London Summer Olympics 2012

Originally Posted by Mr T

The men's gymnastics team won - that's an achievement, surely. As for other sports, you need to look at PBs and seasons bests. Sometimes the opposition are just too good, even when you give it your best. That's what happened in the men's rowing yesterday, GB just got overtaken by South Africa at the end. I don't think they could have done much differently, apart from maybe tweaking their tactics.

One other thing, you have to remember that many athletes will have performed better than normal at Beijing because it was a home games. If China doesn't do as well as in 2008, it's quite understandable.

As for the medal count/race, does it really matter? I think people get hung up on it too much.

The medal count does matter, it's about bragging rights and who is the worlds sporting superpower. We also need to improve our track & field and further improve swimming by having more depth.

Originally Posted by J-XX

The medal count does matter, it's about bragging rights and who is the worlds sporting superpower. We also need to improve our track & field and further improve swimming by having more depth.

I gaurantee that a week after the games are over, most people will struggle to remember who won what.

Originally Posted by Bltizo

We're crying because of the fact that one american swimming coach's anecdotes can create such a storm of rumours and what is effectively defamation.

It's amazing that even after beijing, western media has not changed it's tune much at all and the same biases and insecurities are popping up through their reporting, although it has gotten a little better in a few regards.

We will enjoy the sport of the games a bit more when the rest of the world (namely western) stop trying to rain on the parade when it looks like china is doing well in the medal table. I wish the media could get over themselves and just accept it for what it is without swirling their tendrils with the usual mass of speculation and wishful thinking.

@ Blitzo The Chinese in NZ are the only non indigenous people that have the privilege for of having tv channels soley dedicated to carrying CCTV programs/ news for their benefit.

As far as I'm aware our media has not turned this Leonard thing into a China bashing issue. However should you find our media so off putting on a range of issues deriving from the Olympics, you do have other options. Actually I listen to Sports talk radio which is continually discussing the Olympics and any negativity concerning China is virtually nonexistent. You must spend a fair amount of your time beavering around for these negative views.

Originally Posted by bladerunner

@ Blitzo The Chinese in NZ are the only non indigenous people that have the privilege for of having tv channels soley dedicated to carrying CCTV programs/ news for their benefit.

As far as I'm aware our media has not turned this Leonard thing into a China bashing issue. However should you find our media so off putting on a range of issues deriving from the Olympics, you do have other options. Actually I listen to Sports talk radio which is continually discussing the Olympics and any negativity concerning China is virtually nonexistent. You must spend a fair amount of your time beavering around for these negative views.

Truthfully these days the internet is my news source -- the likes of TVNZ, Nz herald, prime, radio etc I do not use.

While there are a few websites which have shown both sides of the argument (the guardian for instance), the more well known sites like BBC, which is my primary news site (I know, silly me), gives the standard rhetoric I'm talking about.
So no I don't spend much time looking around for negative views, but the few places I go to (and if we keep in mind most people do not have time to search up multiple reports of the same news for different views) have the guise of legitimacy and are the first port of call for many people. Without incentive to believe otherwise or search for different accounts, people's previous views on a particular subject will only be strengthened.

I just want to make it clear I do not believe this is country (china) bashing by any stretch of the imagination, it's just a continuation of biased reporting on most china related "sensitive" topics (military, (geo)politics, human rights) which has come to be accepted as the norm. It's not even an intentional, conscious act anymore, I think.

That's just my opinion, people might think that we're being too "sensitive" or whatever, that we shoudl just suck it up and every country gets picked on in world media. Well, whatever.

--

And honestly I'd be surprised if china was mentioned very much in NZ coverage of the olympics, as china is rarely mentioned in most NZ media in the first place unless it has to do with the crafar farms or the occasional anniversary or "interesting news" snippet.

Ye Shiwen possesses that same masculine, almost wall-like figure; the same impossibly wide shoulders and huge, rounded thighs; the same armchair-leg calves. Rebecca Adlington is a strong woman, to be sure, but she still looks feminine; Ye, though barely out of adolescence, appears androgynous.

She might be cheating because she looks like an athlete. Or, wait.


According to her mother, Qing Dingyi, as quoted by the Chinese state media, little Ye ‘expressed a wish to become a swimmer at the tender age of seven’.

In truth, she was picked out because she had an unusually masculine physique with extremely large hands and long limbs: attributes at first thought best suited to a career in track and field.

So maybe that "androgynous" frame came naturally. (Or she was doping at 7 years old?).

This is pure nonsense. Rebecca Adlington is taller than Ye Shiwen by a few inches. If Rebecca is proportionally as muscular as Ye, she will be just too big to swim. Btw, I don't see Ye Shiwen as being muscular. She seems to have a thicker layer of fat. Maybe the layer of fat gives her a bit of the floating advantage.

Scoreboard..if yer keepin' score...I'm not.

• USA37
• CHN34
• JPN19
• All Medals

So, now a British gold medal winner has gone one record as saying he crashed on purpose to restart the race and that it was planned beforehand.

The British officials lamely claim that the entire admission was somehow a mistranslation.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/sB6jprE2ptU7rrz3VgWirMw/view.m?id=15&gid=sport/2012/aug/03/london-2012-philip-hindes-crash-translation&cat=sport

The media is reporting that absurd cover story without any comment and Olympic officials says the result stand and no further investigation is required.

I am waiting for the howls of outrage and laments about bad sportsmanship and how its supposed to be about takinh part, not just winning medals at all costs from the same lot who were so quick to bash on Ye and the QDed badminton players. I am not holding my breath while I wait.

There seems to be different rules for westerners and Chinese. If we win then we are cheating, doping and match fixing. if we win and not cheating, doping or match fixing, then we train at a young age and abused and are robots.

If we lose, then china is considered useless at sports and western model is superior.

We can't win either way according to western propaganda.

Originally Posted by J-XX

There seems to be different rules for westerners and Chinese. If we win then we are cheating, doping and match fixing. if we win and not cheating, doping or match fixing, then we train at a young age and abused and are robots.

If we lose, then china is considered useless at sports and western model is superior.

We can't win either way according to western propaganda.

Well that's why they call it "propaganda". It's not designed to make the other side look good.

The important thing is to see through the BS, which can be difficult at times because it is so prevalent. Not only on issues about China, but a host of other issues.

Originally Posted by J-XX

Day 6 was a brutal day for china. We only won 1 gold and 4 total medals on day 6. The Americans won 6 golds and 8 total medals on day 6. This was the day we lost the gold medal race. We are having a shocker in weightlifting, shooting and gymnastics. We are no where near the amount of gold medals we won in 2008 in these sports. We only got good chances in badminton, diving and table tennis. Americans still have track & field and various other sports to grab more golds. We needed a massive lead over the US in order to keep ahead of them but they are already ahead of us.

That disqualification in cycling when we won gold but got relegated to silver was a blow too. Every gold medal is crucial if we are to beat the Americans. I think we need 40 golds to win the gold medal count, we have 18 now, we have to find another 22 golds from somewhere. Where the heck are we gonna get another 22 golds?

The medal count race is over folks. I'm so disappointed. There must be an investigation on why our weightlifting, gymnastics and shooting teams have performed so poorly. This is unacceptable.

Now I love rooting for my home team as much as the next guy and also keep track of the medal charts, but you are focusing too hard on the medal counts. chill out.


Also in general this thread is really giving me the impression of some of the posters wanting China to be a victim in a massive 'western' media plot rather than it actually being one.
This is the olympics, a collection of sporting event to try to find the best in the world, granted, but its not a space race.

Originally Posted by vesicles

It definitely seems like there is a double standard when it comes to Chinese athletes. Western athletes can brag about their sacrifice and dedication, as a heroic act (see Citibank commercials about athletes not watching TV for a whole year, etc). However, when it's the Chinese athletes, somehow doing the same thing becomes a bad thing for the Chinese govn't... People always mention the state-run sports programs in China. Somehow it has been made out to sound like these kids have been dragged kicking and screaming into these schools. However, the fact is the recruitment process is more like American Idle or America Got Talent. The recruit team goes to a city and post ads and asking those interested come to a stadium for physical tests. When a kid passes the test, he/she would be recommended for certain programs based on their physical characteristics. Whether the kid would join such program is all up to the kid and his/her parents. That's why you always hear some athletes from poor families. These kids can endure hardship of training better and the possibility of glory also becomes a big motivation for these kids from poor families. Kids from wealthy families, however, have many more options and choose NOT to go through these programs even if they have the physical capability to do so. So it is obvious that these programs are completely voluntary. If these kids are forced into these programs, there would be equal amount of kids from wealthy families and from poor families. As a matter of fact, there should be even more wealthy kids in these programs if they are forced into it since wealthy kids get better nutrition and can be physically more fit than those kids from poor families. Yet, it is a opposite. So it is clear this is a voluntary since joining these sport programs is a better alternative for kids from poor families. So those who come for the test and who eventually got recruited into the program are almost always the ones who WANTED to join the programs.

And yes, they are pushed hard in the programs, but they can quit any time they want. There is no barbed wire and no high walls trapping them inside of a compound. These kids can leave whenever they want if they don't want to be the program anymore. Those who eventually decided to stay and thrive are the ones who have dedication and are willing to sacrifice to perfect their craft. I don't know the statistics, but I can imagine, for one that eventually succeed in China's sports program, many more cannot stand the hard work and quit in the middle of it.

About the badminton scandal. I can't believe they made such a big deal out of it. When was the last time you see a sport team intentionally lose to get a better position in the Playoffs? Well, probably a couple days ago... It is such a common thing for many teams to do that. In the NBA, many teams intentionally lose to manipulate their position in the Playoffs so that they can face an opponent that is a better match-up for them. In baseball, they intentionally walk an efficient hitter to prevent potential home runs. This is called strategy. If anything, IOC should bare most of the blame for coming up with the "group" event.

there is difference between hardship and abuse. for the same reason many victim didn't report the abuse, afraid or shame etc etc. the 1st pic no matter how you look at it, is not hardship but abuse. the parent might not know what they are in for, and you really can't blame the kids as they are just following orders, don't know anything. i mean the church abuse few years back, do you think the parent want to voluteer for that.

Now I love rooting for my home team as much as the next guy and also keep track of the medal charts, but you are focusing too hard on the medal counts. chill out.

Also in general this thread is really giving me the impression of some of the posters wanting China to be a victim in a massive 'western' media plot rather than it actually being one.
This is the olympics, a collection of sporting event to try to find the best in the world, granted, but its not a space race.

Best post in this thread! OUTSTANDING!!

China is now leading the medal count.

• CHN41
• USA37
• JPN21
• All Medals

Originally Posted by Bltizo

We're crying because of the fact that one american swimming coach's anecdotes can create such a storm of rumours and what is effectively defamation.

It's amazing that even after beijing, western media has not changed it's tune much at all and the same biases and insecurities are popping up through their reporting, although it has gotten a little better in a few regards.

We will enjoy the sport of the games a bit more when the rest of the world (namely western) stop trying to rain on the parade when it looks like china is doing well in the medal table. I wish the media could get over themselves and just accept it for what it is without swirling their tendrils with the usual mass of speculation and wishful thinking.

its about sell rating for the media. also after the anti-dope clear the chinese swimmer, the media already said she was clean and drop the case. and its always about the suspicion due to china swiming team doping in 90's. i don't think anyone accuse china diving team or table tennis team doping.

We got another one.

China coach says track cyclists were 'robbed' - Yahoo! Sports

China coach says track cyclists were 'robbed'


LONDON (AP) -- The coach of the Chinese Olympic track cycling team said Friday that Guo Shuang and Gong Jinjie were "robbed" of a gold medal when they were disqualified for a rule violation.
Daniel Morelon told The Associated Press that China cannot appeal the decision in the team sprint final.
Guo and Gong twice improved on the world record Thursday and posted the best time in the final against their German rivals before they were disqualified for an illegal relay. Germany was awarded gold and China silver.
"The race jury decision was not clear at all," said Morelon, a 1972 Olympic champion in the individual sprint who has been working with the Chinese team since the Beijing Olympics.
He said Guo and Gong had ridden exactly the same in qualifying and the first round and logically should have been disqualified then if they did anything wrong.
"This is an injustice," Morelon said. "They robbed us of the gold medal. A gold medal which was really important for the Chinese people because they are still looking for their first gold in cycling. They would have made history."
A spokeswoman for the world governing body of cycling, Enrico Carpani, said in an email to the AP that there is no longer an appeals process in cycling.
Morelon said that he tried in vain to persuade race officials to overrule the decision to disqualify the Chinese pair and got only a vague explanation. He said the president of the race jury claimed to be in a hurry.
"I asked him to see the video footage of the race on slow motion, but he refused," Morelon said.
Morelon said he believes not all nations are not treated equally at the London Velodrome and lashed out at an "amateurish" decision.
He said the British team who went on to win the gold medal in the team's sprint on Thursday should have been disqualified in the first round.
"When you look at the video, the British come out of their lane before the dedicated zone," Morelon said. "When the French coach tried to show the video to the commissaires, they did not want to see it."