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More chats of an Olympian nature.
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Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 3 Aug 12 at 17:30
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Is it too early to say our medal tally is a bit weedy?
I think we do quite well for a relatively small country, but it's been less than a flying start.
Our world-beating male road cyclists failed to do just that, and the swimmers have taken part in lots of finals but haven't got to the other end quickly enough.
Even the posh horse riders could only manage a team silver.
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>> Even the posh horse riders could only manage a team silver.
Probably just not posh enough.
I mean have you heard that Zara Phillips speak? My dear! Any old iron!
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>>Didn't they claim Olympic would boost economy?
I know of a pub in Lewisham who's takings have increased this week. Customers are coming in from Greenwich as they're being advised the local places are full to heaving.
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Having watched the road races on TV I am going over to Kingston tomorrow to see the Time Trials.
In Volume 6 I know Duncan was looking for the individual start times.
Well here they are for anyone interested.
www.velonation.com/News/ID/12543/Olympic-Time-Trial-start-times-and-numbers-announced.aspx
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>> In Volume 6 I know Duncan was looking for the individual start times.
>> Well here they are for anyone interested.
>> www.velonation.com/News/ID/12543/Olympic-Time-Trial-start-times-and-numbers-announced.aspx
>>
Thanks for the link, Crocks
And here, download the PDF
tinyurl.com/bs9zft3
Last edited by: Duncan on Wed 1 Aug 12 at 07:05
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The same thing for the women.
tinyurl.com/cjeqsht
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Well at least we've now got one.
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Exceptionally dull race, nobody else had a chance. And didn't those two gals make it look easy with their leisurely stroke rate. Didn't they do well.
The men's eights was a much more exciting race. Though our boys failed us.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Wed 1 Aug 12 at 13:09
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They did well and didn't fail. They just weren't ass good as the German's or Canadians. But better than the others.
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Did anyone see Stella McCartney on the BBC sofa with John Inverdale?
She was quite perky and dropped in a probably deliberate sexual innuendo about the difficulties of designing 'Tom Daley's little thing'.
She also spoke fondly of her dad, so it looks like they are seeing eye to eye again after they fell out over Heather Mills.
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Yes: a good interview I thought.
She came over as normal and human: rare for some celebs..
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Bravo Wiggo!
Great ride to win the Gold to add to his historic victory in the TdF.
An early favourite for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
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>> An early favourite for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
>>
Odd's on for Sir Brad.
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>> Did anyone see Stella McCartney on the BBC sofa with John Inverdale?
Who? What are her Olympic qualifications?
>> She also spoke fondly of her dad, so it looks like they are seeing eye to eye again after they fell out over Heather Mills.
Are you someone that gives a flying fig?
Dear, dear.
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>>>> Did anyone see Stella McCartney on the BBC sofa with John Inverdale?
>> Who? What are her Olympic qualifications?
She designed the team GB outfits.
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So is she the one who is responsible for Zero looking like an out of place fairy without a christmas tree?
Pat
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Actually I did listen to the interview and got the impression that most of the actual clothing design was done by Adidas with SM adding her name.
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>>Who? What are her Olympic qualifications?
Triple-jump Champ! - hop-hop and jump!
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everyones cycle friendly all of a sudden?
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...Are you someone that gives a flying fig?...
Calm down dear, it's only two minutes of disposable television and an equally disposable forum post.
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I saw the two gold medal lasses being interviewed by the Walker's Crisps man.
By heck, they scrubbed up well.
It's a nice change to see some fit (in the attractive sense) female athletes: heaven knows there are plenty of mingers.
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Nice to see you enjoying the games rastaman.
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>> Thanks Duncan.
>>
>> >:)
My thanks too.
Armed with my copy others around me also found the info useful.
That with the DM info on expected half way time check( crossing over the A3 )was most useful.
We roared them all on and on the walk back to the car modern tecnology came to the fore. Two lots of folks had laptops on their front walls so many of us could see the finish live. A great cheer for Wiggo and a great atmosphere.
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Alas I could not be there, couldn't get back from my Olympic venue in time.
Watched it on tele tho, I have to say the enthusiasm and great nature of the crowds that flocked to this, and both the road races (turning out in terrible weather in some places) made this a magnificent spectacle for global viewing.
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>>Alas I could not be there, couldn't get back from my Olympic venue in time.
scared of speeding now are we then? ;-)
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I watched all the women and all the men come through the Portsmouth Road, just south of Kingston. There was a great atmosphere.
Armed with my start list I was much better informed than most around me. I was a little disappointed that as soon as Wiggo went past about half of the people headed off before the (then) Olympic champion came through.
The friend I was with had a small c.3" TV so we were able to check the times at the intermediate checkpoints before they passed us. And we were able to watch them complete the course to Hampton Court. We even invented a new Olympic sport - how many people can you gather around a 3" LCD TV in bright sunlight. We even had two policemen in the audience.
After the race my friend wanted to stay to see the medal ceremony before we headed home. So we ended up standing for the National Anthem at the side of the Portsmouth Road, much to the bemusement of passers-by who didn't understand what we were up to!
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>> I watched all the women and all the men come through the Portsmouth Road, just
>> south of Kingston. There was a great atmosphere.
I watched the women's time trial with Lady D in Esher at the 'Hospice' roundabout, then when Armstrong had gone through we went home and watched the finish on telly.
After lunch I went back to the Hospice roundabout and watched all the men go through, then rushed up to the top of Hawkshill Way and saw the last half dozen go down the Portsmouth Road, then back home again to see the finish on TV. A really wonderful atmosphere.
Brilliant!
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>> Thanks Duncan.
>>
>> >:)
>>
;)
Focus:
Just a reminder to you to complain about Iffy posting in the wrong place in this thread.
www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=11447&m=254291&v=e
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I wonder if the American will accuse Jamieson of doping to get silver in the breaststroke.
Mammoth effort over the last 50m.
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BTW from what I've seen of her, Clare Balding has been doing an excellent job for the BBC poolside. Very entertaining with Ian Thorpe and Mark Foster this evening.
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Ebay... where I used to get 10-15 quid for a 'Jack Nicklaus Five Pound Note'
:-)
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>The lanyard I have that carries my accreditation, is worth 16 quid on ebay!
Sell the outfit! £500!!!
tinyurl.com/cuof8g8
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I know where you live kevin.....
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BTW2 don't you think it looks odd when some (in fact quite a few) of the swimmers have their name announced and emerge from the changing room, wearing (headphones (not just in-ears) and ignoring the crowd's applause?
Don't know whether it's to help them 'focus', or whether it's just a 'yoof' thing (it's usually the younger ones I think). But to an old bloke like me it almost looks disrespectful, although I'm sure they aren't.
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why did you put this in the cycling time trial thread? dont you know you are supposed to reply to the top one and start a new thread title?
:P
and the swimming caps look silly. Women swimmers seem to be quite, err, well padded to me.
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>> why did you put this in the cycling time trial thread? dont you know you
>> are supposed to reply to the top one and start a new thread title?
>>
>> :P
Just going with the flow dude :)
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Good question Z. I suppose because your ebay thread added on to the time trial thread messed things up a bit??
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>> BTW from what I've seen of her, Clare Balding has been doing an excellent job
>> for the BBC poolside.
hah - great minds think alike
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2182378/London-2012-Olympics-Why-Clare-Balding.html
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Sky covered it live so no bleeping out his words.
Loved him telling it out straight and Sky a little unsure how to comment on his comments. :-)
His confidence at tackling the TDF, Olympic road race and time trial as one continuous exercise was very impressive.
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>> Loved him telling it out straight and Sky a little unsure how to comment on
>> his comments. :-)
Didn't see that, what did he say that confounded Sky?
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>>Didn't see that, what did he say that confounded Sky?
>>
The odd F snuck in.
Commenting on his training kit being stolen from the locker room of a 5 star hotel.
He then referred to used items maybe on sale on Ebay complete with skids.
Certainly not a PR mans idream nterview but honest.
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Yeah - he had his kit nicked from Foxhills, at the weekend I think.
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Reminds me of when the England cricket team had some of their wallets nicked from the dressing room of the Riverside Ground at Chester-le-Street.
The next morning me and a grumpy Durham policeman bumped into captain Michael Vaughan in Durham City.
For background, Vaughan was struggling with his form at the time.
Grumpy Durham Policeman: "Are you going to score some runs today?"
Vaughan: "Never mind that, are you going to find who nicked my effin' wallet?"
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Right - time to don the jobsworth uniform, off to take deliberately unflattering pictures of the japanese, teach the Americans some of England's finest fruity language and push the cyclists around and order them onto the pavement to run over pedestrians.
Lifes a beach (at the volleyball anyway)
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Going to complain to LOCOG tho, didnt give us any nickers, these ones are getting distinctly odorous.
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It's a foul slur - I was a commando and we always wore underwear!
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I got told off for riding on the pavement by the very plod who were needlessly blocking the road and forcing the deal! - Don`t the Highway code apply to Atheletes then? £60 fine for em all!
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what happened to wenlock and mandeville? ive ney seen hair nor hide of the two fellows ? are they a bit too embarrassing to mention? a bit like a daft relative?
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Absolutely! What a creation of ill thought out overpriced tat!
The blogosphere has been hurling abuse at Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville since their arrival on Planet Earth, seemingly through the drunken coupling of a Cyclops and a stainless steel travel mug.
Tired of the naysayers, their creator is mounting a robust defense.
Grant Hunter, creative director at the marketing and design firm Iris Worldwide, is standing behind his creations, which have been called everything from “molten aliens” to “horrifying monstrosities straight out of a fever dream.”
“Like a proud parent who has dropped off their loved ones at the school gates for the first time, I worry about the bullies,” Mr. Hunter wrote in an essay for Salon. “Bring on the naysayers who say they are creepy…the characters were designed to inspire young people to get involved with sport. And the simple fact is—kids love them,” he wrote.
Hunter is promoting a similar message on Twitter. One minute after posting an admittedly snarky Tweet about Wenlock and Mandeville on Wednesday, this reporter received a rapid reply from Mr. Hunter. “The kids don’t seem to mind,” he wrote with a winking smiley face along with a video link of children cuddling Wenlock and Mandeville toys.
Reached by phone at his home in Singapore, Mr. Hunter said he’s been checking Twitter “every now and then” to see “what’s being said” and sometimes sends replies. He expressed surprise that so much criticism has focused on the characters’ single eyes, which he said are meant to resemble camera lenses that help the mascots “capture their journey through the Olympic Games.” Contrary to some commentary, the eyes do not signify an obsession with CCTV or an Orwellian state, he said. Besides, his design team tried sketching the mascots with two eyes but found they “just didn’t have that iconic quirkiness,” he added.
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>>Absolutely! What a creation of ill thought out overpriced tat!
I agree.
I expect a lot more will be dumped on the market ( stalls) rather than Ebay.
IMO so many of these " creative types" live in their own world so I am not surprised at the response " He expressed surprise that so much criticism......." .
Remember the launch of the 2012 logo thing. It was dynamic changing colour etc etc. but it seems to have lost that aspect. It is so impressive that the sponsors almost hide it on their corporate sites.
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tinyurl.com/cmag73b
I'm saying nothing!
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>> tinyurl.com/cmag73b
>>
>> I'm saying nothing!
There were hand signals in that photo?? :-)
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Zero look away now.
Although their race wasn't the most exciting because they lengthened their lead more or less throughout, the two Heathers winning gold in the women's pair gave rise to what has been for me the best audience photo of the Olympics so far: Captain Stannard's squaddies jumping up and down with joy in a tent in Helmand and waving little union flags.
Perhaps I am growing mawkish as I slowly approach middle age.
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Terrific - and one of them only took up rowing in the last 4 years I understand, she found rugger a bit rough!
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The rowing at the olympics is great, probably because it is properly competitive, the result really matters and consists of more than two teams of jumped up hooray henries brought together to impress the tourists.
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>> two teams of jumped up hooray henries brought together to impress the tourists.
Tee hee. You can't help being wrong Zeddo. I did tell you to look away.
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The sailing is good and easy to follow, I am a bit impressed with the technology of the archery; I thought it looked quite easy until I read that they are shooting at a beer-mat sized target at 70 metres. I have done a bit of fencing in the distant past but I found the epee to be a lot of posturing and feinting followed by a split second of action. The foil was great, just like the staged fights in the movies and on stage. I am going to watch the skeet shooting mid-afternoon - great skill. The world record is one miss from 100 clays! At the silly end of the scale here is a man with a pump action shotgun who throws 10 clays at once and shoots the lot!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpv0yZC3iMM
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good gravy...he would make a good.. super army soldier
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I'm sporting "working from home" stubble today. Can't afford the designer stuff.
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women doing judo? looks like a bad night out in newcastle ( insert your town ) crikey they will be letting them drive busses next
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>> I'm sporting "working from home" stubble today. Can't afford the designer stuff.
Oh dear, senility strikes again - apologies.
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>> I am going to
>> watch the skeet shooting mid-afternoon - great skill. The world record is one miss from
>> 100 clays!
How does Peter Wilson manage to hit so many and look so laid back at the same time?
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Youth? I thought I heard the commentary say that most/all of the other 5 competitors are old enough to be his father!
Amazing - I am not watching in HD and can see the shot hitting the clay, in slo mo
Last edited by: Meldrew on Thu 2 Aug 12 at 15:25
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Why do they use clay pigeons? There are plenty of the real things flying about and the explosion of feathers from a direct hit would look spectacular, particularly if they attached little tube of lighter fuel round their necks.
Anyway, can't stand here chatting, I've got to go out and clean some poo off my bonnet...
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I hope they poo on your head RR
Pat
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In 1900 they had live pigeon shooting. They were released from traps and you got to shoot at them. Cool. Perhaps we could do it with lorry drivers?
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>> In 1900 they had live pigeon shooting. They were released from traps and you got
>> to shoot at them. Cool. Perhaps we could do it with lorry drivers?
>>
Lorry drivers would be no sport. Under their own power, many are too fat to present anything but a wide and slowly blobbing target.
BUT: cyclist shooting looks far more promising. Usually thin, fast moving and capable of evasive action. A real potential for great sport.
(Bet they would wear helmets then ! :-)
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Oi! that was uncalled for:)
Pat
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Sorry Pat
But I did say "many" and not "All" when referring to fat blobby lorry drivers.
You of course are neither..
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I was actually referring to mapmaker;)
But still nice of you to say so!
Pat
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Just checked the medal count to date and it tends to support the idea that we are good at sitting down sports. The only medals the team have won which do not involve sitting down or getting wet, or both, are one shooting, one judo and one gymnastics. Nothing wrong with that and of course we have the stadium events starting soon which will redress the balance, we hope
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Correction - another 3 sitting down golds added by Hoy and the Boys
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Just heard National Anthem for Hoy's boys - funny arrangement. Not too radical, but definitely different to the usual.
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And now the interview. Err- good to see we're not discriminating against foreigners being in the GB team :)
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I am led to believe from a source very close to Hoy that the general feeling from within their camp was that bronze was going to be their best hope.
To see them manage to win gold was fantastic especially the young guy who had the failed start in the qualifier!
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>> Just checked the medal count to date and it tends to support the idea that
>> we are good at sitting down sports.
One wonders why the yanks are not winning all the shooting sports......
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I don't think there is an actual gunfight event.
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>> I don't think there is an actual gunfight event.
ok
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............and they are not allowed to use AK47s either, so that is probably the reason.
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especially the young guy who had the failed start in the qualifier! ......
Hmmmmm .....You mean the one who admitted in the first interviews that he deliberately crashed when he realised he had a bad start so that he would get a restart...
Should have been disqualified IMO.
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>>One wonders why the yanks are not winning all the shooting sports......
They were all eliminated in the early rounds as a result of 'blue on blue' incidents?
;>)
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today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48458480/ns/today-in-london.
Be patient - takes a little while to load.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 3 Aug 12 at 10:12
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Doing well the girls, Just seen the +78Kg womens bout. You wouldnt want to meet them down a dark alley at night after the pubs close....
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>> Doing well the girls, Just seen the +78Kg womens bout. You wouldnt want to meet
>> them down a dark alley at night after the pubs close....
>>
I used to do judo: quite fancy my chances:-)
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Have you seen the mens heavyweight contender from Guam!
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19109181
He's 34st 5lbs! How can anyone throw him.... according to this he's '6st 10lbs heavier than the entire Japan women's gymnastics team'.
He's in the +100kg class.... well quite a bit more than 100kg then.
He'd be no threat in real life because you could walk away from him. No chance of him catching you if you go briskly.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 3 Aug 12 at 14:24
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"He's 34st 5lbs! How can anyone throw him.... according to this he's '6st 10lbs heavier than the entire Japan women's gymnastics team'."
Lost every bout in the 2008 Olympics
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I suppose you can get him to trip over and sit on him ;-)
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dont they give them sporting nicknames? he could be called "the sofa"
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Well he did make the 21 stone opponent look an average build.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 3 Aug 12 at 14:55
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he just lost to a man half his weight.
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:-) Good
There should be an upper limit in the 100+kg class. He was in the 218kg class.
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Just watching Ben Ainsley, "interesting" sea state down at Weymouth today!
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It's probably been whinged about on here before. What a ghastly ticketing search system.
I've just waited with great excitement for ten long minutes for it to decide it hasn't got any tickets for me, although they're still reported as being available.
Somehow Ryanair manage to know whether or not they have tickets available, why cannot the Olympics? Ryanair sell 72million tickets a year.
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It is crap, by some margin, yes.
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Weedy medal tally? - Iffy
