NationStates Jolt Archive

I know the Olympics are still more than 70 days away but i though I'd ask this question as we are nearing the end of the Olympic selection process.

How do you rate your nations medal chances at the Olympics?

Where do you think your nations medal hopes are at the moment?

Will you be watching the Olympics and why/(not)?

My answers:

I rate My nation, (GB)'s chances as quite high in some events and slim to none in others. Over the past 20 years, Team GB has shown areas where they excel but also area where a massive funding input into training is needed.

For team GB, i think the medal hopes are, in no particular order, Dressage, Sailing, Diving, Boxing, Cycling, Hockey, rowing, swiming and some Athletics events.

I will be watching the Olympics because although the current political situation in China is a bit tense (with the earthquake and Tibet), Politics has no place in sport and, i want to cheer my team on.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the Olympics these days, and am much less certain about them being held in Beijing. With that said, I recall Canada doing reasonably well where rowing is concerned.

I think the US will take the lions share of the medals again.

I think we'll do quite good. I'll be watching, I love the Olympics. It is almost as fun as the World Cup.

I think the US will take the lions share of the medals again.

I wouldn't be suprised. Your Olympic team for the past few Olympics has always had a great presence and I think that may be due to the fact how much you support youngsters in sports through what you call school and college.

Your amateur sportmen and Women and their performances are probably one of the USA's greatest exports!

My country will do poorly. I assure you.

I wouldn't be suprised. Your Olympic team for the past few Olympics has always had a great presence and I think that may be due to the fact how much you support youngsters in sports through what you call school and college.

Your amateur sportmen and Women and their performances are probably one of the USA's greatest exports!

I just would like a bit more chance in it. getting tired of seeing our team win that many events, more fun if there are a lot more close calls.

I just would like a bit more chance in it. getting tired of seeing our team win that many events, more fun if there are a lot more close calls.

That may be so.. may have to wait a while.. The epic Olympic battles in the 20th century were always the USSR vs the USA (even if we eliminate the drug use)

That may be so.. may have to wait a while.. The epic Olympic battles in the 20th century were always the USSR vs the USA (even if we eliminate the drug use)

it just seems weird to only get excited if the US winning something we normally don't do well in (hockey), or if someone is beating us at our own sport (basketball). If those aren't going on in fair amounts it gets boring.
Likely the main reason Americans stopped watching the Olympics after the cold war ended.

it just seems weird to only get excited if the US winning something we normally don't do well in (hockey), or if someone is beating us at our own sport (basketball). If those aren't going on in fair amounts it gets boring.
Likely the main reason Americans stopped watching the Olympics after the cold war ended.

Its an interesting and fair point that you make. i know we disagreed in the Americansims thread but in his thread we have some common ground. As a Brit I find the coxless (sp?) fours a boring even since team GB usually do so well in it despite he fact I love rowing (I'm an ex 'gig' racer) and its becoming the same with Olympic Cycling too.

Sadly I am beginning to not care about the Olympics, and I have always loved them so that is saying something.

Today's news that our Gold Medalist in track (in the Sydney Olympics) admitted to blood doping during the race infuriates me. He has disgraced his team and our country.

So now I have to wonder if any of our medals are legit....and if I have to wonder then I don't care. :(

I guess my biggest hope is that athletes will again realize that this is about who are the best natural athletes. Not who is the best at hiding their doping.

Sadly I am beginning to not care about the Olympics, and I have always loved them so that is saying something.

Today's news that our Gold Medalist in track (in the Sydney Olympics) admitted to blood doping during the race infuriates me. He has disgraced his team and our country.

So now I have to wonder if any of our medals are legit....and if I have to wonder then I don't care. :(

I guess my biggest hope is that athletes will again realize that this is about who are the best natural athletes. Not who is the best at hiding their doping.

After the Commonwealth games in manchester and Sydney, i hope to God the GB and Australians are doing all that off their own back!

Australia vs GB vs the rest of the Worls is probably one of the greatest Olympic battles since the fall of the USSR. Its one of the only areas in the Olympics where the battle is still very strong between nations.

The US will probably not win any events that matter (fencing). ;)

Its an interesting and fair point that you make. i know we disagreed in the Americansims thread but in his thread we have some common ground. As a Brit I find the coxless (sp?) fours a boring even since team GB usually do so well in it despite he fact I love rowing (I'm an ex 'gig' racer) and its becoming the same with Olympic Cycling too.

look you Brits are our Cousins. What family exist with out some good arguments.
both sides have a legitimate claims to the truth(would their really be an argument otherwise). to be perfectly honest if your ever in the states I am buying you a pint, but we are still arguing over language while we drink it.

I just would like a bit more chance in it. getting tired of seeing our team win that many events, more fun if there are a lot more close calls.

I'm watching for this year's Roy Jones Jr. moment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Jones_Jr.#Amateur_career): when the judges give the decision to the home team, even though that athlete clearly got his ass kicked (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0cNugcG6zg). Also known as the French Judge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Olympic_Winter_Games_figure_skating_scandal).

I'm watching for this year's Roy Jones Jr. moment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Jones_Jr.#Amateur_career): when the judges give the decision to the home team, even though that athlete clearly got his ass kicked (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0cNugcG6zg). Also known as the French Judge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Olympic_Winter_Games_figure_skating_scandal).

Those events tend to have politics in them. And surprisingly I was familiar with this one. The French judges are the worst for involving politics from what I've seen.

I know the Olympics are still more than 70 days away but i though I'd ask this question as we are nearing the end of the Olympic selection process.

How do you rate your nations medal chances at the Olympics?

The Olympics is all about individual excellence.

The way it is hyped-up as a contest of nations is complete bullshit.

Governments subsidizing the training of athletes for nationalistic reasons: complete bullshit.

Television coverage aimed at a national market, where contests are shown not on the basis of general interest in the sport, or whether it's a final, but on the basis of "one of the competitors is an Aussie/Brit/American/whatever": complete bullshit.

Will you be watching the Olympics and why/(not)?

A few sports I'm interested in. Archery, the team sports which shouldn't even be in the Olympics, men's and women's gymnastics, finals of the swimming events. Anything with horses. No track and field, it bores me rigid.

There's usually some outlandish event I never even dreamed existed. That's fun.

If the coverage is too much based on following "our medal hopefuls" then I'll stop watching. I got a fatal dose of THAT bullshit back in the Sydney Olympics.

Unfortunately, Olympics in our days are not what it should be, Nobel Hobos is right. It's not about nations and cultures coming together and contest. I'm not sure if that's what happened in the first place, but at least back then in the ancient times, the wars paused for the duration of the olympics.

Now it's all about winning and money( the governments sure help to that direction) and athletes and their trainers are ready to go to all sorts of lengths to achieve victory. The greek wight-lifting team's doping scandal is but a small example of this.

I guess the real question here is:
Do you think there are any athletes that don't dope themselves?

Will be an interesting competition to see which country is best at using performance enhancing drugs without being caught.

Will be an interesting competition to see which country is best at using performance enhancing drugs without being caught.

Go USA !!!

I hope the US or Russia win the medal tally, anyone but China. I think Australia will go well we should be able to get in the top five again, but unfortunately we won't win.

I will watch almost any events that are on TV, I would like to watch the swimming but because the moronic IOC and China have decided to bow down to the NBC they have decided to put the swimming events on in the morning. NBC go and get fucked, you paid to broadcast you shouldn't have a say in when, you knew perfectly well you shouldn't be able to change it around. It pisses me off how TV stations are starting to influence our sporting pleasure. Why one channel who is really crap at broadcasting brought two events one was a car race the other a football match they clashed with each other so the stupid race controllers decided that because channel 7 wanted it to end they would call the race over 7 laps early, terrible.

We tend to do much better in the Commonwealth Games, where all the teams who are any good can't play! :p

Hopefully Team GB will get a few golds, and come somewhere towards the top of the table. They've been getting much better in recent years, so it would be great if they keep building on that.

Seeing as their aiming for 4th place in 2012, they should be firmly within the top 10 this time.

I hope the US or Russia win the medal tally, anyone but China. I think Australia will go well we should be able to get in the top five again, but unfortunately we won't win.



getting the medal tally isn't winning. Every athlete wins because they put aside politics. They say to each other athlete that you are my competitor but you are not my enemy.

Medal Tallies are discouraged by the IOC and they don't publish them, only the various media outlets do.
That being said medal tally will be
1. USA
2. Russia

China should finish between 3 and 5th this year (host country normally does better.)
Winter the Russians will get medal tally.

Unfortunately, Olympics in our days are not what it should be, Nobel Hobos is right. It's not about nations and cultures coming together and contest. I'm not sure if that's what happened in the first place, but at least back then in the ancient times, the wars paused for the duration of the olympics.

Now it's all about winning and money( the governments sure help to that direction) and athletes and their trainers are ready to go to all sorts of lengths to achieve victory. The greek wight-lifting team's doping scandal is but a small example of this.

I guess the real question here is:
Do you think there are any athletes that don't dope themselves?

The Olympics have NEVER been what they "should" be. Can you imagine Athenians cheering a Spartan back then, even if the Spartan was better? Face it: the Olympics have always been about one state showing off to another.

Best cheating country will be corrupt country where they can make new drugs. China.

Corrupt country's with no pharma companies dont count.