Pre-Olympics Thread (and Day -2, -1 and 0 spoilers)

[af1212]

Jul 19, 2021 6:08:57 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

One of the US women’s gymnasts tested positive. Not identified.

www.nbcnews.com/news/olympics/member-u-s-women-s-gymnastics-team-tests-positive-covid-n1274334

This seems like an odd statement. Are any of the gymnasts 10?

“ The gymnast, who authorities did not publicly identify, tested positive while training for the games in Narita, about 35 miles east of Tokyo, according to city officials. She is between the age of 10 and 19.”

ETA - no - has to be Sunisa Lee or Grace McCallum - who are both 18.

[Velar Fricative]

Jul 19, 2021 6:22:02 GMT -5 af1212 said:

Jul 19, 2021 6:08:57 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

One of the US women’s gymnasts tested positive. Not identified.

www.nbcnews.com/news/olympics/member-u-s-women-s-gymnastics-team-tests-positive-covid-n1274334

This seems like an odd statement. Are any of the gymnasts 10?

“ The gymnast, who authorities did not publicly identify, tested positive while training for the games in Narita, about 35 miles east of Tokyo, according to city officials. She is between the age of 10 and 19.”

I know!

Savannah Guthrie tweeted it’s an alternate. Both are teenagers.

[konapoppy]

I am so glad there aren’t spectators. If this number of athletes are already testing positive, and I imagine they have all been extremely careful, it would have been an absolute mess with spectators.

Also, this thread followed me into my dreams last night and mixed with the surfside collapse for a horrific nightmare. 😭😭

[pumpkin]

Jul 19, 2021 6:25:01 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Jul 19, 2021 6:22:02 GMT -5 af1212 said:

This seems like an odd statement. Are any of the gymnasts 10?

“ The gymnast, who authorities did not publicly identify, tested positive while training for the games in Narita, about 35 miles east of Tokyo, according to city officials. She is between the age of 10 and 19.”

I know!

Savannah Guthrie tweeted it’s an alternate. Both are teenagers.

I read that one alternate tested positive and another alternate, due to contact tracing, have been placed in isolation.

[erbear]

Jul 18, 2021 22:15:19 GMT -5 pumpkin said:

Jul 18, 2021 18:31:21 GMT -5 erbear said:

WHY don't they require vaccinations for the Olympics???

I read one article about a US male swimmer who said he choose not to get it before the games due to timing and as he was worried about side-affects. He had heard that some people where sick for a few days following the shot(s) and in the middle of his training he wasn’t willing to possibly be knocked out for a few days and lose training time not knowing how he’d be affected.

It was a perspective I hadn’t considered before.

I guess I can see that - skipping a day of training doesn’t seem like the end of the world but I’m not a world class athlete. It just sucks.

[Velar Fricative]

Jul 19, 2021 7:58:45 GMT -5 erbear said:

Jul 18, 2021 22:15:19 GMT -5 pumpkin said:

I read one article about a US male swimmer who said he choose not to get it before the games due to timing and as he was worried about side-affects. He had heard that some people where sick for a few days following the shot(s) and in the middle of his training he wasn’t willing to possibly be knocked out for a few days and lose training time not knowing how he’d be affected.

It was a perspective I hadn’t considered before.

I guess I can see that - skipping a day of training doesn’t seem like the end of the world but I’m not a world class athlete. It just sucks.

My sister got vaccinated three months after a bad bout with covid and it was like having covid all over again for her - it wasn't just a day of side effects. It was about a week after each dose. So, I could understand this justification. But I'm also skeptical of his overall thoughts on vaccines given the article I posted above.

[Velar Fricative]

It’s alternate Kara Eaker, who mentioned during an interview in May that she was vaccinated. Her roommate, Leanne Wong, was not vaccinated as of a few weeks ago. If Wong isn’t positive, this is a possible case study for transmissibility from vaccinated covid+ people. ETA: Or could just mean Wong is covid+ but hasn't tested positive yet, and could have infected Eaker who tested positive first.

fox4kc.com/sports/local-gymnast-tests-positive-for-covid-19-at-tokyo-olympics/

[gretchenindisguise]

Jul 19, 2021 5:42:36 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Jul 18, 2021 22:36:59 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

This swimmer also said something along the lines of “just because everyone else is doing it, why should I?” I’ve been following him because he trains at my pool, and I want to like him but I just keep getting weird vibes from him.

Is this Michael Andrew? Because while his reasoning actually sounds legit (and he did recently have covid, so his side effects from the shots could be more severe), there is enough about him to believe he still wouldn’t have gotten it if he didn’t have covid.

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/18/michael-andrew-new-olympian-doubters-scrutiny/

Yup.

[gretchenindisguise]

Jul 19, 2021 8:14:51 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

It’s alternate Kara Eaker, who mentioned during an interview in May that she was vaccinated. Her roommate, Leanne Wong, was not vaccinated as of a few weeks ago. If Wong isn’t positive, this is a possible case study for transmissibility from vaccinated covid+ people. ETA: Or could just mean Wong is covid+ but hasn't tested positive yet, and could have infected Eaker who tested positive first.

fox4kc.com/sports/local-gymnast-tests-positive-for-covid-19-at-tokyo-olympics/

Oh man. I hope they all stay safe and well.

MO is having such an increase in cases right now, I guess it doesn’t surprise me that it was an athlete from there.

[mrsukyankee]

Jul 18, 2021 20:10:25 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

Yeah, I’m really mixed. The olympics have always been bad for the host, particular for the poorer people near the area who are completely displaced to build stadiums that don’t get used again.

And at the same time, there really is something magical about seeing people at the top of their sport compete from all around the world.

Not true in London. They actually are still using the facilities (for example, the pool became part of a big gym and the hockey pitch is used by a hockey club), including the "dorms" that they build, as housing. Where they built in London was very run down, no housing there, so no displacement. It can be done well.

[konapoppy]

Jul 19, 2021 8:52:01 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Jul 18, 2021 20:10:25 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

Yeah, I’m really mixed. The olympics have always been bad for the host, particular for the poorer people near the area who are completely displaced to build stadiums that don’t get used again.

And at the same time, there really is something magical about seeing people at the top of their sport compete from all around the world.

Not true in London. They actually are still using the facilities (for example, the pool became part of a big gym and the hockey pitch is used by a hockey club), including the "dorms" that they build, as housing. Where they built in London was very run down, no housing there, so no displacement. It can be done well.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jun/02/olympics2012

It may be true that some facilities are used again, but poor people were displaced.

[kath16]

yeah, so... there is a clear difference between Olympic hosts and sustainability of infrastructure in, say, the UK and US than there is in other places like Sochi or Beijing.

[konapoppy]

Jul 19, 2021 9:46:47 GMT -5 kath16 said:

yeah, so... there is a clear difference between Olympic hosts and sustainability of infrastructure in, say, the UK and US than there is in other places like Sochi or Beijing.

Thank you. I feel like I am taking crazy pills. AND people in both locations were displaced.

[Velar Fricative]

Jul 19, 2021 9:46:47 GMT -5 kath16 said:

yeah, so... there is a clear difference between Olympic hosts and sustainability of infrastructure in, say, the UK and US than there is in other places like Sochi or Beijing.

And that's all on the IOC who thought it would be wonderful for Russia's SUMMER BEACH RESORT CITY to be the host of the WINTER Olympics. Like, what did they think would happen? 

[konapoppy]

And before anyone tries to claim the US didn’t displace people:

www.jstor.org/stable/26229061

discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1538663/11/Gustafson_project_muse_508775.pdf

Displacement in aspiring global cities shows us that beyond the commonly un- derstood links of competition, training, and discipline that characterize the relationship between human bodies and the Olympics, there exists a deeper and ulti- mately more significant facet to the rela- tionship. This relationship consists of the intricate ties between the Olympic indus- try, global city development, and the logics of displacing particular bodies in Olympic cities in order to produce a particular ur- ban demographic. Indeed, in nearly every Olympic city, one manifestation of the rela- tionship between human bodies and the Olympics has been various forms of dis- placement. This relationship is even more pressing because of the increasing push for mega-events to be held in cities in the ‘de- veloping’ world, where displacements have been especially egregious and where in- frastructure and social services are mini- mal or non-existent.

[Velar Fricative]

I visited Vancouver a few months after their Olympics in 2010 and while they're reusing much of the infrastructure, COL went way up so it's not like those old Olympic Village apartments are affordable to most people. So while forcible displacement doesn't happen in every city, there is some form of displacement even if not so "heavy-handed."

[kath16]

Jul 19, 2021 9:50:27 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Jul 19, 2021 9:46:47 GMT -5 kath16 said:

yeah, so... there is a clear difference between Olympic hosts and sustainability of infrastructure in, say, the UK and US than there is in other places like Sochi or Beijing.

And that's all on the IOC who thought it would be wonderful for Russia's SUMMER BEACH RESORT CITY to be the host of the WINTER Olympics. Like, what did they think would happen? 

i mean... not to defend the absolute disaster that is the IOC, but the local and national governments of the respective host cities are also to blame.

[Velar Fricative]

Jul 19, 2021 10:19:53 GMT -5 kath16 said:

Jul 19, 2021 9:50:27 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

And that's all on the IOC who thought it would be wonderful for Russia's SUMMER BEACH RESORT CITY to be the host of the WINTER Olympics. Like, what did they think would happen? 

i mean... not to defend the absolute disaster that is the IOC, but the local and national governments of the respective host cities are also to blame.

Agreed. I'll take back what I said about it all being on the IOC. 

[NewOrleans]

Put Suni, Simone, and Jordan in a protective bubble!!!

[mrsukyankee]

Jul 19, 2021 9:22:18 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

Jul 19, 2021 8:52:01 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Not true in London. They actually are still using the facilities (for example, the pool became part of a big gym and the hockey pitch is used by a hockey club), including the "dorms" that they build, as housing. Where they built in London was very run down, no housing there, so no displacement. It can be done well.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jun/02/olympics2012

It may be true that some facilities are used again, but poor people were displaced.

Thanks - didn't know that. We got a lot of disinformation. I had friends living nearby who also said it was an old warehouse area, so I took that as true.

[mbcdefg]

Jul 18, 2021 21:30:40 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Jul 18, 2021 21:24:23 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

I keep forgetting this. I wonder if there will be a boycott, as has been brought up.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/04/06/us-considering-joining-boycott-of-2022-beijing-olympics.html

I fell into an Olympics google well the other night.

Started with “how do they get the horses to the Olympics” and ended with “where/when are the next Olympics.” Lol.

thehorse.com/1101934/dressage-horses-arrive-in-japan-for-tokyo-olympics/

A friend of mine who owns a horse posted a humorous tweet about how the plane is named “Air Horse One,” but sadly I can’t find anything to back that up officially.

[foundmylazybum]

Jul 18, 2021 22:15:19 GMT -5 pumpkin said:

Jul 18, 2021 18:31:21 GMT -5 erbear said:

WHY don't they require vaccinations for the Olympics???

I read one article about a US male swimmer who said he choose not to get it before the games due to timing and as he was worried about side-affects. He had heard that some people where sick for a few days following the shot(s) and in the middle of his training he wasn’t willing to possibly be knocked out for a few days and lose training time not knowing how he’d be affected.

It was a perspective I hadn’t considered before.

I'm a college coach, and we have athletes who were close qualifying for the trials in their sport and we had former athletes who did qualify for the trials.

On our team we have close to herd immunity in terms of vaccination and we got it during our season. There are 100% ways in which athletes could vaccinated and manage the side effects of the vaccine and competition. This is a silly excuse. And that's what it is.

[af1212]

Saw this am a male and female basketball player both tested positive and are out. This brings the total up to 71 positive cases so far 😩

edition.cnn.com/2021/07/19/sport/us-gymnast-covid-19-positive-test/index.html

[redheadbaker]

A Paralympian swimmer who is deaf and blind has quit Team USA after she was told she cannot bring her mother as a Personal Care Attendent (PCA) with her to Tokyo. PCAs were not deemed "essential" (a designation granted to golfer's caddies and horse groomers).

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/19/becca-meyers-tokyo-paralympics/

[Velar Fricative]

Jul 20, 2021 6:58:09 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

A Paralympian swimmer who is deaf and blind has quit Team USA after she was told she cannot bring her mother as a Personal Care Attendent (PCA) with her to Tokyo. PCAs were not deemed "essential" (a designation granted to golfer's caddies and horse groomers).

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/19/becca-meyers-tokyo-paralympics/

Holy shit.

[kath16]

Jul 20, 2021 6:58:09 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

A Paralympian swimmer who is deaf and blind has quit Team USA after she was told she cannot bring her mother as a Personal Care Attendent (PCA) with her to Tokyo. PCAs were not deemed "essential" (a designation granted to golfer's caddies and horse groomers).

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/19/becca-meyers-tokyo-paralympics/

whaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttt in the world?? this is bananas.

[gretchenindisguise]

All of the positive cases among seemingly asymptomatic individuals because of daily testing is telling. I really wish there was a way to support routine testing/isolation at population levels.

[gretchenindisguise]

Jul 20, 2021 6:58:09 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

A Paralympian swimmer who is deaf and blind has quit Team USA after she was told she cannot bring her mother as a Personal Care Attendent (PCA) with her to Tokyo. PCAs were not deemed "essential" (a designation granted to golfer's caddies and horse groomers).

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/19/becca-meyers-tokyo-paralympics/

I read this yesterday. It's such horseshit. There's simply no defense.

[mcppalmbeach]

Stupid question but do the olympics now have any kind of sustainability expert who can help figure out how to reuse facilities and monetize them for host countries? My friend posted a link to a bunch of photos of facilities from past olympics and the waste was so sad to see.

[kath16]

Jul 20, 2021 10:58:22 GMT -5 mcppalmbeach said:

Stupid question but do the olympics now have any kind of sustainability expert who can help figure out how to reuse facilities and monetize them for host countries? My friend posted a link to a bunch of photos of facilities from past olympics and the waste was so sad to see.

i mean... they have people who say all the right things and get everyone on board. they had this in Rio for example. lofty goals of drastic infrastructure updates, clean water for all citizens and all that. 

meanwhile in reality, here is what it looked like six months (!!!) later:
www.businessinsider.com/rio-olympic-venues-are-abandoned-just-6-months-after-games-2017-2