brian2

is that a challenge?

Mizouse

brian2

I'm calling you out

Mizouse

brian2

brian2

I actually read somewhere that mafia assassins preferred smaller caliber. They put a bullet in your head and it bounces around inside and does more damage.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

When you tune into the Olympics, you usually expect to catch a glimpse of some of the most elite athletes that the world has to offer, even if it's in some pretty bizarre sports that you didn't even know existed. (Looking at you, curling and biathlon.)

But if you tuned into the qualifying portion of women's halfpipe skiing in Pyeongchang this week, you got an odd and confusing surprise while watching free skier Elizabeth Swaney. As she took her qualifying runs, it became clear that Swaney was zip codes away from an elite athlete.

Her qualifying runs were so mind-numbingly average that it was almost captivating -- as were the event announcers' attempts at taking her seriously, you may be asking yourself ... exactly how does a skier that average and that boring make it all the way to Olympics?

The answer is a bit complicated, but it involves a little dedication and lot of circumvention. Swaney has been freestyle skiing for five years and her goal was to make it to the Olympics, even if she had to snake her way in. The 33-year-old American isn't stupid -- she has a graduate degree from Harvard -- and so she worked out a scheme to make her Olympic dreams come true, at least for one day.

Knowing that she likely would never have a chance at making the Winter Games while competing for a spot on the very-competitive United States team, Swaney instead decided to ski for Venezuela (her mother's home country) before switching over to represent Hungary, where her grandparents were born, in 2015.

Skiing for Hungary gave Swaney a better chance at meeting the International Ski Federation's requirements and qualifying for Olympic participation. All she needed to do was show up at a bunch of international events and complete her very basic runs without crashing and she would slowly score points and work her way up the rankings."The field is not that deep in the women's pipe and she went to every World Cup, where there were only 24, 25, or 28 women," said longtime FIS ski halfpipe and slopestyle judge Steele Spence, via the Denver Post. "She would compete in them consistently over the last couple years and sometimes girls would crash so she would not end up dead last. There are going to be changes to World Cup quotas and qualifying to be eligible for the Olympics. Those things are in the works so technically you need to qualify up through the system."
Swaney kept her eye on the prize and, with some determination and a little bit of luck, it finally paid off. She qualified to compete at the Olympics. Here's more, via NBC. This year, there were 24 quota spots available for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in women's ski halfpipe. But those spots don't automatically go to the best 24 skiers in the world. The maximum number of skiers that each nation can send to the Olympics for women's halfpipe is four, so a country like the U.S. — which had six skiers ranked inside the top 20 of the Olympic qualification standings — could only send their top four skiers, even though they had more than four athletes who earned quota spots.

So with countries like the U.S. having to forego their extra quota spots, some countries not using all their quota spots, and other athletes pulling out due to injury, the invite list made it all the way down to athlete No. 34 in the rankings: Elizabeth Swaney of Hungary.

As you'd imagine, plenty of legitimate (i.e. talented) Olympic athletes in South Korea are not exactly thrilled with Swaney making a mockery of the process and securing a "competitive" spot through technicalities. Plenty of other skiers who just missed the cut and are forced to watch from home likely aren't amused, either.

But, if you take an alternative perspective, Swaney's Olympic qualification can also be somewhat of an inspiration. She may not have the jaw-dropping athletic talent, but she had the brains and the determination to find a way to make it all the way to the Olympics. She strategized and she executed.

Ultimately, she was able to achieve the real American (or Hungarian?) dream: Scamming the system to achieve your life goals while doing the absolute bare minimum to get there.

Not all heroes wear medals.

Yumcha

Um...wow.

brian2

The rest of the field aren't too much better than her if they want to be honest with themselves. I watched it yesterday.

Mizouse

brian2

There was a girl from NJ on the radio this morning. She's on the Jamaican bobsled team. She was talking about how important it is for kids with dark skin and curly hair to see her out there. Do black kids think gravity effects them differently which is what has been keeping them from bobsledding?

Mizouse

brian2

I actually want to see the women, but it's too late for me :sleeping:

Mizouse

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

Its the last game, nut up and watch it!!! Canada's reign will be overthrown tonight!

USA USA

nist7

I was reading a reddit comment last night that had a guy who knew a friend of a friend who had some knowledge of the olympics. Said that he was told when usain bolt won that gold in london, he was seen taking 10+ women back to his place.....

pretty much olympics is orgy city....

Mizouse

Yumcha

speed-skating drama: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/21/s...ion/index.html

Kimchi and Kimchi vs. Kimchi.



And it's not wacist if I'm being wacist to my own kind.

Mizouse

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brian2

I'll watch it when I get home later

Glad I didn't start watching and then have to stay up until 1am

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

WHAT A GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That hit on Decker was such bullshit. What game were the refs watching? Couldn't believe it. Never would I have thought Women's Hockey would be so entertaining. Canada played dirty all game but were called for it, US needed to take advantage of the PP's. The best part was the medal ceremony, the one Canadian removed her silver instantly. What a poor sport!

What do you guys think of the shootout to determine the winner? Sounds like a lot of controversy over it.

Mizouse

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

First USA women's gold in hockey in 20 years! Crazy that it had to come down to a shootout, but that's the way they do things these days

brian2

I enjoy watching women's hockey and soccer... not more so than the men, but it has it's merits. They play a far more fundamental game than the men do. Much more control. Less emphasis on speed and power.

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

I love shoot outs! Its after 80 minutes of intense play, both teams are exhausted. Who has enough energy to control a puck and make a great play/shot on the goal to score is the better team that deserves to win!

Mizouse

nist7

I heard mens olympic hockey team for USA was made up of basically people off the street? no NHL players on the USA olympic team?

brian2

Canada was lucky it went to the shootout. That was their best chance. They had nothing left in the tank.

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

Right? They played dirty too! They had so many opportunities to win but failed to deliver. Better team won!

Mizouse

Yumcha

How did team China, Chinese Taipei, or Hong Kong do...?

Mizouse

Yumcha

I'm more interested in the "events" in the athletes' village.