Bobbing for Medals: 2024 Edition

We spend most of the day watching the Olympics, so you don't have to.

Great race in the pool by USA's Bobby Finke who won a pretty-close Gold Medal in 1500m freestyle.  But what I loved almost as much was how NBC had a split screen during the race with Katie Ledecky, who is his training partner, looking on-the-edge of her seat nervous through the race, probably far more nervous than she ever is in her own 1500m races that she wins by a full pool length.  And then her going crazy with joy, jumping, ringing her cow bell and screaming at the end as it became clear he was going to win.

Readers here know I love the whitewater kayak/canoe slalom races.  Well, they added a new event in the discipline, the kayak cross race.  This seems to be an effort to not just figure out a way to have a new whitewater event, and also create an "X-Games" type of race.  I love whitewater, and I watched - but while it was sort of fun, it was also pretty stupid and felt forced. Sort of like a mix between whitewater and bumper cars.  The only thing missing was playing the "Benny Hill" music over it.  Three or four competitors are literally dropped 10 feet into the water, start racing, have to (again, literally) flip their kayak 360-degree, go around buoys, can push their opponents aside, and have to row upstream through a gate before turning back towards the finish line.  After the races, even many of the winners seemed almost embarrassed, covering their eyes and shaking their heads with an expression of "I can't believe I just did that."  By the way, not only did the great, double-Gold medalist Jessica compete…so, too, did her younger sister Noemie in her first Olympics.  Both got through to their second heat.  I watched for about 20 minutes, but it was 12:30 in the morning, and I had my limit, so I don't know how it turned out.

One of the track races I love is the steeplechase, and they had the heats for the women's 3000m races.  I not only always like long distance races, but the three big hurdles and water pool barrier make the steeplechase unique and sort of like watching people run through the forest.  I've always wondered how tough it must be to run with your shoes soaked, but learned that it turns out the runners have special shoes, designed to drain water from them after running through the pool.  For each heat, the five top finishers would move on - time didn't matter, which is not my favorite way of determining things.  It means a person in a fast race could finishing out of advancing, but actually have a faster time than the person who won their heat.  The first heat was extremely tight (and fast - the top four finishers had the top four times overall, making my point).  In fact, there was a final group of six runners on the last lap racing for the five spots that would advance.  Only .4 of a second separated first place and sixth.  American Courtney Weyment finished fourth and got in.  In the second heat, winner Peruth Chemutai of Uganda had a close race, as well, but slightly more of a cushion - however, she was running so much more comfortably than the others that, near the end, she turned her head and seemed to almost smirk at the others.

Noah Lyles is an impressive runner.  He won the Gold in the 100m race and is going to compete in the 200m.  I know that they call him a "showman," but to me, it isn't a show.  It's just arrogant preening and posturing.  I'm sure it's part of the way he psyches himself up, and I'm sure some people love it.  And I know, too, that people often say, "If he can back it up, it's not bragging."  Except, yes, it is bragging, it's the definition of bragging, and the person had better back it up or else they look like an idiot.  (By the way, I'm not inherently against all bragging, this just transcends it into vaudeville.)  Happily for Lyles, he did back it up.  Just barely, since the margin was insanely close -- .005 of a second!  He's a great runner, and if that's his style, so be it.  I just don't find it entertaining, in any athlete, in any sport.  For my personal taste, "Me me me me me me me me me me me me me" sucks like life out things.  If it's all that much you you you you, then you're full up and don't need my support.  Though I certainly appreciate and admire the skill.

In the first heat for the women's 200m race, the Gold medal winner, Julien Alfred of St. Lucia, won to move on.  The second heat, though, stood out for me because American Gabby Thomas had a tremendous race and, despite it being such a short distance, won in a surprising breeze. It'll be fascinating to watch the finals between them.  And any other surprises, perhaps.

Australian high jumper Nicole Olyslagers has to be the happiest athlete at the Olympics.  She had a big smile on her face as she prepared to start her second approach to the bar (of the three allowed).  And had a smile even when she missed, leaving her just one try.  And a huge leaping smile when she made her leaping attempt.  And even when she missed on her final attempt as one of the two remaining jumpers left for the Gold medal, she was smiling.  I sense she is either just a very happy person, or was just thrilled to be that high in the competition, ultimately winning the Silver.  Or both.

The men's cycling road race was held yesterday (the women's was held today), and when they say it's the longest race in the Olympics, I'm not sure anything even qualifies in the discussion for second place.  It's 170 miles!  The race took about six hours. It was won by Remco Evenepoel (Ev-nuh-poll) of Belgium, though it didn't matter to me who won. Just finishing should get a participation trophy - and the obligatory juice box and slice of pizza.  

But that was only the opening act.  Because the women's cycling road race today, about 100 miles, was won - remarkably -- by Kristen Faulker of the United States, which hasn't had a Gold medal in the race since it was introduced at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.  She only took up the sport full-time 10 years ago and only quit her job to make this her career four years ago.  She was in the leading group the last few miles, but then made an amazing breakaway with just two miles left, and none of the other racers even challenged her the rest of the way.  And she won the Gold with no one around her.  For all the others in the 100-mile race, to be clear, they get the same impressive participation trophy, and same juice and pizza.

By the way, the road case repeatedly passed by Montmartre, the legendary art district where Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, and more lived and worked, and where the majestic Sacré-Coeur basilica sits. The main announcer Steve Schlanger kept referring to it as "Mahn-martra" - and while I don't want to nitpick, it's not nitpicking for perhaps the most famous neighborhood in Paris and likely the most renowned art district in history of the world, which you would think he would check before the race to ask how it's pronounced - but it is pronounced "Moan-martra."  (For those tsking me - put aside its legendary history and consider two things:  first, imagine watching a New York Marathon, where every time the runners passed by all the theaters, the announcer kept repeatedly saying they were running down "Brood-why".  And second, consider the line in the song "Why Can't the English?" in My Fair Lady where Henry Higgins stops singing and says, "The French don't care what you do, actually, so long as you pronounce it properly."  Pronunciation really does matter a lot in France, and in Paris especially, where it can be treated with disdain.  Which I can confirm, as well, from personal experience years ago...  As a bonus, consider, too, that France is probably the most cycling-mad country in the world where the Tour de France race - two weeks across the entire country -- is almost a national holiday.  Now, add back the legendary history of the district.  So, y'know, it's not nitpicking, it's basic: when you are announcing the Olympics cycling in Paris, get "Montmartre" right.)  I suspect Schlanger - who otherwise has done a very good job on this race for hours and other cycling events -- might have asked how to say it, kept getting it wrong, and the French expert finally giving up and saying, "Fine, whatever, close enough," shrugged, rolled his eyes and strode away in disgust, mumbling, "Crazy Americans…"

I've mentioned that I like golf, and think it's a thoroughly legitimate, if not necessary discipline at the Olympics, since it's largely pro golfers having a pro tournament.  But the competition was good, and most notable to me was seeing the Gold meal-winner, USA's Scottie Scheffler, standing on the podium as the National Anthem played, and near the end breaking into tears.

Team USA did extremely well in the heats for the men's 1500m race, qualifying all three of the country's runners.

Finally, over the years of Olympics broadcasts, the covering network would always have a late night show, generally a half-hour  Some years, in fact, it would air before the network's late night talk show. There would be guest athletes, generally discussing their Gold medal win. Highlights of the day.  Analysis of the Games.  Occasionally Olympic news reporting.  Some featurettes.  And more.  But for the past few Olympics, NBC has been cutting back on it.  And this year, it's non-existent.  They do have similar type shows on its Peacock streaming service, but they're not the same.  And Peacock is certainly not the NBC flagship platform with its gravitas.  Furthermore, if NBC wants to keep broadcasting events in the late-night hour, they still have the USA Network, CNBC and even the E! channel.  So, it would seem a no-brainer that the NBC mothership would not only have the slot open to air a standard, half-hour, late-night wrap-up show…but want to.  Instead, the other night for example, they had 90 minutes of skateboard and surfing.  Followed by a 3-1/2 hour repeat of primetime.  NBC does do what they call a late night broadcast, but it's not really a late night recap show, it's more a lesser-event show (like X-Games competitions and 3x3 basketball) that has some late-night features dropped in throughout.  And as its gone on, I've become more annoyed with it, as it seems forced and cloying.  

Host Maria Taylor is very professional, and at times does a solid job, though at times seems like she is putting on an act and performing, talking at the viewers, rather than to them, being (for lack of a better term) sassy.  The interviews are thin, especially compared to host Mike Tirico who tends to do some of his excellent ones at the end of his primetime show that precedes it, so the comparison is more pronounced.  And they have her doing shtick, like smelling perfumes, doing food tastings, and playing silly "games" with the athlete guests, such as identifying other athletes' nails and pop quizzes to match their teammates' answers. By the way, doing shtick, having fun with sports is good - if your job is doing humor.  However, it's not the job of most sportscasters, and they don't do it well. And it shows.  It takes a deft touch, balancing a knowing quip with a clear love of sports. (Not surprisingly, SNL's Colin Jost is wonderful at it, hosting surfing in Tahiti.  Former Olympics anchor Bob Costas has always done it well,  Current NBC anchor Mike Tirico is not great at it, but is self-aware enough not to try too much, and is adept at finding the right moment for a light touch.  Mary Carillo is excellent at it, a former pro tennis player with a thoughtful and whimsical wit.) But when not done well, as it isn't in the late night now, it comes off like "Isn't this all frivolous and silly," which begs the question, "Yes, sports are far more fun than deeply meaningful, but if you think that they're just frivolous and silly, why are you asking us to watch?"

Let the Games continue…