vancouver winter olympics/paralympics 2010 thread

[HANDYMAN]

Vancouver Olympic Games Medals Results Sports : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
starts this saturday, 12th feb.
anbody going to be watching any of this ?
i know i will be catching as much as i can.
out of all the events i think there's only figure skating that doesn'y interest me.

and i'll be watching the paralympics with even more interest.
Paralympic Games : Vancouver 2010 Winter Paralympics

[piazza]

I love the Olympics, psyched for the hockey.

[Moon Utd]

I love most sports, and do really like the Winter games. I remember back in early 2002 I spent two weeks in a beach hotel north of Miami, Florida. I could sit by the pool and have the TV in the doorway showing the Salt Lake City events! Quite amusing sunbathing while watching fun in the snow on the telly!

And there are other reasons to keep watching!

[HANDYMAN]

anyone else remember 'eddie the eagle' ? lol.

[Moon Utd]

anyone else remember 'eddie the eagle' ? lol.

Is it a bird, is it a plane?? No it's Eddie trying to see through milk bottle glasses, hurtling down the ski jump hill to finish about forty metres behind the competition! A legend of our time!



I loved his attitude and optimism, and sheer bravery for taking part when if I remember correctly, he had to practice on skates strapped to a couple of planks in his back garden! Is that true or urban myth!?

[HANDYMAN]

if i remember right he jumped better and further than any of the other team gb members. 59.0m. lol

[Carlo]

Eddy The Eagle is a legend. One of our all time great sportsmen!!

[HANDYMAN]

he had to practice on skates strapped to a couple of planks in his back garden! Is that true or urban myth!?

i think that is a bit of a myth mate. i think he practiced on indoor ski jump ramps though.
since i mentioned him i had to check to see what he had acheived and was quite surprised.


he was the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping
he was the british ski jumping record holder (73.5m)
he was the world number nine in amateur speed skiing (106.8mph)
and the stunt jumping world record holder (10 cars/6 buses).
he was very short sighted, requiring him to wear his glasses at all times, even though when skiing they fogged to such an extent that he could not even see.

his story makes for very interesting reading.

[sunny]

Didn't they have to ship snow in?

[HANDYMAN]

Winter Olympics 2010 set to begin in Vancouver

Vancouver will welcome some 2,500 athletes to the 2010 Winter Olympics at Friday's opening ceremony.

Financial worries and a lack of snow have hampered preparations, but the focus now switches to the competitors.

Canada could earn their first ever home Olympic gold medal on Saturday, while Team GB's 52 athletes have been set a target of three medals of any colour.

"We're keen to mark the beginning of a new era for winter sports in Britain," said British chef de mission Andy Hunt.

"It is extraordinary to have the number of athletes in the team that we do.

"We haven't set a specific medal target - our real target is for every athlete to achieve their personal best."

While the British Olympic Association (BOA) is playing down medal targets, funding body UK Sport expects a three-medal return on its investment.

That pales in comparison to the pressure facing the host nation's team of 206 athletes, competing across the Games' 15 sports over 17 days.

The Canadian team has defined a successful Games as winning more medals than any other nation - rather than necessarily aiming for more golds than other countries - with the men's ice hockey final considered a must-win showpiece event by home supporters.

Leading Canada's charge is 37-year-old speed skater Clara Hughes, who will carry her country's flag at the opening ceremony. A former cyclist, she has both Summer and Winter Olympic medals to her name.

Of the 82 nations expected to take part, the United States and Germany should also be close contenders both in terms of gold medals, where Norway also feature, and overall medal count.

The US team of 216 athletes is the largest at the Vancouver Games and is fronted by talismanic skiing sensation Lindsey Vonn.
BBC Sport - Vancouver 2010 - Winter Olympics 2010 set to begin in Vancouver

[KezMUFC94]

Georgian Luge Competitor Dies in 95mph Crash.

BBC Sport - Vancouver 2010 - Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili dies after crash

The death of a luge competitor who left the track at high speed has cast a shadow over the Winter Olympics in Canada ahead of the opening ceremony.

Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili's sled flipped and he smashed into a steel pole at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

An Olympic official later confirmed the 21-year-old had died as a result.

Training was immediately suspended after the accident, which happened just hours before the ceremony to open the 21st Winter Games in Vancouver.

Kumaritashvili's sled struck the inside of the track's final turn, sending his body into the air and over a concrete wall.

His sled remained on the track, and the visor from his helmet appeared to continue down the ice.

"Georgian slider Nodar Kumaritashvili has had a serious crash in the final run of official training for the men's singles on Friday," said an official statement initially released.

"He fell out of the track when he crashed. He was treated on site by medical staff who administered CPR, and was then taken away in an ambulance."

German International Olympic Committee official Thomas Bach later confirmed Kumaritashvili had died as a result of his injuries.

The track at Whistler, which is shared by the sports of luge, skeleton and bobsleigh, already has a reputation as one of the fastest - and most dangerous - in the world.

In the build-up to the Games several teams had raised concerns about the safety of athletes, who regularly exceed 90mph as they compete.

Before Kumaritashvili's crash, British skeleton slider Amy Williams told BBC Sport: "I just hope Whistler is safe and that there aren't too many crashes and serious injuries."

Australia's Hannah Campbell-Pegg added: "I think they are pushing it a little too much.

"To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives."

Their comments followed earlier accidents, including one involving gold medal favourite Armin Zoeggeler of Italy and several during women's luge training runs on Wednesday.

Among those to crash was Romania's Violeta Stramaturaru, who was knocked unconscious for a few minutes and taken to hospital.

British skeleton's performance director, Andi Schmid, said a lack of track time for athletes in the run-up to the Games had increased the risk of accidents.

"I would say especially for speed sports you need to have more access to tracks and whoever organises the Olympics needs to offer that," said Schmid during preparations for the Games.

"Not only so that everyone has a fair chance but also because of the danger. We need to be careful so that these sports stay great action sports and don't become dangerous killer sports.

"I'm not saying that will happen but some athletes from other nations are less experienced."

Kumaritashvili competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings.

Members of the International Luge Federation were asked to attend a briefing following the crash, and team captains from each nation attended an emergency meeting.

Prior to the Vancouver Games, no Winter Olympic athlete had been killed during an event.

But the 1964 Games in Innsbruck were overshadowed by the deaths of two competitors before it began.

British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski was killed during practice two weeks before on the Igls Olympic track, and Australian skier Ross Milne was died during training for the same Games.

A minute's silence for the pair was observed at the opening ceremony.

[HANDYMAN]

terrible news to read that he died.
casts a bit of a shadow over the whole games.

RIP


just reading that georgia may pull out of the games now.

[haggler]

got to be a bit mad to skid a 95 mph down an ice tube on a tin tray ----ski jumpers are just as mad slide down that great big hill then fly off the end to land on packed snow ---mmmmmmmmmmm nutters one and all -sad to hear about the death but this is dangerous shit

[HANDYMAN]

just seen the crash, on live leek. horrible.

[piazza]

Canada will forever be in the shadow of the United States of America.

[Diosa]

The most stupid Olympic Games I've ever seen

[HANDYMAN]

Canada will forever be in the shadow of the United States of America.

really ?

i see the canadian womens hockey team beat the usa 2-0 in the final.

Ice Hockey: Canada beats US, capture third straight gold - AFP News : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

I love the Olympics, psyched for the hockey.

i take it you'll be watching the final that starts soon ?
should be a cracking game to watch.


it's been a really great olympics this year, some thrilling stuff to watch.

[HANDYMAN]

and canada men beat usa 3-2 in overtime in the hockey final. great game.

canada got more golds than any other host nation in the history of the winter olympics.

well done to them, they put on a great games this year.

canada > usa.

[piazza]

We set the record for most medals in the history of the winter olympics.

Also, the Canadian women's celebration after their hockey gold was the highlight of the games for me.

[moondog]

and canada men beat usa 3-2 in overtime in the hockey final. great game.

canada got more golds than any other host nation in the history of the winter olympics.

well done to them, they put on a great games this year.

canada > usa.

Actually we won more gold medals than any country ever in the winter olympics (not just by a host country).

As for the hockey, I found it a little embarrassing. We should have completely romped through that tournament, yet we struggled in every game that mattered except for the QF against the Russians. We were playing at home and had the best group of players (on paper) by a mile. Hell, we left 15 guys off the team who were in the top 40 in NHL scoring.

What made it worse is that we were almost beaten in the gold medal game by a team (the USA) that most Canadians would have been very proud of. They were a collection of very good, with a few great, mostly young players who worked their asses off and played with no fear of losing - and they had spectacular goaltending. That has often been Canada's recipe for success in major tournaments. Believe me, it is very humbling as a Canadian to admit that.

Unlike Canada/Russia 72, Canada Cups 76/84/87/91, Olympics 02, World Cup 04, the various world championships and the staggering number of world junior championshis we have won, I feel no sense of satisfaction from that victory, only relief.

Congratulations to USA Hockey. .