hmc16

Is anyone actually seriously buying these Chinese performances at these Paralympics? I know there's always a host nation boost and China will inevitably have invested a lot in winter parasports in the last four years, but I genuinely can't see a legitimate way you can go from only having 1 Winter Paralympic medal in your entire history to 18 golds and 59 medals. I don't know what's going on (dodgy classification system seems to be a likelihood) but I don't buy it.

This second run is going to be super close. 1 second separating the top 20. Could be one of those races where anyone in the top 30 has a chance at a medal.

Team
 
Andrew Musgrave (15km, 30km, 50km, Relay, Sprint) Andrew Young (15km, 30km, 50km, Relay, Sprint, Team Sprint) James Clugnet (15km, 30km, 50km, Relay, Sprint, Team Sprint) Joe Davies (15km, 30km, 50km, Relay)

This second run is going to be super close. 1 second separating the top 20. Could be one of those races where anyone in the top 30 has a chance at a medal.

Like I said in my post, I don’t expect, nor do I think, every nation is on board with banning BLR/RUS from Paris 2024. My comment was a more a general gripe about how any major decision made the by the IOC is almost always unequivocally supported without any dissent or suggestion of modification. This saga has just been a good demonstration of that point.
 
I’ve been pretty adamant with my posts on here that the Olympics are intrinsically political. I do think an effort should be made to build bridges using sport, especially at the Olympics. However, I’d suggest violating the Olympic Truce after running a state-sponsored doping program isn’t exactly conductive of building those bridges between nations.
 

which is exaxtly what I was asking myself, how they came up with the idea everyone will be ok with it. Works on both sides.
 
Certainly no, despite what my posts may suggest, I am not in favor of mixing politics and olympics. However, Russia has already so many valid reasons to be baned, the exposed doping program (which is itself alone a reason to ban a country from competing, however they still somehow managed to escape by being allowed to enter neutral ROC called teams, in Rio they even competed in some sports except athletics as Russia). However, now, a completely unjustified, terrorist invasion of a neighboring sovereign country plus during the Olympic truce is a bit too much. moreover, Putin is still continuing this senseless criminal war and showing the whole world that he does not give a fuck about the rest of the world and how many innocent people (including athletes and from both sides) will die, just because he is a moronic ego-maniac everyone is afraid to degrade.
 
You probably don´t see it that way, but we have a lot of experience with Russian "friendly help and liberation actions, in 1968 they successfully saved us from the danger of bread and butter. An invasion they still did not apology for...we are 2023!" and how Russian propaganda works. sport is the main weapon. if gold iare won, everything is OK, the nation will be satisfied, because Putin arranged golds to the masters of the universe, that´s how it worked(s) in the former ussr´s way of thinking.
 
Definitely no. and I hope it will never happen. and that you will never had the reason to even thinking about doing it. And I am one of the few who really wants India hosting the Olympics.

GB third in the medal table - I'll enjoy that while I can!!

I’m just surprised no one has asked the IOC, “what does Russia offer the Olympic Movement?”
 
They’ve broken the Olympic Truce, engaged in state-sponsored doping, and drove up an insane bill that has been citied by some as a reason for less bidders all within the last decade or two. Why fight so hard to bring them back in to the fold at every turn? 
 
I understand it’s a complex issue, and I do get some of the arguments made against unilaterally banning athletes from a particular country, but it’s not like the invasion is Russia’s only offense against Olympic values (as other users have pointed out.)

That second run from Marco Odermatt was something else. Attacking full gas from the start to the finish, there were several instances where he no could, but should have wiped out. He carried way to much speed in so corners making him lift off into the air. Watching him today you can clearly see he is a level above everyone else in giant slalom this year. 
 
Also the fans were amazing. At times it felt like you were watching a football derby, especially when she Swiss were racing and getting the lead. For me this is the best race this season so far. 

Don't know if this news has made it big elsewhere, but last week UK Sport announced it is removing funding for alpine and nordic skiing in the next Olympic cycle to 2026. They have offered a minimal amount, but it is nowhere near enough to sustain elite programmes for GB at a global level.
 
As a British ski racing fan, I can't describe how disappointing and nonsensical this is. In the last decade, British ski racing has gone from virtually invisible to World Cup podiums & points on a regular basis. Dave Ryding became our first ever World Cup winner last season and, although he is likely to retire after next season, there's a huge amount of new talent in the pipelines - Raposo, Major, Taylor, Tilley and Guest all scored points last year.
 
Without funding, Britain might not even be able to send teams to compete on the World Cup next season. We're praying on UK Sport reversing their decision or a very rich person's benevolence.
 
As an addition, UK Sport's method of allocating funding is utterly ridiculous and needs to be changed. It gave us a short term boost of medals in recent years but I don't think it's a viable long term strategy. Funding decisions are short-sighted and based almost entirely on performances on one day every four years at the Olympics.

Don't know if this news has made it big elsewhere, but last week UK Sport announced it is removing funding for alpine and nordic skiing in the next Olympic cycle to 2026. They have offered a minimal amount, but it is nowhere near enough to sustain elite programmes for GB at a global level.
 
As a British ski racing fan, I can't describe how disappointing and nonsensical this is. In the last decade, British ski racing has gone from virtually invisible to World Cup podiums & points on a regular basis. Dave Ryding became our first ever World Cup winner last season and, although he is likely to retire after next season, there's a huge amount of new talent in the pipelines - Raposo, Major, Taylor, Tilley and Guest all scored points last year.
 
Without funding, Britain might not even be able to send teams to compete on the World Cup next season. We're praying on UK Sport reversing their decision or a very rich person's benevolence.
 
As an addition, UK Sport's method of allocating funding is utterly ridiculous and needs to be changed. It gave us a short term boost of medals in recent years but I don't think it's a viable long term strategy. Funding decisions are short-sighted and based almost entirely on performances on one day every four years at the Olympics.

If Zharnel Hughes hadn't switched allegiances, he'd be one of the favourites in the sprints and a first medal for .
 
Same for Rai Benjamin for in the 400m hurdles, although they may also have an outside chance with Cejhae Greene in the sprints.
 
have a possible medal in the beach volleyball, although would probably need to slip up.
 
might have a chance with favourable draws in the boxing or wrestling, albeit unlikely.
 
Aside from that, I can't really see any possibilities

If Zharnel Hughes hadn't switched allegiances, he'd be one of the favourites in the sprints and a first medal for .
 
Same for Rai Benjamin for in the 400m hurdles, although they may also have an outside chance with Cejhae Greene in the sprints.
 
have a possible medal in the beach volleyball, although would probably need to slip up.
 
might have a chance with favourable draws in the boxing or wrestling, albeit unlikely.
 
Aside from that, I can't really see any possibilities

I've just come back from a week in Reykjavík, and on Tuesday evening I saw the Belgian ice hockey team at the restaurant I was having dinner. Now I know why they were there!!

I've just come back from a week in Reykjavík, and on Tuesday evening I saw the Belgian ice hockey team at the restaurant I was having dinner. Now I know why they were there!!

Great set of results for Charlie Raposo at Kranjska Gora this weekend - 27th on Saturday for his first GS World Cup points, and 16th today. GB's first World Cup men's GS points since 1968.
 
Sadly Dave Ryding will be our only skier at the World Cup Finals next week - Charlie Guest agonisingly missed out, finishing 26th overall. Nonetheless, it's probably been Britain's best World Cup season in history:
 17 points finishes from 6 skiers (6 for Ryding, 5 for Guest, 3 for Raposo, 1 for Major, 1 for Taylor, 1 for Tilley)  21 times qualified for 2nd Run (9 for Ryding, 6 for Guest, 2 for Raposo, 2 for Taylor, 1 for Major, 1 for Tilley)  First ever World Cup win courtesy of Ryding in Kitzbühel, plus a second podium for him in Garmisch  402pts scored, ranking 14th in the world (pretty sure this is our most points ever)  314pts for the men, which puts us 11th in the world - ahead of Sweden!  
And this season could easily have been even better. Our best female racer Alex Tilley missed all of the season apart from Soelden and the Olympics due to injury - she was 13th before injury in the season opener and I think she could've been a consistent top 10 challenger if it weren't for getting injured. Meanwhile Ryding's had some great results but also 3 DNFs, including two where he was challenging for podiums. If he'd managed to finish just two more races he would probably be top 2 in the Slalom standings.
 
Ryding will probably retire at the end of next season - that's what he said after Beijing, anyway - but hopefully British skiing will be in good hands, with plenty of other regular challengers. Guest has said she wants to go to Milan and is only improving; Tilley can hopefully return to the form she had at the start of the season; Raposo is a great parallel skier and is showing form in GS; Taylor & Major are both proven Europa Cup winners. Plus we've got some new talents like Reece Bell. With proper investment (not a guarantee after the dismal Olympics for GB), we can have a whole team of world-class racers by the end of this decade.

Great set of results for Charlie Raposo at Kranjska Gora this weekend - 27th on Saturday for his first GS World Cup points, and 16th today. GB's first World Cup men's GS points since 1968.
 
Sadly Dave Ryding will be our only skier at the World Cup Finals next week - Charlie Guest agonisingly missed out, finishing 26th overall. Nonetheless, it's probably been Britain's best World Cup season in history:
 17 points finishes from 6 skiers (6 for Ryding, 5 for Guest, 3 for Raposo, 1 for Major, 1 for Taylor, 1 for Tilley)  21 times qualified for 2nd Run (9 for Ryding, 6 for Guest, 2 for Raposo, 2 for Taylor, 1 for Major, 1 for Tilley)  First ever World Cup win courtesy of Ryding in Kitzbühel, plus a second podium for him in Garmisch  402pts scored, ranking 14th in the world (pretty sure this is our most points ever)  314pts for the men, which puts us 11th in the world - ahead of Sweden!  
And this season could easily have been even better. Our best female racer Alex Tilley missed all of the season apart from Soelden and the Olympics due to injury - she was 13th before injury in the season opener and I think she could've been a consistent top 10 challenger if it weren't for getting injured. Meanwhile Ryding's had some great results but also 3 DNFs, including two where he was challenging for podiums. If he'd managed to finish just two more races he would probably be top 2 in the Slalom standings.
 
Ryding will probably retire at the end of next season - that's what he said after Beijing, anyway - but hopefully British skiing will be in good hands, with plenty of other regular challengers. Guest has said she wants to go to Milan and is only improving; Tilley can hopefully return to the form she had at the start of the season; Raposo is a great parallel skier and is showing form in GS; Taylor & Major are both proven Europa Cup winners. Plus we've got some new talents like Reece Bell. With proper investment (not a guarantee after the dismal Olympics for GB), we can have a whole team of world-class racers by the end of this decade.

Is anyone actually seriously buying these Chinese performances at these Paralympics? I know there's always a host nation boost and China will inevitably have invested a lot in winter parasports in the last four years, but I genuinely can't see a legitimate way you can go from only having 1 Winter Paralympic medal in your entire history to 18 golds and 59 medals. I don't know what's going on (dodgy classification system seems to be a likelihood) but I don't buy it.

I mean…those athletes are representing a political entity. Their uniforms (in normal non-WADA sanction times) are adorned with the same flags as those of the soldiers invading another country, preventing athletes another country from being able to participate in, or even think about, sport.
 
I understand the desire to see athletes from Russia or Belarus at competitions, but these are two counties that have repeatedly, and flagrantly, violated the rules of the Olympic Movement.
 
Russia has broken the Olympic Truce three times in only two decades. They’ve also run a state-sponsored doping program, and had numerous other doping issues before and since that program was discovered. They also attempted to manipulate evidence during the investigation into those issues.
 
Belarus has repeatedly discriminated against athletes on a political basis. They are also actively aiding a country in breaking the Olympic Truce.
 
Like it or not, at base level, athletes are representatives of their countries in international sports. If your country is engaging in activity counter to the values of the Olympic Movement, it’s hard to argue your country deserves to be included in international competition.

One word: disappointing.
 
We came off the back of two games with five medals, and finished Beijing with just two, both courtesy of our curling teams. Nonetheless, there are some big positives, but also many disappointments, and a few worrying scenarios ahead of Milan.
 
Positives:
Women's Curling: I've followed Eve Muirhead's squad since 2014 and it was so great to see her finally get the gold. So deserved, and she's always seemed like a great person on and off the rink. Men's Curling: although they (just) lost gold, they showed real potential, topping the group stages and beating defending champions USA in the semi-finals. Bruce Mouat's squad is young, and they should build over the next 4yrs. Makayla Gerken-Schofield (moguls): this result has kind of been neglected by the British media, but we finished 8th in a moguls event - a discipline in which we didn't even have a World Cup team 4yrs ago. Along with her sister Leonie and brother Thomas (didn't qualify for Beijing due to injury, but had a WC podium 2yrs ago), they could build a really strong team that could contend for medals soon. Kirsty Muir (freeski): one of our youngest Winter Olympians ever, with two top-10s at the age of 17. She was really strong in big air, struggled a bit in slopestyle but definitely has the talent to become a leading medal contender by Milan. Cornelius Kersten (speed skating): like the moguls squad, the significance of this result has been understated - Britain's best long track speed skating result since 1964. Kersten has been rapidly improving, as has teammate Ellia Smeding, despite being completely self-funded. Hopefully the speed skating team will get UK Sport funding now.  
Disappointments (warning, there's a lot):
Alpine Skiing: our team of four went in with high expectations but I felt a bit underwhelmed. Ryding went in as a World Cup winner but the race was so wide open; 13th was a disappointment, I expected a top 10. Teammate Billy Major DNFed when he could've contended for the top 20. Charlie Guest was top 15 after run 1 and could've struck for maybe even top 10, but an error left her 23rd. Hard to judge Alex Tilley's performance as this was her first race back since injury, so can't really say; think her result was good given the circumstances. Bobsleigh: the epitome of why Britain's winter sports funding system is so messed up. The men's teams had funding removed, then had an amazing World Cup season and were a leading medal contender. But lack of funding meant their equipment couldn't contend with the Germans and a few errors (crash in two-man) meant they couldn't contend. Hall is 31 and I genuinely fear for the future of British bobsleigh if he retires. CC Skiing: high expectations after Musgrave's shock 6th in 2018, but no top 10s this time around. Musgrave looked good in the 50k and 12th was good; the fact his performances (two top 20s) were disappointing says a lot about advancements in British nordic skiing. Our sprint skiers, Clugnet & Young, also disappointed, but I think they were hampered by COVID in January, which I imagine has a major impact on performance in a sport like this. Freestyle Skiing: outside of the two aforementioned cases, WTF happened? Ollie Davies reached the ski cross big final in the World Championships in 2021, but couldn't get out of the first round. We were really hampered by James Woods & Izzy Atkin not being able to compete due to injuries. Hopefully we can find some new young talent, alongside Muir and the Gerken-Schofields. Skeleton: what a difference four years makes... 3 medals in 2018, not even a top 10 this time around. We've fallen wayyy behind on the technology, I think this might be the end of Britain's golden spell in skeleton racing. Snowboarding: Charlotte Bankes was our best chance of gold before these games but, in a sport like snowboard cross, you can't count on anything, as she proved by going out in the QFs. Katie Ormerod was happy just to finally get that Olympic start but, based on her WC performances prior to the games, her results were surprisingly low.  
Overall, thank God the curlers saved the day. I thought after week 1 that we'd have a first medalless games in 30 years. British winter sports needs a funding overhaul - we've relied on a very narrow base of sports for our recent success, particularly skeleton & curling, which have provided 12 of our 16 medals this century. If Britain wants consistently strong results like 2014 & 2018, we need to widen our base, which slowly seems to be happening with sports like speed skating & moguls. Hopefully Milan Cortina 2026 will be better - the likes of Muir, Mouat, Gerken-Schofield, etc. should be reaching their peaks, whilst new talents like snowboarder Mia Brookes emerge.

One word: disappointing.
 
We came off the back of two games with five medals, and finished Beijing with just two, both courtesy of our curling teams. Nonetheless, there are some big positives, but also many disappointments, and a few worrying scenarios ahead of Milan.
 
Positives:
Women's Curling: I've followed Eve Muirhead's squad since 2014 and it was so great to see her finally get the gold. So deserved, and she's always seemed like a great person on and off the rink. Men's Curling: although they (just) lost gold, they showed real potential, topping the group stages and beating defending champions USA in the semi-finals. Bruce Mouat's squad is young, and they should build over the next 4yrs. Makayla Gerken-Schofield (moguls): this result has kind of been neglected by the British media, but we finished 8th in a moguls event - a discipline in which we didn't even have a World Cup team 4yrs ago. Along with her sister Leonie and brother Thomas (didn't qualify for Beijing due to injury, but had a WC podium 2yrs ago), they could build a really strong team that could contend for medals soon. Kirsty Muir (freeski): one of our youngest Winter Olympians ever, with two top-10s at the age of 17. She was really strong in big air, struggled a bit in slopestyle but definitely has the talent to become a leading medal contender by Milan. Cornelius Kersten (speed skating): like the moguls squad, the significance of this result has been understated - Britain's best long track speed skating result since 1964. Kersten has been rapidly improving, as has teammate Ellia Smeding, despite being completely self-funded. Hopefully the speed skating team will get UK Sport funding now.  
Disappointments (warning, there's a lot):
Alpine Skiing: our team of four went in with high expectations but I felt a bit underwhelmed. Ryding went in as a World Cup winner but the race was so wide open; 13th was a disappointment, I expected a top 10. Teammate Billy Major DNFed when he could've contended for the top 20. Charlie Guest was top 15 after run 1 and could've struck for maybe even top 10, but an error left her 23rd. Hard to judge Alex Tilley's performance as this was her first race back since injury, so can't really say; think her result was good given the circumstances. Bobsleigh: the epitome of why Britain's winter sports funding system is so messed up. The men's teams had funding removed, then had an amazing World Cup season and were a leading medal contender. But lack of funding meant their equipment couldn't contend with the Germans and a few errors (crash in two-man) meant they couldn't contend. Hall is 31 and I genuinely fear for the future of British bobsleigh if he retires. CC Skiing: high expectations after Musgrave's shock 6th in 2018, but no top 10s this time around. Musgrave looked good in the 50k and 12th was good; the fact his performances (two top 20s) were disappointing says a lot about advancements in British nordic skiing. Our sprint skiers, Clugnet & Young, also disappointed, but I think they were hampered by COVID in January, which I imagine has a major impact on performance in a sport like this. Freestyle Skiing: outside of the two aforementioned cases, WTF happened? Ollie Davies reached the ski cross big final in the World Championships in 2021, but couldn't get out of the first round. We were really hampered by James Woods & Izzy Atkin not being able to compete due to injuries. Hopefully we can find some new young talent, alongside Muir and the Gerken-Schofields. Skeleton: what a difference four years makes... 3 medals in 2018, not even a top 10 this time around. We've fallen wayyy behind on the technology, I think this might be the end of Britain's golden spell in skeleton racing. Snowboarding: Charlotte Bankes was our best chance of gold before these games but, in a sport like snowboard cross, you can't count on anything, as she proved by going out in the QFs. Katie Ormerod was happy just to finally get that Olympic start but, based on her WC performances prior to the games, her results were surprisingly low.  
Overall, thank God the curlers saved the day. I thought after week 1 that we'd have a first medalless games in 30 years. British winter sports needs a funding overhaul - we've relied on a very narrow base of sports for our recent success, particularly skeleton & curling, which have provided 12 of our 16 medals this century. If Britain wants consistently strong results like 2014 & 2018, we need to widen our base, which slowly seems to be happening with sports like speed skating & moguls. Hopefully Milan Cortina 2026 will be better - the likes of Muir, Mouat, Gerken-Schofield, etc. should be reaching their peaks, whilst new talents like snowboarder Mia Brookes emerge.

I could listen to this His Excellency Thomas Bach guy forever, the man who brought the world peace, who solved the pandemic, who won gold at the Olympics in Fencing in 1976. I think he should be President for Life of everywhere

That much is true. But what killed it for me (well not really, when sport is on; it's on regardless of anything else), is that it comes right after the no-spectators Tokyo 2020 and Pyeongchang 2018 which allready lacked any 'real' winter olympics atmosphere. And, we could also think back to Rio which was not so great in that regard.
 
I think, we all need the 2024/2026 Games to come out with a bang, to relive this inner olympic flame.
 
 

Was so glad to see Slovakia winning bronze, what a great tournament by them! I always love cheering for the underdogs in Olympic hockey - Germany in 2018, Denmark & Slovakia this time around. Blahoželanie!

Always thought that was a terrible way to determine the bracket in this event.
 
That's a huge shame. legitimately was very much a medal contender in this event in 2018.