Exactly which Olympic events should go?

Ok first of all, there is no 4x200 medley relay. Secondly, Ian Thorpe and Mark Spitz are the exception, why do you think they are famous? And in the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays, no Americans are on both, and only a handful of other swimmers from other countries are on both. They are two very different events, and those who can do both the 100 and 200 are special, it is an unusual situation.

I agree with Brandocet above. I just watched the women’s 4x200 freestyle relay and there were none of the same swimmers as on the 4x100. The 100 is a sprint, whereas the 200 is a middle distance, still fast but requiring more stamina, like the 400m in track. That Van den Hoogenband won the 200 over Thorpe and also just set the record inb the 100 is really quite rare. But notice Thorpe won the 400 but lost the 200, though anchored the 4x100 team to victory.

My theory is shot. No, Thorpe and Hoogenbamd are special swimmers, but most people can’t compete well at greatly varying distances. I used to swim competitively when I was younger and I was ranked #1 in the state in my agegroup (12-13)in 50 freestyle and 50 and 100 backstroke. But could I swim the 200 freestyle well. No. I’m sure i ranked in the forties in that event.

Byz,

you said ‘… and there are rules (like one foot on the ground at all times) that apply to them and not me. I could not jog at a pace with those rules; it’s a different sport.’

Well, we can just disagree. I don’t like ‘handicap’ sports, especially as they require constant policing.

you said ‘And subjective vs. objective… that sums up gymnastics as a whole; it is a totally subjective sport; do I find it less valuable because of this? No, I do not. It still has value. It is not objective, it never can or will be… but I think it has value as an Olympic sport.’

Similarly to above. I like watching gymnastics, but I don’t think anything so subjective should be an Olympic sport. I also worry that Eastern European coaches (and maybe over-zealous Western parents) will push kids too far to get the reflected glory of a medal. (I understand that Nadia Comanech claims she was treated as a sex slave).

you said ‘I’m not putting you down but still… a game got recognized by bribe? I know SLC got the 2002 games by basically bribing the SHIT out of everyone… but I still don’t think we were the first to do so; I just think we were the first to be caught…’

OK, you caught me. I’m certain that all venues bribed their way to get the Olympics, and that evidence for this has come out e.g. in the book ‘The Lords of the Rings’. I don’t have such proof for individual sport, but given the seamy character of the Olympic administrators, I’m sure that ‘hospitality’ and ‘gifts’ were involved in any presentation of a new sport.

you said ‘Anyway, best to you, and my VERY best to all competitors in these Olympics!
Byz’

Absolutely!

They do. They award it to the team, not just to the rider. A rider is only allowed to compete on the horse they qualified on, and qualifications encompass the entire season (I know this is true for show jumping, so someone correct me if it’s wrong about the others). The horse and rider team rack up points all season, and then in an Olympic year the top X teams are chosen by the officials of the country to compete for spots on the Olympic team.

Two questions for those who know more about eventing than I do: NBC said that the horse of one of the US eventers died four months before the games. So how, then did he get on the team? Do they appoint them that late?
I was watching the event show jumping last night, and noticed that five faults were added for each rail down. Is five the standard for eventing?

Suo Na,

I’m not sure if my explanations will be correct. But I will answer them to the best of my knowledge.

I think 5 points per rail down in the show jumping is the standard for eventing, since typical a rider gets 4 faults for a rail down in plain showing jumping.

Usually there are rules that deal with the death of a rider’s mount. Since it is unfair to cut the rider for an unforseeable circumstance, sometimes they are allowed to use another horse up to the same standard, since many of them compete on mulitple horses throughout the year.

Well I don’t know if I’m right about all this, but maybe it might help.