I LOVE APOLO OHNO

[JL Sargent]

Hey Bill, did you watch slow motion replay? It clearly showed the 2nd place Canadian Charles Hamelin (eventual winner) with his hand pushing the hip of the Korean leader as he fell to the ice. No foul called on that one yet at the same instance Ohno got a foul for an even lesser touch. As Ohno said, "It's very subjective"

Call both a foul or neither, but get it the same.

[Islander]

The rules in speed skating seem a little odd. In one of the last women's races, the Chinese skater in second place tried to push her way into first in the last turn of the race, but there was not enough room, and she almost knocked down the Korean woman in the lead.

The Korean skater was disqualified for "impeding" the Chinese skater, which made no sense to me at all.


No-one can deny that Ohno is a very fast skater, but the Canadians and the Koreans (men and women) were also very fast in these Games. It was great to see such tight racing in most of the events.

Did anyone else notice that the referees didn't just wear skates, they wore speed skates? Hey, I guess they were the appropriate gear for the occasion.

[CECAA850]

DQ aside...............I was sad to hear Apolo say (after being prompted by Chris Collingsworth), that he thought the Judge was Biased cause he was a Canadian..............

When he said that..............to L with him...............

No, that would NEVER happen. Just because the judge and 2 of the skaters were Canadian and the crowd predominately Canadian, had absolutely nothing to do with it. Why would anyone actually think that?

[Gilbert]

What a bogus DQ Ohno got. Maybe the replay ref should have a 60" plasma to help him see the action better.

No Joke. What a shammwow DQ that was... I havn't got a clue what that ref was looking at. He must surely be related to one of the judges for the Nobel Peace prize. Ohno should have been given his Silver (10th) medal.

[Gilbert]

Hey Bill, did you watch slow motion replay? It clearly showed the 2nd place Canadian Charles Hamelin (eventual winner) with his hand pushing the hip of the Korean leader as he fell to the ice. No foul called on that one yet at the same instance Ohno got a foul for an even lesser touch. As Ohno said, "It's very subjective"

Call both a foul or neither, but get it the same.

The replay removes any doubt. The Canadian in 3rd. lost it, as Ohno was making his move to a podium position. Ohno did not push, shove, block or hinder the Canadian. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and based on a 1 time view of the circumstances, it could have been a subjective decision. But the reply ability allows views from 3 different camera positions, and Ohno's movements were without a doubt clean, as discussed between the announcers after the event. Ohno did not precipitate in the cause of the accident in anyway, but the nature of the sport is orginized caos at best. He's not the first Olympian to be cheated out of a medal, and he won't be the last.

[russ69]

OK, short track has a lot of bump, grind and DQs. Ohno was 4th trying to get to 3rd, he didn't mean to fowl the skater but he did hinder the follow just a bit. If the guy had stayed on his skates Ohno would have been alright. They wouldn't have called the foul. As far as the foul to the Canadian, he was in first and stayed there, no foul, no penalty.

You can't win them all.

Thanx, Russ

[JL Sargent]

Russ, you obviously need a refresher.[]

Watch Charles Hamelin's hand at the end. He is in SECOND.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=ede93805-04c1-4dfa-a50f-640205f6163a.html#ohno+disqualified+500m

[Bill H.]

All I was trying to say was.

1. Chris Collingsworth should Not have even brought that question up.

2. Ohno should have just deflected the question..............

JMHO.................

[Islander]

OK, short track has a lot of bump, grind and DQs. Ohno was 4th trying to get to 3rd, he didn't mean to fowl the skater but he did hinder the follow just a bit. If the guy had stayed on his skates Ohno would have been alright. They wouldn't have called the foul. As far as the foul to the Canadian, he was in first and stayed there, no foul, no penalty. You can't win them all.

Short track speed skating really is a pretty chaotic event. One sportscaster commented that Ohno's luck had run out, referring to him having been in a number of incidents where the referee's call had gone in his favour, but you can't win them all. It's not like he's going home without any medals.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/353457-2010-winter-olmpics-apolo-ohno-skates-with-the-stars-into-olympic-glory

[Gilbert]

OK, short track has a lot of bump, grind and DQs. Ohno was 4th trying to get to 3rd, he didn't mean to fowl the skater but he did hinder the follow just a bit. If the guy had stayed on his skates Ohno would have been alright. They wouldn't have called the foul. As far as the foul to the Canadian, he was in first and stayed there, no foul, no penalty. You can't win them all.

Short track speed skating really is a pretty chaotic event. One sportscaster commented that Ohno's luck had run out, referring to him having been in a number of incidents where the referee's call had gone in his favour, but you can't win them all. It's not like he's going home without any medals.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/353457-2010-winter-olmpics-apolo-ohno-skates-with-the-stars-into-olympic-glory

Wonderful summery on his 2010 Olyimic career. Russ, your way off.... I suspect you didn't see the race. Ohno fouled no one, and a bad call was made. To the ref's defense, the evidence was inconclusive.

I hope Ohno does at 1 more Winter Olympics, I think he will, for the love of it.

[russ69]

Russ, you obviously need a refresher.

Yeah, I do, sorry, the brain doesn't always work, There was a lot going on and I only saw the race and the replays once as it was played the first time. My opinion was really based on the fact I didn't see a flagrant fowl from any skater but when guys go down the refs are looking for minor infractions. I never raced short track but I was a rink rat and went out during the speed skating sessions. You get bunched up and have to fend off the other guys. Sometimes you just skate up the inside and hope for the best. Sometimes it goes wrong. From what I know about short track racing and the normal way it's officiated I think the call could have gone either way and still been a fair call.

Thanx, Russ

[neo33]

Ohno is a very humbled guy. He doesn't whine either. A world class Olympian.

[BLSamuel]

"Sitting on the couch and drinking beer will never be an Olympic sport."

Ya know I think in an article in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED a while back they said they pretty much take a beer break between rounds, innings, sweeps or whatever they call them at curling clubs in this country. Yes curling clubs in the USofA. Like in the northern hinterlands where it's real cold all winter and there's nothing else to do.

Maybe the logic or why of curling is clearing after a few?

Invent your own sport Ace. Why not Jarts? Maybe if you make the Jarts heavier like 4 lbs apiece? I mean how in the heck did anyone come up with curling. A broom as sports equipmnet?.... though it is somehow kind of interesting to watch though I don't think I saw any this Olympics... but not so long ago on the Universal Sports Network (or whatever NBC dtv.3 in these parts is called) showing Olympic trials.

Ohno may have put his hand on the dude that fell ... but not as hard as he was pushed in a race that slowed him down and I think took him out of medal contention but he didn't fall.

Yeah... maybe a little drop in class to comment about Canadian judge ... Canadian skater but he was pretty much pushed into it and he had just been DQ'd for what seemed to be less than a foul... .very inconsistent subjective judging in short track... but it is crazy fun. I hope he comes back for Sochi...

I mean you feel you've just gotten screwed out of an olympic medal... what are you supposed to say. I think all things considered he handled things pretty well... and the South Koreans often do seem to work as a team..... but what do I know. I'd never heard of short track speed skating until it was an olympic event.... Kind of like roller derby on ice? Except you're not allowed to push and shove like no contact is gonna happen.

I didn't see the women's race mentioned.... dq'd for impeding when you're winning and the opponent pushes / throws you out of the way. Need to overhaul the judging to be consistent... maybe pressure sensitive and touch sensitve suits? Skater a applied 8 kilograms of force to Skater b's left hip.... take the subjectiveness out of it. People even with good intentions will be subjective....

[Islander]

very inconsistent subjective judging in short track... but it is crazy fun.

I think those two statements kind of sum it up, but I'd add that the rules could be a bit more logical, too. At least the skaters get to compete in lots of races at a single Olympic Games. Even with all the debatable incidents, Ohno still got to take home three medals.

For alpine snowboarding, there was one event only, parallel giant slalom. My friend's niece, Kimiko Zakreski, was competing for Canada in the women's event, but the conditions were terrible, with fog and rain, so a number of the competitors fell. She's ranked 14th in the world and was 7th after the first run, but near the end of her second run, the slushy snow got the better of her and she fell. Two sub-60-second runs and her Olympics were all over. Even so, she was able to smile when she got to the bottom of the run. I don't know if I could have smiled after that.

[BLSamuel]

For alpine snowboarding, there was one event only, parallel giant slalom. My friend's niece, Kimiko Zakreski, was competing for Canada in the women's event, but the conditions were terrible, with fog and rain, so a number of the competitors fell. She's ranked 14th in the world and was 7th after the first run, but near the end of her second run, the slushy snow got the better of her and she fell. Two sub-60-second runs and her Olympics were all over. Even so, she was able to smile when she got to the bottom of the run. I don't know if I could have smiled after that.

Bummer about falling. But, she did get to compete in the Olympics. That in itself is enough for many of these athletes..... too bad the conditions weren't better as sounds like she quite likely might've had her personal best?

Yeah short track is fun as they're a lot of races rather than one shot for many athletes.

I thought these Olympics were awesome but the weather and snow conditions were at best fair and ofther deplorable.

[Islander]

I thought these Olympics were awesome but the weather and snow conditions were at best fair and ofther deplorable.

You're right about that! Ski racing in the rain is nearly as bad as it gets. Meanwhile, here on the Island, just a couple of hours away (90 minutes by ferry, plus 30 or so by road (not positive about the road part)) is Mount Washington. That ski centre started getting snow in November, and during the Olympics had the deepest snow base in the world, at 4.6 metres (15 feet).

If the Cypress Mountain events had been moved there, they would certainly have been better for the athletes and the spectators, but the logistics might well have been impractical, unfortunately.