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Now that the Olympics are over, can we talk about what sports we want to see in the future? I think the IOC is missing big by not hybridizing more sports! Here's my Top 10: 1) Target Javelin. Same as normal javelin throw but you have to hit targets too. 2) Trampoline Target Shooting. What's better than training people to be able to shoot upside down mid-flip? 3) MotorCross Jousting. Basically anyone that loves NASCAR is gonna be into this! 4) Full Contact Cycle Boxing. I find track cycling just to be Ok, but how much better would it be if you could just punch your opponent as you pass them? 5) Archery Biathlon. Why do the archers just stand there? I say give them 10 stations and combine the running times with accuracy. 6) Water Polo Jiu Jitsu. If you didn't know, but water polo is a very dirty sport below the waterline but no fighting is allowed unlike hockey. These people should be able to grapple to settle their differences. The difficulty level is off the charts! 7) Multiplayer Fencing. Like normal fencing but you're actually in a closed space with 3 other people. Last one standing wins. 8) Package Delivery Triathlon. Sailing + Road Cycling + Equestrian. 9) Interpretive Dance Mountain Biking. It's not just about how good you can bike but also how you FEEL about it inside. 10) Team Pentathlon. Ok hear me out. Each country can choose ANY 5 sports to compete in. After each event, if you're not Top 10 you don't get to go onto the next event. Last 3 teams are Gold, Silver, and Bronze. If any international federations or tv execs need me to consult, I am available :D #olympics #newolympics #newgames #newsport #newsports #hybridsport #hybridsports #hybridevents #hybridolympics #olympicevents

Hugo in the kingdom of the wavers | Paris 2024 Olympic Games Ryan Murphy, the backstroker with the best times of all those competing in Paris, reminds us that the backstroke is the swimming style in which underwater swimming, also known as undulation, is most often used. It was in 1991 that the distance that swimmers could cover underwater in competition in backstroke events was limited to 15 metres per length. Finally, after the Atlanta Games in 1996, the surfacing distance was limited to 15m in all events, except the breaststroke, which has its own technical regulation. In addition, in the dorsal position, the undulation style can be slightly more efficient than in the ventral position. Backstroke events are characterised by swimmers pushing the undulation as they approach the 15-metre line. In the world concert, the Spaniard Hugo González is an exception: his backstroke technique is superior to the rest and it is not so profitable for him to swim for such a long time underwater. Hugo, who set his best time in the 200m (1m 54.14s) at the Spanish selection trials held in Palma de Mallorca in June and who last night qualified with a discreet time (1m 56.52s) for today’s final (at 20.38), has great respect for the Hungarian Hubert Kos, who swam in 1m 54.14s last year and is the only participant in the final, along with Murphy, who has ever swum faster than him. The Italian Thomas Ceccon, world record holder in the 100 backstroke, may be too explosive for 200 metres. Lukas Märtens, the 400 freestyle champion in Paris, is not a specialist but has entered the fight with an excellent time in the qualifiers. The disqualification of England’s Luke Greenbank in the morning heat may ease the way for the Spaniard. Greenbank won his heat by a length over Märtens, but was disqualified for exceeding the 15-metre limit at the start. This may have been the effect of an unusually shallow pool: 2.2 metres instead of 3. If Greenbank did not adapt by reducing the number of underwater movements, it is normal that he came out beyond the 15 metres allowed. In the deeper pools they are used to, swimmers go down to almost two metres and then emerge doing more movements than when they can only dive to 1.50 metres because there is not enough depth, or because, as in Paris, the bottom is also full of screens, lanes, cables and cameras that they could crash into. There have never been more obstacles in a modern Olympic pool. Hugo, who is second in the 2024 world rankings behind Murphy, will have to adjust to his particular way of swimming. He knows that there are swimmers who are faster thanks to the underwater, both in the starts and the turns. But his backstroke speed is superior and his strength is the last 100, not the first. The opponents have to start faster than him, try to make that advantage enough and take advantage of the turns. Many of those who will participate in the final know each other perfectly. Murphy, like Keaton Jones, are Hugo’s teammat...

Sports Illustrated [excerpt]: With all those positive tests as a pre-Olympic backdrop, and with 11 of the original TMZ 23 #athletes on the Chinese roster for #Paris, scrutiny and suspicion were high. So were expectations, after #China hauled in 16 medals (five gold, three silver, eight bronze) at the 2023 world championships. Through the first four days of competition here, China swam unspectacularly. ... Then Pan did his thing. ... It was a stunning swim, both visually and contextually. To be a full body length clear of the field in an Olympic sprint final—leaving Chalmers and Popovici and five others in his wake—was unusual. The margin of victory, .92 of a second, is the largest in the #Olympics in that event since 1928. Yep, this was a once-every-96-year beatdown. It also was the first world record of the Olympic competition here, in what has been a notoriously slow and vexing pool. It took five days and 20 events for someone to do what normally comes often at the Olympics—and when a record finally went down, it was crushed. ...It was enough to send podcaster, former American college coach at Auburn and two-time Olympian Brett Hawke into an Instagram rant. “I’m just going to be honest, I’m angry at that swim,” Hawke said in a video he posted after Pan’s swim. “I’ve studied this sport, I’ve studied speed, I understand it. I’m an expert in it. It’s what I do. And I'm upset right now because you don't win the 100 freestyle by a body length against that field. It’s just not humanly possible. It’s not real.” If Pan made history fair and square, the hovering doubt is sadly unfair to him. But this is the situation his country and his sport created for him. ...It must also be noted that he was not one of the 23 Chinese #swimmers who tested positive for TMZ. According to World Aquatics’s testing numbers that it released on the eve of the Olympics, Pan has been drug tested 21 times in 2024—a very high number, in line with the increased testing of the Chinese since the April TMZ revelations—with all of them presumably negative. But prior to exploding Wednesday night, Pan’s Olympics had been all over the map. ... Meanwhile, other Chinese swimmers expected to play major roles were underperforming. Breastroke star Qin Haiyang, world-record holder in the 200, failed to make the final in the event. In the 100, the defending world champion finished a dismal seventh. Qin was one of the 11 members of the Chinese Olympic contingent who tested positive for TMZ. ...So there was no telling what to expect when Pan went to the starting blocks Wednesday night. A gold medal certainly seemed possible—but a massive world record came as a shock. And it came with a cloud of doubt. This is what China has earned for itself, with WADA and World Aquatics complicit in that. It would be nice to believe in Pan Zhanle, but also naive. #news #sports

A 100 years ago today, the inaugural Olympic Winter Games started in Chamonix, France.   Back then, winter sports were considered elitist, and there was little appetite for a winter equivalent to the modern Olympic Games which began at Athens 1896.   In the early 1900s, editions of the "Nordic Games" were held in Sweden and Norway, featuring many winter sports but also non-winter sports such as fencing. Figure skating was the first winter sport to become an Olympic sport when it was added to the Olympic programme at the summer-edition Olympic Games London 1908. It was joined by ice hockey, the second winter sport to be added to the programme, at Antwerp 1920.   It was then decided that an International Winter Sports Week should be held in the same country hosting the summer-edition Olympic Games beginning with France in 1924. Bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, military patrol, figure skating, speed skating, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping were contested by 258 athletes from 16 teams, but just 13 of them were women – all in figure skating. Since that inaugural event, the Olympic Winter Games have evolved to an event featuring over 2,800 athletes across more than 100 events and 16 disciplines.   For more information about the Olympic Winter Games, we invite you to consult the factsheet here https://lnkd.in/eZqpZAfG and our reference documents on the Olympic World Library:   History of the sports https://lnkd.in/eDxfbbry History of the demonstration sports https://lnkd.in/exJFE_j2 Villages https://lnkd.in/eafPCZ_9 Pictograms https://lnkd.in/e3i2ZKmc Torches and torch relays https://lnkd.in/e3i2ZKmc Posters https://lnkd.in/egjaA3RY Mascots https://lnkd.in/eWEdDTPJ Medals https://lnkd.in/ep_wzXz3   The content can be used for non-commercial, educational, research, analysis, review or reporting purposes.

Paris 2024 Olympic Swimming - Submerged #1 Womens 400 Freestyle. 1.64 seconds separates this field of 8 athletes. Arguably the tightest and most competitive Women’s 400 Freestyle field ever assembled. The final has defending champions, a group of world record holders and world champions, old and new. If even at the 350, watch Titmus’ (AUS) speed capability over Ledecky’s (USA) endurance attrition, all other factors being equal. Fairweather (NZL) is in form and along with Macintosh (CAN) will create the pressure on the top 3. Men’s 400 Free. A similar time spread, sees 1.62 seconds across the top 8 from heats. A tight field, with Märtens (GER) the most recent inform athlete, dangerously close to the only, remaining “Super Suit” World Record in the books (Paul Biedermann (GER) 3:40.07), set in 2009. Possibly a closer race across the top three than in the women, Winnington (AUS), Short (AUS) and Woo-Min Kim (KOR) have specific endurance strengths to challenge Märtens. Women’s 4 x 100 Free Relay. The depth and strength of Australia’s women 100 freestylers makes for a good defence of Olympic titles. The US should never be discounted, particularly from a changeover capability, grounded in collegiate competition. China and Sweden both have strength but lack in overall depth. Men’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay. This will be a super race, with AUS, USA and CHN all powerful for different reasons. Watch the changeover, underwater and breakout performances of the US team, especially. This strength in the US team will be off set by Australia’s BES (back end speed) capability. #olympicswimming  #Paris2024

#OlympicGames #GoldMedals #US During the vast majority of the 20th century, the U.S. won 10% of Summer Olympic medals. Among the sports with the highest medal counts are track and field and swimming, with 344 and 257 gold medals, respectively. American swimmer, Michael Phelps, has won more medals than any Olympic athlete ever, with 23 gold medals under his belt. Going further, almost 25% of all U.S. gold medals in Summer Olympic sports are from swimming. Ranking in second is the former Soviet Union, with 395 gold medals. During a period of heightened focus on elite athleticism during the Cold War, the USSR earned more medals than any other country during the 1956-1992 Summer Olympics, with the exception of 1968. It even won the most medals in 1992 after the dissolution of the “Soviet Union”. With 284 Summer Olympic gold medals, Great Britain falls next, thanks to its success in rowing, cycling, and track and field. Between 1984 and 2016, the Great Britain Team won a gold medal in rowing at every Summer Olympics game. Since returning to the Summer Olympics in 1984 after 30-year absence, China ranks fourth worldwide. Approximately 75% of Olympic gold medals have come from six sports, all found in the Summer Olympic Games. These include the undeniable success in table tennis, diving, shooting, weight lifting, and gymnastics. Not only that, two-thirds of China’s Summer and Winter Olympic gold medals are won by women. Visual Capitalist July2024

AUSTRALIA beat its record with 18 Gold Medals today at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Breakdown of quick insights on medal performances so far: ■ Gold Medal: Currently 40% of Australia's total Gold Medals came from swimming (or put differently: 32% from women's swimming gold). With a few days remaining, I predict 30% of total Gold will be swimming (which is excellent -- at Tokyo 2020 swimming was 53% gold); ■ Just Add Water: 70% of Australia's total 40 medals so far have come from "water-related events" - rowing, sailing, swimming, canoe slalom. ■ Powerful Women: Currently 62% of the Australia's total 39 medals are won by Women ■ Team Sports: Currently 20% of total 39 medals from team sports. With women basketball and beach volleyball (we're in semis in both), waterpolo and few cycling events left -- could hit 25% total medals from team sports.

Today (25/01/2024) marks 100 years since the start of the first Winter Olympics, held in Chamonix, France. Originally called the “International Winter Sports Week of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc”, in 1926 the event was retrospectively renamed the “First Winter Olympic Games” due to its success. Despite having the same name, the first Winter Olympics looked drastically different to the international multi-sport event that we know today as the Winter Olympics. For starters, only six sports featured: bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, figure skating, and ski jumping. Only 258 athletes competed from 16 teams over 16 events. The countries represented were Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA, and Yugoslavia. Interestingly, the past achievements of individual competitors were not the only factor taken into consideration when countries selected their teams. They had to ensure that athletes could take several weeks off work and that they could pay for their costs towards competing, including paying for their transport to Chamonix. The games proved highly popular, with an estimated 10,000 spectators attending them. Ice hockey proved the most popular: the final between the United States and Canada attracted 2,003 paying spectators. Canada took home the gold medal, beating the United States 6-1. On their way to the final the Canadian team had victories over Great Britain (19-2), Czechoslovakia (30-0), Sweden (22-0), and Switzerland (33-0). The first Winter Olympics closed on 5 February 1924 with an awards ceremony. Some athletes had already returned home to their jobs, so their medals were presented to their fellow teammates in their absence. Norway topped the medal table, with a total of 17 medals. Great Britain were third, with a total of five medals — the country’s best result at a Winter Olympics until Sochi 2014. Read the full post authored by Alice Broome below.

This age distribution chart of Olympic athletes is really intersting:   • Oldest Sport: Equestrian • Oldest Athlete: 69 years old • Youngest Sport: Skateboarding • Youngest Athlete: 12 years old   The most surprising fact (IMO) is that triathletes are the second oldest group, especially when you consider the age gap to swimming and cycling.   What stands out most to you? P.S. Follow me (Joe Pompliano) for more sports business content! #sports #sportsbiz #linkedinsports

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event held every four years, where thousands of athletes from around the world gather to compete in various sports. The Olympics promote unity, friendship, and fair play, while celebrating human achievement and excellence. The modern Olympic Games were founded in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin, but their origins date back to ancient Greece, where the first recorded Olympic Games took place in 776 BC. The Games were held every four years for over 1,000 years until they were banned by the Roman Emperor Theodosius in 393 AD. The Olympic Games feature summer and winter sports, with the summer Games typically attracting more participants and spectators. Sports include track and field, swimming, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, and many others. The Winter Olympics feature sports like alpine skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, and snowboarding. The Olympics have grown to become a global event, with over 200 countries participating. The Games promote international understanding, athletic achievement, and the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, and respect. #snsinstitutions #snsdesignthinking #designthinker