Hello all,
It looks to me like Ohno pushed Tremblay when he realized he was running out of room to pass. Is it a questionable call? Sure, but these happen all the time in short track and Americans were the beneficiary of questionable calls going against the Koreans in previous race. But for Ohno to whine to the media about some sort of conspiracy to get two Canadians on the podium is ridiculous. Not to mention the idiotic "cut throat" gesture he made on the ice after a race where two Koreans wiped out in front of him, giving him an unlikely silver medal. I respect Ohno's accomplishments in his sport but let's face it, he has a history of displaying poor sportsmanship and acting like a prima donna douchebag...
JB, what the heck are you talking about? I just watched the video again, including the interview with Apolo starting at 5:10, and if you are referring to this then for you to use the say he accused anyone of conspiracy is a silly. His statement that the judging is lead by a "Canadian ref" certainly doesn't amount to an accusation of "conspiracy". He just lost a silver medal on a judgment call you called "questionable" moments before and he made a poor statement at the end on the interview from great disappointment. That's all.
The Canadian skater, Tremblay, very rarely falls in his races. It's rather obvious that Ohno caused his fall, whether it was intentional or not. Considering the speeds that these athletes reach during such races, it doesn't take much to make a skater lose his balance. The replays showed that the referee made the correct decision.
Are you sure? It doesn't take much but it's obvious Ohno was the cause for certain? I forgot to ask the other night if you ever ice skated Doc at all? You do realize cuts and ruts become more of an issue with each pass, especially if several skaters make tracks in the same path and when you need to lean to one side steeply at high speed cutting into the ice is how you keep balance in that situation. One female figure skater (the Japanese silver medalist) very obviously hit a rut and went slightly off balance while only gliding in a straight line positioned pretty much straight up. Just a possibility then that a rut was the cause. And "rarely" does not mean never.
In short track, it's common to see skaters DQ'd when they're in contact with another skater who goes down. And the benefit is almost always given to the skater who falls. When a skater is in a turn, their balance is so fine that it takes very little to cause them to go down. It's one of the hazards of the sport and Ohno has been skating long enough to accept that and his complaining was beneath him. But no matter what he said, at least he said it with a smile and accepted his fate.
Especially at the highest speeds skaters make and having to lean in steeply with the force of their weight pushing them outward there are obviously more and more ruts with each pass.
Well, "beneath him"? Okay. All athletes must know that no matter how much they train it can all come down to a judgment call. When asked a question regarding such a "questionable call" after so many years of training and waiting for the moment what would you say. If you just said "those are the breaks, it's just a game" (ala Manny Ramirez) we'd think you were just a bit...OFF.
With today's two gold medals and two more medals guaranteed by the men's curling and hockey teams, Canada has set a new record for Canadian medals at a Winter Olympic Games with 25! If we win gold in both the curling tonight and hockey tomorrow, Canada will set a new record for most gold medals, 14, by any country at a Winter Games . There's also a chance at a 26th medal in the 4 man bobsleigh. That makes a fantastic showing by Canadian athletes!
I'm glad to see one Canadian is not acting like the men's hockey team is the sum of the games or 90% of it, and that one Canadian actually mentioned their women's hockey team gold. Frankly, I think it's sad that the impression is if the men's hockey team doesn't win it's a national tragedy. Shame on those of any country who don't appreciate the achievements in all sports instead of sometimes acting like one is the sum of all pride. It will be a great game tomorrow. I just hope no one north of the border jumps off the roof if it goes the wrong way for them. Many are crazy for hockey here too, but we won't cut our wrists if we don't win.
BTW...the U.S.A today has 36 medals tying the all-time winter Olympic medals totals. Of course WE are guaranteed a medal from men's hockey that will break the all-time mark Germany held. Slightly premature CONGRATULATIONS!
GO U.S.A.
Cheers,
Merlot
