Olympics: 2022 Beijing Olympics

[nameless1]

Personally...
I am sick of the IOC myself.
It is on par with FIFA.

 

[Eisen]

She is too well-coached in some of her responses...
And it is clear she is given privileges even other similarly recruited athletes do not enjoy...
But I have been really impressed by her performances.

In Big Air...
She was behind with one last run...
But she still went for it and tried a trick she never attempted in competition.
In Slopestyles...
She fell...
But she picked herself up and delivered a silver run.
Then she just dominated in Halfpipe.
She did all of that...
When the Chinese government made her the unofficial face of its Olympic games...
And subsequently has 1.3 billion pair of eyes on her.
I cannot imagine the immense pressure she is under...
And she still did it all with a smile.
She is unflappable as they come...
So she will be fine.
She treats her education as high as her skiing...
If not more.
For the longest time...
Skiing was more of a hobby.

I will encourage you to read more about her...
Especially her mom.
They have a plan...
And so far...
It has worked out beautifully.
People always say that she will make as much in U.S...
But I disagree.
She gained a lot more sponsors after her switch...
And her sponsorship fees more than double since 2019...
Now at an estimated 2.5 million per brand.
With this 2 gold and 1 silver performance...
It might just double again.

They piss me off.

 

[Havre]

Eckhoff doing so well, but of course she gets 7ms and Oberg is down to below 2ms.

Should be more even in the last shooting at least.

 

[Civetty]

Sweden been very disappointing both in cross-country and biathlon this year.

 

[Havre]

Could still get three more golds though!

But yeah. Sweden have been disappointing. Especially for the female biathletes.

 

[GQS]

She is too well-coached in some of her responses...
And it is clear she is given privileges even other similarly recruited athletes do not enjoy...
But I have been really impressed by her performances.

Maybe she was given better treatment than others, maybe not but its clear she's a hard worker and she has talent and can deliver in the clutch at least in these Olympics. So whoever believed in her and helped her along, the investment has paid off.

 

[nameless1]

Maybe she was given better treatment than others, maybe not but its clear she's a hard worker and she has talent and can deliver in the clutch at least in these Olympics. So whoever believed in her and helped her along, the investment has paid off.

She is talented...
No doubt...
And her run was indeed the best today...
But it is clear that she is given special treatment.

There is the citizenship question...
And then there is the VPN comment that could have caused trouble...
But the Chinese government censured it for her before any backlash...
And did not punish her for it.

It is what it is.
The Chinese diaspora in San Francisco knows how calculated her mom is.
Her family had a plan...
But Gu herself had to deliver...
And she has indeed done her part.
Now she gets to reap the benefit.

 

[GQS]

But it is clear that she is given special treatment.

Talented people usually do get special treatment. When you're seen as valuable, people will often bend the rules and help you out more. Its always been that way.

Also congrats on Gushue bouncing back to win the bronze so that we don't totally get shutout in curling.

 

[nameless1]

Talented people usually do get special treatment. When you're seen as valuable, people will often bend the rules and help you out more. Its always been that way.

Yeah...
That is the reality of the world...
But Gu's treatment goes above and beyond.
Rumour has it that Gu's family is relatively connected...
And her mentor...
Who is basically the first to bring freestyle skiing to China...
And the first person to build and own ski resorts...
Is even more connected.
He introduced Gu to all the right people...
Got a couple of sponsorship for her himself and increased her brand value...
And paved the way for Gu to represent China.

Gu is extremely talented...
No doubt...
And she has nerves of steel...
But her path is one calculated move after another.
It is not so simple in her case.

Also congrats on Gushue bouncing back to win the bronze so that we don't totally get shutout in curling.

Yes.
23 for Canada.

There is a contender in Mass Pursuit...
And there might be chances in bobsleigh...
So I hope I am wrong...
And Canada exceed my prediction.

 

[Havre]

You mean Gow? Anything can happen in these conditions I guess.

It will be good for Trudeau to have something Olympic related to tweet about

 

[Albatros]

Rumour has it that Gu's family is relatively connected...

Her grandma did career as a relatively high-ranking Communist Party official which essentially enabled her to become the model athlete and receive favorable treatment in every regard from early on.

 

[Havre]

Two Gows in the top 3

 

[GQS]

Gu is extremely talented...
No doubt...
And she has nerves of steel...
But her path is one calculated move after another.
It is not so simple in her case.

Well if her path was laid out for her, then good for her on capitalizing on it. Even if she started off in poverty from the bottom, it seems like she would've still did fine for herself as long as she has her work ethic and smarts.

There is a contender in Mass Pursuit...
And there might be chances in bobsled...
So I hope I am wrong...
And Canada exceed my prediction.

I enjoy watching the bobsledding and it seems like we have a decent chance at winning a medal in the 2 woman bobsled starting shortly this morning.

 

[nameless1]

You mean Gow? Anything can happen in these conditions I guess.

It will be good for Trudeau to have something Olympic related to tweet about

I actually meant speed skating...
But hey...
I love to be wrong in this case.

 

[Havre]

Ah. Crazy conditions in the Biathlon today. Gow could actually win this. Standing will be complete bingo like for the women. Anyone's guess who will manage these conditions. One or two probably will. Gow is a great shooter at times so...

 

[nameless1]

Well if her path was laid out for her, then good for her on capitalizing on it. Even if she started off in poverty from the bottom, it seems like she would've still did fine for herself as long as she has her work ethic and smarts.

I do not doubt her work ethics...
And she is smart...
But she is the product of being well-off.
For one...
She goes to a 50 thousand per year school.
In her case...
Hard work is just half the battle.

Honestly...
I do not know how to feel about her.
She says all the right things...
And I am impressed by her ability to get through pressure we cannot imagine...
But she just feels manufactured to me.
I will wish her the best...
Regardless.
She is a name we will hear about for years to come...
I imagine.

 

[nameless1]

Ah. Crazy conditions in the Biathlon today. Gow could actually win this. Standing will be complete bingo like for the women. Anyone's guess who will manage these conditions. One or two probably will. Gow is a great shooter at times so...

He is on fire this Olympics.
Any medal color will be a win.

 

[Havre]

J. Bø is hit or miss on the last shooting. Normally he should win this now, but he can easily miss 3 - or he might just smash 5 down. Impossible to predict.

 

[Civetty]

J. Bø is hit or miss on the last shooting. Normally he should win this now, but he can easily miss 3 - or he might just smash 5 down. Impossible to predict.

Yeah, he been going very fast though which increases the chances for error.

 

[Havre]

Yeah, he been going very fast though which increases the chances for error.

Somewhat. He is usually the fastest when he is in form.

His style is to be aggressive. Which has obviously worked well for him. I don't think it works for him to take it a bit more "slow".

 

[Havre]

He might have survived even with 3.

Norway - Sweden - Norway. Would be perfect.

 

[Civetty]

Well, he made up well for the misses in time on the track. Should be 2 norwegian medals and a Swedish silver.

 

[Oberyn Martell]

German biathlon is just a mess. It's awful. Unfortunately we got 2 lucky medals, so there wont be any changes and same will continue the next years

 

[Havre]

German biathlon is just a mess. It's awful. Unfortunately we got 2 lucky medals, so there wont be any changes and same will continue the next years

Yeah. You had some many good ones, but it seems like you haven't been able to replace them.

Norway had a fantastic generation with Bjørndalen, Svendsen etc. - and you thought they wouldn't be able to replace them, but now the team might be stronger than ever. Even when Dale has completely lost it.

 

[Havre]

5 Norwegian medals today. I would have expected 1-3. A shame Eckhoff couldn't win, but credit to Bouchet. The way she won was oh so impressive.