The Olympic track racing fires off tomorrow and it’s time to remember an event discarded to the bin of noble sports.
The Olympic roster of events is constantly evolving and devolving which is why we are now watching synchronized diving as an Olympic sport. What a world, what a world. Maybe it’s a sign of me getting too old but it makes me sick. Who does this sport? Who says let’s go down to the public pool and work on our synchronized diving? No one, that’s who. Did the IOC get bribed by Big Diving? Diving is barely watchable, adding another diver who does the exact same thing adds little. Yes, I’m biased, yes, I don’t understand it. Send your hate mail to Condoleezza Rice, c/o Stanford University, I don’t want it.
Years ago Olympic road cycling cancelled the 100km four-man team time trial and I’m still bitter about that! The four-man TT was a killer event. The time was on the third rider to cross the finish line. A four person team could barely afford to lose one rider. One flat, a bonk, do we wait, do we go? This had to be decided on the road by the team while riding on the razor’s edge of anaerobic doom.
Olympic track lost the tandem match sprint. Track is also losing the individual pursuit events this year for reasons I can’t imagine. Thank you, UCI. The tandem sprint was no flash in the pan event, introduced into the Olympics in 1908. It was finally terminated after the 1972 games. God damn it, what’s not to love? We keep thinking Cav is the fastest cyclist but track sprinters are faster. Imagine two super fast riders on one bike racing another matched pair. One pair of legs does the driving, one pair just to stoke. The stoker could also be the second pair of eyes for the driver but really his mission was to plant his face against the small of the driver’s back and spin that bike up to over 85 kph! The tactics were the same as the regular match sprint. There were track stands, jumps and bumps: it was just faster and more awesome.
I don’t know the reasoning behind the decision in 1972 but I’m here to say things were a little weird back then, many bad decisions went down in the early ’70s. The Bee Gees made it to number sixteen in the American music charts and they were not terminated with extreme prejudice right then, before it was too late.
Here is some footage of a past World Championship just to demonstrate the awesome.
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This thread is pure gold. If we get some more sponsorship, it could even go for Olympic gold!
I agree that the olympics has lost a bit of its character, with the end of the cold war, rising corporate sponsorship, and increased spectacle. But, at the same time, it is still a showcase for sports that are not usually on the radar of most people, but which require huge amounts of athletic skill and dedication in order to compete at this level. I can tell you, it's the only time I'll ever watch gymnastics, swimming, track and field, sculling, or any number of other sports, with anything more than a passing interest. I watched part of the opening ceremony, and I couldn't believe how young most of the athletes are--kids who are there to compete with the best of the world. I'll still always love some of the stories that come out, like Kim Crow, or like young Missy Franklin.
As for coverage, we've got like five stations in the US covering the games, so you can pretty much see any even you want, plus you can get it streaming on the computer. That's the way I watched the RR, because my DVR took a shit that morning and didn't record. The funny thing was that the RR replay online did not include any commentary whatever--just the video feed, and the passive audio.
Thanks for the history lesson Gianni - I had no idea there was such a thing as tandem track racing. Frightening!
My 2c - Ditch the dressage (horse dancing?), tennis, badminton needs a 360 reflection.
The canoe slalom course looks 'all time'. And the C1 was completely worthy.
Half the paddle, twice the man...
I seem to have logged into 4chan this morning.
@Marcus
Danish member of the 100km TT died. It was in Rome (and August) so bakingly hot, and he beat Tom Simpson by seven years to the deadly combination of amphetamines and heat exhaustion.
The official version is that he died of a fractured skull but that was because he had literally passed out on his bike and was being held up by his teammates.
Here's a Wiki link, though not much more info... Knud Jensen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knud_Enemark_Jensen
@minion, @Pistolfromwarragul
Have you guys read Auntie Phil's ranting on the subject? The guy can't get anything right while commentating, but I love the fuck out of him nevertheless.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/07/news/liggett-bmx-and-mountain-biking-do-not-belong-at-olympics_232044
@Blah
Those last two sentences contradict each other.
(Apologies to our esteemed cogsigliere, G'Phant for the unashamed lawyer joke.)
@Harminator
That's what I always thought, until I discovered that dressage is based on the training they used to put horses through to prepare for war. Anyone who enters battle together with a horse has my respect. End of. I'll watch any kind of horse competition, no matter how badly it numbs my brain. (The cross country events, by the way, are badass, and steeple chase is pretty cool as well.)
Word. And they do that squatting on their knees. That alone would break me.
I used to sell canoes and kayaks (that's how I met Marko and my VMH) and I always wanted to try my hand at white water canoeing.
If it weren't for the dressage nobody in my family would even have got a ticket to the bloody Olympics.
Which grates somewhat when I'm seeing people at the track cycling who don't look like they've ridden far this year.
I still haven't watched *any* of the Olympics this year. Not one bloody second. *sigh*