Outstanding Olympics over III...

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Ows's words from August 2012: "I don't want to end what has been a fantastic Olympics - especially for for Great Britain - on a sour note but...this is as good as it gets, as good as it will get: the Rio 2016 table may well have a similar top ten but we won't be third (and first or second is simply not going to happen)" [sic]. Well blow me...down with a feather. Great Britain and Northern Ireland came 2nd in the Olympic Games last month and the just completed Paralympics this month. A truly magnificent effort from everyone. Tokyo 2020...surely this is as good as it will get? :-)

Outstanding Olympics over III...

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Ows's words from August 2012: "I don't want to end what has been a fantastic Olympics - especially for for Great Britain - on a sour note but...this is as good as it gets, as good as it will get: the Rio 2016 table may well have a similar top ten but we won't be third (and first or second is simply not going to happen)" [sic]. Well blow me...down with a feather. Great Britain and Northern Ireland came 2nd in the Olympic Games last month and the just completed Paralympics this month. A truly magnificent effort from everyone. Tokyo 2020...surely this is as good as it will get? :-)

Olympic opening...

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If someone were to ask what James Brendan Bennet Connolly and the small town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire, UK had in common most would be stumped. Me too, until today: US athlete Connolly [Wiki] was the very first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic games (those games are 120 years old today) held in Athens in 1896) when he won gold in the Triple jump (he also got the silver medal High jump and bronze in the Long jump); Much Wenlock actually had hosted its own annual local 'Olympics' [The Olympian Class in 1850:

..."for the promotion of the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock and especially of the working classes, by the encouragement of outdoor recreation, and by the award of prizes annually at public meetings for skill in athletic exercise and proficiency in intellectual and industrial attainments"

"It was devised by local doctor William Penny Brookes and is still held to this day." [Indie] One of the Independent's "Five things you didn’t know about the first modern Olympic Games that took place 120 years ago" goe son to tell us that "Baron Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin visited the town in 1890 and was inspired by the townspeople participating in the Games so he founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC)". Excellent, we can claim that too :-) ... as well as "Britain is one of 4 countries (including Australia) to have participated at every games since 1896, but is the only country to have won a gold medal at every games"...if Romacitizen's comments are more fact based than the Independent's 5 points (they got one wrong!).

Olympic opening...

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If someone were to ask what James Brendan Bennet Connolly and the small town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire, UK had in common most would be stumped. Me too, until today: US athlete Connolly [Wiki] was the very first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic games (those games are 120 years old today) held in Athens in 1896) when he won gold in the Triple jump (he also got the silver medal High jump and bronze in the Long jump); Much Wenlock actually had hosted its own annual local 'Olympics' [The Olympian Class in 1850:

..."for the promotion of the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock and especially of the working classes, by the encouragement of outdoor recreation, and by the award of prizes annually at public meetings for skill in athletic exercise and proficiency in intellectual and industrial attainments"

"It was devised by local doctor William Penny Brookes and is still held to this day." [Indie] One of the Independent's "Five things you didn’t know about the first modern Olympic Games that took place 120 years ago" goe son to tell us that "Baron Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin visited the town in 1890 and was inspired by the townspeople participating in the Games so he founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC)". Excellent, we can claim that too :-) ... as well as "Britain is one of 4 countries (including Australia) to have participated at every games since 1896, but is the only country to have won a gold medal at every games"...if Romacitizen's comments are more fact based than the Independent's 5 points (they got one wrong!).

Olympian Oscar...

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So much bad news; so many famous names falling from on high: the latest is Oscar Pistorius, reaching the height of his fame at the London Olympics last year, surely the pinnacle of an amazing life. Now however, he has fallen, heavily, and judging by the evidence he doesn't have much going for him: and as I said to my son when he told me the news as it broke on St. Valentine's Day, it seems Oscar doesn't have a leg to stand on...oops.



Owsblog will continue to be quiet for a week as Ows himself undergoes bodily reparations; nothing like Krusty though (Madame Tussaud was spotted on a flight to Cuba...coincidence?).

Olympian Oscar...

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So much bad news; so many famous names falling from on high: the latest is Oscar Pistorius, reaching the height of his fame at the London Olympics last year, surely the pinnacle of an amazing life. Now however, he has fallen, heavily, and judging by the evidence he doesn't have much going for him: and as I said to my son when he told me the news as it broke on St. Valentine's Day, it seems Oscar doesn't have a leg to stand on...oops.

Owsblog will continue to be quiet for a week as Ows himself undergoes bodily reparations; nothing like Krusty though (Madame Tussaud was spotted on a flight to Cuba...coincidence?).

Our Olympians...

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London 2012: every Great Britain and Northern Ireland medal winner. Images from Politimo.

P.S. Interesting to read a post I wrote in June 2007: Olympian obscenity; all's well that ends well?

Our Olympians...

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London 2012: every Great Britain and Northern Ireland medal winner. Images from Politimo.

P.S. Interesting to read a post I wrote in June 2007: Olympian obscenity; all's well that ends well?

Outstanding Olympics over II...

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I don't want to end what has been a fantastic Olympics - especially for for Great Britain - on a sour note but...this is as good as it gets, as good as it will get: the Rio 2016 table may well have a similar top ten but we won't be third (and first or second is simply not going to happen): 65 medals in total; medals in 19 different events; gold/s in 13 of those events [Link], totally unexpected; absolutely fabulous. We have seen so many good role models the last two weeks: not spoilt football mega-rich brats, not soap opera slebs or reality TV wannabes but good strong patriotic excellence in British sportsmen and women. I hope at least part of the much mentioned legacy is to goad the UK's youngsters outside, GOAD, Go Out And Do!



Update, 13th August: opinions from around the world [BBC]

Outstanding Olympics over II...

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I don't want to end what has been a fantastic Olympics - especially for for Great Britain - on a sour note but...this is as good as it gets, as good as it will get: the Rio 2016 table may well have a similar top ten but we won't be third (and first or second is simply not going to happen): 65 medals in total; medals in 19 different events; gold/s in 13 of those events [Link], totally unexpected; absolutely fabulous. We have seen so many good role models the last two weeks: not spoilt football mega-rich brats, not soap opera slebs or reality TV wannabes but good strong patriotic excellence in British sportsmen and women. I hope at least part of the much mentioned legacy is to goad the UK's youngsters outside, GOAD, Go Out And Do!

Update, 13th August: opinions from around the world [BBC]

Olympic originals...

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Olympic success in many sports is usually down to immense natural talent and very good training ...and, as I've mentioned before, dedication, money and time. In some events, many 'marginal gains' are the Crux of the matter: "This unique process has resulted in a smaller, safer helmet that utilises its shape and structure to surpass other off-the-shelf cycle-helmet designs". Yeah, but apart from that it was still - by far and away - the coolest helmet on show.

Olympic originals...

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Olympic success in many sports is usually down to immense natural talent and very good training ...and, as I've mentioned before, dedication, money and time. In some events, many 'marginal gains' are the Crux of the matter: "This unique process has resulted in a smaller, safer helmet that utilises its shape and structure to surpass other off-the-shelf cycle-helmet designs". Yeah, but apart from that it was still - by far and away - the coolest helmet on show.

Overt obloquy....

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How can 'The Left' ever find solutions (to problems they have caused) if they simply have no idea what the actual problem is? YAB in the Independent is so far off target with her attempt to use GB's Olympic success against those do not agree with open border immigration : "Anyone who now thinks Britain is too multicultural?" LINK. "I wonder how the formidable anti-immigration prophets and campaigners react when medals are won by super-fit migrants and children of migrants"...WTF? Is she really so completely clueless as to what the immigration debate is about or "What multiculturalism really means"?

Overt obloquy....

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How can 'The Left' ever find solutions (to problems they have caused) if they simply have no idea what the actual problem is? YAB in the Independent is so far off target with her attempt to use GB's Olympic success against those do not agree with open border immigration : "Anyone who now thinks Britain is too multicultural?" LINK. "I wonder how the formidable anti-immigration prophets and campaigners react when medals are won by super-fit migrants and children of migrants"...WTF? Is she really so completely clueless as to what the immigration debate is about or "What multiculturalism really means"?

Olympian overhaul...

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"Olympics 'dominated by privately educated'" screams the headline. I ask how many of those Chinese, US, Korean, Kazakh, and Russian athletes are privately educated. Not so: Conservative politician Lord Moynihan, Chairman of the British Olympic Association [BOA] (and a gold medal winner himself: cocks cox) says that the number of British medallists that were educated at independent schools was one of the "worst statistics in British sport"; he was on about the percentage of Beijing medal winners over half of whom were from the 7% of the UK population that are privately educated. A 'Future priority' must be identifying and developing the talent from the other 93%. I would say that the fact that "The vast majority of Britain's athletes competing in London 2012 were state-educated" [DT] shows things are already being done.

Readdressing my sarcastic comment about the other countries: very few sports these days, at elite level, are simple or cheap; apart from natural talent and parental (and/or coach) support and encouragement to get the ball rolling, it takes time and money and dedication; and then more time and money and time and money and dedication. (gratuitous sexy photo of Victoria Pendleton, click for a better view)



Update: "But is the under-representation of state-school-educated athletes in Britain's Olympic medal table really down to the sharp elbows of the posh? Or is it down to the retiring of the competitive ethos and the rise of a culture of low expectations in state schools themselves? I think it's the latter. [so do I!!] Just as state-school pupils are no longer considered capable of learning Latin or of reading too many classic texts that are not "relevant" to their lives, so they are also considered incapable of handling the pressures of competitive sport. On many state-school playing fields, all-out, hardcore competition, the ideal of being the best and proving you are the best, is frowned upon as inappropriate, as potentially giving rise to an unacceptable social divide between "winners" and "losers". State-school sports lessons are now more about boosting kids' self-esteem and shrinking their waistlines than about encouraging them to be singular, head-strong winners – and that is not conducive to creating future Olympians." Brendan O'Neill, State School attitudes...[Link]

Olympian overhaul...

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"Olympics 'dominated by privately educated'" screams the headline. I ask how many of those Chinese, US, Korean, Kazakh, and Russian athletes are privately educated. Not so: Conservative politician Lord Moynihan, Chairman of the British Olympic Association [BOA] (and a gold medal winner himself: cocks cox) says that the number of British medallists that were educated at independent schools was one of the "worst statistics in British sport"; he was on about the percentage of Beijing medal winners over half of whom were from the 7% of the UK population that are privately educated. A 'Future priority' must be identifying and developing the talent from the other 93%. I would say that the fact that "The vast majority of Britain's athletes competing in London 2012 were state-educated" [DT] shows things are already being done. Readdressing my sarcastic comment about the other countries: very few sports these days, at elite level, are simple or cheap; apart from natural talent and parental (and/or coach) support and encouragement to get the ball rolling, it takes time and money and dedication; and then more time and money and time and money and dedication. (gratuitous sexy photo of Victoria Pendleton, click for a better view)

Update: "But is the under-representation of state-school-educated athletes in Britain's Olympic medal table really down to the sharp elbows of the posh? Or is it down to the retiring of the competitive ethos and the rise of a culture of low expectations in state schools themselves? I think it's the latter. [so do I!!] Just as state-school pupils are no longer considered capable of learning Latin or of reading too many classic texts that are not "relevant" to their lives, so they are also considered incapable of handling the pressures of competitive sport. On many state-school playing fields, all-out, hardcore competition, the ideal of being the best and proving you are the best, is frowned upon as inappropriate, as potentially giving rise to an unacceptable social divide between "winners" and "losers". State-school sports lessons are now more about boosting kids' self-esteem and shrinking their waistlines than about encouraging them to be singular, head-strong winners – and that is not conducive to creating future Olympians." Brendan O'Neill, State School attitudes...[Link]

Orinico oro...

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Happy birthday today to Ruben Limardo Gascon whose gold medal win in the men's individual epee on Wednesday was totally unexpected a few weeks ago; only Venezuela's second ever Olympic gold. Inolvidable, unforgettable. A cutting comment was "Not an irrelevant victory in Venezuela’s election year" [Bloomberg]. The last gold medal for Venezuela was won by Francisco Rodriguez for boxing (flyweight) in the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Four years ago, in Beijing, Ruben came 23rd but had improved to be 12th seed for London 2012...



He dedicated half his medal to Poland where he has lived and trained for eight years although he also dedicated it to his mother, his coach, (and uncle),Venezuela and last but not least (maybe), Chavez! The image is from El Universal; more great photos HERE. It's worth mentioning that Bartosz Piasecki's silver was the first fencing medal for Norway and in the men’s foil, the Olympic title went to China (first medal ever in the event), the silver went to Egypt (its first fencing medal) and the bronze to South Korea (another first)! the times they are a-changing.



Update: I knew it: he thanked Chavez and raved about his help and - sure as eggs is eggs - on Monday 6th, when Ruben returns to Venezuela, you can bet it will be Chavez soaking up the electoral benefits, despite the 'Chavez dominated Electoral Board' doing all they can to stop the opposition [Devil's Excrement]; however, back in March Ruben was decrying the fact that he had qualified with NO support form the Sports Ministry and that Chavez must know about that.

Orinico oro...

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Happy birthday today to Ruben Limardo Gascon whose gold medal win in the men's individual epee on Wednesday was totally unexpected a few weeks ago; only Venezuela's second ever Olympic gold. Inolvidable, unforgettable. A cutting comment was "Not an irrelevant victory in Venezuela’s election year" [Bloomberg]. The last gold medal for Venezuela was won by Francisco Rodriguez for boxing (flyweight) in the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Four years ago, in Beijing, Ruben came 23rd but had improved to be 12th seed for London 2012...

He dedicated half his medal to Poland where he has lived and trained for eight years although he also dedicated it to his mother, his coach, (and uncle),Venezuela and last but not least (maybe), Chavez! The image is from El Universal; more great photos HERE. It's worth mentioning that Bartosz Piasecki's silver was the first fencing medal for Norway and in the men’s foil, the Olympic title went to China (first medal ever in the event), the silver went to Egypt (its first fencing medal) and the bronze to South Korea (another first)! the times they are a-changing.

Update: I knew it: he thanked Chavez and raved about his help and - sure as eggs is eggs - on Monday 6th, when Ruben returns to Venezuela, you can bet it will be Chavez soaking up the electoral benefits, despite the 'Chavez dominated Electoral Board' doing all they can to stop the opposition [Devil's Excrement]; however, back in March Ruben was decrying the fact that he had qualified with NO support form the Sports Ministry and that Chavez must know about that.

Olympic opening opus...

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Well, maybe not an opus but certainly worth a read: the whole article is spot on IMHO: Ian Birrel in the Evening Standard: "After Danny Boyle’s rose-tinted NHS homage, Coalition attempts at its essential overhaul could be political suicide"...

"Meanwhile the case for reform grows more urgent, the funding choices more stark. Ironically, the end result is that a sentimental segment of an otherwise exhilarating Olympic ceremony will only make it that much harder to save the very institution put on show with such pride to the world."

Update: and just in case any of you were in doubt*: "Labour politicians yesterday hailed the Olympic opening ceremony as a ‘socialist’ event and ‘the best advert for the party for years".



*What did anyone expect from a Marxist?

Olympic opening opus...

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Well, maybe not an opus but certainly worth a read: the whole article is spot on IMHO: Ian Birrel in the Evening Standard: "After Danny Boyle’s rose-tinted NHS homage, Coalition attempts at its essential overhaul could be political suicide"...

"Meanwhile the case for reform grows more urgent, the funding choices more stark. Ironically, the end result is that a sentimental segment of an otherwise exhilarating Olympic ceremony will only make it that much harder to save the very institution put on show with such pride to the world."

Update: and just in case any of you were in doubt*: "Labour politicians yesterday hailed the Olympic opening ceremony as a ‘socialist’ event and ‘the best advert for the party for years".

*What did anyone expect from a Marxist?