Summer Olympic Sports in between Olympics thread.

[RussellEbertHandball]

Perhaps. Gout's trajectory is what appears to be getting people so excited. It's obviously going to be incredibly difficult for him to break Bolt's record/s and literally become the fastest human of all-time, but there's optimism amongst onlookers that it's not impossible an impossible task for Gout based on what we're seeing right now at 16 years of age. Add in the extra incentive of potentially doing in front of a hometown crowd at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics when he will be right in his peak at 24 years old. Usain Bolt set the all-time 100m record when he was 23 for context.

I won't profess to be an athletics historian by any stretch, but I get the feeling that Usain Bolt was like Michael Jordan in the sense that he transcended the sport of running and became a cultural icon. Some of that is just purely because Bolt was around in the social media age and older guys like Carl Lewis weren't, but Bolt was still an enigma in his own right even without the help of the internet.

Gout seems to also have an intriguing personality and swagger about him. Will it be enough to replicate Bolt's feats both on and off the track? Time will tell.

Nothing is guaranteed.

Look at Erriyon Knighton, so many great 200m times as a 17, 18 and 19 year old. Broke Bolt's U/18 and then his U/20 time's with a 19.84 at US Olympic trials when he was 17 years old and 5 months. He finished 4th in Tokyo and same again 3 years later in Paris. He also has bronze from 2022 world champs in Eugene and silver next year in Budapest.

In Paris he was easily beaten by Tebogo who is only 7 months older than Knighton, and Tebogo didn't have anywhere as storied a junior career as Knighton had.

Being the world's fastest man used to mean something big. Now it doesn't.

Bolts decade long dominance has probably been part of the reason for the drop off. The Tokyo Olympics due to a combo of no crowds and average field didn't help. People now say he's not in Bolt's league, when looking at the world's fastest man.

Plus domestic sports have become so big, being the fastest man on earth doesn't mean as much as it used to and doesn't get the media coverage it once did. NFL and NBA in North America, Euro and South American soccer means those stars are gods and in Oz, AFL and NRL get most of the media attention and $$$.

If Gout wins one gold medal that will be amazing. Do the double in Brisbane and it will indeed be - Gout of this world. But to do it 3 times in a row will probably be impossible.

 

[Satan]

Poor form raygun
Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn is demanding $10,000 in legal fees from the owner of a small Sydney comedy club that had planned to stage a show called Raygun the Musical.

The musical, written by comedian Stephanie Broadbridge and slated for December 7, was canned at the last minute after promoter Anthony Skinner was hit with a legal letter claiming the show infringed Gunn’s intellectual property.

The age

Some negative stuff

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/olympics/rachael-raygun-gunns-10k-legal-move-sparks-fierce-backlash/news-story/d820c6f040f910304a5f3aadcae3fca1

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Some negative stuff

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/olympics/rachael-raygun-gunns-10k-legal-move-sparks-fierce-backlash/news-story/d820c6f040f910304a5f3aadcae3fca1

She has no intellectual property to protect - just a bit of stupidity.

 

[Satan]

Mohamed Katir: World 5,000m silver medallist handed four-year ban for tampering

World 5,000m silver medallist Mohamed Katir receives a four-year ban for tampering after being found to have falsified travel documents.

www.bbc.com

 

[GC2015]

Nothing is guaranteed.

Look at Erriyon Knighton, so many great 200m times as a 17, 18 and 19 year old. Broke Bolt's U/18 and then his U/20 time's with a 19.84 at US Olympic trials when he was 17 years old and 5 months. He finished 4th in Tokyo and same again 3 years later in Paris. He also has bronze from 2022 world champs in Eugene and silver next year in Budapest.

In Paris he was easily beaten by Tebogo who is only 7 months older than Knighton, and Tebogo didn't have anywhere as storied a junior career as Knighton had.

Being the world's fastest man used to mean something big. Now it doesn't.

Bolts decade long dominance has probably been part of the reason for the drop off. The Tokyo Olympics due to a combo of no crowds and average field didn't help. People now say he's not in Bolt's league, when looking at the world's fastest man.

Plus domestic sports have become so big, being the fastest man on earth doesn't mean as much as it used to and doesn't get the media coverage it once did. NFL and NBA in North America, Euro and South American soccer means those stars are gods and in Oz, AFL and NRL get most of the media attention and $$$.

If Gout wins one gold medal that will be amazing. Do the double in Brisbane and it will indeed be - Gout of this world. But to do it 3 times in a row will probably be impossible.

You're right. Nothing is guaranteed. It's the trajectory that has people excited, though.

Domestic sports were also big between 2008-2016 when Bolt was winning gold medals and was one of the biggest sports stars in the world. That period was the height of the Ronaldo v Messi rivalry in the La Liga and the Premier League became fairly unpredictable from year to year in terms of which club would win (unlike the dominance from Man United before 2008 and the recent dominance from Man City). Add in some other mega stars like Neymar during that period for good measure.

The NFL had two of the best players ever in their peak years named Brady and Manning going at it with some wildcards like Rodgers thrown in to make it even more interesting. The NBA had peak LeBron James mixing it with and against greats like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant etc.

Usain Bolt well and truly held his own in a ridiculously stacked era of sports mega stars. Ultimately, I think if you're charismatic and you achieve at a very high level in your chosen field then I think it's going to translate no matter what era you're competing in.