I apparently can’t embed video. Please click through on the links below to watch.
The Olympics have been super exciting this year, from the opening ceremony to the events. I’m thankful that I can watch them online, cause I still don’t have a TV. One of the best events yesterday was the mens freestyle relay, written up by Slate. It’s embedded above linked here. The end is surprising and intense. Lochte, the US swimmer who beat Phelps and featured in an ESPN story on Olympic Village sexcapades (as a straightforward interview, nothing racy), tries to pull it together against the French. I guess you know or you’ll see.
But there’s other highlights as well. It’s all pretty exciting. I’ve embedded linked some stuff I liked below. If you want a full set of highlights click here.
Weightlifting
Weightlifting is always intense. Check out the mens final. North Korea represents. The guys are quite stocky and it feels a bit like Game Of Thrones. Women’s weightlifting also is quite entertaining.
Cycling
Then there’s women’s cycling, which gets super dangerous and ends in the rain. Check out the womens road race final. I wish there was some commentary on this one, but the raw fatigue and emotion about 1:30 in tells the story by itself.
Synchronized Diving
And women’s synchronized diving, which I didn’t even know was a sport. It’s pretty cool. The tension of regular diving times two.
Fencing
Finally, there’s mens fencing, which is a lot faster and cooler than I thought fencing to be. It’s actually very TRON. Gets quite exciting around 1:45, some crazy parries.
I’ve been watching these videos mostly via YouTube – youtube.com/olympic. I’m assuming these embeds work for Sri Lanka but they may not work all over the world. In the US you can get NBC streaming and an iPad app IF you have a cable/satellite subscription already, which seems a bit onerous and wack. They’re getting some criticism for the restrictive coverage. In Sri Lanka I caught a bit on SLT’s PEO TV, via MTV Sports, Sirasa and Shakthi, all of which were showing different events. I think CSN and Rupavahini are also covering. On Dialog TV, if you have the ESPN HD channel that’s the absolute best.
Olympic commentator talking about a woman weightlifter who had just dislocated her elbow: “she had a very uncomfortable snatch.”