OlympicsFan

And walking makes sense or what? The difference is that walking is the only event in athletics were judges decide. By the same logic we could also get rid of all events in swimming except for the freestyle events.

GB will of course will win gold in both events ... but the dutch certainly have a chance for silver in team sprint, the same is true for Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, France. I think it will be GB-Netherlands-Germany. GB always wins gold, the Netherlands are currently ahead and Germany has a very new team with a guy born in 1999 in first position so they will surely get better. In the individual event it will be a massacre with Kenny, Carlin, 2 dutch guys, Bötticher, Vigier and Glaetzer. For me this is the most competitive event in track cycling.

Netherlands being amazing at european championships as usual, just to roll over when it really counts. I think its sad that the dutch coaches think that british dominance at the olympics is so big that they dont even have to try to peak for the olympics, instead they focus on the european championships. Good comeback for Bötticher, he has already the best raw speed, now he just needs some routine with his tactics and then i dont see anyone (maybe except for Kenny or another injury) stopping him. Unless Grabosch, Hinze or Gros beome good really fast, europe might struggle to win a medal in womens sprint at the next olympics. Womens omnium has to be by far the most boring event in track cycling, even madison is (sometimes) a bit entertaining, although still a horrible event for people who dont follow track cycling very closely, elimination race on the other hand is super easy to follow and therefore would be better as an olympic event.

I am not a fan of omnium, for me it would be best to have 3 endurance events (individual pursuit, team pursuit, elimination race) and 3 sprint events (sprint, team sprint and keirin) at the olympics.

He could probably pack Meilutyte on his back and still comfortably win this race, no other guys seems to be within a second of him.

There are american fans in Glasgow?

Bigot already out ... Thank god i picked Halasz for bronze and not Bigot or Miller.

I didnt pick him for any medal, but i am surprised to hear this, dont see him beating Jakob or Filip, maybe Henrik, but in the 800 he would have had a better chance for a medal imo, probably polish federation wanted a medal contender in 800 m and 1500 m.

Dont be too harsh to yourself, even if he would have starte, he would have never won a medal and probably not even made the final. I didnt pick the greek guy to win a medal, but i guess he will gold. At least i picked Heinle for bronze and he looked good too.

What about all the athletes in events where there are no prelims?

Noone anywhere near him, he himself is the only one who could stop him from winning the gold.

Despite the race being shockingly slow, i hope that Kapas wont focus on this event in the future, she doesnt have the potential to win a medal there. If those girls are any smart they are already in full focus for Tokyo, not trying to peak here. Hentke has an european title from 2016 and a world silver from 2017, i think she will focus everything on winning that olympic medal in 2020, only Belmonte seems out of reach.

Very disappointing times for him and Rylov, they are probably in very heavy training right now.

Yeah, Paltrinieri would have never won the gold medal, but i think being challenged will only motivate him. He has been on top for many years now and i think he will find a way to get back there by 2020. Paltrinieri remains unbeaten if healthy, just like Rafael Nadal, who never lost a match when healthy.

1) It wasnt unexpected (both Romanchuk and Wellbrock were faster than him this season). 2) I still think Paltrinieri will be fine, although Romanchuk or Detti could spoil it for him. Personally i thought that Romanchuk would be out of the picture by 2020 (for obvious reasons), but he seems to be very careful, so he is a real danger.

In the end noone seems to be able to be a medal winner in both 100 and 200 free, i dont see a chance that it will be different with Miressi (but i know how you view italian athletes in general, so we probably wont agree on this). I think that he has to decide for one distance and it would be stupid to pick the 200 free since he is alreay world-class in the 100 free. I also dont see how exactly he would be more suited for this event than someone like Townley Haas for example who is about the same height and won a world silver medal last year being only 1 year older than Miressi is now (Duncan Scott was 4th at the world championships last year at the same age Miressi is now). But who knows, given the level in mens 200 free right now, 1:45.5 might be enough for a medal, who knows whether Miressi can swim that fast or not. Mens 200 fly is a young mens event nowadays with Phelps and Cseh (probably) gone. Burdisso is probably among the 5-6 most talented guys in this event alongside Kenderesi (if you can still consider him a talent), Milak, Horomura, Zhuhao and Urlando. I think we can assume that Le Clos will still be around in 2 years. If we consider Kenderesi, Milak, Horomura and Le Clos locks for the final (Zhuhao seems to have problems and Urlando is too young to tell), then 4 spots are still available. Personally i would favor an american guy and a second japanese guy for 2 of the remaining spots. Burdisso has as good a chance as anybody else to win one of those 2 spots and sub 1:55, a time he should absolutely be able to swim in the near future, should definitely be enough for that.

Burdisso has the potential to make the final in Tokyo, so thats something new for Italy in this event. Miressi could swim 1:47 flat start in the next couple of years, but i dont think that that would help the italian relay much. With Detti back its a solid relay with a realistic chance of finishing 6th in Tokyo.

That is true indeed, sadly many people on here dont understand that. Now we both agreed to each other, so where does that leave us ... ?

I experienced today that splits dont have to mean much. Yesterday Bruhn went 1:56.3 in the mixed relay but today she only went 2:00.2 in the 200 free prelims ... Relays are a special situation you cant always reproduce in the individual race.

I dont think that France or Belgium are that strong, i think GB is better than both of those teams, i also havent given up my hopes for Germany if Alt, Scheder and Seitz return strong, although there probably isnt enough time before the world championships.

Isnt that exactly what i said?

Yes, Larisa will win a medal in Tokyo, a talent like her cant retire without an olympic medal.

I dont agree about GB, they basically competed with their second team here. Winning a team medal in Tokyo will be difficult, but qualifying for the final should be no problem. I would say top 8 in Tokyo will be USA, China, Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, GB and one out of Germany/Australia/France/Netherlands/Italy, currently my favorite for the 8th spot clearly is Italy (given their junior results).

Melnikova seems to be on a mission to crush german hopes today, first she denied Voss from winning a medal and then Bui. I think the german team should tell all athletes to focus on 2-3 apparatus for Tokyo, completely giving up individual all-around. If Germany can find someone who is good at balance beam and floor (which is by far the worst apparatus for Germany), the team should be fine. On uneven bars and balance beam Germany is among the best nations.

I think you will win at least one medal in Tokyo.