orangeman

Yet again 3rd until the last leg...

Only .05 out of the top 3 in the semis. But Walsh and Hayes looked really good, it'll be hard to catch them.

Great swim by Summer!

Waiting for the evening swim session, I was just going through some of the times from the morning vs Tokyo. I had another look at the men's 4x100 relay, the one Canada finished a close 4th in. Obviously it was Chalmers' last leg that got AUS ahead of Canada, but the numbers are something else. Chalmers had the fasted time in the relay by far (a quarter of a second ahead of Apple's 2nd fastest, 7/10 of a second ahead of Canada's Kisil's 3rd fastest). If Chalmers went slow enough for Canada to remain in 3rd at the end, he still would have had the 2nd fastest time comfortably. Chalmers' 56.44 was the fastest 100 at the Olympics since Lezak's inhuman's time (46.06) in 2008 in his anchor leg to get Phelps' his 8th gold, and 2nd fastest ever. And remember, 2008 was during the fast suit era. Canada's time in Tokyo would have got them on the podium in every Olympics except 2008, again the fast suit era. The reason I find all this interesting is because I feel like the men's 4th place is often overlooked, but it was completely unexpected and without a crazy last leg from Chalmers would have gotten them on the podium last year. Here's hoping they can do something special in Budapest, even though I know it's not likely.

I remember watching her in Tokyo. In 1st after 4/6 throws I believe, still in a podium position until the last throw. Strong performace. Looking forward to seeing her again at the WC next month.

We're just getting out of "soft" lockdown here in Beijing (don't ask what "hard" lockdown is). After months of not being able to find Bing Dwen Dwen anywhere in this country, I stopped by a random gas station by my place the other day to find this. Not even the surviving Olympic shops have this sort of supply.

I'm just happy to see the men's side moving up recently. It's been a long time since Despatie.

2026 will be very entertaining in curling.

I'd say 6 fourth places would be more Canadian, but 6 silvers is a close......... second.

Breaststroke is obviously the weak spot for Canada. The women would have won the gold in the medley relay with a better leg there (not blaming Pickrem!). Masse had the fastest back, MacNeil had the fastest fly and Penny had the 2nd fastest free. Now with the mixed medley, Canada needs to find someone competent in the breast given their depth at other strokes.

What a great time for Liendo. That would have gotten him a close 4th in Tokyo and a silver in Rio!

Canada draws Group F for the WC with Belgium, Croatia and Morocco. Not great, but could have been much worse. 11/23 CAN v BEL 11/27 CAN v CRO 12/01 CAN v MOR

I never really got that argument anyway. North and South America are one continent, but Europe is not just a peninsula of the Eurasian continent? You can even throw Africa in there since the Sinai Isthmus is the same as the Panamanian Isthmus. And let's not even get into cultural differences. Besides, Europe gets more quotas than Europe anyway.

I mean, hey, whatever you want!

Well, with Canada losing to Panama they are guaranteed to be in pot 4 for the draw now. USA losing to CR is interesting, good thing for GD (for the Americans).

I lived in Cairo for a little while. In no way are they ready to host an Olympics. I visited Rio in 2015 and they were light years ahead of where Cairo is now in terms of infrastructure, so if they considered Rio a failure then Cairo would be a disaster. I realize they just built a new capital and it would be in 14 years, but I just don't see how they could ever get to an Olympic host level in that time. Having said that, it would be very cool for Egypt to host, have the marathon end at the Spinx, sailing in the Red Sea, beach volleyball by the pyramids, etc. But I just can't see it happening that soon. I've always said Istanbul would be a great location, though, if they want to bid.

That makes two very interesting teams to watch the next 4 years. We can just hope our teams return to prominence at the Olympics in Italy. Team Einarson looked pretty good at the Worlds, too.

I can't believe this is real! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Yes, but with all do respect, shut up shut up shut up! Never underestimate Canada's love of finishing 4th.

I just want them to get in before I start worrying about which pot they're in. My understanding is Canada needs ONE of the following to happen in the next stage of group matches for them to qualify for the WC: -Canada wins or ties -Costa Rica ties or loses -USA loses USA/CR play their last game against each other, so if they're both 3 points behind Canada at that time they both can't win to get into the top 3, hence why a USA loss next game against Panama gets Canada in. And hey, Panama beat them in the previous game.

Some big moves in curling.

I was on CBC's site earlier today (China time) and Olympic vids were still available. Just shot over there now, they are gone.

Ok, but seriously, that was one of the most satisfying and exciting sporting moments from these O/Paralympics. That game was super exciting.

Fantastic bronze medal game! Start to finish, it was incredibly entertaining. Props to Slovakia! That was the best curling match I've watched in a while of any variation. Despite the score, it came down to the two shots, last shot really. In the end, I'm glad I got to watch this match because I'll be out during the gold medal game tomorrow. So, you know, it suits my schedule better.