Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
General Topics => Other Sports (Not Football) => Topic started by: Colwyn on August 07, 2012, 17:51:48 PM
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From 1960 to 1996 GB regularly achieved either 4 or 5 gold medals in the (Summer) Olympics with occasional slip-ups like 1960 when we only got 2 and 1996 where it was a mere 1. This began to change in 2000 when it was 11 and now we are thinking our team won't really be successful unless it beats 2008's 19 - which it has just done.
Doesn't seem very British to me.
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This is not a racist remark, but how many non-white medal winners have we got in the team now, compared to the 1960s ?
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1908 target yet to achieve :D
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This is not a racist remark, but how many non-white medal winners have we got in the team now, compared to the 1960s ?
Well it is a bit racist Alan
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Oh dearie me ! Why not celebrate their success with the rest of us - white , black and brown ? Enjoy and be proud !
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Well it is a bit racist Alan
It's as racist as you want it to be.
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To answer KKOB's post as though it was a genuine inquiry, my guess would be that there were many fewer "non-white" athletes in 1960 when we won 2 gold medals than there were in 1996 when we won 1. What has happened since then is an extraordinary development of British sporting achievement across a wide range of Olympic sports.
Well done to those who have competed so far and good luck to those whose hour is yet to come.
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There have been some funny/interesting/enlightening articles in the Guardian this week and for those that are interested I am sharing them here...
How commitment, focus and discipline brought us the 2012 cycling team...
http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/sport/2012/aug/06/british-cycling-olympics-super-tuesday?fb_source=timeline_news&fb_action_types=news.reads
Dispelling the myths - how many of our winning athletes come from state schools
http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/commentisfree/2012/aug/05/ennis-farah-murray-state-school-myth
And a great and I thought funny read by Charlie Brooker about the London Olympics
http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/commentisfree/2012/aug/05/olympics-better-than-looked-on-tin
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Oh dearie me ! Why not celebrate their success with the rest of us - white , black and brown ? Enjoy and be proud !
Well said Scorcher
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Difference?
Lottery money!
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What is very British though is that you'll always find someone to moan about too many medals, as you'd have found someone to moan if we hadn't won enough .... they hide away for most of the year and only come out to moan ;)
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I have to say, reading the life stories behind the names, who could not be inspired by people like Mo Farah, a practising muslim from Somalia, who is very proud of his adopted country, and has done us all proud in return. We live in a multi-coloured world, but we are all still identical under the skin :D
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USB, I hope you're not suggesting I was moaning; I was just reflecting on how much things have changed. I used 1960 as a starting point since it was the first Olympics of which I have a clear memory*. From 1960 it took the next 40 years, until 2000, for me to see the 40th GB gold medal. I have now seen more than that in 4 years and it hasn't stopped yet. Yet I hear people saying that so-and-so "only" got a silver so they had failed to win, as though winning golds was the normal expectation.
* I only distantly recall Gordon Pirie, Chris Brasher, and Derek Ibbotson from 1956. I am not sure how much TV coverage there was back then. I am not even sure if we had a TV!
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Mixed race Nations seem to be the "norm" now in this "Global Village" we live in, (Turkey had a chap of Kenyan origin in the 1500 m yesterday), listening to a plethora of post race / event interviews, funding appears to be one of the major factors involved in the current success, which is now coming to fruition since the injection of cash from Lottery fund (as Stoop said).
As I've commented elsewhere the athletes / competitors are just the pinnacle of a metaphorical pyramid, and, depending on the sport are supported by a team of all kinds of managers, coaches, nutritionists, psychologists, mechanics etc., etc., who form the foundation, all of whom contribute significantly to the success of the Olympians (who obviously do need to bring natural talent to the mix !), this all takes a lot of cash !.
One shining example of this is the cycling team with it's head Dave Brailsford, who in my opinion should not only be given massive recognition for the teams success, but also be head hunted by the Bank of England and perhaps the economy wouldn't be in such a mess !! ;) :).
Let's just enjoy it !, it's good to see Great Britain smile :), and let's hope the adopted motto of the Games of "inspiring a generation" works and the youngsters of the country who hold false dreams of becoming the next Jordan, Little Mix or whatever the boy group is called ???, or spend their lives sat in bedrooms behind games consuls, are inspired by some of these fine role models and start joining sports clubs and start working to carry the "Torch" forward into the future !!.
Rant over, I really have got too much time on my hands !! :)
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I have to say, reading the life stories behind the names, who could not be inspired by people like Mo Farah, a practising muslim from Somalia, who is very proud of his adopted country, and has done us all proud in return. We live in a multi-coloured world, but we are all still identical under the skin :D
I always thought that Mo was a muslim,but why does he cross himself like a catholic ?
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USB, I hope you're not suggesting I was moaning; I was just reflecting on how much things have changed. I used 1960 as a starting point since it was the first Olympics of which I have a clear memory*. From 1960 it took the next 40 years, until 2000, for me to see the 40th GB gold medal. I have now seen more than that in 4 years and it hasn't stopped yet. Yet I hear people saying that so-and-so "only" got a silver so they had failed to win, as though winning golds was the normal expectation.
* I only distantly recall Gordon Pirie, Chris Brasher, and Derek Ibbotson from 1956. I am not sure how much TV coverage there was back then. I am not even sure if we had a TV!
Colwyn I would never include you in the moaners category ...... your style is as always reflective as a pure mirror