Olympics thread. Tokyo 2020

Anyone watching coverage of the Olympics?

Most events start 3am UK time, so I'll watch on catch-up.
Judo, Boxing, fencing and TKD starting this week, wrestling next week,.and Karate towards the end of the event

 

I'll be trying to watch all the combat sports and archery. I'll give TKD a go but it's turned into flappy foot tag so if the first few matches don't float my boat I'll give that a miss (and I do TKD!). Looking forward to some karate. That can be foot tag too of course but I do like some of the foot sweeps and throws they include.
Sometimes I think just watching the highlights is the way to go as so often high level competitors cancel each other out and something boring occurs.
And then of course the marquee events in the athletics like the 100 metres.
Equestrian can do one.

 

I hope to catch as much as I can after work but I'll be watching most of it on catch-up. I generally watch the track cycling and rowing but I'll end up watching almost anything. I'll definitely be watching the climbing and I'll give the karate a watch out of curiosity as to how it's going to work (I know the climbing has already been modified for the Paris games so whether the IOC will think kata is a good enough spectator sport going forward will be interesting).

After watching the London Paralympics though I seem to look forward more to the Paras - Paralympic judo is certainly better than the Olympics and then you have the likes of Ali Jawad in the lifting and Dave Henson's 200m at Rio.

 

I'm trying to watch and I am looking forward to watching Karate and I am going to try and catch what is left of the Judo. But I do really enjoy the Gymnastics

 

I have subscribed to discovery to watch more events. The UK coverage is very limited and I've enjoyed watching the events in full, especially judo

 

I enjoyed the skateboarding chap falling off his board and whacking his plums on a post.

 

I finally got to see Olympic TKD this morning..... I don't like it. Certainly not TKD as I knew it in the mid to late 70s

 

My right hip hurts every time they fall off. I'm sure my right hip flexibility is reduced from the regular falls I took on that side as a teen during skate days

 

I enjoy watching the shooting events because, well, guns. I stopped paying attention to TKD after the first day. It seems to have gotten worse since the last games, players were either clinching up to plant a footy-style kick on the trunk or they were contorting themselves in weird ways to try and brush their foot against the oppo's head guard. It looks as ugly as afterbirth left out in the sun too long. Boxing is always entertaining and I'm hoping karate doesn't disappoint, even if modern kumite fighters have a tendency to screech and dry hump the air every time they think they scored a point.

 

British TKD players do seem to have a habit of getting kicked in the head in the last 5 seconds of a match (nearly typed "fight" there...haha). Just seen Walkden get many penalty points and then lose literally in the last second to a weak crescent kick. People will probably focus on the last minute technique that scored but it would have helped if you didn't give your opponent 8 free points from penalties.

 

Yeah it seems that happened to all TeamGB TKD team, ahead on points until 2 second, then a crescent kick bruising the head and is all over.

I've been enjoying most of the events, Japan clearly bringing it home on the judo front.

I noticed they publish a list on the Olympic site of people testing positive for covid and their role. It seems that not many athletes affect, mostly officials and volunteers. Hopefully they are keeping that under control.

 

There's been some ridiculous organisational gaffs though....an official walking across the BMX track and getting hit, camera boat being in the way of the triathlon start, a ramp removed from the mountain bike course without telling one of the riders...

 

I suppose after the Euros, losing on penalties seems in keeping with tradition.

 

Talk about perseverance. In judo ROC Madina Taimazova must have had the most golden score time throughout judo this year in Olympics, the last 2 matches she went through with a huge swollen eye.

 

I haven't really watched many disciplines yet, but did watch the men's heavyweight Judo competition where we had a previous medalist Lukáš Krpálek win gold again! The matches were very exciting! I've never watched any judo matches before. It must be a pretty tough sport. I hope to catch more MAs (or watch the recorded matches).

 

Interesting addition of mixed team events this Olympics. I feel this was a worthy addition.

 

The mixed Triathlon relay was ace! Really exciting stuff. They should do more of that.
And the mixed Judo teams. Seeing Teddy Riner tower over his female team mates! That guy is a unit.

 

The enormity of this can not be understated outstanding it will never be beaten
López etches name into history books by clinching fourth Olympic wrestling title

 

Been following a lot of fencing (naturally), Boxing, Judo and Taekwondo when I can catch it. Gutted to see Jade Jones go out. I was really rooting for her to get her 3rd gold in a row. Also surprised that Lauren Williams was a kickboxer as a kid when she watched Jones win her first medal. Made me wonder how re-calibration works between the different sports.

As for fencing, predictably there were a lot of upsets this year.

Italy is in meltdown because despite getting a 5 medals across the disciplines this is the first year they have failed to secure a single Gold since 1980, leading to much hand-wringing and recriminations on Italian media with past champions putting the boot in. 20% of all medals ever won by Italy have been in fencing and media-wise occupies the same place as say Rowing, or Cycling does in the Uk, (But Italy won the 100 metre sprint so thats ok now...)

America's Lee Keifer won Women's individual foil, something I think was a long time coming, first ever American foil gold since...ever, though the all star Men's foil team I think under-performed. Less said about their Men's Epee team controversy the better. For details see here:

Covid isolation, medals and strife: how US fencing became a nexus of controversy

Hong Kong won individual foil (Cheung), 2nd ever gold for Hong Kong, and France are out finally of the doldrums winning Team Foil , silver in women's sabre and individual Epee (Cannone) the shortest Epeeist in a final ever, a guy who was so far down the rankings that he wasn't even the first choice substitute for France and FIE didn't even have a photo of him on their website, banishing France's dark age that was London 2012.

Aron Szilagyi from Hungary won gold in the men's individual sabre fencing competition becoming the first man ever to win three gold fencing medals in an individual discipline.

Bravest for me was Marta Martyanova, who during the womens Team Sabre final, who rolled her ankle so badly had to have it tightly strapped and bandaged and treated with an ice pack, needed her teammates’ help to walk to the Fencing strip to continue to fight to maintain Russia's point advantage, and was in so much pain she could barely walk to the celebrations when they won gold and had to leave the fencing hall in a wheelchair.

EDIT: Coolest Olympian for me was Charlotte Wothington who won BMX womens freestyle. Totally bossed it.