Modric THFC
Jimmy McCormick
Latest is that the GPS fudged up in the timing system they were supposed to be using.
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The Official Olympic Thread
- Thread starter markysimmo
- Start date
Latest is that the GPS fudged up in the timing system they were supposed to be using.
jts1882
Dean Richards
I don't think that is the right comparison. Do marathon runners get to see a scoreboard to show how far behind they are? No. They might get someone on the sidelines passing on information but nothing formal. If the let someone get out of sight it is their lookout.
Same here. They let breakaways get big leads and they allowed the breakaway to grow to a sustainable size. Without nine-man teams in the peloton, a 32 man group is large. Today they often had as many riders setting the pace as the peloton.
I think the lack of race radios was a key issue. The riders knew the plan but when the breakaway threatened the plan, they didn't have the feedback they have grown used to. With race radios we would probably seen the Germans and GB working together in a more coordinated manner.
In hindsight, another mistake was putting everything on Cavendish. Miller would have been an ideal rider to get in the breakaway group and might have had a chance.
GlennGoddle
Andy Sinton
Not sure even bikinis could save women's football from being truly hideous to watch
Richie
Naybet
It's just such a poor standard. Slower, weaker, less skill, there really is no aspect where it is even close.
I think I'd back conference teams to beat a Womans World XI
Modric THFC
Jimmy McCormick
You can't compare Marathon runners to cyclist they dont race along in bunches getting slipstream from the guy in front of you. Cycling is far more tactical and is a team sport.
At one point after the last climb it was in Team GB's interest to have the breakaway that was 1 minute up the road and faltering stay out there as long as possible. In a pro race they would have an accurate timecheck to this group and would let them sit out there and exhaust themselves, whilst no one from the peloton would attack because there is a group already 2 minutes up the road. Then they would reel the exhausted break in the final 20kms. Team GB couldnt do this today closed the breakaway from 5 minutes to under 1 minute and then the attacks started and a new breakaway formed.
Women barely hold their own against U17s.
London 2012 organisers have promised a "full review" after thousands of empty seats were visible across various venues on the first day of competition.
Despite most events having long since sold out, there were rows of empty seats visible at the swimming heats, the gymnastics, the volleyball and the dressage in Greenwich Park.
The London 2012 organising committee said it appeared that most of the empty seats were not sold to members of the public but were in "accredited" areas meant for members of the "Olympic family".
They include international federations, national governing bodies, athletes, International Olympic Committee officials and non-tabled media positions.
At the morning swimming heats featuring Michael Phelps and his US rival Ryan Lochte, there were an estimated 500 empty seats in one block alone.
And at the morning session of the gymnastics, at which Louis Smith and the rest of the British team appeared, there were more than 1,000 empty seats despite prospective ticket buyers being told it was sold out.
At the volleyball at Earl's Court, around a quarter of the seats at the 15,000 capacity venue were empty.
Andy Reed, a former MP and now director of Sports Thinktank, said there were "so many [empty] seats at the volleyball - really disappointed for so many who wanted to be there".
At the dressage in Greenwich Park, the arena was usually no more than two thirds full - but that could also put down to the fact that many people were dipping in and out of the action.
At the football, which is a different case in that there are far more unsold seats, there were vast swathes of unsold tickets for the women's matches at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and Glasgow's Hampden Park.
During the sometimes controversial ticketing process, during which 6.6m of the 8.8m tickets were made available to members of the public, organisers repeatedly highlighted the lengths they were going to make sure there were no empty seats.
They said they wanted to avoid the situation that occurred in Beijing and at other Games, where even at sessions that were officially sold out there were large swathes of empty seats – particularly for morning heats.
The problem tends to be caused by IOC stipulations that retain a certain number of seats for officials, athletes, international federations and other accredited individuals. It can be particularly acute on the morning after the opening ceremony, which on Friday finished close to 1am.
In the vast majority of the venues, at least a fifth of seats are reserved for sponsors, officials, the media and the "Olympic family". In the most popular sessions, such as the opening ceremony and the 100m final, the proportion is closer to half.
"There were some empty seats in some venues, others were packed to the rafters. We are going to find out who should have been in those sections and why they weren't. We will deliver a full end of day report," said a Locog spokeswoman.
But those thronging the Park yesterday who had been unable to get into the venues to watch any live action were critical of the empty seats, which can also be highly embarrassing if shown on television.
"I think it's terrible, especially when so many people want a ticket. There should be less seats for officials," said Sharon Beers from Portsmouth.
Others said that given the frustration of the ticketing process, which started with a heavily oversubscribed ballot but ended with some of the most expensive tickets still remaining and 500,000 football tickets removed from sale, all venues should be full.
"We tried every single time to get tickets and all we cold get were tickets that got us into the Park. I'm less than happy with that situation, when you think of the amount of time we wasted trying to get tickets," added Susan Stoker from Hythe in Kent.
Organisers have talked in the past about running a Wimbledon-style ticket recycling scheme that would allow them to resell unused tickets to those already on the Olympic Park. They said they were still looking into how the logistics of such a scheme might work.
They also said they had been "very clear" with sponsors that any tickets they took up under the terms of their contract, which must be paid for separately, needed to be used.
The situation will be carefully monitored over the coming days and organisers are set to make changes if seats are being regularly unused.
Ironically, given the issues with empty seats, there were also reports of hundreds of people having to queue to enter the Aquatics Centre in the morning.
Locog chief executive Paul Deighton has talked in the past of his determination to avoid any empty seats, limiting the length of sessions and holding seminars with sponsors to underline the importance of only taking tickets they can use.
He introduced a so-called "fans in front" policy to try and ensure vibrant atmospheres in every venue.
"It is about full venues and, within those full venues, having people that look like they want to be there; and accessibility and, somewhere in that, that is where we will come out. I am absolutely committed," he told a parliamentary committee last year.
But even in those venues that were not quite full, those who were there described a vibrant atmosphere as hundreds of thousands of people turned out to watch the first day of action.
Mike Osey from Southampton, waiting to see if there were any tickets available at the public box office in the park, said people should be wary of making too much of the issue.
"This is superb, it's wonderful, it's working. Of course it would be better if they were resold but in the scheme of things it's a minor thing," he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/28/london-2012-review-empty-seats
Despite most events having long since sold out, there were rows of empty seats visible at the swimming heats, the gymnastics, the volleyball and the dressage in Greenwich Park.
The London 2012 organising committee said it appeared that most of the empty seats were not sold to members of the public but were in "accredited" areas meant for members of the "Olympic family".
They include international federations, national governing bodies, athletes, International Olympic Committee officials and non-tabled media positions.
At the morning swimming heats featuring Michael Phelps and his US rival Ryan Lochte, there were an estimated 500 empty seats in one block alone.
And at the morning session of the gymnastics, at which Louis Smith and the rest of the British team appeared, there were more than 1,000 empty seats despite prospective ticket buyers being told it was sold out.
At the volleyball at Earl's Court, around a quarter of the seats at the 15,000 capacity venue were empty.
Andy Reed, a former MP and now director of Sports Thinktank, said there were "so many [empty] seats at the volleyball - really disappointed for so many who wanted to be there".
At the dressage in Greenwich Park, the arena was usually no more than two thirds full - but that could also put down to the fact that many people were dipping in and out of the action.
At the football, which is a different case in that there are far more unsold seats, there were vast swathes of unsold tickets for the women's matches at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and Glasgow's Hampden Park.
During the sometimes controversial ticketing process, during which 6.6m of the 8.8m tickets were made available to members of the public, organisers repeatedly highlighted the lengths they were going to make sure there were no empty seats.
They said they wanted to avoid the situation that occurred in Beijing and at other Games, where even at sessions that were officially sold out there were large swathes of empty seats – particularly for morning heats.
The problem tends to be caused by IOC stipulations that retain a certain number of seats for officials, athletes, international federations and other accredited individuals. It can be particularly acute on the morning after the opening ceremony, which on Friday finished close to 1am.
In the vast majority of the venues, at least a fifth of seats are reserved for sponsors, officials, the media and the "Olympic family". In the most popular sessions, such as the opening ceremony and the 100m final, the proportion is closer to half.
"There were some empty seats in some venues, others were packed to the rafters. We are going to find out who should have been in those sections and why they weren't. We will deliver a full end of day report," said a Locog spokeswoman.
But those thronging the Park yesterday who had been unable to get into the venues to watch any live action were critical of the empty seats, which can also be highly embarrassing if shown on television.
"I think it's terrible, especially when so many people want a ticket. There should be less seats for officials," said Sharon Beers from Portsmouth.
Others said that given the frustration of the ticketing process, which started with a heavily oversubscribed ballot but ended with some of the most expensive tickets still remaining and 500,000 football tickets removed from sale, all venues should be full.
"We tried every single time to get tickets and all we cold get were tickets that got us into the Park. I'm less than happy with that situation, when you think of the amount of time we wasted trying to get tickets," added Susan Stoker from Hythe in Kent.
Organisers have talked in the past about running a Wimbledon-style ticket recycling scheme that would allow them to resell unused tickets to those already on the Olympic Park. They said they were still looking into how the logistics of such a scheme might work.
They also said they had been "very clear" with sponsors that any tickets they took up under the terms of their contract, which must be paid for separately, needed to be used.
The situation will be carefully monitored over the coming days and organisers are set to make changes if seats are being regularly unused.
Ironically, given the issues with empty seats, there were also reports of hundreds of people having to queue to enter the Aquatics Centre in the morning.
Locog chief executive Paul Deighton has talked in the past of his determination to avoid any empty seats, limiting the length of sessions and holding seminars with sponsors to underline the importance of only taking tickets they can use.
He introduced a so-called "fans in front" policy to try and ensure vibrant atmospheres in every venue.
"It is about full venues and, within those full venues, having people that look like they want to be there; and accessibility and, somewhere in that, that is where we will come out. I am absolutely committed," he told a parliamentary committee last year.
But even in those venues that were not quite full, those who were there described a vibrant atmosphere as hundreds of thousands of people turned out to watch the first day of action.
Mike Osey from Southampton, waiting to see if there were any tickets available at the public box office in the park, said people should be wary of making too much of the issue.
"This is superb, it's wonderful, it's working. Of course it would be better if they were resold but in the scheme of things it's a minor thing," he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/28/london-2012-review-empty-seats
Richie
Naybet
Disappointed for Cav, but listening to his interview he was spot on. Teams were willing to relinquish their own chances for a medal to stop Cavendish winning gold.
As I've said, if I'm Greipel or Goss I'd be furious at the way my team has played that race. A group finish favoured teams like Germany and Australia to win a medal, even knowing Cav is likely to win Gold at least they could get Silver and Bronze rather than finishing 33rd and below.
As I've said, if I'm Greipel or Goss I'd be furious at the way my team has played that race. A group finish favoured teams like Germany and Australia to win a medal, even knowing Cav is likely to win Gold at least they could get Silver and Bronze rather than finishing 33rd and below.
jts1882
Dean Richards
I realise that, but I don't see why either changes the validity of the comparison. Ask yourself what other Olympic sports allows radios. In other Olympic sports, whether marathon, triathlon, open water swimming, it up to the athlete(s) to assess the race situation and react according, without outside help. And running as a group has similar, although not as marked, slipstreaming effects. The Kenyans and Ethipians often run as teams very effectively.
The Olympic road race is actually quite a different event to most professional events because the smaller teams and lack of radios. The British and German teams let a lot of riders out of their sight and were left guessing. That was a tactic mistake.
Richie
Naybet
See, I don't actually mind that so much. It's annoying, but there is a lot of money in sport and it has to come from somewhere. Corporations pay through the nose so I don't have a huge problem with them having perks like tickets. I DO have a problem with them not turning up though. If you aren't gonna fill your seat, let someone else fill it ffs.
linnet_spur
Pascal Chimbonda
Keothavang V Wozniacki. Wonder who Rory McIlroy wants to win?
GlennGoddle
Andy Sinton
Precisely. I'm certainly not expecting Brazil 1970 but it is quite embarrassing. The Cameroon team reminded me of Stoke. Hoof,foul,hoof,foul and brick.
Jurgen the German
Erik Thorstvedt
Ryan Lochte smashing it in the swimming!
Jurgen the German
Erik Thorstvedt
No medal for Phelps in the 400m freestyle. WOW!
markysimmo
Johnny nice-tits
He was poor this morning
Leeds Spur
Banned
His bird, of course!! Don't blame him either!!
linnet_spur
Pascal Chimbonda
Pfft in 4 years time he will be representing GB in Brazil but he probably won't be with Wozza. Still if he wants to get some I guess he had no choice haha.