For Americans planning on watching on tape delay, I won't give away who won the finals of the men's 100m dash on the London track, but I will note who didn't make it to the finals for the eighth consecutive Olympics, beginning with 1984: a non-black. That's 64 men in a row of primarily black African descent.
Three non-blacks were among the 24 semifinalists striving for the eight spots in the finals:
- A Chinese fellow who then ran an unimpressive 10.28.
- A young Japanese runner, Ryota Yamagata, who failed to advance with a decent 10.10. The Japanese typically have one or two semifinalists in the Olympic 100m, although I don't think they've made the finals since the Los Angeles Olympics of 1932.
- Most interestingly, an 18-year-old U.K. runner Adam Gemili, who appears to be largely a swarthy Caucasian of Middle Eastern descent, who finished third in his semifinal at 10.06, just shy of the 10.02 needed to move on.
The fastest white 100m man of all time, France's Christophe Lemaitre, who has a personal best of 9.92, decided to pass up on the 100m in favor of concentrating on the 200m where he felt he has a better chance of medaling.
That's 64 men in a row of primarily black African descent.
ReplyDeleteBy which I suspect you mean, of primarily black West-African descent.
adam gemili is half iranian and half moroccan.
ReplyDeletethere is a german sprinter, julian reus, who went 10.09 this month and would have got to the semi final in london, but did not run the 100, and will only run in the 4x100 relay.
it's disappointing to see lemaitre not run the 100, he could have got to the final. he's right that he could not medal, certainly not with so many juicers like gatlin and blake, and probably not even in a clean field, but he will regret not running the race for the experience. he better get the bronze in the 200 as he plans to, or the london olympics will have been a huge setback for him.
germany can probably get 4th in the 4x100, depending on what trinidad does. trinidad has their best 4x100 team ever this year, they can go fast. of course any team can drop the stick too, and anything can happen after that. japan, france, the UK, they will all be in the mix too. not sure what poland is doing this year.
"By which I suspect you mean, of primarily black West-African descent."
i think he mainly means to exclude north africans, who aren't black. of course you are right that it's exclusively west africans who do all the sprinting and jumping, it's definitely not "blacks" in general.
"By which I suspect you mean, of primarily black West-African descent."
ReplyDeleteI kind of danced around that question here because of the issue of how to classify two-time silver medalist Frankie Fredericks of Namibia. That's on the west coast of Africa, but isn't classically what's thought of as West Africa.
That Japanese dude is massively pumped up, but Lemaitre isn't at all. He looks practically like a teenage girl.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is some sub-Saharan admixture in Moroccans. Gemili looks like he could have some.
ReplyDeleteAmusing Olympics observation:
ReplyDeleteEarlier today I was watching a women's indoor volleyball match between the United States and Turkey. The American women wore uniform bottoms that were basically a hybrid between bikini bottoms and shorts: a bit longer and with more coverage than bikini bottoms, a bit shorter and with less coverage than shorts. In contrast, the Turkish women, being from an Islamic country, wore bottoms that were just long enough to be, unequivocally, shorts.
West Africans have spread far beyond Africa. I saw a West African woman competing for Norway in the womens 100m. And of course there are a lot of West Africans in the USA, Great Britain, Jamaica, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt seems perfectly plausible that some are in Namibia as well.
"I believe there is some sub-Saharan admixture in Moroccans. Gemili looks like he could have some."
ReplyDeleteHe sure does look part subsaharan. As do many if not most north Africans, including the King of Morocco:
http://yemenfox.net/news_details.php?sid=2213
for the first time ever i think, there are no americans in the 400 meters final. that might be the bigger story steve.
ReplyDeletepretty pathetic, since you only have to go back like 6 years to when andrew rock was running 44.3 and wariner was running 43.
lashawn merrit was a druggy, and it caught up to him. the other two guys could not even go 44. terrible stuff.
By "primarily black West-African descent" one seeks to exclude not only the various Arabs and Berbers and the like of Mediterranean Africa.
ReplyDeleteThere are no Luos (like our president), Tutsis, or other Nilotics among the 64 finalists of the past decades. There are no Hottentots, Pygmies, or Bushmen. Even East-African Bantus like the Kikuyu political opponents of Barack Obama Sr. are absent.
There seems to really be some West African Bantu adaptation no one else can compete with. I wonder how fast people could be running if some of the hundreds of millions of people in West Africa had developed something other than backwards, crime-ridden, and incredibly corrupt nations.
Incidentally, Mexican-Americans show no interest in voting for a Cuban like Sen. Marco Rubio for vice president. Nevertheless, overwhelmingly Bantu African-Americans are insuperably enthusiastic about Luo Obama. Obama is about as far culturally and genetically from African-Americans as any human could possibly be. It's interesting to see how far ethnic solidarity will or will not extend.
or the story could be galen rupp taking second in the 10000 meters. what's unusual about him, other than not being from kenya or ethiopia, is that he's 26, relatively young for somebody so great at the 5000 and 10000. distance runners usually peak in their 30s.
ReplyDeleteI demand that the IOC institute a disparate impact policy on the 100 meters, on all track events, actually.
ReplyDeleteFollowing up the disparate impact comment--
ReplyDeleteIt's not fair that blacks always outrun whites, browns, and yellows in the shorter distances.
Culturally, the non-blacks are at a disadvantage because they aren't pushed enough by parents, by neighbors and by the larger society to excel in these events.
Also, because blacks are in countries with schools that EXPECT them to do well in these events, most countries PUSH them to excel, train them to excel while ignoring the undeveloped abililties and latent athletic talent of whites, browns, and yellows.
Where's does the IOC stand on this? The UN? Obama? Sharpton?
Jackson? The congresswoman in the pink cowboy hat with rhinestonees ?????? We whites, browns, and yellows might as well be rabid dogs for all she cares.
Being able to run fast is a minor skill in terms of Evolution. Its probably a little more useful than being to Jump very high and a little less helpful than say horseback riding.
ReplyDeleteMost useful athletic skills: endurance and upper body strength. Plus hand-eye coordination.
In order to run a sub 10 second 100 m dash you need to a certain physical type. So tall, no more than x percent body fat, legs a certain length, hips no more x inches, etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteYou probably write a computer program forecasting whether person X could ever run a 100m dash under 10.5 seconds simply by seeing their body profile.
"You probably write a computer program forecasting whether person X could ever run a 100m dash under 10.5 seconds simply by seeing their body profile."
ReplyDeleteThe male and female champions are 17" different in height.
In order to run a sub 10 second 100 m dash you need to a certain physical type. So tall, no more than x percent body fat, legs a certain length, hips no more x inches, etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteIn the UK, black people call for employment quotas so that they can be employed to the same or greater degree than their prevalence in the population. I pointed out to some black people that employment should be based on individual merit. I was called a racist.
ReplyDeleteI once suggested to some black people that there should be quotas in the music and athletics industries so that white people get a look in.
I was called a racist because those industries should always be merit-based.
I was interested to see an Israeli runner in the 400m heats. Unfortunately, he showed up at the start without his spikes and failed to qualify.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jpost.com/Sports/Article.aspx?id=280033
Gilbert P.
"I was interested to see an Israeli runner in the 400m heats."
ReplyDeleteHe would've won too, except for Antisemitism.
Most useful athletic skills: endurance
ReplyDeleteSo...like the East African runners?
The commenter above is right that the big story should be Galen Rupp. The first US medal in the distance running events for decade, the fastest and best distance runner ever not of African descent. Plus a good human interest story in his friendship with British (Somali immigrant) Mo Farah, who won the 10000 and got the first British distance gold in forever. Not to mention genius coach / former champ Alberto Salazar. I have been astounded at the lack of US coverage of Rupp's great achievement. Instead we get endless stuff on freak show Oscar Pistorius and his artificial limbs, it's bizarre we are so obsessed with disabled sports in this country.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Rupp could have run this race, it almost seemed like he was (perhaps subconsciously) running for second so as not to beat his friend and training partner Mo Farah in the race of Farah's life. We'll see in the 5000. But Rupp has time, barring injury he should peak in 2016.
The difference between the best and worst is less than a second. They're all winners, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI mean, seriously.
An interesting side issue from these Games is what might be called the North Korea paradox.
ReplyDeleteHow is it that a backward state can compete AND WIN?
It's not enough to talk about ruthless dictators, bread and circuses. and all that. I get the popular idea. I can see why Dr Evil would try to breed his own superman. But how can he succeed with inferior technology?
Gilbert P.
Most useful athletic skills: endurance and upper body strength. Plus hand-eye coordination.
ReplyDeleteLower body strength - legs, hips, glutes, etc. - is much more useful and important than upper body strength. Virtually every movement involving the upper body - punching, throwing, pulling, pushing, etc. - involves the lower body which makes the bigger difference than the upper.
I was interested to see an Israeli runner in the 400m heats. Unfortunately, he showed up at the start without his spikes and failed to qualify.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jpost.com/Sports/Article.aspx?id=280033
What's striking about the picture of the runner at that link is just how small his head is.
Galen Rupp, first non-African* to go under 27 in the 10K, in love with his uber-cute wife
ReplyDelete*That's the way the LA Times put it -- strange because obviously Mo Farrah of the UK has. Apparently the Times recognizes that citizenship is just a formality, that 'roots' count.
Lemaitre could have easily made the finals, he has won consecutive 100m European Championships, and finished 4th in the World Championships last year in South Korea. He blew away all the other French sprinters in both the 100m and 200m at the French Olympic Trials, and one of them just missed the 100m finals and is of West African descent. It wasn't his choice not to compete, but his coach who wanted him to medal in the 200m, and the 4x100m relay and thought the 100m would be a distraction and tire him out. Although Lemaitre is bad starter, one of the worst among elite 100m sprinters in the world, his finishing speed is probably second only to Bolt, which is why he usually finishes in the top 5 in every race he runs. He has already broken 10 flat seven times, and recently beat one of the Olympic 100m finalists in the 200m, so the speed is there, but he is tall for 100m guy, about 6'3" and is therefore seen as more "naturally" a 200m guy or relay guy ( Because you can get a running start )Personally I think it was a mistake, but if gets silver or bronze in the 200m and helps France medal in the relay, the coach will feel vindicated. He is only 22, so barring injury he will get probably two more chances at an Olympic 100m. Regarding the earlier poster, I agree both Gatlin and Blake are certainly juicing, but I have seen him run neck and neck with Blake, and beat Gatlin handily in the World Championship 100m semifinal last year. You are always guaranteed to lose all the races you don't run, I think he had decent chance to beat Gatlin at least for a bronze, but we will never know because of his coach's "advice".
ReplyDeleteThe Olympics are the most egregious example of genetically-based, Human Biological Diversity that it is possible to imagine.
ReplyDeleteThe prospects of the year-on-year clustering by ethnicity in particular events being due to pure chance is probably smaller than the numeric value of Planck's Constant.
The Left, being generally innumerate, are only vaguely aware of this and, grasping for explanations, land on "culture" as the answer (as it is to everything for them).
For the more insightful in the Left, the truth must occur to them, from time to time, and from there it is but a short step to acknowledging that the brain cannot be the only organ immune from the attentions of natural selection.
At that point it all unravels for them.
This is the real reason that sport, and the control of sporting journalism, is so desperately important for them.
Anon.
Incidentally, Mexican-Americans show no interest in voting for a Cuban like Sen. Marco Rubio for vice president. Nevertheless, overwhelmingly Bantu African-Americans are insuperably enthusiastic about Luo Obama. Obama is about as far culturally and genetically from African-Americans as any human could possibly be. It's interesting to see how far ethnic solidarity will or will not extend.
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly vexed by this. The solidarity extends within the political party. Not many blacks supporting Herman Cain...
Also, Hispanic solidarity really shows up in local elections. For instance, in a contest for a no-name office where neither candidate is recognizable and party affiliation is only nominal (e.g. Justice of the Peace No. 6 or Tax Collector) the vote gets made solely on the basis of surname. Plenty of white women married to hispanics take advantage of this.
For sure Lemaitre ain't no BALCO posse.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting side issue from these Games is what might be called the North Korea paradox.
ReplyDeleteHow is it that a backward state can compete AND WIN?
You might be getting North Korea confused with South Korea.
North Korea has 5 medals, 4 in weightlifting and 1 in judo.
Weightlifting and judo aren't expensive sports. Weights and pajamas are cheap.
He is only 22, so barring injury he will get probably two more chances at an Olympic 100m.
ReplyDeleteIsn't 30 pushing it for a sprinter?
Ryan Bailey, who ran a 9.88 in qualifiers, clearly has some European ancestry. That's about as white you'll find.
ReplyDeleteclassy move:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh68EiQ2ztSh27DyWq
"An interesting side issue from these Games is what might be called the North Korea paradox.
ReplyDeleteHow is it that a backward state can compete AND WIN?
You might be getting North Korea confused with South Korea.
North Korea has 5 medals, 4 in weightlifting and 1 in judo.
Weightlifting and judo aren't expensive sports. Weights and pajamas are cheap."
Still five gold medals, from a basket case nation. Sure, they have maniacal obsession, cruel training methods, etc; but we, in the free world, have those factors too, plus the college system, highly paid coaches, computer modeling of bio-mechanics, perfect nutrition, and all the rest. How can North Korea win ANY medals?
So maybe all the jazz around sport these days is a lot of hype.
GP.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/trampoline/highlights-womens-trampoline-gold-medal-routine.html
ReplyDeletestupidest event
how about a game where the entire field is a trampoline?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbcolympics.com/video/trampoline/highlights-dong-dong-wins-trampoline-gold.html
ReplyDeleteding dong
I love that Serena Williams, after winning Gold in the Women's Tennis event, did the "Crip Walk" dance. Classy, classy, classy. Gotta love the Williams Sisters.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I can drive far faster in my car than any man or woman of any descent can run. What matters most is not pure athletic ability but the ability to work focused, long hours, on tasks requiring lots of dexterity and the ability to think abstractly. Technology kills, every time.
And that's the fascination with disabled sports. Is it any accident the disabled paralympics feature mostly White athletes with lots of technology? I think not, any more than the Tour De France is about as White as you can get, Whiter than NASCAR (and definitely Whiter than Formula One) with all that technology (the bikes and bike computers) on display.
Thomas Vockler was amazing when in the final Pyrenees Mountain stage he threw away the bike computer, and radio earpiece and listened to his heart beat and his body's response to gauge his attack, and used his ears to hear competitors coming up from behind him. He deserved the Polka Dot Jersey for King of the Mountains.
Peter A said...
ReplyDeleteRyan Bailey, who ran a 9.88 in qualifiers, clearly has some European ancestry. That's about as white you'll find.
Mom-
Debra Galban
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Overcoming: Ryan Bailey doesn't have much – except great speed and some necessary support
This discussion would have some sense, if the participation rate in the 100 m was equal. Which isn't. Since mid-80's, there has been a deep decay of track events in the whole developed world, and it is funny that the visible effect of this decline was even interpreted as "the growing domination of African runners" (who ran the same times like before). In fact, the current ethnic composition in the 400-1500 m is virtually grotesque and has virtually nothing to do with the global distribution of running talent.
ReplyDeleteThe Australian teenager Steve Solomon who has made the 400m final is Jewish and is planning to go to Stanford
ReplyDeleteWhich somehow reminds me that Harold Abrahams converted to Catholicism
Isn't 30 pushing it for a sprinter?
ReplyDeleteMichael Johnson broke the world record in the 400m ( Which he had been chasing for years ) just shy of his 32nd birthday at the World Championships in Seville in 1999, which is still the world record today. Carl Lewis had his best long jump and best non wind aided 100m time at age 30 at the 1991 Worlds. So it is possible, also Lemaitre didn't take up track and field until 15, so he might have less wear and tear on his body then someone who has been doing it his or her's entire childhood, and the guy is still pretty thin for a sprinter even now. Lewis was running a lot from an early age, if memory serves.
"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteclassy move:
http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh68EiQ2ztSh27DyWq"
Whether he broke off because a national anthem was being played, or out of respect for fellow athletes receiving the recognition due them, it was a very decent thing to do.
This may be the last 100 meter race with this particular pattern - all blacks in the final.
ReplyDeleteJust as the F-22 may be the last fighter flown by a human. "The times, they are a changin'".
This is also the first Olympics in which someone has charged "genetic" doping. Let me remind everyone that the article in Scientific American that warned about genetic doping used the male 100 meter dash as the example - not female swimming.
If this technology has matured enough in China, all future 100 meter dash winners will likely be by genetically enhanced runners. Bolt - a natural variation style athlete - will be obsolete. We are right on the cusp of manufacturing our fastest sprinters.
It seems likely that the next crop of great sprinters will all be Chinese. But soon I expect Caucasians to adopt the same technology. I actually saw the last great white sprinter - Dave Sim - live at a track meet. I may live long enough to see another white sprint champ.
Albertosaurus
I think sports fans in the long run don't care about doping. They care about competition. If everyone is juiced, then it's fair.
ReplyDeleteDoping of any sort screws up baseball stats but is largely irrelevant in most sports - certainly it doesn't matter in simple running. Sports fans just like to watch races.
This was impressed on me when I started following the Oakland Athletics. At the stadium once every game they would present "Dot Racing". Often the live game would be dull - an inevitable result of great pitching. But everyone would perk up for Dot Racing. As soon as those red, blue and green dots took off everyone in the stands was on his feet screaming. Me too. At first I felt embaressed. I was getting excited over little electronically generated lights. I was reacting as if they had individual capabilities and capacities. But of course they were no such thing.
Dot Racing is a little like Roman Chariot Racing which used the same colors. Roman families often lost everything betting on the "Blues". Historians have attributed this mania to love of horses. But Dot Racing proves that the horses are not needed at all. It's the racing.
There seems to be a circuit in the human brain that becomes engaged when a race is perceived. So it doesn't matter if Bolt and the other runners are juiced or not. People will always be fascinated by racing.
Albertosaurus
how about a game where the entire field is a trampoline?
ReplyDeleteCheck out Slamball
In a recent BBC documentary, about the world's leading sprinters, Lemaître's coach was interviewed and said that Lemaître was "bothered" (French: ça l'a gêné)when people talked about him being the first white man to break 10 seconds, and that "he is not a racist in any way". It was a bit of a WTF moment - is it now racist to be seen to competitive with black people in "their" sports? I guess he's just a good brainwashed young white person.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me wonder if he feels that competing in the 100m would be impertinent - what if he were to actually beat some of them!
It would be good for white self-esteem to see some white sprinters at least being competitive in the 100m and 200m. There are enough hundreds of millions of us to make it possible, surely.
I think sports fans in the long run don't care about doping. They care about competition. If everyone is juiced, then it's fair.
ReplyDeleteYou're not a sports fan You're an entertainment fan, which is similar but different in many important respects.
If this technology has matured enough in China, all future 100 meter dash winners will likely be by genetically enhanced runners
ReplyDeleteWho should get the medal - the runner, or the team of scientists who genetically enhanced him?
Dot Racing is a little like Roman Chariot Racing which used the same colors. Roman families often lost everything betting on the "Blues". Historians have attributed this mania to love of horses. But Dot Racing proves that the horses are not needed at all. It's the racing.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's the gambling.
I started following the Oakland Athletics. At the stadium once every game they would present "Dot Racing". Often the live game would be dull - an inevitable result of great pitching. But everyone would perk up for Dot Racing. As soon as those red, blue and green dots took off everyone in the stands was on his feet screaming. Me too. At first I felt embaressed. I was getting excited over little electronically generated lights.
No need to be embarrassed. Once you accept the fact that you are not really a sports fan at all, your seemingly absurd behavior - like getting more excited over colored lights than about the sporting event going on - makes perfect sense.
"Most useful athletic skills: endurance and upper body strength. Plus hand-eye coordination."
ReplyDeleteLower body strength - legs, hips, glutes, etc. - is much more useful and important than upper body strength.
You're both wrong. The correct answer is: "It depends on the sport".
Who should get the medal - the runner, or the team of scientists who genetically enhanced him?
ReplyDeleteThe one who isn't a nuuuurrrrrd!
Bottom line in terms of evolution; the ability to engage in hand-hand-combat, throw a spear or rock, and shoot a bow and arrow are all more important that being able to run quickly.
ReplyDeleteThink: Hunting, warfare, fighting, chopping down trees, building stuff, digging, rowing, etc, etc.
SS: "The fastest white 100m man of all time, France's Christophe Lemaitre, who has a personal best of 9.92, decided to pass up on the 100m in favor of concentrating on the 200m where he felt he has a better chance of medaling."
ReplyDeleteWhy even show up at all? The 100m is, what, Lemaitre's one out of two lifetime chances at an Olympic medal and he's not going to take it. Lemaitre sounds weak.
Yet one more Xtian priest abuses innocent children.
ReplyDeleteApparently even race walkers dope. The defending Olympic gold champ in race walking got caught for doping and is missing this summer's Olympics and ending his career at the relatively young age (especially for race walking) of 27. He had actually set an Olympic record in the 50K race walk at the 2008 Olympics.
ReplyDeletehttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/08/06/race-walker-doping.ap/index.html
It's pretty sad that even race walkers of all people are doping. What's next? Ping pong players doping?
ReplyDeleteI see that there are one or two commenters who have accused me of not being a real sports fan.
ReplyDeleteOoh. That hurts.
I think the future world won't have baseball. Baseball is too delicate to survive our mastery of of steroids and genetic modifications. In 1967 they raised the pitcher's mound six inches and only Yastrzemski hit 300 that year. They lowered it again and averages climbed back up. Move the diamond only a foot apart on each side and no one will beat out a bunt to first anymore. No one will ever steal second again. And no one will ever hit an inside the park Home Run.
Make the players just a little bit stronger and someday someone will finally beat the Bambino's record. Wait - that's not the future, is it? You must forgive me. I'm not a real sports fan after all.
Oddly enough I predicted - in public before witnesses - that Barry Bonds would break all the HR records while the AT&T stadium was being built. Baseball is so sensitive to minor adjustments it was pretty obvious that a left handed slugger in that park would prosper.
But running is robust. In the 1988 Olympics where the judges took the Gold from Johnson - the dirty cheating doper - and gave it to Lewis - another doper with better publicity - there were over a hundred cases of confirmed doping. But nobody really cares.
People watch horses race and dogs race. In the movies we see POWs race rats and bugs. There is a controversy now about this amputee who has an artificial foot. He seems to run better with it. Sounds interesting.
We also watch auto racing where much of the difference between the winners and losers has nothing to do with the human driver at all. I'm quite sure that we will soon see robot races. It's obvious that there will soon be driver-less cars on the highways. At that time, expect drag races to no longer have drivers either. That should be easy to do - just wire up the gas pedals to the light towers. It shouldn't effect race attendance either.
People just like to watch races. That's why I think we should just give up on trying to keep steroids or any other performance enhancing products out of the runners. First of all it's a doomed effort.
Secondly, I would like to watch a race between a field of superman sprinters. I ran the 100 (yards not meters) in 13 seconds flat in Junior High. So I can't really identify with Hussien Bolt now. He's like a different species already, he's so far beyond me physically. A genetically manufactured runner would just be more of the same.
We need national goals. Let's put a man on Mars and lets build a sprinter who can break 8 seconds in the hundred.
I'd buy a ticket to see that guy.
Albertosaurus
It's kind of understandable why there's doping in some of these sports. A lot of these events are like a lottery. It only matters if you medal, and in some of them, only if you get a gold. You could be the 4th best in the world but nobody will care. In other sports, especially team ones, you can have a decent career being a backup.
ReplyDeleteIn the 1988 Olympics where the judges took the Gold from Johnson - the dirty cheating doper - and gave it to Lewis - another doper with better publicity
ReplyDeleteThey took the medal from a poor Canadian and gave it to a holier than thou American with better publicity. What's news?
I see that there are one or two commenters who have accused me of not being a real sports fan.
ReplyDeleteOoh. That hurts.
He exclaimed, before writing further comments revealing that he was not a sports fan.
People just like to watch races.
People just like to watch a lot of things. But only a small and specific subset of those things constitute sport.
Imagine the professional wrestling equivalent of a foot race. Everybody involved in the "race" would the outcome ahead of time. It would be fixed, in other words. But from the standpoint of the spectators it could be just as much fun to watch as a real race. In fact it would probably be more fun to watch than a real race, because the actors/athletes could play it for maximum drama.
The fact that sports are, sometimes, entertaining does not mean that entertainment is sports.
You want to be entertained. That does not make you a sports fan.
We also watch auto racing where much of the difference between the winners and losers has nothing to do with the human driver at all.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant. So instead of wasting time and effort on creating genetically modified riders to race in the Tour de France, why don't we make it a motor-cycle race? After all, if the goal is travel a certain distance in a certain time, we already have technology far superior to any human, genetically modified or not.
You are clueless as to the purpose of sport, which is why you keep coming up with inane suggestions about it.
expect drag races to no longer have drivers either. That should be easy to do - just wire up the gas pedals to the light towers. It shouldn't effect race attendance either.
ReplyDeleteThat's the goofiest thing you've come out with since you googled "black+men+sexuality" or whatever and concluded that white men were consumed with sexual jealousy.
If the object of a "race" is to get an unmanned object to travel between points A and B in the shortest time, then bring your rifle, I'll bring mine, and we'll see whose bullet travels the fastest. I'm sure it will make for a terrific spectator sport.
Steve have you seen Alison Felix compete in the 100 and 200m? Doesn't look like she has gone over to the PED dark side.
ReplyDelete"That's the goofiest thing you've come out with since you googled "black+men+sexuality" or whatever and concluded that white men were consumed with sexual jealousy."
ReplyDeleteThey aren't?
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/weightlifting/highlights-egyptian-weightlifter-hospitalized-after-bar-hits-chest.html
ReplyDeleteouch
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/fencing/fencing-highlights-usa-beats-france-in-the-mens-team-foil-quarterfinals.html
ReplyDeletewhy is fencing outfit so gay?
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/archery/full-replay-womens-team-gold-medal-match.html
ReplyDeletewhy do archers wear goofy hats?
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/rowing/highlights-miroslava-knapkova-wins-womens-single-sculls-gold.html
ReplyDeletehow come there's no waterskiing?
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/boxing/expert-analysis-historic-day-for-womens-boxing.html
ReplyDeletethey're so ugly that no loss here
Meanwhile, I see five white/slavic women through to the semi's in the women's 200m. Three Ukrainians, a Russian, and a Romanian. Five out of 27 semifinalists, with the other 22 African, probably West African.
ReplyDeleteI love the dot race. Somehow, I mange to pick the winner 70% of the time. But I never bet more than a dollar with my companion.
ReplyDeleteAnd the first US medal in the 1500 since Jim Ryun in 1968...Italian-American Leo Manzano. This has been a great few days for US distance running (and a lousy few days for genetic determinism).
ReplyDeleteWhoops, Manzano is a Mexican American, from Texas.
ReplyDeleteNew Olympic event--the asylum dash. Cameroon leads Sudan, 7-3.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/cameroon-official-7-olympic-competitors-are-missing-from-the-athletes-village/2012/08/07/a8be7d12-e0ae-11e1-8d48-2b1243f34c85_story.html
A Russian won the men's high jump today. A black American got the silver.
ReplyDelete