rafalgorka

Clean-sweep for Korea? Yes, it can very easily happen. In archery I really hope for a medal for Bangladesh, like in the last wchs. Such a populous country and no one single olympic medal ever yet.

In this FIBA article mentioned above, they believe in ARG medal very strong. And they say Facundo Campazzo will be a big star in Tokyo. You agree about him? And noone picked Greece there on FIBA website. Looks like I'm the only one here. ;-)

@EupenM who is the biggest French medal contenders in Tokyo, what do you think?

What do you mean - "for diverse reasons"?

Thank you for this link, this is very interesting. I personally think Greece, Lithuania, Serbia and Croatia will advance from OQT.

You are probably right. I must say, I am not very interested in women's basketball, so my predictions may not be accurate here.

Yes, these teams are strong favourites for medal. I would also add Lithuania to this group (well, they have to beat Poland in qualies first, but I am afraid they will do it with ease). But if Greece qualifies (which will be difficult because the qualifying tournament will be during NBA season - so they need to play without Giannis and beat Canada/Turkey/China), then in the olympics Giannis will show sth special I believe, and he will help them a lot to reach semis, I think. The same with Mo Salah and Egypt football team. I know it may be some wishful thinking - but c'mon, there must be some surprises and dark horses ;-)

1. ...rather: where she belongs. Or belonged (hopefully not). We will see. I understand your point of view, time will tell. I really hope she will rebuild her form, but last time I saw her on my own eyes in competition (Kusociński 2019 - yes, I know, long time ago) she really didn't look good. Americans may be much better these days. And she will not go to Tokyo if she doesn't feel she's a gold medal contender. But I really hope I am wrong here. 2. Yes, it is probably not the best time for predictions, but I do it just for fun. Today is off-work day for me, so I have some time to spare. I will repeat it in May or June for sure. It will be interesting how indoor season will look like, too. 3. These virus things is obviously a long topic, a lot of factors, a lot ot issues here. We will see how it unfolds. But personally, I think this is very likely that the olympics may not happen this year and our predictions are everything we got. | But I hope I am terribly wrong here, as well. Time will tell. Now thinking about my cycling predictions...

My predictions for some team sports - early draft, many changes still to come. Teams not qualified yet - I marked with * M Volleyball - 1. United States 2. Poland 3. Russia W Volleyball - 1. China 2. Serbia 3. Italy M Basketball - 1. United States 2. Spain 3. Greece* W Basketball - 1. United States 2. Australia 3. Spain M Handball - 1. Spain 2. Croatia* 3. France* W Handball - 1. Norway* 2. France 3. Netherlands M Football - 1. Spain 2. France 3. Egypt W Football - 1. United States 2. Netherlands 3. Japan M Rugby 7s - 1. Fiji 2. New Zealand 3. South Africa W Rugby 7s - 1. New Zealand 2. Australia 3. Canada The rest still to come... But I know some people here know much more than me about field hockey or water polo ;-)))) I invite you all to this discussion. ;-)

I think Anita Włodarczyk will not have a great form in August, I am very worried about her because she changed her coach as you know. She may even probably miss the olympics - I am afraid she will skip it when feels she is not that good as before (like Artur Partyka in 2000). But as I wrote, those are early drafts, early predictions. If Anita shows good form in spring, I will obviously change my expectations with pleasure. Sofia Ennaoui is training really hard now (we have some common friends) and she doesn't have one of best PBs of course but has a strong finish and olympic 1500 final may be not that fast, so there is a chance for her. The same with Marcin Lewandowski. Maria Andrejczyk was better and better in 2020. She has a massive olympic experience already from Rio. This 4th place is still hurting her a lot so I think she will be extremely motivated and has a really good chance for bronze. I guess she may have it in the last throw, beating Japanese hopes (I predict Haruka Kitaguchi will be 4th). But I may agree that I may be too optimistic with Sofia and Maria - but I just like both of them very much and wish them all the best. And rybak, what are your predictions, both Polish and international?

My predictions for athletics - early draft (will be changed for sure, too) Fri 30/7 M 10,000m - 1. Joshua Cheptegei UGA 2. Yomif Kejelcha ETH 3. Hagos Gebhriwet ETH Sat 31/7 M Discus Throw - 1. Daniel Stahl SWE 2. Fedrick Dacres JAM 3. Andrus Gudzius LTU Mixed 4x400m Relay - 1. United States 2. Jamaica 3. Bahamas W 100m - 1. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce JAM 2. Elaine Thompson JAM 3. Dina Asher-Smith GBR Sun 1/8 W Shot Put - 1. Gong Lijiao CHN 2. Danniel Thomas-Dodd JAM 3. Chase Ealey USA M High Jump - 1. Mutaz Essa Barshim QAT 2. Maksim Nedasekau BLR 3. Brandon Starc AUS W Triple Jump - 1. Yulimar Rojas VEN 2. Shanieka Ricketts JAM 3. Liadagmis Povea CUB M 100m - 1. Noah Lyles USA 2. Andre De Grasse CAN 3. Akani Simbine RSA Mon 2/8 M Long Jump - 1. Juan Miguel Echevarria CUB 2. Tajay Gayle JAM 3. Yuki Hashioka JPN W 100m Hurdles - 1. Kendra Harrison USA 2. Danielle Williams JAM 3. Nia Ali USA W Discus Throw - 1. Sandra Perkovic CRO 2. Yaime Perez CUB 3. Valarie Allman USA M 3000m Steeplechase - 1. Soufiane El Bakkali MAR 2. Conseslus Kipruto KEN 3. Lamecha Girma ETH W 5000m - 1. Hellen Obiri KEN 2. Sifan Hassan NED 3. Konstanze Klosterhalfen GER Tue 3/8 W Long Jump - 1. Malaika Mihambo GER 2. Ivana Spanovic SRB 3. Ese Brume NGR M 400m Hurdles - 1. Karsten Warholm NOR 2. Rai Benjamin USA 3. Abderrahman Samba QAT M Pole Vault - 1. Armand Duplantis SWE 2. Sam Kendricks USA 3. Piotr Lisek POL W Hammer Throw - 1. DeAnna Price USA 2. Brooke Andersen USA 3. Alexandra Tavernier FRA W 800m - 1. Jemma Reekie GBR 2. Halimah Nakaayi UGA 3. Ajee Wilson USA W 200m - 1. Dina Asher-Smith GBR 2. Elaine Thompson JAM 3. Sha'Carri Richardson USA Wed 4/8 W 400m Hurdles - 1. Dalilah Muhammad USA 2. Sydney McLaughlin USA 3. Femke Bol NED W 3000m Steeplechase - 1. Hyvin Kiyeng KEN 2. Beatrice Chepkoech KEN 3. Emma Coburn USA M Hammer Throw - 1. Paweł Fajdek POL 2. Wojciech Nowicki POL 3. Bence Halasz HUN M 800m - 1. Donovan Brazier USA 2. Nijel Amos BOT 3. Amel Tuka BIH M 200m - 1. Noah Lyles USA 2. Michael Norman USA 3. Divine Odudoru NGR Thu 5/8 M Triple Jump - 1. Christian Taylor USA 2. Pedro Pablo Pichardo POR 3. Hugues Fabrice Zango BUR M Shot Put - 1. Tomas Walsh NZL 2. Ryan Crouser USA 3. Darlan Romani BRA M 110m Hurdles - 1. Grant Holloway USA 2. Orlando Ortega ESP 3. Sergey Shubenkov RUS M 20km Race Walk - no idea yet ;-) W Pole Vault - 1. Anzhelika Sidorova RUS 2. Sandi Morris USA 3. Katie Nageotte USA M 400m - 1. Fred Kerley USA 2. Steven Gardiner BAH 3. Kirani James GRN W Heptathlon - 1. Katarina Johnson-Thompson GBR 2. Nafissatou Thiam BEL 3. Erica Boguard USA M Decathlon - 1. Niklas Kaul GER 2. Kevin Mayer FRA 3. Damian Warner CAN Fri 6/8 M 50km Race Walk - no idea yet ;-) W 20km Race Walk - no idea yet ;-) W Javelin Throw - 1. Lyu Huihui CHN 2. Tatsiana Khaladovich BLR 3. Maria Andrejczyk POL M 5000m - 1. Joshua Cheptegei UGA 2. Selemon Barega ETH 3. Mohammed Ahmed CAN W 400m - 1. Shaunae Miller-Uibo BAH 2. Shericka Jackson JAM 3. Phyllis Francis USA W 1500m - 1. Faith Kipyegon KEN 2. Gudaf Tsegay ETH 3. Sofia Ennaoui POL W 4x100m Relay - 1. Jamaica 2. United States 3. Great Britain M 4x100m Relay - 1. United States 2. Great Britain 3. Jamaica Sat 7/8 W Marathon - no idea yet ;-) W High Jump - 1. Mariya Lasitskene RUS 2. Yaroslava Mahuchikh UKR 3. Yuliya Levchenko UKR W 10,000m - 1. Sifan Hassan NED 2. Letesenbet Gidey ETH 3. Hitomi Niiya JPN M Javelin Throw - 1. Johannes Vetter GER 2. Magnus Kirt EST 3. Neeraj Chopra IND M 1500m - 1. Timothy Cheruiyot KEN 2. Jakob Ingebrigtsen NOR 3. Marcin Lewandowski POL W 4x400m Relay - 1. United States 2. Poland 3. Jamaica M 4x400m Relay - 1. United States 2. Jamaica 3. Belgium Sun 8/8 M Marathon - no idea yet ;-)

My predictions for swimming (early draft - will be changed for sure) Sun 25/7 M 400 IM - 1. Daiya Seto JPN 2. Kosuke Hagino JPN 3. Apostolos Papastamos GRE M 400 Free - 1. Danas Rapsys LTU 2. Elijah Winington AUS 3. Gabriele Detti ITA W 400 IM - 1. Katinka Hosszu HUN 2. Yui Ohashi JPN 3. Shiwen Ye CHN W 4x100 Free - 1. Australia 2. United States 3. Canada Mon 26/7 W 100 Fly - 1. Margaret MacNeil CAN 2. Sarah Sjostrom SWE 3. Zhang Yufei CHN M 100 Breast - 1. Adam Peaty GBR 2. Arno Kamminga NED 3. Ilya Shymanovich BLR W 400 Free - 1. Ariarne Titmus AUS 2. Katie Ledecky USA 3. Leah Smith USA M 4x100 Free - 1. United States 2. Australia 3. Russia Tue 27/7 M 200 Free - 1. Danas Rapsys LTU 2. Duncan Scott GBR 3. Katsuhiro Matsumoto JPN W 100 Back - 1. Regan Smith USA 2. Kaylee McKeown AUS 3. Kylie Masse CAN M 100 Back - 1. Xu Jiayu CHN 2. Kliment Kolesnikov RUS 3. Ryan Murphy USA W 100 Breast - 1. Lilly King USA 2. Yulia Yefimova RUS 3. Benedetta Pilato ITA Wed 28/7 W 200 Free - 1. Ariarne Titmus AUS 2. Emma McKeon AUS 3. Federica Pellegrini ITA and Siobhan Haughey HKG ex aequo* ;-) M 200 Fly - 1. Kristof Milak HUN 2. Daiya Seto JPN 3. Tamas Kenderesi HUN W 200 IM - 1. Kaylee McKeown AUS 2. Katinka Hosszu HUN 3. Sydney Pickrem CAN W 1500 Free - 1. Katie Ledecky USA 2. Wang Jianjiahe CHN 3. Simona Quadarella ITA M 4x200 Free - 1. Australia 2. United States 3. Russia Thu 29/7 M 800 Free - 1. Gregorio Paltrinieri ITA 2. Henrik Christiansen NOR 3. Jack McLoughlin AUS M 200 Breast - 1. Anton Chupkov RUS 2. Kirill Prigoda RUS 3. Ippei Watanabe JPN W 200 Fly - 1. Regan Smith USA 2. Zhang Yufei CHN 3. Hali Flickinger USA M 100 Free - 1. Duncan Scott GBR 2. Caeleb Dressel USA 3. Andrei Minakov RUS W 4x200 Free - 1. Australia 2. United States 3. Canada Fri 30/7 W 200 Breast - 1. Yuliya Yefimova RUS 2. Lilly King USA 3. Annie Lazor USA M 200 Back - 1. Evgeny Rylov RUS 2. Ryan Murphy USA 3. Mitchell Larkin AUS W 100 Free - 1. Simone Manuel USA 2. Cate Campbell AUS 3. Emma McKeon AUS M 200 IM - 1. Daiya Seto JPN 2. Andrew Seliskar USA 3. Wang Shun CHN Sat 31/7 M 100 Fly - 1. Caeleb Dressel USA 2. Andrei Minakov RUS 3. Chad le Clos RSA W 200 Back - 1. Regan Smith USA 2. Kaylee McKeown AUS 3. Kylie Masse CAN W 800 Free - 1. Katie Ledecky USA 2. Ariarne Titmus AUS 3. Wang Jianjiahe CHN Mixed 4x100 Med - 1. United States 2. Australia 3. Russia Sun 1/8 M 50 Free - 1. Caeleb Dressel USA 2. Florent Manaudou FRA 3. Kristian Gkolomeev GRE W 50 Free - 1. Sarah Sjostrom SWE 2. Simone Manuel USA 3. Katarzyna Wasick POL and Ranomi Kromowidjojo NED ex aequo* ;-) M 1500 Free - 1. Gregorio Paltrinieri ITA 2. Florian Wellbrock GER 3. Franko Grgic CRO W 4x100 Med - 1. United States 2. Australia 3. Canada M 4x100 Med - 1. United States 2. Great Britain 3. Russia

https://swimswam.com/8-germans-have-qualified-so-far-for-postponed-olympic-games/

And my fav Russian olympic moment Sochi 2014 - Figure skating - Yulia Lipnitskaya free program in team event - Schindler's list https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke0iusvydl8&t=187s

One of my fav Kenyan olympic moments - Sydney 2000 - Athletics - M 1500 m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3wOQkXsRHs&t=2s

My fav German olympic moments Rio 2016 - Gymnastics - M Horizontal Bar - Fabian Hambuechen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6rKKZAWF5Q and PyeongChang 2018 - Figure skating - Pairs gold medal - Savchenko & Massot - revelation!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNOnXTe4Ok&t=304s

My fav Canadian olympic moment Vancouver 2010 - M Moguls final - Freestyle Skiing First ever olympic gold for Canada on home soil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sHsY9Yj4Jk&t=3448s

My fav Swedish olympic moment Sochi 2014 - Cross-country skiing - W 4 x 5 km Relay Charlotte Kalla absolutely magical in the anchor leg https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/video/detail/ladies-4x5km-relay-cross-country-skiing-sochi-2014-replays/

https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/ranking-the-best-mens-swimmers-in-the-world-from-1-25-as-olympic-year-arrives/

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/01/e2828c356624-state-of-emergency-would-impact-tokyo-olympics-reignite-debate.html ?

https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/ranking-the-best-womens-swimmers-in-the-world-from-1-25-as-objectively-as-possible/

I am afraid they will not go, either. What a shame with all this mess. This is early January, it is time for me and my colleagues at work to fill in our absence calendar. And i still don't know if i want to be off duty in late July/ early August or not ? But what can we do? Sit and wait. And make our simulations and predictions. ?

There is an interesting article in Polish press today. They say that there may be 2 weeks quarantine for all the sportsmen coming to Tokyo, because of this new virus spread found in GB first. That would mean that the cyclists who will participate in Tour de France will not be able to ride in Olympic road race. And Mathieu van der Poel may not ride in MTB, because his team got wild card for TDF. That would be a shame. I hope this is all not truth. At the end of article they wrote that the best solution would be moving the road cycling races from the begining of the Games to the final days, but I don't think it is possible. That would be massive change in schedule, cycling track events would have to be rescheduled too. We will see.

I wonder whether Peter Sagan is planning to ride a road race in Tokyo. Could be interesting if he did. But there are too many climbs for him there, as well.

Yes, PL is not allowed to participate in Oberstdorf due to covid issues. :-( We don't know anything about Ga-Pa yet.