XXX Olympiad- Day 12

I saw these while looking for some offbeat coverage-

Competitive Armchair Olympics

Produced by CHRISTOPH NIEMANN and JON HUANG, The New York Times

• Twiddler
• Leaving for London
• The Underground
• Modern Triathalon
• Self-Defeating Badminton
• Flipper
• Road Kill
• One on One
• Sundowner

Today is looking like a rather light day in terms of variety.  Lots of medals being handed out, which means lots of sports we will no longer see, Swimming and Rowing for instance.  No more Tennis or Greco-Roman Wrestling or Badminton after today either

We have Women’s Boxing for the first time.  USA is expected to dominate, but that did the men no good.  I’ll probably watch some of the Water Polo and Handball while it’s still around.  The Equestrian feature is Team Jumping.  Rafalca won’t finish competing until Thursday (people ask).

My schedules are carefully transcribed but often do not match the broadcast.  I blame NBC.

Broadcast Schedule

All this is sourced through the NBC Olympics broadcast schedule.  Competition starts again at 6 am tomorrow.  

Competitions designated by (Medal) will award winners that day.  ‘all’ means not specified.  Sometimes NBC especially does mashups and doesn’t include event or competitor information.  Elimination means no round robin, one and done.

These schedules are a place for you to make sure you don’t miss a sport you like and share your observations.  Have fun today!

Williams Coasts to Gold, and a Career Golden Slam

By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY, The New York Times

Published: August 4, 2012

She became only the second woman to complete a career Golden Slam – a gold medal, plus wins in all four Grand Slam tournaments. The feat was first achieved by Steffi Graf in 1988 after she swept all four major titles that year. Williams can add the gold medal to her 14 Grand Slam singles championships, the most of any active woman.

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She and Venus Williams won their doubles semifinal later in the day over Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova of Russia and will face Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s doubles final.

‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius has an edge, all right – his spirit

By Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times

August 4, 2012, 4:30 p.m.

Of course, it will continue to spark the most amazing of debates, springing from the power he seems to derive from his prosthetics. Does a runner with no legs actually have an advantage over a runner with two legs? Pistorius is no threat for a medal here, but some worry these legs are walking the sport into a tricky tug of science over skill.

Five years ago, studies conducted by track’s international governing body showed Pistorius expended less energy than an able-bodied runner and banned him from official competitions. He responded by remaining in the Paralympics, where he won titles and still competes today. However, a year later, that decision was overruled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and Pistorius was given another chance. When he met the Olympic standard qualifying time this year, South Africa added him to the team, much to the dismay of some.

New Zealand Field Hockey Eliminates U.S.

By LAWRIE MIFFLIN, The New York Times

August 4, 2012, 1:30 pm

The Americans had had high hopes of at least contending for a medal here, based on an improving offense, a notably rugged defense and one of the world’s best goalkeepers in Amy Tran-Swensen.

Oddly for this squad, it was defense that let it down, as New Zealand scored all of its goals from penalty corners. Of course, credit where credit’s due: the New Zealanders created all those corners in the first place, with skillful attack play that too often left American defenders kicking or stumbling on the ball.

Signs of encouragement for the Americans came in the way they improved their own attack, scoring two goals, and the way they kept up with the fleet New Zealanders, especially Anita Punt, and kept them from breaking away too often. Katie O’Donnell scored from open play for the United States, and the defender Claire Laubach scored on a penalty corner.

London Olympics: Changes coming as boxing endures another scandal

By Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times

August 5, 2012

Go down five times in one round in professional boxing and your fight will be stopped. Go down five times in one round in the Olympics, and you go on to the quarterfinals.

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(B)oxing, once among the most popular and exciting of Olympic sports, has once again become mired in a controversy over scoring. The Shimizu decision was eventually overturned, with the Japanese fighter being reinstated and Ishanguly Meretnyyazov of Turkmenistan, who refereed the bout, being sent home.

A similar fate could await Denmark’s Lars Brovil, who refereed the bout U.S. welterweight Errol Spence was ruled to have lost Friday. After reviewing tape of the fight, officials with the AIBA, amateur boxing’s international governing body, overturned that decision too, ruling that Brovil failed to acknowledge eight holding fouls by Spence’s opponent, India’s Krishan Vikas, in the final round alone.

Koreans declare ping pong cordiale in London 2012 round of wiff-waff war

Marina Hyde, The Guardian

Saturday 4 August 2012

Of course, like every parlour game from tiddlywinks to consequences, table tennis always feels marginally more aggressive than bare-knuckle fighting, particularly if played with friends or relatives at Christmas. Banned substances include human growth hormone and Irish cream liqueur.

But when North Korea and South Korea are thrashing it out between the unforgiving lights of the ExCel, even a home counties family row can look amicable. I didn’t fork out a tenner for the headset providing expert commentary for any bemused spectators. But I’d like to think the ping-pong equivalent of Mark Lawrenson was glossing it with observations like: “Yeah, there’s a little bit of niggle here …”

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Still, for all the ping pong cordiale, it wouldn’t do to totally downplay the Olympics’ association with overt and covert international strife. Do recall that the North Korean military rocket launched back in April to commemorate the birth of Kim Il-sung was blown up mid-air, with suggestions being that the humiliation was the work of a virus spawned by the United States cyberwarfare programme. The codename of that programme? Why, “Olympic Games”, of course.

London 2012: Kim Collins axed from 100m by St Kitts for meeting wife

Owen Gibson, The Guardian

Saturday 4 August 2012

Lane four stood empty during the final heat of the men’s 100m in the Olympic Stadium on Saturday after the former world champion Kim Collins was dropped by St Kitts and Nevis for spending the night in a hotel with his wife.

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Earlier Collins had posted a message on Twitter, reading: “My fans. I won’t lie. Won’t be running later tonight.” Another message read: “Even men in prison get their wives to visit.”

The 2003 100m world champion, who is 36, carried his country’s flag at the Olympic opening ceremony just over a week ago. In detailing his punishment the team statement described him as “a national hero”.

And they say romance is dead.

A Valued Adjunct to the U.S. Sailing Team

By BARRY BEARAK, The New York Times

Published: August 4, 2012

Doug Charko is the meteorologist for the United States sailing team, which is no easy job here on the rainy and sunny, cloudy and clear, windy and still southwest coast of England.

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In one of his forecasts for the sailing team, he said the port could “serve up a dog’s breakfast” of swirling wind “with big shifts and deep holes.” By that, he meant it was a good idea to expect anything and everything.

“Days like these, with the winds so variable, kind of take the pressure off me,” he said, letting a smile be his umbrella on an intermittently rainy day. “Instead of aiming with a dart, I’m firing a shotgun.”

The sailing team has 16 athletes, 9 coaches, 3 physiotherapists, a psychologist, a rules expert and Charko. In the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, he worked for the Brazilians. In 2008, the Canadians. Meteorologists are now a standard part of the world’s better sailing teams.