Team GB seem to be doing rather well (again)
 
Amazing what a bit of concentrated funding (Lottery) can do for various sporting activities.
 
 

craigb

Kalle Rantaaho
Two international Olympic Cities should be built somewhere, one for summer- the other for winter Olympics, funded by all the member countries. Then the games would take place at the same place every time, and in between all the countries could use the facilities for training camps and lesser tournaments. 

I nominate this for "Coolest Idea!" 

Serious issues remain over who gets to watch it on TV at decent times of day.
Great if you happen to live within a reasonable distance from wherever it's being held.
Not so great if you live halfway around the world and the action only kicks off at midnight, your time

craigb

Kalle Rantaaho
Two international Olympic Cities should be built somewhere, one for summer- the other for winter Olympics, funded by all the member countries. Then the games would take place at the same place every time, and in between all the countries could use the facilities for training camps and lesser tournaments. 

I nominate this for "Coolest Idea!" 

Serious issues remain over who gets to watch it on TV at decent times of day.
Great if you happen to live within a reasonable distance from wherever it's being held.
Not so great if you live halfway around the world and the action only kicks off at midnight, your time

I'm guessing the Summer city could be in the Americas area and the Winter city in the Eurasia area...
 
Whether they like to admit it or not, many of the athletes from foreign countries live and train in the U.S., so somewhere there is the likely spot.  My vote would probably go to somewhere in Norway for the Winter spot (though Germany did a good job as well back in the day - I've been to their Olympic Village).

Bristol_Jonesey

craigb

Kalle Rantaaho
Two international Olympic Cities should be built somewhere, one for summer- the other for winter Olympics, funded by all the member countries. Then the games would take place at the same place every time, and in between all the countries could use the facilities for training camps and lesser tournaments. 

I nominate this for "Coolest Idea!" 

Serious issues remain over who gets to watch it on TV at decent times of day.
Great if you happen to live within a reasonable distance from wherever it's being held.
Not so great if you live halfway around the world and the action only kicks off at midnight, your time

I agree. There would be uncomfortable time-zone issues, but the way things are going now is intolerable.
One way would be exluding, say, all team sports - soccer, basket ball, handball etc. They have had their own
world championship games for so long. Or including only some of them every time.
Also, the present system offers a soil too good for corruption by all kinds of cliques and "brotherhoods" starting from the hosting decisions and ending in parking area mafias..

I was amazed that they picked a city to host the summer olympics when it was actually winter there. I guess it was so temperate there that it didn't make much difference but still, that seems to be tempting fate.

I thought that too.

Way to go Galen Rupp in the marathon! His second marathon race and he takes the Bronze against experienced marathoners.

KenB123
Way to go Galen Rupp in the marathon! His second marathon race and he takes the Bronze against experienced marathoners.

Yes. That was a brilliant performance.
As a citizen of a former superpower country of long distance running I'm a bit frustrated by the way things are today.
In the seventies still Finland had more Olympic medals from the above mentioned than Sovjet Union and USA together. The greatest years were before I was born.
I assume there's no end in sight to the African dominance. Allthough, I hope they get some better limitations to using "bought" athletes. There are disturbingly many countries now having athletes of  "very fresh citizenship" in their line-ups.
 

I recall Lasse Virén as one great distance runner from Finland (4-gold: 1972, 1976).