Well the Tokyo Olympics will start this Friday and even though Lance is no longer fencing I thought I might share a piece with you explaining some of the basics of the sport should you consider watching the USA fencers in action.  The video was shot at Lance's former fencing studio; the fencer Ysaora trained with and fenced Lance multiple times and Lance would occasionally beat her. At the 5 minute mark you will see our friend and Lance's coach Maurizio who Lance will be visiting in Italy next Month. Ysaora is France's number one foil fencer and projected to medal.  Mixed emotions here I gotta say...

 

Fencing 4 U

Edited July 19, 20215 yr by Augsburger

In related news ...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/teen-tennis-star-coco-gauff-tests-positive-covid-will-sit-n1274319

 

BBC News - Tokyo 2020: Athletes 'probably very worried' after positive Covid test in village
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/57872739

BBC News - Tokyo Olympics: First Covid cases in athletes' village and Team GB have eight self-isolating
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/57844406

Also ...

https://www.complex.com/sports/olympic-athletes-sleep-cardboard-discourage-sex-covid-19

 

 

I'm of two minds regarding the Tokyo Olympics.

On the one hand, Japan has forked out the massive sums of money to build all the venues, Olympic villages etc. Only for it to be cancelled last year for obvious reasons. Cancelling for a second year would have given real financial problems. Part of the financial rationale for the 2012 games in London was conversion of the facilities to other uses after the games, and I would expect Tokyo to be the same. So the pressure to hold the games this year must have been very high.

On the other hand, it is a Covid superspreader event just waiting to happen. Or clearly already happening.

4 hours ago, Grahame said:

Ha ha! Back in the day we broke a bed - a real wooden frame one - during some energetic "athletics" 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Craig Sawyers said:

On the other hand, it is a Covid superspreader event just waiting to happen. Or clearly already happening.

Rather than a celebration of human excellence, I feel like it is going to become a historical reminder of humanity's hubris. After 18 months of this crap, everyone has started patting themselves on the back for 'beating' the pandemic, thinking that middling vaccination rates and sensitive-but-flawed testing is sufficient. But then you take thousands of people from every corner of the globe, get them all to travel to one place, and put them in a relatively confined space with a deadly virus? But hey, as long as it's good for the economy. Forget my country's team, go Team Economy!

I really hope I'm wrong.

Well, no-one is safe until everyone is safe.

 

I think we're largely overstating the risks to the athletes but I get the perspective and this is coming from a self-admitted Debbie-downer related to COVID.  

1. I didn't think international attendance was being offered for fans, just athletes?

2. I thought most/all athletes had to be vaccinated?  Big assumption, I have not time to read news mostly.

 

20 minutes ago, n_maher said:

2. I thought most/all athletes had to be vaccinated?  Big assumption, I have not time to read news mostly.

I wish this were the case but it pretty clearly is not.

Nearly half the US Men's basketball team and a number of other athletes "who's vacation status is unknown" have been placed in health and safety protocols in the last few days alone.

This is embarrassing. The vax should have been mandatory to be on the US team.

5 minutes ago, TMoney said:

The vax should be mandatory.

Ftfy

36 minutes ago, n_maher said:

I think we're largely overstating the risks to the athletes....

For sure. But I'm also worried about all the caterers, bus drivers, venue workers, etc. And then their families. In a perfect world, they have all had the chance to get vaccinated, but Japan's vaccine rollout has been excruciatingly slow.

I hope I'm wrong.

Oh, and I did read part of this this morning - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics.html

Wow, didn't take very long for this thread to derail...

9 minutes ago, Augsburger said:

Wow, didn't take very long for this thread to derail...

Hey now, all the content so far is olympic focused.  I did appreciate your primer on fencing and actually made a note to try and watch/record some.

"Tokyo Olympics: 10 Storylines That Make These Summer Games Unique"

#5 will shock @cetoole

https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/20/1018180729/tokyo-olympics-preview-biles-rapinoe-ledecky-gymnastics-track

 

3 hours ago, Grahame said:

"Tokyo Olympics: 10 Storylines That Make These Summer Games Unique"

#5 will shock @cetoole

https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/20/1018180729/tokyo-olympics-preview-biles-rapinoe-ledecky-gymnastics-track

 

Not so shocking by this point, as I follow a couple people who are going, but very cool.  Hopefully downhill gets included one of these years, but I won't hold my breath.

And in less clickbaity news 

BBC News - Olympics opening ceremony director sacked for Holocaust joke

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57924885

 

Well you certainly cannot make jokes about the holocaust, that is for sure. However at the time, the guy was 24, probably extemporizing and came out with what looks like one sentence. In all likelihood he had totally forgotten about it.

Someone has clearly trawled through his past performances looking for mischief, and found something from when he was half the age he is now. 

I know several stand up comedians. My daughter went out with two of them. The best known is this guy https://www.ericlampaert.com/ , and let me tell you his humor can be pretty challenging. I'll bet if you poked around his past performances you could find something inappropriate.

Like most comedians they prototype material at smaller venues, make a note of what works and what bombs. Then craft a show based on material they know to work.

I suspect the one liner about the holocaust bombed, and was never repeated. He probably said it and then thought "oh fuck - what did I just say?"

I'm not defending the guy's comment, just that I can understand how it happened.

As a Jew, I am somewhat extra sensitive to Holocaust "mentions."  But I do personally agree with Craig.  I think mentions like that are likely out of ignorance need education, and likely no further action.  Mentions out of hatred would likely be easy to notice (I would hope), and THEN punitive action may be warranted.  Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example, should be punished (more) IMO.

Just my opinion......

Olympic softball is back! Despite the goofy field, I’m diggin it.  My daughter plays travel softball so here’s hoping it’s a bonding moment lol

Anyone have good links to the opening ceremonies this morning? 

Also at least 100 US athletes unvaccinated. 
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/23/number-of-vaccinated-us-athletes-tokyo-olympics-2020 

 

Edited July 23, 20215 yr by blessingx

NBC has it (interrupted/delayed) this afternoon, and on demand  on peacock tomorrow morning because: reasons

 

Well ...

 

Those nice people on the internet have suggested cbc.ca or BBC iPlayer if you can teleport your eyes to the relevant geographic location 

 

Watching now.  Funny thing, one of the Mexican fencers who got a great camera shot on him in the opening ceremonies trained with Lance at the club and stayed with our friends during the summer training camp. Great guy very friendly and humble.  And Katie Holmes the women's Epee fencer fencing now, fenced Lance at a camp a few years ago. 

Hard to not feel sad watching the subdued opening ceremony. Constantly panning over the empty stadium didn’t help. I would have loved to see what Japan would have done in a normal year.

1 hour ago, TMoney said:

Hard to not feel sad watching the subdued opening ceremony. Constantly panning over the empty stadium didn’t help. I would have loved to see what Japan would have done in a normal year.

Yeah - I know what you mean. The 3D drone show was bloody impressive though, as was the lighting of the flame. By comparison to the London 2012 ceremony is was very muted though. In normal times Japan would have put on a show to rival London though.

Going on to cycling - the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz really excelled on a truly brutal multi-lap 145 mile course and won by over a minute. I was strangely pleased that Tadej Pogačar came in third, outsprinted by Wout van Aert. Pogačar, in the last two Tour de France won yellow, white and polka dot jerseys. Which I think is odd when he is only 22 now.

Shows how brutal the course was, because the average speed was "only" 24mph.

On 7/23/2021 at 7:05 PM, Augsburger said:

Watching now.  Funny thing, one of the Mexican fencers who got a great camera shot on him in the opening ceremonies trained with Lance at the club and stayed with our friends during the summer training camp. Great guy very friendly and humble.  And Katie Holmes the women's Epee fencer fencing now, fenced Lance at a camp a few years ago. 

And congrats to Lee Kiefer with the foil.