(no subject)

If you're interested in good sportsmanship, fair play and decorum, you might want to give the men's sabre final a miss.

Complete lack of decorum as evinced here - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/3/5nro.html

If you want to see a good fight I still recommend it though.

The IOC are a bunch of stuck up old men. They didn't want womens sabre in the Olympics. Finally forced into having it, they've said fine have the event but we're not giving out extra medals. So they're having womens sabre instead of a womens team foil competition. Very grrr.

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On a happier note, Paolo Bettini - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/3/5nql.html won the men's road race. This makes me very happy.

What makes me even happier is when Erik Zabel (who finished fourth) had finished, he came up to congratulate Bettini. And he meant it. It was tres sweet and cool.

Olympic Pic Spam part the 2nd

Fencing -

Third round photo - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5nt4.html

One from the semis - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5n47.html

men's sabre bronze play-off -
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5ns7.html

Final photos
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5npe.html
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5np9.html
Did I mention the complete lack of decorum in the final - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5nph.html
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5no4.html (really fun pic, unless you were cheering for the Hungarian)

Medal ceremony - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5ns5.html

I should probably explain my fascination with gymnastics. It's a cool thing to watch and it seemed to dominate the Barcelona Olympics, or at least my memories of it. Not that that's a bad thing, when your introduction to a sport is Vitali Scherbo you've got nothing to complain about.

Gymnastics -

Canadian on the pommel horse, really cool pic - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5nsq.html
This time it's a Canadian on the vault - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5n22.html

This is not natural - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5n3u.html

Cycling - Paolo Bettini

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/3/5nfw.html

Virenque congratulating him, they cycle for the same professional team - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5nog.html
(I am in love with this photo)

Medal ceremony - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/3/5nra.html

Bettini and Mercx - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5nmd.html

Hincapie and Hamilton before the race - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5n3n.html

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Random photos of sports that aren't among my obsessions

Cool photo of two horses getting a cool down in the misting tent - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5n0p.html

Silly pic of the Thorpedo, you don't get to many of those - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5n10.html

Judo photo - that can't be good http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5n28.html

Cool table tennis photo - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5n3b.html

The rowing start mechanism is really hi-tech as you can see - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5nen.html (basically people hold the boat until the starter says go)

A rather undignified boxing picture - http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040814/5/5np2.html