# 2024 Summer Olympics Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports-track\ **Created:** [July 10, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019 "2024-07-10T20:21:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/361 "2024-08-01T02:10:15Z")
Nadia Comaneci married American gymnast Bart Conner and now lives in Oklahoma. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/362 "2024-08-01T02:12:27Z")
Yes, AIN is the team consisting of athletes from Russia and Belarus that petitioned to be exempt from the ban, and were successful. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/363 "2024-08-01T02:32:47Z")
What does AIN stand for? ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/364 "2024-08-01T02:48:41Z")
“Athlètes Individuels Neutres”. They were not on a boat in the procession, and won’t be listed in the country medal standings. There are 17 from BLR, and only 15 from RUS. [Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Neutral_Athletes_at_the_2024_Summer_Olympics) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/365 "2024-08-01T02:49:41Z")
Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/366 "2024-08-01T03:24:18Z")
I finally got a moment to dig into my Peacock subscription to see what’s on. I checked out some judo, boxing, men’s street skate, surfing and now mountain biking thanks to a recommendation here. I’ve been blown away at how well the commentators are doing. They aren’t really explaining anything in a dumbed down way. They’re doing very professional and knowledgeable commentating. I’m lost but impressed! Thankfully NBC provides some primer videos for each sport. “Your new favorite sport” is what they’re called. Anyone know why the crowd on the beach in Tahiti are wearing medical masks? It’s not just one country it’s all spectators on land (not people watching from boats). Is Tahiti having a covid surge? ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/367 "2024-08-01T03:49:10Z")
Ha, right. Here’s me… Damn, that was perfect! 6.5 Damn, that was perfect! 9.0 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/368 "2024-08-01T03:53:09Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > Russia (along with Belarus) has no presence here at all, and everyone I’ve met so far…doesn’t seem to even notice. Remember last time, when the Russians were allowed to compete as a non-national squad (which I was perfectly fine with)? I don’t miss the Russians and their poor sportsmanship. Two incidents I remember; perhaps there are others. First they made a Great Big Noisy Fuss at the last Summer Olympics, about the results of rhythmic gymnastics. Then at the last Winter Olympics, women’s figure skating was a whole thing. For the ROC, that is: Russian Olympic Committee, or as it was called on another forum, Rocs and Roc-ettes. So **one** Roc-ette was DQed for allegedly doping, but the others were clear. Final results were ROC got gold and silver and Japan got bronze. And as soon as that was announced, things got kinda weird. The bronze-medal winner was sobbing in her coach’s arms, but I believe out of relief, not because she was dissatisfied with bronze. Meanwhile, the Roc-ette who got silver had a complete Veruca Salt meltdown, wailing and ranting, and most of the ROC crew were trying to talk her down. And during all this, the gold-medal winner was just sitting there **alone** , with a “This is it?” expression. Veruca kept weeping throughout the medal ceremony, wiping away smeared mascara. Not great optics, _but_. I believe it’s not just her, it’s the whole culture that produced her and others. Win at any cost, anything less than perfect/the best is unacceptable, the journey is **not** the point if it doesn’t lead to gold. Ugh. And compare this to other national teams that are one for all, all for one, or those two high-jumpers (?) in 2021 who agreed to share a medal, because they trained together and were friends. It’s not the Olympics, or sports; it’s one country’s messed-up priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/369 "2024-08-01T04:31:30Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Is Tahiti having a covid surge? There’s been a marked increase in positive test results, so the beginning of a surge is suspected. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/370 "2024-08-01T10:39:24Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Canada’s appeal dismissed. Good I am glad of that as well. To me, our appealing, and our not taking significant action to demonstrate contrition just makes us look “weasely”. I’m can accept that our players may not have been direct participants in the cheating, they must have unwittingly benefited from the cheating-obtained information. So regardless of how well they ultimately perform, medal-wise, IMHO there’s going to be an asterisk beside their medals ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/371 "2024-08-01T11:42:08Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I’m watching the 3x3 basketball on NBC… I’m watching that now. I’ll be darned if I can figure out what 9 has to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/372 "2024-08-01T12:50:09Z")
Toronto Star article with more info on the spying by Canadian soccer. Says that Priestman says that the men’s team does it, as do other teams. Also suggests it may have begun with John Herdman, the previous coach of the women’s team, and later the men’s team. Also the point that a worker on the women’s team had refused to participate in the spying and Priestman reported the worker to HR. Federal government has cut its funding to Soccer Canada by the amount equal to the salaries of Priestman and the other two suspended coaches. > **[Bombshell FIFA report outlines how Canada used drone to spy in Paris — and...](https://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics-and-paralympics/bombshell-fifa-report-suggests-bev-priestman-believed-spying-could-be-difference-between-winning-and-losing/article_471c7ca8-4f46-11ef-8aff-938f6230123b.amp.html)** > > Canadian women’s soccer head coach Bev Priestman discussed spying on opponents in email chain and alleged it was a standard operation on men’s team. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/373 "2024-08-01T13:07:02Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Federal government has cut its funding to Soccer Canada by the amount equal to the salaries of Priestman and the other two suspended coaches. They should add the cost of a drone. Do we know if the team bought one, or leased? ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/374 "2024-08-01T13:39:51Z")
I compare this to baseball’s “sign stealing” (catchers make finger signs to signal to the pitcher what type of pitch to throw, and coaches and managers have their own hand/arm signals). According to an unwritten rule, sign stealing is illegal - but every team does it, and sh\*t flies every time anyone gets caught. In soccer - is there any written rule saying you can’t spy on another team? Could a spectator walk into a practice and take notes/photos etc.? The main illegality for the Canadians was operating an unauthorized drone in the Olympic area. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/375 "2024-08-01T13:48:32Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > In soccer - is there any written rule saying you can’t spy on another team? I believe it’s a general sportsmanship thing. Not to mention there have been accusations against Canada for exactly this behavior in the recent past. > FIFA judges said Priestman and her two assistants “were each found responsible for offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play.” [from here](https://apnews.com/article/2024-paris-olympics-soccer-fifa-canada-drones-99236ee3c55631f007bc2854c3da40ee) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/376 "2024-08-01T14:11:31Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > n soccer - is there any written rule saying you can’t spy on another team? According to the Star report, which is referring to the Court of Arbitration reasons, it’s not just a “good sportsman” unwritten rule: > [@](#): > > **Warnings in Paris** > > The women’s national team was warned on three occasions of the ban on using drones at Olympic sites, according to the document. > > The first came on June 10, five and a half weeks before the Canadian delegation arrived in France. In guidance issued to Olympic soccer teams, FIFA warned it was “prohibited to fly drones over any tournament training sites and stadiums.” > > A similar warning was issued later, in a FIFA team handbook. > > And on July 18, eight days before the opening ceremony, Canadian women’s national team manager Nicole McInnis attended a FIFA workshop, during which a slide — with a typo — was shown. “Drones will not be allowed in accordance with the banned imposed by the State,” it said. It sounds like it was tied to the French law, but FIFA then appears to have made it a standard rule of conduct, at least for these Olympics. The Star appears to have the reasons for the decision; the Court of Arbitration has not yet posted them on their website, having released its decision to the parties due to the urgency of the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/377 "2024-08-01T14:18:07Z")
And Priestman seems to have said one thing in private, and something completely differently in public. From the Star: > [@](#): > > According to the document, a Canadian women’s soccer performance analyst met with Priestman on March 19 to discuss spying — and why the analyst wouldn’t budge in their opposition to doing so. > > The analyst — their name was redacted in the report — was morally opposed. They wrote in an email to Priestman the next day, and felt their reputation was at risk. > > “Just wanted to confirm that you will not be asking me to fulfil (sic) the role of ‘spying’ in the upcoming camp & future camps,” the analyst wrote in their email, according to the document. “I am sure you will respect my reasoning and thank you for your understanding.” > > Priestman then forwarded the email to a colleague, believed to be in human resources. > > “(Spying is) something the analyst has always done and I know there is a whole operation on the men’s side with regards to it,” Priestman wrote, according to the document. “It can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it.” > > Priestman asked the colleague “what from a HR stand point I can do” about the analyst. The email chain was later forwarded to a high-ranking Canada Soccer official. But when the team is caught with its hand in the cookie jar: > “On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologize to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada. _This does not represent the values that our team stands for_,” Priestman said. Spying doesn’t represent your team values? or was it getting caught that goes against your values? > **[COC statement on drone incident in Saint-Étienne - Team Canada - Official...](https://olympic.ca/press/coc-statement-on-drone-incident-in-saint-etienne/)** > > PARIS (July 24, 2024) – Following its review of the July 22 drone incident in Saint-Étienne, and upon learning of... ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/378 "2024-08-01T14:48:59Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > So regardless of how well they ultimately perform, medal-wise, IMHO there’s going to be an asterisk beside their medals At this point they can only advance on merit. The benefit derived from spying was taken away, and then they made it out of group through talent. Which makes you wonder just how much the coach was helping anyway. It’s a nice result. The cheaters are out and, I hope, will be out for the rest of the lives, but the players earned their way through. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/379 "2024-08-01T17:10:18Z")
Imagine making it to the Olympics then abandoning your dreams in less than a minute in a competiton because your opponent was about to annihilate you. > **[Angela Carini abandons Olympic fight after 46 seconds against Imane Khelif](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/aug/01/angela-carini-abandons-fight-after-46-seconds-against-imane-khelif)** > > Algerian Imane Khelif moved past Angela Carini when the Italian abandoned their 66kg fight after 46 seconds in the first round on Thursday ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019/380 "2024-08-01T17:14:09Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Imagine making it to the Olympics then abandoning your dreams in less than a minute in a competiton because your opponent was about to annihilate you. There has been some transgender mania happening around this case if you aren’t aware. 1. If this conversation heads towards that disucssion, perhaps a separate thread would be a good idea. 2. Imane Khelif is a cisgender woman. She was born female, was registered as a girl at birth, is legally a woman, & continues to identify as a woman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-summer-olympics-thread/1004019.md?page=20)