How the hell do they do it ?

britexpat
By britexpat

The Orympics are coming to an end.,.

I've watched all the sports, some silly , like synchronized swimming, some superb , like athletics and gymnastics..

One thing I can't understand is the high Jump..

They come running up, twist backwards in mid air and clear the bar..

Why can't they just jump over it?? Especially the Chinese..

I've seen all the Kung Fu Films and the Chinese should be able to just stand under the bar and flip over whilst doing a summer sault.. ala Crouching tiger..

Well Why don't they?

By britexpat• 23 Aug 2008 18:12
britexpat

How does one go about inventing a game like Synchronized swimmimng??

I mean, you're in your local pool.. Your bladder is getting irritating, so you dive under the water, release a ltlle , come up, pretend to do a flip, go down again and release a ltlle more..

You're right. Its hard work..

By flanostu• 23 Aug 2008 17:39
flanostu

27-10 in the rugby!!!

By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 17:37
tallg

haha!

By flanostu• 23 Aug 2008 17:32
flanostu

gerard just misses....sooo close

By flanostu• 23 Aug 2008 17:28
flanostu

all live feeds on my laptop man. trying to watch too many games, think my laptop will crash soon.

By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 17:26
tallg

flanostu - you get the football but not the rugby?

By flanostu• 23 Aug 2008 17:25
flanostu

aussie just got a gold in the diving.

aussie girls are currntly playing like crap against the US for the gold medal.

the wallabies might pull a win in SA.

the liverpool vs boro game is boring.

By diamond• 23 Aug 2008 17:22
diamond

Youcha!

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By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 17:16
tallg

In other Olympics news;

It's all be going off in the taekwondo.

Earlier today the result of a match was overturned when GB lodged an official complaint over the judging during a quarter final match.

Then in a later match, a Cuban athlete wasn't happy at being declared the loser of a match after taking too long over an injury, so he launched at the referee throwing punches and kicks at him.

Crazy stuff!

By janeyjaney• 23 Aug 2008 17:10
janeyjaney

Ahh.. water polo players.

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╬ Somebody's Heine' is crowdin' my icebox ╬

By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 17:07
tallg

The wife and I were just saying the other day that water polo must be the most tiring sport ever!

We were sat on the sofa eating ice-cream at the time.

By Scarlett• 23 Aug 2008 16:53
Scarlett

dang tough sport..used to compete in it when in college. Not only do you swim a mile or more each day to keep in shape, you have to learn to raise more than 3/4 of your body out of the water and look graceful doing it!! oh yeah..and keep in synch with the other ladies on the team! Only water sport harder is water polo...also used to play that...nothing like trying to tread water, swim and score points while not drowning...

Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,the good fortune to run into the ones I do,and the eyesight to tell the difference.

By thexonic• 23 Aug 2008 16:29
thexonic

I dont know :/

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By dweller• 23 Aug 2008 16:18
Rating: 4/5
dweller

They got nowhere near as high. No bendy poles, they were rigid and the jumpers were able to land on their feet.

In the high jump I seem to recollect that the "scissors" was the ladies technique whereas the "Western roll" was for the men. I remember doing that at school..................long time ago.

By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 16:13
tallg

Showtime is a must for rugby fans! (or Sportsnet)

Yes, I guess that makes sense Dweller. What did pole vaulters do before foam was used??? Ouch!!!

By diamond• 23 Aug 2008 16:11
diamond

Oh, interesting Dweller. Hadn't thought of that.

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By flanostu• 23 Aug 2008 16:10
flanostu

i'm resigned to live updates only for the rugby.

By dweller• 23 Aug 2008 16:09
dweller

flop only became possible when sand on the landing side was replaced with foam.

By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 16:08
tallg

I'm flicking between the volleyball, high jump and the SA v OZ rugby. And then football starts in an hour. Phew!!!

Briton just got another gold, in the boxing!

By flanostu• 23 Aug 2008 16:05
Rating: 2/5
flanostu

tallg, womens volleyball is on & is much better.

By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 15:57
tallg

Hey brit - are you watching the women's high jump at the mo? Lots of fosbery flopping women as tall as me but a million times easier on the eye.

By britexpat• 23 Aug 2008 15:42
britexpat

Got to agree with you:

The Motto is "Swifter, Higher, Stronger."

So throw out the Prima Donna sports..

By anonymous• 23 Aug 2008 15:39
anonymous

ahhh dressage is a sport best done , not watched...

By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 15:35
tallg

I personally believe that only sports where an Olympic gold medal is considered by the players to be the ultimate achievement should be allowed in the Olympics.

So get rid of;

football (world cup)

basketball (nba championship)

baseball (world series)

tennis (any grand slam)

By britexpat• 23 Aug 2008 15:34
britexpat

Haven't come to terms with Dressage, but can just about put up with Show Jumping..

By anonymous• 23 Aug 2008 15:30
anonymous

Why is football in the Olympics? do the players really give a toss if they get a medal or not!

By anonymous• 23 Aug 2008 15:29
anonymous

Dressage........dancing horses......bloody hard work!

By diamond• 23 Aug 2008 15:29
diamond

Yeah, why isn't squash an Olympic sport? Tennis, badminton...even table tennis are. I don't get that.

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By Arien• 23 Aug 2008 15:26
Arien

Brit ..Diamond is right , its called fosbery and was the last one among the three which was scissors and western. Fosbery was the most effective in terms of clearing hight compare to the old styles.

____________________________________________________

It Takes 72 Muscles to Frown...And Only 14 To Smile.

: ) Keep Smiling : )

By Ragnarock Raider• 23 Aug 2008 15:15
Rating: 3/5
Ragnarock Raider

Remember a few years ago, during the Sydney olympics...there was a swimmer from Africa (don't remember which country exactly)...he was just thrilled to be there....he was apparently from such a poor nation that they had no swimming pools. He jumped in during a qualifying heat and struggled mightlity just to get across....he finished AGES after all the other swimmers were out of the pool and dry, but got a standing Ovation nontheless....almost brought a tear to my eye!

But yes even if I personally think an event is boring, it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to represent your country in the olympics....so hats off to all participants.

Stay safe all.

Perfection does not exist. The question therefore, is: what level of imperfection are we willing to settle for?

By tallg• 23 Aug 2008 15:14
tallg

Why isn't squash in the olympics?

Squash players must be sat at home watching the dancing horses and synchronised swimmers thinking, wtf?

By britexpat• 23 Aug 2008 14:37
britexpat

You are ofcourse correct.. I was myself being a little silly..

Anyone competing in the Olympics has shown extreme levels of dedication and skill.

By Bahraini83• 23 Aug 2008 14:34
Bahraini83

hey britexpat ... good note .. but i don't think synchro-swimming is silly ... i mean it costs them huge effort .. i knew a Pourtgese who does this ... she tells me about it and its really something worths watching .. the harmony they are in combined with the music ... given the difficulty of controlling your body moves under water

diamon ... thanx for the information

By Amreen_J• 23 Aug 2008 14:26
Amreen_J

Err, with great difficulty...

By diamond• 23 Aug 2008 14:24
diamond

Heero...I don't think basketball and high jump have the same skill requirements. I kinda think you have to go with one or the other.

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By diamond• 23 Aug 2008 14:23
diamond

lol...or the latest ice-cream flavour???

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By heero_yuy2• 23 Aug 2008 14:22
heero_yuy2

I mean, he's tall, can dunk...best chance of winning.

"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

By britexpat• 23 Aug 2008 14:21
britexpat

Thanks for clearing that upi.. For a moment there I thought it was a male desease of some kind..

By diamond• 23 Aug 2008 14:15
Rating: 3/5
diamond

This is called the Fosbery Flop and helps atheletes to jump higher. It was the idea of Dick Fosbery who pioneered it at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He won the gold.

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