Justine Larbalestier

reading, writing, eating, drinking, sport

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Lymps

You know what I like best about the Olympics? Other than twenty-four hours of non-stop sport? That I can’t decide which events I like best.

Seriously, there’s all the primal track stuff: run, throw, jump, jump with giant pole. I loves ‘em all. Plus Usian Bolt is a legend. I could watch the replay of his hundred metre relaxed stroll all day long. And how about Jamaica? Jamaicans are finally winning lots of medals for Jamaica, rather than GB or Canada or the USA. Lovely to see.

But how primal is weightlifting? Very. I love the grunt, scream, growl, popping veins. Weightlifting is the best sport ever. There should be a weightlifting channel.

On the other hand, I do love my team sports. In fact, the only team sport I haven’t been able to fall in love with is water polo. Handball is much better. And I adore the beach volley ball. Not to mention regular volley ball.

I’m also into all the judged sports. They’re such an excellent rage outlet: “ARE YOU JUDGES BLIND?! STUPID?! OR JUST OUT AND OUT CORRUPT?!” It’s good to have a bit of a yell. It’s the synchronised swimming judges who are most demented. I have no idea what they’re thinking ever. Are they using i ching to make their decisions?

I am not looking forward to the Lymps ending. Why can’t it be once a year and not every four years? Or even better why can’t there be a never-ending Olympics? Twenty-four/seven/three-sixty-five? That would be the best thing ever.

Though my favourite Olympic sport of all time? BMX racing. Best. Sport. Ever.

What do youse lot love most about the Lymps?

Note: Yes, I am still without regular internets and thus am massively behind with email etc. Hope to catch up when we return to NYC in Sept.

Posted by Justine at 20:31, 20 August 2008 under Sport | 18 Comments »

Comments

  1. Katie Says:

    I’m certainly a fan of the swimming, but that’s probably because I swim myself. No matter what people say about Phelps it is hard to deny he is amazing at what he does. And don’t even get me started on gymnastics. I wish the Summer Olympics would come to my hometown but London def. pwns Dallas!

    August 20th, 2008 at 10:21 pm

  2. CW Says:

    I don’t know if this is the right place to say it, given that the question is what we like about the Olympics, but me, I am completely indifferent and haven’t watched a thing. Not even the opening ceremony or anything. I don’t like watching sport, find it boooooo-ringggg!

    Blog overlord says: This is not the correct place to make such comments. This comment thread is a hundred per cent pro-sport. Anyone else who is anti-sport can go somewhere else. Any further comments of this ilk will be deleted.

    August 20th, 2008 at 10:46 pm

  3. eek Says:

    Women’s Soccer, followed by softball, diving and gymnastics. But first and foremost, the soccer. Gold medal game tomorrow morning :}

    Emily

    August 20th, 2008 at 10:52 pm

  4. Lori S. Says:

    Water polo is such a hard game to *watch*, because so much of what happens goes on underwater, out of sight.

    I don’t have any strong favorites. I love the lifting, and the track and field events (including shotput, pole vault, etc.), and I also watch gymnastics and diving and swimming and, oh hell, if it’s on, I’m probably tuned in. I guess I slightly favor the individual events, though.

    August 20th, 2008 at 11:23 pm

  5. Hillary! Says:

    Have to say I love the water polo and swimming. I have no clue why. That’s a lie, my best friend did swim, and my favorite CHris Crutcher books had swim, and a couple of my really good friends play water polo.

    August 20th, 2008 at 11:29 pm

  6. rebecca Says:

    my favorite sport has to be gymnastics. i did it for seven years, and there is just something about watching people flip through the air. perhaps i sound crazy? oh well. however, now that gymnastics is over, i sadly do have to get back to doing lesson plans for my class. oh dear.

    August 20th, 2008 at 11:58 pm

  7. 7. Justine Says:

    Rebecca: Don’t do that! Watch the BMX racing. There is much flipping through the air. Truly!

    August 21st, 2008 at 12:30 am

  8. cat Says:

    My favorite thing about the Olympics is the whole underdog human interest story. I love it when someone comes from a small country or a country not known for sports or a country that is definitely not a superpower and totally excells at a sport. You follow their struggle and see their dreams unfold before your eyes…to me that is what the Olympics are all about. It makes me even happier to see them win. I loved the Jamaican bobsled team. I love the fact that a Jamaican just broke records and won the gold in track and field. I love the human interest in front of and behind the scenes. I love the married couple that are shooting for different countries but have a loving marriage. The Olympics for me is everyone coming together in peace and showing the best of themselves. I love all the athletes and all their hardwork and dedication. Yes, it is fun to root for the hometeam or that person who has been touted the best in their sport and watch them win but I also love to root for the underdog or for that person who is unknown and under represented. I love to see it when people are being the best that they can be and coming together. I enjoy all the sports. Thanks for the question.

    August 21st, 2008 at 1:06 am

  9. Rohan Says:

    I love the gymnastics and the diving! I guess in the Commonwealth we’re lucky because we get the Commonwealth Games too, although that’s mostly just Australians beating Canadians over and over and…

    Kidding!

    August 21st, 2008 at 1:53 am

  10. Aimee Says:

    My favourite thing about the Olypmpics is watching the gymnastics and syncronised swimming with my flatmate who used to be a gymnast and so is uber-critical.

    Also, we collectively decided that there needed to be two channels for the Olympics: one for serious, long sports like Hockey and Rowing and the other for highlights and fun sports like syncronised swimming and the 100m sprints.

    August 21st, 2008 at 1:58 am

  11. Maree Says:

    Soccer (especially women’s), hockey (once again, especially women’s) and handball are the best Olympic sports.
    I’d luv to watch the BMX, but I never found out whether they showed them on TV.
    The ones I DON’T like are: equestrian (especially dressage), synchronised swimming or gymnastics. Do not understand anyone who does.
    As for the other sports, I’ll watch them, but not fanatically as I do soccer, hockey and handball.
    I’m disappointed in the refs of water polo. They don’t get in the water! Water polo is really brutal …

    August 21st, 2008 at 2:43 am

  12. the dragonfly Says:

    It’s hard to say what my favorite part of the Olympics is because it changes every time they pop up. The thing that “got” me first this year was when the Americans won gold, silver, and bronze in Women’s Sabre (did I spell that right? spell check says no, but I’m pretty sure it’s right…). Watching that medal ceremony gave me goosebumps, although I can’t exactly say why.

    Also this year I’ve really enjoyed beach volleyball..not just watching it, but hearing all the stories about the athletes.

    And always, of course, there is swimming. And diving. And gymnastics.

    Pretty much I like everything.

    :P

    August 21st, 2008 at 2:45 am

  13. Jessica Says:

    Womens gymanastics and only gymnastics! The American girls have been amaaazing to watch this year. I’ve loved watching Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson (i love her name too) compete this Olympics.

    I have a complaint though. Channel 7’s coverage has been lame and confusing. You basically just have to guess when an event is on, you can’t even use the TV guide cause there are no times. Really crap. So *whispers* i’ve just been DL’ing things i want to watch instead.

    I would have liked to have caught the BMX now that you mention it. :(

    August 21st, 2008 at 3:01 am

  14. mark c Says:

    I like it when someone you have not particularly heard of becomes a break out star and you see them do something really awesome (like Ussian Bolt).

    I like reading the foreign names people have, as I am always on the look out for cool names for my writing! I am v impressed that Hungarian blokes are called things like Zoltan!

    I like the gymnastics as it is super skill. I ask myself how people first work out that they are good at bizarre things like the pommel horse or the uneven bars or whatever

    I like the men’s judo, aka strip pyjama wrestling. The scoring is as incomprehensible as quidditch (you have one point! you have ten points! you have two hundred points! whuh???) so I have decided that the competitor who bares the most chest always wins

    I like the super techno bows in the archery with radars and guided missiles etc attached to them. I esp liked the lady korean archer who had a bright pink bow and outfit and a cartoon panda on her chest guard!

    I also like that team GB is beating Australia and France. Bwa ha ha!

    August 21st, 2008 at 7:41 am

  15. Mark Says:

    With so many problems in the world, I love the Olympics as a moment of pure human achievement, where nobody cares (or at least we can imagine it) about all the problems in the world and everyone celebrates the incredible almost superhuman performances of people who dedicate their entire lives to one thing. it takes my breath away.

    August 21st, 2008 at 11:08 am

  16. Haddy-la Says:

    I very much love the idea of the olympics. I think it is amoazing how so many countries (lichtenstien has two athelets) come together for sports. to bad it isnt still like the ancient greeks in the way all wars where stopped when they where being done (good thing they wear clothes now though). The watching of sports is not my thing but otherwise YAY OLYMPICS! but i did see womans speed walking its was extremley odd and russai was extremly good at it.

    August 21st, 2008 at 6:23 pm

  17. Steven Says:

    Would your love of BMX racing have anything to do with races that take, oh, 35.97 seconds? (That’s okay, I have a pretty limited attention span too.)

    PS ‘Twas noice catching up with yous at (taps nose) that place.

    August 22nd, 2008 at 5:00 am

  18. 18. Justine Says:

    Steven: What an unjust comment! I follow the Tour de France! I love cricket! Those both last MUCH longer than 32 seconds!

    August 22nd, 2008 at 5:17 am

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