2020 Olympics: Non- Gymnastics Discussion

[MaryClare]

The level of exposure these young girls have with adult male athletes at skateboarding competitions is alarming. It doesn’t strike me as an environment where safeguarding is a thing. The priority seems to be retaining the laid back feel of the sport and skate culture

 

[RAFIKI]

I read a discussion about this in the comments section of a UK newspaper (so general sports fans). Several people brought up the gymnastics age limit and said it was for safeguarding and physical health reasons. The general consensus was that as skateboarding gets bigger and more difficult there will be pressure to have an age limit. The competition was a breath of fresh air and fun to watch, but if Sky’s big injury had happened during the Olympic final there would be a very different conversation happening.

 

[MaryClare]

I don’t even know where to begin with how wrong this this…

 

[ucrgirl]

I’m never going to be able to watch now. I like snowboarding because I foolishly think falling on snow is soft (forgetting my own broken bones). Skate boarding makes me nervous because it is on an obviously hard surface.

 

[Caligym]

As scary as that fall was, the acting from the hospital bed bothered me more.

 

[MaryClare]

Yes. The whole thing is just so wrong

 

[MLSWAG]

Gosh, I only got through that stupid copter scene.

I will say she’s pretty talented, but I just hope she’s being treated right.

 

[MaryClare]

In the UK there is legislation to prevent children from being trained in dangerous circus acts before they reach a certain age.

This child is being paid (by Nike, Samsung) to perform increasingly dangerous stunts without the correct training or supervision (she’s stated she doesn’t have a coach) in an environment with no risk management or safety standards beyond wearing a crash helmet. And spending her time surrounded by adult men she considers friends.

I hope I’m wrong, but no good will come out of all this

 

[ucrgirl]

This child is being paid (by Nike, Samsung) to perform increasingly dangerous stunts without the correct training or supervision (she’s stated she doesn’t have a coach) in an environment with no risk management or safety standards beyond wearing a crash helmet. And spending her time surrounded by adult men she considers friends.

I hope I’m wrong, but no good will come out of all this

The physical peril without a coach or safety equipment (no trying a skill in the pit) is bad. But the environment that surrounds a young girl with adult men that she looks up to is very scary. That is the sort of situation abusers seek out.

Nike needs to think about their role in this, too.

 

[gtu07]

I think swimming doesn’t have one partially because there are fewer top teen swimmers since older, fully mature adults might have a height advantage and older males definitely have a strength advantage. So, sure, you sometimes see a 15 or 16 year old female who is super fast, but it’s unlikely that a whole race or event will be full of teens.

 

[MLSWAG]

Women’s basketball: USA 79 : 55 AUS . Next is Serbia in the semis.

 

[JDB]

Remember when heat and humidity were the biggest concerns for the Olympics? Yeah that’s still a problem. Conditions for outdoor sports have been rough. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were held in October. But Tokyo had to hold this year’s in July to maximize the IOC’s broadcast revenue.

 

[arabiandoublefront]

So they’ll show most of a 50 km walk that takes about 4 hours on NBCSN, but they won’t give us even an hour and half of coverage for each day of gymnastics beyond streaming.

 

[ucrgirl]

So they’ll show most of a 50 km walk that takes about 4 hours on NBCSN, but they won’t give us even an hour and half of coverage for each day of gymnastics.

So this is super off topic but it reminds me of a lame first-and-last date I was on . . . The guy asked me out for dinner and then at the last minute announced that a better idea was that I should cook, because “you’re such an amazing cook.” We walked the 2 miles round trip to the grocery store and he carried the bags back (back when we had the nasty plastic bags that dug into your arms). I cooked and announced that I wanted to watch the Olympics . . . the marathon was on and I sat in silence for the whole two hours and he finally left. It was glorious.

(I’m sure he thought I was such a bore but I relished the idea that he might pick up on my outrage or feel punished by the walk in the heat.)

The point is, I’m glad long boring races get televised sometimes because back in the day it saved me the bother of making tiresome conversation and from the trouble of turning down a second date.

 

[gtu07]

Is anyone else watching the tiny teen Chinese platoform divers? They both have great flexibility and good leg strength. In another life, they could have probably managed the leg events in gymnastics and given a nice boost to the team.

 

[dweiss324]

^ that OR smashing performance was just incredible. It’s nice to see that level of perfection.

 

[gtu07]

The one dive that got perfect 10s made up for the fact that it’s basically impossible to get a perfect 10 in gymnastics. And all of her entries were so pretty!

 

[ucrgirl]

She was astonishing.

 

[tsarinajen]

They were Amazing! The winner smashed the Olympic record too. That was the most dominant diving win I’ve seen.

 

[irichluck21]

Quan Hongchan, as a 2007!!! baby was only eligible because of the games being postponed. She just turned 14 in March. Had the Olympics been held last year, she would not have been eligible at 13 years old. The age limit in diving is 14 minimum.