Olympic Thoughts

Kinesiotape: Anyone else notice the plethora of tape on various athletes?

Great Britain: Kicking ass and taking names in track cycling. Vern had a great post with a link to the story of how and why they are succeeding now. Chris Hoy rules.

Volleyball: Don't get me started. The indoor game is so beautiful and powerful. It requires the ultimate in teamwork and communication. Too bad you cannot watch it during prime time.

Tall athletes: Don't give up hope if you don't like basketball or volleyball. Maybe there is a place for you on the track or in the ring.

Thank BOB: Despite their best efforts to force-feed us certain sports in prime time, I have to say it has been great to see the live streaming of the BOB (Beijing Olympic Broadcasting) feed on the NBC website. I just watched the Madison and match sprint finals, and will now pop over to the weightlifting feed to see the 105+ A session. My favorite archived videos thus far are the goals of the day in soccer and the 63 B women's session in weightlifting (Michaela Breeze's gutsy performance despite injury). If you want to see some of the best of weightlifting, I highly recommend the 105 A men's session. Dimitri Klokov (silver) is one of the most athletic 105s around. Gold medalist Andrei Aramnau, at 5' 8" and 20 years of age, made a 200 kg snatch look like nothing. Note also his lack of upper body mass. This dude totaled 436 kg (200/236) and set three world records and doesn't look anything like an action figure. More on that thought in another post.

Never knew: There was a "coach peloton" in the rowing/canoe/kayak events. It's gotta take some coordination to not crash into your fellow coach or ride into the drink if you get a little excited during the race.

Comments

Joe Przytula said…
Good observation on the K-tape IM. I've not seen one good double blind study that says it works. Could this be a marketing thing?
6:15 AM
Tracy Fober said…
Hmmm...not sure, Joe. But it sure is in vogue. Know of any case studies out there?
7:56 AM
Jerimiah said…
I have never read any studies on it, but from my limited experience with it, it seems to work. Is it being over used in arena's that it's purpose is not understood or oversold? Probably. I have heard of several athletes using it, and I question it's validity at that level, but would be intrigued by research on the subject. My experience has been in the therapy clinic and it seems to be at least as effective as any other taping method, and usually more comfortable.
12:02 PM
Jerimiah said…
http://joestrainingroom.blogspot.com/2008/08/dont-drink-cool-aide.html

after I posted, I read this on another blog, guess this is your answer on studies.
12:08 PM
Anonymous said…
i think your comment should be "don't worry if you are a SHORT athlete"...

Tall athletes are in abundant at the olympics. Basketball, volleyball (beach and indoor), handball, water polo (the goalies are said to average 6'8), swimming (Phelps was usually the shortest on the medal stand at 6'4) track and field (high jump, Bolt).
1:26 PM
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