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Elise Christie


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1 hour ago, Dondeh said:

Absolutely  gutted for her. She did well to get on the start line today with her injury . 

Having said  that some of the judges decisions in this short track event  seem ridiculous . 

She definitely did. I know it’s team GB but It just seems to be Scottish sporting luck. It was the same with the women’s curling red light fiasco.

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Haven't seen the latest event yet, but I thought the previous 2 events have had a wee hint of 'revenge' about them. My vague recollection from Sochi was that Christie was blamed by the other skaters for causing all 3 of her crashes....was that right? It's odd that she won all 3 world championship races without incident, then 3 crashes in the Olympics.

This time, she was clearly pushed by the Canadian in the first event, then as she used her hand for support, had that whipped away by the foot of the Dutch girl who was trying to pass her on the inside. I was amazed the Canadian wasn't disqualified. (from memory, so I might have Canadian/Dutch girls in wring order)

The second event was a completely accidental collision when the Chinese (?) girl on the inside of the curve slipped....though I thought Christie's decision to try to overtake her was crazy, on the final curve, in a heat, and with a 10-metre lead over the 4th skater....she just could have stayed a bit wide to qualify.

It is, though, an incredibly short track to have 6 skaters, almost bound to have accidents.

The curling incident appears to have been a correct decision, from BBC's 're-enactment' explanation last night....hopefully it won't be crucial in preventing Eve Muirhead's team qualifying.....now that would indeed by 'typical Scots sporting luck!

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Just now, Cobra said:

How come Norway (a county of 5m) is top of the leaderboard with 29 medals and the UK only has 4?

I'm guessing Norway has perfect snow conditions and everyone skis over there.

It is because of the way sports is dealt with at ground level in the UK. We don't spend enough time or effort into our kids or sports at ground level. You get out what you put in.

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13 hours ago, Cobra said:

How come Norway (a county of 5m) is top of the leaderboard with 29 medals and the UK only has 4?

I'm guessing Norway has perfect snow conditions and everyone skis over there.

There are three main factors, two of which you've mentioned. 

With half the country (though not population) above the Arctic Circle, and half of the Southern half above Cairngorms height, you don't have to go far to participate in most winter sports, and x-c skiing or alpine skiing is a weekly family activity all winter/spring. They & their neighbours in Sweden 'invented' x-c/telemark skiing & jumping, and there's evidence of skis in use from a few thousand years ago, so it's 'in the genes'. Norwegians also had mandatory national service for all males until fairly recently (now only around 20% are 'called up'), and often get a lot of expert training in nordic skiing & shooting....though their top athletes would be well beyond that level already, in their late teens. 

Norway also established an 'elite sports' programme in the 1980's, and (aided by funding that was supported by a strong oil & gas underpinned economy) established a new 'pyramid' structure for all sports, new facilities in cities & rural areas, coaching programmes,....and by the 1990's, they were doing a lot better in many sports....football, handball, cycling, golf, but especially in nordic sports.   

I think the GB Olympic association has done some similar things in specific sports, for example with cycling, and had huge success with it. I'd imagine, though, that many of the winter OL sports are fairly well down the pecking order for investment. Some of the 'newer' ski/board events, where kids can learn & train in the new indoor facilities, are producing competitive results, so there is some progress. In the 'bigger' events which require outdoor facilities & reliable snow, I think a lot more investment/support would be required.....Andrew Musgrave has only managed to break into the top 10/20 by moving from training at the Huntly nordic ski centre to Norway to live & train. I'm not sure how he's funded, but I'd imagine it would be difficult to find the funds for a lot of the other athletes to do something similar.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ski/articles/meet-team-gb-winter-olympic-medal-hopeful-cross-country-skier-andrew-musgrave/

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23 minutes ago, WoodStein said:

There are three main factors, two of which you've mentioned. 

With half the country (though not population) above the Arctic Circle, and half of the Southern half above Cairngorms height, you don't have to go far to participate in most winter sports, and x-c skiing or alpine skiing is a weekly family activity all winter/spring. They & their neighbours in Sweden 'invented' x-c/telemark skiing & jumping, and there's evidence of skis in use from a few thousand years ago, so it's 'in the genes'. Norwegians also had mandatory national service for all males until fairly recently (now only around 20% are 'called up'), and often get a lot of expert training in nordic skiing & shooting....though their top athletes would be well beyond that level already, in their late teens. 

Norway also established an 'elite sports' programme in the 1980's, and (aided by funding that was supported by a strong oil & gas underpinned economy) established a new 'pyramid' structure for all sports, new facilities in cities & rural areas, coaching programmes,....and by the 1990's, they were doing a lot better in many sports....football, handball, cycling, golf, but especially in nordic sports.   

I think the GB Olympic association has done some similar things in specific sports, for example with cycling, and had huge success with it. I'd imagine, though, that many of the winter OL sports are fairly well down the pecking order for investment. Some of the 'newer' ski/board events, where kids can learn & train in the new indoor facilities, are producing competitive results, so there is some progress. In the 'bigger' events which require outdoor facilities & reliable snow, I think a lot more investment/support would be required.....Andrew Musgrave has only managed to break into the top 10/20 by moving from training at the Huntly nordic ski centre to Norway to live & train. I'm not sure how he's funded, but I'd imagine it would be difficult to find the funds for a lot of the other athletes to do something similar.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ski/articles/meet-team-gb-winter-olympic-medal-hopeful-cross-country-skier-andrew-musgrave/

What a fine, clear, comprehensive post Wood ... And maybe only a jist wee hint o' the politics behind the thinking (policy) behind it:chaplin:

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