Amazing Olympics

I chickened out from watching; penalty shoot outs are our nemesis. Can't believe we've won! [maybe those overpaid football players could learn a thing or two from our hockey ladies]. I quite enjoyed hockey at school but the teacher never seemed to let me get involved; seem to remember a lot of shouts of 'Tegan, get back on the wing'.

I am left breathless. What a fast game it is nowadays and how fit those young women are. Three rousing cheers for that great GB hockey team!

Superb ,really enjoying these Olympics

Maddie Hinch....You STAR!!

Nail biting hockey!!

Here's a good article about Semenya.
It occurred to me that if the was competing in one of the field events, such as shot put, or in women's boxing or weight lifting, she would not look so different. Just that middle distance runners normally quite skinny. There was a woman in one of he kayak races who looked far more muscle bound... but there is still doping around, as we know.
Bolt looks very different to others in his events due to his genetics.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/37102204
The American swimmers behaved like drunken vandals (well it seems they were drunken vandals) at a petrol station. Then one of them lied and tried to make out they were victims. Shocking and shameful behaviour, one would think.
Apologies for my comment re Christine Ohorogu, she is there, but only as a member of the 4x400 relay team. Did not qualify for individual event.
Lindsey Sharp is one of the very few hopes for a GB individual medal in athletics (the other one is Mo of course.)

Same here, Tegan. We cheered so loudly when that last fence went down the dogs thought we were being attacked!!

Ashamed to say we were cheering every time someone knocked a fence down after his last clear round .

Hurrah! for Nick Skelton.

Correction 58!

At 63 perhaps he'll come on here!

Good grief - broken neck, hip replacement and now Gold Medal!!!!!!!!!! Well done Nick Skelton.

Oh yes, the Irishman arrested in his dressing gown.

I'm a bit bemused by the swimmers thing; apparently Lochte has apologised. But I'm not sure what's supposed to have hapoened.

I'll miss the Olympics. Shame about the Paralympics, though...

Of course, yes, Cav came up smelling of roses.
And then there is the Irish official who has been arrested for ticket corruption...

Yes, it's been a bit interesting. The Keirin was bonkers. Apparently they didn't have a camera in position? I thought Cavendish was lucky to get away with causing that crash too.

Another cyclist (can't remember who) went outside the line and the infringement was ignored; Victoria Pendleton was disqualified for the same infringement in London, apparently.

Didn't see the American relay heat. That should be interesting.....

Just been reading about the American swimmers who claimed to have been held up at gunpoint.

Yes - sorry - those who should have been protecting her.
The judging and officiating has been a bit... interesting, hasn't it. The 2 false starts in the cycling. Robbie the High Jump and his premature white flag. The Kenyan in the 3,000m steeple chase who put a single foot outside the track on one occasion and had his bronze taken away from him. Today's 4x100 relay heat - the Americans dropped the baton, complained that a Brazilian interfered with them. Both teams disqualified and now the US team are getting a chance to run again against the clock - if they beat the time of the slowest qualifier they will get the place in the final. What next...?

I see jess you mean the SA officials. Ordinary South Africans are solidly behind her.

I'll never forget her mother on the news, saying with total conviction "She is my daughter. "

suzied thanks for that info on Caster. I suppose the issue is whether having a high level of testosterone gives women an unfair advantage over other women in the same race. I've never heard of a sportswoman with this condition before.

If Caster wins the 800m, no doubt there will be those who will claim she win with an unfair advantage.

This is interesting:
March 23: The birthday of Olympic champions
Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Mo Farah were all born on this day
It is also the birth date of Sir Roger Bannister

sport.bt.com/olympics/march-23-the-birthday-of-olympic-champions-S11364080213268

Congratulations to the Brownlee brothers Gold and Silver in the triathlon. Fantastic.

I think I remember reading that Caster has intersex condition ( there are other female athletes also ) that is they have female external sex organs, but often have testes internally, and have XY chromosomes. So they will have been brought up female, but can't get pregnant and have higher testosterone levels than XX females. They used to have gender tests based on chromosomes in the past, but this was deemed unfair as women who had been brought up and thought of themselves as female were being told they were male. It's a bit of a mine field ,should those with intersex condition , who think of themselves as female be denied the sporting opportunities of others? Some say they should only be allowed to compete if they have testosterone suppressing drugs, but that's a whole other debate.

This is not a doping issue. Back in the day the eastern european women were doped up with androgenic steroids etc under orders, for the glorification of the Revolution.
Many think the S Africans should have stuck up for her and not caved in and submitted an 18 year old to a "gender test". There were no rules about gender testing if I understand correctly. She was not well protected by her country at all IMO.

granny who can forget Kratochvilova!

I'm not sure if it was the IOC or SA that had it in for Caster. Probably no procedures to deal with her..um...rather masculine appearance. So it was a case of "you look like a bloke, you run like a bloke, ergo you ARE a bloke".

Colin Jackson suggested that she's thrown races in the past because she's embarrassed to win them.

jess I don't think the South Africans have ever largely been anything other but behind Caster? South Africans love nothing better than a sporting hero.

The current record holder of that race is Jamila Kratochvilova ... (see photo).

Ooh..this is so tricky. I haven't read the whole link, but I remember Semenya from London.

As far as I know, there's no proof that she's at an unfair advantage due to her physical characteristics. I'm not even sure if it's been proved she HAS a condition which gives her increased testosterone.

So she's been passed to run and may well win. As long as she proves to be drugs-free, which she has so far, there's nothing to stop her running.