hair splitting records
 

[QUOTE=cheesehead;306487]Trivia:

London is the first city to have hosted three "Olympic Games", but not the first to host three official Olympic events.

Innsbruck, Austria, had that honor when it hosted the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games earlier this year. ([URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Winter_Youth_Olympics"]www.innsbruck2012.com[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Winter_Youth_Olympics[/URL])[/QUOTE]

Even that is not neccesarily true, depending on how you define "Olympic Games".

Athens has held Olympic Games in 1896, 1906 and 2004. (wow three centuries!). The 1906 games weren't numbered and are no longer recognised by the IOC, but they were officially sanctioned at the time.

Richard

[QUOTE=Richard Cameron;306854]Even that is not neccesarily true, depending on how you define "Olympic Games".

Athens has held Olympic Games in 1896, 1906 and 2004. (wow three centuries!). The 1906 games weren't numbered and are no longer recognised by the IOC, but they were officially sanctioned at the time.

Richard[/QUOTE]

Well if you count the original classical Olympic Games, Athens has held the Olympics hundreds of times and in 15 different centuries.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;306841]Best camera work of last night for me was the underwater cam tracking one of the men's 50m freestyle finalists, showing that he swam the entire distance without taking a breath.[/QUOTE]
50m is not a great distance to hold you breath on. When I used to swim competition, I'd perform the 200M Individual Medley, but I was very bad at Butterfly (couldn't get my head out to breathe without almost stopping), so I would always swim the first length (butterfly) without taking a breath. Since the next length is back stroke, I had plenty of time to get my breath back for the remainder of the swim.

[QUOTE=pinhodecarlos;306851]That's usual, all Top guys don't breathe at all, that's 21-22 secs. It's the same as the 100 m in athletics (9-10 secs).[/QUOTE]

Presumably athletes in both events are putting out the maximum wattage they can sustain for the duration of the race, so the 200m sprint seems the better analogy. Try holding your breath while running that.

Since our motorcycle helmet does not have a "[URL="http://www.theraceclub.net/aqua-notes/to-breathe-or-not-to-breathe/"]recirculate interior air[/URL]" function, sometimes when there is a dead skunk by the side of the road we hold our breath for maybe 10 to 15 seconds. At [STRIKE]140[/STRIKE] 70 miles per hour that is almost a quarter mile.

:choppa:

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;306862]Since our motorcycle helmet does not have a "[URL="http://www.theraceclub.net/aqua-notes/to-breathe-or-not-to-breathe/"]recirculate interior air[/URL]" function, sometimes when there is a dead skunk by the side of the road we hold our breath for maybe 10 to 15 seconds. At [STRIKE]140[/STRIKE] 70 miles per hour that is almost a quarter mile.

:choppa:[/QUOTE]
If you and your propulsion-producer (the choppah) were *both* breath-holding for that length of time and managed to keep moving at high speed, I'd be impressed. (Assuming your bike is gas-powered - no electric-motor cheating is allowed in Olympic Dead Skunk Choppering events).

[QUOTE=bcp19;306860]50m is not a great distance to hold you breath on. When I used to swim competition, I'd perform the 200M Individual Medley, but I was very bad at Butterfly (couldn't get my head out to breathe without almost stopping), so I would always swim the first length (butterfly) without taking a breath. Since the next length is back stroke, I had plenty of time to get my breath back for the remainder of the swim.[/QUOTE]

The 200 Meters Butterfly was my speciality. Do you remember Dennis Pankratov ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp2NTFjeXQQ)?[/url] My Russian coach was from Volga team, the team of Dennis, Popov, Selkov, etc.


[QUOTE=ewmayer;306861]Presumably athletes in both events are putting out the maximum wattage they can sustain for the duration of the race, so the 200m sprint seems the better analogy. Try holding your breath while running that.[/QUOTE]

I can't comment on a 200 m sprint but on swimming they lose time just by breathing. Usually, mainly on a 100 meters freestyle, they breathe each 4 strokes.

[QUOTE=pinhodecarlos;306866]The 200 Meters Butterfly was my speciality. Do you remember Dennis Pankratov ([URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp2NTFjeXQQ)?[/URL] My Russian coach was from Volga team, the team of Dennis, Popov, Selkov, etc.




I can't comment on a 200 m sprint but on swimming they lose time just by breathing. Usually, mainly on a 100 meters freestyle, they breathe each 4 strokes.[/QUOTE]
I was in the Navy for the 96 Olympics, so I missed watching that one. Most of the events I remember were with Mark Spitz during his 7 medal run. The video was very interesting, I never did the underwater dolphin swim, and I swear it looks like he is taking breaths like a freestyler (turning head instead of raising it).

On the 100M freestyle breathing you mention, is each arm considered a stroke or each 'revolution' considered a stroke?

[url]http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/track/story/oscar-pistorius-double-amputee-runner-deserves-opportunity-in-london-080212[/url]

[url]http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/track/story/bolt-lives-in-magic-world-beyond-olympic-reality-080212[/url]

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;306590]A quindecathlon that includes:[LIST=1][*]judo, boxing, or wrestling (decided on the day by random draw)[*]3 different gymnastic events (scored as a single event, which 3 decided by random draw)[*]800m medley swim[*]15km [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3000_meter_steeplechase"]steeplechase[/URL] biathlon[*]dressage archery[*]40km cycling[*]a rowing event (type determined on the day by random draw)[*]100m[*]hammer throw[*]triple jump[*]high jump[*]400m hurdles[*]javelin[*]BMX[*][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer's_walk#Common_disciplines"]Farmer's walk[/URL][/LIST][/QUOTE]
The reasoning behind the increased number and broader range of events (compared to the decathlon) and the selection of certain non traditional events is to crown a true "world's greatest athlete". It also would make an event that would be hard to duplicate outside of the O Games (because of the diversity of types of venues needed, also it would be longer than most 'track and field' meets [likely 5 days or more]). So, this would be a signature event and unique to the O Games.

It neither focuses on the imagined military man that the pentathlon does, nor does it focus on the 'pure traditional' athletics that the decathlon does. The random draw of the combat sport, gymnastics, and rowing prevents specialization ahead of time. The athlete needs to be broadly skilled. The steeplechase biathlon is designed to reflect the winter biathlon and its challenges. There are some strength events, but not a focus on strength. There is a bias toward longer events for endurance. BMX is a very non-traditional sport and brings in direct competition with a field. Rowing also is another sport that is diverse from the traditional -athlon sports.

[QUOTE=bcp19;306867]I was in the Navy for the 96 Olympics, so I missed watching that one. Most of the events I remember were with Mark Spitz during his 7 medal run. The video was very interesting, I never did the underwater dolphin swim, and I swear it looks like he is taking breaths like a freestyler (turning head instead of raising it).

On the 100M freestyle breathing you mention, is each arm considered a stroke or each 'revolution' considered a stroke?[/QUOTE]

It's was because of Denis Pankratov underwater swim that after the jump the swimmers now have 15 meters limit to emerge (new rule since those Olympics). If you notice when he jumped he went deeper than the others, with full underwater speed he was able, with help of impulse force and slowing increasing inclination to the horizontal (with power increase), to swim faster below water than others above.
Each arm is considered a stroke.