Olympics 2016

[qbman1]

As promised, here is our Olympic Games thread.

It is starting well with Putin claiming there is a vendetta against Russia over the "alleged" doping scandal. He reckons people are out to soil Russia's "good reputation".

Erm! Hello! When have Russia ever had a good reputation for anything ? #cloudcuckooland !!!

[Silver_Shiney]

Aside from the ethical issues of cheating, I feel it is wrong that third world countries are allowed to host because, in these days of one-upmanship with regard to opening and closing ceremonies, coupled with the cost of building the facilities, the host country's economy is place under serious strain, which they can ill afford (was it Greece that spent a fortune on new arenas a few years ago that have never been used since?)

Why don't they do something similar to what Formula 1 racing does in having a set number of tracks and choose a handful of the best facilities already up and use them each time?

[oldbluefox]

I feel some sympathy for young Russian athletes who have trained and dedicated their lives towards the Rio Olympics and now find themselves the victims of state involvement in drugs cheating. It's not their fault what happened in Sochi and they are probably clean but stand to miss out on a major event as a consequence of somebody else cheating.
Maybe they would be able to compete as independents but I can see no way Russia can compete as a country after what they have done.

Shiney's idea has resonance. I cannot understand the logic of bankrupting a country in order to stage the Olympics. Likewise I cannot understand the logic of any country wishing to stage the Olympics if they know full well they cannot afford it, apart from the personal ambitions of politicians and athletic organisations who see their own personal kudos enhanced without giving a tinker's cuss for the legacy they leave behind.

[Raybosailor]

The Rio Olympics have not had a good start what with the Zika virus and now the Russian doping scandal, the people in the city of Rio really need this to work so lets wish them luck.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I wouldn't ban Russia, for the sake of the innocents, if there are any, among their competitors.

However, I would specify that their team must all arrive a minimum of two weeks before the games begin, dope test the entire team on arrival and every 24 hours thereafter until they leave to go home, and disqualify the entire team if any one of them is caught with as much as an aspirin, as well as banning the offender for life from all international sport.

[Silver_Shiney]

Sounds reasonable to me...

[qbman1]

I wouldn't ban Russia, for the sake of the innocents, if there are any, among their competitors.

However, I would specify that their team must all arrive a minimum of two weeks before the games begin, dope test the entire team on arrival and every 24 hours thereafter until they leave to go home, and disqualify the entire team if any one of them is caught with as much as an aspirin, as well as banning the offender for life from all international sport.

Vote Merv for President !

[Kendhni]

I listened to them interviewing one of the Russian athletes the other day and they said

" ... er like man, you know, wow look at those colors, hey dude like chill out and respect man, yea like man, no man we would never like man indulge in such things dude, love and peace man ..."