The 2020 (2021) Summer Olympic Games

[pokeplayer984]

Hello, Everyone!  It is finally time for the Summer Olympic Games to take place in Tokyo, Japan.

Despite it taking place one year later, it is STILL being called the 2020 Summer Olympics.  I understand to some that is factually wrong, but that is beside the point.

Anyways, this year, even though the Opening Ceremony is tomorrow, there are Competitions taking place right now.  It's just Football (Soccer) and Baseball at the moment.  However, Shooting should begin later today, and Archery, Equestrian and Rowing should start tomorrow.  You can find all the info you need at the link below.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/

I'm still curious as to what they'll do with the Opening Ceremony.  Also, I must say that I do like the mascot for this year's Olympics quite a bit.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/games/olympics-mascot/

Heck, I like it so much, this is one of the rare instances I'm thinking of getting a plush of it.  Too bad it won't arrive until AFTER it's over regardless of where I shop for it.  I guess those are the breaks in life.

Despite all the problems happening, hope you all enjoy the Competitions.

See ya later!

[chomper94]

Wait, did you just say they were gonna do baseball in the summer olympics?  In that case…

[pokeplayer984]

Here we go!  Opening Ceremony time!

Edit: I apologize, but there seems to be no one Live Broadcasting it on YouTube.  However, I did find one piece of the Ceremony.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAvhjisKTys

Enjoy!

[chomper94]

I’m probably just going to wait until it’s night to watch the opening ceremonies, I know it’s on now, but it’s so unusual to see it at daytime, and I’m more used to seeing them at night, so I’ll just wait until NBC reruns the ceremonies tonight.

[Mumbling]

I enjoyed watching the opening ceremony. Was properly confused when I heard Dragon Quest music playing, but then soon realized they were playing all kinds of Japanese video game music. Amazing And of course the sheer talent and work that is displayed during the opening is always great to see. I was impressed by the wooden rings.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

I'm boycotting the Olympics personally, I don't think they should be putting them on at all with the world still suffering from a global pandemic. Nevertheless I hope it goes off without any negative consequences health or safetywise.

[pokeplayer984]

Dang!  Recently saw the Women's Water Polo of USA vs. Japan and USA completely killed them.  Yeah, it was pretty bad for Japan there.

[Nick22]

i'll be watching the Olympics as a break from the pandemic, at least for a couple weeks.

[pokeplayer984]

Oh, and here's where you can keep track of those who win the medals this year.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/all-sports/medalists.htm

I'm seeing some great results here.  In some cases, a whole Country nearly takes an entire Sport.  I'm kind of surprised in some cases.  Though others, not so much.

[The Chronicler]

I was a little too busy yesterday to comment on the opening ceremony, but now I finally have the opportunity to do so. The parade of nations is usually my favorite part, and I was particularly interested by how they entered in alphabetical order in Japanese. I was impressed by the nearly two thousand drones that arranged themselves into a large globe of Earth, and I liked the song immediately after that which was prerecorded by singers from each of the five regions of the world (as represented by the five rings on the Olympic flag). I also enjoyed the part with the pictograms and those live actors recreating all fifty of them (with only one slip-up during the entire fast-paced sequence).

Anyway, as for the games thus far, I heard that the very first gold medal for skateboarding went to Japan, so congrats to the host nation for that accomplishment.

[The Chronicler]

It seems the weather has been causing issues throughout the games thus far. First, high heat and humidity has had an effect on some athletes and their equipment, and now there's a typhoon heading towards Japan and forcing some events to be rescheduled. Thankfully, that storm is a rather low category and will pass north of Tokyo, and it will even be beneficial for surfing (another new sport that was recently added to the Olympics for the first time) thanks to higher waves.

[The Chronicler]

What's caught my attention today is that there's apparently been quite a few underdog winners in these games. I recall Turkmenistan was mentioned as being the only former Soviet republic to not yet win an Olympic medal, but it seems they finally accomplished that with a silver in women's weightlifting. Tunisia got a surprise gold medal in men's swimming, only the fifth gold medal ever for that country. After nearly a hundred years, the Philippines finally got their first gold medal, achieved with women's weightlifting. And earlier today, Bermuda (a team that usually gets attention just from wearing those shorts during the opening ceremony) got their first gold medal with the women's triathlon, becoming the smallest country/territory to ever win a gold medal in the Olympics.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/olympic-outsider-teams-celebrate-rare-081144470.html

[The Chronicler]

While Bermuda might now be the smallest country/territory to have ever won a gold medal, it seems that San Marino has become the smallest country to ever win any Olympic medal, thanks to a recent bronze in women's trap shooting.

Also, while it's well known that these particular Olympic games aren't exactly welcome by some people, it seems there is one aspect in which these games are proving to be a significant benefit for Japan. Racism in Japan (specifically against those who are only half Japanese as opposed to pure Japanese) is being confronted thanks to inspiring figures in sports and athletics (including Naomi Osaka among others).
https://www.yahoo.com/news/biggest-loser-olympics-japanese-racism-090006814.html

[pokeplayer984]

Well, there's a little story going on lately.  If you look up "2020 Olympics Belarus", you'll understand why Belarus is now on my blacklist of visiting until further notice.  Yeah, it'd be too easy for me to criticize it, and I don't want to risk my safety at this point.

[The Chronicler]

India recently won a bronze medal in men's field hockey, the first time since 1980 they won any medals in the sport that they used to be so dominant with (most of their all time gold medals came from field hockey throughout the mid 20th century). A great accomplishment for a huge country that typically wins very few Olympic medals.

Here's an article that briefly lists some of the history-making events that athletes have accomplished throughout these games:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/athletes-made-history-tokyo-olympics-213536361.html

And of course, the closing ceremony will be on Sunday, so I'll be looking forward to that.

[The Chronicler]

Looks like the United States failed to win any gold medals in men's individual track for the first time ever (not counting the boycotted 1980 games), but at least they got four silver and two bronze.

India just made another significant accomplishment with their very first gold medal ever in track and field, specifically for the javelin throw (their first gold medal in anything since 2008, and their only previous medals in track and field were two silver back in 1900).

[pokeplayer984]

And thus, the Olympics are over for this year!

However, I'll be back to this section of the forum in two weeks to post for the Paralympic Games.

After that, I'm thinking of skipping the 2022 Olympics.  If you must know why, look at the country and then their track record in Human Rights.  I'm sure you understand.

That's all from me for now!

See ya later!

[The Chronicler]

I certainly enjoyed watching the closing ceremony yesterday (particularly the preview of what to expect when Paris will host the next Summer Olympic games in 2024). During the primetime broadcast, I heard that 93 different countries earned medals in these games, more countries than ever before at any other Olympic games.

As for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, I think the most I'll watch is just the opening and closing ceremonies, though I'll check the news and report here anything I consider significant, if only for the sake of providing awareness for those here who have decided to not watch those games.