Zika, drugs, and medals: The Rio Olympics thread

[Valmy]

15 minutes worse than their personal best.

Wouldn't that be 15 minutes over their personal best time?

In that case I suppose I get it. But come on those women were not going to win anyway.

[The Larch]

15 minutes worse than their personal best.

Wouldn't that be 15 minutes over their personal best time?

In that case I suppose I get it. But come on those women were not going to win anyway.

The writing on the article might be unclear but the bottom line is that they didn't do as well as expected. They came at 81 and 82 with 2h 45 mins timing. If they performed around their personal bests they would have finished around the bottom half of the Top 10.

[Valmy]

The writing on the article might be unclear but the bottom line is that they didn't do as well as expected. They came at 81 and 82 with 2h 45 mins timing. If they performed around their personal bests they would have finished around the bottom half of the Top 10.

Wait so they were actual contenders? Well that is just puzzling why they would take the race off.

[The Larch]

The writing on the article might be unclear but the bottom line is that they didn't do as well as expected. They came at 81 and 82 with 2h 45 mins timing. If they performed around their personal bests they would have finished around the bottom half of the Top 10.

Wait so they were actual contenders? Well that is just puzzling why they would take the race off.

Well, it's not as if this is an exact science, if they did their best or exceeded it they could have been contenders for the top spots (but not the medals, I guess), but who knows what happened to them on the day of the race. Maybe they were not in the best possible form, maybe the weather affected them, who knows. In any case, I doubt they threw the race, you just don't do that at the Olympics, but once they realized they couldn't aim for the first positions, and were close in the race (it seems they agreed to do the entrance when one of the two caught up with the other with 2 km to finish the race), they went for that and a heartwarming moment came up. Then again I don't know anything about these girls' background or if they have a history of publicity stunts. My personal take is that the German press and authorities are coming up as a bit of a bunch of sourpusses and buzzkills. 

[Sheilbh]

My personal take is that the German press and authorities are coming up as a bit of a bunch of sourpusses and buzzkills. 

I'm shocked, shocked to hear that.

[garbon]

Is it really appropriate to call that a donation?

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-rio-summer-olympics/jimmy-feigen-u-s-swimmer-lochte-scandal-pays-leave-rio-n634201

Jimmy Feigen, U.S. Swimmer in Lochte Scandal, Pays to Leave Rio

One of the U.S. Olympic swimmers caught up in Ryan Lochte's fabricated tale of robbery in Rio reached a deal with authorities to donate almost $11,000 in order to leave Brazil, his lawyer said early Friday.

Gold medal winner Jimmy Feigen will have his passport returned as part of the agreement.

Feigen was one of four swimmers whose taxi ride back from a late-night party ended in a confrontation in at a gas station, where police say the swimmers damaged a door, a mirror and a soap dispenser.

Feigen was prevented from leaving Rio on Wednesday after Lochte's story about being robbed at gunpoint by men posing as police began to unravel under scrutiny from investigators.

"After a long deliberation, this agreement was reached ... he will donate 35,000 real [approximately $10,800] to an institute, and with that the case is resolved," Feigen's lawyer Breno Melaragno told reporters.

He added: "After this donation is done, his passport will be given back to him, and he will be free to return home."

Melaragno did not specify which charity would receive the money.

Two other swimmers who were also implicated — Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger — were removed from a flight Wednesday as they tried to leave, but they eventually departed Thursday night after their attorney insisted they had nothing to do with Lochte's story. They arrived in Miami, Florida, sometime early Friday.

Lochte left the country earlier this week.

Police announced Thursday that the four swimmers had not been held at gunpoint after a night of partying, as Lochte first claimed on Sunday.

They said the the men, while intoxicated, were questioned by security guards over the damaged bathroom door before handing over some cash and leaving in their taxi.

"No robbery was committed against these athletes. They were not victims of the crimes they claimed," Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso said during a news conference.

He said investigating officers grew suspicious when security video showed the swimmers returning to the athletes' village wearing watches, which would have likely been taken in a robbery.

Eventually, a judge issued search and seizure warrants for the passports of Lochte and Feigen, but Lochte had already flown to the U.S.

The saga is an embarrassment for American Olympians, who had otherwise dominated the games, and prompted an apology from U.S. Olympic officials.

"We apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence," the U.S. Olympic Committee said.

Bentz and Conger were questioned "only as witnesses," their lawyer Sergio Riera told The Associated Press. "They did not make any untruthful testimony. They did not lie in their statements."

[Valmy]

I know I would be feeling extremely philanthropic in such a situation.

[garbon]

My takeaway from this Olympics is that I don't think I'm like to visit Brazil of my own volition (which I kind of already knew). I was sad yesterday though when I looked at the 10 most populous countries and thought that Japan is the only country (outside my home country) that I'd likely ever visit on personal choice.

[Sheilbh]

Brazil's great in my limited experience.

What made you think that from the Olympics? I've been thinking how good it looks.

[garbon]

Brazil's great in my limited experience.

What made you think that from the Olympics? I've been thinking how good it looks.

Really the same as what happened when the hosted World Cup. More articles about Brazil in mainstream media which were exposing more of the issues facing the country. And then of course, all the negative articles around site of Olympics and the problems therein.

Sounds far removed from the rosy picture being painted during the days of the narrative of BRIC ascendancy.

[DGuller]

I'm going to go against the grain here, and say that Brazilian reaction to the made up robbery is perfectly understandable.  That was a pretty damaging piece of lie for them, and who knows how much economic damage was done by all those safety precautions instituted in the wake of someone really famous having a gun "cocked" against his head?

BTW, is it just me, or did the whole thing reek of BS when Lochte talked about the gun being cocked?  Do guns ever get cocked in real life in such situations?  I imagine fake Brazilian police officers don't walk around with single action revolvers.

[celedhring]

My takeaway from this Olympics is that I don't think I'm like to visit Brazil of my own volition (which I kind of already knew). I was sad yesterday though when I looked at the 10 most populous countries and thought that Japan is the only country (outside my home country) that I'd likely ever visit on personal choice.

You wouldn't visit China? Lots of greats stuff to see and experience there, and I don't get the feeling it's particularly dangerous or inconvenient for foreigners. I might be wrong.

[Sheilbh]

I'm going to go against the grain here, and say that Brazilian reaction to the made up robbery is perfectly understandable.  That was a pretty damaging piece of lie for them, and who knows how much economic damage was done by all those safety precautions instituted in the wake of someone really famous having a gun "cocked" against his head?

Yep. I agree. I think it's entirely understandable that they would have investigated it despite no-one officially reporting the crime. And as I say I imagine Brazilian police were not delicate in poorer neighbourhoods looking for thieves who've just disrupted the biggest show on earth and caused a lot of embarrassment.

Really the same as what happened when the hosted World Cup. More articles about Brazil in mainstream media which were exposing more of the issues facing the country. And then of course, all the negative articles around site of Olympics and the problems therein.

Sounds far removed from the rosy picture being painted during the days of the narrative of BRIC ascendancy.

Yeah but I think those issues have always been there it's just the world pays attention during these events and, unlike Beijing 2008, Brazil's got free press. I suppose if you never really wanted to visit I can see this not changing anything, but I've been impressed at the Olympics.

[garbon]

My takeaway from this Olympics is that I don't think I'm like to visit Brazil of my own volition (which I kind of already knew). I was sad yesterday though when I looked at the 10 most populous countries and thought that Japan is the only country (outside my home country) that I'd likely ever visit on personal choice.

You wouldn't visit China? Lots of greats stuff to see and experience there, and I don't get the feeling it's particularly dangerous or inconvenient for foreigners. I might be wrong.

No. Perhaps if they had a different gov't, I might consider it but I don't think I'd feel all that great visiting China.

[garbon]

Yeah but I think those issues have always been there it's just the world pays attention during these events and, unlike Beijing 2008, Brazil's got free press. I suppose if you never really wanted to visit I can see this not changing anything, but I've been impressed at the Olympics.

Oh it isn't about not wanting to visit. It is about feeling safe when taking a holiday. I don't get the feeling that I would feel that way in Brazil.