2024 Olympics - General commentary

ranmoo84 said:
Reading Gabby Thomas ... who just won gold in the 200m .... her parents went to and met at Duke in the 1990's .... father Desmond Thomas reportedly played football.
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Sports reference says he got one INT for Duke in 1995 (Goldsmith 3-8 team).
 
Found this from a 2021 article on Duke's Men's track team 4x100m breaking a relay record that included Gabby Thomas's father from 1995: "... in 1995, when Desi Thomas, Corey Thomas, Charles London & Johannes Brugger ran a time of 41.06 seconds. The run in 1995 was one of 13 remaining outdoor records set before 2000 and marks the oldest record to fall this outdoor season. ... "

Learning about Gabby Thomas .... she is an amazing athlete and person: " ... A graduate of Harvard University, she studied neurobiology and global health as an undergraduate. In May 2023, Thomas finished her master's degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, at their Austin regional campus. ... " .....all of that while competing at the highest level in Track
 
ranmoo84 said:
Found this from a 2021 article on Duke's Men's track team 4x100m breaking a relay record that included Gabby Thomas's father from 1995: "... in 1995, when Desi Thomas, Corey Thomas, Charles London & Johannes Brugger ran a time of 41.06 seconds. The run in 1995 was one of 13 remaining outdoor records set before 2000 and marks the oldest record to fall this outdoor season. ... "

Learning about Gabby Thomas .... she is an amazing athlete and person: " ... A graduate of Harvard University, she studied neurobiology and global health as an undergraduate. In May 2023, Thomas finished her master's degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, at their Austin regional campus. ... " .....all of that while competing at the highest level in Track
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I remember Corey Thomas well - he was a great receiver who started on the 8-3 1994 team (8-3 was a big, big deal back then - we started 7-0) in addition to being a sprinter. I do not remember Desi as well.

Gabby is incredibly impressive - her academic credentials and experiences are top notch, and when they interview her, she is very thoughtful and well-spoken. I googled her and her mother, who I believe is also a Duke alum, has a PhD from Emory so is clearly very bright. As we have discussed further up in this thread, she is very different than many of the other sprinters - not flashy at all.
 
In non-USA news, Cuban wrestler Mijaín López just because the first Summer Olympian in any individual sport to win five golds. He immediately retired at the end of the match and walks (barefoot) into Olympic lore.
 
rifraf said:
I read that it was less that Sweden offered his dad a coaching job and more that the US would not allow him to keep his chosen coach (his dad) and continue to rise through the Team USA ranks and compete. He said she said though, nothing firm or cited.
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The human interest story on the family was one of the rare instances where it really helped me see things differently. The family seems very tight knit and complementary. They all competed at LSU. Mom’s in charge of training. Dad’s the technical coach. Kid’s the one who soaked it all in and embraced the sport from a ridiculously young age.
 
AGDukesky said:
Boutier is off to an incredible start at -7 thru 16 with two players at -4. The current leader in the clubhouse is -2.
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Yep, just saw this and posted on golf thread. She hasn’t had a great year, but seems primed to win this one near her home.
 
acdevil said:
Looks like the US was just awarded gold medals for team figure skating. The ROC originally won, but one of their skaters wasn’t clean. It took 2.5 years for the decision to elevate the US and they got their medals today in Paris.
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Not many skaters take home gold at the Summer Olympics.
 
acdevil said:
Looks like the US was just awarded gold medals for team figure skating. The ROC originally won, but one of their skaters wasn’t clean. It took 2.5 years for the decision to elevate the US and they got their medals today in Paris.
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Strange that they didn't move Canadian up from 4th to 3rd and the bronze. The US moved to 1 and Japan moved to 2 and 3 is vacant.
 
acdevil said:
Looks like the US was just awarded gold medals for team figure skating. The ROC originally won, but one of their skaters wasn’t clean. It took 2.5 years for the decision to elevate the US and they got their medals today in Paris.
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We wondered what a “reallocation ceremony” was. That was listed in the NBC Olympic schedule.
I was hoping it was for a men’s swimming relay. 🤣
 
OldPhiKap said:
Perhaps he was just pining for the fjords.
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True, but he stated in a recent interview after his last trip there, "drove my Ford to the fjord, but the fjord was dry".

I concur with roywhite in that I was a bit pleased to see Mr. Ingebrigtsen "underperform" but more importantly, see Hocker and Nuguse do much better than expected. Now, if we can just start being competitive in the marathon on a more consistent basis I'll be thrilled.
 
CrazyNotCrazie said:
I remember Corey Thomas well - he was a great receiver who started on the 8-3 1994 team (8-3 was a big, big deal back then - we started 7-0) in addition to being a sprinter. I do not remember Desi as well.

Gabby is incredibly impressive - her academic credentials and experiences are top notch, and when they interview her, she is very thoughtful and well-spoken. I googled her and her mother, who I believe is also a Duke alum, has a PhD from Emory so is clearly very bright. As we have discussed further up in this thread, she is very different than many of the other sprinters - not flashy at all.
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Gabby was my pick for break out star before the last Olympics. Sydney McLaughin took that prize. Three years later, Gabby seems to be the one. I like her even more now that I know the Duke connection. Shame she didn't come to Duke as an undergrad.

It will be interesting to see what relays Gabby runs. She dabbled in the 100 meter recently and has a strong history in the 400. I actually read somewhere that Sydney might be interested in running in the 4x100. I was really disappointed that Sydney decided against going for both the 400 open and the 400 hurdles. I think she has a chance to hold the world record in each.
 
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