2016 Summer Olympics in Rio

[Kristian]

Rio was always cool ....when i was there...and I love Rio

Big city Rio de Janiero or what.

 

[Alex.]

I wanna go, but am kinda concerned about all the shit there


I Go to Rio Peter Allen

 

[waltky]

Rio Olympics kidnappers arrested...

Rio police arrested over alleged athlete kidnapping
Wednesday 27th July, 2016: Two armed police officers accused of briefly kidnapping and extorting a New Zealand jiu-jitsu athlete in Rio de Janeiro have been arrested, said Brazil's Military Police (PM) on Tuesday (Jul 26).

"The case is under rigorous investigation and if proven, the two officers will face disciplinary administrative proceedings that will judge whether they should be excluded from corporation," said a PM statement. "The Military Police do not tolerate any misconduct and such acts sadden the 50,000 honest police who fight crime daily."

According to Lee, he was returning from a jiu-jitsu tournament in a rental car when he was stopped by two men in police uniform riding motorbikes. They demanded 2,000 reais (US$608) as a fine, saying his documents were not in order "What did you guys get up to yesterday? I got kidnapped. Go Olympics!" tweeted Jason Lee a martial arts expert who is studying Brazilian jiujitsu, which is not an Olympic sport.

What did you guys get up to yesterday?
I got kidnapped. Go Olympics!#Rio2016
— Jason Lee (@jasonleejitsu) 24 July 2016

Lee told the New Zealand news site stuff.co.nz that when he explained he did not have that much money, the apparent police then escorted him to a police post and made him to get into an unmarked car to drive with one of them to an ATM. According to Lee, when he went to report the incident at a police station later, he was told by an officer there "even we are afraid" of the officers who allegedly carried out the assault. Some 85,000 police and soldiers are being deployed for the Olympics - double the number used in the 2012 London Games - as the authorities try to put a lid on rampant street crime.

Rio police arrested over alleged athlete kidnapping

 

[longknife]

The outdoor water venues are toxic dumps, most of the athlete's housing is not ready for occupancy, the athletes are not safe outside of Olympic village. Why the hell would anyone want to go there to participate - or watch?

 

[Abishai100]

Men's Field Hockey TV

I'm excited to see the men's field hockey competition. The rankings are very intriguing. Holland, India, Germany, and Argentina should all be very competitive.

It should make for nice sports-casting...


Outdoor FIH Rankings

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd says if dey'd had BB gun shootin' when he was a kid - he'd a won the gold, silver, an' bronze...

Shooting: American teenager Thrasher wins first gold of Games
August 6, 2016 - Unflappable American teenager Virginia Thrasher won the first gold medal of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Saturday, holding her nerve against two Chinese Olympic champions to clinch the women's 10m air rifle event.

The 19-year-old U.S. college champion edged out China's Du Li, gold in Athens in 2004, with an Olympic-record score of 208 in the sport's new finals format. Defending Olympic champion Yi Siling, also of China, took the bronze medal. Competing in her first Olympics, Thrasher, as the first champion of the 2016 Games, was awarded her medal by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and said the achievement was beyond her wildest dreams.

The youngest of the eight finalists by several years, Thrasher established an early lead after battling with the Russian shooter Daria Vdovina, who stumbled midway through the competition and finished fifth. "About halfway through when I took the lead it kind of became clear to me that I was in contention for a medal, but I quickly pushed that thought away and focused on breathing and taking one shot at a time," Thrasher said.

2016 Rio Olympics - Shooting - Final - Women's 10m Air Rifle Finals - Olympic Shooting Centre - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 06/08/2016. Virginia Thrasher (USA) of USA reacts​

Thrasher learned to love shooting while hunting deer with her grandfather when she was in eighth grade. "I got my first deer and I liked the adrenaline of pulling the trigger," she said. She then joined her high school air rifle team and was recruited by West Virginia University, where she became a national collegiate champion as a freshman this year. With her non-nonsense style, Thrasher seemed unfazed by her seasoned field and consistently scored in the 10 points target area over the 20 rounds.

Afterwards, she noted that she had not attended the Olympics' opening ceremony Friday night and had instead gone to bed early for her Olympic debut. Like all American shooters, Thrasher faced the inevitable question of what she thinks about gun control in the United States, a hot-button issue in this election year. She responded matter of factly that the controversy over guns in America "really is just distracting from our sport, which is very different."

Shooting: American teenager Thrasher wins first gold of Games

 

[waltky]

Granny says dey look like Chinese hickeys...

What Are Those Strange Spots on Olympic Athletes?
August 08, 2016 - If you watched American swimmer Michael Phelps take the starting block in Sunday’s men’s 4x100 freestyle relay, you may have noticed several circular marks on his torso.

Other athletes have posted photos on social media of themselves with similar markings. Turns out the circles are caused by a technique called cupping, which entails having small cups placed on their skin. A pump sucks the air out creating enough suction to pull the skin into the cup, causing the markings.

Michael Phelps shakes hands with Nathan Adrian from the United States as they celebrate after winning the gold medal in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics​

Some athletes swear by cupping as a good way to recover quickly after training. Others say it increases the blood flow to sore muscles, easing the pain. Cupping dates back to at least ancient Egypt, according to the medical website WebMD.It has also been used in Chinese and Middle Eastern medicine.

The marks can last up to two weeks. Cupping appeared to have worked for Phelps in the relay race as he swam an impressive second leg, vaulting the U.S. team to the gold.

What Are Those Strange Spots on Olympic Athletes?

See also:

Olympians Cope with Rio Water Issues
August 07, 2016 — It's no secret that the quality of the ocean and bay waters where some of the Rio Olympics sporting events are taking place are far from ideal.

But many officials and athletes are trying to make the best of the situation now that the games are here and events are happening. “We've been getting water reports from the World Health Organization every month for the last year and we feel very confident that this is going to be a great event,” Sid Cassidy told VOA. Cassidy is the head referee for men's Marathon Swimming which will take place August 16 in the Atlantic Ocean off renowned Copacabana Beach. The women compete in their race the day before. The marathon swim is contested in open water where the athletes do four loops that total 10 kilometers.

Rio Olympics Filthy Water: Thrash floats on the water of Botafogo beach next to the Sugar Loaf mountain and the Guanabara Bay where sailing athletes will compete during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil​

A highly-ranked marathon swimmer himself decades ago, Cassidy says most swimmers will naturally ingest some water during part of the approximately two-hour race. “I think most of them will wear earplugs and take the precautions that they can in advance with any kind of prophylactic drugs that are coming out to prevent any kind of diseases from coming through. But to tell you the truth, I've been in this game since the 1970s and we've seen a lot of events in the last 40 or 50 years in much, much worse water quality than this.” Cassidy said representatives were sent to Rio last year for an Olympic test event where well over 100 racers competed, and they were pleased with what he called the “diligence at the beach.” He said the water quality in the ocean is not as big of an issue as it is for the sailors who will compete in Guanabara Bay, where raw sewage enters daily.

He said naturally there's concern for every athlete about any health issues in Rio, be it the water or the Zika virus. “I think sometimes things get a little blown up in the media,” Cassidy remarked. “One media group tries to make a bigger train wreck (blows it more out of proportion) than the next. They understand in a sport like swimming, this is our Super Bowl, this is our biggie, this is our World Cup if you are a soccer player. There's nothing bigger than an Olympic gold medal for a swimmer, as they've put years and years of training into it. And they've put their faith and trust into the people that are leading this event and we're very excited. We're thinking that we're going to be okay.” A bigger issue than the coastal Atlantic is Guanabara Bay, where the Olympic sailing events will take place this week. While it is extremely scenic, what is in the water is not so pleasant, as it is laced with raw sewage that flows into it every day. It was not sufficiently cleaned up before the Rio Summer Games as promised.

A man washes himself in the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil​

But there's nothing the athletes can do at this point except take precautions. Switzerland's Maja Siegenthaler, who will be competing in her first Olympics in the women's 470 sailing event, told VOA it's something they just have to deal with. “There are other places in the world I have been sailing and there the water is dirty as well. And obviously we can't change it. We have to handle it. We clean our hands. We take showers. We took all the steps to prevent illness. And actually for everybody it's the same, and we will not think about it during sailing,” she said. “Especially for the mind it's important to stay flexible,” said her Swiss teammate Yannick Brauchli, who sails in the men's 470 class. “That's most important, not to get angry because of this. Of course it's there, the rubbish and everything, and everyone can hit something. It's really just like that and you need to be flexible.”

Olympians Cope with Rio Water Issues

 

[longknife]

Cupping has been a big deal for centuries.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Got the NBC Olympics app. Seems like it has everything. I don't know why it only is rated 2 1/2 stars. Guess I'll see.

 

[Lewdog]

So yeah... Rio is a joke. An Olympian gets robbed and assaulted.

Judo medalist beaten up while celebrating on Copacabana Beach

 

[Toro]

When did ping pong become an Olympic sport?