Nope, by a penalty shoot-out, as usual for knock-out games that end scoreless (or any other tie) after 120 minutes (including extra time).
Ah, I missed that from your previous post. Thanks.
In a way, the 6 point deduction was crucial for their elimination, because as only third in their group, they had to face a strong opponent like Germany in their quarterfinal.
They actually ended up second in the group, but the point still stands. It ends up being harsh on Germany, who had to face a 3-0 team, so good on them for getting through. This is maybe the best result for Canada - the players got to demonstrate their skill by reaching the knockouts and reaching penalties in the QF, but there’s no medal for them after the scandal. And really, after the way they progressed through the knockouts in Tokyo, they can’t really complain about going out on penalties.
In the pool Summer continues her great run, and a bit of hard luck for Liendo - out touched for a medal in the free, and out touched for gold in the fly.
This kid is charismatic, talented and RIPPED!
This is very unfortunate.
Paul Elvstrom won 4 straight gold medals in Saling.
Al Oerter won the Discus in 4 straight games.
And a Japanese wrestler (sorry - not sure of detail).
There were a couple of Hungarian fencers who won 6 golds straight in Team Sabre Fencing from the 1930s to the 1960s. One of them, Aladar Gerevitch, also won gold, silver and bronze in the individual sabre over the years, Famously, he was dropped from the 1960 team because he was ‘too old’, and so he went out and beat all the other team members in a warm-up competition.
They put him back in the Olympic team. And the Hungarians won. Again.
And … his Olympic career was interrupted by WW2 - but for that, who knows how many golds he could have won.
17-year-old Summer McIntosh wins ANOTHER gold medal. First Canadian to ever win three golds in one Olympics.
Kids today, they don’t even know. 1976 was too long ago for me to remember, but Canada hosted the Summer Games, and won no golds. Then in 1988 we hosted a Winter Games and won no golds. It was really kind of sad. Canada punched way, way under its weight, except for 1984, when the Communists didn’t show up.
Anyway, that started changing in the 90s for some reason.
I’ve now seen every major gymnastics event other than the women’s individual all-around (my family’s big on this sport so we’re definitely catching it tonight). I’m glad our squads kicked butt, obviously, but I’d appreciate it more if there were some way to see more of the action and see lead changes in real time. ESPN is usually pretty good about their women’s college gymnastics coverage with running scoreboards and more routines shown. Granted it’s easier with only 2 or 4 teams to cover, but I always get a better idea of where they stand at any given time. What would really benefit NBC is 1. some kind of online pay-per-view service where you could see everything you wanted or 2. a multi-channel option like ESPN uses for championships. (I would say DVD, but those invariably get butchered to hell like that reality TV “best of” nonsense.)
The men’s team all-around was quite a revelation. Other than Stephen Nedoroscik, none of our guys looked like a top-three in any apparatus. I was especially concerned about Brody Malone, who had at least a couple inopportune blunders in Team Trials and didn’t look like he’d 100% returned mentally. I figured the best case scenario was not embarrassing themselves, fighting their way up the ladder in the second half, and finishing 5th or 6th. Whaddya know, sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There were mistakes, but on the whole this squad overachieved their hearts out and not only beat out Great Britain for the podium (there was never a prayer of catching Japan or China), it wasn’t that close. I was a bit ambivalent about Nedoroscik even though the commentators explained why he was picked (one of the few things they were on the mark about all friggin’ Olympic season), but as it turns out, having someone who’s Good At One Thing can be a real ace in the hole, and I can tell you that he really nailed the door shut. (Might I add, some of the things he pulled off defy description; he’s one of the few people in the world who could probably do a real-life “shinku katategoma”.) It was a great moment for a fine squad, and again, it’s just unbelievably cool that America loudly celebrated a bronze medal effort without a trace of irony. 
Then there was the women’s team all-around, or as I like to call it, “what should be the death knell to allowing ignorant Dunning-Kruger mouthbreathers to spew their garbage into serious discussions of potentially life-ending mental issues, but I’m not optimistic”. It was pretty disgusting that Simone Biles ever had any obligation to prove the naysayers wrong in the first place, but she did bigtime. (And with a calf injury! Not bad for a “quitter”, eh? 
) She wasn’t as crisp as in previous years, but she was so far ahead of the rest of the world to begin with that it hardly mattered. Jordan Chiles, other than one inexplicable misfire on beam, sparkled in the wingman role, and Suni Lee played the indomitable wounded warrior to near-perfection. The cold hard truth is that, of the eight Olympiads from ’96 to now, American women’s gymnastics…up to that point a complete doormat…has medalled in all of them, four of them gold. When catching an extraordinarily bad break in a weirdo pandemic year and still getting silver can be considered a disappointment, you know we’ve arrived. It’s reached the point where I can’t even get excited about their success anymore; it’s become almost as much of a lock as our basketball squads. (All right, I can spare plenty of energetic clapping. 
) Brazil had an up-and-down night but got enough production out of their stars for the expected silver position. I like new blood, and seeing these spunky South Americans in action was a treat. As for 3rd-place Italy, I don’t recall exactly what they did right, but anytime a nation finds the podium after nearly a century’s drought, I’m not even going to pretend that it’s not super awesome. China, which used to be a perennial contender, fell hopelessly out of contention after several major mistakes. I honestly don’t know what went wrong. It’s as if China’s entire gymnastics machine was so completely geared toward easily-molded lithe little pixies that it still hasn’t been able to make the adjustment. Hopefully at least one of them can come back strong in individuals. I understand as well as anyone the kind of pressure young Chinese people are under, and they shouldn’t have to go out like this.
The men’s individual all-around, other than showcasing that Frederick Richard and Paul Juda, sadly, really weren’t that great, saw both Chinese stalwarts (Zhang Bozheng and Xiao Ruoteng) fall short of a Japanese upstart (Shinnosuke Oka) who had the night of his life. This is Japan’s 4th straight gold in this event. I mention this because I’ve always had this image of Japan being dominant only in sports it made up (and lately not even those; witness the sumo landscape for the past 20 years), and to be so consistently powerful in a discipline requiring as much upper body strength as men’s gymnastics does is truly remarkable.
I’ll see if I can pick up some badminton tomorrow. Still haven’t quite gotten the strategy down.
Folacin - No excuses. If she can’t deal with the opponent in front of her, she needs to bow out and take her medicine. Questioning the opponent’s legitimacy with zero evidence as a post facto CYA is despicable. Say “I got beat. I’ll try to do better next time.” and shut the hell up. 
Dinsdale - Not a very high bar, but thanks again! It’s good to be appreciated! 
Since you have Peacock, exactly how many commercials do you have to put up with? I’m considering a short-term subscription to get caught up on American Ninja Warrior Junior, but if I get an ad thrown in my face every five minutes it’s not happening.
asterion - Do tell. There were moments in my ignorant youth where I had a baseball bat, basketball, jump rope, or skateboard and could do things with them. Not spectacular things, not prize-winning things, but things. Every time I looked at a pommel horse or parallel bars, my reaction was always “Not in a million billion years.” Don’t even get me started on those infernal rings.
- Carlos Yulo won gold in Men’s Gymnastics Floor Exercises, the Philippines’ second ever Olympic gold.
- Aira Villegas defeated her French opponent in an extremely close quarter final match, assuring her of at least a bronze in Women’s 50 kg Boxing.
- Earlier, world #2 pole vaulter EJ Obiena gave us a scare when he twice missed 5.60 m in qualifying. Thankfully, he cleared 5.70 m, then 5.75 m to qualify for the Men’s Pole Vault finals.
It’s terrible to treat someone that way, but isn’t that kinda par-for-the-course in sports? Every city in the country has a radio station for people who can’t do something to call in and criticize those who are great at it. The U.S. are the powerhouse in women’s gymnastics. Expectations are high, and there have always been sports fans who rush to kick the heroes when they’re down. It sucks, but it’s not really new.
Meanwhile, no medal to the designer of the French team’s uniforms. There is no excuse for someone failing at the pole vault because their bits are poorly contained and knock down the bar. I am not a male but can’t they wear something like a jock strap or dance belt?
Doing better than Rumania, whose collective star has faded very badly after many years worth of medals.
I’m getting a little tired of all the basketball, soccer, and tennis. Those, I can watch practically any time of year: NBA, MLS, US Open tennis and other tourneys, respectively.
Maybe I’m just tuning in at the wrong times.
After missing most of the last few Games I tuned in for some running events yesterday and learned that the mixed 4x400 relay was a medal event. And it was the best race of the day! Netherland’s Femke Bol began the anchor leg in fourth place and ran down the three runners ahead of her for a thrilling win at the wire.
Jonesing now for some 200m heats.
I don’t know about competition rifles, but in the hunting and recreational gun sector left-handed rifles are definitely available, and not even that hard to find. The same applies to archery gear. Like you said, a substantial portion of any population is left-handed, and then you need to add the left-eyed.
I’m right-handed but shot left-handed (whether rifle or bow) from an early age and for decades, being left-eyed. Then, after eye surgery, I was forced to switch to shooting as a righty. It was tough going, but eventually became natural.
The Canada/ Nigeria basketball game is amazing. It’s like watching a video at double speed.
That was very fun to watch.
Drop whatever you’re doing and go watch Djokovic vs. Alcaraz.
Word! It’s probably the best tennis match I’ve ever watched, and I’ve seen thousands. Hope that Alcaraz wins the second set so we’re granted a third one. 6-5 in set two and still no break.
And tiebreak again.