OlympicsFan

The german team seems to be treading water. They were closer to the bronze medal race than last year, but a 7th/8th place (if GB wouldn't have put on a clown show) is still far away. Germany has been very good in this event at the junior level for quite some time, but for some reason it doesn't translate.

Italian fans have very high expectations. I think it is impressive that they made the semifinal in 2 out of 3 team events. Not sure how much more they expected, didn't know that Italy was seeded much higher. Also you have to ask how italian fans would react if their team would have underperformed as much as China did.

Agreed, their performance at the fencing world championships has been beyond pathetic.

So your retirement age must be like 72 ... ?

Turkey has a very young team. A 19 year old, a 21 year old and a 24 year old. They should have a lot of potential left to improve. Crazy that Japan has an 18 year old in the team, but also a 38 year old. I think Italy has the oldest team. They other 3 nations in the semifinal all have an 18/19 year old in their team, while the youngest italian athlete is 24 years old. On the women's side Mexico and the Netherlands both had a 17 year old in their team.

Interesting that South Korea is much better on the men's side, since: a) They have 3 in the top 8 of the individual competition on the women's side, but only 1 on the men's side b) Usually the level of competition is higher on the men's side Probably it was a massive underperformance of their women's team.

I guess that is a better attitude than being pessimistic, as long as you are able to handle a possible disappointment. Imagining all the great things that young talents might achieve/fantasizing about their potential is one of the most fun parts of being a supporter. Personally i get excited whenever Germany has a great talent in swimming, although i of course have realized by now that they (almost) never will achieve anything at senior level.

You certainly have a lot of faith. Do you have any influence on the success of the program/how can you be so sure when you don't have any influence (inside knowledge)?

We will see. I definitely wouldn't bet on him, given that Italy hasn't shown that they can produce elite sprinters. Germany also is very good at junior level on the men's side, but they don't know how to get close to the Netherlands/Australia at senior level. Some years ago Greece and India also both had a great talent at junior level, but (as far as i know) neither of them really "clicked" at senior level.

First gold ever in any recurve event on the women's side for Germany. Also first gold in any recurve event since 1987 for Germany. Too bad that the Netherlands "messed it up", otherwise we could have had the first all-european podium since 1955. Great job by "our" french coach. I hereby declare that no german federation is allowed to hire german coaches anymore ... In all seriousness: I wish the german swimming/athletics federation would get some (remotely) top class foreign coaches. I also wonder how every country in the world seems to do better in fencing than former powerhouse Germany. I (with all due respect) don't see how countries like Egypt, Hungary or Estonia keep performing better (given their talent pool/economic strength/tradition).

What happened to the ru... israeli guy? I thought he was supposed to be the "real deal"?

Interesting. For Germany it is the first time since 1983 and Germany never won gold in this event. Actually Germany never won gold in any of the women's recurve events (individual or team). The final will be historic, regardless of who will win it.

Interesting statistics: Last time we had an all-european podium in the women's team event: 1955 Last time South Korea didn't win a medal in the women's team event: 1999 Last time Germany won a medal in the women's team event: 1999 Last time Germany won gold in the women's team event: - Last time Germany won gold in any recurve event: 1987 (Men's team) This year european nations won as many medals in the women's team event as they did in the last 3/4 editions combined (depending on the outcome of the bronze medal match)

I am not an expert, so maybe i missed something, but this seems really unexpected. Only possible explanation i see: Mexico has one elite athlete (who is probably better than all german athlete), but their 2nd/3rd athlete is worse than the 2nd/3rd german athlete. Of course i won't complain about this result. Worst possible outcome for Germany now is two silver medals, which is probably more than expected. Still the individual results and the men's team result were rather underwhelming. Edit: How did Mexico manage to only score 45 points in the first round?

What do you do with the gas?

No, just don't use electricity ...

1 cent per year.

Where do you get your "information" from? Telegram ... ?

"The French government and energy experts were quick to stress that the tensions will not have any immediate impact on France's needs for uranium as extraction is continuing and, should it stop, existing stocks could still cover approximately two years." "France is not dependent on any one site, company or country to ensure the security of supply for its power plants.” https://www.politico.eu/article/niger-coup-spark-concerns-france-uranium-dependency/ “If the situation in Niger gets worse, this would certainly complicate the adoption of sanctions on Russian uranium in the short term.” "But given the enduring presence of French companies in Burkina Faso and Mali, no matter the anti-Paris disposition of the juntas there, there may be little change to the current status quo." "After the 1974 coup, which overthrew the country’s first post-colonial government, Grégoire said that “negotiations took place because the French had imposed contracts that were financially detrimental to the Nigeriens, but there was never any question of kicking them out." https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/01/uranium-niger-france-coup/ "Niger, which has Africa's highest-grade uranium ores, produced 2,020 metric tons of uranium in 2022, about 5% of world mining output, according to the WNA. This was down from 2,991 tons in 2020." "Niger has one major mining operation in the north operated by France's state-owned Orano, another major mine which closed in 2021, with one under development." "French nuclear power plants source less than 10% of their uranium from Niger." https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/uranium-mines-niger-worlds-7th-biggest-producer-2023-07-28/ "France is also the world's largest net exporter of nuclear energy, bringing in more than €3 billion per year." "Niger has maintained a market share of between 4 and 6 percent of the global uranium trade for the last decade." "Niger supplied France with around 18 percent of its uranium between 2005 and 2020." "France’s largest suppliers, Kazakhstan and Australia, provided 20 and 19 percent, respectively." "The EU’s nuclear agency Euratom – which gets one-quarter of its uranium from Niger – has also said it is not worried about the coup affecting nuclear power production. If imports from Niger are being cut, there are no immediate risks to the security of nuclear power production in the short term." "The European Commission said the 27-nation bloc had sufficient inventories of uranium to mitigate any short-term supply risks." "Another factor that will help mitigate any fluctuations are the relatively low fuel cycle costs (including for uranium, uranium enrichment, conversion and fuel fabrication) of generating nuclear power. The NEA estimates uranium to count for only about 6 percent of the cost of nuclear energy – a figure overshadowed by the 59 percent in investment costs and 25 percent in operation and maintenance costs." "The possible suspension of uranium supplies to France also raises questions about whether Niger could effectively replace French demand without seeing a sharp economic decline itself – 33 percent of Nigerien exports go to France, almost all of which are radioactive fuel." https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20230801-does-the-coup-in-niger-threaten-nuclear-power-plants-in-france

Depressing results for Germany. Only the female sprinters can compete for medals. The men have been shit for almost a decade now, the gap doesn't get any smaller. Right now i wouldn't even bet on Germany winning gold in women's team sprint in Paris, GB will probably have another big time drop next year. Would be interesting to know if men and women are using the same bike (in different sizes)?

You can also become a billionaire when your parents are poor, doesn't mean that you have the same chances as someone born rich ... I guess in that sense it is a perfect reflection of society. Personally i would like to watch COMPETITIONS where you can't buy your way to success, but i guess that will never happen. If smaller nations can't afford the same material, then everyone should only be allowed to use material that anyone can afford.

Revenge for eliminating Germany in women's football world cup.

3/16 spots for Europe (and only if you include Turkey), but 5/16 spots for the Americas is pretty surprising. Japan with as many spots as all of Europe. Spain/Germany/Italy/GB/France all without a single spot. I think before the start of the competitions noone would have predicted that the Czech Republic/Chile would have more spots than Spain/Germany/Italy/GB/France combined. Also the 4 nations that reached the women's team semifinal combine for only 1 athlete in the round of last 8.

GB apparently with their miracle bikes again. Not sure if you can even call it a sport when the material is that important. It is the same in other "sports" (luge, bob, canoeing, cross-country skiing). Hard to get excited for "sports" like that. I guess the big countries will never allow everyone to have the same material.

Don't see how, would probably need a fluke like in 2022. They have absolutely no concept (coach's fault) and they don't have the right mentality/aren't "independent" (problem of the system/youth academies). They (it is the same with the men) always look like "passengers", they just let it happen and are completely unable to adapt/snap out of it. No accountability.