Official London Olympics Thread

[77T]

Having not seen another thread yet, I thought it would be a good idea to gather our TRF members impressions of the Olympic events in and around London.

First off, who is going? What events do you plan to see? Anyone competing?

Next, for the rest of us not there, please let us know your impressions - favorite moments, etc. Likes and dislikes.

And to help other TRF'ers there, places to go, places to avoid, etc. Sort of a bulletin board for the other attendees. When I did the Atlanta Olympics in '96 I would have loved to know where I could score extra tickets or affordable eats/drinks.

Not looking for any controversies surrounding athletic disputes - just keep it sociable or the mods would have to sadly lock it up

Post Away!!!

[The Joker]

I only live 10mins down the road, so if anyone need local knowledge, if I can help I will.

I failed to get anything I applied for, but my brother has some basketball tickets, so might be going to that. Think he said USA were playing. So will try and get some pics.

[gwalker]

I got to go to Atlanta in 96 and for a 12 year old kid it was an awesome experience. I would love to go see the events in london. I'm not big into any of the events unless they are in the olympics. It just makes even the most boring events interesting.

[77T]

Originally Posted by The Joker

I only live 10mins down the road, so if anyone need local knowledge, if I can help I will.

I failed to get anything I applied for, but my brother has some basketball tickets, so might be going to that. Think he said USA were playing. So will try and get some pics.

That's cool - I went to some free events that may be options for you. The Marathon route offers great viewing and the bicycle road races too.

The Marathon route here in '96 allowed me to watch early going and then jump on rapid transit to see the lead pack at several points along the way.

The Bicycle races were looped courses so you could pedal on side streets to get to various points. The peloton's air burst was surprising.

[77T]

Hey just thought of this, wristshots with the rings in the background would be cool.

Also, anyone into pin trading? I did some using my employer's custom limited pins (they were a top sponsor so we got them for volunteering). Shots of your unusual pins would be great!

[Vee-Dweller]

Here's an olympic torch relay wrist shot to start you off taken in north east england a couple of weeks ago and for the first time in months it wasn't raining.....

[Runnin' Rebel]

It's hard to see the relay, can you move your beautiful watch

[bewithabob]

Sharon is going to be in London, but after the closing ceremonies

[mtrunner]

I am not going but I do have a few friends who will be over there plus I know a few athletes competing. I will definitely be glued to the TV for 2 weeks. I love watching the Olympics.

[MoBe]

I`ll be interested to see how Wiggo does,this seems to be his year.

[azguy]

Who doesn't love the summer games, track and field, swimming, diving, gymnastics, etc

[mtrunner]

Originally Posted by MoBe

I`ll be interested to see how Wiggo does,this seems to be his year.

Should be a very interesting Time Trial. He blew everyone's doors off in that last TT.

[jdc]

Was not successful in first ballot but got a choice of events later, the only ones that were of interest were stupid prices from £250 to £1770. Ended up with 4 tickets to Olympic Park this Saturday - does not allow access to events, but should be able to soak up atmosphere, looking forward to it

[zama]

Hold out, when we had the games here in Sydney, I missed out on everything in the ballot, then somehow tickets seem to appear during the games, I managed to buy a lot of the tickets of the athletes. They were happy to sell them and managed to see a few days of track and field including Kathy Freeman final, best sporting experience ever 113,000 screaming fans.

Hopefully the Aussies do OK although we are concerned about being beaten by the 4 Nations the BRITS have to put up to beat we colonists.

I am still confident we will beat England, Scotland, Wales and NI, separately at least.

[jdc]

Originally Posted by zama

Hold out, when we had the games here in Sydney, I missed out on everything in the ballot, then somehow tickets seem to appear during the games, I managed to buy a lot of the tickets of the athletes. They were happy to sell them and managed to see a few days of track and field including Kathy Freeman final, best sporting experience ever 113,000 screaming fans.

Hopefully the Aussies do OK although we are concerned about being beaten by the 4 Nations the BRITS have to put up to beat we colonists.

I am still confident we will beat England, Scotland, Wales and NI, separately at least.

Its not the blooming commonwealth games there are a few more nations taking part . Nice to know you are not carrying any chips on your shoulder May the best athletes win

[Hammer]

I travel through Stratford everyday, and I must say the transformation has been something else. Next few weeks could be a pain work wise, but exciting times for London, and the country as a whole.

[Rodentman]

As an amputee, I am anxious to see how Oscar Pistorius performs.

[77T]

Originally Posted by MoBe

I`ll be interested to see how Wiggo does,this seems to be his year.

What's the date for the cycling? Guess he has a recovery period from TDF calculated in his training.

[77T]

Originally Posted by jdc

Was not successful in first ballot but got a choice of events later, the only ones that were of interest were stupid prices from £250 to £1770. Ended up with 4 tickets to Olympic Park this Saturday - does not allow access to events, but should be able to soak up atmosphere, looking forward to it

There will be unofficial trading pits somewhere near the main stadium - always is. The day of the event you want to see will be best time to buy - sometimes even after the event has begun.

Hanging around venue entrances before events is an easy way to grab unused family tickets for a song.

[david_ord]

My favorite is the men's 100 meter sprint. With Usian Bolt being beatable this year, there will be some exiting races.

[jdc]

Originally Posted by 77T

There will be unofficial trading pits somewhere near the main stadium - always is. The day of the event you want to see will be best time to buy - sometimes even after the event has begun.

Hanging around venue entrances before events is an easy way to grab unused family tickets for a song.

They are doing a big crackdown on this practice to quote the info given with my ticket
"Please remember that if you are unable to use your ticket you can resell through the official website. Alternatively if you would like to give your tickets to friends or family, please ensure you can be contacted on the day as proof of purchase may be needed to gain access to your venue.................Genuine ticket holders will be able to access venues, but we are taking all steps possible and working with police to avoid tickets being misused or touted"
Probably scare tactics but there will be undercover police looking for people selling tickets and I don't fancy shelling out a couple of hundred to be turned away at the entrance.

[mtrunner]

Originally Posted by 77T

What's the date for the cycling? Guess he has a recovery period from TDF calculated in his training.

The road race is on July 28th but it is highly unlikely Wiggins could win the road race. Most likely it will be a sprinter. His chance for a Gold is in the Time Trial which is 8 days away on August 1st.

[77T]

Originally Posted by jdc

They are doing a big crackdown on this practice to quote the info given with my ticket
"Please remember that if you are unable to use your ticket you can resell through the official website. Alternatively if you would like to give your tickets to friends or family, please ensure you can be contacted on the day as proof of purchase may be needed to gain access to your venue.................Genuine ticket holders will be able to access venues, but we are taking all steps possible and working with police to avoid tickets being misused or touted"
Probably scare tactics but there will be undercover police looking for people selling tickets and I don't fancy shelling out a couple of hundred to be turned away at the entrance.

This has always been the policy. But the reality is quite different. YMMV in London.

A lot depends on local laws. In '96 the trading was done in Underground Atlanta and the concrete gulch between the CNN Center and the World Congress Center.

[Xenophon]

I travel into the City of London everyday for work. There are loads of announcements about how busy the rail & tube will be during the games. It's already packed on a normal day so God knows what it will be like.
I'm going to Horse Guards on a Saturday so it shouldn't be too bad travelling
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=240509

[mtrunner]

Well the Olympics are already underway with soccer starting today. The US women's soccer team just defeated France 4-2 in a great match.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by 77T

That's cool - I went to some free events that may be options for you. The Marathon route offers great viewing and the bicycle road races too.

The Marathon route here in '96 allowed me to watch early going and then jump on rapid transit to see the lead pack at several points along the way.

The Bicycle races were looped courses so you could pedal on side streets to get to various points. The peloton's air burst was surprising.

Well hope to take it in as much as possible, but gonna try and stay away from the crowds as well. Could be a nightmare getting home from work as have to come past Stratford.

My Favourite olympic moment.

[mtrunner]

Great Nike ad campaign for the Olympics. Also a story on the campaign:


Nike today posted 60-second ad on YouTube to mark the start of a new worldwide campaign called "Find Your Greatness," and the ad "takes an idea that would have run afoul of the rules and cheekily turns it on its head," according to David Segal of the N.Y. TIMES. Instead of "showing Olympic athletes in action in London, England, viewers will see unknown athletes in towns and villages called London around the world." Ambush marketing has "been around for decades, and no company has practiced this dark art with more verve and success than Nike." However, the IOC has imposed "ever more stringent rules to keep corporate crashers away from the party." No city has "drafted broader and more robust rules than" London, which "criminalized the most egregious ambush tactics and made lesser offenses punishable with fines of $30,000 or more." News that the "best of the ambushers will apparently not attempt a surreptitious assault is sure to be regarded by the organizers of the London Games as evidence that the legal battlements erected in recent years are solid." But that is not to say that Nike "will be invisible here." The company sponsors the USOC and "a number of American federations," so there will be "plenty of swooshes when the competition begins." There have been "rumors that the company will be a sponsor in 2016 in Brazil and perhaps this does not seem like the right moment to infuriate the IOC" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/25). The GUARDIAN's Mark Sweney reports Nike did not reveal the cost of the campaign, but it is "likely to cost tens of millions of pounds globally over the course" of the Games. A poster campaign is made up of "nine different ads featuring athletes, from basketball and tennis to running and skateboarding, which will run in prominent sites in London including taking over all billboards in Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus and one at Old Street" (GUARDIAN, 7/25).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=gHFhGDWP9Fs

[Too Old]

A good start!!!

N Koreans walk off after flag row

North Korean officials reacted furiously to the confusion over flags
The North Korean women's football team have walked off the pitch at Hampden Park in Glasgow in a row over flags.

The action was apparently in protest at the South Korean flag being mistakenly displayed beside players' names on a screen prior to their Olympic football match.

Kick-off was scheduled for 19:45. It eventually started over an hour late.

North Korea are playing Colombia in the second of the opening matches being held at the ground.

Olympics organisers in London have apologised to North Korean officials for the mistake.

Relations between the two Koreas have been tense since the armistice which brought an end to fighting in the Korean War in 1953.

[mtrunner]

Originally Posted by Too Old

A good start!!!

N Koreans walk off after flag row

North Korean officials reacted furiously to the confusion over flags
The North Korean women's football team have walked off the pitch at Hampden Park in Glasgow in a row over flags.

The action was apparently in protest at the South Korean flag being mistakenly displayed beside players' names on a screen prior to their Olympic football match.

Kick-off was scheduled for 19:45. It eventually started over an hour late.

North Korea are playing Colombia in the second of the opening matches being held at the ground.

Olympics organisers in London have apologised to North Korean officials for the mistake.

Relations between the two Koreas have been tense since the armistice which brought an end to fighting in the Korean War in 1953.

North Korea are a bunch of cheats. The North Korean women's soccer team had 5 women test positive for steroids in the 2011 World Cup and are banned from participating in the 2015 World Cup.

[A.J.R.]

I am partial to watching the fencing competition but they never show it in the US