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Winter Olympics.

Many of the Olympic winter sports - tobogganing, skeleton, luge, ski jump, etc, would be much improved if all the competitors set off together.
 
Germany have 12 medals and are top of the table. The UK have ... uhm ... none.

Britain does ok at the winter Olympics given we're not really a winter sports country. In recent years at the summer Olympics Britain has taken a lot more medals than Germany though (121 in 2016, compared to Germany's 42).
 
Speed skating should be done in lanes like the 400m and the lane draw based on times in the heats and other rounds. Bloody stupid sport where it is basically a lottery whether you finish the race regardless of how talented you are.

It really doesn't appear to be a sensible sport considering the volume of races that have to be settled by the judges decision.
 
Short track speed skating really is a terrible event. It seems rare to get a race that doesn't go to the judges! They've just mentioned that there have been 36 penalties in 4 days.
 
Elise Christie’s luck doesn’t change; a painful false start followed by a restart in which she completed and came second, and was for some reason then yellow carded/disqualifued. I agree with the comments above that this event needs lanes. It is just insane at present.
 
I haven't been watching much but this Christie seems to be in the news a lot. Is it possible she's just not good enough? In my chosen sport, the same people always end up at the top - they just seem to ride their luck that much better, which is part of the game. You don't put yourself in risky positions.

<DISCLAIMER> I know nothing about speed skating, so flaming is probably well deserved </DISCLAIMER>
 
I haven't been watching much but this Christie seems to be in the news a lot. Is it possible she's just not good enough? In my chosen sport, the same people always end up at the top - they just seem to ride their luck that much better, which is part of the game. You don't put yourself in risky positions.

<DISCLAIMER> I know nothing about speed skating, so flaming is probably well deserved </DISCLAIMER>

I think she won gold at all 3 distances at the world championship so clearly is more than good enough.
 
I haven't been watching much but this Christie seems to be in the news a lot. Is it possible she's just not good enough? In my chosen sport, the same people always end up at the top - they just seem to ride their luck that much better, which is part of the game. You don't put yourself in risky positions.

She is world-class, just crazy fast, but this Olympics she seems to be jinxed. The whole penalty thing needs investigation as it always looks like the skaters need to jostle/push for position and sometimes get away with it and sometimes don’t. The whole event needs rethinking as it fundamentally doesn’t work despite in theory being about pure speed and athleticism.

To be honest I reckon Christie failed today as due to injury for the first time she was at the level of the rest of the pack so had to push and shove a bit. She usually just waits at the back and then goes around the outside as she is just so much stronger/faster than the competition!
 
The Elise Christie race shouldn't have been restarted. She clumped the ice and another competitor with her right skate, a split second before she fell over. In other words it was her fault.

Christie might be fast, but she has been crap at these games unfortunately.

She came second in the restarted race and was then disqualified.

The judges were all fat men with double chins.

Jack
 
Not good enough this time.

A bit of that plus a bit of bad luck as well (e.g. getting taken out by someone but without a penalty, or being bumped in a qualifier which meant she had a poor lane in the next leg). Obviously there is a lot of skill involved and not just sheer speed, but there does seem to be a significant element which is just a lottery.
 
The Elise Christie race shouldn't have been restarted. She clumped the ice and another competitor with her right skate, a split second before she fell over. In other words it was her fault.

The rules seem to be explicit that if there is a clash before the middle of the first corner then the race is re-started without penalty if it's just a racing incident. There seem to already be enough rules causing disqualifications without making up some more...!
 
The rules seem to be explicit that if there is a clash before the middle of the first corner then the race is re-started without penalty if it's just a racing incident. There seem to already be enough rules causing disqualifications without making up some more...!

Ah I obviously didn't know that.

Jack
 
Ah I obviously didn't know that.

I only knew it from watching the coverage and the following discussion. My initial thought was the same as yours i.e. it was either her own fault or accidental so she'd be out for sure.

It seems a shame that the majority of the races seem to involve the judges spending a fair bit of time working out what the hell happened before the results can be announced. It almost seems to be a novelty if a race finishes without the judges having to make a decision!
 
I agree with Tony these races should be in lanes otherwise they appear to be a lottery. I know Elise and she is an incredible competitor but imagine she will now pack in speed skating for good.
 
Track is too short for lanes...the sport would have to be changed completely.
Did anyone see the relays? Mad.
 
Track is too short for lanes...the sport would have to be changed completely.
Did anyone see the relays? Mad.

Something needs to change though as almost every race goes to a judges decision. I guess the alternative is to have no fouls aside from a knock-down and just accept there is jostling for position. There is clearly too much ambiguity at present. I also have real concerns about safety, e.g. I’m convinced Christie was within centimetres of losing a finger or two on the first heat she went down on. By saying that the cooler snowboard and skiing events are clearly dangerous too, Amee Fuller posted pictures of herself after totally face-planting the Snowboard Big Air event yesterday, she’s black and blue!
 
I agree with Tony these races should be in lanes otherwise they appear to be a lottery. I know Elise and she is an incredible competitor but imagine she will now pack in speed skating for good.

I think that would be a wise move on her part as this Short Track speed skating is just mad, end of.
 


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