Winter Olympics 2018

[topdog]

It's here! What are you watching? What are the controversies?

 

[topdog]

The highlight of the opening ceremonies? Pita Taufatofua from Tonga! Again! This time oiled up and ready to compete in cross-country skiing.

 

[haiducii]

The Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics 2018 in Pyeonchang was awesome and digitally detailed. :thumbs up:

Most touching part was when the combined athletes of both North and South Korea walked in to raise their flag.

Good luck to all the athletes!

 

[Habukaz]

From athletes to commentators to news broadcasters all make out like this has anything to do with national identity rather than individuals competing. Marching under a flag, determining this or that country has won this many medals. It's so absurd.

 

[topdog]

From athletes to commentators to news broadcasters all make out like this has anything to do with national identity rather than individuals competing. Marching under a flag, determining this or that country has won this many medals. It's so absurd.

Yeah - over here in the US the between-the-events commentary is often blatantly US-centric. It annoys me as much as it does you.

However, most of the event commentators are former Olympians themselves, and they tend to appreciate skill and talent wherever it appears. For example in the Team Figure Skating competition yesterday they went crazy for the young Japanese figure skater Shoma Uno. He wasn't expected to score very high, but he nailed everything with style and they went crazy.

Here is his short program from his qualifying rounds in Japan in January.

​

 

[hammervice]

im not watching but i hope people have fun just dont care for the games in the winter Olympics the summer Olympics have more games i like watching... ill see the highlights and the opening ...

 

[topdog]

The US has two out gay athletes at the games, Adam Rippon, a figure skater, and Gus Kenworthy, a skier. They huddled together before the Opening Ceremony and snapped some photos before they stepped out to wave at the crowd and flip off Mike Pence.

Best of luck to them. Any other gay athletes at the games we should be rooting for?

 

[haiducii]

Any other gay athletes at the games we should be rooting for?

There will be a record 14 publicly out LGBTQ athletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, including out men for the first time.

The number of out Olympians tops the seven from the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. In contrast, there were 56 out Olympians at the much larger Summer Olympics in 2016.

HERE is the list which includes athletes who are open publicly about their orientation, meaning they have discussed it at some point publicly. We are aware there are other LGBT Winter Olympians who are out within their sport or team, but they have chosen not to discuss it publicly; these athletes are not on this list.

 

[haiducii]

Andreas Wellinger is Olympic champion

Andreas Wellinger (22) of Germany won gold in the men's ski jumping normal hill competition Saturday at Alpensia Ski Jumping Stadium in Pyeongchang. It's Wellinger's first Olympic individual medal (he won a gold in the team event in Sochi) and the first Olympic skijumping gold medal for Germany after 24 years (Jens Weißflog)!

Herzlichen Glückwunsch! :cheers:

 

[trencherman]

From athletes to commentators to news broadcasters all make out like this has anything to do with national identity rather than individuals competing. Marching under a flag, determining this or that country has won this many medals. It's so absurd.

An avowed Luddite when it comes to wearable technology, I resisted noise cancelling earplugs for as long as I could. What finally did me in was the effrontery of people in line for the cashier talking to their cell phones as though they are alone in this world and the incessant sports broadcasts in the change room of my gym. I thought you only need blow by blow depiction of a match if you were listening to it over the radio. On TV, mute is the ideal mode because a picture is worth a thousand words and moving pictures even a thousand fold that. Spares you the breathless incoherence of athletes’ interviews too, excruciating to bear witness to as with the putting together of primitive elements of language, a slippery slope to politicians gibbering tabloid cant.

 

[topdog]

Andreas Wellinger (22) of Germany won gold in the men's ski jumping normal hill competition Saturday at Alpensia Ski Jumping Stadium in Pyeongchang. It's Wellinger's first Olympic individual medal (he won a gold in the team event in Sochi) and the first Olympic skijumping gold medal for Germany after 24 years (Jens Weißflog)!

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, indeed. I saw him win last night. I wasn't sure if they were ever going to finish the competition with all those wind delays. But I had no idea that there was such a cute guy under that body suit! I would have been cheering much more loudly.

 

[haiducii]

So glad to see Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir hosting the XXIII Hunger Games...Oops sorry, my mistake...the XXIII Olympic Games

Can we please have Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir commentate on all Olympic events?! raying:

 

[haiducii]

Best uniforms ever!

The Mexican ski team has the best uniforms this Olympics.

Well, they certainly are original.

 

[haiducii]

What a journey back to the podium for Mark McMorris

Last year he almost died in a snowboarding accident. Now he's won bronze at the Olympics. This is amazing how are body, mind and soul can recover from most anything! Congrats Mark! :thumbs up:

 

[haiducii]

Taiwanese luge star's hard road to Winter Olympics

Taiwanese luge athlete Lien Te-an's journey to the Winter Olympics has been difficult, with much of his training taking place on the mountain roads of the Eastern Taiwanese city of Yilen. With little or no snow, and no proper luge tracks to practise on, Lien has had to improvise by taking to the roads in the buildup to his second winter games.

READ MORE



Baron Pierre de Coubertin once said: "The important thing is not to win, but to take part." It makes me happy that the "Olympic spirit" is still alive.

 

[haiducii]

Snowboarder's coach is calmly KNITTING during the Olympics

Finland’s snowboard coach knitting @ Pyongchang 2018 SlopeStyle. Apparently pretty much the entire Finnish team knits (I guess the team are making a blanket for the president and his wife's newborn ).

But mostly to help the athletes’ mental game. Rukajärvi just medaled, so it must be working. :thumbs up:

 

[naughty_gam]

And as art imitates life, how about M3N.com bringing out "Winter Games" Part 1?!

Did anyone else notice, Brandon Jones did what looks to me like single-flip-single-flip combination!

 

[gorgik9]

The Mexican ski team has the best uniforms this Olympics.

Well, they certainly are original.

Visual symbolism deeply rooted in old Aztec religion :thumbs up:

 

[haiducii]

Norway's Crazy Curling Pants are Back for the 2018 Olympics

The Norway men’s curling team skipped by Thomas Ulsrud is back for its third Olympic games. That means their attention grabbing pants have returned, as well.

Cancel your relationship. The Norwegian curling team is your Valentine now.

 

[haiducii]

Olympic Spirit in my flat