faster, higher, stronger

[swatkat]

I ♥ the Olympics.

There are all these atheletes and swimmers and gymnasts, a lot of them practically children, and you know they've practised all their lives for this (while dreaming of Emil Zatopek and Nadia Comaneci) - to be in the Olympics. Most of them won't win medals, but it doesn't matter, because they're at the Olympics, and that's awesome.

♥

Comments

[favouriteyear.livejournal.com]

OLYMPICS!!!!

I've looked forward to it all year!

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

And someone actually won a medal! I'm still in a state of shock.

[favouriteyear.livejournal.com]

I know!!

Abhinav Bindra. 10 M. Air Rifle. It was so amazing. I was so happy. :D

Although, DD commentary is utter rot. I was watching the Roger Federer match (naturally) and the commentator knows jack squat, and puts on a fake accent...and speaks awful english. *nauseated*

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Yes! And a gold!

DD commentary sucks, man. I was watching Saina Nehwal play, and half the time the commentator called her 'Sania'. You'd *think* he'd comment on her control and the way she loves to play from the baseline (that's how she won the match - her opponent was world no. 5, I think) - but the commentator knew NOTHING about badminton, and all he said was, "Oooh, that's outside! Another point for Sania!"

[favouriteyear.livejournal.com]

I agree.

Stating the obvious is not commentary. I don't play badminton (but I applied some Tennis knowledge to understand the match) but I can figure that one out. *massive eyeroll* I could've done a better job! :D

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

It's a pity NONE of the five million sports channels are interested in the Olympics - or has DD kept the rights to itself like it tends to do? Either way, this sucks. The English commentators are incoherent half the time and the Hindi commentators sound like they're half-asleep, or tremendously bored with this impossible task they've been set. :(

I want another Federer vs. Nadal final please!

[favouriteyear.livejournal.com]

It's kept the rights to itself.

Roger v. Nadal. Hmm. I think I might develop hypertension if that were to happen. Lol. :P

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Stupid DD. Would it hurt to revamp DD Sports a *little* bit?

And yeah, true. But I've always had a weakness for Clash of the Titans kind of matches in tennis - I grew up watching Steffi Graff vs. Monica Seles and Pete Sampras vs. Boris Becker (or Andre Agassi). Federer vs. Nadal is like the new Graff vs. Seles. :D

[delle.livejournal.com]

I swear some of the Chinese gymnasts (female) ARE children. My commentator said something about having to be 16? And I know that serious gymnasts often have some supressed hormone issues - but a couple of the Chinese looked to be about 12.

I love the Olympics. I leave it on all evening and just listen.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

I believe there were some age issues with a Chinese player (don't recall which sport!) - apparently, the player in question was below age even though the authorities insisted otherwise... Of course, as you said, serious athletes do have supressed hormone issues, and Asians - this is a generalisation - often tend to look younger. And anyway, the 16 year olds are also children, and seriously, it's just so wonderful watching them perform at this epic event.

[merelymine.livejournal.com]

The olympics make me so happy! Everything's just so EPIC and wonderful. It's my new default channel for a while. :)

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

EPIC. That's the word!

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

There's an athlete competing in the women's marathon who lives in my little neighborhood (her husband owns the local athletic apparel shop where we buy our shoes, and when she's not in training or coaching the local university students, she sometimes tends the cash register, LOL), so I'm very excited for her!

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow! You know someone at the Olympics! That's seriously awesome!

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

Well, *know* is kind of an overstatement. "Have met and interacted with" is a bit more accurate. Still, though, it's exciting!

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's still 'knowing'. And still exciting!

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

I don't think she's expected to medal at all (she came in second at the US Olympic trials), but I'll be rooting for her anyway. I'm always impressed and awed by anyone who would do endurance events anyway!

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

She's at the Olympics. That in itself is wonderful. And then she's running the marathon!!! It doesn't matter whether she wins are not - it's really cool that she's doing that in the first place.

[sk56.livejournal.com]

She's at the Olympics. That in itself is wonderful.

Absolutely. I'm a total sucker for the whole package, from the opening ceremonies to the wonkiest of badminton elimination rounds.

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

Well...just as an update, in case you're curious: she wasn't able to finish the race! Both she and one of her teammates wound up dropping out because of injuries. In her case, she had whacked her knee on an Olympic shuttle bus (!) the week before, of all things, and 20 kilometers into the marathon, it got too stiff for her to continue. How frustrating that must have been, after coming all that way!

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Oh! That's really unfortunate. You'd it'd be muscle strain or something, but whacking her knee on a bus?!! That's just sad. *sigh*