was going on or how they decided who’d won.
Winter sports has never been my thing to be honest, but you have to admire the courage and athleticism on show, breathtaking bravery at times...and then there’s...Curling...what an anti climax. I’ll concede that I speak from a position of total ignorance and I’m sure there’s some skill involved, but it just looks like a winter activity for bored caretakers and cleaners.

[AdiSalisbury]

Olympic sports, something a bored office worker trains 4 years for to become a national hero and sporting role model :zzz:

[roger_ramjet]

Curling is the winter equivalent of dressage but as least the curlers stand up some of the time

[Andy_Faber]

Curling is the winter equivalent of dressage but as least the curlers stand up some of the time

lots of sport-hate rising to the surface this afto guys! I guess having a chat about Sunday's Daytona 500 NASCAR race is out of the question...

[ramAnag]

lots of sport-hate rising to the surface this afto guys! I guess having a chat about Sunday's Daytona 500 NASCAR race is out of the question...

No sport hate from me...don’t consider ‘brushing’ a sport.
What is NASCAR?

Actually...on second thoughts.

P.S. Apparently one of the Russians even got done for doping in Curling...maybe it’s better when you’re stoned. >;)

[AdiSalisbury]

lots of sport-hate rising to the surface this afto guys! I guess having a chat about Sunday's Daytona 500 NASCAR race is out of the question...

Can't have been to dissimilar to my diverted drive around Southampton this weekend due to roadworks, a 32 minute drive turned into an hour and a half, made all the better by getting stuck at a rail crossing for 15 minutes. Is it anymore exciting?

[MadAmster]

Just watched that Short Track Relay, MA...had no idea what was going on or how they decided who’d won.
Winter sports has never been my thing to be honest, but you have to admire the courage and athleticism on show, breathtaking bravery at times...and then there’s...Curling...what an anti climax. I’ll concede that I speak from a position of total ignorance and I’m sure there’s some skill involved, but it just looks like a winter activity for bored caretakers and cleaners.

It's easy rA. It's a 3Km race. 3 in a team. 1 "on the track". The other 2 inside it. Depending on your agreed tactics every 1, 1.5, 2 or however many laps you have decided, the next skater picks up speed inside the track and then moves in front of you and you give them apush and off they go. A couple of laps later the 3rd one take over etc etc etc until you have done the 3Km.

Then you know in which order you all crossed the line. The jury then takes over and looks at any incidents that may have occurred in the race. If any of the skaters is deemed to have obstructed an opponent then the whole team is disqualified.

Easy really.

I got one bit wrong in my previous post on this, it wasn't merely an Olympic record for the Dutch, it was also a World record.

Curling? Bowls on ice basically.

[ramAnag]

It's easy rA. It's a 3Km race. 3 in a team. 1 "on the track". The other 2 inside it. Depending on your agreed tactics every 1, 1.5, 2 or however many laps you have decided, the next skater picks up speed inside the track and then moves in front of you and you give them apush and off they go. A couple of laps later the 3rd one take over etc etc etc until you have done the 3Km.

Then you know in which order you all crossed the line. The jury then takes over and looks at any incidents that may have occurred in the race. If any of the skaters is deemed to have obstructed an opponent then the whole team is disqualified.

Easy really.

I got one bit wrong in my previous post on this, it wasn't merely an Olympic record for the Dutch, it was also a World record.

Curling? Bowls on ice basically.

I feel you’re living up to your name here and possibly confusing the adjective ‘easy’ with ‘bonkers’.
Even so it seemed quite exciting until the end when some old blokes had to decide who’d won. Still haven’t got a clue what the Canadians did wrong or why that Christie woman got a yellow card in her event. More to the point...none of the experts seemed to know either. All seemed a bit arbitrary to me.

You’re right about the ‘bowls on ice’ but at least in bowls you don’t have people with brooms or little lawn mowers running ahead. Is bowling a sport in the prop...sorry...Summer Olympics?

[Romanis]

Curling is really funny. Whoever decided that a broom was a sporting equipment deserves my respect. Not for the broom, but the fact that it convinced so many that it was actually needed. Give that man a beer, wherever he may be now.

[mistaram]

Can't be to hard on curling its the only thing the Jocks are any good at well that and tossing

[ramAnag]

Can't be to hard on curling its the only thing the Jocks are any good at well that and tossing

Hope you’re not proved wrong about that on Saturday evening. There’ll be tension in the Faber household that night...with apologies to Bill McClaren.

[Andy_Faber]

Hope you’re not proved wrong about that on Saturday evening. There’ll be tension in the Faber household that night...with apologies to Bill McClaren.

The tension started quite a while ago R.

[MadAmster]

I feel you’re living up to your name here and possibly confusing the adjective ‘easy’ with ‘bonkers’.


Hmmmm..... Easy - not difficult. Bonkers - crazy

In this case my explanation of short track is, IMO, easy to understand. That was the purpose of the post. Objective achieved IMO.

Bonkers? It most certainly is bonkers but, again IMO, no more bonkers than the "speed walking" at the summer Olympics. If the rules on having to have a part of your foot in contact with the ground at all times was enforced they would all be disqualified...... and they look ridiculous ;)

[ramAnag]

Hmmmm..... Easy - not difficult. Bonkers - crazy

In this case my explanation of short track is, IMO, easy to understand. That was the purpose of the post. Objective achieved IMO.

Bonkers? It most certainly is bonkers but, again IMO, no more bonkers than the "speed walking" at the summer Olympics. If the rules on having to have a part of your foot in contact with the ground at all times was enforced they would all be disqualified...... and they look ridiculous ;)

Lol...let’s not resort to speed walking as a benchmark for sporting sanity.
I’m sure both sports demand a lot of dedication and discipline. Imo one looks ridiculous and the other chaotic but that is probably just my lack of understanding.
I’m not keen on sports that need ‘marking’...ice skating, diving, dressage, gymnastics, synchronised swimming etc...prefer their to be something more tangible, i.e. score more or do it quicker, longer, further, higher whatever...again, probably just me.

[Andy_Faber]

Lol...let’s not resort to speed walking as a benchmark for sporting sanity.
I’m sure both sports demand a lot of dedication and discipline. Imo one looks ridiculous and the other chaotic but that is probably just my lack of understanding.
I’m not keen on sports that need ‘marking’...ice skating, diving, dressage, gymnastics, synchronised swimming etc...prefer their to be something more tangible, i.e. score more or do it quicker, longer, further, higher whatever...again, probably just me.

IMO they are very valid and (in some cases, ie ski jumping) exciting passtimes, but not sports. so I think I agree with you. Hey! Move this to the Brexit thread...

[mistaram]

ramAnag. Interesting you use the word dressage. My wife's always telling me to dress my age

[MadAmster]

Lol...let’s not resort to speed walking as a benchmark for sporting sanity.
I’m sure both sports demand a lot of dedication and discipline. Imo one looks ridiculous and the other chaotic but that is probably just my lack of understanding.
I’m not keen on sports that need ‘marking’...ice skating, diving, dressage, gymnastics, synchronised swimming etc...prefer their to be something more tangible, i.e. score more or do it quicker, longer, further, higher whatever...again, probably just me.

Look at the piece in bold. I agree 100% with that. I have seen so many atrociuously wrong marks given that it makes a mockery of the sport.

(High Board and Springboard) Diving. Something I used to do in my youth. There used to be this chap, Greg Luganis, 4 Olympic Golds and 5 World titles to his name. I have seen him make some awful dives, seen that dive criticised by the commentator and pundit and then seen top marks given for it. Completely ridiculous marks. He won again.... not always because he was the best on the day but he was Greg Louganis, the legend.

Torvill & Dean. Their Bolero routine was great to watch and it earned them perfect scores, something never before achieved in figure skating/ice dancing. They should have been given perfect zeros rather than 6's. Why? That routine broke several rules and should have led to 0.0 not 6.0

Just 2 of the reasons I have a down on jury sports. Citius altius fortius !!

[Andy_Faber]

Look at the piece in bold. I agree 100% with that. I have seen so many atrociuously wrong marks given that it makes a mockery of the sport.

(High Board and Springboard) Diving. Something I used to do in my youth. There used to be this chap, Greg Luganis, 4 Olympic Golds and 5 World titles to his name. I have seen him make some awful dives, seen that dive criticised by the commentator and pundit and then seen top marks given for it. Completely ridiculous marks. He won again.... not always because he was the best on the day but he was Greg Louganis, the legend.

Torvill & Dean. Their Bolero routine was great to watch and it earned them perfect scores, something never before achieved in figure skating/ice dancing. They should have been given perfect zeros rather than 6's. Why? That routine broke several rules and should have led to 0.0 not 6.0

Just 2 of the reasons I have a down on jury sports. Citius altius fortius !!

I remember GL. I always thought there was a mass hypnotism going on with the marking, I've thought that with quite a few 'marking' sports, where the favourites seemed to get favoured BECAUSE they were favourites - funny but I never saw it in dressage, where my daughter reached a reasonable standard - the difference maybe that it was judged by only a single, pretty anonymous, person, usually not aware of the local 'favourite' rider/dobbin combination.

[MadAmster]

I remember GL. I always thought there was a mass hypnotism going on with the marking, I've thought that with quite a few 'marking' sports, where the favourites seemed to get favoured BECAUSE they were favourites - funny but I never saw it in dressage, where my daughter reached a reasonable standard - the difference maybe that it was judged by only a single, pretty anonymous, person, usually not aware of the local 'favourite' rider/dobbin combination.

I remember the springboard competition where he hit his head on the board on the way down. The dive saw him fall into the water on his back. I forget the marks he got but it should have been 0 but the given marks were sufficient to get him through to the next round.

[mistaram]

MadAmster You are wrong about Torvill and Dean they won on the rules as they were on the day The rules were changed in 1996 stating the types of lifts and steps that must be performed Although some of those moves would not be in their Bolero routine they broke no rules and the judge scores were correct

[MadAmster]

MadAmster You are wrong about Torvill and Dean they won on the rules as they were on the day The rules were changed in 1996 stating the types of lifts and steps that must be performed Although some of those moves would not be in their Bolero routine they broke no rules and the judge scores were correct

First time they performed Bolero they were frightened that the judges would give it straight zeroes as it contravened the rulebook. Eg - would the judges accept that "on the knees swaying" bit at the start. The music could not apparently be edited down any further than something like 4 minutes 28. The free dance must be between 3' 50" and 4' 10". That meant they had to "reduce the dance" by 18 seconds. The componist who had adapted Bolero was adamant, he couldn't shorten it further. The clock starts when the blades first come into contact with the ice. They came up with the "on the knees swaying" bit. When they first perofrmed it in competition they were unsure of it. Once they started moving, the clock would start once the blades touched the ice. The front of the blades made contact with the floor. Would the judges start the clock or would they wait until the "foot"/"bottom" of the blade touched. They accepted the bottom of the blade. Prior to the performance T&D did not know what would be accepted. Later, it came to light that the clock should have started once the metal touched the ice. It didn't. This acted as a sort of Precedent and, after that, it was determined acceptable. Luck!

I remember the pundit at the time questioning whether they would get good marks or zero.

[mistaram]

That's not the way Torvill and Dean say it in their autobiography I can't imagine their coach would let them do a routine if that would require breaking any rules The worlds top judges would never have given those marks if they were not 100% certain no rules were broken