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nnyrad

Listed below are comments made by nnyrad between Friday, 15th August 2008 and Friday, 26th December 2008.

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The perils of turning 30 09:39am on 26 Dec 2008 There has been a lot of, 'oh, you're only turning 30' comments here. These lack the consideration of what turning 30 means for a professional athlete. It's a question of identity. An athlete's entire life is in pursuit of one goal: to perform sport to the best of one's ability. Unfortunately, unlike with many other careers, there is a strict limit on the length of time you can compete professionally. When the end comes, an athlete has to deal with that inevitable question: what do I do now?

This is a question all of of us must face at some time or other, but for an athlete it comes sooner than most. Jonathan Edwards found the retirement years initially difficult, and lost his faith in God in the process. (Fortunately, he seems to have found a small measure of peace since.)

Turning 30 is often seen as the beginning of the end. Nonetheless, as so many here have mentioned, there is an abundance of players who have, not only continued to play well into their thirties, but have improved since reaching that milestone.

Thank you for providing a fascinating insight into the life of an aging athlete, Gavin. I wish you all the best with your career, and hope that we continue to see you perform for many years to come (as a Bradford supporter, I had the pleasure of watching us beat your team 3-0 last January ;) ).
Second race cruel on Weir 8:51pm on 13 Sep 2008 I can't ever imagine this ever happening in the Olympic 800m. As others have said, any problems with the lane order should be addressed before the start of the race. Though it's a big disappointment for us in the UK to hear such news, I can't imagine how devastating it must be for Weir right now.

Whatever happens in the re-race, he has done us, and himself, proud.
Is it time for a really modern pentathlon? 06:49am on 23 Aug 2008 I don't have much to add to the debate. Personally I enjoy the diversity and range of talents required to compete in this event.

Anyway, on to the reason I'm posting. Leobird asks 'should sports with judges be allowed as well? [...] Ive [sic] enjoyed the Olypics this year but is that simply because we've done well?'

Is this a serious post? Is this poster really questioning whether sports such as gymnastics and diving should be events in the Olympic games? Of course they should, a sport should not be barred from the Games simply because it requires judges to determine the outcome.

As for the second question: none of us on here can answer why you have enjoyed the 2008 Olympic Games.
What do you think about Monkey? 11:56am on 15 Aug 2008 Scrolling through the vast number of posts made in response to this video, one thing in particular caught my eye:

Chairmandog said 'Monkey's a great way of bridging out understanding of the East'. Though the animation may be based on a Chinese fable it seems to say more about Western (or - to be more fair - Albarn's and Hewlett's) perceptions of the Orient than it does about Chinese culture. The piece fails to demonstrate China's unique identity and only serves to conflate Eastern culture. This opinion has been stated earlier in different forms, an example of which:

It's based on a Japanese series 'that has nothing to do with the spirit of the Book: the Journey to the west' (Xabirules)

Though I do appreciate that many people have enjoyed the clip, I am disappointed that the BBC would commission a video that is outdated in its thinking during an Olympics that reveled in being innovative.

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