The Tokyo 2020 Non Athletics Thread

[marra]

Well, that was a heck of a heat in the women's TP. GB edge out the US, setting a new world record. And then promptly crash into each other. Still, silver or gold for GB now. Katie Archibald and Chloe Dygart are both absolute monsters in this discipline.

[marra]

WR lasted about 8 minutes. Germans used the same 4 as yesterday but looked super good. It's going to be tough for GB to win I reckon, but they are there and have a chance.

[marra]

So much going on! Jack Laugher going well in the 3m springboard.

And it's a silver in the Mixed Nacra for Gimsen/Burnet. Sailing helping us a lot!

[Grassmarket]

And we whiz pass Muscovy on the medals table, closing in on Botany Bay.

[Taffy2]

The ROC usually have a huge hall in syncro swimming, and rhythmic gymnastics.

[Taffy2]

Re the cycling was it the same German 4? Do they have an alternate.

Will GB stick with the same semi final 4 or will Barker return?

[marra]

Same German 4. Unsure about GB plans. This 4 were faster, but with both races happening today, changing someone out for a completely fresh rider might make sense. One concern is if they are shaken at all by the crash. It didn't look too serious, but you never know what impact it might have after the adrenaline wears off...

[alfie]

You tell me , Taffy. I guess the coaching staff know what they're doing : they have a good record for getting it right.

Guess it depends whether they made to substitution to keep Barker fresher for the final or because Evans is the preferred rider ?

[Taffy2]

Barker in the past has been amazing, but yesterday she looked spent. The coaching staff will know their best 4. It depends how much it has taken out of the Germans. Our girls are tried and tested at delivering, it's just whether they have anything left in the locker.

[Taffy2]

Italy got it together there. Wow

[marra]

Italians break the Men's WR. Filippo Ganna on fire.

[marra]

Oh my word. What an unbelieveable race. I've been watching track cycling for over 20 years and never seen anything like that.

[alfie]

Mayhem in the velodrome !!! Denmark were all but catching the GB team in that semi final : but they did catch the third (detached) rider and brought him down ! So presumably GB will win this by default ?

[alfie]

Or do Denmark win because they "caught" GB ?

[marra]

I've spent the last 10 minutes trying to work this out and I'm still no closer. When is a catch a catch? Technically, the Dane was never ahead of GB, as he painfully found out!

Even with a catch GB still had the right to set a time, as that determines the ride for bronze (which GB obviously weren't going to get into on time but that's not the point). The crash itself was definitively the fault of the Danish rider not looking where they were going. Technically, I don't see why, if GB managed to get 3 people to complete 4000m why they shouldn't have won. The Danes certainly didn't seem to get 3 people over the line.

Whether the commissars see it that way, I'm not sure.

[Taffy2]

Denmark deserve tobgo through, but their lead riders reaction, not just in the aftermath, was disgusting. He needs a warning

[RunUnlimited]

GB women got frankly, spanked by the German's in the team pursuit, with Germany setting another world record and almost catching the GB team in the end.

[marra]

I think that's very, very harsh. GBR broke the WR themselves in the last round to beat the US. They performed better than any other team in history has done, themselves included, except one - the new champions from Germany.

To use a comparison - should Alison dos Santos or Rai Benjamin feel embarrassed? They weren't that close to Warholm but they were still the 2nd and 4th fastest times ever.

[marra]

The Danes deserve to go through because they were clearly the faster team, but you can just as easily argue that they should be DQed for dangerous riding. Most of the professional cyclists I follow on twitter don't know the answer. The UCI have announced that Denmark will go through but have not given a reason yet, as far as I'm aware.

I mean it would be the most undeserved medal if we got in there but it leaves a bitter taste that we weren't even given a chance to finish our ride as we should have been, for something that was 100% the Danes fault.

On the Women's side, fair play to Germany. I think it is fair to say that's a shock result - it was expected that GB would be challenged for the gold but most people thought it would be the US challenging, not the Germans.

[SprintRelayFan]

Amazing performance by Germany. The DQ failed so the Danes go through and the Brits won't get a medal.
Joe Fraser misses out on the P Bars in a very high quality competition so that ends the Brits very successful gymnastics meet. Biles to go shortly in the beam. I'm torn as I'd love to see Romanian gold!

[SprintRelayFan]

Oh wait! Just seen Iordache isn't there!