rafalgorka

As the fencing referees say: Touché! Point!

Day 9, Sunday,
That would be one of the most entertaining days for me.
 
1. Last swimming finals (I hope Paweł Juraszek will make it to the 50m free final),
 
2. Athletics - my beloved high jump (no serious Polish contenders, but at least Mutaz has a Polish coach - and I am so happy to see Gianmarco Tamberi back after this terrible injury - I wonder what he could have achieved and how high he could have jumped if it hadn't happen to him - but he's back and still capable of doing big things)
100m semis and final (hopefully without Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman)
and yes, 800 semis - and 400m hurdles semis may be interesting, too - a very strong field here these days
 
3. First individual gymnastics apparatus finals (Nina Derwael winning gold on bars I hope)
 
4. Tennis - men's singles final (Novak Djokovic (I like the way he plays, I don't like some other things about him and his team members) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas I hope, that would be very entertaining)
and mixed doubles final maybe (there are not many mixed doubles pairs playing in Grand Slams with both players from one country - so this tournament is very open competition and a really hard-to-predict one). I would advice Łukasz Kubot and Iga Świątek to focus on it and maybe something spectaculiar will happen. But it;s a bit of wishful thinking again I'm afraid - Polish players haven't shown much in the olympics yet, even Agnieszka Radwańska imploded heavily both in 12 and in 16).
 
5. Equestrian cross country in eventing (i like to watch this in the olympics very much - but I don't understand why they don't let the riders start with dressage results in a reversed order - it is very interesting already, but maybe maybe it would be even more interesting with this change)
 
6. Golf - final round, especially if there would be 2-3 players with similar score after first 3 days (I wonder how many top players would show up in Tokyo - I think more than in Rio, but sadly still there would be some significant absentions). Adrian Meronk in top 30 would be a very good result for us. Maybe they would show him on tv here a few times, which would make golf more popular in Poland. That would be nice.
 
7. Volleyball - men's - POL vs CAN - the last match in the group stage. I hope we would secure a QF spot before and it will not be an all-or-nothing game. Because otherwise... well, it will be 9 a.m. Japanese Time - and sadly Polish athletes have some history of bad olympics performances before noon  - still can't figure out why ;-)
 
8. Beach volleyball - 1/8 finals with one or two Polish pairs probably
 
So it's a long day. But very entertaining.
 

Agreed on all of this, plus I'll start following beachvolleyball RO16 'today'. Hopefully with Dutch male and female duos still competing.
 
I've been loving this thread! Every night I check out the schedule for the next day and I already look forward to seeing everyone's reactions and predictions.

No, I get that. F1 made that right call for this season. 
 
It just seems that even under normal circumstances, Pan American events (in any sport, not just auto racing) are always the first gone when there’s a problem. Maybe I’m just starting to go a little quarantine crazy though 

That's because 3 of said stops are in countries in which their government are doing crap about the Pandemic, so why risk any contagions for the people working in the series?

Highlight for The Netherlands on the 9th day: Marit Bouwmeester in the Laser Radial. 
 
But there is so much more: the final of the 50 freestyle for men and women. Probably without Dutch participation, but who knows ... on the women's side we still have 2012-Olympic champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo and on the men's side Kenzo Simons broke the World Junior Record last december. Hopefully he qualifies already for the 2021-Olympics. 
 
Both Dutch hockeyteams normally will make their appearance in the quarterfinals. The women will be the clear favourite for gold, on the men's side I expect Germany and Belgium.
 
And as icing on the cake the 100m men! WOW!
 
Altogether a nice day!

Day 9, Sunday,
That would be one of the most entertaining days for me.
 
1. Last swimming finals (I hope Paweł Juraszek will make it to the 50m free final),
 
2. Athletics - my beloved high jump (no serious Polish contenders, but at least Mutaz has a Polish coach - and I am so happy to see Gianmarco Tamberi back after this terrible injury - I wonder what he could have achieved and how high he could have jumped if it hadn't happen to him - but he's back and still capable of doing big things)
100m semis and final (hopefully without Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman)
and yes, 800 semis - and 400m hurdles semis may be interesting, too - a very strong field here these days
 
3. First individual gymnastics apparatus finals (Nina Derwael winning gold on bars I hope)
 
4. Tennis - men's singles final (Novak Djokovic (I like the way he plays, I don't like some other things about him and his team members) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas I hope, that would be very entertaining)
and mixed doubles final maybe (there are not many mixed doubles pairs playing in Grand Slams with both players from one country - so this tournament is very open competition and a really hard-to-predict one). I would advice Łukasz Kubot and Iga Świątek to focus on it and maybe something spectaculiar will happen. But it;s a bit of wishful thinking again I'm afraid - Polish players haven't shown much in the olympics yet, even Agnieszka Radwańska imploded heavily both in 12 and in 16).
 
5. Equestrian cross country in eventing (i like to watch this in the olympics very much - but I don't understand why they don't let the riders start with dressage results in a reversed order - it is very interesting already, but maybe maybe it would be even more interesting with this change)
 
6. Golf - final round, especially if there would be 2-3 players with similar score after first 3 days (I wonder how many top players would show up in Tokyo - I think more than in Rio, but sadly still there would be some significant absentions). Adrian Meronk in top 30 would be a very good result for us. Maybe they would show him on tv here a few times, which would make golf more popular in Poland. That would be nice.
 
7. Volleyball - men's - POL vs CAN - the last match in the group stage. I hope we would secure a QF spot before and it will not be an all-or-nothing game. Because otherwise... well, it will be 9 a.m. Japanese Time - and sadly Polish athletes have some history of bad olympics performances before noon  - still can't figure out why ;-)
 
8. Beach volleyball - 1/8 finals with one or two Polish pairs probably
 
So it's a long day. But very entertaining.
 

Couldn't write yesterday so I'll catch up if you don't mind.
 
So 8th day:
- archery men's finals
- athletics - especially 4x400m mixed; I don't like idea of mixed events very much but I love 4x400m relays on the other hand so... 
- badminton doubles finals
- rugby 7 women's finals
- sailing RS:X medal races
- shooting mixed team trap (same problem as in athletics)
- triathlon mixed relay (and again)
 
And now 9th day:
- artistic gymnastics finals
- athletics - probably men's 800m semis would be more exciting for me than men's 100m final
- badminton women's single finals
- sailing laser and laser radial medal races
- swimming - all my favourite distances would be that day: 50m freestyle, 4x100m medley and 1500m
- first day of wrestling 

10000m mass start, like in cross-country skiing.

Have heard the ISU is looking to propose team sprint into the program

Aww that's really sad to hear.
 
Estavana Polman did an hour long interview with NOS for the Olympic Podcast that was released just this week. Definitely recommend listening! (In Dutch ofc)
 
As for the Olympics 'today', swimming and athletics are once again the main events. I hope Nadine Visser and Femke Bol reach the finals for 100m and 400m hurdles. And also the RS:X medal races, archery and potentially some preliminaries in team sports.

That's quite harsh opinion, don't you think? I would understand if you would name like that boxing for judges problems or weightlifting because of doping but luge? C'mon.
 
It's only your opinion, unless you have some proof to confirm it  I also have opinion and I think that many lugers wouldn't do it, especially older ones. Naturals and artificials aren't very similar disciplines. I think many lugers rather change to bobsleigh or even skeleton than natural luge. Some of them probably end their carriers.

Yeah, luge is like canoeing for example. Olympics are the only item on their portfolio. 
 

Nevertheless, ICF is on the brink of bankrupcy (following the Tokyo postponement) and their events are literally disappearing as soon as they get removed from the Olympic program. Clearly a sign that they are way to dependent on the Olympics...

Nope. They even had ceremonial discontinuation of men's C2 slalom after it got removed.

It is funny to see luge in Spain consdering that we do not have a single athlete . The only Winter sport slightly popular in Spain is figure skating, specially since the appearance of Javi Fernández. A few years ago, alpine skiing was also popular, with some World Cup events being shown in public TV, as well as ski jumping with the Four Trampolines, but nowadays nobody cares about Winter sports.

You  just gave to wait 6 years.  

Super Saturday!
 
Not many Dutch athletes today, but still a lot of nice sports to choose from. The swimming finals, including the 4x100 mixed relay. I know many people here hate this part of the competition, but I like this mixedevent. First sailing medals, hopefully one for Kiran Badloe in the RSX men. 
 
Day 8 highlights the series of the 400m hurdles with our young talent Femke Bol, hopefully she can join the strong American competition in this event. 
 
And last but not least I join @rafalgorka watching the archery finals 

On day 8 I would be watching men’s archery finals, athletics, badminton finals, the debut of BMX freestyle & Mixed team judo, women’s rugby finals, sailing medal races, swimming finals, shooting mixed trap, tennis finals, triathlon mixed relay & trampoline.

Ukraine government are considering a Lviv's bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics

Very definitely a different sport here in Europe, much rougher, steeper tracks for hill running.  Really a hardcore sport for amateurs or part-timers.

Those are very commonly used for cross country in the US. 
 
I will say that the terms “cross country” and “hill running” are pretty much interchangeable in California. Most of the big high school invitationals have decent sized hills on the course. My favorite courses had climbs with 12% grades.
 
The building an alternate trail for cross country into the Eventing course would be more realistic than using the MTB course. The problem with MTB is that the course is mostly single track, and that wouldn’t work well for cross country.

Wow, you call that a very broad preview, nice to read. Altogether quite a lot of opportunities for the Polish athletes. 
 
Netherlands also has some opportunities, but not as much as Poland. We 'only' have Dafne Schippers at the 100m and 200m (silver in Rio), but honestly: she's not going to make it this time. A lot of sprinters are meanwhile a lot better: Dina Asher, Shaune Miller-Uibo, Elaine Thompson and many others. And Sifan Hassan at the 10.000 meters. But there will be a lot of competition from Kenia and Ethiopia. 
 
Maybe there are a few other slight chances: Femke Bol (400 hurdles), 4x100 women and Nadine Visser (100 hurdles). But not very realistic.
 
You're right: most important is having exciting competitions, but ... still nice when your own country wins some medals :-). 
 
And to finish: a nice weekend for you as well!

Well, this is a tough question.
 
Probably the best chances are in hammer throw.
 
In men's hammer Paweł Fajdek is our best chance for medal, even gold I would say, but - despite he won a few gold medals in world championships - he imploded awfully both in 2012 and in 2016 in the qualifications. So I hope he will hold his nerves this time. And secondly, he needs to be careful about Bence Halasz, this is a very serious contender, improving fast. So Fajdek is our biggest chance for gold - but it will not be easy at all. Wojciech Nowicki may get a medal, too.
 
In women's hammer Anita Włodarczyk will have a difficult task to win another medal. US throwers are getting better and better and she had some health and coaching problems, so I don't expect her to win again. Papers say that it is quite possible that she will not take part in Tokyo olympics at all. But I hope she will.
 
There is a chance for a medal in men's pole vault. But only Bronze, I'm afraid. Piotr Lisek was 3rd in Doha and 4th in Rio. But two medals are for Armand Duplantis and Sam Kendricks, I think, so there will be very tense fight for 3rd spot on the podium.
 
Women's 4 x 400m is another chance. US team are much better, but Polish quartet should be able to perform well if you compare them with the rest.
 
This new mixed relay is a minor chance, too. But it is hard to find two fast 400m male runners in Poland these days, unfortunately.
 
So these are our chances. If there will be 3-4 medals and 1 gold I would say it would be a decent result.
 
And now some wishful thinking - I would be superhappy if we get a medal in individual track event. The last time we got one was a long long ago. Much too long. I would be superhappy if it was men's 800 or 1500 but both Adam Kszczot (800) and Marcin Lewandowski (1500) will have a difficult task to do it. I know they have their non-olympic medals already around their necks, but in Tokyo it will be a different game, much more difficult. I'm afraid they are faster runners than them nowadays, and these faster people will not repeat the mistake many did in men's 1500 final in Rio. In a slower pace, Kszczot's and Lewandowski's chances are getting higher but I expect both 800 and 1500 finals will be superfast this time.
 
If Caster Semenya and a few others and some new Rusians (never heard of before) will not participate - there will be a chance for Joanna Jóźwik for a good run in 800m final if she qualifies. But she had some health problems, too and - I'm not an expert - but I think she will need to think more on her tactics if she wants to win an olympic medal.
 
Sofia Ennaoui in 1500 is another chance - I like her very very much, I don't know her in person obviously, but she appears to be a very warm and funny person, really dedicated to her training. So I'm a big fan of hers. But her problem is she is competing in a time when the level of women's 1500 is really high. There are so many contenders here. But if she gets into the final, and the pace will be slow - she has an extremely good finish. Good enough for a medal? We will see.
 
It's also hard not to like Maria Andrejczyk in women's javelin - she was 4th in Rio, great in qualifications (if i'm not mistaken here, her throw in the qualis would give her a gold in the final, but I need to check it). Unfortunately she also had problems with health, so it is hard to say if she can repeat her Rio performance at least.
 
There are some youngsters shining already - Klaudia Siciarz in 100 hurdles for example, but it is a chance for a medal in Paris, I would say. I will look out how her career will unfold. She has a talent and potential for sure.
 
And finally, I would be supersuperhappy if we get a medal in men's high jump. This is by far my favourite event. As somebody told here before speaking about fencing - this is because of my good personal memories. But we don't have a good male high jumper in Poland now. Good enough to have a real chance for a medal.
In women's high jump there is Kamila Lićwinko. I wish her all the best but it will be very difficult for her to get on the podium. And from my personal point of view I wouldn't wish her e.g. a bronze medal after two Ukrainian jumpers which would be achieved only because Maria Lasitskene wasn't there. If you want to get a well-deserved olympic medal, win it in a strongest possible field ever. Otherwise, it will not taste the same. And I understand what Russians did was outrageous (maybe there should be a better word for that but my English is not so good). But I don't think that people like Lasitskene or Sidorova - who didn't fault with doping rules personally, should not be able to compete in the olympics. If it would happen under Russian flag or not - well, maybe without this flag but - as Barrack Obama said - this question is above my pay grade.
 
Anyway, I am a kind of multi-kulti person and I must admit that I watch olympics primarily to enjoy good, tense competitions - whether Poles are getting 3 gold medals in one day or not.
 
All the best for you, enjoy your weekend.
 
 

Day 6
 
Rowing finals, swimming finals, Women's C1 slalom and women 's artistic gymnastics individual all-around 
 
Besides that Basketball, tennis and beach volleyball 
 
No medals for Poland today I' m afraid 
 
And already waiting for athletics starting next day, checking out start lists, reading the news who' s in form and who's not