phelps

Merry Christmas to the forum and all of his users!

no, all the participating teams had a chance to bid for hosting the tournaments (bidding time expired on Dec., 14th)... obviously FIVB will take some time before announcing who's gonna have the honor to host the OQTs...

to be more precise, it will be a super-tiebreaker @ 10 points... so, we have 4 different 5th set deciders in the 4 grand slam tournaments (10-pt tiebreaker at 6-6 in AUS, no tiebreaker at all at the Roland Garros, "classic" 7-pt tiebreaker at 12-12 games score in Wimbledon and the usual "classic" 7-pt tiebreaker at the "classic" 6-6 score at Flushing Meadows)... I guess soon tennis fans will need a users' guide before every season starts...

shame on them!!!!! they just took away an easy win from Pittin...

no, he didn't compete at the world champs...at least this year... by the way, this is a quick recap of climbers from Oceania and Africa showin'up at both the senior and youth worlds this year men's senior worlds (participants and results) RSA Calrin Curtis (101st in Lead, 99th in Boulder, 73rd in Speed, which means 72nd -out of 87 starters- in Combined) RSA Joseph Rosendorff (104th in Speed) AUS Campbell Harrison (83rd in Lead, 132nd in Boulder) NZL George Sanders (107th in Lead, 99th in Boulder, 82nd in Speed, which means 75th -out of 87 starters- in Combined) AUS Josef Sundakov-Krumins (87th in Boulder) women's senior worlds (participants and results) AUS Oceania MacKenzie (35th in Lead, 27th in Boulder, 39th in Speed, which means 26th -out of 67 starters- in Combined) AUS Tiffany Melius (63rd in Lead, 57th in Boulder, 62nd in Speed, which means 47th -out of 67 starters- in Combined) AUS Lucinda Ann Stirling (69th in Lead, 83rd in Boulder) NZL Erica Gatland (89th in Lead, =92nd in Boulder, 85th in Speed, which means 64th -out of 67 starters- in Combined) AUS Roxy Perry (91st in Lead, =92nd in Boulder) AUS Emma Horan (95th in Lead, 63rd in Boulder) NZL Lucy Whitehead (99th in Lead, =92nd in Boulder, 80th in Speed, which means 63rd -out of 67 starters- in Combined) AUS Leah Jeffries (=92nd in Boulder) women's youth worlds (only the number of participants) youth A Boulder: 2x NZL youth B Boulder: 2x AUS, 2x NZL, 3x RSA junior Boulder: 1x AUS, 2x NZL youth A Lead: 2x AUS, 2x NZL youth B Lead: 2x AUS, 2x NZL, 2x RSA junior Lead: 1x AUS, 2x NZL youth A Speed: 2x AUS, 2x NZL youth B Speed: 1x AUS, 2x NZL junior Speed: 2x NZL men's youth worlds (only the number of participants) youth A Boulder: 3x AUS, 1x NZL, 3x RSA youth B Boulder: 4x AUS, 2x NZL, 4x RSA junior Boulder: 4x AUS, 2x NZL, 3x RSA youth A Lead: 3x AUS, 2x RSA youth B Lead: 4x AUS, 2x NZL, 4x RSA junior Lead: 3x AUS, 2x NZL, 3x RSA youth A Speed: 2x AUS, 1x NZL, 2x RSA youth B Speed: 2x AUS, 2x NZL, 1x RSA junior Speed: 2x AUS, 2x NZL, 1x RSA

I'm just asking myself...but Moioli wasn't injured at her knee? because watching her crazy mistake, it looks that she rather had a severe concussion...

maybe someone at the IFSC should go back to school and study some geography... p.s. to be honest, i didn't notice that epic fail when I posted the link...I must have enjoyed too much (South African*) wine at lunch... *p.s. and trust me, they have a lot of very good wine in SAF...

South Africa is actually the only African Nation with a proper Sport Climbing Federation (even if their athletes never show up at world cup events nor got in the past any relevant result)... this is the current situation: https://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/about-ifsc/ifsc-structure/members-federations which means that the African and Oceanian qualification events are basically a farce... unless...unless some French climber with African heritage (and there are some more than decent, if not really good) decides to opt for plan B and get a safe spot for the Olympics through his/her family ties...

I think you are a bit too optimistic... waterpolo M 80% waterpolo W 50% volley M 20% volley F 30% football M 2% football W 1% basket M 1% basket w 30% basket 3x3 M 0% basket 3x3 W 10% baseball M 20% softball F 55% hockey F 3% with the current situation of the Italian sport (on the verge of being dismantled once an forever) and with the unlucky draw in volleyball (almost the worst we could get), I'd be very, very happy to see the waterpolo teams and and the softball girls in Tokyo... if any other team does actually qualify, it must be seen as a huge surprise (in some cases, a true miracle)...

I don't know if in the past it was not allowed, but surely it's quite a long time (I mean, it's many years) that you can use a longer distance to try and get an official clocking over a shorter race. The only rule as far as I know is that you must complete the full "original" distance to have your time over the shorter one to be recognized (it also happened at the Glasgow Europeans last Summer...Pernille Blume did try to get a fast time over the 50m free during the semifinals of the 100m and then did slow down badly in the second half of the same heat and finished outside the qualifying places -and she could even get a medal in those 100m free )... p.s. and when you try this kind of things you should alert the other swimmers of the same heat before, otherwise it's considered an act of disrespect...

meanwhile the European qualification tournament will be played in September almost certainly in Italy (historical baseball cities Bologna and Parma are the proposed venues)... that time period would eventually hurt Italy and the Netherlands (ITA more than NED) a lot (as it means that they won't be able to start their MLB players), even if I think that there's no chance any other European Nation can upset both of them (maybe 1, but definitely not 2)...

Czech Tv is also broadcasting a lot of show jumping events (in very favourable time slots, often live) in the past couple of seasons, so I guess they have quite a good interest and power in supporting their local organizers, if they want to host any kind of tournament... and I think Italy would eventually ask for hosting next year's Nations Cup Finals...

Missy Franklin retires

men's WSL 2018 finally, it went exactly how it was supposed to go... Gabriel Medina won the Billabong Pipe Masters (defeating in the final ride his main rival, Julian Wilson) and secured his second overall WSL title, after 2014 (first Brazilian ever to win 2 championships)... from WSL site: 'Brazil takes the day (and year) In dominating fashion Gabriel Medina has won the 2018 World Title and the Billabong Pipe Masters. Clinching the World Title in the Semis, Medina kept the ball rolling beating rival Julian Wilson in a hard-fought Final; a repeat match up from the 2014 Pipe Masters, where Wilson won the event and Medina the Title. "I think winning Pipe is the hardest one to win. You have to be good at Backdoor and Pipe at the same time. Just getting barreled is not enough. You have be be deep, you have to get the best ones," said Medina before the awards ceremony on the beach. "It's great to have this opportunity and put my name alongside all the other Pipe heroes." In a year where Brasil has won nine of eleven Championship Tour events, Medina sat atop the Jeep Leaderboard coming into the winter surf season in Hawaii, but Wilson and Filipe Toledo, knotted in a tie for second, had every intention of stopping his quest for a second World Title. But in the end, Gabe's momentum was unstoppable even when Wilson threw his best at him in the Final. "It was a good event, it came down to the end, it came down to the last heat of the year to decide the Title, so yeah, it's disappointing, but it was a good year," said Wilson after the Final. "Filipe and Julian have been surfing really good all year long," said Medina. "They've been pushing the limits. It's been an honor to be in the World Title race with them. I think they are the two best on Tour. I'm a big fan of them." From his first heat of the Pipe Masters to the Final, Medina was locked in and focused on the task at hand throughout the waiting period. He charged into Finals day with a strong Round 4 performance, making short work of Sebastian Zietz and Michel Bourez. "It's all about God's plan. I believe in that. Every single heat I had the faith. I tried my best until the end," said Medina as champagne showered him and the victory celebration raged on. In the Quarterfinals, Conner Coffin jumped out to an early lead, but true to form, Medina didn't flinch. He quickly bagged a near-perfect 9.43 for a deep Pipe tube and lofty frontside air. Not content with that score, he locked into a gapping Backdoor cavern. Pulling into the tube without grabbing the rail, he pumped and drove through the pit, eventually getting spit out down the beach near Off The Wall. The judges awarded him with the only 10-point ride of the 2018 Pipe Masters (although Kelly Slater came dangerously close with a 9.93 in the Quarterfinals). "I was stoked to find that right, that right was sick. It was the best ride I've got at Backdoor," smiled Medina. By the time the Semifinals came around Medina was clearly on a roll. Facing Jordy Smith, who was still in contention for the Vans Triple Crown Title, once again Medina got down to business. He only caught three waves in the heat, but one of them was a 9-point ride. With Smith's elimination, Brazilian Jesse Mendes captured the Vans Triple Crown Title. "It feels like I don't even deserve to be here," said Mendes. "Growing up, the guys winning the Triple Crown were untouchable." "We've kind of taken over. The Title is ours, the Triple Crown is ours, those are two of the biggest titles you can win in surfing. The Pipe Masters is the biggest event you can win all year, so we have everything," said Mendes. "It just shows all the work we put in back in the day when we were groms competing against one another and being united. Now we've taken it to the big stage and it just made us develop so much. It's working out." Today was a huge moment in Basilian surfing. It wasn't but a couple of years ago that the "Brasilian Storm" was capturing the attention of surf fans and making headlines. Now, Medina, Mendes and their fellow countrymen sit at the pinnacle of the sport.' men's 2018 events recap: http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2018/mct men's final ranking: http://www.worldsurfleague.com/athletes/tour/mct?year=2018

I should check it out, but I'm too lazy... as far as I remember, this tournament is awarding a lot of ranking points (1800 to the winner, compared to the 2000 for the world champion in each class), meanwhile the next edition will award also a direct spot to the winner (and those winners will prevail over the other rankings awarding direct Olympic spots)... but I'm not sure at 100%...I'll give a look to the rules as soon as I can (=I win the fight against my laziness)...

yeah, I'm pretty sure he didn't do anything intentional to lose it...he didn't need it, as the Japanese guy is very good (I only saw the Gold Medal match)...

it looks that Mollaei decided to not take any risk and lost to the Japanese guy (who however went on to win the Gold Medal)... p.s. in the following bout, Casse (BEL) beat Muki (ISR)...

some news about Gisin... it's confirmed that he has a fracture in the pelvis, 3 broken ribs and a severe concussion... now he's been transferred to Luzern (in Switzerland), where he's going to receive proper treatment closer to home...

Finally, Mardani won the Gold medal...and I'm sure you're gonna like how he won... be careful...take care of your heartrate...

2018 WT Grand Slam Champions Series (Wuxi, CHN) Final Medal Table GBR, 2 / 2 / 0 CHN, 2 / 1 / 2 KOR, 1 / 3 / 2 IRI, 1 / 0 / 1 RUS, 1 / 0 / 0 THA, 1 / 0 / 0 TUR, 0 / 1 / 0 USA, 0 / 1 / 0 AZE, 0 / 0 / 1 CIV, 0 / 0 / 1 POL, 0 / 0 / 1

2018 WT Grand Slam Champions Series (Wuxi, CHN) Day #5 (Finals) Results women's -49kg Gold: Panipak Wongpattanakit Silver: Ha Min-Ah Bronze: Tan Xueqin women's -57kg Gold: Zhou Lijun Silver: Jade Jones Bronze: Lee Ah-Reum women's -67kg Gold: Lauren Williams Silver: Nur Tatar Askari Bronze: Ruth Gbagbi women's +67kg Gold: Bianca Walkden Silver: Madelynn Gorman-Shore Bronze: Aleksandra Kowalczuk men's -58kg Gold: Jang Jun Silver: Liu Yushuai Bronze: Armin Hadipour men's -68kg Gold: Zhao Shuai Silver: Bradly Sinden Bronze: Lee Dae-Hoon men's -80kg Gold: Maksim Khramtcov Silver: Hwan Nam Goong Bronze: Milad Beigi men's +80kg Gold: Sajjad Mardani Silver: In Kyo-Don Bronze: Song Zhaoxiang

just on page #1... Benin...Fencing, men's Sabre (Yemi Geoffrey Apithy, who already qualified to the Rio Games) Bosnia...Karate, also the women's +61kg are not out of order (Ivona Cavar, European Bronze medallist and 5th & 7th in 2 different K1PL stages this year)

it looks that Gisin has "only" a fracture in the pelvis (and of course all the troubles related to the fact that he lost consciousness for quite a while on the track before being transported to the Bozen Hospital by helicopter)... however, his condition is defined as "stable" and is future life is not under threat (the consequences to his sports career remain to be evaluated later in the next weeks/months)...

to me, it looks like he's gone down more on his shoulder/back first, so maybe the hit to the head wasn't that hard... but at the same time he's clear that he lost his senses, so that's really scary... luckily the medical team and the helicopter were very quick to react, so hopefully he's gone to the hospital early enough to prevent more serious consequences... by the way, still no news...the Italian TV closed down their broadcast 2 minutes ago and they couldn't say anything about him yet...