OlympicsFan

Everyone is a huge star over there ... probably even someone like Jeremy Lin.

I agree, how many european teams have actually naturalized players? Probably not too many ...

Netherlands and France are collecting medals like crazy + what the hell is going on with Kosovo? Japan already seems to fade a bit, will be interesting to see how many golds they will actually win next year. I expected them to be in a better position by now in sports like gymnastics or swimming. Wrestling and judo are the sports that could still get them a 3rd or 4th place in the medal table.

For those of you who still dream about making the olympics ... , it is never too late to start: Oliver Zeidler only started rowing less than 3 years ago and now he could win the gold medal in men's single sculls at the world championships. Here is a link to a video that shows his first attempts in rowing (starting around 03:50, if it isn't geoblocked): https://www.sportschau.de/weitere/rudern/video-einer-fuer-den-einer-der-ausnahmeruderer-oliver-zeidler-100.html

Sadly i can't find full results for the world championships from 2003 and before that, but i think this is the first time since at least 2003 that only european rowers made the men's single sculls final. Unless Zeidler chokes again (like he did last year) he should definitely win gold here. Germany could also win a gold in men's lightweight double sculls, but in men's eight and women's quadruple sculls gold sadly would be a huge surprise at this point. Once again german rowing got their training completely wrong. They were great at the european championships and after that it only went downhill.

Yes, when she improves her 3000 m time by 10 seconds and her 5000 m time by 25 seconds, then it is normal to be disappointed that she doesn’t improve on her favorite distance at all. The time is not the main reason I am disappointed, it is the fact that Hassan was more than 2 seconds faster on the last lap. Hassan is a great 1500 m runner, but girls like Muir, Kipyegon, Houlihan or Simpson (normally) have an even better kick than her, so when Hassan can outkick Klosterhalfen that easily, it is very hard to imagine Klosterhalfen winning a medal in the 1500 m. She undoubtedly made progress concerning her closing speed, but in my opinion she is still far worse than the girls I mentioned above and honestly I don’t see her ever reaching their level (given her very slim build, which is a clear difference compared to Muir, Kipyegon or Houlihan for example). In my opinion just by looking at her body you can tell that she is more suited for longer distances and she should focus on the 5000 m for Doha. I really don’t get why anyone thinks that she should pick the 1500 m over the 5000 m. If you look at Mo Farah‘s personal bests for example, his 1500 m PB is probably his best time, but there is a reason why he still always focused on the longer distances ... it is easier to do the 5000 m + 10000 m double and in order to be successful in the 1500 m you need a very good 400/600 m closing speed, something that neither Klosterhalfen nor Farah have/had. Edit: How is her beating Dibaba in one race a „proof“ for anything? 1) Apparently Dibaba is injured 2) Dibaba isn‘t in her 2015/2016 shape anymore 3) Hanna Klein beat Dibaba at the 2017 world championships ... does that make her the better runner? Also someone like Simpson, who almost always medals at big events, looked completely helpless yesterday ... does this mean that she has worse medal chances this year than all the girls that finished ahead of her yesterday? Another topic: I really hope that one day we will see the best German women’s 4 x 100 m relay. Pinto + Lückenkemper + Mayer + Mihambo would be a crazy relay, that could definitely run 41.5 seconds. Sadly I don’t see this ever happening, but I hope that ... a) Pinto will be in the same shape next year b) Lückenkemper will be in her 2017/2018 shape next year or even improve on it c) Mihambo will keep her shape next year and be part of the relay d) Müller gets fit soon and reaches her form from the early part of this season again next year Under those circumstances a quartet of Mihambo-Pinto-Müller-Lückenkemper should be able to run 41.7 or so and I am not sure that GB or the US (given their lack of world class girls this year) will be able to match that. I think with this golden generation it would be a real shame if Germany wouldn’t be able to win a medal at a global competition, there is just too much talent there.

Absolutely insane results for France and Portugal so far. I feel like every year France has one freak world championships where they get results that they can never achieve again. I think a couple of years ago they won like half of the gold medals at the fencing world cjampionships ... It is not as crazy as the Netherlands in Track cycling this year, but still extremely unlikely that they will be able to repeat it. The Netherlands are also doing surprisingly good (i think this was their first world championship gold in 10 years?), while especially Russia is rather disappointing in my opinion.

Nice time for the german women in the 4 x 100 m relay. Replace Kwadwo with Mihambo and you get a 41.9 seconds relay. Sadly Müller and Mayer are injured otherwise one of them would replace Kwayie and this would be a 41.7 or 41.6 relay.

1) At 1500 m her PB is 4 seconds slower than that of Hassan, at 5000 m her PB is also 4 seconds slower than Hassan's, where would you give her better chances? 2) Hassan ran her european record in a paced race, Klosterhalfen ran 14:26 completely on her own. 3) In the 5000 m there are less girls that can beat her than in the 1500 m. 4) The longer the distance, the more competitive her closing speed gets. In the 1500 m she would have to be able to run the last 200 m or so much faster than she currently can, but in the 5000 m or 10000 m it is enough to have a fast last 800 m or 1500 m. 5) Klosterhalfen didn't improve her 1500 m time since 2017, at the same time she improved her 5000 m time by 25 seconds this year in a solo run. Where do you see more potential for her?

Into a headwind ... I think i already said it 2 years ago: He will break the world record some day. Give him 2 m/s tailwind, and we might be looking at 9 m or more.

Just looked it up: Never happened before at world championships. Does anyone see the US winning a medal in those events in Doha?

Really disappointed that Klosterhalfen couldn't break the german national record. I think this again shows that she should focus on the 5000 m in Doha and the 5000 m/10000 m double in Tokyo. She just doesn't have the speed to beat Hassan, Houlihan, Kipyegon or Muir.

Thank god that won't happen, would be the last nail in athletic's coffin. I think she could become 5th all-time (needs to run 48.58 or faster for that) and she should definitely become the fastest woman this century (has to run 48.69 or faster for that).

I think China could be 2nd or 3rd in the medal table in Doha. They could medal in men's long jump, men's triple jump, men's 4 x 100 m relay, women's shot put, women's hammer throw, women's javelin throw and both women's race walking events, 4 golds seem possible for them.

So sad that SMU won't run the 200 m in Doha, would have been a safe gold for her, but RIP everyone else in the 400, she should go waaay below 49 seconds in Doha. DAS looks good for silver in the 200 m. When was the last time that the american women didn't win a medal in the 100 m, 200 m or 400 m?

Amazing new PB and NR for Krause. Normally she always hits another level at the season's highlight, if she does that again this time ... I hope this won't be the last german national record for tonight. Schwanitz a bit better than so far this season, but still far off her best, not too surprising considering that she has to handle training + studies + raising a child. I hope that she will be able to focus on training for Doha, then she still might hit 20 m there. Hussong was pretty disappointing, but i trust her coach that she will once again be at her best in Doha, although i don't see her beating the chinese girl. Przybylko once again with a subpar performance, but given how weak men's high jump is this year he could still win a medal with 2.30 m or so in Doha, although it doesn't see very likely right now.

Very impressive win for Germany against Australia (74:64) even without Maodo Lo. Before the last quarter it was 62:43! but then Schröder fouled out half way through the last quarter and the game got somewhat close again.

I think it is really annoying that there are like a dozen rounds in every event. I think it would be much better if there would be heats, semifinals and then finals. That way the whole competition could be over in 3 or 4 days.

[hide] First Round August 31st - September 5th, 2019 32 Nations, 8 Groups, the 1st and 2nd Nations from each Group will qualify for the Second Round Group A Date & Time (GMT +8) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 August 31st 2019, h. 16:00 Poland 5 Venezuela August 31st 2019, h. 20:00 Ivory Coast 15 China September 2nd 2019, h. 16:00 Venezuela 10 Ivory Coast September 2nd 2019, h. 20:00 China 10 Poland September 4th 2019, h. 16:00 Ivory Coast 10 Poland September 4th 2019, h. 20:00 Venezuela 10 China Group B Date & Time (GMT +8) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 August 31st 2019, h. 16:30 Russia 10 Nigeria August 31st 2019, h. 20:30 Argentina 20 South Korea September 2nd 2019, h. 16:30 Nigeria 15 Argentina September 2nd 2019, h. 20:30 South Korea 15 Russia September 4th 2019, h. 16:30 South Korea 5 Nigeria September 4th 2019, h. 20:30 Russia 5 Argentina Group C Date & Time (GMT +8) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 August 31st 2019, h. 16:30 Iran 10 Puerto Rico August 31st 2019, h. 20:30 Spain 25 Tunisia September 2nd 2019, h. 16:30 Tunisia 10 Iran September 2nd 2019, h. 20:30 Puerto Rico 20 Spain September 4th 2019, h. 16:30 Puerto Rico 15 Tunisia September 4th 2019, h. 20:30 Spain 20 Iran Group D Date & Time (GMT +8) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 August 31st 2019, h. 15:30 Angola 35 Serbia August 31st 2019, h. 19:30 Philippines 20 Italy September 2nd 2019, h. 15:30 Italy 20 Angola September 2nd 2019, h. 19:30 Serbia 30 Philippines September 4th 2019, h. 15:30 Angola 5 Philippines September 4th 2019, h. 19:30 Italy 15 Serbia Group E Date & Time (GMT +8) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 September 1st 2019, h. 16:30 Turkey 10 Japan September 1st 2019, h. 20:30 Czech Republic 30 United States September 3rd 2019, h. 16:30 Japan 5 Czech Republic September 3rd 2019, h. 20:30 United States 15 Turkey September 5th 2019, h. 16:30 Turkey 10 Czech Republic September 5th 2019, h. 20:30 United States 25 Japan Group F Date & Time (GMT +8) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 September 1st 2019, h. 16:00 New Zealand 10 Brazil September 1st 2019, h. 20:00 Greece 10 Montenegro September 3rd 2019, h. 16:00 Montenegro 15 New Zealand September 3rd 2019, h. 20:00 Brazil 15 Greece September 5th 2019, h. 16:00 Brazil 5 Montenegro September 5th 2019, h. 20:00 Greece 15 New Zealand Group G Date & Time (GMT +8) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 September 1st 2019, h. 16:30 Dominican Republic 15 Jordan September 1st 2019, h. 20:30 France 10 Germany September 3rd 2019, h. 16:30 Germany 10 Dominican Republic September 3rd 2019, h. 20:30 Jordan 30 France September 5th 2019, h. 16:30 Germany 20 Jordan September 5th 2019, h. 20:30 Dominican Republic 15 France Group H Date & Time (GMT +8) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 September 1st 2019, h. 15:30 Canada 10 Australia September 1st 2019, h. 19:30 Senegal 25 Lithuania September 3rd 2019, h. 15:30 Australia 25 Senegal September 3rd 2019, h. 19:30 Lithuania 10 Canada September 5th 2019, h. 15:30 Canada 20 Senegal September 5th 2019, h. 19:30 Lithuania 5 Australia [/hide]

Of course all of those athletes have a medal chance, it is just EXTREMELY unlikely that all of them win medals at the same time. I would bet you that Poland will be closer to 6 medals than to 10 medals. Saying that Poland can win 10 medals is like saying that Germany can win 11 medals, because Germany has that many medal chances (men's decathlon, 3 x men's javelin, men's 20 km race walking, women's 4 x 100 m relay, women's 5000 m, women's long jump, women's heptathlon, women's shot put, women's javelin throw). In reality i would be happy with 6-8 medals (2 x men's javelin, men's decathlon, women's long jump, women's javelin throw, women's shot put + maybe women's 4 x 100 m relay and/or women's 5000 m). About the women's 4 x 400 m relay: On aggregate Poland is 0.57 seconds faster than GB (not much over 4 legs) and 3.23 seconds/3.73 seconds slower than Jamaica/USA. Unless a miracle happens or one out of Jamaica/USA drops the baton, bronze will be the best possible result for Poland. Even beating GB will be hard enough considering that on average the british relay is 4.25 years younger than the polish relay and therefore is more likely to improve until next year. Here are the 4 fastest polish/british runners in comparison with their birth years: Nielsen 50.83 (1996) vs. Swiety-Ersetic 50.85 (1992) Williams 51.22 (1993) vs. Baumgart-Witan 51.12 (1989) Diamond 51.69 (1991) vs. Kielbasinska 51.51 (1990) Anning 52.18 (2000) vs. Holub-Kowalik 51.87 (1992) Also the 5th and 6th fastest british girls are at 52.18 and 52.21, while the 5th fastest polish girl is at 52.34, so if one of your top 4 gets injured, you will be in trouble. In addition to that there are 2 other nations that are very close to Poland: Russia (if they are allowed to compete) and Canada The top 4 russian girls are at 51.00, 51.25, 51.75 and 51.88, so on aggregate Russia is only 0.53 seconds slower over 4 legs + the 7th fastest russian girl is still at 52.40, while the 5th fastest polish girl is at 52.34, so Russia has clearly more depth. The top 4 canadian girls are at 51.22, 51.56, 51.63 and 51.73, so on aggregate they are only 0.78 seconds slower than the polish girls, while being 5.5 years younger than the polish girls on average. In addition to that the 7th fastest canadian girl is still at 52.43, so Canada also has a clearly better depth than Poland. In my opinion it is pretty clear that the fight for the medals in Tokyo will look like this: Gold/silver: USA and Jamaica (very hard to predict) Bronze: Poland, Russia (if they are allowed to compete), Canada and GB (impossible to predict)

Not sure, why "we" would then be in trouble ... even without men's C2 and men's C1 Germany still has 3 good gold medal chances. Also don't see why Brendel should be too old, when at the same time the polish guy, who is only 1 year younger, just won silver + Brendel won the C1 500 (i believe for the first time ever). The brazilian guy could be hard to beat, but Brendel should easily have everyone else in his pocket. I still would take pretty much any bet that he will at least medal next year. Not sure what happened in men's C2, the two guys shouldn't be too old given that they are 25 and 27 ... this is much more difficult to predict for me, they could be back at the top next year or they could again end up without a medal. I believe it also might be an option to put Brendel in the C2 like they did in 2016, that might increase the german medal chances in that event. Right now i am still optimistic that Germany will win 3+ golds and 5+ medals in total.

10 medals in athletics? Absolutely don't see that happening. 5-6 medals seems realistic. 2 x men's hammer throw, women's hammer throw, men's pole vault + 2 out of shot put (Walsh, the american guy, Romani are all bigger favorites)/women's hammer throw (the chinese girls, the american girls and Tavernier are all bigger favorites for silver/bronze)/men's 800 (super competitive)/men's 1500 (super competitive)/women's 4 x 400 (USA and Jamaica should be clearly better and GB is pretty much on the same level). 4 medals in rowing also seems rather optimistic, but who knows ... ? Why didn't you mention volleyball, shooting, wrestling or track cycling?

You conclude that from one competition? In 2015 Germany won 2 golds on the men's side and no other medals + 2 bronze medals on the women's side, so only 2 more bronze medals than this time and we all know what happened one year later in Rio. I would still bet pretty much everything that Germany will win at least 3 golds and 5-6 medals in total in Tokyo.

Men's single sculls, men's eight, men's lightweight double sculls, women's quadruple sculls.

Very disappointing results for Germany, there is no Other way to put it. Unless Brendel and the mens C2 geht back into shape, 3 Golds could be the best realistically possible result in Tokyo. Womens Canoe and womens kayak are in a horrible state.