The Official Winter Olympics Thread.

[stew]

I am amazed that with the winter games just three weeks away there is not a word about them anywhere. I love the winter games, I enjoy them a whole lot more than the summer games.
My favourite sport in the games is the bobsleigh and I also enjoy the downhill racing and the hockey.
What sports do you like best at the winter games?

[stpauls]

i love watching the ski jumping myself, or any of the snow boarding events, especially the half pipe or the big air events!

[Rois]

Downhill racing - managed to watch a French women's qualifying event there last wk in France (strangely).  The speed and finesse is amazing. 
I love the ice skating events too. 

[A Quinn Martin Production]

Curling of course

[omagh_gael]

Some good winter olympic video's on BBC website:

What a way to win gold!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/vancouver_2010/8402758.stm

Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, jump on up...it's Bobsleigh time!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/vancouver_2010/8402728.stm

[Denn Forever]

Or as they say in Norway, The Official Olympics Thread.

[stew]

Or as they say in Norway, The Official Olympics Thread.

I never thought of it that way, right enough.

[Puckoon]

Curling of course

Once you get the rules of curling down it is a cracker!

[aontroim]

Love most of the sports but would closely follow the Alpine & Nordic Skiiing / Bobsleigh / Luge / Ski Jumping through the season most years.

[stew]

Curling of course

Once you get the rules of curling down it is a cracker!

What is it yuo like about it Quinn?

It seems to me to be very like bowling and it does not look like something I would be interested in doing at this stage of my life.

[gawa316]

Some good winter olympic video's on BBC website:

What a way to win gold!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/vancouver_2010/8402758.stm

Think it was the last olympics in the womens downhill snowboarding (4 of them race against other). Some american chick was miles ahead and about to win gold when she tried to showboat of the last jump with a hold. Of course she fell and 2nd place came through to win gold, not sure where she even finished.

That would live with you for life or at least 4 years until you get a chance to redeem yourself

Here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPCOin3l8OY

[tyssam5]

Any Irish entrants? Is racing Twin Cams on icey back-roads an accredited event?

[Gabriel_Hurl]

I believe there's 3 Irish entrants in this years Olympics.

The country here is raring to go - can't move for Olympics merchandise - even though it's the same distance from Toronto here that Ireland is.

Anything but gold in the mens and womens hockey will doom these games a failure in the eyes of Canadians

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Turns out we've 6 entrants across 4 sports

And the Aussies are acting the maggot 

Aussies object to Irish bobsleigh team

Tuesday, 9 February 2010 15:54
Ireland's women's bobsleigh team could lose their place at the Winter Olympics in the courtroom after Australia submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport insisting that they were the rightful recipients of a starting spot in Vancouver.

The Irish team, comprising of Claire Bergin, Aoife Hoey and Leona Byrne, are currently in Whistler training for the main event which is scheduled to take place on 23 & 24 February.

Hoey and Bergin captured the 20th and final spot in qualifying, outperforming their Australian counterparts in the process.

The Austrian team then withdrew from the Games and Ireland were bumped up to 19th in the rankings, with Japan offered the now vacant 20th spot as the top team in Asia.

This has caused consternation in the Australian Olympic movement as officials argue that they should be offered a similar path to Vancouver as the number one country in Oceania.

'I'm happy about the hearing,' said Fiona De Jong, director of sport for the Australian Olympic Committee.

'We were able to make our point, which I feel is pretty strong. There are five rings in the Olympic insignia and the continent of Oceania deserves to be there. These girls are the best in Oceania.'

Olympic Council of Ireland president Patrick Hickey is appalled that Ireland could yet be cast aside by CAS.

'It would be outrageous if those girls were stripped of their accreditation and sent back home to Ireland,' Olympic Council of Ireland president Patrick Hickey told Around the Rings, an Olympic publication, before the hearing.

'We're already suffering from the football (case) of Thierry Henry scoring a goal with his hand and eliminating us from the World Cup finals. And if something like this happened it would be catastrophe altogether.'

A decision is expected later today.

[Nally Stand]

Good news on this. The Irish team are allowed to compete as well as the Australian team. Would have been a crime had Ireland been made make way for Australia after qualifying ahead of them.