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[Kurita]

was that against KOR
which set?

(came in near the last set)

Can't remember. The second one I guess but I'm not sure.

Never forget Korea's #10.

 

[BertramCooper]

and also being a wealthy country that can provide it's athletes with world class training and facilities.

But China has also dumped an insane amount of money into their Olympics training and we're still pretty even with them.

And we're talking about a country that's four times as large as the U.S.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Can someone explain fencing to me?

Are the hits and blocks and stuff manually recorded by a judge/ref? Is there someone watching that determines who got the hit and presses a button for the lights to go on?

What's up with the high tech headgear they have?

Three types of fencing: Foil, Sabre, and Epee.

Foil: Tip of the sword only, upper torso target (no head, no arms), right of way for points (will explain right of way)

Sabre: Full blade, upper body target, right of way for points

Epee: Tip of sword only, full body target, no right of way.

Right of way is complicated: If you initiate the attack, you have the right to the point. If you're countered, however, you do not have the right of way. Most arguments now days are related to who has the right of way.

They have a mask because they are whipping swords at each other.

 

[ezrarh]

You guys are being silly. The reason why America does so good is that we have a lot of freedom. Back in the 60s and 70s it was our freedom vs the Soviets, now it's China. We're the only thing standing in the way of Communism.

 

[Big-E]

Sport of the 1%.

Cross country equestrian is actually pretty cool. They have to do the jumps and stuff but they are spread over an outdoor course so there are roots, hills, etc in the way so it is a little more interesting. Dressage is fucking stupid and so is normal show jumping.

 

[davidsaurus]

I think it would be such a difficult decision to make to cut any of the swimming disciplines/lengths. It's hard to see what could be easily cut out fairly.

 

[Miles X]

But China has also dumped an insane amount of money into their Olympics training and we're still pretty even with them.

And we're talking about a country that's four times as large as the U.S.

Probably because like Australia and UK, we're sports loving nations.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Can someone explain fencing to me?

Are the hits and blocks and stuff manually recorded by a judge/ref? Is there someone watching that determines who got the hit and presses a button for the lights to go on?

What's up with the high tech headgear they have?

it depends on the style: foil , Sabre, epee

each one has a set of rules such as where you can hit and other such stuff.

I just got into fencing this year so far Epee has been my favorite, but I couldnt tell you anything about the rules lol

 

[3Sixty]

I think it would be such a difficult decision to make to cut any of the swimming disciplines/lengths. It's hard to see what could be easily cut out fairly.

Should cut back stroke.

Who would swim like that voluntarily?

 

[davidsaurus]

it depends on the style: foil , Sabre, epee

each one has a set of rules such as where you can hit and other such stuff.

I just got into fencing this year so far Epee has been my favorite, but I couldnt tell you anything about the rules lol

I like Epee the best because there is no right of way and the points can be split for double touches. I like that good defensive play is more rewarded (at least from my basic understanding).

PS. ESP vs GB in Basketball has been a 10 point game for so long now, wish we could mount a comeback.

 

[Clydefrog]

If they're going to have backstroke in water then they need to have backwards sprinting on land. It's only GAF logic.

 

[Brazil]

Should cut back stroke.

Who would swim like that voluntarily?

... Fuck you, God.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

Should cut back stroke.

Who would swim like that voluntarily?

Backstroke allows you to breathe as much as you want anytime, who wouldn't want to swim like that?

 

[Big-E]

Should cut back stroke.

Who would swim like that voluntarily?

Backstroke is so fucking easy. I use it all the time if I am just in the pool. I can't do butterfly but breast is the most tiring if you are going a long way.

 

[Kjellson]

Handball might be the stupidest sport I've ever watched.

Really?

 

[ezrarh]

Should cut back stroke.

Who would swim like that voluntarily?

It's how I passed my swim test for college.

 

[Good Job Bob]

Should cut back stroke.

Who would swim like that voluntarily?

Clearly, you've never swam.

 

[theignoramus]

and also being a wealthy country that can provide it's athletes with world class training and facilities.

this. US benefits from 300 million people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, but it also has the infrastructure to scout out and train elite athletes.
China does too, but fuck the way they do it.

 

[nel e nel]

I think Missy is a poor example cause endorsement dollars leaving Phelps are going to go to her at some level. She'll likely take his spot on Subway commercials.

Not til she graduates. She's eschewing sponsorship so she can continue to swim for her high school team.

Can you imagine being on a HS swim team and competing against her? Must be completely demoralizing.

 

[Psychotext]

I think it would be such a difficult decision to make to cut any of the swimming disciplines/lengths. It's hard to see what could be easily cut out fairly.

Can keep all the lengths and all the relays... but like every other sport aside from walking (which is really, really odd) you should use whatever mechanism you like to cover the distance as fast as possible.

Maybe add some underwater rings so it's like reverse hurdles, that would be fun.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Foil: the lightest of the three, points are scored with only the tip of the foil, the target is from the groin up - excluding the arms and head,
and points are scored with rules called right-of-way (basically whoever attacks first gets the point, and to take a persons right-of-way away you have to block their attack).

Sabre: about as heavy as a foil, points are scored also with right-of-way, points are scored with either the point of the side of the sabre,
and the target is from the waist up- excluding the hands.

Epee: the heaviest of the three, points are scored with only the point, and there are no right-of-way rules, whoever hits first gets the point- if both people hit at the same time, they each get a point, the target is the entire body.

 

[Levyne]

I swam breaststroke in high school. I would say the butterfly is way harder but the breaststroke I think has the greatest difference in difficulty between a lazy stroke and a racing stroke. Goes from relaxing at slower speeds to very very tiring at racing tempo.

 

[3Sixty]

Appears there is a backstroke defense force

 

[fizzelopeguss]

Why do all the brits come off as defeatists? All they ever say in the interviews is "well, that was my best and thats that."

It's how we're brought up, it's one of the many blessings (and curses) the victorians gave us.

"it matters not whether you won or lost but how you played the game."

 

[keit4]

Handball might be the stupidest sport I've ever watched.

Nope, baseball or american football.

 

[davidsaurus]

Can keep all the lengths and all the relays... but like every other sport aside from walking (which is really, really odd) you should use whatever mechanism you like to cover the distance as fast as possible.

Maybe add some underwater rings so it's like reverse hurdles, that would be fun.

Bleh, but some people are specialized at different strokes.

 

[schuelma]

So is Phelps going to have Cavic and le Clos in the 100 fly finals?

Yeah..Phelps looked godly in the semis.

 

[Kurita]

Boo the US team -> ace.

 

[Dr.Acula]

They should have an "open" swim. Any style, and kind of turn, dolphin kicks, no limit to how far you can move underwater, etc.

Just swimming as fast as you can, anyway you can.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

I have tried the butterfly once. I think my form was akin to that of a flopping fish.

Why do all the brits come off as defeatists? All they ever say in the interviews is "well, that was my best and thats that."

They are still getting over losing the Empire.

 

[Peru]

Handball might be the stupidest sport I've ever watched.

The hell is your problem? And why did you think anyone would care about you shitting out your ignorance?

 

[Keikaku]

Should cut back stroke.

Who would swim like that voluntarily?

 

[Levyne]

They should have an "open" swim. Any style, and kind of turn, dolphin kicks, no limit to how far you can move underwater, etc.

Just swimming as fast as you can, anyway you can.

Freestyle

 

[KillerMan91]

But China has also dumped an insane amount of money into their Olympics training and we're still pretty even with them.

And we're talking about a country that's four times as large as the U.S.

Well that is maybe because they started from pretty much nothing? Even with money it takes time to catch up in different sports because other countries have long traditions in them.

 

[Miles X]

They should have an "open" swim. Any style, and kind of turn, dolphin kicks, no limit to how far you can move underwater, etc.

Just swimming as fast as you can, anyway you can.

That's actually a really good idea!

 

[Chuckie]

Saw this on Twitter. Good use of the difficult name of our Dutch winner (and only Ian Thorpe on the BBC pronounces it correctly, as "yo-yo"):

Cool!

It is pronounced Kromo-wi-dyo-yo btw. It is a Javanese name.

 

[Sky Chief]

also because we dump a ton of money into being near the top every 4 years

Not really, the USOC receives no government funding and for an athlete to get any sort of assistance is incredibly difficult:

http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calen...s-TF/Athlete-Info/Travel/Athlete-Funding.aspx

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I swam breaststroke in high school. I would say the butterfly is way harder but the breaststroke I think has the greatest difference in difficulty between a lazy stroke and a racing stroke. Goes from relaxing at slower speeds to very very tiring at racing tempo.

depends on how much strength you have in your shoulders/arms. I find the butterfly to be the most natural stroke for me and freestyle to be the most quickly tiring

Not really, the USOC receives no government funding and for an athlete to get any sort of assistance is incredibly difficult:

http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calen...s-TF/Athlete-Info/Travel/Athlete-Funding.aspx

I never said anything about public funding

 

[Randdalf]

I didn't realise that Ian Thorpe is still only 29! I remember watching him in the 2000 Sydney Olympics when I was very young, I didn't realise he was only 18 then. According to Wikipedia, he retired in between Athens and Beijing but tried (and failed) to make a comeback for London.

Backstroke is my favourite. I've actually never tried Butterfly before. I used to go to this swimming thing where you got badges for completing different grades, but I think I stopped doing it because the instructor for one of the grades wasn't very nice.

 

[saelz8]

US Mens Volleyball, bringin the heat!

 

[Korey]

Handball might be the stupidest sport I've ever watched.

I've never even heard of it before this Olympics

 

[BertramCooper]

Something I've always wondered: How closely do they monitor the form in swimming races?

If you break form even slightly, will you be disqualified?

 

[Kurita]

I've never even heard of it before this Olympics

Wait, what ?

 

[nel e nel]

So, has anyone talked about my boy Sa Jae-Hyouk yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD4Zbxraico

Not for the easily queased.

 

[Brazil]

Wait, what ?

Admitting ignorance is cool.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

They should have an "open" swim. Any style, and kind of turn, dolphin kicks, no limit to how far you can move underwater, etc.

Just swimming as fast as you can, anyway you can.

You can't, someone would drown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oTlD6SuvNk

 

[davidsaurus]

I've never even heard of it before this Olympics

That doesn't make it "stupid".

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Something I've always wondered: How closely do they monitor the form in swimming races?

If you break form even slightly, will you be disqualified?

nope you just go slower and lose the race.

now if you swim into someone...

 

[Miles X]

I didn't realise that Ian Thorpe is still only 29! I remember watching him in the 2000 Sydney Olympics when I was very young, I didn't realise he was only 18 then. According to Wikipedia, he retired in between Athens and Beijing but tried (and failed) to make a comeback for London.

He's a funny guy, kinda cute (and obviously gay) but damn I hate how he starts every other sentance with 'look'

 

[SolidSnakex]

Tonights NBC schedule

Gymnastics
Swimming
Men's Volleyball
Rowing