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Exactly. I don't really care for the replays of recent Olympics, but I hate it when they remove a documentary from Montreal 1976, or a replay from L.A. 1984. Not like they will ever upload something like that on their beloved Olympic channel.

It was added to make the hosts happy. Really doesn't matter if you call it a demonstration sport or not.

Honestly, I don't really know, and I don't really care. Rio 2016 was just too damn perfect for us. We won 10 freaking medals. Tokyo could be very successful for us again, but I'm pretty sure the tally of 10 medals just can't be repeated. Surely it can't. Rio was as good as it gets, so it's time to pursue something new. I'm more interested to see whether we can qualify in some new sports.

They always want to imitate Misha from Moscow 1980. Only in 1980 it seemed like a spontaneous, emotional moment that made everyone cry. Sochi version (and apparently Minsk version) was nothing more than a cheap sentiment.

Paraguay scored a run against Argentina! That must have been a very proud moment.

Dublin, yes. Btw, I have never been on a plane before, so that would be the first problem that needs to be tackled.

A lot comes down to experience. These riders, and especially their horses, probably never saw a track as technical as today's. Group C2 qualifier featured similarly inexperienced combinations. I think all Lithuanian horses tackled the water obstacle like an event horse would (jumping straight into the water, and not even attempting to go over it). Israel interestingly waited for a long time to get a clear (first one came in their 7th attempt!). And then they also had a clear in the final round, very clutch performances. They will make their Olympic debut in equestrian next year.

Diana who? I usually remember Lithuanian track & field athletes. Never heard of her though.

Nice photo journey @OlympicIRL! Who knows, maybe I'll visit Ireland in a year or two. A close friend of mine is moving there soon, and I already got an invite.

Brave clear for Ludwiczak ends the competition. Tough luck for the Polish team, but the Israeli were always the favorites. Israel Daniel Bluman (Ladriano Z) - 1 / 1 Ashlee Bond (Chela LS) - (12) / (8) Elad Yaniv (Alvaro du Gue) - 9 / 0 Dani G. Waldman (Lizziemary) - 5 / 0 TOTAL 16 Poland Andrzej Oplatek (Stakkatan) - 8 / 0 Jan Bobik (Chacco Amicor) - 0 / 4 Krzysztof Ludwiczak (Nordwind) - 5 / 0 TOTAL 17 Russia Vladimir Tuganov (Tulum) - (20) / (17) Mikhail Safronov (Corvet) - 14 / 1 Maria Bibikova (Quasimodo) - 18 / 6 Natalia Simonia (Klen) - 10 / 5 TOTAL 54 Uzbekistan Okil Sobirjonov (Camira) - 17 / 20 Saidamirkhon Turgunboev (Calleko) - 16 / 24 Umid Kamilov (Go Four It) - (EL) / 26 Gairat Nazarov (Quatro Junior) - 27 / 15 TOTAL 119 Kyrgyzstan Rinat Galimov (Quintendro) - 21 Kamil Sabitov (Carmen) - 14 Vitaliy Kalinichenko (Lady-Sunshine) - 46 TOTAL 81 (R2 DNS) Azerbaijan Seyid Musayev (Concorde) - 23 Rashad Samadov (Zidane D) - DNS Kanan Novruzov (Cera) - DNS TOTAL EL

Clear for Waldman (nee Goldstein). Israel qualifies.

This is getting very exciting. Israel leads by a single penalty going into the final rider rotation!

Now a huge clear for Yaniv.

With one more rider to go, Uzbekistan's best possible score is 104 penalties.

Huge clear for Oplatek.

These Uzbek horses are really brave. They've jumped from impossible places, probably because they are used to bad riders at this point.

First round results... Poland takes a surprising, but narrow lead. Russia is, quite unbelieveably, almost as bad as the Central Asian nations. Poland Andrzej Oplatek (Stakkatan) - 8 Jan Bobik (Chacco Amicor) - 0 Krzysztof Ludwiczak (Nordwind) - 5 TOTAL 13 Israel Daniel Bluman (Ladriano Z) - 1 Ashlee Bond (Chela LS) - (12) Elad Yaniv (Alvaro du Gue) - 9 Dani G. Waldman (Lizziemary) - 5 TOTAL 15 Russia Vladimir Tuganov (Tulum) - (20) Mikhail Safronov (Corvet) - 14 Maria Bibikova (Quasimodo) - 18 Natalia Simonia (Klen) - 10 TOTAL 42 Uzbekistan Okil Sobirjonov (Camira) - 17 Saidamirkhon Turgunboev (Calleko) - 16 Umid Kamilov (Go Four It) - (EL) Gairat Nazarov (Quatro Junior) - 27 TOTAL 60 Kyrgyzstan Rinat Galimov (Quintendro) - 21 Kamil Sabitov (Carmen) - 14 Vitaliy Kalinichenko (Lady-Sunshine) - 46 TOTAL 81 Azerbaijan Seyid Musayev (Concorde) - 23 Rashad Samadov (Zidane D) - DNS Kanan Novruzov (Cera) - DNS TOTAL EL

Now I wonder what happens with the German mixed team place. They remain qualified, but do we now have two more individual places on offer?

Yeah, but we always seem to have the greatest depth on pommel horse. At last year's Mediterranean Games our federation sent three pommel horse specialists and that was it. I'd like to see a bit more diversity.

Formiga disagrees.

5th place for us... on men's pommel horse, of course. One trick pony we remain.

Participating teams (in their starting order)... Uzbekistan Okil Sobirjonov (Camira) Saidamirkhon Turgunboev (Calleko) Umid Kamilov (Go Four It) Gairat Nazarov (Quatro Junior) Poland Andrzej Oplatek (Stakkatan) Jan Bobik (Chacco Amicor) Krzysztof Ludwiczak (Nordwind) Russia Vladimir Tuganov (Tulum) Mikhail Safronov (Corvet) Maria Bibikova (Quasimodo) Natalia Simonia (Klen) Kyrgyzstan Rinat Galimov (Quintendro) Kamil Sabitov (Carmen) Vitaliy Kalinichenko (Lady-Sunshine) Israel Daniel Bluman (Ladriano Z) Ashlee Bond (Chela LS) Elad Yaniv (Alvaro du Gue) Dani G. Waldman (Lizziemary) Azerbaijan Seyid Musayev (Concorde) Rashad Samadov (Zidane D) Kanan Novruzov (Cera) Looks like Poland got reduced to three team members (potentially someone got axed at the inspection). Nevertheless, Daniel Bluman (Ladriano Z) and Dani Waldman (Lizziemary) are a long, long, long way ahead of all of the others. If Lithuania managed to rack up 79 penalties in one round, I can only imagine how many Azerbaijan would get (if the Moscow course proves to be as hard as the one in Budapest)... Live stream...

Spain really wants to get the two silver medals in kata next year.

Am I watching a replay or?

Huadong Sun apparently jumped clear in Strzegom, with not too many time penalties, but... He missed a jump along the way! Very unusual for this level, but perhaps not surprising given his experience. Anyway, obviously he got eliminated from the event and can no longer fulfill the minimum requirements. Additionally, he has to wait a full month before he is allowed to make a new attempt on this horse.