News: 2024 Olympics thread

When one thinks about it... what McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke do in the 400 m hurdle run is mind boggling.
Both run a time that's faster than needed to qualify for the normal 400 m run.

 

https://www.metronieuws.nl/in-het-n...se-media-lyrisch-femke-bol-goud-estafette-br/
Foreign media rave about Femke Bol's golden race (and the videos are even more fun)

Foreign media are short of superlatives to praise Femke Bol. "Bionic Bol" was called the Dutch athlete by the French channel RF1. Dutch fans (and people who may rarely watch athletics) enjoy videos with foreign commentary. Femke Bol 'flew' past three competitors last night at the Olympic Games in Paris with an amazing final lap of 47.93 seconds. She raced to the unexpected gold medal in the 4×400 meter mixed relay. Of course, three other Dutch athletes had their nice share: Lieke Klaver, Eugene Omalla and Isaya Klein Ikkink. Social media can't stop talking about Femke Bol and her relay colleagues. One more time, the whole race:

Femke Bol and Usain Bolt, 'it's just a t' "Lightning bolt Bol", the British newspaper The Guardian described the performance of the Amersfoort native on the purple athletics track of the Stade de France. "Her round was mind-boggling to watch. The sport needs stars like Usain Bolt once was. It saves a 't' in her name." The American channel NBC couldn't get enough of repeating the video with the finish of Femke Bol. "Bol turns on the turbo. Like a rocket, she went from fourth to second place in a matter of seconds before overtaking the last runner from the United States and giving the Netherlands a historic title."
etc.

 

I wonder what the eyeball count is going to be for the McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bolt show down is going to be after this whipped up expectations even further.

 

I wonder what would have been possible regarding a world record if our fastest 400 meter runner Bonevacia could have been part of it.
We were just a few tenth of seconds slower than that USA record.

Liemarvin Bonevacia has suffered a serious leg injury. As a result, TeamNL's 400-meter specialist will not participate in the Olympic Games in Paris. In Tokyo, he won silver in the 4x400-meter relay team three years ago. On July 14 in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland, Bonevacia set a personal best in the 200 meters (20.38) and showed his top form in the 400 meters (44.99). After that, however, things went wrong for the athlete of TeamNL. "I don't know exactly when it happened, because it didn't go in. My hamstring was very stiff after Le Chaux and it stayed that way. As it turned out, I just walked with a tear in my tendon," he says in conversation with De Telegraaf.

 

Holland is traditionally a sailing nation. For centuries.

At the Olympics 'we' are so good that we win gold medals days before the actual 'medal races'. This Olympics but also the editions before.

Impressive.

Worthy successors of Grotius (mare liberum).

 

Did we win gold in basket ball?

 

Funny, because I thought, despite Dutch being about the tallest people on earth, we suck at basketball.

 

718


The most rewarding medals are the unexpected ones.

 

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One second to go and one point behind. This was the only option left. This had to be the "TWO POINTS SHOT".....and he delivered!!!!

 

To be honest it would have been a miracle if she got gold. Those two ahead of her were without a doubt the favorites for the golden medal.
It's a brazen endeavour in the first place, with the two other runs she has planned. She also seems a bit out of form the last month, so it could become a bit of a let down.

 

She didn't train for this distance and also had to start from far back.

The Ethiopians and Kenyans packed the first six places, plus some other countries in the mix. That's the advantage countries with multiple runners have, they can cause a kind of blockade and stretch the field. Strong individuals typically have to start their push from further back.

Hasan her pure speed was a fraction lower as the top two, but not by much. Also see the gap with #4 in the race. Just watch the final lap and the last two straights.

She was initially promoted to silver but she herself objected to this result.

 

From the newspaper yesterday (the athletics 'expert'):

[... starts with Duplantis (Sweden) the pole vaulter...]

There was also domestic success. Sifan Hassan won bronze in the five thousand meters yesterday, briefly got silver, and then bronze again. What happened there?

There would have been obstruction during the match. Kenyan Faith Kipyegon is said to have hindered Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay and was therefore disqualified. As a result, Hassan received silver, but the so-called obstruction was not visible at all on the images. Tsegay actually made a mistake by running at Kipyegon's feet and the Kenyan association therefore filed a protest. An hour and a half after the match, that protest was accepted, meaning Hassan ended up with bronze again.

'The thing was that Hassan was not at all happy with that silver medal. She thought it was unfair that Kipyegon had been disqualified and it did not matter to the athlete what kind of medal she would receive. Even gold was not her biggest goal, because she already won gold in the 5,000 meters in Tokyo three years ago. She didn't need another gold medal.

'Hassan is now mainly thinking about Sunday morning's marathon. She has trained the most for that, but she still has a pretty full program for that. She will run the 10,000 meters on Friday, so she will be quite tired on Sunday. It is not entirely clear why she plans things so fully when she thinks the marathon is the most important. She says herself that she is curious about what her body can handle and that she does not really compete for the prizes.'

Tonight Femke Bol will run in the semi-finals of the 400 meter hurdles. What do you expect from her and what else is planned today?

'Femke Bol has an unprecedented level. Only she is unlucky that her American competitor Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is even better. Just like Bol, McLaughlin can jog through the preliminary rounds, so to speak, and they both run much better than the rest, even when they are ill. McLaughlin is a dedicated specialist on this distance, Bol is not.

'First and second places are actually already fixed. Gold for McLaughlin and silver for Bol. Sometimes I have the impression that people in the Netherlands think that Bol will win gold, but if that happens, it will be really special.

 

Incredible levels of amateurism at the 400 meters and also the men events.

Complete flop, false start and now the coaches say themselves running 5 races/heats is maybe a bit too much... It was thought this was possible, until it wasn't.

 

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Femke uses a special breathing technique to enhance her oxygen intake:
https://sportnieuws.nl/atletiek/nie...-is-ook-iets-aan-te-doen-2024080705325246399/
The 24-year-old Bol uses a technique that is also used by vocal coaches to turn people into better singers. Van Rijckevorsel knows this, because he also runs a music school. "Unconsciously or consciously, but I think it's definitely trained. Because in her category, there is no such thing as coincidence. Femke breathes miraculously fast and high below her larynx, so high in the chest. Her breathing pattern and her vocal cords work together, pulling that diaphragm up and providing tremendous energy."

https://kobi5.com/news/us-and-world-news/sydney-mclaughlin-levrone-vs-femke-bol-chapter-3-244222/

 

Just watched the ladies with a nice comeback in the semifinal against Spain in water polo. But lost on penalties, of course. Name a more toxic combo, the Dutch and penalties.

 

6-1 behind, then 14-14 after the final whistle.

Losing on penalties indeed. What else.

Shoot-outs in hockey often also a disaster.