<p>Yes, it is VERY exciting. It is a small club, so he often teaches D’s lessons. D also occasionally fences in practice against the team member who is on the women’s team, and of course it is a big deal if D even scores a point or two in one of those bouts.</p>
<p>If you watched the Flying Tomato try his hand at fencing last night on NBC’s coverage, that was her coach laughing at him in the the background.</p>
<p>That’s an amazing experience that your D get’s that type of exposure and training! :)</p>
<p>I saw the clip with Shaun White and John McEnroe fencing. It was pretty funny. During the interview segment I had to do a double take. I don’t recall ever seeing Shaun White in a suit.</p>
<p>Serena Williams is playing so well. What a powerhouse. And Maria Sharapova isn’t. At least she finally won one game. It looks like this is going to be over quickly. Wasn’t there someone here who was going to be at this gold medal match? I forget who it was who mentioned it. At the moment, 6-0, 5-1.</p>
<p>Yes, I thought the suit looked funny, too. I kept puzzling over why he would even be wearing it. I thought his athleticism showed when he tried his hand with the epee, though, he could be good if he tried.</p>
<p>What is funny is that D sort of took it for granted. She is not a big sports fan in general, and I think she does not realize how rare it is to even know an Olympian personally, let alone be coached by an Olympic team coach and practice with an Olympian. She gets it now, I think. :)</p>
<p>What does that mean? “D took it for granted”… Who’s d/what does it stand for</p>
<p>D = Daughter</p>
<p>“And the flag was still there” You’d think it might have been attached a bit better. I LOVED seeing Serena and Maria sharing a laugh about this during the medal ceremony. It seemed really genuine.</p>
<p>So what do the folks here think about the South African with the prosthetic legs? I understand that some believe he has an unfair advantage. It seems like the roundness of the bottom of the prosthetics have a superior design for running than human feet.</p>
<p>Back to Gabby and Excalibur for a second. I do hope her family makes a nice donation to the gym. Many of the gyms and dance studios are run on a shoestring. D’s dance studio had a very talented girl in company who over her high school years ran up a huge bill that her family couldn’t pay. The studio owner - a small businesswoman - just absorbed the cost and tried to be more diligent about collecting bills in the future. The other D’s cheer gym’s booster club has a scholarship fund that started when some girls’ parents lost their jobs. I hope that no one will sue but that Gabby will give a bit of her money to the gym.</p>
<p>Terrible women’s final. You’d never see a men’s final so lopsided.</p>
<p>Yay for Canada woman in trampoline!</p>
<p>Feel bad for Senegal in soccer.</p>
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<p>It won’t be that much of an issue until he starts threatening to win a medal. Right now that’s not going to happen. His best times won’t get him to the finals, much less on the medals podium.</p>
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<p>Yay, indeed. Our first gold! Those trampoliners are amazing. </p>
<p>Anyone watching the cycling at the Velodrome? Wow.</p>
<p>Pistorius’ best time is 45 seconds and a few hundredths. He should not make the final. Good for him to run well in his first heat, which was nearly his personal best. It would be a very slow race if he was competitive.</p>
<p>One of the networks had a segment on the legs in which it interviewed a prof at MIT who explained that these particular legs give him no advantage. During the interview the prof rolled up his trouser legs to reveal that he too has artificial legs. His are “bionic.” They would give him an advantage. The South African’s legs were specially designed to be as human like as possible and, according to the MIT prof, give him no advantage whatsoever.</p>
<p>In summary artificial legs COULD give someone an advantage, but these particular legs don’t.</p>
<p>Here’s a pretty good article on the legs and the possibility they provide an advantage … [Does</a> Oscar Pistorius have an unfair advantage? Answer unclear - David Epstein - SI.com](<a href=“http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/writers/david_epstein/08/03/oscar-pistorius-london-olympics/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a5&eref=sihp]Does”>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/writers/david_epstein/08/03/oscar-pistorius-london-olympics/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a5&eref=sihp)</p>
<p>It seems to me adding some weight so the artificial leg weight is similar to a regular leg would be a good outcome … then the swing time would be similar to other sprinters.</p>
<p>Gold to GBR in the women’s team pursuit in cycling. They almost lapped the U.S.A. team (amazing!) who got silver. Canada got the bronze.</p>
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<p>Apparently it has not occurred to you that many people may have read that thread and chosen NOT to post in it? Moreover, do you really think that Americans are unaware of the deficiencies of the media coverage of the Olympics? Quite the reverse, I’d say.</p>
<p>While your point about the suspicion leveled at the Chinese swimmer vs the unquestioning glorification of the Americans may be well taken, it gets tiresome when people ride their personal hobbyhorses on each and every thread, and it isn’t very effective in changing minds, since people quickly learn to ignore their pronouncements on the chosen topic.</p>
<p>US women’s epee fencing team is fighting hard for the bronze – going into the 8th of 9 bouts, they are tied with the Russians (23 - 23).</p>
<p>If I were in charge, I’d reluctantly ban Pistorius and other double-leg amputees from competition with able-bodied athletes. To me, this is the crucial issue (quoted from the Sports Illustrated article):</p>
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<p>For me, Pistorius is simply doing a different sporting event than the two-legged runners, so he should not be in the same competition.</p>